Wednesday
Mar182009
Couch Potato - Good movies
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 4:03PM 
Mindless fluff with that kid who hung out with the cops in Superbad.
Based on the Big Brother concept, suspend disbelief that single men would be allowed to do their community service by interacting with children completely unsupervised.
Paul Rudd is adequate, Seann William Scott is just playing a slightly older Stifler. Of the adult cast, Jane Lynch steals the show. She will - for me, at least - be forever defined by her role in the L Word series, but this is a wonderful role of kookiness that makes Lisa Kudrow's Pheobe in Friends look like vanilla ice cream to Jane's Chunky Monkey. I may never BS a BSer again.
The kids are all excellent and, if the gods of good looks are kind to Christopher Mintz-Plasse as he grows up (he deserves a break after having been lumbered with that surname), he'll go far.
The film should also get props for showing the fan world (in this case, medieval re-enactment fans) as both negative (cliqueyness, power plays) and positive (community, fun) instead of just taking the piss.
A few real laugh out loud moments.
Much funnier than we expected it to be.
To appeal to the key movie growing demographic, Hollywood seems to create trailers for good comedies that make them look like the latest Dumb and Dumberererererer. It's always a nice surprise when you get into the main feature to find that the trailer hasn't done it justice.
Dane Cook is Dane Cook in this film - nothing more, nothing less. He's one of those actors whose name I have to think a while to remember. I don't see him becoming the next Ben Stiller, but he puts in a solid performance, just like he did in Employee of the Month.
Kate Hudson makes the most of the Goldie Hawn genes she inherited, but she will never be as good as her mother in comedy because her face is beautiful without a trace of Mummy's kookiness.
Still, let's not split hairs. Any movie that delivers moments when you have to rewind the DVD because you've been cracking up so much that you missed some dialogue deserves high praise. There is a particular moment at a wedding which I won't ruin for you, but I nearly wet my pants I laughed so hard.
A nice premise for a film and a very good story. Reminded me a little of The Girl Next Door, just with a much less attractive cast.
The acting in the main love scene is amazing, conveying something sweet and poignant within the completely antithetical context of porn.
Much funnier and sweeter than expected, but I had a little trouble suspending disbelief, because I wouldn't touch that Seth guy with a bargepole.
Destined to be a cult classic, this film has a flavor of Napoleon Dynamite, but is more mainstream.
It's dark comedy that has you smiling more than laughing out loud. I rejoiced at the portrayal of complex characters - Hollywood mainstream is far too fond of things being black and white, which can be dangerous. George Bush would never have got away with accusing entire countries of being an "Axis of Evil" if the average man in America had a better understanding of grey areas.
Anyway, back to the movie.
Hope Davis is lovely as the medicated mom, and there's and a fantastic supporting performance by Robert Downey Jr. I want to jump up and down with glee at each step he makes in his grand return to deserved acclaim.
Anton Yelchin is excellent as Charlie. Thinking about it, he's been great in everything I've seen him in, so I'm not sure why I still can't rememer his name.
Charlie's takeover of his world is a lot of fun to watch. I couldn't help but envy him... Wish I could do that at work.
Reader Comments