The Beanie Bubble

Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash Jr.
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hari Dhillon, Ajay Friese, Sweta Keswani, Kurt Yaeger, Madison Johnson, Delaney Quinn
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★) 

Having already seen 2023 biopics detailing the creations of massively popular sneakers, video games, smart phones and specialty flavored snack chips, it should come as no surprise we're getting more. The Beanie Bubble could be viewed as the toughest sell of the bunch, even for those who fondly remember the brief Beanie Babies phenomenon of the mid 90's. Anyone not around for this consumer fad would probably still recognize these stuffed animals sitting on thrift store shelves today, unmistakably tagged with Ty Inc.'s ubiquitous heart-shaped logo. But as captivated as directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash's are by this, it's cruelly ironic how few are aware the "Ty" on that label refers to an actual person, company founder Ty Warner. 

That Warner himself has been largely forgotten by the public might be the most fitting punishment possible for someone who always craved the spotlight, at least according to this account. Heavily emphasizing his shortfalls as a human being and business leader, the script anchors his story around the women he backstabbed on his way to the top. Flamboyant and eccentric, the billionaire clearly had issues sharing or giving credit, fancying himself solely responsible for every facet of his success. With a script full of tropes that cover familiar territory, the film's straddling of two time periods and three intersecting stories does make for an occasionally fun, if flawed ride.

In tracking the rise and fall of toy manufacturer Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) and the women essential to his triumphs, the film starts in 1983, where broke Arkansas native Robbie (Elizabeth Banks) struggles to make ends meet as an auto mechanic while caring for disabled husband Billy (Kurt Yaeger). But her friendship with odd neighbor Ty changes all that, as the two bond over his idea of a new "understuffed" line of animal toys. Robbie joins him in launching their own company, providing valuable insight that helps rapidly expand the business over the next decade. 

Flash forward to 1996 and Ty Inc. becomes a juggernaut, thanks in no small part to his loyal, hard working assistant Maya (Geraldine Viswanathan), who introduces Ty to the internet despite his initial resistance. Around the same time, he starts dating single mom Sheila (Sarah Snook), but as she and her young daughters (Madison Johnson and Delaney Quinn) are drawn in by Ty's happy-go-lucky attitude, they'll soon get glimpses of his insecure, uglier side. Seeking to control everything and everyone, he proves to be less than the sum of his parts, ignorantly marching forward, unaware this giant bubble is about to burst.

For a film lacking a particularly distinctive style, it at least opens with an arresting scene, as a Ty delivery truck crashes, spilling boxes of stuffed animals onto the highway that are frantically snatched up by rabid passerbys. An obvious metaphor for the re-selling boom, the movie not only benefits from moments like those, but the beardless, unrecognizable Galifianakis' entertainingly bizarre turn, which grants Ty a complexity the screenplay rarely explores. It's especially true in the latter half when the character makes an abrupt turn that stems from what's implied to be a troubled, loveless childhood.

Since this frequently jumps back and forth between decades, Ty's transformation from fun loving goof into Elon Musk can't help but seem like an overnight occurrence. There's some background about his mentally ill mother, but given the primary plot revolves around him gaslighting the opposite sex, it's still unclear whether he specifically has problems with strong women, women in general, or maybe just people. Mainly, Ty comes off as a weird guy unhappy with himself, so credit should go to Galifianakis for overcoming the creative obstacles to play him exactly as that. 

Using Zac Bissonnette's 2015 book as their blueprint, the writers deliver one of the broader depictions of a greedy CEO, with Ty deteriorating into full blown parody by the time we reach the final act. From enterprising optimist to someone you wouldn't believe can find the bathroom on his own, he gets a lot of help from the women whose ideas and accomplishments he's more than happy to take credit for. Whether it's "lifting" Robbie up as their professional partnership evolves into an extra-marital affair, or unexpectedly sweeping the skeptical Sheila off her feet, Ty's constantly working some kind of angle. 

The most intriguing dynamic exists with whip smart assistant Maya, who forgoes her education and family's wishes she become a doctor to work for this supposed innovator. Watching her gently steer the clueless, egotistical Ty toward the online marketing possibilities of ebay is a real treat, especially knowing it's a concept he'll never grasp. Viswanathan's levelheaded performance as Maya sells this, her wide-eyed idealism quickly turning to exhaustive despair upon realizing she works for the boss from hell. Banks and Snook also impress, with the latter bringing grounded humanity to a fairly predictable arc. Her Sheila emerges as the more sympathetic of the two, if only because the character's connection with Ty is so personal, making his betrayal sting that much more.

Watchable as it is, this does play like a shallower version of everything Air and BlackBerry did better, glazing over beats and events without really digging into the psychology of its characters. For a while it works, but then just keeps going, to the point that you'd think it was originally conceived as an Apple streaming series. At just under two hours, it feels strangely longer, held together by the performances and a hope there's enough nostalgia left to carry its story over the finish line.       

