I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, a forgotten movie starring Adam Sandler, has been in the Netflix top 10 films list for almost an entire week at this point, currently sitting in the #8 spot on the chart.
Originally released in 2007, the pic stars Sandler alongside Kevin James and Jessica Biel. Directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Barry Fanaro and Alexander Payne, it tells the story of two Brooklyn men who pretend to be a gay couple in an effort to receive domestic partner benefits.
Although the subject matter may be a little bit tasteless by today’s political standards, the film still offers a somewhat decent performance from Sandler, who’s starred in numerous comedies throughout his career that follow a very similar formula as this one does. Most of those efforts, however, were not well-received.
From The Ridiculous 6 to Jack & Jill and even Grown Ups 2,...
Originally released in 2007, the pic stars Sandler alongside Kevin James and Jessica Biel. Directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Barry Fanaro and Alexander Payne, it tells the story of two Brooklyn men who pretend to be a gay couple in an effort to receive domestic partner benefits.
Although the subject matter may be a little bit tasteless by today’s political standards, the film still offers a somewhat decent performance from Sandler, who’s starred in numerous comedies throughout his career that follow a very similar formula as this one does. Most of those efforts, however, were not well-received.
From The Ridiculous 6 to Jack & Jill and even Grown Ups 2,...
- 7/12/2020
- by Tim Brinkhof
- We Got This Covered
A progress has been made in the development of "Men in Black 3" with the hiring of a writer. The Hollywood Reporter (THR)'s Risky Biz Blog reported that one of the "Tropic Thunder" screenwriters, Etan Cohen, has been brought on board by Sony Pictures to work on the script to the latest installment of the sci-fi comedy series.
THR claimed that the studio has the intention "to continue the franchise's top-tier status" with the addition of Cohen. The latest writer brought to the "Mib" franchise, Cohen is reported to be "deep into his draft" for the third movie. Ed Solomon wrote the script for the first "Mib", and Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro for the second one.
The scribe aside, the publication suggested that Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of the first two "Mib" is attached to the new film. Still, it noted that no formal deal or offer has been made just yet.
THR claimed that the studio has the intention "to continue the franchise's top-tier status" with the addition of Cohen. The latest writer brought to the "Mib" franchise, Cohen is reported to be "deep into his draft" for the third movie. Ed Solomon wrote the script for the first "Mib", and Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro for the second one.
The scribe aside, the publication suggested that Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of the first two "Mib" is attached to the new film. Still, it noted that no formal deal or offer has been made just yet.
- 10/30/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Sony isn't kidding about Men in Black 3. Even in a sea of uncertainty, including the fact that stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as director Barry Sonnenfeld, all have not been secured for another film, the studio is hiring a writer and looking toward a 2010 start date for the third film in the sci-fi comedy franchise that has grossed just over a billion dollars worldwide with its first two frames. According to THR's Risky Business, Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy co-writer Etan Cohen has been hired to pen a script for the upcoming threequel. The THR report states that Cohen is already deep into his draft, which according to them signifies that Sony intends to continue the franchise's top-tier status. And why wouldn't they? The first two Men in Black films, quality aside, were major breadwinners in 1997 and 2002. And we can be sure that there's plenty more story to be told in the world of...
- 10/30/2009
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
This is also official confirmation that Sony is moving forward on making Men in Black 3, eyeing a start date in 2010 that "could go as soon as the spring." THR's Risky Biz Blog reports that Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen has been hired to write the script. Word is that Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the first two, might be back. Thought they're unsure whether Will Smith will return or not, even though the buzz is that he's apparently interested and doesn't have another "go" movie lined up anyway. I'd hope they don't decide to make this without him, as it just wouldn't be the same. Tommy Lee Jones' involvement is also uncertain. Ed Solomon wrote the script for the first Men in Black, which hit in 1997, and Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro wrote the second, which hit in 2002. Combined, those two earned around $1.1 billion worldwide. Apparently Etan ...
