Ryan McNeil
I have a strange relationship with spoof movies.
Now and then they have been known to tickle me – ordinarily when they come from minds like Mel Brooks or the chaps responsible for AIRPLANE! Other times though, I find myself sighing more than I find myself laughing. As someone who loves to laugh, there are few things that sadden me more. Also, as someone who loves to laugh, I always feel dumb when I’m the only one in the room who isn’t laughing.
But such was the case with THEY CAME TOGETHER…a feature length film that felt like it was once an SNL Digital Short. Considering how unfunny I found LEGO, perhaps my sense of humour has just bent otself in a different direction from anyone elses. Or perhaps many of you folks weren’t all that nuts about this Poehler and Rudd romp either.
Am I alone on this one? Am I the only one who didn’t get a case of the giggles?
Here’s The Week at Hand…
Screenings
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Et Tu, Koba?
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
THE PAWNBROKER – Lordy, Lumet films come with some heavy doses of darkness sometimes.
LILIES OF THE FIELD – I only ever knew this film in name only – and this wasn’t what I expected.
THEY CAME TOGETHER – Seriously? Just me??
THE GIRL MOST LIKELY – The world needs more Kristen Wiig.
SLEEPER – This might be the most I’ve laughed out loud at a Woody Allen film.
CLOCKERS – I’ve been meaning to get to this for almost 20 years. I think I could have waited another 20.
JAILHOUSE ROCK – I was genuinely surprised how little prison there was in this one.
Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
WHAT ABOUT BOB? – Still every bit as funny as it was on first watch.
LINCOLN – I loved it on first-watch, I love it even more now.
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – I’m guessing half of y’all watched this one this week too, right?
We don’t get They Came Together for a couple of months, can’t say I had any intensions of seeing it.
I have had The Pawnbroker on my DVR for a couple of month but still haven’t got around to watching it. “heavy” and “darkness” aren’t words that are making me push it up the list at the moment.
Girl Most Likely isn’t terrible, but Kristen Wiig is the film, replace her with anyone else and it would be rubbish. Someone of her talent really deserves a couple of truly great parts.
Haven’t seen Jailhouse Rock for years but as I remember it, that and King Creole were Elvis’ best films.
I’m really starting to look at Kristen Wiig as a little underrated in Hollywood. Her role as the all-star on her last few seasons of SNL got a lot of people thinking that she was this eccentric goofball…but thinking about GML alongside some of her quieter moments in BRIDESMAIDS and WHIP IT! make me think that we haven’t even scratched the surface of what she’s capable of.
If you’re a sucker for great editing, take a gamble on THE PAWNBROKER.
I did not mind Clockers, but it is far from Spike’s Lee’s best stuff. It is more middle of the road for me.
Been too busy/tired to watch much of anything this week. Everything I saw was new to me:
20 Feet to Stardom – Perfectly enjoyable film. Not my pick for best documentary of last year but I can see why it won.
Gimme the Loot – I really wanted to like this more than I did. It has the same feel as some of the 90s indie films I love so much. However, the characters were just not engaging enough for me to completely get behind.
The Grand Budapest Hotel – This was a hoot to watch. Loved it.
With the Best Doc Oscar category dispensing with the “You Must Watch Everything” rule, expect more films like STARDOM to take the award. As you say – not that it isn’t good, it’s just something of a fluffier winner.
Speaking of Spike, did you ever catch up with RED HOOK SUMMER? I was looking to see what films of his were on Netflix last weekend, and noticed that had finally shown up. Should I double-feature it with RIGHT THING?
I can’t wait to see Dawn, it looks so much better than the first film.
I remember seeing Lilies of the Field on TV. Thought it was pretty good. I know Sidney Poitier won an Oscar for it. I still remember that song.
I didn’t see a lot of stuff this week. Here are the films I watched this week:
Reds – Such a long film, but I liked it. I thought it looked good and it had a brilliant cast, with a great performance, Oscar worthy, shall I say, performance from Diane Keaton.
Parenthood – The 1992 film. Pretty great. It’s funny and has a lot to say about how to raise kids. I recommend this.
Life Itself – I was amazed by this doc. I found it fascinating. It was a pleasure to watch.
Caddyshack – Blind Spot for July. I thought it was pretty funny, but I got tired of its silly humor by the end.
I’m sorta proud of what I wrote about Life Itself, if you felt like dropping the title into the search bar.
REDS has been on my to-see list for-ev-errrr and I think the only reason why I haven’t tackled it by now is because I feel like I have to clear a week to get through it (ditto DOCTOR ZHIVAGO…which I also haven’t watched yet)
First Timers: 30 for 30: White, Blue and White, Justice League: Doom, The Sicilian (146-minute cut), Head, Life Itself, and later tonight, Frozen.
Re-Watches: La Luna, 8 Million Ways to Die, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, and Blue Jasmine.
Very happy to read that you dug both LIFE ITSELF and FROZEN. I was worried that overhype would kill both viewings for ya.
Glad you liked Sleeper! One of my favorite Woody Allen movies.
One movie this week… another anime:
Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day (1984)
Woody is one of those directors who sorta confounds me just because there is SO much material to go through! Cripes, I’ve seen at least a dozen of his movies and feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface…