BRIDESMAIDS

May 29, 2011

 Greetings again from the darkness. Kristen Wiig is everywhere these days! If you don’t know the name, you certainly know her face. She is credited with 26 projects since 2009 – and that doesn’t even count her weekly work on Saturday Night Live. She is the new Tina Faye … even though the “old” Tina Faye is still going very strong.

While I have little doubt that the success of The Hangover was a driving force behind the green lighting of this film, Ms. Wiig’s writing and acting talent elevate this mixture of chick-flick and comedy into one of the finest female film comedies in quite awhile. That’s probably not strong enough praise since the category is a bit sparse, but as a guy who gets really tired of the formulaic chick-flick rom-coms and sappy dramas, I found the film to be quite refreshing and entertaining.

 Sure, there are many similarities between this and The Hangover, but the difference is that the key element of female friendship is never far away from the often raunchy comedy we are witnessing. Women so value their BFF’s and Ms. Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo (seen as a nervous plane passenger) never lose sight of this.

Also key to any group of female activity is the competitive nature and envious mutterings. They try so hard to appear happy for their friends, when often they are blinded by the current funk in which they find their own life. And look out when a beautiful, rich “new” friend enters the picture. The real fireworks begin … even in the battle for the last word on the mic at the engagement party! I am not going to give away any of the punchlines or set-ups, but I will highlight the cast. Maya Rudolph is Lillian, the bride to be and lifelong friend of Annie (Wiig); Ellie Kemper (The Office) is Becca, the goody-two shoes newlywed; Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911) is Rita, the bitter, frustrated long-time mother and wife looking for inspiration; Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly, Gilmore Girls) is Megan, the slapstick, gross-out comedy relief; Rose Byrne is Helen, the aforementioned seemingly perfect “new” friend; Chris O’Dowd (Blind Swordsman in Dinner for Schmucks) is Officer Rhodes, the nice guy who has a crush on Annie; Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as Annie’s Porsche driving bootie call; and Jill Clayburgh (her final film role) as Annie’s mom.

The film is produced by comedy expert Judd Apatow and directed by Paul Feig.  Mr. Feig was the creator of “Freaks and Geeks” and has been involved in most of the best TV comedies over the past 7 or 8 years.  Oddly enough, he also wrote and directed one of my favorite lost gems from 2003 called I Am David.  It’s a drama, not a comedy, but I recommend it.

Here is hoping Ms. Wiig continues to push the boundaries of creative comedy for women. I for one look forward to seeing women on screen as more than just love interests and femme fatales.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are starved for a real comedy with real women characters (written by women) OR you always wondered what a female Zach Galifianakis would look like

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you hated The Hangover OR you prefer your chick flicks to be melodramatic and sappy, rather than raunchy and real

 

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Posted by David Ferguson

INSIDIOUS

April 9, 2011

 Greetings again from the darkness. Ahh, the lost art of horror films. I don’t mean slasher films or gore-fests. I mean real horror films. The Saw series falls into gore-fest and its collaborators, director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannel, team up again for a more traditional horror film … one designed to scare the viewer, rather than just gross out society.  Of course, recommending a horror film is as risky as recommending a comedy.

The film opens as Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne move into a beautiful old house with their two young sons and infant daughter. By beautiful house, of course I mean terribly creepy with nooks and crannies, creaking floorboards, squeaky doors and an  attic designed by Satan. The mom (Byrne) quickly realizes things aren’t just right with this house, and as is customary in horror films, the dad finds some lame excuse (grading test papers??) to work late so the mom and kids can be haunted without him.

There are some bits and pieces from classic horror films like The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Amityville Horror and, yes, Saw (but not the gory stuff). Remarkably, this film is rated PG-13, which means the filmmakers really have to tell a story … and they do … well as much as can be hoped for in a fright film.  There are even touches of humor throughout.

The mom gets so desperate, she begs to move. They do. Guess what? Things aren’t better. So mother-in-law Barbara Hershey (from creepy Black Swan) says she knows someone. Next thing you know, two goof-balls (one is the film’s writer Whannel) who look like they should have their own cable show are in the house confirming something is definitely amiss. So they call in their boss. Unfortunately, the great Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist) passed away, so our expert is played by Lin Shayle. She does an effective job explaining astral projections and the next thing you know all hell has broken loose. Nice work lady.  Surely she requires payment upfront.

What makes the film work are the characters, the setting, the atmosphere and the really nice build-up of suspense and drama. Sure I think there were some details that could have been handled much better. For instance, the “other” brother looks like he is going to be a factor, but instead all of the attention goes to Ty Simpkins as Dalton. Simpkins was seen recently with Russell Crowe in The Next 3 Days. Also, more of the backstory with Hershey and Wilson’s childhood could have provided some twists.

Still, I will say if you are a fan of horror films, this one is worth seeing. If nothing else, you will absolutely love the opening credits with their haunted images and smoky font. It’s a bit of a fun challenge to find the “image” in each of the opening sequences. Just make sure to finish your popcorn before the movie starts. That stuff is too expensive to be tossing across the aisle when you JUMP!!

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are always game for a real horror film … one that scares you with characters and atmosphere, rather than splatter.

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are expecting the next generation of Saw OR you can’t imagine an effective PG-13 horror film (in other words … you need gore).

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Posted by David Ferguson

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