The Campaign

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Democratic Congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) of North Carolina’s 14th District is running for his fifth term unopposed. However his campaign is damaged by the revelation of his affair with one of his supporters, when Cam accidentally leaves a sexually explicit voice message on a local family’s phone.

Corrupt businessmen, brothers Glen (John Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Dan Aykroyd), use this opportunity to convince Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), tourism director for the town of Hammond and son of one of their associates, Raymond Huggins (Brian Cox), to run against Cam on the Republican ticket, as part of a plan to profit from illegal dealings with Chinese companies. Cam at first underestimates Marty and humiliates him by playing a video biography highlighting Marty’s dim-witted nature. The Motch brothers then hire Tim Wattley (Dylan McDermott) to be Marty’s campaign manager. Tim reinvents Marty as a successful entrepreneur and family man. Marty’s popularity rises due to his effective campaign while Cam’s is further damaged when he accidentally punches a baby when intending to hit Marty. Cam later runs a campaign portraying Marty as an Al Qaeda terrorist, and Marty exposes Cam as a fake Christian by asking him to recite the Lord’s Prayer, which he fails to do. Cam attempts to restore his religious image by visiting a church of snake handlers, but he gets bitten by a snake. A video of the bite is leaked into the Internet and goes viral, increasing Cam’s popularity.

When Cam’s son plans to slander his competition for class president, Cam realizes he has set a bad example and visits Marty to make peace. A drunken Cam tells Marty that he originally became a politician to help people, citing that as class president he had a dangerous, rusty slide removed from the playground. After Cam leaves, Wattley convinces Marty to call the police and report Cam for driving while drunk. Cam is arrested and his campaign is again damaged. Marty later airs a TV ad of Cam’s son addressing Marty as “dad”. Cam gets revenge on Marty by seducing his neglected wife Mitzy (Sarah Baker) and recording the act. The released sex tape humiliates the Huggins family and causes Cam’s campaign manager, Mitch (Jason Sudeikis), to abandon him. Marty retaliates by shooting Cam in the leg on a hunting trip, increasing his own popularity.

As the election nears, Marty meets with the Motch brothers and learns of their plans to sell Hammond to their Chinese business partner and turn the town into a large series of factories. Marty realizes he has been used and rejects the Motch brothers’ support. The Motch brothers offer Cam their support instead to preserve their plans. Marty meanwhile reconciles with his family.

On election day, Cam’s victory appears to be certain until Marty comes forward and exposes the Motch brothers’ intent and promises to preserve Hammond if elected. Cam still wins and remains congressman due to rigged voting machines owned by the Motch brothers. While Cam gloats, Marty shows his large scars to Cam and reveals that he looked up to Cam in school for getting rid of the dangerous slide. Realizing he has swayed from his true objectives as a politician, Cam withdraws from the election and Marty wins by default. Cam earns back Mitch’s respect, and Marty later appoints him his chief of staff.

Six months later, Marty and Cam expose the Motch brothers’ scandals and the brothers are called to appear before Congress. The Motch brothers point out that everything they did is legal under Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, but they are arrested for their association with Wattley, who is actually an international fugitive.

REVIEW:

So, isn’t it about time we had a Will Ferrell flick (in English)? Well, we got it with The Campaign. Some people may avoid this flick because of its two leads, Ferrell and Zach Galiafianakis tend to rub them the wrong way, but together they make magic!

What is this about?

Plenty of mud gets slung when an inexperienced contender backed by two plotting benefactors goes up against a longtime North Carolina congressman in a ruthless battle to win a House of Representatives seat.

What did I like?

Chemistry. Ferrell and Galifiankis seem to really gel together as political rivals. Their distinctive brands of comedy really played well in contrast to each other, as did their portrayal of these characters.

Satire. You can say I’m a conspiracy theorist for this, but I don’t care. It is hard to not believe there are certain powers behind the scenes pulling the strings with nearly every politician from the local school board member all the way up to the President himself (as soon as I post this, I’m sure the Secret Service will be at my door). That being said, it is good to see a film take the ludicrosity of the enormous powers these people, I use that term loosely, have and skewer it. No person, or group of person should be allowed to wield such power!

Help. For all the talk of the guys running for office, we can’t ignore their assistants, played by Jason Sudeikis and Dylan McDermott, respectively. It is their job to be the proverbial straight men and keep things running smoothly. Oh, and hey also have to see to their guy getting elected.

What didn’t I like?

Release. I really question the timing of the release of this film. Seems as if it could have really capitalized on the election hoopla, rather than the late summer scraps. I can just see how this would have been a nice break from all the dark, evil feelings that came about during the election last month.

Is he or isn’t he. The way Zach Galifiankis’ character had a very effeminate way about him didn’t really sit right with me, especially since it turns out he is a Republican, a party not known for welcoming those who act “differently”. In a way it is kinda funny, but at the same time, not so much. It is just one of those things that works for a little while, and then you either begin to ignore it or grow weary of it.

Wives club. The wives seem to be forgotten. Ferrell’s wife has a bit more development, though she does run off with the children, but given his sexual indiscretions, that’s alright. Galifiankis’ wife, though, is as sweet as can be, but she is lost in the shuffle, save for a couple of scenes where she laments about how the election is changing and taking her husband away from her.

The Campaign is a nice little flick that is sure to bring a smile to those who watch it. As it is a satirical film, though, there are sure to be those that are offended by its view of politics. Rest assured, though, I don’t believe it veers to the left or right with its topics. I recommend this, especially around election time. It is the perfect flick to lighten things up.

3 out of 5 stars

Casa de Mi Padre

PLOT:

Armando Álvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando’s younger brother Raúl (Diego Luna), shows up with his new fiancée, Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez). It seems that Raúl’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raúl’s business dealings turn out to be less than legitimate, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael García Bernal).

REVIEW:

So, Will Ferrell apparently had the brilliant idea to make a film about a Mexican drug lord and a ranch. The problem with that is Casa de Mi Padre is entirely in Spanish!

What did I like?

A for effort. I give all the props in the world to Ferrell for learning this complex dialogue in Spanish and holding his own with actual Mexican (or Hispanic) actors.

Genesis. There is a gorgeous young actress named Genesis Rodriguez that you should keep your eye on. She is a breathtaking beauty and hopefully we’ll see bigger and better things from her.

What didn’t I like?

Language. I honestly don’t see why this had to be filmed entirely in Spanish. There was a point where I thought it was just going to turn out to be a big joke, but that didn’t happen. I just couldn’t get past the language barrier and it really affected my ultimate opinion of this flick.

Where was the funny? Maybe something got lost in translation, but I just didn’t see anything that was funny. For a comedy, this just won’t do!

White tiger. There is some weird plot device using a talking white tiger. I’m not really sure what that was about. Again, the language thing probably hampered that, as it could possibly have been something hilarious.

When the smoke clears, one thing is clear. Casa de Mi Padre is a flick that probably would have been much better had they actually released it in English or made some kind if language joke at some point. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this to anyone, unless you like reading subtitles. Even then, I’m not sure you’ll understand this picture. The mystery about whether this film is good or bad confounds me, but I’ll use my better judgement and say that is below average.

2 out of 5 stars

Megamind

PLOT (spoiler alert):

Megamind (Will Ferrell) is a super-intelligent alien, and a incredibly handsome genius and master of all villainy, and self-proclaimed villain of the fictional Metro City. Megamind has constantly battled and lost to his nemesis Metro Man (Brad Pitt) since they both arrived on Earth as infants. On the day that Metro City dedicates a museum to their protector, Megamind and his sidekick Minion (David Cross) kidnap reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) and lure Metro Man into a copper-lined room. To everyone’s surprise, Metro Man is unable to escape and appears to be killed when Megamind’s death ray strikes him. Megamind revels in his victory against Metro Man, but shortly after becomes depressed, his villainy having no meaning without anyone to stop him.

