This Is 40

This Is 40 - Dir. Judd Apatow (2012)

Judd Apatow's latest film, This Is 40, is marketed as being a "sort of" sequel to his second directorial effort, Knocked Up. Though Knocked Up turned Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl into bankable movie stars, neither of them makes an appearance in This Is 40. In fact, other than a passing reference, you don't need to see both to understand the story. The sequel is more of a spin-off focusing on Pete (Paul Rudd) and his wife, Debbie (Leslie Mann), the older sister of Heigl's character. This Is 40 has less of the zany energy and ribald humor of Apatow's earlier pictures. It's a bit more mature in the vein of his last film, Funny People. It could also be considered Apatow's most personal and semi-autobiographical since it stars his real-life family with Rudd as his stand-in.

Pete and Debbie are dealing with all the trials and tribulations of married life and middle age. Separately, they have their own issues. Pete runs an independent record label that isn't doing well and he has to cut checks that he can't afford to his freeloading father (Albert Brooks). Debbie runs a clothing store and tries to figure out which of her employees (Megan Fox and Charlyne Yi) are stealing from the register. She too has a contentious relationship with her own father (John Lithgow), a distant man who spends more time with his new family. Together, they get into arguments about finances, dieting, and parenthood. Their eldest daughter, Sadie (Maude Apatow), is going through her tempestuous teenage years and screaming at her parents and little sister (Iris Apatow).

One of the frequent complaints against Apatow productions are the lengthy runtimes. You could say This Is 40 is 40 minutes too long. Apatow's improvisational style exacerbates the problem by giving the film a loosey-goosey feel. There's no driving narrative with the movie playing out as a series of episodic vignettes. It's also difficult to feel any sympathy for the characters when they have such first world problems. Pete eats too many cupcakes while Sadie spends all her time catching up on Lost. They live in upper middle class bliss with a trampoline and swimming pool in their backyard. It's hard to relate to their money problems when they throw catered birthday parties and own every conceivable gadget emblazoned with an Apple logo.

Still, Apatow manages to glean kernels of truth from mundane everyday life. Debbie is grossed out when Pete farts in bed and feels insecure about her body in comparison to the shapely Megan Fox. Horndogs will definitely enjoy the scene where the two ladies compare the texture of their breasts. Pete's need to escape from his family hasn't waned. Rather than fantasy baseball, he hides in the bathroom and plays Bejeweled Blitz on his iPad. Pete and Debbie both suffer the indignities of invasive prostate exams and colonoscopies. That may pale in comparison to the awkwardness of reading their daughter's internet chatter. This leads to a hilarious series of escalating confrontations with an angry parent played with gusto by Melissa McCarthy. There's a satisfying emotional payoff to the subplot as husband and wife join forces against a common enemy and remember just why they fell in love.

There's a wealth of talent in the supporting cast with bit roles filled out by Chris O'Dowd, Lena Dunham, Michael Ian Black, Jason Segel, Robert Smigel, Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo, Tatum O'Neal, and Billie Joe Armstrong as himself. Megan Fox is surprisingly game in a rare comedic turn. Albert Brooks is an old hat at improve and his style meshes well with Apatow. Too bad he didn't have more scenes with John Lithgow.

Judd Apatow has successfully built himself into a brand, writing and directing his own pictures and producing dozens more. In the grand scheme of things, This Is 40 won't rank at the top of his filmography. It's not as good as Knocked Up or 40-Year Old Virgin, but leagues above Drillbit Taylor. This Is 40 is a mixed bag of mild amusements that leisurely sputters along until a pat sitcom ending where someone gives a heartfelt speech, people learn valuable lessons, and everything turns out to be okay. Unfortunately, they take far too long to get there.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Drive

Drive - Dir. Nicholas Winding Refn (2011)

When Drive was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, it received a standing ovation and Nicholas Winding Refn won the award for Best Director. The critical buzz was building in anticipation of the film's wide release. Does Drive live up to the hype? In the opinion of this humble cinephile, I answer with a resounding, "Yes."

Ryan Gosling stars as the protagonist who known only in the credits as Driver. By day, he works part-time as a stunt driver for movie shoots. At night, he's a wheelman for heists with a preternatural ability while in the driver's seat. He also works at a garage owned by his only friend Shannon (Bryan Cranston), who provides him with the vehicles he needs. He wants to provide one more in a stock car to start the Driver off on a professional racing career. In order to do so, Shannon borrows money from Nino (Ron Perlman) and Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), a pair of Jewish mobsters who operate out of a strip mall pizzeria.

