The Nines (2007)

The Nines (2007)

[6] Screenwriter John August (Titan AE, Big Fish) makes his directorial debut in this headtrippy movie about an actor, a TV showrunner, and a video game designer whose lives interconnect in a mysterious way. Ryan Reynolds plays all three characters…
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

[6] Melissa McCarthy shifts gears with a dramatic turn in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the true story of celebrity biographer Lee Israel, who after decades of success writing best-selling books about the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Estee Lauder, and…
The Happytime Murders (2018)

The Happytime Murders (2018)

[5] When the puppet cast of an old TV show start getting murdered one by one, a puppet policeman (voiced and performed by Bill Barretta) and his estranged partner (Melissa McCarthy) work together to find the killer. The first twenty…
The Boss (2016)

The Boss (2016)

[3] And if you look out your window at the Isle of Misfit Movies, you might catch a glimpse of The Boss, an alleged comedy from 2016 starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, and Peter Dinklage. McCarthy stars as a crude…
Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

[6] This isn't a reboot -- it's damn near a paint-by-numbers remake of the 1984 original. But for a remake, it's not too bad -- thanks primarily to the all-female ensemble. While none of the women have a chance to truly soar…
Go (1999)

Go (1999)

[7] Of all the edgy, non-linear pretenders to the throne that came in the wake of Pulp Fiction, Doug Liman's Go may be among the best. The story weaves in and around a handful of disparate characters that interact at…
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.