Men in Black III

Men in Black III - Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld (2012)

The Avengers has been an unstoppable juggernaut since its release on May 4^th. There was only one super-powered being capable of knocking Marvel's magnum opus off its box office perch and that would be Will Smith. The former Fresh Prince is a guaranteed draw though I'm sure everyone would like to forget about Wild Wild West. But, Smith hasn't starred in a film since 2008's overwrought Seven Pounds and it's been a decade since the forgettable Men in Black II. Smith and Tommy Lee Jones slip comfortably back into the suits and sunglasses for a $55 million Memorial Day opening.

An intergalactic biker assassin named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) has escaped from a maximum security prison on the Moon. Agent K (Jones) was the one who not only apprehended Boris, but blew off his left arm back in 1969. K also thwarted an invasion by Boris's people, the Boglodites, which lead to their extinction. Boris plans to travel back in time and prevent all this from happening. Agent J (Smith) literally jumps back to the 60's by leaping off the Chrysler Building to team up with the younger K (Josh Brolin).

Men in Black III was making headlines within the industry for the all the wrong reasons. The script by Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder) went through multiple drafts by David Koepp and Jeff Nathanson, both of whom went uncredited. This is nothing new for a big budget blockbuster, but going into production without a completed screenplay is a rarity. With only the first act set in stone, MIB3 went into production in the fall of 2010 to take advantage of lucrative NY tax breaks that were feared to expire by the end of the year. A scheduled two month break was stretched to three as the rewrite process dragged on while some crew members continued to be paid. All told the budget was rumored to have ballooned to $300 million.

After viewing Men in Black III, it is clear the beleaguered writing process took its toll on the threequel, which is rife with plot holes. The fact that J still remembers the proper timeline is glanced over with a single line. Yet, it's never explained how J is with MIB since the man who recruited him no longer exists or why the aliens waited forty years to invade the Earth. MIB3 rehashes the fish out of water story from the previous installments as J deals the culture shock of the 60's. Don't expect any deep contemplation about Vietnam or political turmoil. Race relations are dealt with in an amusing sequence where J is pulled over by a pair of prejudiced cops. J is also befuddled by the primitive technology employed by the department back in the day. The 60's section is where the film shines thanks to the retro-futuristic production design by Bo Welch and the practical effects by make-up wizard Rick Baker, who was obviously inspired by the drive-in classics of the yesteryear. But, inconsistency raises its ugly head once more. The MIB are hampered by portable neuralizers attached to cumbersome battery packs and clunky looking jetpacks. Yet, they utilize gyroscopic monocycles that resemble the 'It' from South Park that would still be considered high tech in the future. While K's stoic demeanor has been an accepted personality trait, the filmmakers saw a ridiculous need to explain how he became this way. Never mind that K had lighthearted moments in the other pictures. Thus, the film builds to a final denouement that makes little sense.

One of the reasons the original Men in Black succeeded was the chemistry between the smart alecky Will Smith and the straight laced Tommy Lee Jones. Here, Jones is reduced to an extended cameo with the bulk of the picture shouldered by Josh Brolin, who does an uncanny impersonation of No Country for Old Men co-star. Brolin's vocal mimicry is so good you'd swear they dubbed Jones's voice over his. Bill Hader brings a much needed breath of fresh air as Andy Warhol, who happens to be an undercover MIB agent. A spinoff featuring the adventures of K and W in the seventies would have been more interesting than what we actually get. Will Smith is in full quippy Will Smith mode even if some of his humor ("I got no problem pimp slapping the shiznit out of Andy Warhol.") is as outdated as the vintage MIB gadgets. My goodness, he doesn't even sing a goofy theme song.  Luckily, the movie has a strong villain in Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords. It helps that speaks like Tim Curry and looks like "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Michael Stuhlbarg is also a great addition to the franchise as a nebbish extraterrestrial with the unique ability to see all possible timelines.

The perfect sequel should feel like a necessary continuation of the series along with whetting the appetite for further films. Men in Black III didn't need to be made and didn't make me clamor for Men in Black IV. If you can look past a plot rife with clichés and plot holes, you'll find an acceptable piece of popcorn entertainment. The demographic that will enjoy Men in Black III the most will likely be the kids who weren't even born when the first picture hit the screens.

Rating: ** ½ (*****)

Dinner For Schmucks

Dinner For Schmucks - Dir. Jay Roach (2010)


Dinner For Schmucks is a remake of a 1998 French film entitled, Le Dinner de Cons (The Dinner Game), from writer/director Francis Veber who also penned the script for La Cage aux Folles. The latter picture was also remade with Robin Williams and Gene Hackman as The Birdcage.

Jay Roach, who also directed the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents films, brings decidedly American sensibilities to this comedy of class wars.

Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) is a mid-level executive at investment firm Fender Financial. He wows his boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood) by facilitating a multi-million dollar deal with wealthy Swiss business Martin Mueller (David Walliams). Tim is in line for a promotion, but only after he attends a dinner party with the company heads in which they invite idiots to make fun of them. Tim is appalled at first until he literally runs into life-long goofus, Barry Speck (Steve Carell). A desk drone at the IRS, Barry collects dead mice to use in intricate dioramas, recreating classic works of art like “The Last Supper” and Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

Barry arrives at Tim’s apartment a day early and in a matter of hours has turned his life upside-down. Barry single-handedly manages to injure Tim’s back, wreck the place, sabotage his relationship with girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak), and invites in Tim’s mentally unstable ex Darla (Lucy Punch).