While attempting to destroy the museum, he disguises himself as its curator Bernard (Ben Stiller) to talk to Roxanne. Megamind is inspired by a comment from Roxanne to create a superhero by injecting a worthy target with a serum fashioned from Metro Man’s DNA, granting them Metro Man’s super-abilities. As Megamind is selecting his target, Roxanne sneaks into Megamind’s lair; in the resulting chaos, Megamind accidentally fires the serum into Hal, Roxanne’s cameraman (Jonah Hill). Taking advantage of the gullible Hal, Megamind appears to the transformed human as his “space dad”, grooming Hal into the superhero Titan (which Hal mispronounces as “Tighten”) and preparing him to fight Megamind in the coming days. Meanwhile, Megamind has become attracted to Roxanne, and continues to date her using his Bernard disguise. Titan, also infatuated with Roxanne, becomes jealous of Bernard, while Minion, seeing Megamind losing interest in villainy, angrily leaves him. On a dinner date, Megamind’s disguise falters, leading Roxanne to dump him. Megamind, heartbroken, returns to his lair and vows to fight Titan the next day as planned.

Megamind becomes impatient waiting for Titan and seeks him out, finding that Titan is intending to use his powers for nefarious purposes. Outraged, Megamind taunts Titan into fighting him by revealing his space dad and Bernard disguises. In the midst of the fight, Megamind realizes that Titan will not be satisfied with simply imprisoning Megamind after his loss, but intends to kill him. Megamind then tries to activate his safeguard scheme by capturing Titan in a copper-lined trap and is shocked to find it fails to work. Megamind flees, leaving the city to celebrate Titan’s victory, until Titan reveals that he is taking over the city and goes on a destructive rampage as the new villain, much to everyone’s shock. Megamind returns to Roxanne, apologizing and convincing her to lead him to Metro Man’s secret headquarters where they might find another way to stop Titan. They are surprised to find Metro Man alive, secluded in his headquarters. Metro Man reveals he had become tired of fighting Megamind and had an epiphany; faking his own death to pursue his career as a musician. Without any new leads, Roxanne tries to convince Megamind to fight Titan as the city’s hero, but Megamind feels he is destined to always be the failing villain, and turns himself back into prison.

Later, Titan captures Roxanne and secures her to the top of Metro Tower, threatening to kill her if Megamind does not fight him. Seeing Roxanne in danger, Megamind pleads to the Warden for his release, apologizing for all the wrongs he committed before. To the former villain’s surprise, Minion has disguised himself as the Warden, accepts Megamind’s apology, and the two take off to save the city. They use an elaborate ruse, Minion disguising himself as Megamind to lure Titan from the tower and save Roxanne, while Megamind disguises himself as Metro Man to verbally berate Titan for his actions. Titan is temporarily bested, and told by “Metro Man” to leave “Metrocity” (Megamind’s distinctive mispronunciation of “Metro City”), but the deranged villain soon returns, seeing through Megamind’s disguise. Megamind is forced to run from Titan’s wrath, until Roxanne discovers where Megamind left his invisible car and the tool to extract the superhero serum from Titan. Megamind successfully retrieves the device and uses it on Titan, reverting him back to Hal. As Hal is now taken away to jail, the city cheers for its new hero, a role that Megamind realizes he is capable of choosing himself.

In the aftermath, the former Metro Man museum is rededicated to Megamind, who is slowly coming around to being the hero. He and Roxanne have developed a relationship, and hidden in the crowds, a disguised Metro Man gives Megamind his congratulations.

REVIEW:

I would classify this as a superhero film, but seeing as how the main character is a supervillain, it is kind of hard to do so. Megamind is Dreamworks’ entry into the realm of superheroes. They just chose to do it with a supervillain, which is something different…or at least it would have been, if we hadn’t just seen them make the villain the focal point in Despicable Me.

The  story here is a bit like what you get from Superman. Alien is sent to Earth to be saved from destruction, only on his way there, he is knocked off course by another kid on his way to Earth, who turns out to go on and become the city’s hero, Metro Man (a parody of Superman).

After a bit of history about how he became a villain, we are introduced to present day where the two are in an epic struggle for something, and we meet the token vixen/damsel in distress. This battle leads to the apparent death of Metro Man and the descent of Megamind into obscurity, until he figures out a way to create a new arch-enemy using a superhero serum derived from Metro Man’s DNA (found on his cape).

The patsy for this experiment is Roxanne’s cameraman, Hal, a total loser in every sense of the word. After a little while of being a hero, he gets corrupted by the power and turns to crime, and realizes that Megamind is after “his girl” he tries to kill Megamind. After Megamind’s initial defeat and some odd plot twist, we reach the film’s climactic battle and end sequence.

Storywise, this isn’t that bad, but it seemed to be a bit o recycled material, if you ask me. I get the feeling this was supposed to be Dreamworks’ The Incredibles, of sorts. Problem with that is that The Incredibles was original when it was released. This is nothing more than a series of parodies, done decently mind you, but still parodies. This really hurts this film, as it has such potential, it just needed a better story.

I guess How to Train Your Dragon spoiled me in terms of what Dreamworks can do since it was done so well. Not only was it a superior story to this, the animation was on a different level. Having said that, don’t get the idea that this animation isn’t top-notch, it just isn’t as good. I suppose you can say it looks a bit like it was done on older computers or something.

I am grateful that they didn’t try to stick a whole slew of pop culture references in here like this company is known to do, however, one or two wouldn’t have hurt. It very well might have made the film funnier, because other than Will Ferrell’s lines, I wasn’t really laughing.

Speaking of Ferrell, his mannerisms and characterization are a bit toned down (if you can believe that) as Megamind, but he was a great  choice to voice him.

Tina Fey as Roxanne wasn’t my cup of tea. I don’t know, for me it just seemed as if she should have been the typical helpless damsel in distress and not the type of genius that would warrant Tina Fey voicing her. Still, she didn’t do a bad job.

Brad Pitt as Metro Man is something quite interesting. I’m sure more than a few women would love for him to don some sort of superhero costume. He has a very limited role, but he does it in typical professional Pitt-style. Not shabby.

Jonah Hill was perfectly cast as the bumbling Hal, but his voice didn’t work as Titan. They should’ve done something to alter it a bit, at least in my opinion.

I went into this film, Megamind, expecting to either be blown away by something to rival Pixar in terms of story and animation, and yet I came away with nothing more than an attempt to turn a parody into an original story. While it works, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m sure there is an audience for this. As for me, I was entertained, just not blown away. This film is hurt by the legacy left by its Dreamworks predecessors, which really is a shame. I highly recommend this, especially if you’re looking for a good flick to watch with your kids or just need an escape from all these dark, bloody films out there today.

4 out of 5 stars

The Other Guys

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Nerdy detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is a forensic accountant who is more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets. Tough, but dim-witted Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since he shot Derek Jeter during the World Series. Allen and Hoitz receive no respect from the other officers, namely detectives Martin (Rob Riggle) and Fosse (Damon Wayans, Jr.), who trick Allen into firing his gun in the office (a “desk pop”), and Captain Gene Mauch (Michael Keaton) leaves him with a wooden practice gun as punishment. Terry detests Allen’s extreme cautiousness, choice of music, and is baffled by and infatuated with his beautiful wife Sheila (Eva Mendes). They both idolize cocksure detectives Chris Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson), who are considered the city’s best policemen even though they frequently cause millions of dollars in property damage catching criminals. During a pursuit of a group of jewelry robbers, Danson and Highsmith die when they jump off a 20-story building to continue pursuit, after agreeing to “aim for the bushes”. The two were mourned by the police force as heroes despite their odd deaths, and Martin and Fosse are in line to fill their shoes.

Allen and Terry begin to investigate a scaffolding permit violation by multi-billionaire David Ershon (Steve Coogan), but wind up uncovering a much bigger plot by Ershon to cover his losses to his client Lendl Global, and Allen and Terry agree to put aside their differences to solve the case. Lendl CEO Pamela Boardman (Anne Heche) hires a team of mercenaries led by Roger Wesley (Ray Stevenson) to make sure Ershon pays her back, and to make sure no one stops him from doing so, creating a roadblock for Allen and Terry.

During their investigation, Allen confides in Terry about his college life running a dating service, though refusing to admit that he was a pimp as Terry correctly points out. When his life spiraled out of control, he was sent to the hospital where he met Sheila, and he promised himself and Sheila that he would never get out of control again. However, when having dinner one night with Sheila, she tells Allen that she’s pregnant, causing Allen’s old dark personality to re-emerge, and she kicks him out of the house. Meanwhile, Terry tries and fails to reconnect with his ex-fiance Francine (Lindsay Sloane), who walked out on him due to his reckless behavior.

