Tag Archives: Comedy

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Youth” an Exuberant Dramedy

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youth-posterA Felliniesque fantasia on life, love and art, Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth (A-) is an answer to cinephile prayer. There will be many who dismiss this Swiss Alps resort set comedy-drama as pretentious drivel or avoid the film altogether for fear of glacial pace; but those seeking an appropriately contemplative requiem on the choices made in the sunset of life will treasure the movie’s nontraditional narrative structure, formalist art direction and unconventional approach to character development. Giving late career-best performances as an aging composer, filmmaker and actress, respectively, Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda (in a potent extended cameo) are a master class trio bearing wisdom and fortitude. They’re also really funny in their wry honesty. Rachel Weisz and Paul Dano are both strong as generational counterpoints. David Lang’s music, especially the work he created for Caine’s fictional composer, is sheer bliss. Sorrentino captures a grotesquerie of fascinating people against gorgeous backdrops in conversations that comprise a protracted art house aria. Like the film’s spas, green pastures and alpine wilderness, the film leaves room for characters to breathe and discover one another in harmony. Some may argue there’s very little plot, and they’d be pretty much right. But the film is impeccably perceptive in peeling back the layers of humanity and stripping its characters bare of the familiar. The wit and wordplay devised by an Italian writer/director is stunningly universal; and despite its older stars, this autumnal film beats with a youthful heart.

Related article: Fellow friend and critic Aaron West writes about Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning 2013 film The Great Beauty in this review on Criterion Blues.

Among many of the film’s great qualities is its exquisite music including this original work:

2016, Rent It Tonight

“4th Man Out” a Charming Indie About a Bro with a Secret

4thmanoutAndrew Nackman’s 4th Man Out (B+) is a funny and naturally charming comedy about a 24-year-old small-town everyman auto mechanic (Evan Todd) who comes out as gay to his entourage of three very heterosexual bros, played by a pack of TV comedy actors Parker Young, Chord Overstreet and Jon Gabrus. The dynamic of revealing his pent-up news to stunned, unsuspecting straight guys is rich territory for comedy and pathos, and the first-time filmmaker successfully delivers an indelible tale. Todd and Young in particular create a marvelous bond as they maneuver through the machinations of manhood and as the quartet redefines the rules of their relationships and routines. Hockey viewing, clubbing and poker night all take on a different lens with the hapless trio meaning well but hitting some awkward notes. Also compelling is Todd’s earnestness as he portrays a man trying on his newfound identity for size; he is a revelation in the role and carries the film’s emotional weight powerfully. Most of all, it’s frank and funny and plumbs an often unexplored dynamic. It was fun to watch a film evocative of some of my ’90’s favorites Chasing Amy and The Brothers McMullen.

 

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2015, Rent It Tonight

Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” a Phenomenal Fever Dream

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imageThere’s lots of big ideas to convey about the headlines plaguing us today in Spike Lee’s fever dream fable Chi-Raq (B). Although overstuffed with plot and prose, it’s a powerful entreaty to end the violence dominating inner-city America and in Chicago in particular. Lee’s unconventional narrative is a modern-day adaptation of Lysistrata, complete with rival gangs, rhyming lines, a charming narrator (Samuel L. Jackson) and a formidable heroine, played with fierce majesty and commitment by Teyonah Parris. Nick Cannon is cold and effective and near-unrecognizable as a lead gang member in a plot about women abstaining from sex as the ultimate way to get the men of their community to wake up and restore civility. Lee’s film suffers from an avalanche of gonzo notions, many of them quite brilliant and some of them self-indulgent detours that could have used some judicious editing. But ultimately it’s a shock to the system and a vivid reminder of the political power he has as a filmmaker. It’s vivid and sometimes makes you livid and is an important take on society today.

