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The Comebacks (2007)
Comeback to Dignity!
Spoof films have come so far since Mel Brooks in 'The Producers' (1968) said "Don't be stupid, be a smartie. Come and join the nazi party". It brought us delightful films, such as 'Young Frankenstein', 'Airplane!', and even 'Naked Gun'. But the good die young. Luckily, the genre managed to make it all the way up to the end of the 90's. And then... the Wayan's Brothers unleashed the apocalypse: 'Scary Movie'. Suddenly the word spoof was an innuendo for crude sex jokes. Most movies claiming to be spoofs since then have followed suit, including 'Scary Movie 2', 'Date Movie' and the film to kill the genre 'Epic Movie'. Sure, there have been some reliefs. There was 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz'. Will Ferell has become a vehicle spoofing close to every sport imaginable. Also, the Wayans Brothers quit the 'Scary Movies' and they have been made by the dependable Zucker Brothers. While these films have held some value in the rescue, the genre is tragically doomed to be films only loved by prepubescent males who just discovered what an erection is. People who haven't explored the term 'spoof' and cut and paste movies together for a quick laugh. No heart, no brain, just cheap glue. Sadly, 'The Comebacks' has been added to the list. Dave Koechner (Who starred in 'Anchorman' alongside Ferrell) leads a teams of underdogs to win against a coach (Carl Weathers of 'Happy Gilmore' fame) who got him back into coaching. Koechner has shown promise as a supporting actor, but as a lead in this film, he just sounds scripted. He sounds too much like he's doing a cold read passionately. Also, the jokes about being a washed up coach, who through the course of the movie encourages the team to fail in school and later runs from the police in his underwear, have been done before. Yes, this is a spoof film. But let us remember that even spoofs can have quality. Give the characters dignity and a sort of sophisticated view on modern society. Also, the reliance on stereotypes is not going to get us any more laughs (who knew one movie with jive-talking people could lead to gangster stereotypes (not really, but you see)). While I will admit to laugh at least a few times... it wasn't on par. The football team within itself had a lot of stereotypes, including a Mexican, a cocky jock, a fat guy, the scrawny nerd, and the mentally handicapped aid. Even the only female on the team got reduced to stereotypical female humor, being mostly scantily clad and giving off innuendos. In fact, her character, as well as most of the others, never developed. It's a sad state of affairs for this movie. If only it wasn't so reliant on stupid sex jokes, it could've made something for itself. In fact, this movie will probably be the butt of jokes alongside 'Epic Movie' for time to come. Koechner really deserved better. The script in general was poorly conceived, even naming the championship 'The Toilet Bowl'. So yes. spoof movies are dying. There is a movie called 'Meet the Spartans' (be ahead of the trend, boycott now!) coming out that includes a spoof on Britney Spears' breakdown. So let those kids keep getting erections... but people grow up and lose them. We need sustenance. One day, they will learn to stop spoofing spoofs and restore them. Hopefully, one of the heroes will be 'Get Smart', made by the master Mel Brooks, coming out next year.
Rating: 2 out of 5 (Stars)
Epic Movie (2007)
Parody for (Really, Really, Reeaally Big) Dumbies
I avoided this movie heavily during it's run at the box office. I knew that it was going to be a terrible film. It looked highly unoriginal and the jokes were all lame and uninspired. I even boycotted it, and told my sister not to see it. I had been disappointed by Date Movie in a huge way and I couldn't bare the smell of defeat.
--But, a few weeks ago, we found a box of DVDs and my sister wanted to watch it. Since there was no financial attachment, I agreed to watch it. Show of hands... how many people found it funny? Put it down... don't be modest. From the start I could tell that it was uninspired... but how so. They didn't change the Willy Wonka character (though the remake was a joke within itself) and the chocolate making thing was just unnecessary. It went on to reference Pirates, Narnia, and MTV Cribs without adding any original twists to it. It also made me feel really insulted for the one lady who kept acting dumb... who probably did just in hopes of getting fired.
Avoid this... This is byfar one of the worst parodies of any time and ranks with Norbit and What Love Is as the worst movies of the year.