Cocaine Bear

Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Ray Liotta, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Brooklynn Prince, Christian Convery, Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Ayoola Smart, J.B. Moore, Scott Seiss, Matthew Rhys
Running Time: 95 min.
Rating: R

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

Labeling Elizabeth Banks' horror comedy Cocaine Bear as "based on a true story" probably stretches things a bit, but it's at least loosely inspired by one. In 1985, A giant black bear did ingest a duffle bag of drugs worth $15 million, only to die shortly thereafter. Edit out that very last part out and the rest of this dramatization is an uproarious "what if..," calling to mind other campy animal attack movies like Snakes on a Plane or Anaconda. The commercials and trailer pretty much guaranteed this, and whether you're even a fan of the sub-genre, it's hard to accuse anyone involved of false advertising. 

There's something to be said for a movie that knows exactly what it is. No more and no less. With few grand ambitions, the premise doesn't runs out of gas, clocking in at a lean, mean running time of barely over an hour and a half, which isn't only a relief, but feels just right. After meeting the characters and getting a very straightforward set-up, chaos ensues, followed by lots of laughs and carnage.

In many ways, it's the ideal project for Banks, a filmmaker whose choices have endured the usual mocking reserved for movie stars turned directors. And the decision to make this definitely wasn't an accident, as if to shut down any misconceptions she's taking herself too seriously. But it's still a shrewd move, mostly because it works and ends up being a lot of fun. Apparently, her idea was to view this as the bear's fictional revenge story, with the real animal now gaining an infamy and respect it couldn't have achieved as just a helpless casualty. Strangely, that sort of makes sense.

It's 1985 when drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) drops a large stash of cocaine from his plane before knocking himself unconscious and falling to his death with a duffle bag of drugs in Knoxville, Tennessee. Local detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) identifies the body and links the coke to slimy St. Louis drug kingpin Syd White (Ray Liotta). But when the rest of the supply shows up in Chattahoochee National Forest's Blood Mountain, a giant black bear ingests it, becoming hyper-aggressive and out of control, killing a hiker. 

Skipping school, young Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend Henry (Christian Convery) come across the drugs in the forest, putting them in the crosshairs of this dangerous animal. As detective Bob descends upon the forest, Syd sends his right-hand man Daveed (O' Shea Jackson Jr.) and grieving, emotionally fragile son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to find and retrieve the stash. Also arriving is Dee Dee's mom Sari (Keri Russell), a nurse, who searches for the kids with the help of park ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and wacky wildlife activist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). But as the bear consumes increasing amounts of cocaine and takes more victims, the chances of anyone escaping alive start to look a whole lot worse.

Despite the early steps taken to set this scenario up, it isn't long before the bear's on the loose eating any brick of coke it can find. The eclectic cast of characters all have differing motivations but once they come to the realization of what's happening, it's not difficult figuring out where the plot has to go next. Jimmy Warden's script may not have a handful of surprises up its sleeve, but the story's what it needs to be as far as crazy cocaine bear movies go.  

Once the action gets going, the gore and excitement rarely let up and Banks does bring a little extra flair to the proceedings and relishes the 80's setting, particularly with some key song choices (like in a thrillingly hilarious Depeche Mode-backed ambulance chase scene), Mark Mothersbaugh's synth-driven score and the costuming selections. We even get an opening "Just Say No" PSA montage featuring Nancy Reagan and in a fitting cameo from Smokey Bear, at least in cardboard form. But it's really "Cokey" we're more interested in and the CGI beast really doesn't look half bad in a movie where they easily could have gotten away with it looking far worse.

Aside from the bear itself, there are some surprising scene stealers, namely Ehrenreich (who has great interplay with Jackson) and a very funny Christian Convery, who gives a performance right out of the precocious, geeky action kid handbook and really nails it. And even if this isn't what most envisioned for a major headlining Keri Russell role, she kind of holds it all together, especially in the second half where her adventure with the kids arguably carries the most interest among numerous sub-plots. Acting vets like Isiah Whitlock and the great Margo Martindale predictably shine, and though this won't be the late Ray Liotta's final screen appearance, he's perfectly cast, comedically sending up the type of sleazy, intimidating heavies he played throughout his career.

In the real story, there's a missing block of time between when the bear took the drugs and its death, so this creatively fills in those blanks. While no one knows exactly what happened, it's a safe bet the animal uneventfully succumbed before it could eat and dismember everyone in a coke-fueled rampage. But a documentary on a quiet, sleeping bear isn't what we came for. All the actors understand the assignment and seem to be having a blast. And why wouldn't they? Cocaine Bear lives up to its outrageous title, which is all that can reasonably be asked of it.

Charlie's Angels (2019)

Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart, Djimon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, Jonathan Tucker, Nat Faxon, Chris Pang, Noah Centineo
Running Time: 119 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Maybe it was a happy accident for me to have recently caught the opening minutes of the 2003 version of Charlie's Angels in passing before seeing last year's reboot. In many ways it served as an eye-opening reminder that there's a certain level of quality this franchise can attain regardless of the cast, director, script or marketing. Barring a complete overhaul of the original material that inspired it, we'll probably never get a great Charlie's Angels movie, which almost seems appropriate. And now, judging from the reception to writer/director Elizabeth Banks' updated take, we may not get another one at all, at least for a very long time.

