Category: Comedy

Review: ‘I Love You, Man’

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Jerry:

I was lucky enough to get passes to an advance showing of I Love You, Man a few weeks ago. I did not go as a critic but as a fan who signed up and won free passes to a screening. There was a critic’s section in the theater but I didn’t sit there. While the critic only screening rooms have much better chairs and less sticky floors than most movie theaters, I like attending mixed screenings because the crowd usually has better reactions to the film. With I Love You, Man, I should have held out for a screening with the comfy chairs. The entire audience, critics and moviegoers alike, were laughing hysterically at all the right places.

Most of you probably already know the film’s plot. Peter (Rudd) asks his girlfriend (Rashida Jones) to marry him and she says yes. It comes to Peter’s attention that he doesn’t have any guy friends to be his best man so he goes on a series of man-dates to find the right guy. Then he meets Sidney (Jason Segel) with whom he instantly bonds. However, the more they hang out, the more strain is put on Peter’s relationship with his fiancà ©.

This is yet another film that proves my theory about Paul Rudd. That theory is that Paul Rudd is awesome. I never said it was a complicated theory. As those of you who read the blog about or watched my interview with Rudd back in November know, I am a huge fan of the guy. He is consistently hilarious in the many great comedy projects he has been a part of (his work with Apatow, Wain, Reno 911, etc) and he also gives fantastic dramatic performances in independent films such as 2 Days and Diggers

(Completely off topic, I recently found out about a Chinese film he did in 2000 called Gen-Y Cops where he plays an American Scientist trying to stop a robot from destroying Hong Kong. I am picking up a copy and will review it on here  when I get a chance.  Ã‚  There are some clips on Youtube which makes it look amazingly bad so I am looking forward to checking it out.)

The second half of the bromance of I Love You, Man is Jason Segel. I never watched Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared or How I Met Your Mother so he was a comedy force that came out of nowhere for me when seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Yes, I did see him in Knocked Up but he still surprised me in FSM. I have since watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, which he is also hilarious on. In I Love You, Man, he delivers another very funny performance as the very opinionated and somewhat free-spirited Sydney Fife.

As with most of the great comedies in recent years, the story is simple to allow a lot of room for funny, often improvised, conversations and the occasional sight gag. The film is also filled with a bunch of great bit players like Andy Samburg, Jon Favreau, and J.K. Simmons. One of the best supporting characters in the film had a very funny scene spoiled by all of the TV spots and that is Lou Ferrigno.   Ferrigno played himself, much like he did on King of Queens, and yes there were Hulk jokes. A lot of the film’s humor also comes from how Peter and Sydney’s friendship is treated as if it were a typical relationship in a romantic comedy.

Overall, this is another great R-rated comedy and I look forward to its Blu-Ray release, which will most likely be unrated and filled with hilarious bonus features.

‘I Love You, Man’ [R] opens today in theaters everywhere.

[Rating: 4 out of 5 root beer floats with Pepperidge Farm pirouettes]

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com

Melissa:

I love Paul Rudd, but I didn’t totally love it, man.

I have been a Paul Rudd fan since he awkwardly danced his way into our lives as Cher’s ex-step brother in Clueless. And while I will always find him entertaining, I still was left with an Eh… feeling about the movie.

Paul Rudd plays the role of Peter Klaven, a docile real estate agent who enjoys HBO, Chocolat,   and relationships. After eight months with Zooey (Rashida Jones), he has proposed marriage and is preparing for his wedding. The only problem is, he doesn’t have a best man, or groomsmen for that matter, because he has no guy friends. He has always surrounded himself with relationships and women. Heck, his best friend is his mother. Now he has to put himself out there to find some male companionship for the first time, and boy is it awkward!

He ends up meeting Sidney (Jason Segel), a womanizer who hates relationships, loves Rush, and refuses to clean up after his puggle. They hit it off and their special friendship begins. The only problem is that Sidney has no filter, so he says and does WHATEVER he is feeling at the moment.

Jason Segel plays a funny Sidney. Like Rudd, I have been a fan of Segel for some time. Actually since the Freaks and Geeks series. So, if the acting was great and the jokes were entertaining, why do I say that I didn’t love it…

Comedies seem to be in the same rut lately. They are using exactly the same form of humor and mass producing the same movies with the same core group of actors, and just changing the base storyline. I want a change. I want to see something shocking, emotional, or just a bit different from these guys. Rudd was more of an awkward character in this film, but the jokes are still the same. I enjoy my Rudd on both a humorous and physical level. I just wish that this movie had a little more to offer. Sure it’s amusing, but it didn’t blow my mind.