- 10/30/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
This review was written for the theatrical release of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.""I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is a "gay" comedy created by straights who want to have it both ways: Hit the audience with a barrage of homophobia and gay jokes yet wind up with an ecumenical, politically correct embrace of all points of sexual orientation. It's the equivalent of that old Jerry Seinfeld bit where he mentions someone is gay but quickly adds, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." We even get the film's star, Adam Sandler, summing up what he has learned from his experiences pretending to be gay: Don't use the word "faggot," he lectures. It's hurtful.
"Chuck & Larry" won't be hurtful at the boxoffice, where Sandler is a highly commercial comedy brand. Straights pretending to be gay can always provoke easy laughs, especially when the movie takes place in a tame, AIDS-free universe where homosexuality simply means an aggressive fashion style. Universal Pictures can anticipate a strong domestic boxoffice; overseas, however, its extremely broad approach to situation comedy might meet resistance.
Sandler and Kevin James (CBS' "The King of Queens") play thoroughly hetero Brooklyn firemen who through a convoluted and unconvincing quirk in civic red tape must pretend to be domestic partners in order for James, a widower, to list his two kids as his life insurance beneficiaries.
Never mind that everyone in their lives knows their sexual orientation, which includes Sandler's infamous bachelor pad that runs hot and hotter babes on a daily basis. No, everyone instantly believes the charade. OK, not everyone: Their chief, played with cut-the-crap bluster by Dan Aykroyd, never buys the act for a minute.
So the pretense commences. The city sends a prissy fraud inspector in Steve Buscemi to inspect their honeymoon pad and rifle through garbage to determine whether it's gay enough. Fellow firefighters quake at the prospect of showering with the two "partners"; and the mailman now feels free to come on to James With a slew of postal service double entendres involving special deliveries and handling big packages.
Predictably, Sandler falls in love with the partners' glamorous attorney, Jessica Biel. Yet he can only enjoy a "girls' day" with her -- you know, shopping, trying on clothes and Sandler groping her breasts to determine that they are real.
The curious thing here is that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rewrote this long-in-development screenplay. Yet the authors of such smart comedies as "Sideways", "About Schmidt" and "Citizen Ruth" can't move the film away from the world of easy laughs and sitcom jokes into a realm where sexual prejudices and presumptions get examined in a whimsical yet insightful manner.
One longs for something like Paul Rudnick's script for "In & Out," which was very funny yet delved into the trauma of coming out and the perplexing issue of homophobia in society.
Under the direction of Dennis Dugan, the film seemingly will try anything for a laugh. This includes having James' loutish maid Mary Pat Gleason) wake up in bed with the two men one morning. How logically did she get there?
Some actors -- notably James, Ving Rhames and young Cole Morgan as James' small son who prefers musical comedy to baseball -- appear game for a more challenging comedy. But Sandler, whose own company was one of the producers, prefers to swim in safe, shallow waters rather than plunge into the deeper issues the film so cheerfully ignores.
Production values are strong, though the film lacks visual panache.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures in association with Relativity Media presents a Happy Madison/Shady Acres production
Credits:
Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriters: Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Tom Shadyac, Michael Bostick
Executive producer: Barry Bernardi
Director of photography: Dean Semler
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Co-producers: Nick Swardson, Allen Covert, Kevin Grady
Costume designer: Ellen Lutter
Editor: Jeff Gourson
Cast:
Chuck Levine: Adam Sandler
Larry Valentine: Kevin James
Alex McDonough: Jessica Biel
Duncan: Ving Rhames
Clint Fitzer: Steve Buscemi
Captain Tucker: Dan Aykroyd
Renaldo: Nicholas Turturro
Steve: Allen Covert
Running time -- 115 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
"Chuck & Larry" won't be hurtful at the boxoffice, where Sandler is a highly commercial comedy brand. Straights pretending to be gay can always provoke easy laughs, especially when the movie takes place in a tame, AIDS-free universe where homosexuality simply means an aggressive fashion style. Universal Pictures can anticipate a strong domestic boxoffice; overseas, however, its extremely broad approach to situation comedy might meet resistance.