Many aren't losing sleep over the film's tepid reaction, but it's still kind of a shame considering how tough it is to determine what viewers expected or even wanted from this. Bashed as a feminist propaganda piece showing us how women have been held down by men, Banks was criticized for crafting an empty manifesto protesting the sexual objectification of the Angels by male moviegoers and filmmakers everywhere. With her excuses for its box office implosion doing little to change this perception, you could imagine my surprise at discovering that's not even close to what we get. It's light, mindless fun, in line with previous incarnations, but with a slightly less ridiculous tone.

Save for some occasionally cringe-worthy dialogue, no messages are being shoved down our throats, as the joke would have been on Banks considering the franchise will always be viewed for exactly what it is: escapist entertainment both genders watch for the women and action. In the end, all that actually matters is whether the film's any good. And this works as well or better than the others, with some minor missteps along the way. Declaring it mildly recommendable may seem like damning with faint praise, but the two hours fly by and the casting and performances result in a interesting dynamic between the leads. The trio may even be the most distinctive in terms of personalities, with the seemingly odd Angel out really rising to the occasion and silencing the skeptics. Chalk it up to lowered expectations, but this is a good time, surprisingly delivering exactly what it should, and maybe even a little more

A year after a team of Angels led by the Townsend Agency's Edgar "Bosley," (Djimon Hounsou) successfully capture international criminal Jonny Smith (Chris Pang), engineer Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott) helps develop a groundbreaking energy conservation device called Calisto for entrepreneur Alexander Brok (Sam Claflin). But after uncovering a plot by her boss, Peter Fleming (Nat Faxon), to hide its potentially fatal side effects, she brings her findings Edgar to investigate. But when he's murdered by a mysterious, tattooed assassin named Hodak (Jonathan Tucker), this brings in the Angels, wise-cracking Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) and Edgar's ass-kicking protege, Jane Kano (Ella Balinska).

The Angels are given their new assignment by Charlie's assistant Rebekah (Banks), an ex-Angel who's taken over for Edgar and risen up the ranks following the retirement of senior operative John Bosley (Patrick Stewart). Using Elena as their undercover decoy, Sabina And Jane must now break into the corporate headquarters to steal the Calisto prototypes before they can be duplicated and eventually weaponized. But the plot ends up running deeper than any of them anticipated as they fight against and unseen mastermind whose motivations may be more personal than expected.

Casting can be a real difference maker if the script's a mess, but luckily Banks' screenplay, while a bit convoluted, does mostly deliver the goods after brief stalling at its mid-point before the action kicks into high gear. On paper, Kristen Stewart was always going to be the wild card since she just isn't an actress most would associate with a buddy female action comedy or really any light, mainstream entertainment audiences consider "fun."

Rightly or not, Stewart's been frequently picked apart for having a dour, awkward onscreen presence cultivated from appearing in the dark indie dramas she's gravitated toward since becoming a household name from Twilight. Now, she's gone so far in the other direction, with impressive results, that it seems impossible to believe she's even in a franchise movie again, especially one that seems so sharply opposed to her substance-over-style career approach. And that's exactly why she ends up being the shot in the arm this project needs, as there's no denying that as Sabina she displays a goofy, comedic edge and charm that's rarely been evident in even her lightest of roles.

If the general consensus was that Banks was trolling fanboys by casting an actress they couldn't objectify, she must have known something since Stewart gives the film's liveliest performance. By making her a total, unabashed goofball who quickly flips the switch to get down to business when the situation calls for it, she redefines the concept of an Angel, with her character providing a perfect contrast to the more stoic Jane. Played by English actress Ella Balinska, she's the more prototypical choice, box-checking what's been the long-established franchise template of crushing bad guys while managing to look great doing it. As a character, she's presented more seriously than many of her predecessors, with combat skills being emphasized over looks, the latter of which few would blame her for coasting on. But she doesn't.

As the Angel who's yet to earn her wings, recent Power Rangers and Aladdin star, Naomi Scott, brings the goofiness as clumsy brainiac Elena, the "origin" in this origin story. In over her head and guided through a criminal ordeal unlike anything her naive character's experienced, Scott is earnestly likeable as the eyes and ears of the audience, making up her own rules as she goes along. Of course, after some fun interplay, she'll eventually earn the begrudging respect of Bosley and the Angels, with all sharing surprisingly solid chemistry together.

The plot takes a number of twists and turns, some more expected than others, but comes out on the high-end in terms of minimizing the nonsense typically associated with a franchise that's always had a problem with tone, frequently straddling the lines of what it wants to be. This fares better than most. As for the action sequences, they're competently filmed and hold your attention, while fully acknowledging this probably won't be confused with the latest John Wick anytime soon. The good news is that these scenes play considerably better than the music video-style trailers and commercials teased, or threatened, in the lead-up to its release. 

