Admission

Admission - Dir. Paul Weitz (2013)

After cutting her teeth as a performer and head writer for Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey went on to create her own sitcom in 30 Rock, which was inspired by her time on the venerable variety show. Though it was never a huge ratings grabber, 30 Rock garnered a loyal following, critical acclaim, and numerous awards. As Liz Lemon, Fey added her own twists to the tried and true archetype of the working female trying to balance her professional and personal lives. Unfortunately, Fey takes several steps back in the depressingly formulaic Admission.

Fey stars as Portia Nathan, an admissions officer at Princeton University. Her job is her life, even if it involves passing judgment on wave after wave of potential students. Things are thrown into turmoil when Portia's boyfriend, Mark (Martin Sheen), leaves her for another professor (a scholar of Virginia Woolf, no less) he accidentally impregnated. At the same time, Portia is asked to visit an alternative school in New Hampshire by its founder and former collegiate classmate, John Pressman (Paul Rudd). While visiting Pressman's Quest School, Portia meets a variety of unusual characters including Pressman's adopted son, Nelson (Travaris Spears), and a prodigy by the name of Jeremiah Balakian (Nat Wolff). Adopted by grocery store owners, Jeremiah did poorly in public school, but possesses remarkable intelligence and owns a ventriloquist dummy named after René Descartes. According to Pressman, there's a strong possibility that Jeremiah might be the son Portia gave up for adoption when she was a student.

The prospects look good for a comedy headlined by Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. You expect witty banter and some sharp, off-the-cuff one-liners. In other words, you expect a completely different movie. Admission is a dull affair that saps any personality away from the usually hilarious Fey and Rudd. The movie, based on a 2009 novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz with a screenplay by Karen Croner (who also adapted the Meryl Streep melodrama One True Thing), trades on the stale formula we've seen countless times in other romantic comedies. Fey is the type-A female professional with Rudd as the unconventional love interest. There's a healthy mix of slapstick tossed in for good measure such as an awkward encounter in a cramp car and a scene where the leads bond during the messy birth of a calf. The dialogue is blunt and it is clear neither Fey nor Rudd were able to spice it up with their own ad-libs. At times, the script veers into a satire about college admissions and the ridiculousness of distilling a young person's entire life into a standardized essay. Sadly, this satire lacks any bite and takes a backseat to rom-com conventions.

Admission was directed by Paul Weitz, who previously directed American Pie and About a Boy with his brother Chris. While his first film as a solo act, In Good Company, was a success, the rest of his work have been misfires like American Dreamz, The Vampire's Assistant, and Little Fockers. They can sit on the bottom rung alongside "Admission." One of the only memorable flourishes in the movie involves candidates appearing before the admissions board and dropping through a trap door when they are denied.

Admission is saved from being a complete dud by some of its supporting cast, such as Wallace Shawn playing the type of role you expect from Wallace Shawn. Lily Tomlin is terrific as Portia's mother, a radical feminist with her own unusual ideas about motherhood. Plus, Martin Sheen essentially reprises his role as the boorish Wesley Snipes from 30 Rock.

Despite conquering television, Tina Fey has yet to receive the one lead role that would cement her status as a bona fide movie star. Considering her best film yet is "Mean Girls," which she wrote, Fey is going to have to make it happen herself. Right now, Hollywood is just handing her bland comedies like Baby Mama, Date Night, and Admission. She deserves better.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

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 (*****)

Wanderlust

Wanderlust - Dir. David Wain (2012)

Wanderlust is the latest comedy to come out of the Judd Apatow factory. It was directed by David Wain and reunites him with several members of the sketch comedy show, The State, including Ken Marino, who co-wrote the screenplay with him. Wain's first feature film was 2001's Wet Hot American Summer, a cult classic that was a spoof of 80's summer camp comedies like Meatballs. His biggest hit to date was Role Models with Paul Rudd as an energy drink pitchman dissatisfied with his life.

In Wanderlust, Rudd is George, a white collar worker seemingly satisfied with his life. He's married to the beautiful Linda (Jennifer Aniston), a documentary filmmaker, and they've just bought a "micro-loft" in the trendy West Village of Manhattan. Never mind that the cramped accommodations are a glorified studio apartment, it's a sound investment says their real estate broker. Then, the bottom drops out. HBO turns down Linda's new doc about penguins with testicular cancer and George's firm is shut down due to revelations of massive fraud. The not-so-happy couple is forced to move into the Atlanta McMansion of George's overbearing brother, Rick (Marino). During the road trip, George and Linda take a detour into a hippy commune called Elysium and are drawn to stay by a life unburdened of the trappings of modern society.

