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Reviews
Bridesmaids (2011)
Good..not great
All I've heard all year is "Bridesmaids" is THE comedy to see, and it has been compared to "The Hangover" as the female companion.
This is a good comedy with some laugh out loud moments, but it's not the female version of "The Hangover". It's not even in the same arena. "Bridesmaids" is the combination of "My Best Friend's Wedding", elements of "The Hangover", some of Wiig's past skits from SNL, and Judd Apatow's(producer) willingness to bring gross out humor and insert it at the right moments.
Kristen Wiig gives an admirable performance as Annie, a down-on-her- luck friend of Lillian (Maya Rudolph) who is asked to be her maid of honor. Having very little resources and her life quite disorganized (she lives with an English brother and sister who bathe together), she is quickly upstaged by Lillian's upper-class friend Helen (Rose Byrne). Most of the early comedy lies within the battle of whom is the "true" friend to Lillian.
After eating bad food at a restaurant suggested by Annie, it is decided within the group of bridesmaids that Vegas will be the bachelorette party, which we don't get to see. I can't decide if the film avoided this because of "The Hangover", but the way this film has been discussed and promoted through several blogs you would have thought that Vegas was definitely in the screenplay for at least a couple of scenes. Anyhow, because of what happens we get to see the very best of the film's saving grace, the throw down in your face humor of Melissa McCarthy.
The film then drags unnecessarily through Annie staring at her failed business, her indecision to keep sleeping with an acquaintance and then a local police officer. This is where while trying to be sweet, the film becomes somewhat disjointed in its definition. Is this an all out laugh fest with the bridesmaids or is it the story of Annie getting her life together? I might add that we don't GET all the bridesmaids for a lot of screen time together, and I can't think of why focusing on all 6 for some sort of comedic adventure couldn't have been a funnier film.
Nevertheless, the film's heart is in the right place as Annie struggles to remain in the wedding at all (after a meltdown) and her life falls, as her mother (played by Jill Clayburgh) would say, to the absolute bottom. Again, we have a film titled "Bridesmaids" but it turns into the story of Annie. Thank goodness again for Melissa McCarthy, who offers herself as Annie's new close friend and with some coaching Annie finally gets "off the couch".
I give this movie favorable marks mainly due to McCarthy and Wiig's performances.While most audiences will enjoy the gross humor and the satisfying end, some of us are left wondering what this movie could have been. This film will stand on its own as a type of female "buddy" comedy with a wedding as a welcome distraction.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980)
The idea was there..but was it really necessary?
I didn't even know a re-cut version of Superman II existed until I was home this past Sunday afternoon and discovered it would be airing on AMC.
Even with commercial interruptions, this "imagined" re-cut has its nice share of ideas. I really appreciated the scenes with Marlon Brando and the explanation of how Superman regained his powers after sacrificing them to be with Lois. I also enjoyed the initial set-up with the ICBM from the first film bringing the destruction of the phantom zone, despite its rather average look on the screen.
The problem with the re-cut is the flow. If you've seen the original then you know that even with its one major flaw (Superman regaining his powers with NO explanation whatsoever) the scenes were seamless and the dialog didn't come across rehearsed. The scenes involving Lois and Clark at the honeymoon resort, while well intended were CLEARLY rehearsal pieces as indicated but come on, putting them in a film and trying to pass it off as a scene that's worthy? I also disliked several sequences: 1) The Washington monument being toppled over mixed with the dialog from the first film when Mt. Rushmore was defaced 2) The extra dialog between Otis and Lex at prison, not needed IMO 3) Miss Tessmaker's obsession with and finding the toilet in Superman's home 4) Superman stating at the Daily Planet upon arriving to fight Zod "haven't you heard of freedom of the press" as opposed to "do you care to step outside?".
These are just a few select examples of the splicing and re-editing I didn't care for. I understand that there was some call for this vision (after reading wikipedia) and I really do appreciate Donner's original idea. I'm just not sure that was was presented is sufficient enough to qualify as movie-ready material.
I'll always prefer the first version due to its continuity but I'll always be on the fence regarding the re-cut.
Idiocracy (2006)
Mike Judge does it again
I never laughed so hard in my life! Mike Judge hilariously shows us where we are and where we are headed. The satire is spot-on, and even the toilet humor, because of its placement, works on every level.
This film just might go down as the first overlooked film of the 21st century, the first cult classic, etc. I prefer to think of this film as a HUGE mistake on FOX's part to make any sort of profit. How the execs in the board room passed on this comedic gem is such a mystery.
Snappy writing, adequate acting, and comedic delivery/timing make "Idiocarcy" the one film you should have in your household when you need a great laugh.
This comment was brought to you buy Carl's Jr.!
The Break-Up (2006)
Annoying, sour, and obnoxious film
I have had break ups. We all have. What is depicted here is an attempt to somehow glorify what for most can be a trying time in their lives, with a comedic twist.
This movie fails on so many levels because the two characters meet, at all places, a Cubs game for starters. We see no apparent reason for the failure of their relationship other than he is an obnoxious, overbearing, lazy, self-absorbed and self-described "Prima Donna" who thinks he is entitled to everyone's full attention because he runs a successful tour guide business. She, on the other hand, puts up with his garbage long enough that after they buy an expensive, hip condo, she then decides she wants out.
The films then tries, miserably, to put a comedic twist on a relationship that had no merit and had no business lasting as long as it did. They are both too weak emotionally yet the film tries to present them to the viewer as regular, stable people. It's true that many regular people have had break-ups that may slightly resemble this one, but does the film have to be so insulting as to suggest that breaking up with someone you're supposed to love be so degrading? I hated this film, yet I give it 3 stars because it was filmed in my hometown, I liked some of the scarce humor, and Jennifer Aniston's posterior.