Monthly Archives: March 2011

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On The Couch 2011 #14: Hairspray

I loved the new version of Hairspray. I never saw the original Hairspray, so any comparison with that and this musical version will have to wait for another day.

The John Waters cameo in the beginning was very cool. Like I said, I never saw the original, so I don’t know why this cameo mattered to me, but it seemed like he was giving this new version his blessing by doing it.

When this Hairspray first came out, all the hype surrounding seemed to be over John Travolta in a dress and a fat suit. Did this move get anyone to go see Hairspray? I’m guessing the cheese-factor of it kept more than a few people away, which is a shame, because it’s a really good movie.

Wow, who knew James Marsden was so dreamy? As Cyclops in X-Men, he had to hide his two best features: his winning smile behind Cyclops’s countenance and his bright blue eyes under that ruby red visor. For anyone keeping score, James Marsden > Zac Efron.

The always-smiling Mars.

I kind of want to own this DVD, if only for the “Learn the Dances of Hairspray” bonus feature. I really want to break out Peyton Place After Midnight at the next wedding I attend.

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On The Couch 2011 #13: Eclipse

I remember watching a cartoon as a kid where someone throws a boomerang at someone else. The boomerang misses, the target gloats and inevitably gets hit in the back of the head by the returning boomerang. I can’t pin this scene down to a specific cartoon because I think it happened in every cartoon that involves a boomerang. But this scene is like me and Eclipse. I dodged Eclipse at the theater in the 52 movies in 52 weeks quest of 2010, but the Eclipserang smacked me in the back of the head on its DVD release.

I will say this about Eclipse; it is definitely the best Twilight movie yet. The plot is very similar to X2. The Cullens (Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) and Jacob’s tribe (X-Men) have to team up to stop a common enemy, the hipster vampire army (Stryker). That said, if it comes down to it, choose X2 over Eclipse every time. Every. Time.

Watch this instead.

Does anyone else find it weird that the vampire that looked like a constipated Austin Scarlett from season one of Project Runway and seemed functionally retarded in the first movie turns out to be a Civil War era MMA badass?

Some of you vill be in…and some of you vill be out.

After I saw the first Twilight movie, I had a realization that all the Edward-maniacs have no problem overlooking, that the Cullens are a bunch of racists. They hate Native Americans big time. This point is further backed up in the second movie, where Edward and company continually talk smack on Jacob’s people, how bad they smell, etc. Sure, Team Edward will tell you it’s not because they’re Native Americans, but because they’re werewolves that Ku Klux Cullen hates them so much. But when every werewolf in the movie is a Native American (and vice versa), that seems as good an argument as “But my best friend is black.” The Cullens’ racism is less overt in this installment, until you find out that Austin Scarlett used to be Johnny Reb; the ironic part being that Austin Scarlett seems to be the vampire coolest about working with the wolves. It’s nice to see that he’s reformed, and has found a good laxative.

I think it would be a great move if the Twilight producers scrap whatever is in the fourth Twilight book and just make the next movie about Austin Scarlett’s badass vampire twin. Have him and Jacob team up and go on a cross country ass-kicking tour. Maybe Austin could design a new outfit for Jacob after convincing him that the no shirt and denim shorts make him look like a 1980s wrestler.

Can someone explain to me the whole naming process behind the Twilight books and movies? Are they thematic, or are they just random phrases about the night sky that sound nice? Now that Stephanie Meyer has hit dawn with her last title, may I suggest The Twilight Saga: Double Rainbow as the title of book five?

Oh, and Team Jacob all the way.

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At The Theater 2011 #1: Happythankyoumoreplease

I saw 52 movies in the movie theater last year and I’m just getting to the movie theater for the first time this year! How is that possible? This has been a seriously long break from the theater. Except for taking in The Fighter for a second time (because The Fighter is that good), catching a free screening of Happythankyoumoreplease at the Angelika was the first time I’ve been to a movie theater since seeing Tangled on New Year’s Eve. That’s 62 days without seeing a new movie! The only good movies out at the beginning of this year seemed to be the best of last year, so it doesn’t look like I’ve missed much.
The poster and trailer for Happythankyoumoreplease couldn’t have tried harder to get me to think this movie should have been titled Garden State 2: Across the Hudson. Written, directed and starring the lead actor of a popular sitcom? Check. A soundtrack heavy on indie music? Check. A protagonist that needs to find his way in the world as well as his true love? Double check.

