The Sitter

The Sitter - Dir. David Gordon Green (2011)

What happened to David Gordon Green? His career as a director got off to a strong start with George Washington and All the Real Girls. He continued his streak of small town dramas with Undertow and Snow Angels, before making a leap into the mainstream with the stoner action-comedy Pineapple Express. Green not only showed talent for riveting indie flicks, but also a flair for zany and raunchy comedy. At least, he did with Pineapple Express. Unfortunately, the well seems to have run dry as evidenced by Green's latest R-rated comedies. Your Highness was a critical and commercial flop that just barely made half of its meager $50 million budget. Green closed the year on another sour note with The Sitter, which will likely only be remembered as the last appearance of the overweight Jonah Hill.

Hill plays Noah Griffin, a college student on suspension. He's content to lay on the couch at his mom's house with no intentions of getting a job or any serious plans for the future. He decides to actually do something nice for his mom (Jessica Hecht) and babysit a trio of kids so she can enjoy a night out. Noah is put in charge of Slater (Max Records), a nervous bundle of neuroses; Blithe (Landry Bender), a wannabe celebutante wearing heavy make-up and a tutu; and their adopted sibling from El Salvador, Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez), who enjoys blowing things up with fireworks.

Noah has a pseudo-girlfriend in Marisa (Ari Graynor), who asks him to bring her some cocaine for a party in exchange for sex. Thinking with his cock, Noah sets out into the seedier boroughs of New York City with the children in tow. Noah buys the coke from Marisa's dealer, Karl (Sam Rockwell), a bipolar eccentric who employs scantily clad bodybuilders in his drug lab. Karl also transports his narcotics inside dinosaur eggs, one of which is stolen by Rodrigo. Trying to get laid is the least of Noah's problems now that he has gangsters out to kill him.

Much like Pineapple Express, The Sitter features a mixture of raunchy, lowbrow humor along with mild action and chase sequences. Gordon doesn't handle the latter well as he fails to imbue these scenes with the same energy he did with Pineapple Express. Not all the blame falls on the director's shoulders. The majority of the film's faults lie with the script by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, who are also penning the upcoming remake of Baywatch, which will surely top year-end worst lists should it ever be released.

Gatewood and Tanaka practically plagiarize a bunch of 80's comedies with the spine of the story lifted from Adventures in Babysitting, plus a dash of Uncle Buck with Hill filling the role of a modern day John Candy. There's even a William Zabka-type in Marisa's ex-boyfriend, a blonde kickboxer with the oh-so-80's name of Ricky Fontaine (Jack Krizmanich). The rest of the movie's humor relies solely on broad stereotypes, like jive talking African-Americans who don't like white people and a flaming gay guy on roller skates.

The Sitter is a poorly conceived pastiche of derivative ideas and unfunny gags. Hill is called upon to simply reprise his Superbad persona and after his understated performance in Moneyball, it's disappointing.

Rating: * (*****)

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are - Dir. Spike Jonze (2009)


”Let the wild rumpus start!”

Sorry, but Where the Wild Things Are was never a huge part of my childhood. In fact, I only just read it the other day. Honestly, I waited until after I saw the film to check it out from the library. Still, I approached the film adaptation with some trepidation. It’s always difficult to translate these classic children’s books, particularly when they’re only a dozen or so pages long. Filmmakers tend to pad out the film’s length with lowbrow humor and mugging lead actors. Look at what they did to poor Dr. Seuss. Thankfully, Spike Jonze has stayed true to the spirit of Maurice Sendak’s much-beloved book. Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are is a soulful, intelligent meditation on the difficulties of childhood. It is a refreshing change from the sugar-coated junk food that passes as family entertainment these days.

Max (Max Records) gets crushed within his snow fort by his sister’s friends while she stands by and does nothing. His mother (Catherine Keener) ignores him in order to spend time with her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo). Max dons his iconic wolf costume and stomps on the kitchen counter, demanding to be fed. His tantrum culminates in Max biting his mother. The boy runs away from home and finds a tiny sailboat which allows him to travel to an island inhabited by the Wild Things each representing a different aspect of Max’s psyche.

The de facto leader of the monsters is Carol (James Gandolfini), the most temperamental of the creatures and quickest to anger. Max and Carol bond quickly over their shared passion of feral destruction. Carol is constantly at odds with K.W. (Lauren Ambrose) who had briefly left to be on her own. There’s the easy-going Ira (Forest Whitaker) and his girlfriend, the somewhat domineering Judith (Catherine O’Hara). The other Wild Things are: Carol’s right hand man, the avian-esque Douglas (Chris Cooper); low self-esteem sufferer Alexander (Paul Dano); and the taciturn and intimidating Bull (Michael Berry Jr.).