Sandler and Kevin James (CBS' "The King of Queens") play thoroughly hetero Brooklyn firemen who through a convoluted and unconvincing quirk in civic red tape must pretend to be domestic partners in order for James, a widower, to list his two kids as his life insurance beneficiaries.
Never mind that everyone in their lives knows their sexual orientation, which includes Sandler's infamous bachelor pad that runs hot and hotter babes on a daily basis. No, everyone instantly believes the charade. OK, not everyone: Their chief, played with cut-the-crap bluster by Dan Aykroyd, never buys the act for a minute.
So the pretense commences. The city sends a prissy fraud inspector in Steve Buscemi to inspect their honeymoon pad and rifle through garbage to determine whether it's gay enough. Fellow firefighters quake at the prospect of showering with the two "partners"; and the mailman now feels free to come on to James With a slew of postal service double entendres involving special deliveries and handling big packages.
Predictably, Sandler falls in love with the partners' glamorous attorney, Jessica Biel. Yet he can only enjoy a "girls' day" with her -- you know, shopping, trying on clothes and Sandler groping her breasts to determine that they are real.
The curious thing here is that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rewrote this long-in-development screenplay. Yet the authors of such smart comedies as "Sideways", "About Schmidt" and "Citizen Ruth" can't move the film away from the world of easy laughs and sitcom jokes into a realm where sexual prejudices and presumptions get examined in a whimsical yet insightful manner.
One longs for something like Paul Rudnick's script for "In & Out," which was very funny yet delved into the trauma of coming out and the perplexing issue of homophobia in society.
Under the direction of Dennis Dugan, the film seemingly will try anything for a laugh. This includes having James' loutish maid Mary Pat Gleason) wake up in bed with the two men one morning. How logically did she get there?
Some actors -- notably James, Ving Rhames and young Cole Morgan as James' small son who prefers musical comedy to baseball -- appear game for a more challenging comedy. But Sandler, whose own company was one of the producers, prefers to swim in safe, shallow waters rather than plunge into the deeper issues the film so cheerfully ignores.
Production values are strong, though the film lacks visual panache.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures in association with Relativity Media presents a Happy Madison/Shady Acres production
Credits:
Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriters: Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Tom Shadyac, Michael Bostick
Executive producer: Barry Bernardi
Director of photography: Dean Semler
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Co-producers: Nick Swardson, Allen Covert, Kevin Grady
Costume designer: Ellen Lutter
Editor: Jeff Gourson
Cast:
Chuck Levine: Adam Sandler
Larry Valentine: Kevin James
Alex McDonough: Jessica Biel
Duncan: Ving Rhames
Clint Fitzer: Steve Buscemi
Captain Tucker: Dan Aykroyd
Renaldo: Nicholas Turturro
Steve: Allen Covert
Running time -- 115 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 7/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry is a "gay" comedy created by straights who want to have it both ways: Hit the audience with a barrage of homophobia and gay jokes yet wind up with an ecumenical, politically correct embrace of all points of sexual orientation. It's the equivalent of that old Jerry Seinfeld bit where he mentions someone is gay but quickly adds, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." We even get the film's star, Adam Sandler, summing up what he has learned from his experiences pretending to be gay: Don't use the word "faggot," he lectures. It's hurtful.
"Chuck & Larry" won't be hurtful at the boxoffice, where Sandler is a highly commercial comedy brand. Straights pretending to be gay can always provoke easy laughs, especially when the movie takes place in a tame, AIDS-free universe where homosexuality simply means an aggressive fashion style. Universal Pictures can anticipate a strong domestic boxoffice; overseas, however, its extremely broad approach to situation comedy might meet resistance.