Their investigation comes to a halt when Ershon’s attorney learns of his plan to cover his losses, leading Wesley to kill him and make it look like a suicide. Mauch splits up Allen and Terry, sending Terry to traffic and Allen to patrol. Allen still tries to solve the crime on his own, even though Terry thinks it is a dead end, having settled into traffic. After learning that the jewelry robbery that Danson and Highsmith died over was staged so that Wesley and his team could break into Lendl’s accounting firm next door to alter their records, he finally gets credible evidence and earns his gun back. Allen then convinces Terry to rejoin him.

They go to Mauch, who admits he’s been holding off on the case because Ershon has high-profile connections that could ruin Mauch, and he allows them to finish the case off-the-books. They go to an investment meeting Ershon is having and realize that the $32 billion Ershon seeks, initially believed to be coming from the New York Lottery Office, is really coming from the New York Police retirement fund. They escape with Ershon to his private apartment, and Ershon tells them that the money for the pension fund is already in his account, ready to be transferred to Lendl’s account. Allen and Terry make amends with their respective significant others the night before.

In the morning, they drive to the bank to stop the transfer, evading Wesley’s team, groups of Chechen and Nigerian investors Ershon owes money to, and police officers who are told Allen and Terry have gone rogue. They reach the bank and halt the transfer, but Wesley arrives and shoots both officers. Mauch finally arrives with police backup, rescuing the two and arresting Ershon and Wesley. Ershon’s arrest leads to a stock market crash and the subsequent federal bailout of Lendl. Wesley is charged with the murder of Ershon’s attorney. Terry gets married to Francine, although he is still infatuated with Sheila. Allen and Terry believe that the true heroes are the ones who make the world a better place, not the ones who appear in the newspaper or on TV. The film ends with a peacock flying by the screen in reference to Terry’s remark, “I’m a peacock, you gotta let me fly,” as Terry and Allen drive off.

Figures and statistics relating to Ponzi schemes, Bernie Madoff, and TARP bailouts are shown during the ending credits. When the credits finish, a short scene is shown where Terry tells Allen a joke over dinner at a restaurant.

REVIEW:

I’ll be the first one to admit that, while I enjoyed most of The Other Guys, some of it was just too overt the top or confusing, even for me.

That being said, I didn’t hate this film the way some critics and bloggers seem to be doing. At the same time, I’m not going to praise it as an “upgrade from the failed Kevin Smith film, Cop Out. He really should take notes.“

So, what is The Other Guys about? Well, we have two desk cops (there for different reasons), who suddenly get the chance to step up, thanks to a certain unexpected accident involving the “supercops” played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. After said accident, we go one a series of events with Ferrel and Wahlberg. Hilarity ensues. Oh, and there’s also this little plot thing about a Ponzi scheme.

There are some hilarious moments in this film, mostly involving the banter and chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg, who work surprisingly well together. Add in Steve Coogan as a comedic villain, if you will, and the formula works.

A recurring joke throughout the film is how Ferrell’s character can keep attracting these super hot women, such as his wife Eva Mendes. I found myself asking the same thing, but anything can happen in the movies, right?

The cast is full of hilarious actors and, for lack of a better term, A- list actors. Each one has great chemistry with the rest of the cast and doesn’t try to outshine the other, with the exception of Ferrell and Wahlberg, for obvious reasons.

There is a little bit of action here and there. After all, this is a cop flick. Is it worth mentioning? Well, other than just that its there, not really.

In the end, The Other Guys is one of those films that some will love while others will leave scratching their heads. I thought I’d be one of the former, but ended up as one of the latter. Does that mean I didn’t like the picture? By all means, no. I just think I need to see it again before I go adding it to my collection. Should you see it? Sure, it won’t hurt you to have a laugh, will it?

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

Superstar

PLOT:

Mary Katherine Gallagher (Shannon) is an Irish-American Catholic school girl and social outcast in a Catholic high school. She wants to be a superstar so she can get a kiss from Sky Corrigan (Ferrell). When Mary is sent to Special Education, she makes a new best friend, the tomboyish and equally socially-awkward Helen Lewengrub (Emmy Laybourne).

Mary sees her chance to become a superstar when her school promotes a talent show. She wants to try out, but Grandma Gallagher (Glynis Johns), will not let her. Mary tries out anyway, and when she goes to sign up, a stereotypical cheerleader, Evian Carrie Graham (Elaine Hendrix), gets in a fight with her. The fight causes Evian and Sky to break up, and now Sky is a “single hunk of beefcake on the rebound”. Mary is now determined to get in the talent show so Sky will notice her. When Grandma Gallagher finds out that her granddaughter got into the talent show, she finally tells the truth about how her parents died – they were stomped to death while performing in a Riverdance-like competition. This is why Grandma Gallagher is against her granddaughter performing.

However, Grandma Gallagher decides to help Mary do her act in the talent show, as long as she performs for herself. Mary and the other Special Education students spend days practicing. Mary wins the competition as well as Sky’s heart. When she kisses Sky though, she discovers he is a horrible kisser and chooses to kiss her friend Slater (Harland William) instead.

REVIEW:

I remember watching Saturday Nigh Live back in the early-mid 90s (when it was still funny) and loving the sketches with Mary Katherine Gallagher. I never thought, though, that she’d make a good movie.

Superstar takes the character from the SNL stage to the big screen, and quite successfully.

The good…this is a pretty funny, and at times corny/cheesy, film. A few reviews I’ve read about this flick have said that they didn’t connect with Mary Katherine or feel any remorse for her. For me, this was not true, though. Molly Shannon improves on her character, as one would expect, from the small to the big screen, and adds a bit of depth to her. I liked the fact that she was given a best friend who was just about, if not more, um…special than she. Glynnis Johns, best known as the mother from Mary Poppins, does a pretty good job as the grandmother, who apparently has a Broadway background.

The bad…well, there is the obvious rivalry between the nerdy girl and the cheerleader for the affections of the school hunk. Mary Katherine’s special ed class is full of interesting characters, especially the devil worshipper chick (you can just imagine what they could have done with her, especially since this IS a Catholic school). I’m not real sure what was up with the Jesus hallucinations, especially when Harland Williams saw the exact same version that Mary Katherine did. Something just wasn’t right about that. I know he works in mysterious ways and all that jazz, but seriously, they couldn’t have at least changed his clothes for his appearance to a different person?

 Saturday Night Live films haven’t exactly been the best, with the exception of the original Blues Brothers, Wayne’s World, and to a lesser extent The Coneheads. Superstar falls in the category of those that don’t suck. While not being a bane on the existance of cinema, it is far from being a well made film. It has plenty of funny moments, but the plot is paper-thin and just doesn’t work. Luckily, a strong performance from Molly Shannon keeps this thing going (having Will Ferrell as a pretty boy jock helps, too). Still, I can’t give this thing too much love. It just isn’t anything more than average.

3 out of 5 stars

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

PLOT:

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) was born to “go fast.” He was born in the back seat of his father’s car, and raised solely by his mother, Lucy Bobby (Jane Lynch), while his drug addicted alcoholic father, Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), is absent. Many years later, while working on a pit crew as the jackman for a race team, he replaces an uninterested driver and ends up finishing in third place, despite starting mid-race in last place. Ricky quickly soars to the top of NASCAR, achieving fame and fortune at Dennit Racing and meeting his future wife, Carley (Leslie Bibb). He arranges to get his best friend, Cal (John C. Reilly), as the second driver of the team.

Fast forward to a couple of years later; while on top of the racing world, Ricky is challenged by gay French Formula One driver, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen). Girard outperforms Ricky on the track and becomes Dennit Racing’s top driver. Ricky, desperate to regain his dominance, pushes himself too hard and ends up in a spectacular wreck, during which he believes that he is on fire. While recovering, he persists in the belief that he is paralyzed. His tests at Rockingham Speedway show that he has lost his touch and he fails to regain a spot on the team. Carley, yearning to be married to a top NASCAR driver, plans a divorce and a marriage to Cal before Ricky gets home that night.