The closing minutes hint that Banks had her creative engine revving for a follow-up and you can't really fault her optimism since that was undoubtedly the plan. Now, she'll have to shelve it as studio executives scratch their heads wondering what happened, surely contemplating another brilliant idea for rebooting this property. There's not a whole lot wrong with this, so unless they have this fresh, new approach to re-purposing a 1970's female-lead action-comedy adventure series on the big screen, it might be a better idea to just hire everyone back with a better, tighter script. Then again, it's entirely possible no one wants to see any Charlie's Angels movie, even one that manages to get a lot right.

   

Love and Mercy

Director: Bill Pohlad
Starring: John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti, Jake Abel, Bill Camp, Brett Davern, Kenny Wormald, Graham Rogers, Erin Darke
Running Time: 121 min.
Rating: R

★★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

"Sad. Lonely. Terrified."  Those are the three words a middle-aged Brian Wilson scribbles on the back of his future wife's business card during their awkward first encounter in the 1980's. They can also best describe the troubled life of the legendary Beach Boys musician and songwriter, whose fascinating story somehow escaped a big screen treatment until now. It wasn't for a lack of trying, but rather waiting for the right director, script and actor to play him. While it may have taken decades for all the pieces to finally fall in place, the result is one of the more unconventional biopics in recent years, putting a laser-like focus on the two most pivotal eras of his life. It's sad, emotionally draining and insightful, confirming our suspicions that of all the music icons, living or deceased, his journey ranks among the most unique.

Had director Bill Pohlad gone the way of a traditional, straightforward biopic I wouldn't have complained and it still could have been one of the more satisfying moviegoing experiences of the year. Instead, he takes a huge gamble by splitting the story, practically begging viewers to draw comparisons and take sides in what would initially appear to be an unfair battle. There's no sense denying it's the 60's era Wilson everyone's most interested in and that on paper Paul Dano seems born to play the young Brian, joining an exclusive list of perfect casting decisions like Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg or Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. He doesn't disappoint, exceeding already high expectations.

Given the chance to capture Wilson's essence and physical mannerisms, we already had an inkling of what the quirky, off-kilter Dano could possibly bring to the part, as well as the type of film we'd get. It was rashly assumed the 80's section of Wilson's story would be an afterthought, with the casting of John Cusack as the elder version being at best a head scratcher. At worst, most thought it could be a potential disaster, which is less an indictment on his acting abilities than a critique of his recent VOD-filled career trajectory (which has drawn understandable comparisons to Nicolas Cage) and lack of physical resemblance to the musician. Such a performance wouldn't seem to be in his wheelhouse, even with fingers crossed that he'd somehow pull it off. Well, he does. But the bigger surprise is how both eras exist on equal footing in terms of time, attention and creative quality. Neither would mean as much without the other, even as they still seem worlds apart.

It's the early 1960's and young songwriter Brian Wilson (Dano) is rapidly rising to fame with his band, The Beach Boys, consisting of cousin and co-founder Mike Love (Jake Abel), Al Jardine (Graham Rogers) and brothers Carl (Brett Davern) and Dennis Wilson (Kenny Wormald). With Brian's creative genius driving them in the studio, it isn't long before the band shoots to the top of the charts with massive hits like "Surfer Girl," "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Surfin' U.S.A."Getting the itch to take the group's sound in a more mature direction, Brian soon fires their father Murry (Bill Camp) as manager and sets out to abandon much of the fun surf rock that made them famous. He instead withdraws into the studio with the goal of creating the "the greatest album ever made."  The resulting Pet Sounds is a critically praised but commercially underperforming psychedelic concept album that splits the band apart, with Brian's grip on reality slipping as he's tormented by the voices in his head.

The parallel 1980's narrative focuses on a middle-aged Brian (Cusack), depressed and overmedicated under the tyrannic supervision of psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy. Misdiagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, he's held hostage in his own home and unable to go anywhere without being flanked by handlers, making every outing a major production for the fragile star. A trip to the Cadillac dealership leads to him meeting saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks), who's intrigued enough by his oddness to agree to a date. As their relationship grows and Brian becomes more independent, she realizes the dangerous extent of Dr. Landy's control over him, working tirelessly to get him away before he dies under this madman's care.

Both timelines, while wildly different in their aesthetics, are also eerily similar in how they fit in piecing together the complete picture of who Brian Wilson is as a person and musician. And that common thread is an abusive and overbearing father figure who Brian resents yet still can't help but try to please. In the 60's it was his father, who verbally and physically assaulted him and his brothers. Later, it's Landy who controls him with seemingly even more force. Based on what's shown, his father has a tin ear as a music producer, from being completely underwhelmed by "God Only Knows" to boldly declaring The Beach Boys won't be remembered in fifty years. Of course, this proves he probably would hated anything his son did, but boy do we ever see and hear what Brian does. And exactly how he does it.