2015

“Sisters” (2015) a Missed Opportunity

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sistersThere’s one great line in Jason Moore’s Amy Poehler-Tina Fey comedy Sisters (C) when a character remarks that she could use a little less Forever 21 and a bit more Suddenly 42. There’s likely a film buried deep within this one that addresses the angst of aging when you really don’t want to grow up, but Moore’s movie rarely scratches the surface below the bawdy laughs. Party girl Fey and straight-laced Poehler switch roles as they throw a party in their about-to-be-sold childhood home; and through the highjinks of the bash as Fey is designated “party mom” and Poehler gets to let her freak flag fly, they learn more about each other. The funny ladies have winning chemistry and lots of sassy lines especially at the expense of frenemy Maya Rudolph; but the film’s signature party is a rather one-note and overlong cavalcade, and it’s just not consistently funny enough to cover any new ground. Still, these snappy siblings have their moments.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Big Short” Deliciously Skewers Wall Street Culture

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imageBest known for directing Will Ferrell larks, director Adam McKay sets his eyes on a work of gravitas by tackling the American housing market collapse through the eyes of a few investing misfits who saw it all coming in the wry dramedy The Big Short (B). Treading familiar territory of big data chic honed to more entertaining effect by the same author’s Moneyball, this film suffers from a paucity of likable protagonists. That’s likely intentional but unfortunately undercuts the film’s sharpness. Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling are standouts as guys who hope to strike it rich by betting against America and its institutions. The ultimate story is an important one to tell, and McKay sprinkles in some meta flourishes to ensure viewers can keep up. A civics lesson wrapped in the arch of a paranoid thriller, it’s close encounters of the earned kind. It’s a lot of exposition for the plaintive payoff.

2015

“Goosebumps” a CGI-Laden Mess

imageRob Letterman’s Goosebumps (D) joins this summer’s Pixels in a series of kids’ films that value effects over imagination. Jack Black plays R.L. Stine, reclusive author of the titular young adult book series. With a vaguely academic accent and face frozen on “concerned,” Black provides a performance only slightly more irritating than Slappy the vaudeville dummy, the worst doll antagonist since the last installment of Child’s Play. Teen actor Dylan Minnette is slightly more expressive and makes the film’s first thirty minutes a bit charming before he accidentally unleashes a potpourri of blandly designed CGI monsters trapped in books. The filmmakers cynically leverage a popular kid lit franchise to lure a big crowd to the box office, but it’s all an auto pilot triumph over creative inspiration.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“The Intern” an Enjoyable Comedy

imageCalling a movie a treasure trove for HR professionals looking for great examples of key learnings in the intergenerational workplace isn’t damning it with faint praise. In fact, Nancy Meyers’ The Intern (B), in which Robert De Niro is a widower who lands a “senior citizen internship” for an e-commerce impresario played by Anne Hathaway, transcends built-in sentiment and stereotypes to be largely effective. Is it a reverse Annie or The Devil Wears Prada? A little of both. Do De Niro and Hathaway harness everything in their thespian powers to build characters within the contours and confines of Meyers’ broad-stroke screenwriting? For the most part. There are missed opportunities galore as a white-washed cast and some very unrealistic pivot points provide a slick veneer to the proceedings. But a fun premise, good acting, bright chemistry and interesting juxtapositions yield an entertaining film. Call De Niro the work/life balance genie, reminding workers everywhere that some old-fashioned values may just provide wish fulfillment for the modern office.

 

Related workplace story: Learn how I secured my third job at an interactive company using a 90-Day plan in this USA Today article.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Grandma” (2015) a Lovely Character Study

Despite his involvement in films ranging from American Pie to About a Boy, very little could prepare viewers for the glorious relationship dramedy that writer/director Paul Weitz has delivered with Grandma (A-), which frankly feels like an indie from a first-time visionary. Lily Tomlin gives a career-best performance as Elle, a free-spirited misanthrope and widow of a female partner, recruited by her granddaughter Sage (an affecting Julia Garner) to help raise money to end an unwanted pregnancy. The subject is treated sensitively, and the resulting road trip brings a village of perspectives ranging from a man from Elle’s past (a delightful Sam Elliott) to her high-strung estranged daughter (the always pitch-perfect Marcia Gay Harden). Despite the heaviness of the central conflict, it’s Tomlin’s lived-in performance filled with pluck and hard-knocks wisdom that helps the film soar. She also gets the best anger sequence in an eating establishment since Five Easy Pieces. Ultimately a very feminist film from a male director, it’s a fine showcase of outstanding multi-generational actresses and a sentimental and sweet story of unexpected family dynamics.