Ricky takes his two sons, Walker and Texas Ranger and moves back home with his mother. He takes a job as a pizza delivery boy and is reduced to using a bicycle after losing his license (crashing into a customer’s shopping cart, then into the sheriff who wrote him the ticket for the previous incident). With his life at its low point, Reese suddenly reenters Ricky’s life and tries to teach Ricky to drive by using the fear he experienced. With the retraining and guidance of his father, Ricky regains his confidence, but still refuses to race after Reese walks out. When Ricky runs into his former assistant, Susan (Amy Adams), at a bar, she convinces Ricky to get back into racing at the Talladega 500 and they fall in love. The race ends with all cars being wrecked and Girard and Bobby running on foot to the finish line. Girard then offers to shake hands with Ricky after Ricky beats him, but instead Ricky passionately kisses him. Both drivers are disqualified for violating race procedures and Cal wins the race, having been in third prior to the wrecks. Ricky and Cal repair their friendship and the family, consisting of Ricky, Susan, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Lucy, meet Reese in the parking lot and reunite for a dinner during which they plan to get thrown out of Applebee’s.

REVIEW:

The last few Will Ferrell movies I’ve seen just haven’t left my sides hurting the way I expect his films to do, but Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby had my sides splitting.

I’m no fan of car racing, but a good comedy is a comedy, and that’s what this is. The racing isn’t top priority, although it is a major part of the film.

With brilliant comedic actors such as Will Ferrell, John C. Reily, Sacha Baron Cohen, and a nearly unrecognizable Jane Lynch, this film was destined for greatness.

Someone once asked Ferrell why he felt the need to get naked in all of his films. I’m beginning to wonder that myself. Besides the fact that he doesn’t have the best of physiques (as if I have room to talk), these random underwear/nude scenes don’t really move the film along.

The chemistry between Ferrel and Reily is on par with some of the greats. I really felt like they were best friends since grade school

Whenever you have a sports film, there has to be a bit of eye candy. In this picture, we have Leslie Bibb, and to a lesser extent, Amy Adams. Bibb is the token blonde hottie, and Adams is te girl next door that gets the guy in the end. Nothing fancy about there roles.

There are a handful of cameos in the film, mostly from NASCAR personalities, but also be on the lookout for Mos Def and Elvis Costello.

There really isn’t much to say about this film in an negative tone, except for this random, weird turn it takes when Sacha Baron Cohen, as Jena Girard, appears and announces he’s gay. As you can imagine, this doesn’t bode well in the ultra conservative circles of car racing, and though they make light of the situation, it still seems a bit odd and uncomfortable. At least until film’s end, when they do something big and shocking.

I’m not quite sure why this is called Talladega Nights, since all the races are during the day, but I’m sure they have their reasons. If you’re familiar with Will Ferrell’s work, then you know what to expect out of this film. Don’t watch this expecting to see a NASCAR documentary or some sort of epic racing film. This film is not about that, but rather a satire on the whole racing community. It is definitely good for a watching, especially if you need some laughs.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Elf

PLOT:

The film begins with Buddy as a baby being placed in the crib by a nun. As Santa Claus comes down to the room, Buddy discovers that there is a teddy bear in the sack and crawls in just until he’s brought to the North Pole where the elves continue to make toys. Buddy is raised by Papa Elf and manages to stand up and grows up in a sequence into a big guy. He seems to be too big unlike the elves. In the toy testing room, he demonstrates the jack-in-the-boxes to pop open and he gets a little frustrated. He overhears other elves complaining about him not realizing that he is a human, which causes him to faint in shock.

Buddy learns from Papa Elf and Santa that his father is a businessman in New York City who is unfortunately on the naughty list. He decides to travel from to North Pole to meet his dad at the Empire State Building, but he is mistaken for a Christmas-gram. His behavior gets him thrown out, and he wanders to Gimbels department store. He is thought to be an employee and meets Jovie, a worker at the store who is not too thrilled about Christmas. Buddy is immediately smitten with her.

His enthusiasm for Christmas and being an elf gets in the way everywhere he goes, at Gimbels and at his father’s job. He eventually befriends his half-brother, and asks Jovie on a date. On Christmas Eve, a misunderstanding leads to him being thrown out by his father, and he walks through Central Park to discover Santa with his sleigh. He needs Buddy’s help to get everyone’s Christmas spirits back up so he can fly, and his family and Jovie help. Christmas is saved.

Buddy ends up writing his own children’s book about his adventure, and the film ends with Buddy visiting Papa Elf at the North Pole, accompanied by Jovie and their baby daughter, Susie.

REVIEW:

Holiday films tend to be sappy, but Elf  leans more towards your typical Will Ferrell comedy, only a little more family oriented…note, I said a LITTLE.

Ferrell stars as Buddy the Elf, an orphan who somehow sneaks into Santa’s sack and hitches a ride to the North Pole where he is adopted by Papa Elf and raised by the elves, yet when he becomes an adult, he finally figures out he doesn’t fit in, so he sets out to find his biological father in New York City.

If you’ve ever seen any of Ferrell’s previous films, with the exception of Stranger than Fiction, than you know that he is nothing more than a mere man-child. As Buddy the Elf, that persona fits the character and thus leads to one of his best performances.

James Caan is usually cast as gruff, grumpy, old guys, and as Walter, that trend continues. Although he does come off as anti-Buddy for most of the film, he does turn the corner and the audience can feel for him in the end.

The gorgeous Zooey Deschanel in a part of the cast as Buddy’s love interest once he arrives in New York City. She doesn’t really have much of a role except for her singing, which is quite good if you ask me, but the blonde hair is distracting on her for me, but that’s more of a personal thing thana full out complaint.

When Buddy is leaving the North Pole he talks to come stop motion animated characters reminiscent of the 60s and 70s Christmas special. It is kind of an odd and out of place moment, but at the same time, it’s quite fun to know that they’re paying homage to the past like that.

For some, holiday movies just aren’t they’re cup of tea. I’m not one of those people, but there is a limit. While this film is very good, it does have an overabundance of sweetness that leaves you feeling like you picked up a bunch of cavities. Still, with all the dark movies that come out these days, its nice that someone had the balls to make a lighthearted film, and with the exception fo a couple minor sex jokes and some choice language, this may have ended up rated G. Get in the holiday spirit and check it out, even if you’re not a Will Ferrell fan, I can all but guarantee you’ll love this one.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Land of the Lost

PLOT:

Three years after being kicked out of the science department for his theory of time warps and his attack on Matt Lauer on The Today Show, paleontologist Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) is reduced to working as a teacher for children at the George C. Page Museum until he meets Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel) who urges him to finish his tachyon amplifier after presenting him with a fossil imprinted with the image of his lighter. When he does, they go to the Devils Cave where Holly found the fossiled imprint, with tour guide Will Stanton. Marshall activates the T-amplifier triggering an earthquake, and the three end up in a parallel universe having lost the amplifier.

Finding themselves in a strange world without the tachyon amplifier, they befriend a Pakuni named Chaka before falling into the feeding grounds of a Tyrannosaurus which then chases them until they reach a crevice in a cave, momentarily giving up though bent on eating Marshall for insulting him during the chase. Holly, knowing the dinosaur’s attitude, gives him the name “Grumpy”. The next day, Marshall has visions about a strange creature begging for his help and goes to find the Lost City where they encounter a strange glass beacon, the Pylon, that turns into a vocoder when they touch it before being attacked by creatures called Sleestaks. When the Pylon opens, Marshall enters, meeting the creature Enik. Enik tells them that the evil Zarn is out to control the universe and needs the tachyon amplifier.

Chaka takes the group through the jungle and onto a salt flat landscape, filled with numerous jumbled objects and landmarks. The others discover that the area is a feeding site for Compsognathus and Velociraptors, who attack a wandering ice cream man, until Grumpy comes and scares them off. An Allosaurus arrives as well. The two territorial predators prepare to fight when they both catch Marshall’s scent and chase after him. Marshall runs from “Big Alice”, and liquid nitrogen to freeze the Allosaurus to death, then finds the tachyon amplifier among her remains before a Pteranodon took it. After getting the amplifier back, the group takes a break at a motel in the salt flat. While Marshall, Will and Chaka laze in the pool, Holly repairs the amplifier and wanders off. She finds dinosaur eggs and takes one before accidentally triggering a holographic message from the Zarn, learning that Enik is the real villain.