From opening credits, the depiction of the band in their prime has an almost documentary-like approach that makes you feel as if you're watching archival footage rather than a merely respectful recreation of key events in group's early career. And while other musical biopics too often face roadblocks in obtaining music rights (see the recent Jimi: All Is by My Side), the band's best work is here incorporated masterfully onto the soundtrack and into the narrative itself. And in what has to be a first, we're granted seemingly unprecedented access into Brian's process in the studio, in particular how he created Pet Sounds and saw that vision through to the end while using extremely unconventional instrumentation and methods.

Pohlad spends a lot of quality time on the making of the actual music, unlike most biopics that only talk about how their subject is unique or even a "genius," as if expecting us to just take their word on it. This very specifically shows us why. Note for note. We also see how he comes up with "Good Vibrations," as a nearly dialogue-free sequence takes us from its gestation period with Brian just fooling around on the piano, all the way to it becoming the classic it's now regarded as.

Despite never appearing, The Beatles seem to be this omnipresent force bubbling just below the surface, with both bands competitively but healthily pushing and borrowing from each other to reach their creative peaks. With Wilson's new direction practically a direct response to the "British Invasion," you get the impression that maybe John Lennon understood what Wilson was going for better than his own father and bandmates. It's a nice angle to include and screenwriter Oren Moverman is smart enough to only lightly push it, letting viewers make of it what they may. It's just a beautiful thought to leave in our minds and one of many small details the script absolutely nails.

What's most interesting about Dano's performance is how it bleeds into the parallel story. You see shades of the naive, childlike soul who would overtake him in the 1980's with the only difference being that past Brian at least had the confidence to go in his own direction, regardless of whom it alienated. Dano's made a career of playing supporting oddballs with a good heart so the starring role of Wilson is a natural fit, even when putting the uncanny physical resemblance aside (which his reported thirty pound weight gain only enhances). He also gets the vocal down well enough for the real Brian to sign off on it, with Pohlad careful enough not to give him too much to do in that department. This works since performing was never Wilson's first love anyway, freeing the story up to focus more on his genius as a writer and producer.

Drugs use is talked about and even shown, but it's inclusion is more directly related to how it affected the music rather than Brian. It wasn't the root of his problems, at least until Dr. Landy got a hold of him over a decade later, as his pushing of prescription drugs cause a more severe form of chemical dependency that anything in the 60's. Giamatti is in full "pig vomit" mode here, only far scarier and menacing as he works under the guise of "rescuing" Brian from his three years spent bed ridden and depressed. If you thought Brian's dad was a pitiful, abusive record producer, all bets are off after seeing Landy screaming at the nearly comatose former Beach Boy hunched helplessly over his piano.

There's a squirm-worthy barbeque sequence where we first realize the true extent of Landy's power over Brian, who's essentially a prisoner at this point. This is the first time Elizabeth Banks has truly been tested in a major way dramatically and it's surprisingly just how strong a center to the story Melinda is, basically saving his life and breaking through the childlike shell to still see the brilliant, generous musician hiding underneath. She doesn't play her as a saint, but rather someone just tough and brave enough to face Landy head-on and win, even if it means the end of what's been a heavily supervised relationship with Brian.

Cusack has the tougher job since it could have been problematic picturing him as the musician to begin with, regardless of the age or time period (even if mid-eighties photos reveal it to be a closer match than you'd think). He bares even less of a resemblance to Dano, and yet that's hardly noteworthy since it's easy to believe this guy's been through enough that he wouldn't. He's also portraying someone even deeper in the throes of mental illness than his younger counterpart, but Cusack clears all these hurdles, transcending his subject to deliver something more substantial and fulfilling.

Besides getting the tics and mannerisms just right, Cusack creates an enduring, likable portrait of this sensitive man-child who just so happens to be Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Just his work opposite Banks in the opening scene at the dealership and when he's receiving Landy's constant psychological abuse represents the actor's best work in years, if not decades. For a story in which we know the general outcome, if not the specifics, he keeps us on the invested and on edge by showing us the most challenging side of Wilson to depict on screen: His days spent as a depressed, inactive spectator to his own life. And finally, Cusack gets a great role that shows us how good he is and still can be when given meaningful material.

Shattering preconceptions, Pohlad tells manages to create this complete portrait of Wilson out of two halves.  While the 60's portion containing more nuance and detail than we ever expected, the 80's section manages to hold us completely captive, shining a previously unseen spotlight on Wilson's darkest period. Both tragic and triumphant, it's less a biopic than a hazy, surreal journey through the psyche of one of our most brilliant, tortured artists. There's a sequence toward the end that's a real head trip, converging Brian's life into a series of influential people standing bedside as he slowly awakens from what's been his long, painful nightmare. It gives the song "In My Room" a whole new meaning and makes us wonder what the real Brian Wilson must be thinking while watching this.  

