Neighbors

Posted on May 8, 2014 at 6:00 pm

I admit it. My always-thin ability to finds humor in movies about irresponsible jerks who won’t grow up has long since evaporated, and if I ever found irresponsibility entertaining, I can no longer remember why. Though I suspect this development has something to do with an overdose of the Apatow atelier, including Seth Rogen and writer/director Nicholas Stoller (The Five-Year Engagement). I keep remembering Mae West’s answer when she was asked what advice she had for the youth of America.

“Grow up.”

“Neighbors,” which Rogen has described as a loose sequel to arrested development comedy “Knocked Up,” is the story of Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne), a couple with a new baby who are not ready to cross the line into being grown-ups. They love each other and they love the baby, but cannot quite relinquish the notion of themselves as primal in the world of what is cool and happening. When a friend calls to invite them out to a club, they decide the thing to do is pack up all the baby gear and bring him along. “Baby’s first rave!” they exclaim. Then, because being a parent is so exhausting, they fall asleep. Funny!

Not.

Just to hammer the final nail in the “you’re old and boring now” coffin, who should move in next door but a fraternity, led by Teddy (Zac Efron), who, Mac admits with admiration as well as envy, is so handsome and buff that he looks like he was designed by gay men in a laboratory. Mac and Kelly convene on how to best introduce themselves to their new neighbors in a manner that shows that they are totally cool and yet conveys that it would be super-nice if the guys could just keep the noise down as there is a baby next door. A few rehearsals to make sure they have the coolness down (not too much of self-deprecatory head shake), and they go over, immediately showing themselves to be idiots by joining in the frat’s housewarming party and getting very, very high.

Mac promises Teddy that if they have any problems they will go straight to him and not call the police. Then, after his baby picks up a condom from their lawn, he calls the police, anonymously, he thinks, until the cop reminds him that they have caller ID. Teddy, feeling betrayed, declares all-out war. Mac and Kelly, unwisely, decide to escalate.

There are some funny moments, especially a Robert DeNiro-themed frat party. But they get lost in a tidal wave of stupid humor like an extended sequence with the frat members raising money by selling dildoes modeled on their own…members. Did you think you could avoid a joke about getting stuck in the mold? Sorry. Really sorry.

Rogen does the same thing he does in every other movie. Byrne is, as always, beautiful, on target, and delightfully game for whatever. It’s nice to see a female character in one of these boys’ club movies who is not relegated to telling everyone to grow up. Efron and Dave Franco as his sidekick deserve better. So do we.

Parents should know that this movie is exceptionally raunchy, with very explicit sexual references and situations and nudity and many crude jokes. Characters use very strong language, drink, and use drugs and there is comic violence.

Family discussion: Why did Mac and Kelly want the frat to think they were cool? Why didn’t Pete tell Teddy the truth? What will Teddy do next?

If you like this, try: “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”

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Comedy

Moms’ Night Out

Posted on May 4, 2014 at 9:48 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some action
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Some drinking, references to substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Characters in peril, mostly comic, taser, tattoo parlor
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	May 9, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	September 1, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00KO6EC4A

© 2014 AFFIRM Films/Sony Pictures Entertainment & Provident Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

It may feel like a kinder, gentler, sweeter version of “Adventures in Babysitting” or “The Hangover,” but this charming story manages to avoid getting syrupy, even when everyone settles down in the midst of chaos for a little talk about God’s love. It helps that the conversation is with a scary-looking tattooed biker type played by country star Trace Adkins. It is a very funny movie with an exceptionally likeable cast and a warm-hearted, surprisingly touching tribute to moms and their families, as endearing as a Mother’s Day Card made from a paper plate covered with smeared finger paint and glittery macaroni.