2015

New “Vacation” (2015) Can’t Replicate the Classic

imageJon Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein’s Vacation (C) reboots the classic comedy franchise with an affable Ed Helms as “Rusty Griswold” taking his family on a cross-country car trip to the fictional West Coast Wally World theme park. Amidst the barrage of gross-out humor, there is a legitimate glimpse at a modern American family with genuine marital struggle, raucous sibling rivalry and a road to redemption. Most of the predictable humor springs from unease and awkwardness, and there could have been a whole lot more inspiration in the episodic stops along the way. There were very few surprises but still a good deal of laughs on this holiday road. Let’s hope if this clan does Europe next, it will be less by-the-books.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Tangerine” Introduces Viewers to Refreshingly New Screen Characters

imageFamously shot on three iPhone 5s smartphones and the toast of Sundance, Sean Baker’s new indie comedy/drama Tangerine (B) is an exotic fruit indeed. The movie showcases two transgender actresses, Kiki Kitana Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, who magnificently play sassy prostitutes (as one character says “a trainwreck and a hot mess”) involved in antics to exact revenge on the woman who has been sleeping with their pimp while one of our heroines was incarcerated. The film is a bit challenged in tone, varying like a whirling dervish from comic misadventures to more somber moments. The quality of the filming is gorgeous, with a near-Technicolor glow that makes a seedy Los Angeles of doughnut shop and alleyway encounters come to vivid life. Dare I say it all feels a bit like a gender-bending Clerks! One character says, “L.A. is a beautifully wrapped lie,” and by the end, the city itself becomes quite a character.

2015

Game Over for “Pixels”

imageThere’s lots of inspired stuff in a movie about a 1982 time capsule that prompts modern-day extraterrestrials to co-opt nostalgic video game iconography to attack the planet, but director Chris Columbus and an Adam Sandler-led comedic ensemble drain Pixels (D-) of any sense of wit or charm. The filmmakers barely summon hand-eye coordination in mishandling a story about how a rag-tag group of misfits conjure their inner joysticks and roller controllers to topple Galaga, Centipede, Pac-Man and a gaggle of galactic meanies. When a film employs intentionally dated graphics and an absurd premise, it requires credible acting and a logical thematic through-line; that’s why Ghostbusters worked so brilliantly. Alas the game is over long before it starts for Pixels, with everything from Tom Arnold playing the U.S. President as Sandler’s best friend and Michelle Monaghan as Sadler’s love interest being but two of the plot points catalogued in the not-credible category. As Sandler and Josh Gad exert their action antics and moribund comedy to a not-at-all thrilling conclusion, one simply wonders what would have happened had the studio chosen a different adventure with better talent to tell this tale. For a better foray into the 8-bit heyday, I recommend the documentary King of Kong.

2015, Rent It Tonight

“Trainwreck” a Funny Showcase for Schumer

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imageWriter and lead comic actress Amy Schumer couldn’t ask for a better feature film maiden voyage vehicle than Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck (B), a screwball character study shrouded in rom com clothing. Schumer’s central character is a boozy and sexually liberated magazine writer who meets her match in a well-grounded sports physician, warmly and effectively played by Bill Hader. Both Schumer and Hader are unconventional casting choices; and honestly, I wasn’t entirely convinced of their chemistry despite lived-in performances. But the film packs a comic punch with jabs at the mores of modern dating and has moments of poignancy in the heroine’s relationship with her misanthropic papa. There are shades of Pretty Woman and Bridesmaids as the film navigates some typical narrative arcs, and “Apatowesque” will now just be my adjective for overlong comedies. But as a sassy star is born, her film is a filling and funny frolic.