Land of the Lost is a classic Saturday morning show from the 1970's. Unless you're in your early 40's, you probably don't know much about the original series. Speaking as someone who, as a child, watched this show each weekend, I can say it was about as cool as Saturday morning shows got. Well, Super Friends and Dr. Shrinker were pretty dang cool as well - but this series really stood out.

This remake isn't just disappointing, it is an abomination. I don't say this because the cast and crew mishandled reviving the show. They did, but the poor quality of the movie isn't it's biggest issue. These dishonorable louts, being dishonorable, didn't have the sense to refrain from using swearing and drug and sex references. Yes, they are remaking a series remembered by middle-aged folk. How many of these middle-aged folks took their children to this film assuming it wouldn't be littered with the low-brow and disgusting?

I used to be a Will Ferrell fan. I've quoted my Geddy Lee lovin' brother-in-law's description of the man - he is a one trick pony, but it is one heckuva trick. That trick has expired. Anyone willing to make a movie obviously geared to children and include the jokes displayed here is not worthy of conducting himself on a public stage.

Putting aside the irresponsible aspects of the movie, which is a little like putting aside the topic of heat when talking about the Sun, the production is still a loss. It fails to find the adventurous spirit of the original series, it fails to produce any laughs and the dialog is simple. Even if they had left the crud out, it still would not be worth wasting your time on.




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Labels: Anna Friel, Danny McBride, film, movie review, Will Ferrell

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Labels: Anne Heche, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, film, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, movie trailer, Paris Hilton, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L Jackson, Steve Coogan, Will Ferrell

It could have been funny but they went for crude instead. Saying filthy things in place of actual punchlines doesn't equate comedy, it just means you're copping out.

Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) and his crew of mercenary used-car salesmen are brought in to help a dealer who is facing being bought out. This is a great concept, but there is absolutely no payoff. There is some sparks at the opening, in particular with Piven's character. Once the plot begins to mix we discover that all of the ingredients are flavorless.

The comedy comes in two fashions here. There are semblances of some good comedy setups but no payoffs or the setups are so stupid they have nowhere to go. An exmple of both of these issues melding into one disjointed bit that comes up multiple times: Craig Robinson plays a d-jay who refuses to conform to his audience's tastes. He grumbles with a psychotic mantra about not being pushed around as be throws out vile rap to a crowd of shoppers. There is nothing that comes from this set up and no reason for it to be introduced in the first place...which essentially sums up the movie.




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Labels: David Koechner, Ed Helms, film, Jeremy Piven, Kathryn Hahn, movie review, Ving Rhames, Will Ferrell

This trailer actually made me laugh. Trailers rarely make me laugh. Ken Jeong's expression during the Pearl Harbor bit kills me.






Screenwriters: Andy Stock and Andy Stempson
Director: Neal Brennan
Actors: Ed Helms (The Hangover), Will Ferrell (Land of the Lost), Jeremy Piven (The Kingdom), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) and David Koechner (Get Smart)

Labels: David Koechner, Ed Helms, film, Jeremy Piven, movie trailer, Ving Rhames, Will Ferrell

Labels: comedy, David Korchner, film, Maura Tierney, movie trailer, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson

If I'm right, I think you get a free happy meal with every ticket. Land of the Lost Childhood Memories is more like it. Anything that strings out a joke about Matt Lauer cannot be good. I see nothing here worthwhile. Watch the trailer and make up your own mind on it, but I'm telling you this thing looks simply awful.




Screenwriters: Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas (The Ladies Man)
Director: Brad Siberling (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Actors: Will Ferrell (Step Brothers), Danny R. McBride (The Fist Foot Way) and Anna Friel

Labels: Danny R McBride, film, movie trailer, Will Ferrell

Yes, this is crude, stupid and a complete waste of time. That said, it is funny. I know there's plenty of people out there who would disagree. As my Geddy Lee Lovin' Brother-in-Law says "Will Ferrell is a one-trick pony, but its one heckuva trick."