Marshall, Will, and Chaka realize Holly is missing and leave to find her. Finding two mating Sleestaks who shed their skin, Marshall and Will use the shed skin to disguise themselves while Chaka takes the tachyon amplifier to Enik. Holly has been captured by Sleestaks and brought before the Library of Skulls to be judged, Marshall and Will arriving to learn that Enik is the villain. After fighting for their lives, the group is ambushed by Enik as he reveals his plan to use the Sleestaks to take over the Earth. He then leaves Marshall and company to their fate as Grumpy arrives to get his revenge.

Marshall takes on Grumpy one-on-one, resulting him being eaten as the dinosaur left. Holly, Will, and Chaka attempt to fight off the numerous Sleestaks. Once they are surrounded, Marshall returns to kill most of the Sleestaks with Grumpy’s aid, having made their peace with each other. Marshall and company manage to stop Enik as the portal back to Devil’s Cave begins to close. Will chooses to stay with Chaka in the Land of the Lost so Marshall and Holly can return home. Back on Earth, Matt Lauer gives a second interview with Marshall, ending with Lauer’s attempt on Marshall’s life for his slander against him. Soon after the show ends, left in the studio by accident, Holly’s dinosaur egg hatches into a baby Sleestak.

REVIEW:

If you’ve ever seen a Will Ferrell film, then you know what to expect in terms of humor. Although, I will say that this is a bit tame for him, almost like his dramatic film, whose name I can’t think of at this moment. Before this film was released this summer, Sci-Fi channel aired a marathon of Land of the Lost episodes. While this may have been a good marketing decision as it was done the weekend prior to the film’s release, it may have ultimately swayed some viewers opinions. What I mean by that is that this film strays quite a bit from the original series that it can be off-putting to some viewers, which may be why critics panned this film.

I would totally love this film if they would have been more loyal to the original series. Seriously, do they really think paying oodles of dollars for some CGI dinosaurs makes a better flick than using good old-fashioned stop motion? Had they gone the stop motion route, they could have used that excess money for something else to make the film better. Honestly, the dinosaurs don’t look any more or less real in either medium. These studio execs need to realize that CGI is not the be all end all of effects. For a film like this, it would have been better to go with stop motion, not just for the “cheesy” effect, but as a nod to the original, and because it would have been better, in my opinion. I’m sure there are those out there that are sure to disagree with me on that point, but I don’t care. CGI is used way too much these days, and this film just proves it.

Sorry to get on a soapbox there.  Will Ferrell is never going to win any awards for his acting, we all know that, but he is very good at what he does. Here he reinvents Marshall as a bumbling paleontologist, as opposed to a confident park ranger. The thing about Ferrell’s performance that really stuck with me is that while he turned Marshall into pretty much the opposite of what he originally was he kept parts of him in there, as can be seen more towards the end of the film. A couple of other notes on Ferrell. His take on Marshall reminded me of his character Marshall Willenholly (Marshall Will, & Holly…get it?) from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. More importantly, I do belive that this is one of the few, if not the only film he does no strip down and get naked in. Although there is a scene where he swimming in a t-shirt and what appear to be speedos. Small steps, I guess.

In the original series, Will was Marshall’s son. Here, Danny R. McBride plays him as the owner or manager of some sort of truck stop amusement park thing and a pothead. McBride has been used in quite a few of Ferrell’s films, so the two have chemistry together, as is apparent in the pool. I’ll leave it at that. Will comes off as annoying or most of the film. all the whining and complaining he does grates on the nerves, but he straightens up near the end.

Holly was Marshall’s daughter in the series. Here she is a doctoral student who was kicked out or dropped out of Cambridge because she believed his theories. Anna Friel, who should still be on TV in the cancelled way too early Pushing Daisies, gives this character new life. Unlike McBride and Ferrell, her reinvention of this classic character is one that fully works. Although, when you think about it, there is a creepy factor that there is sexual tension between Marshall and his daughter.

Plotwise, I can’t really fault them. For the most part it condenses 3 or 4 season of the show into 90 minutes, while throwing in a few new things here and there, but that whole pool scene dragged on too long. It felt a bit like it was just filler. Enik could have played a bigger part of the film, since he was more of a major player in the series, and that tachyon amplifier could have played another song than one from the musical A Chorus Line, but that’s just a bit of personal bias on my part.

I wasn’t born when the original Land of the Lost TV series aired on Saturday morning, but from what I’ve seen in reruns (thank you Nick at Nite and Sci-Fi Channel), this film is a slap in the face. However, had I seen this without knowing anything about the orignal show, I’d probably be in love with this movie. I’m sure those that watch this will fall into that same mentality. If you’re familiar with the show, especially if you’re a purist, then you will no doubt hate this film and feel as if your childhood was raped by Will Ferrell. If you’re one of those that hasn’t seen or even heard of the original series (we won’t mention the 90s remake), then this is just your typical Will Ferrell flick, only slightly tamer. Personally, I fall somewhat in the middle. I liked it, but felt they could have done more to be closer to the original, such as use stop motion instead of CGI, as I mentioned before. Also, it appears that they meant for this to be a family film, but there are more than a few adult jokes flying around all over the place. Ultimately, I belive your opinion of this film is going to be determined by your opinion of Will Ferrell and how you feel about remakes of old TV shows.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

PLOT:

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is San Diego’s finest anchorman. In his city Ron is so well-known that a baby’s first words are “Ron Burgundy”. He works alongside his friends and co-reporters Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), who works as the lead field reporter, sports reporter Champion “Champ” Kind (David Koechner), and weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) at Channel 4 News. After a successful day of work, the team is notified their station has again maintained its long-held status as the highest-rated in town, leading them to throw a wild party (even though their boss, Ed Harken (Fred Willard), told his assistant Garth Holiday (Chris Parnell) not to let this happen). During the party Ron sees a woman and attempts to seduce her but fails miserably.

The next day Ed, the executive director of the news station, is forced by the network that owns the station to bring a female worker onto the team. He hires Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), a news reporter from Asheville, North Carolina, who turns out to be the woman Ron tried to woo at the party the previous night. After being told that Lin-Wong, a famous panda at the San Diego Zoo is pregnant, the news team has a confrontation with Wes Mantooth (Vince Vaughn) and his Channel 9 Evening News team, who are second in the most recent ratings. Champ and Brian (and Brian again, using Brick) attempt to seduce Veronica using inept and arrogant flirting, but they all fail. Ron ends up asking her out under the guise of helping out a new co-worker, which she accepts. During their date, Ron starts playing the jazz flute in his friend Tino’s (Fred Armisen) club. After a change of heart, Veronica sleeps with Ron after their wildly successful date. The next day, despite agreeing with Veronica to keep the relationship discreet, Ron loudly announces that he is dating Veronica and having sex with her.

The next day as Ron is heading to work, he throws a burrito out his car window and hits a motorcyclist (Jack Black) in the head, distracting the biker enough to cause him to crash his bike. Furious, the motorcyclist retaliates by punting Ron’s dog Baxter off a bridge. A horribly saddened and incoherent Ron calls Brian from a payphone to tell him about Baxter, while Brian tells Ron to rush to the studio to prevent Ed from putting Veronica on the air as Ron’s replacement. Despite Ron’s efforts to arrive early, they put Veronica on the air and she becomes famous.

After Ron arrives, he has an argument with Veronica about the situation and they break up. The next day, Veronica is made co-anchor, much to Ron’s displeasure. The co-anchors soon become fierce rivals and bitter enemies.

To ease Ron’s pain, he and his news team agree to buy new suits. While walking in search of the suit store, the team is confronted yet again by Wes Mantooth and his team and the two newsteams decide to have a brawl. However, just as they prepare to fight, more news teams arrive, from Channel 2, from the Spanish channel, and from public television. Despite a decision to ban any touching of hair during the fight, the 24 man brawl escalates quickly (including one man being set on fire, another getting his arm chopped off, and Brick killing a rival reporter with a trident). The fight ends when cops enter the scene, and the crew heads back to the newsroom.

