Tag: Comedy

The Rewrite: Not a Film for the Current Decade

The review:

Marc Lawrence’s The Rewrite is a movie that seems to have time traveled from the 90s, landing squarely in 2014 and carrying on as if nothing has changed. Hugh Grant is a screenwriter who has slid so far in Hollywood he takes a job teaching screenwriting at a college in upstate New York* where he chooses his students by checking online to see what they look like** and then tries his best to avoid teaching them anything.*** Allison Janney is a frigid Jane Austin scholar who thwarts him at every turn**** until he has a realization and everything comes up roses for him.*****

The verdict: Skip

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home, (and I now pledge to look up some reviews before putting a five-year-old movie I’ve never heard of into my DVD player)

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*It happens to be the same college one of my former roommates attended.
**He ends up with eight very attractive young women and two very nerdy guys. Marisa Tomei argues her way into class, and I found myself wishing we could shuffle Hugh Grant off camera and just have a movie about her character.
***Except for one person. And, to no one’s surprise, that person is not one of the nine attractive women. Grant decides that one of the nerdy guys has a brilliant script and mentors him into a movie deal. Those ladies, though, they are still window dressing. No reason to see if they can write. No reason to mentor them.
****Strangely, we are supposed to see her as the villain here, rather than as a person making some good points.
*****At that point I was hoping for more of a Leaving Las Vegas-style ending.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Portions of the film were shot in and around Binghamton, NY and the nearby Binghamton University. This is because director Marc Lawrence is a graduate of the university, and has expressed a great love for the school and his experience there.

The Last Summer is a breezy viewing experience

The review:

William Bindley captures the Last Summer (the one after high school and before college) in this pleasant ensemble movie that is as breezy as the wind off Lake Michigan.* Maia Mitchell and K.J. Apa** are the main twosome, playing an aspiring filmmaker and musician, but there’s also Sosie Bacon*** as a girl hoping to get into her fourth-choice college, and Halston Sage**** who has a meet-cute with a baseball player during a Cubs game.***** It’s not an earth shattering movie, but that summer after high school is, in some ways, the last gasp before real life starts and I appreciate having a 2019-era chronicle of it.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I’ve not actually been to Chicago and so I have no idea if there is wind off of Lake Michigan in the summer, but that sentence needed an ending, so there it is.
**His face is so symmetrical that I have trouble looking away from it.
***I also enjoy Sosie Bacon. I think it has to do partially with her genetic material (mother is Kyra Sedgwick who imprinted on me in Singles, father is Kevin Bacon, of well, every movie, to at least the sixth degree) and partially because she’s got a laid-back frowny vibe which I enjoy.
****So very good in Before I Fall and Paper Towns
*****There are a few other plots involving boys—most memorably two nerdy guys who accidentally pass themselves off as stock traders so they can drink in a bar—but I only have three sentences and we’re already at fifth-level asterisks.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Both K.J. Apa and Maia Mitchell are not orginally from the United States. Apa is from New Zealand and Mitchell from Australia.

Kim’s Convenience provides a variety of comedy

The review:

If you are looking for a gentle ensemble comedy with a lot of laughs, look no further than Kim’s Convenience.* The convenience store owned by the Kim Family (parents Appa & Umma,** with their grown children Jung and Janet***) provides a steady series of memorable situations and characters. The Kim family is partially estranged—father and son haven’t talked in years due to Jung’s delinquent adolescent choices—but there are still a lot of laughs to be had as the Kim family goes through life’s ordinary trials.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly charge ($8.99)
Where watched: at home with Matt, who heard about it on Feminist Frequency

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It also has the charm of being set in Toronto, which means when characters are issuing apoligies, you get to hear that charming Canadian closed-mouth prounciation: “soory”.
**I know this is Korean for father and mother, but IMDB doesn’t list the parents’ names.
***There’s a great supporting cast too: Jung’s friend Kimchee; Jung’s boss Shannon, who is delightfully awkward in her trying to project that she’s hard-working, while barely hiding her crush on Jung; Janet’s friend Gerald, who is a pushover; the too-familar Mr. Mehta; and the ever suffering Pastor Nina.
****Most of the humor comes from normal situations such as trying to prove who is the better photographer, and a goodly number of complexities arising from situations at church.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The interior set of the titular location is an exact replica of a real downtown Toronto corner store, Mimi Variety.

