Somewhere on the sliding scale far down from Terms of Endearment and even a few notches down from Beautiful Girls is Shawn Levy’s you-can-go-home-again comedy-drama This Is Where I Leave You (C); and despite often amusing and sometimes touching ensemble work, it doesn’t necessarily add up to a cogent success or complete payoff. Faring best are Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver and Jane Fonda in some affecting and bawdy bits. The very loose plot involves a family being grounded together for a week after the death of its patriarch right as their lives are unraveling and they really could use some good advice. The best parts of the movie are often told in the margins, which makes it a bit touch to break through Levy’s overproduced hucksterism. Dare I say on the first weekend of its theatrical release that it might make a nice rental?
Tag Archives: Comedy
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) a Delightful Cosmic Surprise
Beaming onto a screen near you is a vaudeville starship troupe milking about five jokes for all they’re worth in James Gunn’s aimless but often joyful space opera comic book adaptation, Guardians of the Galaxy (B). A smuggler out of the Han Solo playbook, Chris Pratt continues his awesome year with crowd-pleasing snark on a mission to keep a mysterious orb out of the clutches of baddies. His companions including an endearing tree-man and a wise-cracking raccoon (voiced by Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper) who each get some great laughs in mischief-making derring-do. The intergalactic plot? Kinda lost in space. The film deserves kudos in the Marvel canon as a lively lark even if it uses up its clever action conceits in the first hour. The planetary effects are as triumphant as the tone ribald. Motown tracks and monster ballads also add some lift. It’s much more style than substance but filled with the tart nihilism of a cherry bomb that detonates when you least expect it. Side note: On the schawarma scale of consequence, the very brief epilogue will ruffle some feathers.
“Magic in the Moonlight” is Minor in the Allen Canon
Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight (C-) is a very undernourished romantic comedy about a pompous magician rooted in realism (Colin Firth) endeavoring to out a skilled spiritual medium (Emma Stone) as a fraud while slowly surrendering to her charms. The film feels like a rushed first draft and a trifle of a notion with no standout performances. Squandering lovely settings in Germany and France and the goodwill of likable actors, the film is an unoriginal and labored dud. It’s not clear why Allen would care to share these characters or find them to advance his themes in any substantial way. The film falls into his category of lesser works.
More Franchise Fun in “22 Jump Street”
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s comedy sequel 22 Jump Street (B-) provides just enough laughs from the raunchy raucousness of buddy cops Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill infiltrating college life to ferret out a drug scheme, but the freshness of its predecessor is largely missing. When it plumbs meta antics such as a Buster Keaton style car chase outside the film studies department or a warped therapy session with the psych professor, the film flirts with cleverness that is rarely delivered. The central bromance continues to be an often hilarious draw; and Tatum in particular is a great sport, throwing himself into the part even when the screenplay isn’t throwing him quite the quality content it could. Still, it’s intensely watchable with enough verbal fireworks and physical stunts to render the sequel decent rainy day fun.
“A Million Ways to Die in the West” a Failed Comedy
A spectacular fail on the great wide expanse of the American Wild West, writer/director Seth MacFarlane follows up his deliriously ribald Ted with the supremely unfunny frontier comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West (F). Casting himself in the lead role is honestly the first way MacFarlane demonstrates painful western death, with a cloyingly modern but childish sensibility and an utter lack of awareness inhibiting his protagonist’s basic story needs of winning the girl and defeating the villain. His character is largely a tool (pun intended) to observe how pointless living in the west was and to drone on and belabor this thesis with an escalating series of violent or puerile sight gags. Charlize Theron is the only cast member who leaves this blazing prattle unscathed. Lame jokes and dumb pratfalls abound while there are missed opportunities for real satire. MacFarlane as triple threat makes a terrible leading man, acting from a dopey script in an excessive and lugubriously paced summer tentpole comedy. Hopefully for Universal Studios, this vanity project required little more than letting an enfant terrible run amuck on a backlot and in the desert for a few weeks. These gunslingers needed more zingers to justify more than two hours of oppressive running time.
“Chef” a Wonderful Comfort Food Comedy
Writer/director Jon Favreau’s Chef (A-) is an ordinary story told extraordinarily about a man’s journey to the brink and back, set against a topical landscape blending the zest of cooking for a living, the zeitgeist of social media as a buzz builder for a restauranteur’s commerce, the influence of one’s family and friends on one’s well-being and keen observations about the melting pot of America with mixed families and split households struggling to make their spiritual soufflés rise with righteousness. Effective in the lead role, Favreau is a veritable lava cake of emotions in need of a new direction, and the story takes him from L.A. to Miami, New Orleans and Austin on a quest to reclaim his food, friends and fatherhood. Sofía Vergara as his ex and John Leguizamo as his kitchen mate are wonderful in supporting roles. Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr. and Dustin Hoffman all make high-impact cameos. It’s an emotional feast with laughs that surface naturally from the story. Check operating hours for your nearest Cuban cuisine before viewing, because you will want a Little Havana style sandwich after watching this film.