Sandler and Kevin James (CBS' The King of Queens) play thoroughly hetero Brooklyn firemen who through a convoluted and unconvincing quirk in civic red tape must pretend to be domestic partners in order for James, a widower, to list his two kids as his life insurance beneficiaries.
Never mind that everyone in their lives knows their sexual orientation, which includes Sandler's infamous bachelor pad that runs hot and hotter babes on a daily basis. No, everyone instantly believes the charade. OK, not everyone: Their chief, played with cut-the-crap bluster by Dan Aykroyd, never buys the act for a minute.
So the pretense commences. The city sends a prissy fraud inspector in Steve Buscemi to inspect their honeymoon pad and rifle through garbage to determine whether it's gay enough. Fellow firefighters quake at the prospect of showering with the two "partners"; and the mailman now feels free to come on to James With a slew of postal service double entendres involving special deliveries and handling big packages.
Predictably, Sandler falls in love with the partners' glamorous attorney, Jessica Biel. Yet he can only enjoy a "girls' day" with her -- you know, shopping, trying on clothes and Sandler groping her breasts to determine that they are real.
The curious thing here is that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rewrote this long-in-development screenplay. Yet the authors of such smart comedies as Sideways, About Schmidt and Citizen Ruth can't move the film away from the world of easy laughs and sitcom jokes into a realm where sexual prejudices and presumptions get examined in a whimsical yet insightful manner.
One longs for something like Paul Rudnick's script for "In & Out," which was very funny yet delved into the trauma of coming out and the perplexing issue of homophobia in society.
Under the direction of Dennis Dugan, the film seemingly will try anything for a laugh. This includes having James' loutish maid Mary Pat Gleason) wake up in bed with the two men one morning. How logically did she get there?
Some actors -- notably James, Ving Rhames and young Cole Morgan as James' small son who prefers musical comedy to baseball -- appear game for a more challenging comedy. But Sandler, whose own company was one of the producers, prefers to swim in safe, shallow waters rather than plunge into the deeper issues the film so cheerfully ignores.
Production values are strong, though the film lacks visual panache.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures in association with Relativity Media presents a Happy Madison/Shady Acres production
Credits:
Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriters: Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Tom Shadyac, Michael Bostick
Executive producer: Barry Bernardi
Director of photography: Dean Semler
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Co-producers: Nick Swardson, Allen Covert, Kevin Grady
Costume designer: Ellen Lutter
Editor: Jeff Gourson
Cast:
Chuck Levine: Adam Sandler
Larry Valentine: Kevin James
Alex McDonough: Jessica Biel
Duncan: Ving Rhames
Clint Fitzer: Steve Buscemi
Captain Tucker: Dan Aykroyd
Renaldo: Nicholas Turturro
Steve: Allen Covert
Running time -- 115 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
"Chuck & Larry" won't be hurtful at the boxoffice, where Sandler is a highly commercial comedy brand. Straights pretending to be gay can always provoke easy laughs, especially when the movie takes place in a tame, AIDS-free universe where homosexuality simply means an aggressive fashion style. Universal Pictures can anticipate a strong domestic boxoffice; overseas, however, its extremely broad approach to situation comedy might meet resistance.
Sandler and Kevin James (CBS' The King of Queens) play thoroughly hetero Brooklyn firemen who through a convoluted and unconvincing quirk in civic red tape must pretend to be domestic partners in order for James, a widower, to list his two kids as his life insurance beneficiaries.
Never mind that everyone in their lives knows their sexual orientation, which includes Sandler's infamous bachelor pad that runs hot and hotter babes on a daily basis. No, everyone instantly believes the charade. OK, not everyone: Their chief, played with cut-the-crap bluster by Dan Aykroyd, never buys the act for a minute.
So the pretense commences. The city sends a prissy fraud inspector in Steve Buscemi to inspect their honeymoon pad and rifle through garbage to determine whether it's gay enough. Fellow firefighters quake at the prospect of showering with the two "partners"; and the mailman now feels free to come on to James With a slew of postal service double entendres involving special deliveries and handling big packages.