Hot Rod (2007)
Pure Slapstick Fun in a Time of Thinkers
I am a huge fan of comedies. In recent years (with few exceptions) the comedies I have seen have been highly intellectual. Sure, they're witty and have a complex plot and I love them, but still... I am an avid supporter of slapstick: a genre I felt to have slowly shriveled to death in recent years from those witty comedies (and bad slapstick in general i.e. Jack Black). It seemed like everything was making you think about the joke before you laughed. Sure, I love it... but I wanted good slapstick. And then, I got to go to a preview for Hot Rod starring Andy Samberg of Saturday Night Live. Now, I have faded away from SNL in recent years... but that didn't stop me from seeing this. It was free and in convenient walking distance. Yes, this comedy does not make you think... but very few slapstick ones do. But what it makes you do if you do it right... is just enjoy yourself. Samberg may in fact be the next king of slapstick as long as he doesn't get typecast. He pretty much controls the screen by crashing into everything and spouting lines with nervous perfection. You could actually feel for him throughout the movie... a feeling that may have seemed odd with original choice: Will Ferrell (who is good, but kind of boisterous for this role) I was relieved to see the return of slapstick to it's glory. This is more of a tribute than an insult as they make every move their own with every stitch worth a laugh. I definitely recommend this people who will take it for what it is: pure slapstick enjoyment.
Reign Over Me (2007)
Billy Madison grows Up
Like some who went to see this, I am an avid fan of Adam Sandler films. I love majority of his films. Oddly, the ones I didn't really get into were the serious ones, like Spanglish and Punch Drunk Love. I just felt he wasn't connecting with the cast that well, unlike in his comedies where everyone has at least been in a handful of other movies together. But there is no Rob Schneider to pat Sandler on the back. Instead, he is left in a movie alongside Oscar nominee Don Cheadle, who does a pretty good job filling in those missing pat on the backs. I feel that the two of them play perfectly off of each other. While the humor was not really strong, I felt it contributed well to the piece and made it that little bit more enjoyable. Sandler was amazing. He wasn't a goofball like in Billy Madison and The Waterboy. In fact, there is very little sign of those adolescent characters in this movie (one part that kind of got me laughing was thinking of Billy Madison and the penguin when Sandler asks Cheadle "Did they send you"). He shows he is mature and plays it so well, I personally couldn't tell it was him at all. The storyline was really strong and the acting was good. Probably Sandler's most dedicated role to serious as he gets. It's his BEST drama in my opinion. The characters are not out there, but like the same things we like and talk the same way. I felt a connection in that. So, if you want to see a good Sandler drama, see Reign Over Me.
Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic (2005)
They're... Great!
I just happened to catch this movie on TV last night and I thought I would watch it. I had missed the beginning segment, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the jokes, including the "You're Gonna Die Soon" song, which cracked me up all over. Her stand-up jokes, on the other hand, were on and off. Some were funny and others were OK. I don't think too many fell totally flat. I cannot say this was the greatest movie of all time, but Silverman is hilarious throughout the movie with memorable bits. She may have a sort of racism, but her child-like persona helps sell the humor. I had a fun time, especially with the songs.
Norbit (2007)
A Star is Falling...
While I will be honest, the opening twenty minutes had given me hope that this movie was going to be decent. The adds made it look like crap, and critics the same. While I did not consider those twenty minutes hilarious, I kind of giggled. Then... Nothing happened and the plot continued on with the same humor and the plot didn't seem to progress beyond Rasputia beating up Norbit. While I was not going in expecting much, I was hoping to be impressed, but I set my morals pretty low and I still wasn't. It began to become repetitive and the jokes were growing staler and staler relying on stereotypes. While I give kudos to the make-up designer and Murphy's dedication to the characters (even though they were sometimes annoying) I will say this movie is god awful. It is a typical movie with a typical plot line that only got resolved with a harpoon. So yes, Murphy did do a convincing job, but I wish he would have given the story more of a heart than he did. I was hoping Rasputia wasn't going to be such a bitch through the whole movie and that Norbit (most possibly the best character, who probably would've been a better movie minus Rasputia) would solve his own problem. I feel disappointed that a legend like Murphy would make such a movie like this. He's sunk so low since his early days. I mean, he was good dressing up as multiple characters in movies like "The Nutty Professor", but this is far below it. I can only hope his reprise in Shrek the Third will restore some hope.
As they said on Saturday Night Live: "A star is falling. Quick, kids... make a wish"
What Love Is (2007)
Good Ideas, Not So Good Storyline
I was given the chance to preview this movie a couple months ago. I thought "Oh, it's Cuba Gooding Jr., it's going to be decent." So, I went in with hope it could be a possibly good movie. Well, I will be honest, the first twenty minutes were captivatingly interesting, but as time progressed, I was wondering why they didn't move onto another location, why it was all at one location. I thought the dialogue was good, but the lack of change in location made the story suffer. If it had more of a storyline, this probably would be a classic. The ideas were good, but with lack of change and relying heavily on dialogue tends to make it suffer.