LOVE, WEDDINGS & OTHER DISASTERS (2020)

December 3, 2020

 Greetings again from the darkness. Very much in the same mold as the late Garry Marshall’s VALENTINE’S DAY (2010), NEW YEAR’S EVE (2011), and MOTHER’S DAY (2016), this one also utilizes the multi-story approach with all characters ultimately crossing paths as a payoff. If you are familiar with those movies, then you know what to expect here. However, if you are not familiar, there is no good way to prepare you, other than you’ll either love it or hate it.

Writer-director Dennis Dugan has been a frequent Adam Sandler collaborator, with movies landing in the “good” (HAPPY GILMORE, 1996), the “bad” (GROWN UPS 2, 2013), and the “ugly” (JACK & JILL, 2011). Mr. Dugan’s co-writers here are married couple Eileen Conn and Larry Miller. The cast includes Oscar winners Diane Keaton (ANNIE HALL, 1977) and Jeremy Irons (REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, 1991), and many faces you’ll recognize from other films.

The opening sequence will be enough to let you know where you fall on the ‘love it or hate it’ scale. Jessie (Maggie Grace, TAKEN) is skydiving with her local news anchor fiancé, and their mid-dive argument leads to a break-up and a crash landing into a lakeside wedding. The video (there’s always a video these days) goes viral, and Jessie becomes a social media celebrity burdened with the moniker, “Wedding Trasher” … not the best marketing for a wannabe wedding planner.

Jessie goes up against legendary wedding planner Lawrence (Mr. Irons) for the soon-to-be Mayor’s wedding, which loosely ties into the Mayor’s brother’s participation in a TV Game Show called “Crash Couples”, where mismatched folks are chained together in hopes of taking home the one million dollar prize. The show is hosted by the film’s director, Dennis Dugan. Lawrence is an egomaniacal high-falutin wedding planner and all-around rude dude who gets set up on a blind date with Sara (Diane Keaton), who is, yes, actually blind. Her entrance is just one of the painfully overdone physical pratfalls dropped in throughout the film, presumably to appeal to a wider comedy audience.

Andrew Bachelor plays the charismatic laugh-a-minute guide on a Duck tour who goes searching for his “Cinderella” … love at first sight for him. Next up we have Diego Bonita as a sensitive guitar player in the band Jessie wants to hire for the Mayor’s wedding. And I’ve yet to mention the involvement of the mafia thanks to the Mayor’s brother’s partner in the “Crash Couples” game. The multitude of characters and story lines all intersect at the wedding Jessie has planned – an event with hurdles just high enough for her to conquer. Some of the characters tie in more easily than others, but it’s best to just go with the flow here, no matter how cringe-inducing it might be at times.

On the bright side that surely most of us can agree on, Elle King (Rob Schneider’s daughter) is superb as the singer in the park who reappears throughout. Her songs fit the story, and her voice and sound are top notch and quite welcome. Romantic comedies sometimes get a bum rap, and few slide as cleanly into the “love it or hate it” mode as this one.

watch the trailer

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE CHOICE (2016)

February 4, 2016

the choice Greetings again from the darkness. When the word formulaic is used to describe a movie or book, it’s typically meant as a disparagement. We must admit, however, that if the formula works, it only makes sense (and dollars) to stick with it. Most Hollywood blockbuster franchises are built around a basic formula – superheroes, romantic-comedies, alien invasions, etc. Author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) has taken his tragic-romance novel formula and turned it into big screen gold. This is the eleventh film developed from his writing, and it’s likely to be another successful entry into the Sparks canon.

Director Ross Katz (Adult Beginners, 2015) is at the helm of the screenplay by Bryan Sipe (upcoming Demolition) and many of the familiar Sparks features are present. First off, the key players are all exceedingly attractive – Ralph Lauren model attractive. Secondly, there is a will they/won’t they romance that will of course happen and then may fall apart, but probably won’t. And third, some type of tragedy will occur that will kick off a stream of tears from a certain segment of the audience.