[Rating: 3 out of 5 root beer floats with Pepperidge Farm pirouettes since Jerry decided to drink two of them… yes… I blame you!]

Brian Grazer is fishing for his ‘Merman’

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Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment have picked up writer Jennifer Abu Hollander’s script for ‘Merman’. Brian Grazer (Splash) will produce the romantic comedy for Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment.

Story follows a merman who comes to land so he can win back his mermaid fiancee, who has left him for a real man. — Variety

No cast or director has been attached yet. There’s no direct indication that the story is any kind of a direct follow up to the 1984 film ‘Splash’ which was produced by Brian Grazer and directed by Ron Howard, but it does seem to hint in that direction.

[source: Variety]

Justin Long is ‘Going the Distance’

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New Line has selected Justin Long (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) to star in their new romantic comedy ‘Going the Distance’. The film will be directed by documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein (American Teen) from a script by Geoff LaTulippe.

[The story…] centers on a man and woman in a long-distance relationship who ultimately come to the realization that they would be happier dating someone closer to home. — Variety

I like what Justin Long can do with well-written comedy, and I dig what Burstein has done in the arena of documentary filmmaking, but I’m not sure what to expect from this combination of Burstein, Long and fictional romantic comedy.

[source: Variety]

Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman making ‘Artifacts’

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Paramount is developing a feature film adaptation of the new Leanne Shapton novel titled “Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry“. Uh… that’s a long title! My first question, right out of the gate, is whether they’ll keep this title or shorten it for the movie? I imagine it will get cut down, but how cool would it be if they left it as is, you know, like ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’… only a lot longer!

The book takes the form of a Sotheby’s-like estate auction catalog, with 325 entries and photographs depicting items that reveal the private moments and the rise and fall of a four-year relationship between the fictitious couple Hal Morris (a 40ish photographer) and Lenore Doolan (a New York Times food columnist in her late 20s). — Variety

Anyway, Paramount apparently won rights to the book in an auction. Natalie Portman is reported to have taken the book to Brad Pitt and her company Handsomecharlie Films will produce the film alongside Pitt’s Plan B company. The two are also attached to star in the film, which will be developed as a romantic comedy.

[source: Variety]

SXSW Review: ‘Countertransference’

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‘Countertransference’ is an odd little movie. This 15-minute short comedy by director Madeleine Olnek could perhaps be described as a ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ type of experience, except instead of Larry David playing a bald, neurotic jerk, we witness Deb Margolin playing Cathy, a homely woman with a dead-end career and no respect. When Cathy isn’t working in a second-hand, over-priced thrift shop paid solely on commission (even though no one buys anything) for a terribly inconsiderate boss, she attends sessions with the world’s least effective therapist, played by Susan Ziegler.

To say that Cathy’s therapist is the worst would be to make a grave understatement. After watching the movie, you’ll wonder who was actually needing therapy… Cathy or her therapist. All Cathy wants is a little respect and the ability to command her own life, but struggles with confrontation and is unable to speak her mind. During her various sessions with her therapist, she does manage to make a few minor unintentional breakthroughs of her own, as a result of the often demeaning, disrespectful and altogether excessively aggressive tactics of her therapist.

‘Countertransference’ has some interesting shots and some uniquely humorous moments of the type that makes you sort of uncomfortable and squirm a little in your seat. When I say the movie is odd, I simply mean that the point of the story isn’t entirely clear at first. The movie can be awkward to the point of disbelief at times, but stick with it and it pays off fairly well at the end, as Cathy ultimately brings herself to take a relatively small step, but a step all the same in the right direction.

[Overall: 3 stars out of 5]

Paddy’s Day, Boondock Saints & the State of our Economy

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I have a Hotmail account. When I log out of Hotmail, I am redirected to MSN.com and I always take a moment to see what masquerades as “news.”

Well, as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, MSN informs the world that cursing is on the rise – and that it is directly related to our ailing economy.

And so, I bring you this clip, which illustrates both the holiday we are currently enjoying and the kind of language that is on the rise in our time of economic stress…

BTW – this is NSFW

Slà ¡n go foill!