Predictably, Sandler falls in love with the partners' glamorous attorney, Jessica Biel. Yet he can only enjoy a "girls' day" with her -- you know, shopping, trying on clothes and Sandler groping her breasts to determine that they are real.
The curious thing here is that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rewrote this long-in-development screenplay. Yet the authors of such smart comedies as Sideways, About Schmidt and Citizen Ruth can't move the film away from the world of easy laughs and sitcom jokes into a realm where sexual prejudices and presumptions get examined in a whimsical yet insightful manner.
One longs for something like Paul Rudnick's script for "In & Out," which was very funny yet delved into the trauma of coming out and the perplexing issue of homophobia in society.
Under the direction of Dennis Dugan, the film seemingly will try anything for a laugh. This includes having James' loutish maid Mary Pat Gleason) wake up in bed with the two men one morning. How logically did she get there?
Some actors -- notably James, Ving Rhames and young Cole Morgan as James' small son who prefers musical comedy to baseball -- appear game for a more challenging comedy. But Sandler, whose own company was one of the producers, prefers to swim in safe, shallow waters rather than plunge into the deeper issues the film so cheerfully ignores.
Production values are strong, though the film lacks visual panache.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures in association with Relativity Media presents a Happy Madison/Shady Acres production
Credits:
Director: Dennis Dugan
Screenwriters: Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Producers: Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Tom Shadyac, Michael Bostick
Executive producer: Barry Bernardi
Director of photography: Dean Semler
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Co-producers: Nick Swardson, Allen Covert, Kevin Grady
Costume designer: Ellen Lutter
Editor: Jeff Gourson
Cast:
Chuck Levine: Adam Sandler
Larry Valentine: Kevin James
Alex McDonough: Jessica Biel
Duncan: Ving Rhames
Clint Fitzer: Steve Buscemi
Captain Tucker: Dan Aykroyd
Renaldo: Nicholas Turturro
Steve: Allen Covert
Running time -- 115 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 7/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The original "Men in Black" gave the sci-fi alien invasion movie something it has always lacked -- a dress code. Black suits, dark glasses and a supercool attitude were required. Now Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return as Jay and Kay, the secret police unit that monitors extra-terrestrial activity on planet Earth in "Men in Black II".
Naturally, what was hip and original in the first movie is now familiar and less hip in the sequel. Nevertheless, director Barry Sonnenfeld and company retain much of the rubbery alien slapstick humor, All American team Smith and Jones continue to play off each other smoothly, and a bigger role has been created for that instant laugh-getter Frank, the cigar-smoking, tough-talking pug.
Critics will have fits, but most younger audiences will be in stitches. "MiB II" may not approach the $587 million worldwide gross of "MiB" in 1997, but then again it's not impossible.
The key effect has nothing to do with Rick Baker's mind-tickling alien makeup or Industrial Light + Magic's visual effects, but the weird, "who-knew?" chemistry of Smith and Jones. Smith's exuberance and comic timing can elevate anybody's game. Here it serves to take the edge off Jones' gruff, no-nonsense acting style. Smith's Jay So lightens up the tough-guy aura surrounding Jones' Kay, you might mistake Jones for a light comedian.
Nothing particularly memorable happens in the sci-fi action here. Abbott and Costello movies had more sophisticated plots. But the sight of the two actors wading into a sea of icky creatures and bumbling aliens is irresistibly funny.
The film's major task is getting Kay and Jay back together. If you recall from the first film -- and don't hate yourself if you don't -- Jones' Kay was "neuralized" at the end, meaning his memory was wiped clean. Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro's script makes their reteaming a matter of international urgency caused by the reappearance of Kay's old nemesis Serleena, an intergalactic blob of snaky parts that morphs into the curvaceous form of Lara Flynn Boyle.
