Comedy

[7] Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, and John Cena star as parents of high school daughters determined to lose their virginity at prom. When the parents discover the young women’s secret sex pact, they freak out and spend the entire evening stalking their daughters to prevent the bumping of uglies. Well, except for Barinholtz’ character, who thinks it okay for the kids to mack out. Blockers …

[5] Shawn Hatosy stars in this coming-of-age dramedy written and produced by The Farrelly Brothers (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber). Hatosy plays a motherless ne’er-do-well teen whose father (Alec Baldwin) sends him to prep school after he smokes weed and crashes into a parked cop car. At Cornwall University, he gives the administration grief, falls in love with Amy Smart (who wouldn’t?), and …

[8] Nick Robinson (Jurassic World, Kings of Summer) stars as a closeted high school student who carries on an anonymous email relationship with another closeted student, all while trying to gather the courage to ‘come out’ to his family and friends. There have been many ‘coming out’ stories in independent cinema, but they’re usually sad, dreary affairs. Love, Simon, directed by Greg Berlanti (TV’s Everwood and The …

[4] Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell star in this subdued, kinda boring rom-com from Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, Witness). Depardieu plays a Frenchman trying to enter the U.S. by marrying an American woman. It’s an under-the-counter sort of arrangement that profits both parties, so long as the government doesn’t find out their marriage is a sham. Of course, the government does find out, and …

[8] Margot Robbie is Oscar-calibre as disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, who was stripped of her titles and banned from the sport after her husband spearheaded an assault on her competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, in 1994. I, Tonya paints the picture of a young girl growing up poor and fatherless, with only a ruthless monster of a mother to guide her. Allison Janney (The West Wing) is in …

[7] Matt Damon stars in writer/director Alexander Payne’s (Election, Nebraska) film about a man who undergoes a miraculous new “shrinking” process so that he can live in a miniature utopia where his money is worth more… a lot more. Unfortunately, the man’s wife (Kristen Wiig) gets cold feet and bails on the procedure after he’s already been shrunk. From thereon out, Downsizing is about finding yourself …

[6] The ‘Nerds’ return for a slightly inferior sequel centering around a fraternity conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where the adversarial Alpha Beta fraternity frames the nerds for a crime they didn’t commit and tries to get them expelled from the fraternal order. Robert Carradine returns as the lead nerd, but Anthony Edwards takes a cameo role (maybe he was busy shooting Top Gun?) this …

[6] Jodie Foster directs this universal story of holiday family togetherness, warts and all. Holly Hunter stars as a woman who travels to be with her parents for Thanksgiving after just being let go from her job. While she tries to obscure the truth from her mom and dad (Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning), she revels in the rebellious nature of her somewhat-estranged, gay brother …

[8] Frances McDormand and Amy Adams star in this ebullient female bonding flick set in the early 1930s, about a recently fired governess (McDormand) who ingratiates herself into the employment of a ditzy actress (Adams). This film, particularly in its first half, is a serendipitous comedy full of witty dialogue and a dash of slapstick. It moves quickly and I was completely caught up in its spell. When …

[6] Chris Pine stars as a young blind man trying to enter the dating world. His brother (American Pie‘s Eddie Kaye Thomas) steers him in plenty of wrong, comedic directions before Pine realizes he’s attracted to the young Indian receptionist at his doctor’s office. The Indian woman (Anjali Jay) wrestles with her family’s customs and is torn between an impending arranged marriage and an unsanctioned …

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