Explore my “fantasy food trucks” based on foodie films in my story on BuzzFeed.
Rogen vs. Efron in Comedy “Neighbors” (2014)
It’s Porky’s meets Poltergeist as raunchy highjinks and the purging of a suburban menace swirl into a likely summer comedy hit. Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors (B) takes the high-concept conceit of young parents (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) whose domestic life is turned upside-down by the arrival of a Zac Efron-led fraternity into the house next door and mines it for comic gold. Despite the outlandishness of much of the proceedings, the central ensemble is funny and believable, and there’s plenty of goofy goings-on to keep the story brisk and lively. Although the themes are a little one-note, many of the best bits are derived from the humor exploring the differences between the recently young and the actually young. Trading bongs and kegs for baby monitors and breast pumps feels like a trade-off and leads to a stand-off, and it’s an often hilarious battle.
“LEGO Movie” a Tiny Triumph
Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s The LEGO Movie (B) is a clever, comedic and crowd-pleasing animated romp that will appeal to both kids and adults. Chris Pratt is the heart of the film as the central character who must summon his spirit as a master builder in a conformist world. Filled with kaleidoscopic vistas, thrilling chases and surprising cameos, it was almost overstuffed at times. It was fun how it toggled from sleek sophisticated effects to clunky movements like it was filmed in someone’s basement or backyard. Nearly “everything is awesome.”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is Wes Anderson at His Best
An all-star polka-palooza of exquisite Euro-production design, droll dialogue and screwball pacing, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (B) is a glorified episodic buddy comedy with Ralph Fiennes and newcomer Tony Revolori bringing considerable wit and charm to their central duo of hotelier protagonists. There are roomfuls of incidental storylines from murders to jailbreaks (all meticulously crafted), star cameos (many that go nowhere) and plot points that aren’t all that revelatory. I wasn’t too sure of any theme except for the oft-repeated notion of the plot thickening. But chances are, if you’re an Anderson fan, this will be your cup of Darjeeling tea. Cozy up — your screening room is ready.
“About Time” (2013) is Quirky Time Travel Romcom
Writer/director Richard Curtis, famous for Love Actually, is a master of capturing great emotional details but getting lost in the big picture, so it’s no surprise that his romantic time travel dramedy About Time (B-) is a lovable mess. Despite massive tonal shifts and meandering to subplots that distract from the central plot, it is cute and thoughtful nonetheless. Domhnall Gleeson smartly plays the reluctant hero who finds out as a young man from his father (a tender and restrained Bill Nighy) that the men in their family can travel in time and alter their fates. Enter Rachel McAdams, the woman with whom Gleeson wants to get everything right; and enter entanglements and plot holes aplenty as this British Groundhog Day weaves its magic spell. The premise is far-fetched and occasionally a little creepy; and yet still the charming performers keep pace with crackling dialogue and poignant moments. The wish fulfillment angle doesn’t jive completely since there’s really no reason the protagonist needs sci-fi tricks to get the girl. But ultimately the witty banter and generally winning ensemble make it a quite watchable affair.
“Her” (2013) is a Strange Romcom
A most genius first hour squandered a bit for its remaining two acts, writer/director Spike Jonze’s Her (B) is an ambitious dramedy analyzing the bits and bytes of relationships. Joaquin Phoenix is superb as the lonely protagonist who falls in love with a coquettish computer operating system voiced by Scarlett Johannson. Although some similar themes were plumbed in Electric Dreams (oddly in 1984), Jonze makes a flimsy premise fresh and affecting. Setting this romance in an unspecified future gives the filmmakers some poignant portals to examine human rituals from a higher plane. The film soars most when the cyber siren summons the best in our hero, challenging him to experience the world anew. But there’s a point in which the audience has likely moved on, and Jones continues to belabor his themes. Woody Allen’s theory that comedies should clock in at no longer than 90 minutes would have been aptly applied here. A series of sequences bookended by snowfall could be edited out almost entirely, leaving a leaner and more consistently entertaining movie in its wake.
David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” Largely Successful
David O. Russell’s comedic crime caper American Hustle (B) is sometimes an undisciplined mess, and this hurly-burly quality gives the enterprise both its frustrations and its charms. The con-women, played outrageously by Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, steal the show. Other Russell repertory actors including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and others don’t quite nail indelible characters. At its best, there were flashes of wily wit suggesting a Goodfellas/