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone, Sam Caflin, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer
Running Time: 146 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★) 
 
Having never read The Hunger Games series on which the films are based, the big question I had going into its first sequel, Catching Fire, was exactly how Hunger Games co-champions Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Malark (Josh Hutcherson) would end up competing again. I mean, they won, right? Isn't it over? This installment spends the good part of an hour explaining how that's possible, setting up the circumstances surrounding her forced return and giving much needed attention to fleshing out the dystopian society mostly ignored in the preceding installment.

After seeing the original, I remember having a conversation with someone more familiar with the franchise and asking what was up with all those ridiculous costumes. "It was in the book." "It's the future." Those answers sum up my problems with the first film in a nutshell. This one has a scene where a female tribute, sick of all the pageantry, just strips naked in an elevator. That's the difference. All I asked of the first film was that it take seriously its premise of a reality game where contestants are fighting for their lives and that it not take concessions to get a PG-13, needlessly sanitizing the material so it plays better for the masses.

While this still certainly isn't a bloodbath, it's a big improvement that actually contains some ideas. For all I know they could still be watering everything down, but at least it doesn't FEEL that way this time and those compromises aren't as noticeable on screen. There's a concerted effort to explore the moral implications and fallout from the first film to reach beyond the usual YA audience. Francis Lawrence takes over for Gary Ross as director and while he's a workmanlike filmmaker without a particularly distinctive cinematic voice or visual style (probably a plus for tackling a tentpole franchise), he nonetheless does a excellent job bringing this world to life, proving himself worthy of an encore.  

A year removed from being declared co-winners of the 74th Hunger Games, District 12 golden girl Katniss and baker's son Peeta must now embark on the victor's tour across Panem's districts, as per the orders of President Snow (Donald Sutherland), still enraged over the fact they both outsmarted him, escaping the games with their lives. But now Katniss' job is simpler: Show the world her staged romance with Peeta wasn't a televised ruse to defy the Capitol, but real relationship that will continue long after the games have ended. For him, that's clearly true. For her, it's a little more complicated, as her boyfriend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is patiently waiting for her back home, even as both their families' lives continue to be threatened by President Snow.

With Katniss and Peeta joined again by dissheveled mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and kabuki-like chaperone Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) on their victory lap, the one thing they can't do on this tour is give the districts hope, which could rally the already disgruntled citizens into rebelling against the Capitol. Fearing that's exactly what's happening, Snow enlists newly appointed Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to destroy Katniss. His master plan: Hold another Hunger Games.

The idea that there would be an "All-Star Edition" of the games that include previous winners from all the districts just so Katniss and Peeta could be thrown to the wolves (or in this case, killer baboons) in the arena again is inspired. Why they're being forced to compete again and how it ties into their influence as celebrities inciting a social rebellion is certainly more compelling than anything in the first film, where it seemed as if there was no danger or stakes at all. Much more than before, they're targets that Snow wants killed or at least made into examples to crush the public's spirits.

It helps that this time there's an hour of build-up getting to know this world and dealing with the fact that these two competed on a reality show where kids killed each other for entertainment. They must have opinions and feelings on that, so it was nice to finally get them. And see legitimate threatening danger in the form of Peacekeepers (basically stormtroopers with flamethrowers) led by a scary Commander Thread (Patrick St. Esprit) baring down on the districts to "keep order." We even see a public lashing. The actual Hunger Games mean nothing without context or a sense of why they're happening. In the first 60 minutes the material finally earns its popular comparisons to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" while strangely invoking new ones like Fahrenheit 451 in its depiction of a politically oppressive dystopia. Too much set-up? Maybe, but it's time well spent considering how little we got in the first film.

That the possibility exists that Woody Harrelson's drunken Haymitch, a former winner, could again be competing if called as tribute speaks to the unpredictability surrounding this outing. A key difference this time around is that they're not battling each other, but a government forcing them to go at it again despite promises to the contrary. Some new faces include the cocky Finnick (Sam Caflin) and District 7's outspoken, but dangerous Johanna Mason (Jena Malone). And due to the new format there are middle-aged tributes (played by Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Plummer) and even a senior citizen (Lynn Cohen) competing, all of whom have every right to be more furious than before at being there.

While the games itself was the highlight of the last film, but they're improved upon here with crisper CGI and the absence of a shaky cam that previously defined the action sequences, making many of them difficult to decipher as Ross went out of his way to avoid showing any kind of graphic violence. And considering this outing isn't helmed by a director known for visual wizardry, everything still looks much better than its predecessor, as the booby trapped tropical setting for the arena is staged well, but more importantly, feels dangerous. Katniss and Peeta have no idea who they can trust or what's lurking around the corner and that the screenplay (co-written by Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy) has some thematic meat on its bones this time around only bolsters the suspense.