But watching Happythankyoumoreplease, it becomes apparent that the similarities between it and Garden State are mostly superficial. This news will either be a cause of joy or sorrow for you, depending on your view of Garden State, a movie which I’ve noticed people tend to have only extreme feelings about.

I enjoyed Happythankyoumoreplease, but my main complaint about the movie is that I felt that it would have worked better if it wasn’t an ensemble piece. The most interesting storylines in Happythankyoumoreplease are Josh Radnor’s character Sam’s relationships with prospective love Mississippi (Kate Mara) and with pseudo-little brother Rasheen (Michael Algieri). If these are the A and B stories of the movie, then I would call the Annie (Malin Akerman) and Sam #2 (Tony Hale) love story the C storyline and the Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) and Carlos (Pablo Schreiber) story the D story.

Malin Akerman proves she doesn’t need hair to be pretty.

Normally, I’m fine with ensemble movies and TV shows about three couples (Traffic Light and Perfect Couples are two of my favorite new shows), but I think the addition of the fourth story on top of them is just too much. Out of the four storylines, I thought that the Mary Catherine/Carlos story could have been cut. At the same time, I thought Zoe Kazan was great in this movie, and some of the best dialogue appears here, specifically Mary Catherine’s and Carlos’s New York vs. Los Angeles argument.

During that NY vs. LA argument and at some other points in Happythankyoumoreplease, I couldn’t help but think that the characters were soliloquizing Josh Radnor’s thoughts on life. But without access to Josh Radnor, that’s just theorizing on my part.

But we’ve all heard the NY vs. LA argument before, either in movies or conversations with our friends, so dropping that in favor of giving more time to the movie’s most unique story, Sam’s accidental and illegal adoption of Rasheen.

LA’s trump card: The Double-Double.

Another argument to drop the D storyline is that it costs Kate Mara screen time, who I thought was the best part of Happythankyoumoreplease. She played her character Mississippi with a combination of hope and world weariness that I’ve seen all too often among anyone in New York with dreams for themselves that haven’t been delivered yet.

happythankyoumorekatemaraplease

Josh Radnor’s sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, is often shortened to HIMYM in print and I have a feeling that he’s going to become part of another acronym with HTYMP. Let’s end this era of initializing titles. When you buy a ticket for Happythankyoumoreplease, be sure to say the whole title, and say it without any spaces between the words as author Josh Radnor intended.

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On The Couch 2011 #12: The Kids Are All Right

With mere hours to go before the Academy Awards, I sat down on the couch to watch The Kids Are All Right. This movie is alright, with some really funny scenes that had me laughing loudly.

But at the same time, The Kids Are All Right is a strong early contender for next year’s Tuesdee for Most Overrated Movie. This film is why The Town didn’t score a nomination? Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t think this movie was Greenberg bad. I just didn’t think it was nearly as good a movie as the other Best Picture nominees.

I also feel that Annette Bening’s performance was extremely over hyped. She was good, but I don’t see what was so special about her performance that she was considered a possible spoiler for Natalie Portman taking home the Best Actress award on Oscar night.

Someone who did earn his nomination was Mark Ruffalo, who remains awesome. I would like to one day make a movie with Mark Ruffalo, J.K. Simmons and Stanley Tucci. Roof, J/K and The Tooch in one movie would be the trifecta of supporting actors.

The Ruf continues to be on fire!
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On The Couch 2011 #11: Dinner for Schmucks

More than any other movie I’ve watched on the couch this year, Dinner for Schmucks has been the one I’ve been recommending to people. It had me laughing throughout the whole movie. Paul Rudd is back on my good side after he fell from grace with How Do You Know.

The characters in Dinner for Schmucks fit the actors perfectly and every comedian in the movie batted 1.000 here. Especially funny was The Flight of the Conchords’s Jemaine Clement as Paul Rudd’s potential romantic rival, the sex crazed artist Kieren.

Little Known Movie Trivia: Kieren was based off baseball painter Graig Kreindler. Check out the sexual energy exuding from DiMaggio’s eyebrows.
(check out graigkreindler.com for more awesome art)

My new favorite John Lennon quote is “You may say that I’m dreamer. But I’m not.” How great is that line? I can’t believe that no one has thought of shortening Lennon’s lyric for humor before. I love it.

Not a dreamer.

If you watch this on Blu-Ray, make sure to watch the special feature on the guys who designed the taxidermied mice for the movie. They are as out there as any of the dinner guests.

Watch Dinner for Schmucks. I doubt you’ll regret it.

