There are some films that set you to pondering. What is the meaning of life? What is my role in the human comedy? The question that LEATHERHEADS inspires is much less esoteric. During the bumpy homage to IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, and MEET JOHN DOE, among others, I found myself wondering what… Read More »
ZOMBIE STRIPPERS!
ZOMBIE STRIPPERS! Well, the classic exploitation-style title pretty much sums it up. All the film itself that follows that opening title has to do is maintain the momentum of the premise for the running time, delighting, baffling, and generally spoofing a genre that is itself a parody of sorts. This opus by Jay Lee starts… Read More »
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
It’s a brave and bold move to make the most self-absorbed, narcissist in a film the one who is also the only one living an authentic life, but that’s part of the charm of FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. It’s also smart because of the piquant contrast while all the other characters are scurrying around trying to… Read More »
MADE OF HONOR
Yes, MADE OF HONOR is a variation on MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, with gender reversal and no gay best pal. Alas, it’s not as sharp, not as dark, and just not as much fun, starting well, but going south with alarming haste. The likable stars, Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, generate real chemistry and have the… Read More »
BABY MAMA
There were many ways to go with the premise of BABY MAMA. Writer/director Michael McCullers chose the toughest route of all: gentle yet smart. The result is a pithy deconstruction of both the trendy and the traditional, with well-aimed swipes at everything from designer parenthood to the redneck in the blue collar. The problem starts… Read More »
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS is a perfectly likeable, perfectly forgettable film with a creaky plot and terrific chemistry between its stars, Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. It attempts nothing novel in its retelling of the couple who don’t realize that they are perfect for each other, aside from positing an unsavory new popcorn topping. Then… Read More »
HAMLET 2
Where do dreams go to die? That’s the question posed at the beginning of HAMLET 2, a comedy about the triumph of enthusiasm over talent. The answer to that question is Tucson, Arizona, at least for Dana Marschz (Steve Coogan), a spectacularly untalented actor turned equally untalented drama teacher at a high school there. Driven… Read More »
MICMACS (MICMACS A TIRE-LARIGOT)
There are many ways to depict evil on screen. Many ways to show not just the evil itself, but the subtler malfunctions of the soul that make a person evil. In MICMACS, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (AMELIE), has chosen to parse it with shrimp. Specifically, the way the two arms dealers of the story attack the crustaceans… Read More »
CYRUS
A man, a woman, her son. It’s a situation of jealous hostility explored many times, but never more honestly, more painfully, or with bigger laughs than in Jay and Mark Duplass CYRUS. Made with an improvisational style that perfectly evokes the awkward immediacy of three people working through a new relationship that changes all their… Read More »
DESPICABLE ME
In DESPICABLE ME, the direct honesty of childhood innocence, in the form of three orphan girls, goes head to head with the evil machinations of a super villain feeling his evil competition nipping at his heels, usually with marine life. The result is a smart, funny, and perceptive animated film that dresses up its unabashed… Read More »