While in a restaurant celebrating Veronica’s big debut, one of Veronica’s friends tells her that Ron will read anything that’s written on the teleprompter, no matter what it is. So Veronica sneaks into the station and changes the words in Ron’s teleprompter. The next day, instead of Ron delivering his signature “You stay classy, San Diego,” Ron closes the broadcast with “Go fuck yourself, San Diego.” After hearing this, an angry mob gathers outside the studio and Ed is forced to fire Ron (who is oblivious until shown video of what he just said). Veronica sees she has gone too far and attempts to apologize, but Ron dismisses her, calling her a “heartless bitch demon” while being led through the mob by security.

Three months later Ron is unemployed, has no friends (if anything, he is actually the town pariah) and is a slovenly drunk, while Veronica has become extremely famous. When Lin-Wong the panda is about to give birth, all the news teams head for the zoo to cover the story, but in an attempt to sabotage her, the public news anchor (Tim Robbins) pushes Veronica into the Kodiak bear habitat, where any noise would infuriate the sleeping bears. When Ed can’t find Veronica, he calls the bar where Ron spends most of his time and reluctantly asks him to return. Ron then summons the rest of his team by blowing the “News Horn.” He calls for his news team to “ASSEMBLE!;” however, it turns out they were all standing a foot away playing pool. Baxter hears this call and follows the voice to find Ron once again. Once at the zoo, the team finds Veronica, and Ron jumps into the bear pen to save her; this attracts everyone else in the zoo to watch. The Channel 4 news team jumps in to help Ron but is easily defeated. Just as the leader of the bears is about to rip Ron and Veronica apart, Baxter (who was seen to emerge from an unknown river), shows up and convinces the bear to leave Ron and the team alone.

After Ron and Veronica reconcile, it’s shown that in years to come, Brian becomes the host of a FOX reality show named Intercourse Island, Brick is George W. Bush’s top political advisor, Champ was a commentator for the NFL before sexually harassing Terry Bradshaw, and Ron and Veronica are co-anchors for World News Center.

REVIEW:

Will Ferell is one of the funniest men on the planet. This film is similar to Semi-Pro,  is set in the 70s, and takes all the culture of that period into consideration with the jokes.

The character of Ron Burgundy seems to me like Dan Rather (or one of the other major news anchors), if they were complete idiots. not saying Burgundybad character, he just comes off as not the brightest bulb. for example, anything that is put on the teleprompter he reads, which is how he gets fired near the end of the film.

David Koechner, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell provide excellent foils/friends for Ferell. They pull off the chauvinistic attitude of the 70s perfectly, especially Koechener. These guys are not meant to be lovable, per se, but rather borderline dicks.

Christina Applegate lights up the screen woth her presence. She brings in a nice female character that was sorely needed. Strangely enough, the plot develops that way, as well.

The climax in the bear cages seems a bit odd, but considering how they seem to make a big deal out of the pandas for most of the film, I guess it did.

As with all other Ferrell films, there are many cameos to be had. Poor Luke Wilson, though, has to endure getting his arms ripped off for his troubles. No wonder he hasn’t cameoed in any more Ferell films.

I really have to wonder if this is what it was like in the 70s for these anchor people. If so, its no wonder most of them tend to be alchoholics and some other way of being screwed up. Their antics make for good cinema. So what if it isn’t correct? It’s funny, and that’s the #1 priority of a comedy film.

4 out of 5 stars

Wedding Crashers

PLOT:

Single bachelors and longtime friends, John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey are business partners in divorce mediation in Washington D.C.. The friends frequently “crash” wedding parties to meet women, working from a set of rules taught to them by a past ‘crasher,’ Chazz, a lover of meatloaf. The duo always have cover stories for inquisitive guests and inevitably become the hit of every reception, to charm their way into the hearts of ladies at the wedding for one night only.

After a sequence of successful ‘crashes,’ Jeremy spots the wedding of the daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary and his wife, Kathleen. After infiltrating the lavish event as brothers, John and Jeremy set their sights on two bridesmaids, also daughters of Secretary Cleary: Claire and Gloria Cleary. While Jeremy manages to make it on the beach with “stage-five clinger” and supposed virgin Gloria, John works on Claire. While talking afterwards, John is blocked by Claire’s U.S. Naval Academy graduate boyfriend Sack. John convinces a resistant Jeremy to break the rules and accept an invitation to an extended weekend party at the Cleary family compound.

Jeremy and John are convinced into playing touch football where Jeremy is hurt by Claire’s obnoxious boyfriend. Gloria puts Band-Aids on Jeremy, hoping to have sex with him. However, Jeremy turns her down with a philosophical love speech. Jeremy is shown to not really like Gloria all that much, at least not initially. At dinner later that day, John proceeds to spike Sack’s wine with eye-drops which makes him sick, letting John have some alone time with Claire. That night, Gloria ties up Jeremy while he sleeps and then has her way with him. Jeremy is then visited by the girl’s brother Todd later that night, thinking the two had “had a moment” earlier at the dinner table. The next morning, Jeremy asks John to leave the island with him but John convinces him otherwise. The family takes a boat ride in the afternoon, which ends in a hunting trip in which Sack shoots Jeremy in the rear end. John and Claire leave on a bike ride in which they connect deeply. In the meantime, Gloria reveals to relieved Jeremy that she was not a virgin. She merely told him so, as she “thought that’s what guys liked to hear.” John and Claire return from their bike ride, after which Sack “proposes” to Claire by announcing their engagement, leaving Claire at a loss for words. John talks to Claire afterwards, as she is apparently discomforted by the announcement. John tries to comfort her but ends up telling her his true feelings for her. They are interrupted by Jeremy running out of the house being chased by the grandmother with a gun. Sack comes out and tells the family who the “brothers” really are, as he had them privately investigated. John reveals their true identities, upsetting and hurting the entire Cleary family, particularly Claire. John and Jeremy are forced to leave the island.

John and Jeremy return to their normal lives; however, John is distraught, as he was never given the chance to reconcile with Claire, even though he attempted to contact her multiple times. During one such attempt, John pretends to be a waiter at Claire and Sack’s engagement party. However, he is caught and brutally beaten by Sack and his friends. He returns home to find Jeremy, who was supposed to have attended the event with John, locked in a passionate moment with Gloria. This results in a rift between John and Jeremy, as they no longer see eye-to-eye on the idea of marriage. John crashes several more weddings by himself, but behaves erratically. Meanwhile, Jeremy continues his relationship with Gloria, culminating in an accepted marriage proposal. Jeremy attempts to reconcile with John, asking him to be his best man, but John cannot bear to think about the marriage and asks Jeremy to leave.

John meets their mentor Chazz to reaffirm Jeremy’s apparent stupidity in getting engaged. During the visit, he discovers that Chazz has moved onto “funeral crashing,” as he believes that grief is the best aphrodisiac. John joins Chazz on an outing, but is taken aback by the amount of love and sorrow shown by the widow of the deceased. He reconsiders his stance on love and marriage and rushes to Jeremy’s wedding. He joins them mid-ceremony as the best man, but disrupts it by attempting to speak to Claire while standing at the altar. After intense arguments and a mild scuffle, Claire finally reveals that she, too, has feelings for John. Sack is dumbfounded by the situation, and turns to Secretary Cleary for help. However, Secretary Cleary fully supports her daughter’s decision to reject Sack. The film ends with Jeremy getting married to Gloria, John uniting with Claire, and the two couples driving away joking about crashing a wedding all together.

REVIEW:

This is another of those comedies that starts out hilarious, then somewhere after it hits the midway point, takes a dramatic turn and forgets that it is a comedy. Still, it is a pretty good film.

Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson have amazing chemistry on screen. I really felt believed they had a bond since childhood.

Rachel McAdams was a nice bit of eye candy and looks a lot better with dark hair than blonde, but her performance didn’t resonate with me.

Isla Fisher stole the show as the hyperactive, nympho Gloria that falls for Vince Vaughan.

Will Ferrell makes an appearance and brings the comedy back into this…er…comedy, while Christopher Walken could have been used more than just standing around giving fatherly advice.

Having said all this, I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I didn’t care for this film. It’s a good concept, and if I had the guts, I might actually consider, but something tells me that after it was released wedding securities were tightened.

There quite a few funny moments, as well as the rapid fire dialogue you expect to come from a Vince Vaughan film, but as I said before, they become few and far between as the film progresses, but return when Will Ferrell shows up at the end.