Three moms are just hoping for a night away from cranky toddlers, crankier teenagers, and the perpetual chaos of parenthood, only to stumble into an even greater chaos that (spoiler alert) teaches everyone some important lessons about what really matters. Allyson (adorable Sarah Drew of “Grey’s Anatomy”), is a “clean freak” fighting a losing battle against the most powerful mess generators ever known, young children. She thinks it would feel comforting to be locked away in a bare white room in a straight jacket. The result: Allyson feels like “the Bruce Banner of stay-at-home moms,” literally tackling a child about to put his finger in his mouth because she is worried about salmonella. Danger seems to lurk around every corner. Panic never subsides.

Allyson has a devoted, sympathetic husband (Sean Astin as Sean), but that only makes her feel that she is failing him, too. Plus the readers of her mommy blog have dropped from four to three. Allyson looks up to Sondra (a nicely wry but heartfelt Patricia Heaton), her preacher’s wife, and thinks of her as “my Oprah, my Dr. Phil, my Gandalf.” And her closest friend is Izzy (Andrea Logan White). She has not quite figured out a way to tell her husband, who is very insecure about taking care of their twins, that another baby is on the way.

All three moms are in desperate need of some grown-up time, in grown-up clothes, eating food they did not cook and won’t have to clean up after, with purses emptied out of sippy cups and disinfectant wipes. So, they make plans for an all-too-rare girls’ night out, get all dressed up, and head out for a very fancy restaurant.

Unfortunately, they never get past the snooty hostess (the always-great Anjelah Johnson-Reyes of “Bon Qui Qui”). Instead, they find themselves caught up in a vortex that includes a missing car and a missing baby (the child of Sean’s sister), with trips to the emergency room and the police station, a tattoo parlor and cosmic bowling. Adkins has a nice scene as a tattooed biker with some surprisingly good advice. Every mom will relate to Allyson’s “pyramid of co-dependency” and the particular bleakness of feeling that you are living your dream and still cannot feel happy about it. And to the mantra of the airplane directions for use of oxygen: If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person. And to “finding the meaning, joy, and purpose in all the craziness.”

Parents should know that the movie includes some peril (no one badly hurt), minor injuries, a character who gets tased, and references to alcoholism.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for Allyson to feel like she was doing a good job? How do you find purpose in the craziness?

If you like this, try: “Adventures in Babysitting” and “Ramona and Beezus”

The Other Woman

Posted on April 24, 2014 at 6:00 pm

C-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual references and language (on appeal from the original R rating)
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness, brief reference to marijuana
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and violence
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	April 25, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	July 29, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00KNALRZ4

The latest in a female-centered revenge comedy genre that extends from “9 to 5” through “She-Devil,” “The Other Woman” is intended to be a merry little tale of female empowerment and grrrl power. Instead it is soggy, haphazard, poorly paced slapstick mansplained by director Nick Cassavetes from a script by Melissa Stack.

Cameron Diaz (who gave one of her best performances in Cassavetes’ soapy “My Sister’s Keeper”) plays Carly, a tough-as-nails corporate lawyer with a beautiful office overlooking Central Park. She meets handsome Mark King (“Game of Thrones'” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, utterly lost in a thankless role). For eight weeks he is thoughtful, attentive, and so hot that she has “cleared the bench” of other guys, she explains to a criminally underused Nicki Minaj as her secretary. (The movie I’d like to see is Nicki Minaj going after a man who cheated on her.) But then Carly discovers that Mark is married. To Kate (Leslie Mann, in her “I’m going to pretend I don’t know I’m pretty and act like a total klutzy ditz” mode). With a house in the Connecticut suburbs. And a very big dog.

Kate falls apart. Carly tells her to cry on on the inside “like a winner.” How long before the big dog makes a mess of Carly’s impeccable white apartment? How long before the two women are trying on clothes, discussing bikini waxes, doing each other’s hair and make-up and having a big sloppy drunk bonding moment? How long before they discover that Mark was cheating on both of them with Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl Kate Upton? How long before she goes running toward us on the beach in slo-mo wearing a tiny white bikini?

Except for that last one, the answer to all of the above is way, way too long. But Kate Upton does look pretty great running in the bikini.