Because only Kay knows where he long ago hid the object Serleena seeks, he is swiftly located in the civilian job of postmaster in Massachusetts and de-neuralized. The rest of the movie gets taken up with Kay and Jay tracking down clues amid the clutter of creatures manipulated by puppeteers and effects magicians.
Rip Torn returns as the Men in Black's boss, Zed, and Tony Shalhoub is back as Jeebs, the alien pawnshop owner. The chief new human is talented and beautiful Rosario Dawson, playing a witness to an alien-on-alien crime who Jay fails to neuralize when he develops a crush on her.
New aliens include Johnny Knoxville's Scrad/Charlie, Serleena's henchman with two heads but only half a brain, and John Alexander's Jarra, the ozone thief. The tiny and slinky Worm Guys return in extended roles that exploit their slovenly manner.
Sonnenfeld keeps things brisk. The movie clocks in at a trim 88 minutes, and things move more swiftly than in a cartoon. Technical effects are top-notch, which doesn't mean the creatures don't look fake as hell. That's part of the joke.
MEN IN BLACK II
Columbia Pictures
An Amblin Entertainment production in association with MacDonald/Parkes Prods.
Credits:
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenwriters: Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro
Story by: Robert Gordon
Producers: Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Executive producer: Steven Spielberg
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Bo Welch
Music: Danny Elfman
Co-producer: Graham Place
Costume designer: Mary E. Vogt
Visual effects supervisor: John Berton
Alien makeup effects: Rick Baker
Editors: Steven Weisberg, Richard Pearson
Cast:
Kay: Tommy Lee Jones
Jay: Will Smith
Zed: Rip Torn
Serleena: Lara Flynn Boyle
Scrad/Charlie: Johnny Knoxville
Laura Vasquez: Rosario Dawson
Jeebs: Tony Shalhoub
Agent Tee: Patrick Warburton
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Naturally, what was hip and original in the first movie is now familiar and less hip in the sequel. Nevertheless, director Barry Sonnenfeld and company retain much of the rubbery alien slapstick humor, All American team Smith and Jones continue to play off each other smoothly, and a bigger role has been created for that instant laugh-getter Frank, the cigar-smoking, tough-talking pug.
Critics will have fits, but most younger audiences will be in stitches. "MiB II" may not approach the $587 million worldwide gross of "MiB" in 1997, but then again it's not impossible.
The key effect has nothing to do with Rick Baker's mind-tickling alien makeup or Industrial Light + Magic's visual effects, but the weird, "who-knew?" chemistry of Smith and Jones. Smith's exuberance and comic timing can elevate anybody's game. Here it serves to take the edge off Jones' gruff, no-nonsense acting style. Smith's Jay So lightens up the tough-guy aura surrounding Jones' Kay, you might mistake Jones for a light comedian.
Nothing particularly memorable happens in the sci-fi action here. Abbott and Costello movies had more sophisticated plots. But the sight of the two actors wading into a sea of icky creatures and bumbling aliens is irresistibly funny.
The film's major task is getting Kay and Jay back together. If you recall from the first film -- and don't hate yourself if you don't -- Jones' Kay was "neuralized" at the end, meaning his memory was wiped clean. Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro's script makes their reteaming a matter of international urgency caused by the reappearance of Kay's old nemesis Serleena, an intergalactic blob of snaky parts that morphs into the curvaceous form of Lara Flynn Boyle.
Because only Kay knows where he long ago hid the object Serleena seeks, he is swiftly located in the civilian job of postmaster in Massachusetts and de-neuralized. The rest of the movie gets taken up with Kay and Jay tracking down clues amid the clutter of creatures manipulated by puppeteers and effects magicians.
Rip Torn returns as the Men in Black's boss, Zed, and Tony Shalhoub is back as Jeebs, the alien pawnshop owner. The chief new human is talented and beautiful Rosario Dawson, playing a witness to an alien-on-alien crime who Jay fails to neuralize when he develops a crush on her.