This is a wedding film, make no mistake, but not in the same vein as My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Runaway Bride, etc. This is a film anyone can enjoy, unless you a wedding purist and will get offended, in which case, why would you be watching a film with Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson going to wedding to hook up with women?

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Step Brothers

PLOT:

Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) is a sporadically employed thirty-nine-year-old loser who lives with his mother, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen). Dale Doback (John C.Reilly) is a terminally unemployed forty-year-old who lives with his father, Robert (Richard Jenkins). When Robert and Nancy get married and move in together, Brennan and Dale are forced to live with each other as step brothers. They immediately don’t like each other. Dale warns Brennan not to touch his drum set. Later, Brennan plays on the drum set. Dale enters the room and notices a chip on one of his drumsticks and confronts Brennan about it. Brennan denies this and a fight breaks out between the two after Brennan vows and makes good on his promise to “put my nutsack on your drumset”. The fight ends as Dale and Brennan strike each other at the same time with a bat and a golf club. The parents declare that the irresponsible men should find jobs or else they’re out of the house. Later on, Brennan’s very successful but mean brother Derek (Adam Scott) comes to visit with his family. As Brennan and Dale hide in Dale’s tree house, Derek comes to mock Brennan and Dale. Angered by Derek, Dale punches Derek in the face. Brennan is in awe that Dale did something to Derek that he always wanted to do. After this occurred, Derek’s long-suffering wife Alice (Kathryn Hahn) finds it arousing that Dale punched Derek, becoming infatuated with him. Both men eventually realize that they have a lot in common, and become best friends.

They take job interviews at which they perform quite poorly. Walking home, Brennan and Dale decide to start their own company called “Prestige Worldwide” and encounter kids from a local school that beat up Dale on a regular basis. The kids beat up Dale and Brennan and force them to lick white dog feces. At home, the parents reveal that Derek is selling the house. Dale and Brennan sabotage Derek’s plans by dressing as bad neighbors (a Klansman and a Nazi) and pretending Brennan had died in front of the buyers. Soon they create a music video to promote their singing talents being shot on Robert’s boat and show it to the parents, Derek, and others at Derek’s birthday party. The video reveals that the boat was crashed into rocks and Robert punishes them.

During Christmas time, the boys sleepwalk and attack Robert after he wakes them up. Angered by this, Robert forces himself to divorce Nancy and put all the blame on them. Dale and Brennan blame each other for the divorce and go back to hating each other. They go their separate ways as they both get apartments. Brennan starts working for Derek and Dale becomes a caterer. At a sales party for helicopters, the Catalina Wine Mixer (arranged by Brennan), the family meets again just as the band quits due to a heckler. Robert realizes that the boys are miserable and tells them to be themselves again and go for their dream. Brennan and Dale go on stage as Prestige Worldwide and with Brennan’s singing of the song Con Te Partiro, the parents and Derek have a change of character. Robert and Nancy fall in love again and Derek regains the love for his brother. Since this, Dale and Brennan have become a successful karaoke duo. Brennan is now in a relationship with his therapist (Andrea Savage). Robert and Nancy get married again and move back into the house with a new tree house made from the destroyed boat just for Dale and Brennan, and in the tree house are Hustler magazines, crossbows, pirate hats, and Chewbacca masks.

During the end credits, Brennan and Dale arrive in a helicopter and extract their revenge on the kids by beating them up by using karate moves. Following the credits, Brennan and Dale have another joint sleepwalking incident where they bump into one another and head out a door.

REVIEW:

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are comedic gold…most of the time. In this film, they’re not as funny as they could have been. I think that is a result of the script, though. There are quite a few hilarious scenes that showcase the chemistry between these two.

Mary Steenburgen plays a very sexy and level headed mother and is the ying to Richard Jenkins annoyingly douche of a father yang.

I found this film to be pretty good, but not the best in the Ferrell collection.

I wish that comedies would just be comedies and not get all preachy near the end. If not for that, I would more than likely love this film.

Having said that, I didn’t dislike it and still will recommend it to any and everyone. It’s worth a look-see, just don’t expect too much.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Producers

PLOT:

The flop musical “Funny Boy” (based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet) opens (“Opening Night”). Afterward, Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) arrives at the office of the show’s washed up producer, Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane). Max has hired Leo Bloom as his accountant. While studying Max’s books, Leo inadvertently inspires Max to put on a show that is certain to fail at the box office and cleverly change their accounts leaving them with $2,000,000 to spend. At first, Leo refuses to participate. Max, who cannot change the books himself, attempts to coax Leo into the scheme (“We Can Do It”). Leo still refuses and returns to his old accounting firm, Whitehall & Marks.

After being chastised by Mr. Marks (Jon Lovitz), Leo fantasizes about being a Broadway producer (“I Wanna Be a Producer”). Leo quits his job and with Max, forms Bialystock & Bloom. Max and Leo search for “the worst play ever written” and discover Springtime for Hitler,written by an ex-Nazi named Franz Liebkind (Will Ferrell). They are coerced into performing Adolf Hitler’s favorite tune in order to gain Liebkind’s signature for Broadway rights to the musical (“Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop”). They solicit a flamboyant gay director, Roger De Bris (Gary Beach) (the worst director in the world), to direct and choreograph the play. De Bris initially refuses saying that the musical is far too dark and gritty and that Broadway needs to be more “gay” (“Keep It Gay”). Roger is talked into it, however, after being enticed by Max and Leo, who tell him that if he directs the play, he is certain to win a Tony. Then, Ulla (Uma Thurman), a beautiful Swedish woman, appears at their office for casting despite there being no auditions. Max insists on hiring her as their secretary and auditioning her (“When You’ve Got It, Flaunt It”).

To gain the finances for the musical Max has sexual affairs with every old lady across town (“Along Came Bialy”). Max and Leo return to the office to discover that Ulla has redecorated it to be entirely white. After Max leaves, Leo laments about Ulla and the dangers of sexual affairs straying him from his work, culminating in a kiss between Leo and Ulla (“That Face”). Later, at the auditions for the role of Hitler, Franz becomes angered at a performer’s rendition of a beloved German song. Franz storms the stage and sings the song the correct way (“Haben sie gehört das deutsche band?”). Max hires Franz to play Hitler.

On opening night, as the cast and crew prepare to go on stage, Leo wishes everyone “good luck”, to which the players are horrified. They explain to Leo that it is in fact “bad luck” to say “good luck” on opening night and that the correct phrase is to say “break a leg” (“You Never Say Good Luck on Opening Night”). Franz leaves to prepare and, in his rush, literally breaks his leg. Max enlists Roger to perform the role in his place, and Roger accepts.

As the show opens, the audience is horrified and begins to walk out until Roger steps on stage as Hitler. Because his performance is so flamboyant, the audience sees the play as a mockery of Hitler rather than Franz’s original vision (“Springtime for Hitler”). As a result, the show is a success and the IRS will be keeping tabs on Max and Leo. Max gets arrested for his tax fraud while Leo and Ulla escape to Rio (“Betrayed”), however they return to stand up for Max in court (“‘Til Him”). The judge sentences them both to five years at Sing Sing prison, but they are pardoned after writing a musical in prison (“Prisoners of Love”), and go on to become successful Broadway producers.

REVIEW:

If you are a regular reader of this blog and my reviews, you can no doubt tell that I am a fan of musicals. The Producersdoes not disappoint. It has entertaining numbers, comedy, a sold plot, and Uma Thurman as an uber-hot Swedish sexpot!

I did not get the chance to see this on Broadway, mostly because I don’t live in NYC, but if previous musicals are any indication, it didn’t lose anything in the transition from stage to screen, except maybe a couple of songs.

Mel Brooks is a genius. However, if you expect to see the same kind of humor in this film as you would in some of his other film, such as Spaceballs, The History of the World, etc., you’ll be disappointed. However, this is still a good film.

It’s not without its flaws, though. Having not seen the Broadway production, I don’t know of these are in the original production or just a result of bad editing, but there are spots, especially as the film nears its end, that it just seems to rush to a conclusion without taking the time to move the plot forward. Of course, I was trying to rush through the movie today, myself, so it could have been my personal sense of rushing that caused said feeling.

