Category Archives: Comedy
Comedy
Flash Movie Review: Think Like a Man
Women you caught us men; who knew it only took reading Steve Harvey’s best-selling book, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” to figure out the male species. And if you believe that, I have a brand new, still in the box Betamax for sale. I did not have high expectations for this movie. The story was about a group of women who read Steve Harvey’s book and used it to beat the man in their life at his own game. The movie, I believe, was not necessarily following the whole book, as much as just presenting scenes that addressed several chapters of it. This certainly was a great marketing idea. There were funny parts throughout this comedy; the bulk of them being handled by Kevin Hart (Death at a Funeral, Fool’s Gold) as Cedric. Out of the different couples in play, I felt Lauren and Dominic played by Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Karate Kid) and Michael Ealy (Seven Pounds, 2 Fast 2 Furious) were the most believable out of the group. Besides them, the acting was passable from the rest of the cast. As far as I could tell, the majority of the audience was enjoying this light comedy. There really was nothing bad about this movie, just light fluff in my opinion. I think this film would be an easy choice as a date night movie for most people.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Long, Long Trailer
No matter what you call the two stars of this comedy, they will always be Lucy and Desi aka Ricky. At the height of their careers with the “I Love Lucy” television series, director Vincente Minnelli (Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris) directed them and let these two stars do the thing they do best–physical comedy, in this classic movie. Lucille Ball (Yours, Mine and Ours; I Love Lucy-TV) as Tacy Bolton-Collini and Desi Arnaz (Holiday in Havana, I Love Lucy-TV) as her newlywed husband Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Collini go on their honeymoon via a road trip, towing their recently bought mobile home trailer. With Lucy and Desi, one should not expect intense drama. This film was full of wonderful comedic scenes; it could easily be mistaken for a longer “I Love Lucy” episode. And frankly that was perfectly okay. Remember this film was done in the 1950’s before our lives were overtaken with electronic gadgets; where seeing the country by car was exciting and in my opinion, people were more innocent. I remember watching this fun film some years ago and I still laughed when I watched it now on DVD. Part of Lucy’s greatness was her precise comedic timing. Also, her willingness to fully throw herself into each comedic scene was nothing short of brilliant. For me, there are certain movies that remain timeless; this would be one of those films.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Three Stooges
What was it about the Three Stooges that I enjoyed as a child? Back then I laughed at the physical slapstick, the way they talked and the crazy predicaments they would always get into. As I watched this movie I had some of those old memories come back to me. Kudos to the Farrelly brothers, the directors, on capturing the look and feel of those episodes from my childhood. I was impressed with Chris Diamantopoulos (Wedding Daze, Under New Management), Sean Hayes (Will & Grace-TV, The Bucket List) and Will Sasso (Life as we Know it, Madtv-TV) as Moe, Larry and Curley. The three expertly handled the demanding physical comedy. Interestingly enough, I was a bit uncomfortable with the constant hair pulling, eye poking and other abusive acts. The scenes I preferred had more goofiness to them, such as the salmon scene or the different office door signs. Why this movie did not work well was due to having 3 different stories in it. I understood it was trying to keep the same episodic pacing as the old show, but in a movie it did not gel well. The Three Stooges trying to raise money to save their childhood orphanage was the more real story, in my opinion. Though I did laugh at some of the scenes in the Jersey Shore story line. For me, the hire for murder story did not belong in this movie. Just because this movie had nyuck, nyuck, nyuck and “why coitainly” in it, did not necessarily mean it was a great reboot of the stooges. If you see this movie, stay for the credits.
2 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: American Reunion
It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do for a tired old movie franchise. Having only seen the first 2 American Pie movies when they started back in 1999, there was not much I remembered about them. This film was better than I expected. The humor had the same flavor as the original, filled with grossness, blatantly sexual references and overall crudeness. Jason Biggs (American Pie franchise, Eight Below) as Jim Levenstein not only looked the same, but even through married with a child, he still found himself getting into embarrassing situations. And then there was the Stifler, Steven Stifler played by Sean William Scott (Role Models, American Pie franchise). Though older, he was no more the wiser as he remained the ultimate crazy, party boy. Truthfully, it did not matter that I did not remember all the different connections or should I say hookups, within the group from their younger days. The story was adept in its way of tying up present day to the past. There were really no laugh out loud moments for me, more chuckles and smiles as I took a walk down nostalgia lane with the characters. If you were not a fan of the original movies, you may not care to see this movie. However, I have to say, there was something to be said for seeing all the East Great Falls, Michigan high school gang. That connection formed during those high school years never goes away, not with distance nor time. Overall, these former high schoolers turned out better than any one of us expected.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: School for Scoundrels
I believe I had this instructor for a teacher years ago. He was not a nice man and neither was the one in this movie. The teacher was Dr. P and he was played by Billy Bob Thornton (Mr. Woodcock, The Astronaut Farmer). One could trademark Billy Bob’s sarcastic meanness; he does it very well. The only thing though, it was nothing new for me; he has done this type of character before. The other lead actor was meter reader Roger, played by Jon Heder (Blades of Glory, Napoleon Dynamite). And here again, was a role similar to others Jon has done before. It just may be that Jon has a narrow range in his acting abilities, so he can only get cast for these type of characters. In this story Roger signed up for Dr. P’s confidence building course, hoping to gain assertiveness and get the girl of his dreams. I am afraid some of the actions taken in the course were far-fetched for me. With so few fun scenes, I started to get bored as the movie progressed. There was nothing horrendous in the movie, but there was not a lot of levity either. At the end of the day, just like I did not like that mean teacher back in school, I did not like this movie.