Always be my Maybe: A Sneaky Charmer

The review:

Nahnatchka Kahn’s Always Be My Maybe did not charm me from the beginning, but it slowly ramped up, and by the end I found myself satisfied with a very funny, and surprisingly moving, film. While neither Ali Wong nor Randall Park were familiar to me, their awkward chemistry and their characters’ long history provided a couple I could root for.* Add in a series of scenes featuring a major star who chews scenery while playing himself, plus some crackling dialog and a bevy of one-liners and you’ve got a solid rom-com.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching a bevy of Netflix Rom-Coms:

Further sentences:

*Though I’m not at all convinced of their long-term prospects.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Ali Wong began performing while at UCLA as a member of the university’s LCC Theatre Company, the largest and longest-running University Asian American theater company, of which Randall Park was a co-founding member during his time at UCLA.

Booksmart: A High School Film, but Different

3SMReviews: Booksmart

The review:

Olivia Wilde’s movie Booksmart isn’t just about two studious high school students who go to a party; the reason they attend the party is the crux of the film. There are hijinks along the way, and standard movie stuff happens* but the realization that drives the need to attend a party is what sold this movie for me. There were a couple of scenes I adored and the movie is also populated with a variety of interesting types** and some excellent markers of how high school looks different from my own experience.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater with Matt, who also liked it.

Consider also watching:

*It’s the same list I had for Wine Country (hijinks, things not going according to plan, fights, personal realizations, a happy ending) and because it’s a raunchy comedy you can add vomiting.
**Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are great as I knew they would be, but I also loved Skyler Gisondo as the kid trying to buy his way into everyone’s heart, Molly Gordon as the girl known by an unfortunate nickname, Bille Lourd as the weird girl who is everywhere, and Michael Patrick O’Brien’s short turn as Pat the Pizza Guy.

3SMReviews: Booksmart

Favorite IMDB triva item:

In a May 24, 2019, interview on National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered,” director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” as it is used by the two best friends Amy and Molly as an inside reference between them: “‘Malala’ is their code word for unconditional support. So what ‘malala’ means is that what I’m asking you to do now with me you must do….Malala [Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest-ever Nobel laureate] is one of their great role models. And I think that’s why she holds the most significant place in their friendship, the idea that if you call ‘Malala,’ you must really mean it.”

Juliet, Naked: Still a Delight on Second Viewing

3SMReviews: Juliet, Naked

The review:

This was a re-watch to catch the boyfriend up. He liked it. Original review here.

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home with the aforementioned boyfriend.

3SMReviews: Juliet, Naked

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

To create the “classic” album that the character Tucker is best known for, director Jesse Peretz turned to previous collaborator Nathan Larson who worked with him on Our Idiot Brother (2011). Over the course of three years, they wrote songs and requested demos from about 35 artists such as Conor Oberst, Robyn Hitchcock and Ryan Adams. Nathan Larson’s inspiration for the music was Big Star’s “Third/Sister Lovers” album as well as friend Jeff Buckley.

Two for the Road: Really Loud, Not Much to Root For

3SMReviews: Two for the Road

The review:

The reason to watch Stanley Donen’s Two for the Road is to see the interesting cuts between scenes that show us different periods of a couple’s ten-year marriage. However, there are many more reasons not to watch the film, namely, it’s hard to root for a couple who isn’t happy* and whose relationship was on shaky ground from the get-go.** On the other hand, there’s nice scenery, really amazing clothing*** and a series of scenes with Mr., Mrs., and Miss Manchester, the trio you don’t know how thankful you are that you’ve never vacationed with.

The verdict: skip

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home as part of Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen Marathon.****

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*I suspect we’ve got some generational differences here, but Albert Finny’s character is a big jerk who also is very loud. What in the world does Audrey Hepburn see in him? Why is she falling in love with him when he has done nothing to demonstrate he’s a good person? And also! If when you get married you agree not to have any children, then you have agreed not to have children. Don’t get all mad, Audrey Hepburn’s character, because now you want children and he’s pointing out the agreement you’ve already made.
**Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy comes to mind (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight) but the difference is that both of those characters are charming, and the series unfolds so that you can do nothing but root for them.
***Including some very impractical things. I can’t imagine that vinyl pants/jacket combo was anything but a sweaty mess when worn while riding in a car, or on any sunny day.
****I’ve just looked over Stanley Donen’s list to see if there is anything of his I like and, while I still haven’t seen many of his films, he did direct Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, (so many not okay things about the story, and yet, so delightful) and he co-directed the movie that is tied for first as my favorite film of all time: Singing in the Rain. So he’s okay, I guess. Also, strangely, he directed Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Ceiling” video, a milestone video of my elementary school years.

