Reviews

It's not often I see a movie with so much talent that has so little going for it. I can't say that I went in expecting high quality for a movie released in January, but I really didn't believe that actors like Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslett, Halle Berry, Emma Stone, et al, could all have elected to be in a film as mind-insultingly bad as this movie was. The problem wasn't that it was a sketch movie - there are sketch movies that are pretty good, see, e.g. Kentucky Fried Movie. The problem wasn't with the crudity, as there have been crude movies that aren't bad. The problem, really, is with the scale of the crassness and crudity. It's brazen, and not in a humorous way. The writing fails, the jokes fail, the acting fails (though Winslett does do well with what passes for the material she's given). The movie is rife with scatological and fellatious "humor," which leaves you wondering why, exactly, you are sitting here watching this dreck. I found myself wondering if there was any redeeming piece to this movie, and, with the exception of Kate Winslett's efforts, and Terrence Howard as a 1950's basketball coach, which is why this movie gets 2/10 from me, there is nothing in this movie that really can be argued as quasi-quality.

Avoid at all costs.

This movie is not likely to win (or be nominated for) any awards. But that does not change the fact that it was an amusing distraction for the children. It seemed to be a variation of Galaxy Quest, which was a fun movie itself. This, of course, was more kid-oriented, and my three children (ages 3, 6, and 9) all enjoyed the show - the 9 year old enjoyed it in spite of himself.

It was a cute movie with a positive message that used humor to advance the story as opposed to a movie that makes up a story to move from pratfall to pratfall. It's a rare treat in movie-making these days, and one that is worth checking out - at a matinée.

We got to see this movie for free when it first came out. We even managed free popcorn and drinks. It wasn't worth what we paid. What little bit of the movie I saw showed no range of emotion from Meg Ryan, who, try as she might, can't seem to ever get more than "perky" in any of her roles, at least, the ones I've seen. Ned Beatty, who I appreciate as an actor gave a stale performance, as did the rest of the case.

Although, I left after about 30 minutes, so take this review for what it's worth. It may have gotten much better after we left. However, it bears noting that we walked out of a movie that we got into for free and got free munchies for.