‘The Mighty Boosh’ is coming to Cartoon Network

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Are you aware of ‘The Mighty Boosh,’Â  one of the GREATEST shows ever broadcast on the BBC?

Well, ‘Boosh’ is about to hit airwaves in the U.S.A., courtesy of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

The show is set to premiere at 1:00 AM on March 29, 2009. WATCH IT.

Continue reading ‘The Mighty Boosh’ is coming to Cartoon Network

SXSW Review: ‘Moon’

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I have come to the realization over the past couple of years that one of my absolute favorite genres within a genre is the independent, science fiction film.   When you are making a sci-fi film on a less-than-mega budget, you have to rely on story and subtlety to grasp your audience rather than giant monsters and massive explosions. Independent science fiction films generally have something to say beyond just the good vs. evil rant.

And so it goes with ‘Moon’, the first feature film by up-and-coming director Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell.   Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an astronaut in the near future where Earth’s most important resources are mined and shipped from the moon.   Sam is near the end of his three-year contract to watch over things on the moon with only a robot named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company.   As with any science fiction film where the main characters involved are nearing the end of their time in space, not everything is going to go according to plan.

Seriously, the less you know about ‘Moon’ the better.   I knew kind of a general idea of what was going to happen, but the film’s originality and blindsiding twists still kept me guessing where the story was headed.   It might be a little premature to consider Jones a visionary, but, if ‘Moon’ is any indication as to where this man’s directing career is headed, the moniker fits.   Jones has an incredible way of working around his limitations, only shooting certain special effects from such an angle as to not draw too much attention to it.   He relies on his story, on his shot composition, and on his impeccable lead actor to play the film out.

Speaking of Rockwell, it is absolutely saying something to say that he gives his best performance to date in ‘Moon’.   The man is one of the best actors working today, but what he does with the performance he gives in ‘Moon’ can only be described as Oscar-worthy.   I can’t say much about the story, but let me just say that Rockwell is forced to alter his character, in all of the physical, mental, and psychological ways the story calls for, and the guy hits it way out of the ballpark.   It is seriously like watching two different actors playing this one character.   You can almost visualize the dotted line that splits the two characters apart.

Everything about ‘Moon’ works masterfully.   Spacey’s voice is perfect for Gerty, a space-bound computer who, thankfully, is all about helping the human involved instead of acting like the typical, corporate-run, evil CPU who turns evil.   Gerty has a small screen where different, yellow smily faces appear depending on his mood at the time, and you could easily spend the entire film just watching those faces change.

The film’s score by Clint Mansell is perfect Mansell, very cool when it needs to be and just as haunting when the film calls for that, as well.   Mansell is quickly becoming the best films score composer working today, and his vividly cool music in ‘Moon’ lingers with you for days after.

‘Moon’ is a perfect example of why I love the independent sci-fi genre.   Jones has crafted a near-perfect ode to the early works of Ridley Scott and to Kubrick’s ‘2001’.   I know.   Blasphemy, right.   Just see it for yourself.   Thankfully, ‘Moon’ has been picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics and will get a real release this coming June.   You should definitely check it out.   I saw ‘Moon’ on only my first, full day at South by Southwest, and I’m already half-convinced that nothing from here on out will top the intense magic and incredibly gifted work that came together to make this awe-inspiring sci-fi film.

Overall: 5 stars out of 5

SXSW Review: ‘Pontypool’

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Kill is kiss.

‘Pontypool’ is the type of silently intense zombie flicks Romero would be making today had he not gone crazy/old in the past couple of years.   It plays out like a nicely paced Twilight Zone episode, and it is insanely inventive to say the least.

To think of it on the surface, you might not think a film where a majority of it involves three characters sitting
in two separate rooms talking to one another would garner much suspense.   You would be dead wrong, and, after watching ‘Pontypool’, you would know it.

Written by Tony Burgess (based on his book Pontypool Changes Everything) and directed by Bruce McDonald, the film takes place in the small, Canadian town of Pontypool.   Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is a morning radio talk show host who has been “demoted” to the small town due to his overpowering views on public figures and his inability to inner monologue.   It’s a particularly wintry morning when the events in the film take place.   All is going as usual until Mazzy, along with his two producers (Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly), begins receiving strange reports of masses of people attacking others.   Then things get really friggin’ weird.

