Pass on "Hall Pass"

  A while back, David and I were invited to see a sneak preview of the upcoming movie Hall Pass (set to release  February 25th). We were wary but naively optimistic.
  The casting was hopeful enough: Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer (The Office's "Pam"), Jason Sudeikis, and Christina Applegate. But the premise was slippery: A wife (Fischer), gets fed up with catching her husband looking at other women, and is encouraged and finally convinced to give her husband a "hall pass." For one week Wilson gets to live as though not married, while the wife and children go out of town. And then the icing on the precarious cake: Hall Pass is directed by the Farrelly Brothers - the guys who brought us Dumb & Dumber, Shallow Hal, There's Something About Mary and Stuck on You.
  Now, to be completely fair, this was a polled screening, so some of the content will change by the time Hall Pass actually hits theaters and it may not be quite as awful as our experience.
  That said, the film actually began very well. David and I, being Office fans, were particularly excited to see Jenna Fischer playing Wilson's wife. She is a very cute and slightly complex character whom we both enjoyed. Wilson's character is set up as her decent but sometimes-bumbling, hard-working husband and father of two kids. Their interaction was my favorite part of the movie. They are caring and work hard to maintain chemistry as both a married couple and parents. He's best friends with Jason Sudeikis' character, who is married to Applegate - who is, coincidentally, Fischer's best friend.
  Sudeikis was unfortunately and uncharacteristically very disappointing, playing an often lewd and scruple-free husband, taking every opportunity to dream about what could be with anything that walks by with breasts. Applegate's character is typical for her; self-absorbed, vapid and selfish. Their interactions are more often painful instead of what I think was an attempt at humor.
  All of that out of the way, the movie starts out well, but slow. When it starts to pick up, it begins its slide downhill - rapidly. Sudeikis repeatedly encourages Wilson to try to have sex with another woman while he is 'free' of marriage. There are several exchanges with a male barista that go from one hilarious, witty exchange to a no-holds-barred barrage of ludicrous violence at the end that was indescribably unnecessary. There was a gym scene with male genitalia that seems to have been thrown in just for the sake of the typical Farrelly Brother nudity - and was almost unbearably uncomfortable, and of course a scene with breasts that was (finally, thankfully) brief. Language, drug references, alcohol and sexuality ran rampant throughout - and maybe that's your kind of movie. David and I, however, found ourselves looking at each other, cringing, more often than watching the movie toward the end.
  Without trying to spoil the film for you, Hall Pass ends with resolution for one couple and disappointment for another. The overall tone of this movie is one of 'every man for himself'. This may be enjoyable for some, but as a married couple watching this it was completely uncomfortable and a very disappointing portrayal of marriage. I strongly recommend not wasting your time - and especially your money - on this bad excuse for a comedy. If you really want to see it, wait till it comes out on DVD (which I don't think will take long). This movie made David and I very leery of screenings for a while. I give Hall Pass 1.5 stars out of 5. 

No Strings Attached

  I walked into the theater two nights ago expecting to see a disappointing film, but determined to appreciate the free movie night. I was completely wrong on the first count.

  Director/Producer Ivan Reitman (the Ghostbusters movies, Kindergarten Cop, Stripes, Dave...) hits one out of the ballpark with No Strings Attached (Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug content, releasing January 21st). Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play a completely endearing pair who have known each other since middle school; then they chance across one another in present day and end up having sex. Portman then decides that they should just be "friends with benefits", no cuddling, no expectations, no emotions, strictly physical. This is not a promising premise. David and I, however, found ourselves laughing throughout the entire movie and I even cried at the end. 

  Portman's character is written so well that, even though she is determined to be emotionless and consequently could come off as uncaring, is entirely lovable and quirky. Likewise, Kutcher (whom I personally don't often like in films) is charming, persistent, and just plain funny! You see his good heart from the beginning, and almost want to cheer him on at times. (There is one particular scene where I and many other audience members literally applauded his efforts.) Kevin Kline was also a surprising addition to the film, cast as Kutcher's father in a completely inappropriate and hilarious role. 

  No Strings Attached was so well written and executed that what should have been a cheap comedy with a horrible plot is a completely enjoyable film, whose characters are so relate-able and enjoyable that David and I found ourselves talking about them the rest of the night. There is quite a bit of sexual content and language - though amazingly no nudity! -, so I wasn't at first sure I wanted to recommend this film or how to review it. In writing, I've found it even more difficult to summarize it's redeeming points without spoiling the movie for you.  David and I decided, however, the more we discussed it that it that we think it comparable to Love Actually. It's probably not a film that you would want to see with your parents - and is definitely not appropriate for children or teenagers - but I think you, too, will find you love it quite in spite of itself. I would give No Strings Attached a 4 out of 5. 

