(MOVIE REVIEW) Charlie Day proves that he is the most underrated comedic actor in Hollywood in the insanely funny Horrible Bosses

When I was a teenager I got a nicely wrapped gift from my dad for Christmas. I opened it and found this great leather bound box for my nightstand that I thought would be a very useful item. After he urged me to open the box I found some much appreciated money inside, which was basically the “real gift” (even though I still have the box on my night stand 13 years later but the money is long long gone). What a great feeling. To get something that is already a great premise but then, as if given a second gift, to see that it is filled with something that is actually BETTER than the package originally hinted at. This is exactly what you get with this film. A funny and amusing premise that is only the container for some amazingly talented comedic actors.

As the title and the previews easily give away, the movie is about three friends who hate their bosses.  Nick Hendricks (Bateman) is up for a promotion at work when his boss, Dave Harken (Spacey), completely crushes his dreams. Kurt Buckman (Sudeikis) runs into a “brickwall” at work when his father-figure of a boss dies unexpectedly and the deceased’s screw-up son, Bobby Pellitt (Farrell), proves to be a drug addicted ticking time bomb that threatens to siphon the money from the company and leave it destitute. Finally we come to Dale Arbus (Day), who is a dental assistant that is consistently being sexually harassed by his boss, Dr. Julie Harris (Anniston). One night the three friends decide that they would like to have their problems “removed” by a professional. When they meet a gentleman in a bar named (I will shorten it for obvious reasons) M.F. Jones, played by Jamie Foxx, they are sent on their paths to take care of their problems. When this blows up, and two of the bosses cross paths accidently, the three friends must find a way to wash their hands of the whole deal and clear their names. 

Worth the admission? 100% YES! One of the funniest comedies that I have seen in a long time. Easily rivals, and in my opinion beats, Bridesmaids for funniest movie of the year (so far). Charlie Day, of Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, is insanely funny in this movie. This will finally open acting doors for him that should have been opened years ago. While Bateman is just “ok” (as he is basically his same character from Arrested Development/Extract/Couples Retreat/Juno/Et.) Anniston is fantastic. The shock of her transformation from America’s Sweetheart to a sex crazed dentist makes her that much funnier. I can’t stress this enough, everyone turns in great performances! 

Note: In most comedy movies they show almost all of the big laugh moments in the trailer, so you are left feeling like you already know the punch line when the joke comes. This movie saved the best stuff for the film and put the “throw away” jokes in the trailer. That should tell you how funny it is. 

Let me know if you shared my laughs with this week’s movie 

(DVD REVIEW) CEDAR RAPIDS

Also got to see this one this past week. While I am not a huge fan of Ed Helms, I am a SUPER HUGE fan of John C. Reilly, so I gave it a go. This movie is a slow boil comedy. While there are comedic aspects in the first 1/3 of the movie, it doesn't really hit its stride until the 2/3 through.

The movie is about happy-go-lucky Tim Lippe (Helms). He is in a relationship with an older woman that was once his teacher. When tragedy strikes the insurance office Tim works at, he is made the new presenter at their annual insurance conference. Once he makes it to Cedar Rapids he is quickly introduced to a group of people that his boss has warned him to stay away from, one of which is Dean Ziegler (Reilly). When Lippe begins to open his eyes to the people that he has always trusted, opens his mind to new experiences, and opens his heart to his new friends he finds that he has a lot to learn about the real world.

This movie was funny. I liked it more than my wife did but I think that it is because I understand his world a little better. It was a fun fun movie. Reilly was great. Helms was fun. Anne Heche, who plays a flirty woman looking for a little something special from Helms. It is worth a rent.

(MOVIE REVIEW) Mr. Popper’s Penguins provides a pleasant family picture but didn’t pique my personal picture preference

Do you know what is twice as cute as a kitten but never sheds? Me. Know what is a close runner up? Penguins. I dare anyone to go to the zoo, watch them playing and waddling around, and tell me that they are not adorable. We are incapable of resisting their adorableness and that is why they will one day rule the world...but that is another story for another time. 