This one begins with a narrator’s humble-brag promising to tell us the “secret of life”. That narrator is Travis, played with an over-flowing abundance of southern charm by Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 2012). His main vices are a tendency to use “damn” to the point of overkill in most every conversation, and his natural ability to attract the ladies. Oh, and he has a rescue dog and a lake house and he is a veterinarian. See, in the Sparks universe, everyone is beautiful and successful. Travis has his eye on his new neighbor, who is pretending to be annoyed but mostly admits to playing a game of hard-to-get. This is Gabby (Teresa Palmer, Warm Bodies 2013), and she is beautiful and a doctor-to-be. Gabby’s current boyfriend is, of course, a handsome doctor. Ryan is played by Tom Welling (a bit heftier than his days as Clark Kent/Superman in “Smallville”).

The beautiful Maggie Grace (Taken) plays Travis’ sister, and Alexandra Daddario (San Andreas) plays Monica … she is not only beautiful, but she is also the nicest, most understanding and supportive “other” woman ever seen on screen. Tom Wilkinson plays Travis’ veterinarian dad, and Sharon Blackwood plays the wise-cracking and match-making assistant Cora. If that’s not enough beauty and success for you, we also get “puppies in a basket”!

Come for the chuckles and tears … just not twists or surprises. Fans of this genre will get exactly what they want. It’s a romantic fantasy set in the somewhat realistic world of doctors, veterinarians, and equestrians. The faces are perfect. The dialogue is snappy without being demanding (even in the God discussion).  Many scenes feature loyal dogs, or a serene lake, or the “moon and stars”. Even the difficult parts of life – raising kids, health issues, etc – are given the ‘yada, yada, yada’ treatment. While Travis claims over and over that Gabby “bothers him”, it’s the kind of bother that creates a cryfest in the theatre … whether things go right or wrong.  It’s also the reason that all eleven Sparks films feature a couple of lovers on the poster. Just remember, if that formula works ….

watch the trailer (or just guess how it ends):

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

TAKEN 2 (2012)

October 21, 2012

 Greetings again from the darkness. Four years ago Taken was a huge, surprise hit filled with heart-pumping action and a thrilling plot. The sequel boasts a budget more than three times the size of the original, the same key cast members (especially Liam Neeson), the same screenwriter (Luc Besson), and a similar type story. So why doesn’t it work this time? The answer is inferior direction, a lack of surprises, and too many absurd moments to count.

Liam Neeson returns as former CIA-stud Bryan Mills, father to Kim (Maggie Grace) whom he previously rescued from Albanian sex-traffickers in Paris. Famke Janssen also returns as Leonore, Kim’s mother and Bryan’s ex. Somehow, Leonore and Kim think it’s a great idea to surprise Bryan with a visit while he is on a security job in Istanbul. Yes, right next door to Albania (note sex traffickers). Since the film opens with a mass funeral depicting the burial of all the guys Bryan killed in the first movie, and Rade Serbedzija vows revenge, it comes as little surprise when Bryan and Leonore are “taken”.

 What is surprising is that the filmmakers attempt to turn Maggie Grace into an action hero. Yes, gangly Maggie Grace who we saw hiding under the bed in the first film. This time, unable to pass the driving test to obtain her license, she transforms into master stunt driver and Olympic rooftop sprinter … while deploying grenades with Swiss perfect timing. I should also mention that in real life Maggie Grace is 29 years old. She was supposedly 17 in the first movie and 18-19 here. Yes, one of my movie pet peeves.

In a film like this, we can always hope the action sequences cover-up the ludicrous script (see most Jason Statham movies). Unfortunately, we are abused with chopped up, hyper-kinetic camera work that we often can’t tell who is punching who are whose gun is firing. These action shots make the fight scenes in Batman Begins or the Bourne movies appear slo-motion. It’s a waste of Liam Neeson and a potential stellar bad guy in Mr. Serdebzija (The Saint). The final irritant is Janssen’s role as Leonore. She is reduced to sobbing and passing out (sometimes while wearing a hood). Just another waste. The director of this mess is Olivier Megaton, who also directed Columbiana and Transporter 3.

There are two types of sequels: those that build on the best points of the first and those that simply cash in. Clearly, this one falls into the cashing-in column. Don’t expect any long-lived quotes from this sequel. It has no particular set of skills.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are addicted to action films, no matter the quality OR you enjoy macho man Liam Neeson when he is in full assault mode

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are expecting a smart, crisp action thriller in the same vein as the original OR you prefer to avoid the goofyness of Maggie Grace, action star

watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8eE5T6iMsg

2 Comments | Action, Thriller | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson