This is a 90-minute long Saturday Night Live skit. Literally, back in 1986 SNL guest host Joe Montana performed in a skit called Sincere Guy Stu. The premise? Sincere Stu always says what's on his mind. He says a whole bunch of odd stuff to his roommate and his roommate's date. The skit ends with Stu walking upstairs stating "Oh, you won't disturb me. I'll be in my room masturbating." Back in 1986, this was quick a striking line for a respected football star to say on national television. That was 25 years ago. Now, we're lucky if news broadcasters can refrain from calling average citizens "teabaggers".

Co-writers/co-directors Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson drag this premise out and then beat it to death with all of the finesse of Andre the Giant threading a needle. They even begin their film by having Mark Bellison (Gervais) arriving at Anna McDoogles' (Jennifer Garner) apartment for a date. She opens the door and quickly expresses her distaste for his physical appearance and her doubts that the two will copulate anytime soon. You see, its a world where everyone tells the truth - get it? Anna lets Mark in and he takes a seat on the couch. She explains she needs to finish getting ready for the date and this will include her, what? - that's right - masturbating upstairs while he waits. Oh, how edgy and unique.

Even though it is simple, Gervais and Robinson are incapable of remaining committed to their stated premise. What they show isn't a world that can't lie. They're in a world where people simply say what's on their mind. Everywhere Mark goes in the film, people casually distribute insults to him. Unprompted, he is told he is less than attractive, that people despise him, that no enjoys him. If this was written as its sold, it is far more likely the people would simply avoid subjects rather than blurt out socially unacceptable put-downs.

As it turns out, the other characters in the film are right to loathe Mark. He is a bad guy with no redeeming values at all. As the title states, he invents lying. Once he learns he can manipulate people by lying to them he then begins to serve his self with his new skill. He steals, attempts a rape (lying to someone to force them into sex is a form of rape, sorry) and generally acts like an ass. Here is a tip - make your hero likable. He doesn't have to be a saint but he really needs to have at least one approachable quality. It makes things so much more engaging for the audience.

To make matters worse Gervais and Robinson allow themselves to be misled by their lack of script development two-thirds of the way through. Since there isn't any real villain and therefore very little tension or conflict, the writing duo are forced to scrounge up a conflict. Marks' mother is on her deathbed and he "lies" to her about there being a Heaven and God. She dies with a smile on her face but Mark is overheard. At this point he becomes a prophet and is burdened with having to make-up religion.

The remainder of the film gives itself over to the conceit that all religion is made-up and are lies people are told to keep them from wallowing in existential misery. This is, of course, bunk and how the subject is presented proves it.

The fake religion Mark devises presents God in vague, childish terms. Gervais and Robinson make a theological straw-man by having Mark describe God with all of the depth of a Sunday School drop-out. Presenting God in the most simplistic terms possible, God is a conflicted old man in the clouds kind of theology, Gervais and Robinson make it easy for themselves to lampoon the ideas being expressed. They avoid actual theology, not out of respect, but because they are more interested in kicking faith in the shin than actually arguing the point.

The whole "religion is a lie" overtakes the final third of the film. It changes the tone and saps the comedy from a script that is already desperate for laughs. Again, this all a reaction by Gervais and Robinson because they have no other road to travel. Their script mishandles the premise and the characters and the two paint themselves into a corner. To close their script they're forced to pull this Deus ex machina (ironically enough).

What they should have done is present the world where no one lies. You then have Mark invent lying. He begins with small ones but they beget larger ones. He then tries to put the genie back in the bottle - thus creating conflict.

or

What they should have done is present the world where no one lies. You then have Mark invent lying. This start out okay but then his lies catch up to him and he is found out by society. This makes him an outcast. When he tries to warn people of something, we are given a modern retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Both of these ideas would also do something Gervais and Robinson failed to do in their sophomoric script - it would present lying as a moral wrong.

To sum things up, skip this one. A comedy without laughs is a hideous thing.



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Labels: comedy, film, Jeffrey Tambor, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis CK, movie review, Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe

The original Hellboy film was a pleasant surprise. Almost to a person, everyone I know who saw the first film said something to the effect "I thought it was going to be lame but it was pretty good." If you're holding out for another such surprise, I'm here to tell you to you can move on.

The film is pointless sequel. It doesn't expand upon the relationships and story developed in the first film and it doesn't create enough new content to stand on its own. After some spryness to open the film, the whole production lounges back into tedious fight sequences and nonsensical fantasy mumbo jumbo.

