Marmaduke

Posted on August 31, 2010 at 8:00 am

Those who come to “Marmaduke” eager for the humor that comes from the intestinal distress of others don’t have to wait too long. The first of many instances of doggy-doo jokes comes about three minutes into the film.

Marmaduke has been running in the comic section for more than half a century. It has just one panel and just one joke: Marmaduke is a very, very big dog who brings chaos to those who try to impose order in the world.

In this movie adaptation, Marmaduke and his family move to California and Marmaduke has to learn how to make new friends over at the dog park, which like middle school — very cliquey. He is quickly befriended by the independent-minded Mazie (voice of Emma Stone) but wants very much to be accepted by the pedigreed pooches, led by alpha dog Bosco (voice of Keifer Sutherland) and his lovely girlfriend Jezebel (voice of Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas). He treats his friends badly to become part of the cool group and learns that he has made a very bad mistake. Meanwhile, he is also getting in trouble at home with his human family: the always-appealing Lee Pace (“Pushing Daisies”) as an affectionate but distracted father and should-be-a-leading-lady Judy Greer. Released from an endless series of quippy best friend roles in an endless stream of chick flicks — she has friended more Jennifers and Jessicas on screen than can be found in all of Facebook — it is especially disappointing that she has an even smaller role here. She seems oddly passive, barely noticing what is going on in her home other than punishing her husband for punishing Marmaduke.

Not that kids who see this movie will care at all about that. They want to see some unbridled id creating chaos. They want to see cute dogs making big messes and still being loved, some dog-doo jokes and a silly dance. They want to see a daddy learning a lesson about how it is more important to listen to your kids than to work. They will enjoy all of these things, but for the adults who accompany them it will be a long 87 minutes.

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Marmaduke, Killers, and Get Him to the Greek

Posted on June 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm

Think of this week as a sorbet to cleanse the palate between the last four weeks of spring blockbusters and the big, big movies coming our way throughout June and July. Sequels! Remakes! Romance! Explosions! That’s all ahead. This week it’s all about comedy. And all three have the same theme: a straight-laced character or characters meet a free spirit who turns their lives upside down. Sometimes literally, especially when Marmaduke is involved.
Three movies are opening on Friday, none likely to get in the way of last week’s “Prince of Persia” and “Sex and the City 2” or next week’s “Toy Story 3.” For the kids, we have “Marmaduke” is based on the one-panel comic strip that has had the same joke every day since the Eisenhower administration: this dog is really big! The most hopeful indicators for this movie from the people behind the Garfield films are the voice talent: Owen Wilson as the title pooch and the always-reliable Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kiefer Sutherland, Steve Coogan, George Lopez, and Sam Elliott as his animal pals. Human characters are played by three of my favorites, too: Judy Greer, William H. Macy and “Pushing Daises'” Lee Pace.
“The Killers” stars Katherine Heigel and Ashton Kutcher in an action comedy about a woman who finds out that her husband is a spy in a rather inconvenient manner. In a surprise move, the movie’s studio has decided not to show “The Killers” to critics in time for reviews. They said,

We want to capitalize on the revolution in social media by letting audiences and critics define this film concurrently. In today’s socially connected marketplace, we all have the ability to share feedback instantly around the world. In keeping with this spirit, Lionsgate and the filmmakers want to give the opportunity to moviegoing audiences and critics alike to see “Killers” simultaneously, and share their thoughts in the medium of their choosing. We felt that this sense of immediacy could be a real asset in the marketing of “Killers.”

Translation: We’re hoping a lot of people are willing to buy tickets before the word gets out that it is a stinker.
According to Christy Lemire of AP, “cold openings are “a tactic studios normally use when there’s a guaranteed niche audience, such as for horror movies or ones based on video games – the logic being that fans of the genre will show up, regardless of reviews. But “Killers” is a mainstream romantic comedy with two A-list stars and a production budget of about $70 million.” She notes, too, that refusal to screen for critics does not always mean bad reviews.
Bad reviews don’t always mean bad ticket sales, either. But I’m predicting both for this one.
Fans of the raunchy comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” will remember Russell Brand’s breakthrough role as bad boy rock star Aldous Snow. In this film, that character literally takes center stage when a shy recording studio executive (Jonah Hill) is assigned to make sure Snow makes it to an important concert performance. It looks outrageous, offensive, and pretty funny.
I’ll be reviewing all three, so stay tuned.

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Opening This Week