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On The Couch 2011 #10: In and Out

As I was watching In and Out for the first time, I kept asking myself, “Is this movie offensive?” It looked like the producers took great care to be as politically correct as possible when making it. Ignorance and bigotry are portrayed as wrong, and rightly so. Homosexuality is portrayed as a taboo, but one that is ultimately accepted. But then Kevin Kline will freak out when someone says Barbara Streisand is overrated and I start thinking maybe they are going for the gay stereotype. In the defense of In and Out, I did laugh during that scene.

The funniest part of the In and Out is that everyone thinks Kevin Kline might be gay because he hasn’t proposed to Joan Cusack after dating her for two years? If that’s the case, I’m Harvey Fierstein.

In and Out is like the drug store candy bar of movies. It’s enjoyable, but not very memorable.

I would be much more excited to this In-N-Out again.
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On The Couch 2011 #9: Bright Star

If you like your period pieces featuring guys who have hipster hair and women who go for the Amish look, then Bright Star should immediately be moved to the top of your queue.

“A can of PBR is a joy forever…” –John Keats

That Amish look they give Abbie Cornish in this movie should be considered a crime against people who would otherwise enjoy looking at Abbie Cornish. Have you seen Abbie Cornish outside of this movie? She’s gorgeous. But you definitely wouldn’t figure that out in Bright Star.

The non Amish-Abbie Cornish. It’s better? y/y?

The best part of Bright Star is John Keats’s best friend Mr. Brown, played by Paul Schneider. If a line has any bit of humor in it, it’s probably coming out of his mouth. And Mr. Brown has the line that I have found myself repeating to no end in my best attempt at a Scottish accent: “I FAILED JOHN KEATS!” If you haven’t seen Bright Star yet, I’m guessing you don’t see why that would be my favorite line, but I dare you to watch Bright Star and not walk around yelling “I failed John Keats!” like Groundskeeper Willie.

Not sure if you want to see Bright Star? Answering yes to the any of the following means you do. Is your favorite kind of poet the penniless type who goes on to be one of the most well respected poets after he dies? Do you like top hats? Do you like quoting Groundskeeper Willie, but you’re find yourself in need of new material? Are you an Amish lady in need of styling advice? Are you a hipster boy in need of a new hairstyle? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wonder how tall that kid from Love, Actually is now”?

The kid from Love, Actually is crazy tall now.
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On The Couch 2011 #8: It’s a Boy Girl Thing

My first thought during the opening minutes of It’s a Boy Girl Thing was “Is that the girl from the Daniel Powter – Bad Day video?” You know, the one where the guy and girl are constantly missing meeting each other, despite working across the street from one another and graffiting the same poster every day. When I first saw the video, I thought the girl was Keira Knightly and the guy was one of the dudes from Sports Night. I was wrong on both counts.

Just remember kids: it doesn’t matter if it’s a cute story, vandalism is still vandalism.

Flash forward a couple of years later and Daniel Powter has been regulated to the one hit wonder discount bin of history and the girl from the video, Samaire Armstrong, stars in It’s a Boy Girl Thing. Actually, the movie was filmed in 2006, which was around the time of Powter’s tail end of his rise to and disappearance from fame journey, so it must have seemed that with this movie, Armstrong would be vaulting off the back of Powter into the limelight, except that no one has heard of this movie before Netflix offered it on instant streaming.

I watched It’s a Boy Girl Thing on Netflix Instant Streaming because I wanted to watch Just One of the Guys, but that’s not available for streaming. Netflix recommended It’s a Boy Girl Thing instead.

It’s a Boy Girl Thing is a solid two-star version of the body-switch movie concept. Instead of doing the more popular generational switch a la such 80s classics as Vice Versa and Like Father Like Son, It’s a Boy Girl Thing goes for the gender swap.

Judge Reinhold & Fred Savage > Kirk Cameron & Dudley Moore

The boy in It’s a Boy Girl Thing, Kevin Zegers, pulls off the cross-gender acting better than Samaire Armstrong. He played it more subtly and came across more like a real girl trapped in a guy’s body. Armstrong went more for the stereotypical crotch grabbing and talking kind of deep and slow, which seemed more like a girl imitating a boy instead of a girl waking up in the body of a boy.

If your favorite part of Daniel Powter’s Bad Day video was the girl, you should watch It’s a Boy Girl Thing. If your reaction to Daniel Powter was “Who?” you can probably skip this movie.