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is based off of a beloved children’s book from 1938. The film adaptation centers around Tom Popper (Carrey), a very successful business man, and his estranged wife and children. Popper has worked his way up the corporate ladder for years and is on the verge of making partner, but before that can happen his bosses inform him that he must obtain the infamous Tavern on the Green located in Central Park. While focused on the task at hand he receives a package from his recently deceased father. What Popper first believes to be a stuffed penguin turns out to be the real deal. When one penguin quickly becomes six, the shenanigans begin. His children become attached to the penguins, so Popper tries to find a way to make it work. This proves to be harder than he originally thought and he finds himself defending his new role to his bosses, neighbors, and to a zoo keeper determined to take the penguins to the zoo. When his life turns upside down, and his character is put to the test, will Popper remain a slave to his career, or will the penguins help him become the father and husband that he was always meant to be? 

I’m not a fan of Jim Carrey’s comedy. I actually prefer him in more serious roles like The Majestic, Man on the Moon, or The Number 23. So it’s no surprise that I’m not a big fan of his comedy in this movie. However, he has a few scenes that are pretty touching and show the better side of his range, which I thought were great. Also, the real stars of this movie are the penguins, and they are really funny and very entertaining.

Worth the admission? Definitely for a family outing, but not so much if you are looking for anything with substance. While cute, the movie doesn’t stick with you past the parking lot. I say watch it with the kids or rent it later.  

(MOVIE REVIEW) Super 8 is easily a 10

When is a monster movie not a monster movie? When it’s also a comedy. I love when a movie transcends its own genre. When a movie is billed as a monster movie and you sit in your seat, expecting nothing but destruction, and end up with a movie that works on so many more levels than you ever thought that it would.  J.J Abrams (producer and director) is extremely gifted when it come to delivering these types of genre crossing projects. His television shows have consisted of Alias, Lost and Fringe and feature films include movies like Star Trek, Cloverfield, the Mission Impossible franchise and now Super 8.

Super 8 gets its title from camera film of the same name. This is the particular film that a group of friends in a small town in 1979 use to shoot their homemade monster movies. When they go to the local train depot to shoot a scene they decide to shoot with an oncoming train in the background. When this train derails, they have to make a run for it. While scrambling from the fallout of the crash their camera is overturned and records the whole ordeal, and what it records is something they cannot believe. Something was in that train…and it got out. When the military comes to town and starts to investigate, all while keeping the townsfolk in the dark, the kids decide to take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the strange events that have been recently plaguing their small town. What they find is something that they never expected, and what takes place is something that they will never forget. 

Have you ever wished that you could combine two of your favorite movies into one and see what the result would be? I have, and this movie is it. It’s like someone combined Cloverfield with The Goonies. It is full of comedy, major tear jerking moments, great acting and lots of monstrous mayhem. 

Worth the admission? Absolutely! I rarely buy movies these days, but this one will be on my shelf the minute it is released. It succeeds on so many levels and is fun for everyone. I laughed a lot during this movie but actually laughed out loud at least 3 times. That is a rare thing for me in a theater. 

If you have some favorite movies from your childhood that you would compare Super 8 to, let me know what they are.

(MOVIE REVIEW) Madea's Big Happy Family refuses to take an “even” approach and ends up with more ups and downs than a yoyo competition

I want to start off by admitting something. While I am a fan of Tyler Perry, because of the incredible way that he has branded himself and made his name synonymous with success, I have never been a fan of his work. It is usually all over the place. Like a rutterless ship. It goes from being really good to really really bad within the time span of two scenes. That, to me, is a travesty. When someone has had this much success and still can’t seem to pull everything together to make a movie that the majority of the audience can enjoy.

In this film Shirley (Loretta Devine) has received some devastating news from her doctor. In an attempt to discuss her health problems with her entire family, she calls them all to dinner. This fails miserably. Her family just can’t seem to get along. Everyone stays too caught up in their own problems to even take time to listen to hers. When the dinner fails, she and Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) enlists the help of Madea (Tyler Perry) to help straighten out the family and get them all together….before time runs out.

This movie has some good points to it. It really does. At times I really enjoyed and even laughed pretty hard at a few things. The problem is that it can’t sustain the quality or flow of content. It will take you to a great scene and then drop off completely. Not only that, but they give some very serious subject matter to Isaiah Mustafa to deliver. It is EXTREMELY hard to take this guy serious after his Old Spice body wash commercials. Not only that, but he can’t act. Being typecast AND not having the acting chops to break that typecast is a dangerous combination.