Now entering this installment with the "Academy Award Winner" title in front of her name, Jennifer Lawrence manages to give a performance that far surpasses her stellar work in the previous entry, only this time doing it in a really good movie. Freed from the shackles of having to carry sub-par material on her back, she now shows us what she can do with Katniss when she's written well and a meaningful story surrounds her. Unsurprisingly, the results are astounding, especially in that opening hour as she experiences a painful internal struggle about what she's done and its implications for Panem. If Lawrence is this good now and the franchise many worried would imprison her career and waste her talent has just turned the corner creatively, how much better can she get? It's almost a scary thought. Here there's much less to elevate, and yet, she still elevates it.

In the face of Lawrence's acting dominance, it's almost a backhanded compliment to say Hutcherson seems more assured as Peeta with each passing minute in the franchise, but he is. That they're taking a slow burn approach to his relationship with Katniss is a relief to those worried that narrative aspect would move to the forefront. It's even more subtle and restrained this time, carrying none of the YA baggage you'd associate with movies of a similar ilk and permanently killing all comparisons to garbage like Twilight. Liam Hemsworth still feels like the third wheel as Gale, but the cliffhanger ending hints that's soon about to change. More impressive is newcomer Caflin as Finnick, whose allegiance to Katniss and Peeta is constantly in doubt, even when his bravado isn't. Jena Malone, makes a tough, sexy Johanna, with the aforementioned elevator introduction perfectly setting the stage for a bold character whose intentions are also up in the air.

That The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2 will be the final listed screen credit of Philip Seymour Hofffman no longer feels like the travesty many have feared, as he gives a smart, subtle performance as Gamemaker Plutarch that's obviously a major upgrade from Wes Bentley's Seneca Crane from the previous installment. What's funny is how it seems like he just rolled out of bed and is put in no effort at all, until you realize it was a very deliberate choice for him to play it this calm and collected, further solidifying his ability to invisibly slide into any character. What was initially deemed a "sellout" role is instead revealed as an opportunity to appreciate whatever screen time remains of our greatest actor.

Elizabeth Banks still annoys as Effie, as I've come to terms with the fact that I'll just never care for this character or the actress's over-the-top approach to her, especially sticking out as a nuisance in this more serious entry. The opposite is true of Stanley Tucci's manic TV host Caesar Flickerman, who again is a highlight and a comic diversion that works because Tucci makes sure something twisted and sadistic breaks through. The script should also be credited for finding pupose for Lenny Kravitz's Cinna this time out, making his brief role count for something that reflects the themes of the story.

The first film may have been a slight misfire but it was never dull and a joy to assess because of its potential. And now that potential comes much closer to being completely fulfilled here. In an era where big money franchises don't have to creatively deliver to make bank, this one does and has ideas to go along with its action.  Movies are only getting unjustifiably longer and more bloated, so the fact this one is 146 minutes and doesn't waste any of them shouldn't be taken lightly. I'm still curious what would happen if the creative handcuffs were totally removed but they go as far as they can within the confines of a PG-13, recognizing and correcting nearly all of the previous film's problems. The only remaining concern is that movies like this tend to have a ceiling of quality and this may have hit it. Let's hope not. That it's been called The Empire Strikes Back of the series may be slightly overstating matters, but I get it. Catching Fire leaves us hanging and wanting more.
         

The Hunger Games

Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland
Running Time: 142 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

It's generally a rule to judge a movie for what it is rather than what it isn't, but the highly anticipated The Hunger Games, based on Suzanne Collins' bestselling young adult novel, might be the rare exception. The problems with this film are all in what it isn't. Having not read the original novel, I wouldn't even attempt to speculate how "faithful" director Gary Ross' adaptation is to the source material. Like all adaptations, that point's irrelevant unless you've read it. I have no idea how much or how little of what Collins wrote got lost in the finished product or what was cut, changed or added, but what ends up on screen doesn't quite connect for one reason: It has a premise that must be taken seriously to succeed and the filmmakers didn't do it. All its other problems stem from that. Of course, when the book was optioned producers saw dollar signs, which had to greatly diminish the chances of this story being told the way it needed to be.

Some movies can get away with cutting corners and watering everything down to pander to the masses but this clearly can't. Not a post-apocalyptic reality show battle to the death that takes place in a dystopian future. It's too high concept to be simplified and still work. But it's entertaining and features an unbelievable performance by its female lead. I just wish the movie had the guts to go as far as Jennifer Lawrence does, even as I hesitate associating the word "guts" with her choice of a project this safe. We're also dealing with a concept we've seen executed before (and occasionally much better) in similarly themed movies like Battle Royale, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Running Man and The Condemned. What I can't recall is it ever being treated so sunny. It's probably one of the oddest match-ups of story and and tone you'll find in the genre and I can't say I felt that the two leads were seriously in danger at any point. And even if they are, Ross goes out of his way to make sure we don't see it. Or even feel it. Luckily, it's is able to fall back on some its dumb, over-the-top decisions by telling a story about greedy executives making dumb, over-the-top decisions for the sake of popular entertainment.

