Will Ferrell makes two kinds of silly comedies. There are the silly ones that are very funny, BLADES OF GLORY comes to mind, and then there are the silly ones that are wretched. KICKING AND SCREAMING comes to mind. STEP BROTHERS falls, alas, into the latter category. It is a one-joke film dreamed up by… Read More »
ROLE MODELS
ROLE MODELS is ragged around the edges and pretty threadbare in between. Co-writer Paul Rudd, sharing credit with a small army of fellow screenplayers, has a genuine gift for a sight gag, and there plenty popping up here. Alas, he falls short with all the stuff that links them together. Yet, for all its failings… Read More »
CEDAR RAPIDS
CEDAR RAPIDS is a sweet tale with of innocence lost and happiness found. In the grand tradition of MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, Mr Lippe (Ed Helms) goes to the titular city for an insurance convention and discovers the real world in the big city, and the further, more… Read More »
HORRIBLE BOSSES
Some men are born great, some men have greatness thrust upon them. Nick, Kurt, and Dale (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day), the three schlubs at the center of HORRIBLE BOSSES fall in the latter category. Sort of. As the heroes of a subversively prescient black comedy, they are the quintessential little guys rendered… Read More »
THE SITTER
There is in Jonah Hill a palpable undertone of menace. When playing his usual lovable schlub, or especially when playing a character such as the titular CYRUS, who may or may not actually be unhinged, there is always the distinct potential lurking in the piercing gaze when his character stops talking, that the next move… Read More »
21 JUMP STREET
There is a palpable love for the original television series in 21 JUMP STREET. A love that encompasses both the premise and that premises lack of credibility. As in, a group of police officers going undercover in various high schools in to infiltrate the illegal doings there, and bring the perps to justice. It was… Read More »
TED
From the fertile and unconventional mind of Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD!) comes TED, the rude yet surprisingly sentimental tale of male bonding as played out by a boy, his magical teddy bear, and what happens when adulthood is thrust upon them. The biting wit and sophomoric sensibility of the writing is not a… Read More »