Wanderlust is rife with great, comedic performances from a game supporting cast. Marino is very funny as the obnoxious Rick with Michaela Watkins as his put upon wife. The denizens of Elysium are a colorful batch of characters led by Justin Theroux as their guru, Seth, whose outdated knowledge of technology consists of laserdiscs, FAX machines, and Walkmans. Alan Alda co-stars as Carvin, the community's burnt out founder, who rides around on an electric scooter. There's also Malin Akerman as the sexy bombshell, Eva, and Joe Lo Truglio as a wine making nudist. When he's not stomping grapes for his homemade wine, he's attempting to write a Robert Ludlum-esque political thriller.

There's good chemistry between Rudd and Aniston, having previously worked together in The Object of My Affection. Aniston gets to play it looser than usual though she doesn't get as outrageous as the sexpot dentist in Horrible Bosses. Rudd is always entertaining as the exasperated straight man. He gets the best scene in the film when he tries to psych himself up to sleep with Eva by awkwardly spouting dirty talk in front of a mirror. Nothing else in Wanderlust can top it. In fact, the bloopers shown over the end credits were the only other thing I laughed at. Rudd is naturally funny, especially when it feels like he's working off the cuff. However, the humor in Wanderlust is strained and full of tired jokes about hippies and their lack of hygiene. There's also a lame subplot involving real estate developers threatening Elysium.

In 1985, Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and starred in Lost in America, a sharp comedy with he and Julie Hagerty as yuppie Los Angelinos. They leave behind their lives to travel across the country in a Winnebago only to discover their old, materialistic ways were just fine. Wanderlust isn't nearly as subversive or satirical. It's a rather pedestrian comedy, despite all the talent involved.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother - Dir. Jesse Peretz (2011)

Before becoming an independent filmmaker, Jesse Peretz was a founder of the alternative rock band The Lemonheads, whose biggest hit was a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's iconic "Mrs. Robinson." Peretz eventually directed two low-budget feature films along with numerous commercials and music videos. He landed his biggest gig in the critically reviled comedy The Ex with Zach Braff and Jason Bateman. Peretz has bounced back from that particular flop with the winning Our Idiot Brother, a frothy comedy that was co-written by his sister Evgenia Peretz and her husband David Schisgall. Our Idiot Brother premiered at Sundance where it was picked up by the Weinstein Company and released into theaters with little fanfare.

Paul Rudd stars as the titular idiot brother, a permanently baked fellow by the name of Ned who goes to prison for selling marijuana to a police officer at a farmer's market. Not an undercover cop, but one in full uniform, who claimed to just be having a rough time. However, Ned is only an idiot in the Dostoyevskian sense. He's not the brightest bulb, but he does possess an unwavering innocence, love, and trust for all those around him.

When Ned is released several months later, he finds his girlfriend, Janet (Kathryn Hahn), has already shacked up with a new man, Billy (TJ Miller), who is even more scatterbrained than Ned. She boots him off their biodynamic farm and refuses to relinquish his beloved golden retriever Willie Nelson. With nowhere else to go, Ned is shuffled between the homes of his three sisters. Liz (Emily Mortimer) is the oldest and married to a douchebag documentarian (Steve Coogan). Both are uptight yuppies who have rigidly planned their son's life in order to get him into a posh private school. Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is a workaholic magazine writer desperately trying to score an elusive interview with an heiress turned tabloid fodder. The youngest sister is Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), a bohemian hipster in a lesbian relationship with Cindy (Rashida Jones), a lawyer. The Sapphic couple lives in an odd communal loft with other artsy fartsy types. Ned's freewheeling and unfiltered lifestyle winds up turning his sisters' lives upside down

Our Idiot Brother is a welcome change of pace from a summer filled with raunchy R-rated comedies. The film can't be considered a masterpiece and the plot is predictable with an unsurprising and schmaltzy ending. Of course, the sisters will eventually forgive their brother and realize the problem was with them, not him. Still, the journey is riddled with amusing moments and great performances from the all-star cast.