Worth the admission? I would have to say NO. At least not for me. If you enjoy the other Perry material, you will like this. I, unfortunately, did not.

Standout: On a good note, Cassi Davis/Aunt Bam is hilarious. She was easily the best part about this movie and I really enjoyed her screen time. If you enjoyed her performance, or have another favorite performance in the film, let me know.

(MOVIE REVIEW) The Hangover Part II proves that you can always go back to the well, especially if that well contains a Wolfpack.

I love a good dessert. No matter how good a meal is I always enjoy dessert more. It’s a weakness. I could sit down to a Beef Wellington prepared by Gordon Ramsay and it may be the single greatest meal that I have ever eaten, but a piece of cheesecake afterwards will make the dinner a long forgotten build up that ends with perfection. So, if The Hangover was the meal, The Hangover Part II is the dessert. It does something that is often attempted and almost always failed to achieve…it’s arguably better than the original. 

We, yet again, find ourselves about to witness a marriage. This time it’s Stu (Helms) that is getting married. He and his fiancé are getting married in Thailand and the whole group is invited, except for Alan (Galifianakis). After some pressuring from Phil (Cooper) and Doug (Bartha), Stu finally agrees to let Alan come to the wedding. Stu, wanting to keep the surprises to a minimum, only agrees to a single beer on the beach to commemorate the night. They wake up in a Bangkok motel with no memory of the previous night. Teddy, Stu’s soon to be brother in law, is missing and the guys must find a way to get him back, to try to remember the events of the previous night and to make it back in time for Stu’s wedding. 

If the story sounds familiar it’s because it is basically the same format from the first film. This was my biggest problem when I first heard about this movie being made. I didn’t think that the same movie in a different location with different jokes would be worth watching. I’m glad to say that I was wrong. The format doesn’t really matter in movies like this. It’s just a device. A situation to overcome. That is all. When it comes to this type of movie the jokes and character interactions are what matter. That is something that this movie does incredibly well. 

Worth the admission? 100% yes. This movie doesn’t miss a single opportunity to cash in on a joke. It’s an R Rated comedy and it is rated as such for a very good reason, but if you don’t mind a comedy like this I would recommend that you make your way to a theater to see it this weekend. 

Note: Let me know which Hangover you preferred and why 

(MOVIE REVIEW) The wedding comedy genre gets a lesson in equality with Bridesmaids

I have a bad habit of pretending that guys are the only ones that can be crude. I guess because that is the only perspective that I have and I like to pretend that women would never be as gross and vulgar as men can be. It might be small minded of me to do this, but I have always held women in such high regard that I have never really considered that they act as inappropriately as guys when they get together. That is what is so refreshing about this movie. It takes away a bit of the mystique and shows that it doesn’t matter what gender you are, we are all capable of being petty when we are put in certain situations. 

Bridesmaids tells a story of two best friends whose lives begin to move in very different directions. Lillian (Rudolph) gets engaged and begins to experience a new life of luxury and frills, but Annie (Wiig) sees her life on the downward slope. When Lillian picks her wedding party, she appoints best friend Annie as her Maid of Honor but Annie finds fierce competition from Helen (Byrne) as the planning moves along. Helen finds a way to consistently “one-up” Annie in everything that is planned. Annie, not wanting to lose her best friend, attacks back and causes one mess after another. While the bride is always the number one priority at any wedding, the spot for number two leads us on a hilarious trip into the world of bridesmaid warfare. 

I loved this movie. It was a little crude, has really strong language, and a couple of really gross scenes but it really opened my eyes to something that movies usually try to hide. Women can be petty. Movies usually do not take that approach. They usually paint men as the gross ones and women as dainty flowers in flowing gowns with perfect skin and hair that never act inappropriately. It was so nice to see someone finally make a movie that shows that gender is irrelevant and human nature (good, bad or disgusting) is universal. 

Worth the admission? Absolutely. It was a very funny mix of over the top gags and awkward moment comedy that makes this a really well balanced movie.