This is the third pairing for Rudd and Carell following Anchorman and The 40-Year Old Virgin. Rudd’s deadpan delivery plays well against Carell’s manic and obliviously moronic Barry who is like Michael Scott with the volume turned up to eleven. However, the character feels labored with the movie trying way too hard to wring comedy out of something so thin. Rudd is still likeable enough that you don’t feel he truly deserves to be in the eye of Hurricane Barry. The movie only truly picks up when we finally get to the dinner where we meet idiots like a blind fencing champion, a man with epic facial hair, and a ventriloquist married to his dummy, all of whom lead a revolt against their bourgeois tormentors.

Dinner For Schmucks winds up being an uneven comedy when it should have been a riotous farce. The film manages to be saved by two incredibly funny performances from Zach Galifianakis as a self-professed psychic and Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement as a pretentious artist fond of dressing up as a satyr.

Rating: **

Despicable Me

Despicable Me - Dirs. Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud (2010)


Despicable Me is the first film from Illumination Entertainment, Universal’s new animation division headed by Chris Meledandri, the former president of Fox Animation. It’s also the first supervillain-centric movie of the year with Dreamworks’ Megamind coming out in November. Despicable Me was co-directed by European animators Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud from a script by Ken Daurio & Cinco Paul who previously wrote Horton Hears a Who and The Santa Clause 2.

Steve Carell adopts an indiscernible Slavic accent to voice Gru, a criminal mastermind who considers himself the world’s number one bad guy. In his employ are an elderly inventor named Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and an army of Minions, diminutive creatures who look like Oompa Loompas crossbred with Twinkies. With their assistance, Gru devises a scheme to steal a shrink ray in order to hijack the moon and hold it for ransom. More importantly, Gru hopes to finally impress his hard to please mother, played by Julie Andrews in anti-Julie Andrews mode. Gru’s plan is derailed when the Bank of Evil refuses him a loan and the shrink ray is stolen out from under him by the nerdy Vector (Jason Segel). A dweeb with a bowl cut and an orange track suit, Vector is the new number one whose fortress is impenetrable.

Meanwhile at the orphanage for girls, three adorable little moppets named Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher) sell cookies door-to-door for the stern Miss Hattie (voiced by Kristen Wiig, modeled after Edie McClurg). Noticing they can enter Vector’s domain uninhibited, Gru adopts them and before you know it, his icy exterior is melted away.

Despicable Me isn’t the type of multi-layered film that Pixar has mastered. It is fairly one-dimensional, but that one dimension is incredibly entertaining. The movie goes for the gusto as much as possible. If they’re going to have three cute, little girls, they’re going to make them as cute as humanly possible. The same can be said for the movie’s use of 3D, putting the audience on a rollercoaster and throwing various objects at the screen.

Is it as good as Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon? No, but Despicable Me is well worth seeing on a big 3D screen.

Rating: ***

Gentlemen Broncos

Gentlemen Broncos - Dir. Jared Hess (2009)


The husband and wife team of Jared and Jerusha Hess made their feature film debut with Napoleon Dynamite. The low budget comedy became a quotable classic amongst indie hipsters and raked in over $46 million in worldwide grosses. Not bad for a movie that only cost $400,000. As with most young filmmakers, the Hesses were given access to a bigger budget and a bigger star with the underrated Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black as a priest/Mexican wrestler. Now, the Hesses solidify their status as poor man versions of Wes Anderson with another tale of small town weirdoes in Gentlemen Broncos.

Much like Napoleon Dynamite, Gentlemen Broncos opens with a unique title sequence utilizing mock-ups of vintage sci-fi novels. That’s about as clever as this movie is going to get.

Michael Angarano is Benjamin, a home-schooled geek with a passion for science fiction. He’s written his magnum opus in Yeast Lords which he enters into a contest judged by his hero, acclaimed author Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement). Chevalier has hit a slump and, desperate for another hit, steals Benjamin’s manuscript. Benjamin’s story is brought to life in a series of inexplicable intervals that would make Roger Corman proud. Shot as pure schlock, the Yeast Lords sequences feature Sam Rockwell as the macho Bronco who rides through the desert on a reindeer strapped with rocket launchers. That’s Benjamin’s version. In Chevalier’s plagiarized vision, he is re-imagined as the bleached blonde and effeminate Brutus. Benjamin has also sold his story to a wannabe director named Lonnie (Hector Jimenez) who shoots yet another version of Ben’s story as a glorified, no-budget home movie.

Gentlemen Broncos is a total misfire on every level with the film’s one-dimensional characters the most problematic. The Hesses fill Broncos with a cast of one-dimensional caricatures who are simply quirky for quirky’s sake. Worse yet, they are all positively insufferable. Benjamin and Chevalier are terrible writers. Lonnie is a horrible filmmaker. Benjamin’s mother (Jennifer Coolidge) designs hideous dresses and no one seems to have a clue. The Hesses fail to let us in on the joke. Are we supposed to laugh at them for being such losers? Or are we supposed to root for the losers to finally succeed? The latter is a difficult task considering the characters aren’t particularly sympathetic. Benjamin is about the most normal person in the film, but he’s such a naïve pushover that it’s hard to invest anything in his arc.

About the only redeeming quality to be found in Gentlemen Broncos is Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame. Clement manages to rise above the slight material with his arrogant demeanor and a velvety Tim Curry-esque voice.

Rating: *