Paul Rudd ably carries the picture on his shoulders as a low-rent Lebowski. His Ned is charming enough to easily win the audience over. The actresses portraying his sisters all take to their roles even if they aren't required to do any heavy lifting. Mortimer, Banks, and (in particular) Deschanel are cast as characters similar to ones they've played in the past. Rashida Jones doesn't get nearly enough screen time. She looks stunning even when wardrobe is trying to butch her up with thick-rimmed glasses, a dress shirt and tie, and jean shorts. And for all you horndogs, yes, Rashida Jones and Zooey Deschanel do make out. Rudd has good chemistry with each actress, but his best scenes are the ones he shares with TJ Miller and Adam Scott, who co-stars as a neighbor and potential love interest to Miranda. Rudd and Miller seem to be in a stiff competition to see who can play the more brain-addled stoner. Meanwhile, Rudd and Scott bond over women troubles and a shared love of Dune ("Father…the sleeper has awakened.")

Our Idiot Brother is a lightweight film that's as breezy and easygoing as its lead protagonist. It isn't a memorable comedy, but it is a solid one with a terrific cast.

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

How Do You Know

How Do You Know - Dir. James L. Brooks (2010)

In How Do You Know, James L. Brooks attempts to answer the question of how do you know when you're in love. Instead, Brooks' latest picture answered the question of how do you know when Hollywood spending is out of control – when you've spent over $100 million to make a romantic comedy. Nearly half of that budget went to the inflated salaries of the principal players. Reese Witherspoon received $15 million while Jack Nicholson was paid $12 million for what is essentially a minor supporting role. Brooks and Owen Wilson both received $10 million, but poor Paul Rudd got the shaft. Despite being the lead actor, Rudd only walked away with $3 million. After all the dust settled and the checks cashed, How Do You Know limped away from opening weekend with just under $7.5 million.

Witherspoon plays Lisa Jorgensen, a softball player who has just been cut from the U.S. Olympic team. Having turned 31, the coach feels she's past her prime. With little else going on in her life, Lisa finds comfort in a simple, undemanding relationship with Major League Baseball pitcher, Matty Reynolds (Owen Wilson). At first blush, Matty seems to be the typical, all-star athlete. He's got a multi-million dollar contract, an immaculate penthouse apartment, and women crawling all over him. He even has a closet full of pink track suits to give to his lady friends the morning after. Yes, he's a little self-centered and chauvinistic, but Matty is so obliviously sweet-natured that it's hard to hate the guy.

Paul Rudd is George Madison, a businessman working at some nebulous firm run by his father, Charles (Nicholson). His life crumbles suddenly when he faces federal charges of securities fraud. At least, that's what I think it was. Whatever George did or didn't do isn't very clear. In fact, it's never clear what he does at the firm or what the firm even does. George's and Lisa's paths cross after an aborted blind date. When they finally meet, George finds Lisa is just what he needs while Lisa struggles with which guy to pick.

After watching How Do You Know, you'll wonder how in the Hell this dreadful movie could have come from the same filmmaker do wrote and directed Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, and As Good As It Gets. Not to mention a man who has been a producer and driving force behind The Simpsons. The story is filled with contrivances and feels like some terrible, unfunny pilot for some awful sitcom, except this won't die after half an hour. The usually dependable Rudd can't elicit even a modicum of chuckles. He's forced to play the bland, nice guy that usually gets dumped at the end of every crappy romantic comedy. The whole subplot involving George's legal situation comes off as some half-assed commentary on the current financial crisis. It goes nowhere and you wonder if Brooks did any sort of research at all into that world. Nicholson just sleepwalks through a role that was originally offered to Bill Murray who wisely declined. Tony Shalhoub is utterly wasted in a one scene cameo as a therapist.

I will give kudos to Brooks for digging up Mark Linn-Baker to play the firm's company lawyer. Baker will probably forever be remembered as the other guy on Perfect Strangers, the one who wasn't Balki. Hey, how do you know a movie is bad? When you'd rather talk about Perfect Strangers.

In the end, I can only offer How Do You Know two meager compliments: Janusz Kaminski's cinematography is excellent, effectively capturing slick, big city life and Reese Witherspoon is the best she's ever looked.