The less you know about where the story is headed, the better.   There are some creepy and completely original twists that take place throughout the story.   Burgess has taken a wholly original idea and crafted it into an equally inventive screenplay.   Just the notion of witnessing a zombie-like outbreak through the eyes and ears of a radio dj is an idea fresh and new.   However, Burgess’ doesn’t just allow his story to stay on one note.   Before the end credits roll, layers upon layers of what is going on in this small town begin revealing themselves.   By the time everything is revealed, you realize just how strangely complex and calmly intricate the whole idea really is.

Of course, much of what is revealed happens through an intermediary, a character that must be introduced to shed light on the situation and offer some suggestions on how to deal with it all.   This character is a blot on the film as a whole, both in idea and execution.   The actor playing him doesn’t seem to understand if he is in a drama, a comedy, or a balls-to-the-wall horror film, and every choice he makes with the character is less than it could have been.

Fortunately, McHattie is incredible.   Just hearing the guys voice as the character goes off on another tirade about police brutality gives you chills.   I’ve actually been a fan of McHattie’s work since…gasp…’Beverly Hills Cop 3′, and it is great to finally see him take over the starring role.

Houle and Reilly do a fine job with their performances, as well.   Houle is given much more to do, but Reilly holds her own with the character she is given.

The real star here is the quiet intensity that builds as our minds fill in the blanks of what is happening in the outside world.   Creepy, inventive, and all-around cool, ‘Pontypool’ is a thinking man’s horror film that proves all you need to create suspense is a great narrative and some excellent actors to pull your story off.

Be sure to stick around after the end credits, too, for one of the strangest addendums to a film I’ve ever seen.   It will make you scratch your head, and, then, it will make you smile from ear to ear.

Fin

Overall: 4 stars out of 5

Review: ‘Miss March’

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I’m about to open myself up to mounds of ridicule for this review but I say bring it on. Miss March currently has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and you will probably have a lot of trouble finding a single review giving it more than 1 star. Until now.

It’s safe to say that I did not have high expectations upon entering the theater. The trailers made this film look like a dumb unfunny teen sex comedy that, like most films of that genre, seemed to miss the mark. But I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing quite a few times. I was even more surprised that I was one of the only people in the theater enjoying the film. While leaving, I overheard the people in front of me say they could not believe they used to think Zach Creggor and Trevor Moore were funny when they knew them in college.

Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore wrote and directed Miss March. They also star as Eugene and Tucker who go on a road trip to break in to the Playboy mansion so that Eugene can be reunited with his high school sweetheart who is now a Playmate. They are probably best known as two of the five members of the sketch comedy group “The Whitest Kids U’ Know.† I know the last time you heard about a movie being made by 2 of the 5 writers of something already known/funny we got Date Movie but I don’t think that’s the case with this film. However, in some reviews I read for Miss March, Friedberg and Seltzer’s names did come up. I think this is mainly because of the randomness of the humor. Some jokes have a long buildup but there are some gags that seem to come out of nowhere. A few of them are even explained afterwards so they make sense. And others are reused until they are beaten down by a bat. These are normally strikes against a film, as anyone subjected to the horrors of Epic Date Disaster Movie can tell you, but I found myself laughing a lot.

The film does have some flaws. Most of these flaws can be attributed to Zach and Trevor’s sketch comedy background. They are not actors; they are comedians playing roles. As a result, the acting is over the top and sometimes lacking in emotion but I find that completely forgivable in a comedy like this. There are also some jokes that take a little long to develop. Since I had never watched “The Whitest Kids U’ Know† before, I decided to check a few sketches out when I got home from the screening. I went to the best place to find copyrighted material for free, Youtube. I watched 20 or so sketches and the results were mixed. Some were very funny and a few dragged on without so much as a chuckle. I did notice that just like the film, the humor is very odd, ridiculous, often gross, very crude and not at all PC.

I would say that anyone who is a fan of their show or that type of sketch comedy will most likely enjoy this film. If you are looking for an Apatow/Smith bromance between the two leads and a film that has as much heart as it does laughs, than this movie is not for you. If you want to see a movie where the main character defecates all over himself (several times) after waking from a coma or hear Craig Robinson sing “Suck my d*** while I F*** you in the A**† then see this film.

[Rating: 3.75 bunnies out of 5]

Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com