This is an excellent film, and I highly recommend it to all, but like I said, don’t go in expecting your typical Mel Brooks film.

4 out of  5 stars

Curious George

PLOT:

A clumsy, mischievous, and curious chimpanzee named George (voiced by Frank Welker) lives in the jungles of Africa. His behavior amuses the other young jungle animals, but angers their parents; therefore George is left sad and alone.

Meanwhile, at the Bloomsberry Museum, Ted (the “man in the yellow hat” of the earlier book series) (Will Ferrell), a museum employee, teaches schoolchildren about natural history, not realizing that his lectures bore them. Afterward, he has a talk with Maggie (Drew Barrymore), the school teacher, who admires him and for whom he has strong feelings. Later, Mr. Bloomsberry (Dick Van Dyke), the owner of the museum, tells Ted that he is pressed to close the museum by his son, Bloomsberry Junior (David Cross), who wishes to build a parking garage in its stead. This upsets Ted, who suggests, to revive the museum’s popularity, that they obtain a statue called the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Excited, Mr. Bloomsberry thinks to go himself as he had been prevented from doing by his son’s birth, but finds that he is too old. Without thinking, Ted quickly volunteers to make the expedition. Mr. Bloomsberry accepts the idea and Ted prepares to leave for Africa. Junior, frustrated, modifies his father’s map of Africa to prevent Ted from finding the Shrine.

Ted subsequently goes to an outfitters’ store, where he is tricked into purchasing a yellow safari outfit with a yellow hat on the grounds that “Yellow is the new Khaki” and therefore the new fashion for explorers. He then sets off for Africa, though embarrassed by his uniform.

Ted arrives in Africa, and leads a group on a four-day hike to the lost shrine. George spots the yellow hat and, mistaking it for a large banana, goes after it. Ted mistakes a rock for a rhinoceros, whereupon he shoots it with a tranquilizer dart, which ricochets and hits his guide, Edu, rendering the man unconscious and therefore slowing the expedition. The team sits down for a lunch break. Ted prepares a sandwich to eat, whereupon George suddenly takes his hat and attempts to eat it. When Ted notices this, he tries to make a bargain with George for the hat, which George turns into a game. Ted plays “peek-a-boo” with George, until he decides to continue the expedition, leaving the hat behind. When Ted reaches the end of Junior’s sabotaged map, he encounters a miniature idol; believing this to be Zagawa itself, he gets depressed. He gets a call from Mr. Bloomsberry and sends a picture of the statue via cellphone. However, the angle of the picture causes Mr. Bloomsberry to believe the idol is much bigger. Ted returns to the docks, while George quickly follows with the hat. George sneaks onto the ship and rides to the city without Ted’s knowledge.

Upon arrival, Ted rides home in a taxi. George follows Ted all the way to his apartment. When Ted finds George in his apartment, he is flabbergasted. Ivan, the doorman of the apartment building, follows George’s scent, intending to enforce the apartment manager’s rule against pets. Ivan searches the apartment, while George makes it a game of “hide and seek”. Ivan fails to find George, and therefore leaves. Ted looks for George, to find that George has gone to Ms. Plushbottom’s (Joan Plowright) apartment, whose resident is a neighbor of Ted’s. Ted worriedly climbs the fire escape outside the building to the top. He finds George inside, where George has been painting colorful pictures on walls (a reference to one of the books on which the film is based). When Ms. Flushbottom notices, she calls for Ivan, who races to her room. After a lot of commotion, Ivan sends Ted and George away.

Upset, Ted wonders what he is going to do with George. Together, they walk to the Bloomsberry Museum, where crowds of people await to see the idol. He goes to his office, where he attempts to sort out his thoughts. Meanwhile, Junior is upset about the idol foiling his plans, and then notices that Ted is back. He decides to spy on him, and finds out the truth about the idol’s size. Clovis, an inventor, knocks at Ted’s door and gives Ted a bill for the exhibit of the Lost Shrine of Zagawa. Ted tells Mr. Bloomsberry the truth and reveals the 3-inch-tall idol. Junior then brings in the large crowd of people to see the idol. They start asking questions, which makes Ted nervous. Suddenly, he sees George climbing a dinosaur exhibit, which starts to fall. He races after George as the dinosaur skeleton crumbles. Junior orders Ted out. Ted goes to a telephone booth to call Animal Control to get rid of George.

That evening, with nowhere to sleep, Ted follows George to a park, where Ted lies down on a bench and sarcastically tells George how “great” it is. George makes a pile of leaves under a large tree, where Ted joins him and becomes fascinated by the sight of a starry sky. George curiously observes fireflies; eats them; spits them out in disgust; and causes Ted to do the same. They acquire green color on their tongues as a result, and therefore make a joke of showing each other this until George is asleep.

The next morning, Ted awakes in the park to find George gone. Hearing a commotion, he follows it to a zoo, where he finds George with Maggie and her class. Here, George is given his name by Ted, in honor of George Washington. Ted attempts to court Maggie, but is alerted to the fact that George is floating away, suspended by a bunch of balloons, and goes after him in the same way. They float around the city; George’s balloons are popped, but Ted catches him. Together, they fly around the city, held aloft by Ted’s balloons. When they float over the Bloomsberry museum, Ted holds out the idol and wishes it were big. This gives him an idea, for the fulfillment of which he visits Clovis’ workplace.

At Clovis’ shop, George discovers a machine that can create a 40-foot-tall hologram of any object. Ted takes the machine to the museum, intending to use it to display the idol. En route George causes trouble (unnoticed by Ted) by using the machine to project a giant version of himself cavorting around the city, provoking a re-enactment of scenes from King Kong.

Upon reaching the museum Ted shows the machine to Mr. Bloomsberry. Though Junior tries to convince his father that use of the projector is not honest, the older Bloomsberry sees it as the only way to save the museum. Desperate to build his parking garage, Junior pours his coffee into the projector and gives the rest to George so as to frame him for damaging it.

With the machine ruined, Ted is forced to admit the truth to the thousands of people waiting outside, including Maggie. Angry at him, Ted allows George to be taken away by Animal Control officers and be shipped back to Africa, saying “it’s for the best.” However, Ted’s conscience convinces him that he has made a mistake or wronged his friend, as he confesses to Maggie. Maggie, rather than comfort Ted, tells him that his conscience accuses him rightly and should be obeyed. Ted therefore sets out to retrieve George.

Ted attempts to jump his car onto the departing ship, but lands in the swimming pool of a cruise ship nearby. Hopping on to the retracting anchor chain of the cargo boat, he smashes in a porthole and, with a well-placed blow to the cage’s lock with a fire extinguisher, frees George. While he tries to explain to George that their friendship is more important than any idol, a beam of sunlight passes through the tiny statue, which is in their hands, and creates a pictogram which George notices, displaying the location of the larger version of itself desired by Mr. Bloomsberry. Ted and George therefore travel to Africa in the ship’s cargo bay, to rejoin Edu and find the true idol. This they do.

Upon the exhibit’s re-opening, Ted redesigns the entire museum to be more interactive, thereby igniting the children’s interest in science. Junior is set to work parking customers’ cars, somewhat to his chagrin; by fulfilling this task, however, he earns his father’s praise, which he has much coveted. Ted and Maggie are about to become sweethearts in earnest when George again interrupts them by hijacking a nearby spacecraft. Ted and George orbit the Earth in this craft, which is itself a reference to the book series on which the film is based. The film concludes as they make their second and third orbits at a comically exaggerated speed.

REVIEW:

I do not know much about Curious George. I’m more of a Paddington reader myself, but I do recall a few stories of George and the man in the yellow hat.

This film captures alot of the book’s innocence, but at the same time it gets bit too heavy for its material.

Having said that, this is a very cute movie. One cannot help but fall in love with George and the relationship between Ted and Maggie is priceless.

There isn’t a true villain in this film, but if there is a bad guy, it’s Junior, who just wants to be appreciated by his father. David Cross does an excellent job of bringing him to life.

I do not care for the animation of this picture, though. Nor do I like the overuse of CGI, but the soundtrack by Jack Johnson makes up for it a little bit.

As I said before, this is a good family film. Nothing fancy about it, just something you can watch if you’re 8 or 800 and still enjoy.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars