If I had to single one thing out as being the saddest moment in PIXELS, it would have to be when Michelle Monaghan, as a newly dumped wife is forced to find solace from Adam Sandler as she is weeping and drinking chardonnay from a sippy cup on the floor of her closet.
PAUL BLART — MALL COP
Kevin James, star and co-writer of PAUL BLART: MALL COP should know how to play to his comedic strengths when penning a role for himself. He and writing partner, Nick Bakay, an alum of James’ sitcom, “The King of Queens”, however, aren’t so great at fabricating a long-form script around which to build on James’… Read More »
GROWN UPS
The pain of watching a shlocky film is trivial compared to the torture of sitting through a shlocky film that has convinced itself that it has a message beyond being awful. The latter is the experience of GROWN UPS, a dismal interlude that in the first 10 minutes establishes that men are idiots, women are… Read More »
DILEMMA, THE
Director Ron Howards stated purpose in making THE DILEMMA was to make a comedy after taking a hiatus from the genre. He has yet to achieve his goal. There are more laughs in SCHINDLERS LIST. Rather than creating a smart comedy of manners and morals involving adultery coming between best friends, Howard has instead taken… Read More »
ZOOKEEPER
The annoying thing about ZOOKEEPER isnt that its a bad movie, though it is, and a very bad one at that. The annoying thing is that Kevin James in the title role is so very good. It sets up a damnably uncomfortable tug-of-war between hating the flick and yet enjoying the work that James does… Read More »
GROWN UPS 2
A question that I like to ask of comedians who veer towards the edgy is if there is anything off limits when it comes to comedy. I have gotten many great answers over the years, but the one that was the most succinct came from Orlando Jones. Not funny, thats off limits. There may be… Read More »
HITCH
HITCH is a pleasant enough meringue of a romantic comedy. Light, sweet, and essentially insubstantial. What it has going for it is its attitude, one that champions true love over a roll in the hay, some nice physical comedy by Kevin James, and Will Smith, a leading man in the old school mold. Hes Alex… Read More »
BARNYARD
You can generally tell within 20 minutes or so if a film is going to fly or not. Very few films recover from a disastrous first 20 minutes, and there are even fewer that go from bad to worse to engendering in its audience an active and vitriolic hatred. Such a film is BARNYARD, that… Read More »
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY is another self-indulgent, unfunny wallow in what Adam Sandler thinks is funny. From the first fart joke (10 minutes in) to the second fart joke (11 minutes in), to the self-congratulatory deus ex machina ending that is supposed to redeem the previous excruciating two hours, it is a… Read More »