The trio decide that Mark must be punished. So Kate gives him estrogen in his smoothie and depilatory in his shampoo and Carly puts laxative in his drink. There’s an excruciating bathroom scene. Though it is funny when the only replacement pants he can find are red skinny jeans from a hipster.

Then they go after his money. All of this requires a lot of girly support group stuff, which is bad, and a lot of slapstick, which is much worse. All but about two or three of the best moments (a relative concept) are in the trailer. Comedic setups are poised to go off, then abandoned without resolution. The woman exist for no reason except in relation to this unappealing man.

This is a movie about sisterhood and female empowerment that makes fun of Kate Upton’s character for being a dumb blonde and makes fun of Cameron Diaz for wishing she had Kate Upton’s figure. This is a comedy that lets us know we are back in New York City by playing Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York” and lets us know the women are having fun with their revenge plan by playing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” The few witty lines and funny situations are lost in a headache-inducing cacophony, emphasis on the first two syllables.

Parents should know that the theme of the movie is adultery and betrayal. It includes crude sexual references and non-explicit situations, drinking and drunkenness, smoking, drug reference, comic peril and violence, and gross potty humor.

Family discussion: Why did the women become friends? Why were they so misled by Mark?

If you like this, try: “The First Wives Club,” “She-Devil” (and the better original version, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil) and “9 to 5”

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Comedy Movies -- format

Rio 2

Posted on April 10, 2014 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Peril and cartoon-style violence, bad guy swallowed by snake, discussion of risks to the environment and species
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	April 11, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	July 14, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00I6JEPF8

Just because a South American frog has toxic venom that can cause instant death does not mean she cannot be adorably lovesick. Broadway belter Kristin Chenoweth (“Wicked,” “Glee”) steals the show right under the Brazil nut-cracking beaks of our old friends the macaws Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) as Gabi, a tiny little tree frog whose sweet nature is challenged by (1) the fact that she is poisonous and (2) the subject of her utter but perhaps misplaced devotion is the cockatoo villain of the original “Rio,” Nigel (Jermaine Clement). Although at times over-plotted and slow to get going, this sequel is bright and entertaining, with musical numbers that rock the rainforest.

Blu, Jewel, and their three macaw chicks are living happily in the bird sanctuary set up for them by their human friends Linda (Leslie Mann) and Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro). Blu, raised in Linda’s home, enjoys making pancakes for breakfast but Jewel, raised in the wild, wants to show their children the beauty of the world she came from. Think “Green Acres,” with Blu as Eva Gabor. When Tulio and Linda find evidence that there are macaws living in the rainforest, Jewel persuades Blu that they should go for a visit. Blu loads up his fanny pack with bug spray, water purifier, bandaids and GPS and they go off to the Amazon, taking along some of their feathered friends.

This time, the problem is not smugglers but three separate threats that are far more dire. Illegal loggers are destroying the rainforest. Nigel, with Gabi’s help, wants revenge following his injuries in the climax of the last film, which left him unable to fly and working as a Shakespearean actor. But he is determined to get revenge and Gabi will do anything to help him.. And when Jewel finds that the newly discovered macaws are her father (Andy Garcia) and the community she thought had been destroyed, she wants to turn the brief visit into a permanent stay. Blu misses the comforts of home and feels a lot of competition from Jewel’s old friend Roberto (Bruno Mars), who has all of the confidence and ease at fitting in that Blu envies. There’s also a turf war between the red and blue macaws as the food sources shrink.

It takes a while to get going and once it does too much seems to happen at once. But it is bright and colorful and sweet and funny. And that little frog is a hoot and a half.

Parents should know that this film has some potty humor, comic, cartoon-style violence and mild peril, a bad guy swallowed by a snake, a spider, a poisonous frog, a skeleton, and environmental issues.

Family discussion: What can we do to protect the plants and animals of the rainforest? What does Gabi like about Nigel? Why do Blu and Jewel each think the other is “weird” about humans? Why is Eduardo tough on Blu?

