This Is 40 (2012)

This Is 40 (2012)

[6]

Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd star as two 40-year-olds struggling to balance the demands of their marriage, children, parents, and jobs. This Is 40 is billed as a ‘sort of’ sequel to Knocked Up, where Mann and Rudd originated the roles. Both films were directed by Judd Apatow, and both take a more pastiche approach to their narratives. On one hand, I like the fly-on-the-wall approach. It favors character over formulaic story structure. On the other hand, without that trusted structure, Apatow’s movies just seem to go on forever and ever and ever. This one is two hours and fifteen minutes, and I stand by my rule that no comedy should exceed an hour forty five.

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

[5] A light, fluffy, inconsequential comedy about a man who dies and is given the opportunity to return to life in another man's body. The movie works best during it's 'fish out of water' scenes, where Warren Beatty interacts with…
Tom Jones (1963)

Tom Jones (1963)

[4] It must have been a weak year at the movies for this to have been the winner of the Best Picture Oscar. Tom Jones is a meandering mess of a narrative, with no strong through line and a bizarre…
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)

[6]

Julie Andrews stars in this 1920s madcap musical as the title character, a woman looking to land a job and a husband in the big city, but ends up embroiled with a nefarious white slave trader! Mary Tyler Moore is underutilized as the woman Millie has to rescue from slavery, but Carol Channing chews the scenery in a bizarre Oscar-nominated performance only she could have pulled off. The musical numbers are a little unrelated to the storyline and they do go on a bit long, but there aren’t many numbers in the movie, and I believe they’re all over before the intermission. After the intermission, things move very quickly. Director George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) stretches out of his comfort zone so well, the last half-hour will have you wondering if Blake Edwards took over the film. It’s an intentionally silly, over-the-top sort of movie that pays off better than most of its sort.

Swing Time (1936)

Swing Time (1936)

[6]

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, filmdom’s undisputed dancing duo, are at their apex in Swing Time, directed by George Stevens (is there any genre that man didn’t tackle?) I’m not a fan of old song and dance flicks, but Swing Time is cute enough. The dancing sections are consistently entertaining and technically innovative. My favorite number is one where Astaire dances with three shadows of himself. They’re in synch for a while, and then start competing with each other. Unfortunately, Fred’s in black face for the whole number, but you’ll have that in films from the 30s and 40s.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

[5]

This ultra-gitchy flick is probably unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, and that’s normally cause for celebration. But if you’re not into playing video games (like me), the film’s rapid pacing and excessively kinetic style may just leave you plain bewildered. On the other hand, the narrative is so simple that without the quick rhythm and psychedelic interludes, the film wouldn’t be very interesting. Director Edgar Wright is consistently clever and inventive in his execution, and does a spectacular job keeping you interested throughout a plot line that could easily have been a snooze.

Holiday (1938)

Holiday (1938)

[8] George Cukor directs from the play by Philip Barry (The Philadelphia Story), giving Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant a chance to shine in this screwball romance. There's not a Hepburn/Grant pairing I don't like, and this one comes with…
Labyrinth (1986)

Labyrinth (1986)

[8] After impulsively wishing her baby brother away, a teenaged girl must brave a dangerous labyrinth and rescue the tot from a nefarious Goblin King in Labyrinth, the product of a bizarre but winning combination of creative talents. Director Jim…
Room for One More (1952)

Room for One More (1952)

[7]

Cary Grant already has three children and little time alone with his wife (Betsy Drake), but that doesn’t stop her from bringing home a few troubled foster children. Room for One More is a sweet comedy with just enough dramatic heft. Grant (at his droll, beleaguered best) and Drake have some great exchanges, especially after one of their boys inquires where babies come from. Grant draws the figure of a woman in the sand and explains. Drake then comes along and asks what the drawing is.

The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)

The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)

[6] An American colonel (Glenn Ford) is tasked with enforcing democracy in a small Okinawan village but slowly begins to embrace the villagers' hedonistic lifestyle in this off-kilter comedy based on the play by John Patrick. It's a sweet and…