[7] Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin star as a divorced couple who start to fall back in love with each other, despite the fact that he’s remarried and she is seeing Steve Martin on the side. Romantic comedies are my least favorite genre, but when the characters are older, wiser, and self-actualized — not to mention played by pros of this caliber — they can …
[3] Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher, and Rebel Wilson headline this flick written and directed by Leslye Headland (based on her stage play). It’s about three self-absorbed young women who somewhat reluctantly agree to be bride’s maids for a mutual acquaintance. Bachelorette is supposed to be a comedy, but it’s so darned mean-spirited and ugly, I had a hard time mustering any laughs. Am …
[7] I love movies. But unlike most other people who love movies, I don’t love Wes Anderson movies. To me they’re a case of too much style over too little substance. I never care about the story or the characters, and I’m usually more inclined to fall asleep than chuckle at anything. And while The Grand Budapest Hotel is probably my favorite Anderson flick so …
[6] This was the last film from the late Nora Ephron, the rom-com heavy-hitter who directed Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, and wrote the script for When Harry Met Sally. It’s based on two different books (both true stories) and takes a two-pronged approach to storytelling that is cute for a while, but somewhat unsatisfying when it comes to a close. Half the …
[4] The Marx Brothers made their feature film debut with The Cocoanuts, a filmed version of their popular vaudeville act of the same name. The scenario is centered around a Florida hotel where the brothers try to swindle people in a real estate auction, complicate a jewelry theft, and facilitate a wedding. Highlights include Groucho and Chico’s “why a duck” routine and Harpo’s bizarre craving …
[5] If you love the Muppets, this eighth Muppet movie won’t disappoint you too badly, though it’s far from their best effort. Director James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) and writer Nicholas Stoller return for their second entry in the franchise, after the great success of 2011’s The Muppets. This time, Kermet is replaced with the world’s most dangerous frog, a Russian gulag escapee named …
[6] Taking a cue from the staged reality antics of Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno), Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville, and director Jeff Tremaine team up for a slightly more scripted endeavor than their usual daredevil showcases. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa features Knoxville under old age makeup, playing a horny old widower suddenly charged with the care of his young grandson. The two hit the road …
[5] Bird on a Wire is a big, goofy Hollywood action spectacular with two likeable stars at its center. Mel Gibson plays an FBI informant in witness protection and Goldie Hawn plays an old flame he left at the altar when the feds reassigned him a new identity. Now they’re reunited and on the lam from a dirty fed and his hit men. This is …
[4] Meryl Streep stars as a food critic reluctant to remarry. But who can resist the charm of Jack Nicholson? The two marry and squeeze out a kid, and then sure enough, he cheats on her and the infidelity escalates from there. Heartburn is written by the late Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle) and directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate), and given that pedigree, it’s …
[7] Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft star as leaders of a Polish theater troop forced to entertain the Nazis while simultaneously plotting their escape to Allied territory. You might think the material is too heavy for a comedy, but To Be or Not to Be manages to stay light and breezy without being disrespectful. It certainly helps that most of the laughs come at the …
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