New aliens include Johnny Knoxville's Scrad/Charlie, Serleena's henchman with two heads but only half a brain, and John Alexander's Jarra, the ozone thief. The tiny and slinky Worm Guys return in extended roles that exploit their slovenly manner.
Sonnenfeld keeps things brisk. The movie clocks in at a trim 88 minutes, and things move more swiftly than in a cartoon. Technical effects are top-notch, which doesn't mean the creatures don't look fake as hell. That's part of the joke.
MEN IN BLACK II
Columbia Pictures
An Amblin Entertainment production in association with MacDonald/Parkes Prods.
Credits:
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenwriters: Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro
Story by: Robert Gordon
Producers: Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Executive producer: Steven Spielberg
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Bo Welch
Music: Danny Elfman
Co-producer: Graham Place
Costume designer: Mary E. Vogt
Visual effects supervisor: John Berton
Alien makeup effects: Rick Baker
Editors: Steven Weisberg, Richard Pearson
Cast:
Kay: Tommy Lee Jones
Jay: Will Smith
Zed: Rip Torn
Serleena: Lara Flynn Boyle
Scrad/Charlie: Johnny Knoxville
Laura Vasquez: Rosario Dawson
Jeebs: Tony Shalhoub
Agent Tee: Patrick Warburton
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 6/25/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Like "Space Cowboys" a few weeks ago, "The Crew" hopes to gain comic mileage from the effects of age on men of action. Only instead of test pilots, our four heroes are ex-mobsters whose days of knee-capping and extortion are long behind them. But unlike Clint Eastwood's film, which had the decency not to treat age as a curse, "The Crew" is a lame programmer, low on laughs and even more so on inspiration.
The Buena Vista comedy can boast an excellent cast in Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya and Seymour Cassel. Let's just say they've all been in better movies. The film appears destined for a quick exit from theaters. Even ancillary potential looks weak for a film that excludes the young and borderline insults the old.
Screenwriter Barry Fanaro had a perfectly reasonable idea for a comedy. But he should have studied 1950s British comedies from Earling Studios if he wanted to pen a slightly dark comedy about a group of aging crooks willing to commit felonies in order to live out their golden years in peace.
The former wiseguys in question face eviction from a dilapidated Miami residence hotel once designated for seniors but now prime real estate with the discovery of South Beach by yuppies and glamorous models. The quartet scheme to snatch a corpse from the county morgue and leave it in the lobby in such a manner that it looks like a mob hit. The plan goes awry when the dead John Doe turns out to be a former crime boss whose mobster son is most displeased.
The film then devolves into strenuously unfunny complications involving a beautiful and mercenary stripper (Jennifer Tilly), a Latino drug lord (Miguel Sandoval), a Jewish stepmother (Lainie Kazan) and bickering police partners (Carrie-Anne Moss and Jeremy Piven). When the drug lord calls himself a cliche, he takes the word right out of every critic's mouth.
Besides its essential humorlessness, the film suffers from tonal problems. The blackness of its black comedy has been lightened considerably in order to maintain the film's PG-13 niceness. The filmmakers even go out of their way to emphasize that a rodent, featured prominently in dramatic developments, escapes physical harm. But, hey, if these are former wiseguys, shouldn't cracked skulls and bullet holes be part of everyday life?
Also, all of the actors are playing old rather than simply acting their age. OK, so the four leading actors are past 50. But why all the wooden physicality, studied mannerisms and facial muggings that would get them kicked out of most Hollywood acting classes? Why this fox-trot of feebleness that belies the strapping vigor they so obviously possess?
Even more troubling are the supporting roles. Why should a talented comic actress and former Oscar nominee such as Tilly be the subject of continual jokes about her breasts? And must such actors as Kazan and Sandoval play ethnicity to such a pointed degree?
Direction by Michael Dinner is routine. And other than one egregiously bad digital effects shot, technical credits are fine. Everybody got the job done, but it looks exactly like that -- a job.