Disney gets "Tangled"

When I first saw a preview for Tangled, I thought, "This looks awesome!" When David and I saw it Thanksgiving day, we were blown away.

Tangled, for the hopefully few of you who may not yet have seen it, is Disney's latest take on the classic Grimm Brother's tale of "Rapunzel." This film was apparently years in the making, as Disney execs struggled to decide which direction to take this well-known story. Did they take the Grimms' slightly dark and twisted route? Did they take a sarcastic path? And then, finally, the creators of Bolt came in and saved the day; they would keep Rapunzel, her hair - and after that they would create a whole new story.

Mandy Moore makes an amazing comeback as the voice of Rapunzel, with several sweet and impressive songs. Rapunzel's character is drawn as sweet, unsure but courageous, and loyal. Locked away in a tower by a selfish woman who wishes to keep Rapunzel's gifts to herself, she is surprised when Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi) stumbles into her path. Levi is fantastic in this role, and amazed me with his vocal talent in his duet with Moore, "I See the Light" (already nominated for a Critic's Choice and Golden Globe award). Rider is a rouge figure, who oozes confidence and tries to charm his way out of everything. It's an unlikely coupling, and you can guess at the ending. But then there's a twist, and then another, and in the end we were shocked by the amount of heart, humor and originality thatTangled possesses. Disney goes back to its roots with morals, animals with characters that had us in tears laughing, a daring couple that learn from one another, and a bad guy that doesn't die a terrible and scarring death. Disney hit one out of the ballpark with Tangled, creating one of the best animated films (in my opinion at least) since the Beauty and the Beast. And then there's a twist.

Because of the tremendous flop that was last year's The Princess and the Frog, Disney has announced that they have no future plans for creating anymore fairy tale movies. Ever. The end. From now on, it will only be movies like Up, Wall-E, and Cars. Now, while there is nothing wrong with these movies (though I must insert that I thought Cars was really made more for children under the age of five), Disney was founded on fairy tales and princesses! However, after last year's failure, Disney proclaims that the market for these movies is fading fast to only those little girls under the age of six...and their mothers. "Tweenagers", they claim, want role models like "iCarly" and "Hannah Montana."

I'm sorry, but tell that to my 19-year-old sister (sorry, dude), who asks for anything Disney Princess-related for every birthday and any other gift-giving occasion. And what about all of those 8-year-old girls I babysit who want me to watch Sleeping Beauty with them, or dress up as Ariel from The Little Mermaid? What about the fact that if you walk into a Disney store, more than fifty percent of the merchandise is of the Disney Princess variety? God help me if my little girl ever wants to give up dreaming about meeting her Prince Charming and trade it in for being a prostitot like Miley Cyrus.

Tangled is amazing. David and I have seen it twice in theaters already - the second time taking his entire family to experience it too - and if David will let me, I'll go see it five more times! I want Disney to get the message that we do still want castles, magic (not black!), animals for best friends, and happily-ever-after's.

So if you for some reason haven't seen Tangled yet, please do. I promise it is worth your time and, yes, even the ever-outrageous cost of a movie ticket. (If possible, see it in 3D because it does make the experience a little more fun.) Your whole family will love it - even the boys.

*If you'd like further proof of Disney's decision, visit this L.A. Time's article.

"The Dilemma"

David and I were invited to see a sneak preview of “The Dilemma” (rated PG-13, opening next Friday, January 14^th) a few weeks ago. We went into it with some apprehension; with Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Queen Latifah and Channing Tatum we were unsure which direction the movie would go.

The premise: Vince Vaughn’s character finds out that his best friend’s wife (Ryder) is having an affair with Channing Tatum’s character. We were worried – Vaughn’s roles tend to either be very endearing or completely off-the-charts-inappropriate. To say we were pleasantly surprised with “The Dilemma” is a bit of an understatement.

Vaughn’s character goes through the dilemma of whether he should tell his best friend, James, that he knows his wife is having an affair. He makes some predictable choices, there are some typically uncomfortable moments, but on the whole, we laughed throughout the whole film. Channing Tatum is hiliarious, in a break from his typical roles. Queen Latifah goes a little over-the-top, but does have some amusing moments too. There was brief nudity (Tatum’s backside), some drug referencing, and a little language, but Director Ron Howard also added some very surprising and impressive depth to Vaughn that almost made me tear up. There are also some realistic and challenging developments between Vaughn’s character and his girlfriend, played by Connelly.

In the end, though there were some predictable twists and choices, “The Dilemma” was a slapstick comedy with heart. David and I walked away discussing for the rest of the night how amazed we wereby how much humor and depth this film ended up containing. I would give it 4.5 stars, and definitely recommend seeing it when it releases in theaters next week. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!