If you like this, try: “Rio” and “Despicable Me”

Muppets Most Wanted

Posted on March 20, 2014 at 6:00 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for some mild action
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril and action, no one hurt
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 21, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	August 11, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00H4RL2H2

The Muppets live up to the title in this adorable follow-up that is even truer to the essence of Muppetry than the Jason Segal predecessor because it puts the Muppets themselves at the heart of the story, not the humans. And that’s very good news. No one is better than the Muppets at creating a giddy mixture of sharp wit, delirious silliness, pop culture references (here they range from Ingmar Bergman’s scythe-bearing Death chess match to a “Producers”-inspired prison gang kick-line) and random guest stars (Lady Gaga! Tony Bennett! Together!), and a self-deprecating but irrepressibly sunny sensibility. There is always grand spectacle, romance, and heart, even a brief but telling lesson in manners. Plus, there’s another tuneful and hilarious collection of songs from Oscar-winner Bret McKenzie. The result is pure joy.

It starts about one minute after the last movie ends. The human couple is clearly on the road to happily ever after, but what about the Muppets? Time for a sequel! “While they wait for Tom Hanks to Make ‘Toy Story 4,'” they sing, even though “everybody knows that the sequel’s never quite as good.” They also blithely explain that we can expect “a family-style adventure during which we should bond and learn heartwarming lessons like sharing and taking your turn and the Number 3.”

The Muppets hire Dominic Badguy (“pronounced Bad-GEE”) (Ricky Gervais) as their new tour manager and go to Europe to perform. He actually is a bad GUY, however, and the tour is just a cover for an elaborate series of heists, conveniently located next door to the venues selected by Dominic. Meanwhile, Constantine, the most dangerous frog in the world, escapes from the Siberian gulag where he has been in prison. And he looks almost exactly like Kermit, except for a distinctive beauty mark on his cheek. Constantine slaps a fake birthmark onto Kermit’s cheek, covers his own with green make-up, and soon Kermit is captured (vainly trying to explain that he’s an “Amphibian-American”) and sent to the gulag.

And Constantine is running the Muppet Show. Even though he speaks with a thick accent and has a completely different personality, none of the Muppets notices the switch, especially when he tells them they can do whatever they want. Miss Piggy does not realize that her beloved frog has been replaced.

Meanwhile, the hard core prisoners in the gulag (including Ray Liotta and a mystery guest star in solitary) figure out immediately that Kermit is not Constantine because he says “thank you.” Even Nadya (Tina Fey), who runs the prison, knows it is not Constantine. But her fondest dream is a first-class gulag musical show. She won’t let Kermit leave because she needs him to direct it. And she knows every possible trick the prisoners might try to sneak out. She explains, “I have a Netflix account with the search words ‘prison escape.'” Also, she likes him. So, soon Kermit is overseeing a prison kick-line to a song from “A Chorus Line” (the guy in solitary has a great set of pipes). And Constantine is getting ready for the biggest heist of all: the British royal family’s crown jewels, though — wait for it — “It’s not easy being mean.”

On the path of the master thieves are a pair of non-master detectives, Jean Pierre Napoleon from Interpol (Ty Burell, through no fault of his own the movie’s only weak point) and Sam the Eagle from the FBI. Their competition over the size of their badges is rather fun, but then their appearances descend into repeated and increasingly flat jokes about Napoleon’s tiny car and constant breaks for meals and vacations. But then we have the classic shots of newspapers to bring us up to date: “Slow News Week; Muppets Dominate Headlines” and we’re back in Muppet heaven.

Note: Be sure to get to the theater in time. There’s an adorable “Monsters University” short before the feature starts.

Parents should know that there is some bad behavior, a very brief scary skeleton and mild peril. Scenes in the gulag play dire prison conditions and treatment for comedy.

Family discussion: How could Nadya, Fozzie, and Walter tell the difference between Kermit and Constantine? Why didn’t anyone else figure out what was going on? Why did Constantine let the Muppets do whatever they wanted?

If you like this, try: The Muppet Show and their feature films