THE CREW
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Producers: Barry Sonnenfeld, Barry Josephson
Director: Michael Dinner
Screenwriter: Barry Fanaro
Executive producers: George Litto,
Michael S. Glick
Director of photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
Production designer: Peter Larkin
Music: Steve Bartek
Co-producer: Zane Weiner
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bobby Bartellemeo: Richard Dreyfuss
Joey "Bats" Pistella: Burt Reynolds
Mike "The Brick" Donatelli: Dan Hedaya
Tony "Mouth" Donato: Seymour Cassel
Detective Olivia Neal: Carrie-Anne Moss
Ferris "a k a Maureen" Lowenstein: Jennifer Tilly
Pepper Lowenstein: Lainie Kazan
Raul Ventana: Miguel Sandoval
Running time - 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
The Buena Vista comedy can boast an excellent cast in Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya and Seymour Cassel. Let's just say they've all been in better movies. The film appears destined for a quick exit from theaters. Even ancillary potential looks weak for a film that excludes the young and borderline insults the old.
Screenwriter Barry Fanaro had a perfectly reasonable idea for a comedy. But he should have studied 1950s British comedies from Earling Studios if he wanted to pen a slightly dark comedy about a group of aging crooks willing to commit felonies in order to live out their golden years in peace.
The former wiseguys in question face eviction from a dilapidated Miami residence hotel once designated for seniors but now prime real estate with the discovery of South Beach by yuppies and glamorous models. The quartet scheme to snatch a corpse from the county morgue and leave it in the lobby in such a manner that it looks like a mob hit. The plan goes awry when the dead John Doe turns out to be a former crime boss whose mobster son is most displeased.
The film then devolves into strenuously unfunny complications involving a beautiful and mercenary stripper (Jennifer Tilly), a Latino drug lord (Miguel Sandoval), a Jewish stepmother (Lainie Kazan) and bickering police partners (Carrie-Anne Moss and Jeremy Piven). When the drug lord calls himself a cliche, he takes the word right out of every critic's mouth.
Besides its essential humorlessness, the film suffers from tonal problems. The blackness of its black comedy has been lightened considerably in order to maintain the film's PG-13 niceness. The filmmakers even go out of their way to emphasize that a rodent, featured prominently in dramatic developments, escapes physical harm. But, hey, if these are former wiseguys, shouldn't cracked skulls and bullet holes be part of everyday life?
Also, all of the actors are playing old rather than simply acting their age. OK, so the four leading actors are past 50. But why all the wooden physicality, studied mannerisms and facial muggings that would get them kicked out of most Hollywood acting classes? Why this fox-trot of feebleness that belies the strapping vigor they so obviously possess?
Even more troubling are the supporting roles. Why should a talented comic actress and former Oscar nominee such as Tilly be the subject of continual jokes about her breasts? And must such actors as Kazan and Sandoval play ethnicity to such a pointed degree?
Direction by Michael Dinner is routine. And other than one egregiously bad digital effects shot, technical credits are fine. Everybody got the job done, but it looks exactly like that -- a job.
THE CREW
Buena Vista Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Producers: Barry Sonnenfeld, Barry Josephson
Director: Michael Dinner
Screenwriter: Barry Fanaro
Executive producers: George Litto,
Michael S. Glick
Director of photography: Juan Ruiz-Anchia
Production designer: Peter Larkin
Music: Steve Bartek
Co-producer: Zane Weiner
Costume designer: Betsy Cox
Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Bobby Bartellemeo: Richard Dreyfuss
Joey "Bats" Pistella: Burt Reynolds
Mike "The Brick" Donatelli: Dan Hedaya
Tony "Mouth" Donato: Seymour Cassel
Detective Olivia Neal: Carrie-Anne Moss
Ferris "a k a Maureen" Lowenstein: Jennifer Tilly
Pepper Lowenstein: Lainie Kazan
Raul Ventana: Miguel Sandoval
Running time - 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 8/25/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.