Max’s time with the Wild Things is marked with mischief, adventure, and sorrow. The monsters are sensitive, but it’s never forgotten that they could eat Max with no hesitation. The work gone into creating the Wild Things is simply wonderful, suits from the Jim Henson Company enhanced with CGI. This is where the film truly begins and happens. The opening act is a nice touch, but it isn’t as if it were necessarily to inform the audience of the difficulties of growing up. The indie hipster soundtrack by Jonze’s then-girlfriend Karen O tends to become an ill-fitting distraction at times. In the end, Jonze’s offbeat sensibilities have crafted a film that can speak to the heart of anyone, regardless of age. Where the Wild Things Are never speaks down to the audience and portrays children as the complex creatures they are.

Rating: ***

The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom - Dir. Rian Johnson (2009)


Rian Johnson made his debut as a feature filmmaker with Brick, a modern-day film noir set in a high school and starring that kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun. It could have been a complete joke, a retread of the Scott Baio vehicle, Bugsy Malone. Instead, it was a sharply written first-time effort, that was part Raymond Chandler, part John Hughes. For his second film, Johnson decided to tackle the heist film genre, inspired by films like The Sting and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. And thus was born, The Brothers Bloom.

The titular siblings are Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody). We’re not really sure if that’s his first or last name. I mean, are they like the Mario Brothers? Would that make them Stephen Bloom and Bloom Bloom? In any event, the pair are orphans and start off in the con game as kids where Stephen writes out the con as if he were a florid Russian novelist. His motto is the perfect con is the one where "everyone gets what they want." Bloom, however, grows weary of having his entire life written out for him and retired to Montenegro. Stephen eventually tracks him down with the help of their silent partner, an explosives expert named Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi). The brothers’ new mark is an eccentric heiress, Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), who lives alone in her Xanadu-esque mansion collecting hobbies. She plays numerous musical instruments, dabbles in photography, juggling chainsaws, and crashing expensive Lamborghinis. Stephen’s Machiavellian plot this time around involves posting as art smugglers and coaxing Penelope for a globe-trotting adventure in order to bilk her of a couple million dollars. Of course, Bloom falls for her, putting a crimp in Stephen’s plans.

Rounding out the supporting cast are Robbie Coltrane as another cohort known only as the Belgian (though he may not actually be Belgian) and Maximillian Schell as the brothers’ former mentor, the Diamond Dog.

Many new filmmakers suffer a case of the sophomore slump after a strong debut. They get studio offers, bigger budgets, access to name actors, and a move towards the mainstream. Most fall short of the high expectations held by fans and critics. Shari Springer Bergman & Robert Pulcini followed up their excellent translation of Harvey Pekar’s semi-autobiographical comic book, American Splendor, with the anemic chick-lit adaptation The Nanny Diaries. Another example would be Justin Lin and pretty much everything he’s done since Better Luck Tomorrow. Though both of Johnson’s films exist in a nebulous time and place just outside of reality, Brothers Bloom is a drastic departure from the dour ambience of Brick, it remains a strong, if uneven, effort from Johnson.

Brothers Bloom is the type of film that relies on pulling a fast one on the audience which is part and parcel for a heist movie. There are plenty of twists and turns as the narrative unfolds. Much like Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity, Brothers Bloom tries to be too clever for its own good. It’s self-consciously quirky and feels awfully proud of itself for being able to reference James Joyce.

The film shines when it allows the characters to simply be. There’s great chemistry between Brody and Ruffalo who got along swimmingly off-screen. Both actors have a lot of fun with their roles. Rinko Kikuchi was one of the only bright spots of the insipid and preachy Babel and she shines in another silent role. She displays some excellent comic timing. The true star of the production is Rachel Weisz in one of her best roles. She’s funny, warm, and it’s easy to see how Brody’s character could so easily fall in love with her. I should also point out Ms. Weisz really did learn the ukulele, juggling, martial arts, skateboarding, and card tricks amongst other skills for the part.

The Brothers Bloom is The Sting if it had been directed by a less meticulous Wes Anderson. Johnson helms the picture with clever style and there are plenty of gorgeous locations. It’s a fun and breezy film, but it won’t leave much of an impression on you once the credits roll.

Rating: ** 1/2