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: **

Monsters vs. Aliens

Monsters vs. Aliens - Dir. Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon (2009)


Imagine if the title characters from Attack of the 50ft. Woman, The Blob, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, and Mothra all teamed up to fight invaders from space. Dreamworks unleashed yet another CG animated project to the multiplexes which seems to be a seasonal thing. Monsters vs. Aliens seems to have sprung from the minds of fanboys who cherish their bootleg copies of black & white B-movies and back-issues of MAD Magazine. It’s light on plot, but the kind of fun film that kinds will definitely enjoy and it won’t bore or annoy the adults.

Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is about to get married to Derek (Paul Rudd), a self-absorbed weatherman who is about to go to the big show in Fresno. Suddenly, a meteor from outer space conks Susan on the head and mutates her to just one inch shy of 50 feet. She’s captured by the military and shipped off to Area 51 which is under the command of Gen. W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland). For decades, Gen. Monger has been collecting monsters including fish-man the Missing Link (Will Arnett), the gelatinous B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), mad scientist Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), and an enormous bug known only as Insectasaurus. Together, they are man’s only hope against the evil alien warlord Galaxhar (Rainn Wilson).

Monsters vs. Aliens has all the trappings of the typical modern animated film with its all-star cast and numerous pop culture references. Aside from the original Shrek, Dreamworks hasn’t been able to match the heartfelt substance that their rivals at Pixar have repeatedly instilled in their films. The closest they’ve come was through their brief partnership with Aardman Studios which produced the charming Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and the underrated Flushed Away. No, most have been the same cookie-cutter talking animal pictures. Monsters vs. Aliens does stand out with its high-concept story though it takes a simplistic popcorn film approach to telling it. It touches on themes of friendship, alienation, and female empowerment yet is unable to fully explore them. The animation is, of course, exceptional. I’m afraid to admit I didn’t get the chance to view it in 3D. In one scene, the filmmakers are wryly self-reflexive to the process when they show a technician playing paddle ball.

The voice-over cast is good and none of the players feel like they were stunt cast. From Dr. House to Dr. Cockroach, Hugh Laurie seems like he’s having the most fun while Will Arnett channels his Gob Bluth character for the Missing Link. Seth Rogen, who is apparently contractually obligated to be in every movie made now, gets off some of the best one-liners and non-sequitors as the dim-witted B.O.B.

Rating: **1/2

I Love You, Man

I Love You, Man - Dir. John Hamburg (2009)


I Love You, Man is a hilarious, manly take on the romantic comedy, applying those same issues of awkwardness and companionship to a platonic heterosexual relationship. The film manages to remain fresh while still following the typical rom-com formula beginning with the meet-cute followed by the montage, the big fight, and even a last-minute confession during the third act wedding.

Real estate agent, Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), has never had any close guy friends, let alone a best friend. He’s always gotten along better with the opposite sex. He’s closer to his mom (Jane Curtin) while his gay brother, Robbie (Andy Samberg), and dad (J.K. Simmons) are the best of buds. With Peter and his fiancée, Zooey (Rashida Jones), about to get married, the women is his life decide to help Peter find a best friend. They set Peter up on a series of man-dates to poor results. During an open house at the estate of Lou Ferrigno, Peter bumps into Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) who openly admits he’s only there to pick up vulnerable divorcees. He’s in investments though we never see him do any kind of work. Sydney lives in a house by Venice Beach and has set up his garage as the ultimate bachelor’s pad with electric guitars, drums, and a special recliner for masturbating. Sydney’s candidness, free-wheeling life, and love of Rush strike a chord with Peter whose idea of a good time is staying at home and watching Chocolat.

Neither the script nor the direction by John Hamburg (whose last big-screen credit was Along Came Polly) are anything to crow about. The appeal of I Love You, Man rests solely on the shoulders of its leads. Jason Segel is in-demand following his writing/starring turn in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but it is these second banana roles (How I Met Your Mother, Knocked Up) that he excels at. He has a quirky, easy-going charm, most definitely someone you’d want to hang out with. His co-star, Paul Rudd, already has a proven track record as a strong supporting player in any comedy (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Anchorman). If there’s any justice in the world, the one-two punch of Role Models and I Love You, Man will cement his status as a bankable leading funnyman. His deadpan, sardonic wit makes him the perfect foil to Segel’s Sydney while spouting nonsensical slang like “totes magotes” or “latres on the menges.” Throw in the lovely Rashida Jones as well as Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressley as a quarreling couple and just a little bit of scatological humor make I Love You, Man the funniest movie of the year, so far.

Rating: ***