Hellboy and his cohorts stand up for humanity when the mythical world beings to rebel. Apparently, humans and all of the extras from Lord of the Rings used to be at war and this and that happened and eventually the mythical creatures were all sent underground. Well, now they're cranky and coming to take over. The mythical folks are led by the aggressive Prince Nuada who looks like the demon spawn of Edgar Winter and acts just like a over reaching character actor stuck in a poorly written role that is still beyond the grasp of his talents. Prince Over Actor, confronts Hellboy and friends in well designed sets and perform some practiced fight choreography.

Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the aesthetics of the film are top notch. The man is a great designer. Visually, there's nothing to find fault in, visually its a treat. His script is the failure of the production. Del Toro's script is predictable, forced and not befitting his design or his cast. Ron Perlman in particular seems almost bored by the expectations of his dialog. In the original film he was given an interesting character to fulfill and he clearly mined the role for everything it was worth. In this film, Perlman is given little to work with and therefore doesn't produce much beyond some grunted one liners and a sense he should be doing more. On top of this one conflict doesn't smoothly lead to the next and its not clear how they all work as one cohesive path to the final fight. This gives the film a stuttering, disjointed feel that never settles down long enough to allow for any real development to take place. Del Toro would have had the same flow if he had a title board pop up between scenes that read "...and then this happens!"

I wanted to enjoy this film. Del Toro is one of the strongest filmmakers working right now, I have high regard for his vision and his craftiness. Unfortunately, he misses his mark here and wastes a strong cast. Rewatch the first film and skip this one.





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Labels: Doug Jones, film, Guillermo Del Toro, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, Luke Goss, movie review, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Seth MacFarlane

Todd Phillips directed this film. He also directed Old School. Other than having Phillips at the helm, these two comedies both have something else in common. They are not nearly as funny as people want them to be.

Like Old School, this film begins with a promising hook, a mismatched group of men (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha) go to Vegas in place of a regular bachelor party for their friend who is about to tie the knot (Bartha). The men begin the evening, excited and ready for fun. The next time we see them, they are waking up in their expensive suite, partially clothed and the bachelor is missing. The film follows the remaining three as they unravel the wild events of the previous evening.

Like Old School, there is enough for the actors to work with that they can squeeze some good laughs out of the scenes. There is enough humor to make the production better than the average comedy, which really isn't saying too much.

Like Old School the film runs out of fuel after the mid-point and goes off course as it tries to tie all of the character arcs together.

Like Old School, the film should have been much funnier and more clever than it ending up being. A stronger direction would have helped, as well as a tighter script.

Like Old School, the cast will be the big winners. Old School introduced Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell to audiences who may have otherwise not have known them. People knew Ferrell thanks to SNL but his cross-over to film hadn't taken off yet. Wilson and Vaughn were known, but not to wide audiences. This film will probably have a similar effect for Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, both of whom offer strong performances. Zach Galifianakis also gives a notable comedic performance as Alan, a dumpy, odd man-child. Galigianaialogisiaiskilansig...kis is the most memorable part of this film, other than Mike Tyson singing. It is possible this film will be his introduction to larger roles.

Like Old School, people will claim this film to be far superior than it truly is, which means it will be very successful on DVD. Expect the sequel in a couple more years.

Do I recommend the film? Nope. I'm not about to pretend it is better than it is simply because I wanted to like it. Again, the second half slides off into a muddled collection of scenes. Additionally, the central push of the plot, where is the groom, loses all of its steam. If you liked Old School, you will probably find much here you will enjoy.





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Labels: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, film, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Mike Epps, movie review, Zach Galifianakis

It has Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K. (the best stand-up comic working) and Jennifer Garner - how could this stink?

Well, probably pretty easily. Let's see, the hook is simple enough, in a universe where everyone always tells the truth one man (Gervais) invents lying. This means the film is structurally about morality. Is lying wrong? When it is acceptable to lie? So on and so forth. Looking at the cast list, looking at the folks who developed the film, considering the film industry's track record on making definitive moral statements, I'm left thinking this probably isn't going to leave audiences with a good message.

But that's me. I could be wrong.*



Word is that there is a deep anti-religious message waiting for audiences at the end of the film. You know, cuz religion is all a lie - get it? Sure. You know, cuz a bunch of film makers and actors say so, cuz they got it all figured out. I know when I have complex metaphyscial questions I confer the closest actor, because someone who spends their life pretending to be other people is always a reliable choice.