1 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Jeff, Who LIves at Home
Some people may find signs in burnt toast or water stained walls, others acknowledge no such occurences. Was it a sign when years ago I had locked myself in an apartment basement, while a couple of bullies were pounding on the door and the skies opened up with a fierce downpour of rain? As they ran for shelter, I was able to escape and make my way home. As a kid, I took it as a huge sign. Interestingly, the character of Jeff in this movie, played by Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Muppets), spends his time trying to make sense of what he believed to be signs. His brother Pat, played by Ed Helms (The Hangover, Cedar Rapids), was the opposite. He had a plan in life or so he thought until one day he spotted his wife out with another man. Though it appeared the brothers did not get along, Jeff helped his brother with his plans, using signs to guide his actions. It was an interesting premise for a movie and it was a relief to see Jason Segel act without his comedic shtick. There were no big laughs in the movie; instead, scenes were set up to induce a chuckle or smirk from the viewer. I enjoyed the even pacing of the film and was taken by surprise, shall we say,with the twist of fate event.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Youth in Revolt
The title of this movie triggered memories of my own rebellious youth. I know in the scheme of things, my ways of asserting myself were rather tame–I would wear copper metallic pants my parents disliked and as soon as I graduated high school, I let my hair grow long, similar to Angela Davis in her heyday. Pretty much it is a given when Michael Cera (Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) is chosen as he was for the role of Nick Twisp/Francois; we can expect wry humor with spot on comedic timing. Honestly, I think he has already been typecast for these type of characters. On a getaway trip with his mother and her current boyfriend, Nick encountered beautiful Sheeni Saunders, played by Portia Doubleday (Legend of the Mummy, Almost Kings), at the trailer park where they were staying. She became the object of his desires. But how far would he go, to make her the vessel that would lift him away from his burdensome virginity? There were no surprises in this movie; the performances were good and some scenes stood out for their humor. Overall, it was an enjoyable movie, there was just nothing new added to the story. I guess depending on how rebellious you were growing up will determine how much you enjoy this movie.
2 1/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: 21 Jump Street
It is all about the timing; if I would have only been born later in life, I would have finally been part of the cool group in high school. This movie was certainly not the same as the television show and I was fine with it. Updated with a fresh coat of sarcasm and humor, I was surprised this film turned out better then I expected. Granted, when Jonah Hill (Moneyball, Superbad) is part of a movie, more than likely the humor is not going to be sophisticated, sinking instead to juvenile, potty-mouthed humor. Even though this funny film had its share of childish humor, there was an equal amount of witty, laugh out loud moments. I think a majority of viewers would be able to relate to the amusing twist given to the high school student pecking order. For me, I could identify with Jonah’s character Schmidt more easily than his partner Jenko, played by Channing Tatum (The Vow, The Eagle). After spending their high school years at opposite ends of the popularity spectrum, police officers Jenko and Schmidt further bond when they were sent undercover to bust a high school drug ring. The pacing was fast through most of the movie and I will give Jonah extra credit for his contribution to the writing of the script. I would never have thought, but I had a good time watching this movie. And I laughed at the surprise cameo appearance towards the end of this comedic action film.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Friends With Kids
Am I to assume that having children is just a different form of a prison sentence? Seeing the married couples portrayed in this movie, it certainly looked as if marital quality took a nosedive once a child was born. Let me start by saying I give props to Jennifer Westfeldt (Ira & Abby, Kissing Jessica Stein), the writer, producer, director and lead actress of this comedy. Her character Julie Keller with close friend Jason Fryman, played by Adam Scott (The Aviator, Step Brothers) decided they wanted to have a baby. However, witnessing the drama of their married friends and their children, Julie and Adam wanted to maintain their platonic friendship, avoiding the stresses of holy deadlock. The wild portrayals of their friends were crazy in this movie; with some great, funny lines of dialog. The stand outs for me were Jon Hamm (The Town, Sucker Punch) as Ben and Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids, Date Night) as Missy. I felt the premise of the movie was original, taking the “can a woman and man be best friends” question to a new level. One of the issues I had with this movie, however, was Jennifer’s acting. There was something about it that was lacking for me. This may sound odd, but her face seemed as if it had just been treated with botox; I could not get any visual cues on her emotions. By the end of the movie, I felt the story lost its edge and went the safe route. More chuckles then belly laughs; this film was a good idea that did not carry through by the end.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Project X
I cannot understand why there were parents in the audience with their 10-12 year old children. Why would they take their kids to see this movie? There was little entertainment value, zero story and nothing original. I did not find any humor in blowing smoke into a pet’s face or tying a bunch of helium filled balloons to a small dog and watch them slowly rise into the sky. Whether you call it a mock documentary or a found film shooting method, the story was about three high school friends who wanted to throw a birthday bash and document it all on video. So everything we saw was through the viewfinder of a handheld camera; I am not a fan of this technique. The reason was not as much to celebrate one of the friend’s special passages of time, but to gain a cool factor among their peers. In high school I wanted to just blend in, never dreaming that I would attain cool status; so, I totally understand the reasoning to throw the party. However, to sit in the theater and watch 128 minutes filled with drinking, drugs, nudity and stupid pranks was just a big bore for me. With his parents away for a weekend trip, birthday boy Thomas, played by Thomas Mann (It’s Kind of a Funny Story, As Cool as I Am), allowed his good friend Costa, played by Oliver Cooper (Weekend Dad, Rick White), to orchestrate a party at his house, that spiraled out of control. Every cliche you could think of was used in this ridiculous movie. My only hope was that the parents sitting in the theater were using this film as a tutorial for their children, on what not to do when they graduate to high school. If not, I should have called Child Protective Services.
1/2 star
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