The normally aloof Driver finds himself bonding with his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son Benicio (Kaden Leos). The future looks bright until Irene's husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), is released from prison. With his family threatened, Standard is forced into pulling a robbery in order to repay a gangster known as Cook (James Biberi) for protecting him while behind bars. Driver agrees to help in order to save Irene and Benicio. The job naturally goes south leading Driver down a road paved by blood and bodies.

Drive is obvious in its influences. Chief among them is Walter Hill's The Driver, which also featured an unnamed getaway man played by Ryan O'Neal. Both movies are also descendents of the existential crime films of Jean-Pierre Melville with their taciturn lead characters searching for a purpose in their empty lives. Gosling's Driver finds the purpose he desperately needed with Irene and Benicio. The choice to leave the character unnamed wasn't made just to evoke the similarly unnamed stranger from the Westerns of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, but to establish his anonymity. As a stunt man, Driver will never be the hero of that movie. He can only pretend to be the hero, donning a grotesque mask to do so. As the protector of his broken family, Driver can finally be the hero of his own story. The Driver moniker also highlights just how much his identity is tied into the car. There's a Zen quality to the way in which Driver connects with his automobiles, preferring a spartan existence on the road. Would that he could live his life forever behind a steering wheel.

Thematically, Drive owes much to the films of the 70's, but the look and feel is pure retro-80's right down to the neon pink cursive font used for the titles. The soundtrack is comprised of synthpop and an electronic score by Cliff Martinez that is meant to evoke 80's staples like Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (who has shot all of Bryan Singer's films) captures Los Angeles with the same beauty and gritty atmosphere of pictures like William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. and Michael Mann's Thief. Sigel alternates from gorgeous aerial shots of the city at night to roaring intimately through the side streets inside the Driver's muscle cars. This is a film that was meant to be seen on the big screen.

Even the chaste love story of the Driver and Irene borrows heavily from the 80's oeuvre of John Hughes. Both Gosling and Refn have described "Drive" as a violent version of Pretty in Pink or Sixteen Candles. The Driver himself looks like he stepped right out of a time warp from twenty years ago. His favored wardrobe consists of a puffy satin jacket, leather driving gloves, and a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. It's obvious he's trying to emulate the coolness of the screen idols he admired as a youth.

Gosling gives a remarkable performance as the taciturn Driver. Over the last few years, Gosling has launched himself onto another level beyond just "that guy from The Notebook." He's taken on memorable roles in heavy indie dramas like Half-Nelson and Blue Valentine along with showing a natural talent for comedy, both broad (Crazy Stupid Love) and quirky (Lars and the Real Girl). In Drive, Gosling proves himself to be a believable action star. Given a minimal amount of dialogue, Gosling speaks volumes through simple facial expressions. The squeaking of his leather gloves as he tightens his fist says more than any florid soliloquy. While Driver's relationship with Irene is an important one, it is the burgeoning bond between him and Benicio that is pivotal to the narrative. Gosling conveys this perfectly in a scene where the two engage in a staring contest. A slight smile breaks across Driver's face to show how this boy has broken through the man's detached exterior. Yet, this stoic demeanor belies a shocking capacity for violence. He strikes with the suddenness of the scorpion emblazoned on the back of his jacket.

Those familiar some of Refn's previous pictures like Bronson and Valhalla Rising will know that the director has a predilection for stylish violence. That trait is present in Drive as quiet moments give way to explosive acts of brutality. A tender kiss in slow motion between Driver and Irene leads right into a gruesome sequence in which he practically obliterates an assailant's skull by reigning down one merciless stomp after another. Refn never tries to outdo the classic car chases of Bullitt or The French Connection. His set pieces aren't as elaborate, but they are sleek and clever. In the gripping opening of the film, Driver evades the cops through guile rather than sheer horsepower. He parks the car by the curb and switches off the lights. Seconds later, he nonchalantly follows behind a police car obliviously waving its searchlight in every other direction.

Drive is Gosling's show all the way though he is backed up by a tremendous supporting cast. Bryan Cranston is excellent as is the lovely Christina Hendricks, even if her appearance amounts to all of five minutes. As a 21st century Audrey Hepburn, Mulligan has the innocent look and sweet nature to breathe life into a character that is thinly defined on the page. It's easy to see why the stone cold Driver would fall for her. To no surprise, Ron Perlman makes for an effective villain, but it is Albert Brooks who is cast against type as a menacing mobster. He possesses a genial nature that conceals a frightening propensity for violence. Much like the Driver, he strikes quickly and suddenly.

It is not often you will find an action movie that could be considered an exquisite work of art. Then again, movies like Drive aren't often made. Don't expect Drive to be another The Fast and the Furious or The Transporter, it is a more cerebral and visceral experience. This is arthouse action at its finest, a modern day film noir of vehicular masculinity.

Rating: **** (*****)