3SMReviews: Two for the Road

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The passport shown on screen lists Hepburn’s birthday as 11 July 1936 and Finney’s as 22 August 1933, making her appear 7 years younger, and him 3 years older than their actual ages.

Also, the couple shared a passport in this film! It had both their pictures in it. Good lord, was this a thing? Apparently it was.

Toy Story 2 Is Okay

(Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. It was years between me finding the “Toy Story 2 was okay” graffiti and me finding that it was a thing. I actually think this movie is quite good.)

3SMReviews: Toy Story 2

The review:

John Lasseter and Ash Brannon’s Toy Story 2 continues the Toy Story story, mostly for better.* There are callbacks to the first movie** and many other movies (especially Star Wars movies) are quoted. There are plenty of laughs and the quality storytelling that Pixar is known for.

Verdict: Good

Cost: free from Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home with the boyfriend in preparation for another installment of Filmspotting’s 9 from ’99.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*My first twinge of annoyance was when all the guys went on a mission (the main plot of the film), with the lady toys seeing them off. What year is this? 1861? Maybe throw in some gender equity, you know because this was made right before the 21st century. My second twinge of annoyance was that an obese, hairy man (the only large person in the movie) was a bad guy. Fat and hairy doesn’t equal bad. Be a little inventive, Toy Story people.
**There’s a great Buzz Lightyear sequence in a toy store.

3SMReviews: Toy Story 2

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

John Ratzenberger, who does the voice of Hamm, has voiced a character in every film made by Pixar.

Instant Family: Byrne and Wahlberg Lead a Great Ensemble

3SMReviews: Instant Family movie review

The review:

Sean Anders’ Instant Family is a very good Sunday Afternoon Movie* and also manages to feature a lot of kids with problems without falling into the obnoxious child trope.** Movies about kids in foster care are few and far between*** and it was nice to see this human-scale comedy created by someone who has experience with the foster care system.**** Overall, this was a funny, breezy film with excellent performances by all***** and for people who have children, it’s probably that much funnier.

The verdict:

Recommended (although see all those notes below)

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: At home with Matt, who also enjoyed it

Consider also watching:

  • White Oleander
  • The Blind Side (which is amusingly referenced repeatedly in this movie. I have a lot of problems with the white savior aspect, but there are things to like)
  • Annie (I can only vouch for the 1982 edition)
  • Shazam!
  • Oh! Channing Tatum plays a foster kid in Step Up! How could I have forgotten?

Further sentences:

*Sunday Afternoon Movie: A pleasant movie where things are fine by the end, which is best watched before transitioning into the preparation for the workweek ahead.
**Bratty kids=movie killer for me. They aren’t funny, they are spoiled and annoying.
***I found this list called Foster Focus’ Top Twenty-Five Foster Care Movies and the definition of “foster care” seems to include orphanages, which is not what I’m talking about.
****Director Sean Anders has adopted three children from the foster care system. That said, I am a white female who has no experience with the foster care system and I can’t speak to how “true” this tale will feel to people who have had experience. The movie also includes discussions of race and white saviorism, albeit briefly and I’m not sure how those aspects of the movie would be experienced by other people.
*****I started listing the actors who really stood out and realized I was making a list of everyone in the movie.

3SMReviews: Instant Family movie review

Charade is Fun to Look at

3SMReviews: Charade

The review:

I’ve seen bits of Stanley Donen’s Charade here and there,* but hadn’t watched the entire movie until now. What I found was the usual falling-in-love-for-no-reason** and a very low-key thriller.*** I find the doe-eyed enthusiasm of Hepburn trying at times (and especially in this film) but when I ignored the romance aspect, it was fun to try and figure out what was going on, plus there’s a great wardrobe to look at.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home to catch up with Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen marathon.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I suspect that the bits I remember were part of commercials advertising this movie’s run on television in the 80s. I know I watched the first few minutes when I was 12 or so, but found the pacing not great, plus the commercials had told me there were some disturbing parts that my younger self wasn’t quite ready for.
**I mean seriously, I have no idea what caused Hepburn to go gaga over Grant and get all kissy with him. He was super sketchy to me. I suspect this can be blamed on male writers and directors. (“Oh those ladies will fall for any good looking man, no matter how much older or how much his story changes.)
***The things that scared me as a pre-teen barely raised my 40+-year-old heartbeat.

3SMReviews: Charade

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

Seven studios rejected the original screenplay. Screenwriter Peter Stone turned it into a novel which was serialized in Redbook, which in turn sparked interest from all seven studios.