Labels: film, Gary Cole, John C Reilly, movie trailer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell

This is much like the recent films coming from Will Ferrell (Blades of Glory, Semi-Pro), a strong premise spoiled by over indulgent routines and sloppy direction. In the case of this film, the premise is that two fully-grown man-children Brennan (Will Ferrell) and Dale (John C. Reilly), who still live with their single parents, are forced to move in with one another when their parents get married. The trailers for the film showed promise. They concentrated on the comedic elements well and had me hoping this would be the production that would pull Ferrell out of the slump he's been in since Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. This didn't help one bit.

The film could have been very good if it had been more reserved. Ferrell and partners Andy McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) overplay their routines and fall into simple crass jokes or into absurd disjointed gags that are reminiscent of the more strained moments of Saturday Night Live. I found myself waiting for bits to play themselves out so the film could advance. One such time is when Dale and Brennan get into their first big fight. The melee sprawls out into the front yard and the scene goes on forever. A more steady hand on the editorial wheel would have trimmed this down, but like many portions of the film the scene is allowed to ramble on until every last bit of life is exhausted.

Ferrell and Reilly are well suited for their roles and work well together. The supporting cast does a good job as well. Of the supporting crew, Kathyrn Hahn (Anchorman) who gives the best comedic performance. Her turn as Brennan pathetic sister-in-law who lusts after Dale (the role is very close to crazy sister Gloria in Wedding Crashers), is one of the funnier parts although much of her job is to simply deliver crude lines. The acting is not the issue. The whole cast works with what they've been given and deliver some laughs but the good parts are stranded in a sea of nonsensical or just juvenile muck.

This film and Anchorman were both written by Ferrell and McKay and directed by McKay himself. There are stark differences between the two productions. Anchorman worked so well because it was focused and each scene was evenly timed. Even when Anchorman gets weird, the alley way brawl ending with a man with a trident in his chest and another on fire for example, it still remains a cohesive piece. This script wanders and doesn't seem to ever fully grasp what its overall purpose is. There's no distinct conflict for the second act since the two step brothers become friends relatively early in the narrative. This puts their parents in the antagonist role, a role they did not hold earlier. Finding no conflict of merit with them, Ferrell and McKay then produce Brennan's brother to be the villain. He's a good villain but by the time he is introduced and established the conflict between the three step brothers is a distraction from the conflicts already built in the first act. This ends up making a very lopsided narrative that can't carry any dramatic punch. When the film ends, with a good conclusion, it falls flat because there has been no systematic building towards the big ending. So, it feels slapped on. A more structured approach to the script and a more liberal use of editing could have made this work.

Overall, if you think Blades of Glory or Semi-Pro were funny, your tastes are probably numbed enough to take this in and enjoy it. The truth is that there are some funny moments but overall the movie isn't worth the rental.



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Labels: Andy McKay, comedy, film, John C Reilly, movie review, Will Ferrell

This is supposed to be stupid, so complaining that this is dumb is redundant. I guess the best way to put it is that its dumber than it wants to be. This is, by any definition, a poorly made movie. Even giving it the low expectations it begs for, this film still fails in a pathetic display of sloppy writing, amateurish direction and confused acting.

This production was clearly built around the one-trick pony (but its a great trick) Will Ferrell. But like Blades of Glory, there is little development to maintain a full movie. Ferrell expends his comedic arsenal in his introduction and wanders the rest of the film struggling through seemingly random events that are quickly set up and sputter to their resolutions. Saturday Night Live skits normally begin with the premise and then quickly bottom out, leaving the actors to run through their unfunny lines until they arrive at the forced ending of the bit. This movie is ninety minutes of that uncomfortable feeling SNL offers of performers putting their time in as an unfunny skit runs itself out. All this amounts to is watching actors spew filthy lines that they know aren't funny - doesn't sound like too much fun does it?

Trust me, the Old Spice ads the marketing of this film produced are 1000% funnier than the film. If you've seen those ads, count it is being close enough and skip seeing the movie.


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Labels: basketball, comedy, sports, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson

Screenwriters: Adam McKay (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), and Will Ferrell (Elf)
Director: Adam McKay (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)
Actors: Will Ferrell (Wedding Crashers), John C. Reilly (Magnolia), Mary Steenburgen (The Brave One), and Richard Jenkins (The Kingdom)

Labels: comedy, John C Reilly, movie trailer, Will Ferrell