Filed under: Films, In Theaters, Trailers | Tags: comedy, Film Review, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, movie trailer, Nicholas Stoller, Paul Rudd, Russell Brand
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, language, and some graphic nudity
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Release Date: April 18, 2008 (wide)
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd
Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Judd Apatow does it again. He produces another comedy that shocks you into laughter with uncomfortable moments. I wasn’t as fond of this one as I was of Knocked Up and Superbad, but in my opinion, it was leaps and bounds better than The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
This story follows musician Peter Bretter as he tries to get over being dumped by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall. His attempt to get away from it all leads him to a resort in Hawaii, where he tragically runs into Sarah and her new British rock star boyfriend, Aldous. He is eventually coaxed out of his misery with the help of some of the resort employees, led by Mila Kunis’ Rachel, whose carefree approach to life he finds refreshing.
Jason Segel is not only the leading man, but he wrote the hilarious script. As Peter Bretter, Segel is endearingly awkward. His exaggerated portrayal of heartbroken misery at once captures the essence of heartache and the ridiculousness of self pity. The reason Peter is still likable and Segel’s performance is funny is because underneath all the site gags and funny one-liners the filmmakers keep that little kernel of truth that reminds all of us of how we felt the last time our heart was broken.
That being said up front, let’s move on to these site gags and how they can kind of get out of control when filmmakers are distracted by trying to irritate the MPAA. That was the feeling I was getting when they repeatedly cut to one particular site gag not once or twice, but several times. By the end of that scene, all I could think about was the filmmakers repeatedly submitting their cuts to the MPAA until the right number of seconds and the right number of occurrences was met to squeak by with the R rating. Funny as it was, in my opinion, it was a little overdone.
I now have to mention that Mila Kunis is pretty. We all know this without being barraged with close-ups of her flashing her perfect white teeth while her eyelight twinkles and the breeze moves through her dark wavy hair. While this is nice for awhile, please give her more to do.
Overall, it was incredibly entertaining to watch. The laughs kept coming throughout and Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill have terrific supporting parts.
Rating: 8/10 – an entertaining laugh fest with only a few distracting elements
Filed under: Films, In Theaters, Trailers | Tags: comedy, Film Review, George Clooney, John Krasinski, Leatherheads, movie trailer, Renee Zellweger, romantic comedy, screwball comedy, sports comedy
Genre: Romantic Comedy & Sports Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language
Running Time: 1 hr. 54 min.
Release Date: April 4th, 2008 (wide)
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski
Directed by: George Clooney
I’ll admit that I am a sucker for a good romantic comedy, so I approached this film with great anticipation. It also helped that the dashing George Clooney and the stunning Renee Zellweger were there in the theater to introduce the film. But once the lights went down and the film began with the old, grainy Universal logo, I became prepared for the classic screwball comedy that was to come.
Set in 1925, Clooney plays Dodge Connolly, an aging professional football player, during a time when professional football was in its infancy. After several teams including his own Duluth Bulldogs fold because of lack of funding, Dodge comes up with a brilliant plan to bring more attention and money to professional football. Enter John Krasinski as Carter Rutherford, handsome young Princeton football star and war hero to boot. It seems that his remarkable ability to single-handedly coerce several German soldiers to surrender during World War I has made him a national hero and earned him legions of fans on the football field as well. Dodge manages to convince Carter to go pro and join his revived team. Joining Carter in this new adventure is Renee Zellweger’s Lexie Littleton. A smart and sassy reporter in a age before women’s liberation, she is sent to find out the real deal on Carter’s war record.
The homage to old Hollywood screwball comedies is most evident in the dynamic between Dodge and Lexie, think Hepburn and Grant in Bringing Up Baby. Their first meeting is the typical “meet cute” and they appear almost hostile to each other in the beginning. The banter between them is quick, but not so quick that it seems strange and out of place in today’s world, but the scenes between the two of them do not match the way the dialogue is delived in the rest of the film. There is also the “secret” that must not get out that is typical of this genre. It is definitely an entertaining film with actors that are fun to watch, but in my opinion the plot needed to be streamlined just a bit. It seemed unfocused at times with too many subplots going on at the same time for a simple comedy.
Rating: 7/10 – great funny moments between Zellweger and Clooney, but an unfocused plot and inconsistent dialogue gets in the way of making it a great screwball comedy