Let's do a quick unpacking of their proposal. If religion is a lie and by extension God Himself is a lie, then the universe is a soup of random, nonsensical reactions with no inherent worth beyond the whimsical meanings we place on things. Therefore, all understanding is a matter of perspective rooted in our temporary perspectives. So, the concepts of telling the truth and lying are irrelevant given that there is no such thing as actual truth or actual falsehood. Since this is the case, Gervais and company have no grounds to attack my belief in God. Their non-belief negates their standing to have a voice given that their belief negates the relevance of their voice. If I believe in God, and there is no God, your contention that I'm wrong is meaningless since in your truthless universe my stating there is a God is as valid as you saying He's not there. So, shut up. Have a nice day.



Screenwriters: Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson
Directors: Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson
Actors: Jonah Hill (Superbad), Jennifer Garner (13 Going on 30), Jason Bateman (Smokin’ Aces), Tina Fey (Mean Girls), Patrick Stewart (Jeffrey), Jeffrey Tambor (The Hangover), Ricky Gervais (Ghost Town), Louis C.K., and Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap)

* - I'm not wrong.

Labels: Christopher Guest, film, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, movie trailer, Patrick Stewart, Rickey Gervais

Screenwriters: Jon Lucas (Four Christmases) and Scott Moore (Rebound)
Director: Todd Phillips (Old School)
Actors: Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers), Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), Ed Helms (Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay), Jeffrey Tambor (Monsters vs. Aliens) and Justin Bartha (National Treasure: Book of Secrets)

Labels: Bradley Cooper, film, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, movie trailer

The original Hellboy film was a pleasant surprise. Almost to a person, everyone I know who saw the first film said something to the effect "I thought it was going to be lame but it was pretty good." If you're holding out for another such surprise, I'm here to tell you to you can move on.

The film is pointless sequel. It doesn't expand upon the relationships and story developed in the first film and it doesn't create enough new content to stand on its own. After some spryness to open the film, the whole production lounges back into tedious fight sequences and nonsensical fantasy mumbo jumbo.

Hellboy and his cohorts stand up for humanity when the mythical world beings to rebel. Apparently, humans and all of the extras from Lord of the Rings used to be at war and this and that happened and eventually the mythical creatures were all sent underground. Well, now they're cranky and coming to take over. The mythical folks are led by the aggressive Prince Nuada who looks like the demon spawn of Edgar Winter and acts just like a over reaching character actor stuck in a poorly written role that is still beyond the grasp of his talents. Prince Over Actor, confronts Hellboy and friends in well designed sets and perform some practiced fight choreography.

Written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the aesthetics of the film are top notch. The man is a great designer. Visually, there's nothing to find fault in, visually its a treat. His script is the failure of the production. Del Toro's script is predictable, forced and not befitting his design or his cast. Ron Perlman in particular seems almost bored by the expectations of his dialog. In the original film he was given an interesting character to fulfill and he clearly mined the role for everything it was worth. In this film, Perlman is given little to work with and therefore doesn't produce much beyond some grunted one liners and a sense he should be doing more. On top of this one conflict doesn't smoothly lead to the next and its not clear how they all work as one cohesive path to the final fight. This gives the film a stuttering, disjointed feel that never settles down long enough to allow for any real development to take place. Del Toro would have had the same flow if he had a title board pop up between scenes that read "...and then this happens!"

I wanted to enjoy this film. Del Toro is one of the strongest filmmakers working right now, I have high regard for his vision and his craftiness. Unfortunately, he misses his mark here and wastes a strong cast. Rewatch the first film and skip this one.


Related Reviews:
Other superheroes
Iron Man (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)


Other Critic's Reviews:
The Critical Critics
ReelViews

Labels: film, Guillermo Del Toro, Jeffrey Tambor, movie review, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair

* - "Graphic novel" eh? How fancy, its a novel but its graphic. It's a comic book with better binding. And while we're at it, action figures are dolls.


Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro (El Laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth))
Director: Guillermo del Toro (Blade II)
Actors: Ron Perlman (The Ice Pirates), Selma Blair (The Fog), Doug Jones (Lady in the Water), Jeffrey Tambor (Hellboy), Luke Goss (One Night with the King), and John Hurt (V for Vendetta)

Labels: Guillermo Del Toro, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt, movie trailer, Ron Perlman, Selma Blair