The story takes place in a future nation called Panem where boys and girls aged 12-18 are recruited to participate in "The Hunger Games," a televised annual event where the chosen two "tributes" from each of the twelve districts fight to the death until there's a single victor crowned. In a lottery (referred to as a "Reaping") selecting the participants, terrified 12 year-old Primrose Everdeen's (Willow Shields) name is called, prompting her older sister Katniss (Lawrence) to volunteer in her place as tribute. Joining her as the male tribute from District 12 is Peeta Malark (Josh Hutcherson), a baker's son with few skills who harbors a secret crush on Katniss. Together they're trained for competition by hard drinking former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and must not only physically defeat their opponents from the other districts in the battle arena, but win over corporate sponsors and audiences that can help give them a much needed advantage in the the Games. Watching over it all is the diabolical President Snow (Donald Sutherland), whose "Gamemaker" Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) manipulates the rules to provide maximum entertainment. Katniss and Peeta's only goal is to survive.

The film's prologue is clumsy on a number of levels, chief among them the fleshing out of this futuristic world. It's hard not to watch the Reaping ceremony sequence and not be reminded of Shirley Jackson's classic short story "The Lottery," which Collins must have taken direct inspiration from in writing the novel. But it's basic conceit of a lottery in which citizens are randomly chosen for death is where the similarities end. All the potential terror of that scene is muted by Elizabeth Banks' ridiculous appearance as District 12's escort Effie Trinket. She looks and sounds so silly it's impossible to take a word she's saying seriously, much less the announcement that these teens are essentially being sent to die with a backstory and explanation for the Games that's mostly left unclear or partially developed. The garish costuming and make-up is a constant problem and distraction throughout that's not just limited to Banks. Perhaps as an effort to remain true to the source material or hammer home the idea of the future as an overproduced spectacle, everyone's dressed for Halloween. But the real reason is because it's set in the future and in the future people must dress weirdly. At least that seems to be the extent of it, whether the choice is germane to the story or not.

As much that goes wrong in the set-up, it's made up for when Katniss and Peeta arrive at the Capitol to train and we get genuine insight into how the Games work and what's required to win. Katniss is considered a favorite early on with her hunting and archery skills, but her steely determination and no-nonsense attitude proves to be a hurdle in gaining the favoritism of corporate donors who can provide life-sustaining supplies in the arena. Aside from her sacrifice for her little sister, you could say she lacks what would be described in reality TV terms as the "likability factor." Peeta, on the other hand, is a charming schmoozer despite possessing very little physical skills that will help him excel. Initially stand-offish, their trainer Haymitch and eventually shows them some of the tricks of the trade and in one of the film's best sequences, they're both interviewed by blue-haired Hunger Games host Ceasar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), whose hilariously broad style of questioning kind of resembles Martin Short's Jiminy Glick. Whether true or not, their narrative begins to take shape as "the star-crossed lovers" of District 12. There's no doubt Peeta would like it to be, despite Katniss' sort of boyfriend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) anxiously waiting for her back home.

There's genuine suspense in the arena when Ross realizes his movie has to stay out of its own way because Lawrence can take care of the rest. The only true distraction is when he seems to bend over backwards to preserve the PG-13 rating by cutting as fast as possible during the action scenes, making it extremely difficult to make heads or tails out of what's happening. I understand it's based on a teen novel and I'm not asking it be a bloodbath, but it's kind of  insulting how obviously any depiction of violence is avoided. If a future society's warped enough to hold such an event and televise it, something tells me it wouldn't be sanitized and censored not to offend viewers. It's only fair a movie based on that idea be held to the same standard. Nolan's Batman trilogy was rated PG-13 and no one accuses those films of wimping out, so it's not too much to ask for a happy balance that would have delivered on the story's violent premise without affecting its commercial prospects, which were always admittedly strong no matter what. Ross probably wasn't the right director to do that, though there's no telling how much pressure he got from the studio to tone it down. Judging from the end result, probably a lot.

The supposedly grueling elements in the arena don't play nearly as much of a factor as we were led to believe early on. No one appears to be in danger of starving, dehydrating, and everyone sure looks clean considering they're in a battle to the death that's been dragging on for days. I never thought Katniss or Peeta would die and not just because they have to make the rest of the installments either. We should have at least felt the possibility a little. The one brief moment where you really do involves a showdown with District 2's female tribute Clove (Orphan's Isabelle Fuhrman). It lasts only a minute or two, but it doesn't feel sanitized in the slightest. The fire and intensity this girl has in her eyes leaves no doubt she's willing to kill Katniss at any cost and will likely relish every second of it. The motivation of the attack, the editing, the girls' performances, and the ending of the sequence is unforgettable, encapsulating everything the rest of the film should have been but wasn't. The implication that many of Katniss' opponents (led by Alexander Ludwig's villainous Cato)  have been prepared at an early age to accept their destiny to participate is one of the script's strongest ideas, as is the discussion about just how entertaining this telecast should be for the public. Sutherland's President Snow wants to give them someone to root for but takes issue with having them root too much, suspecting that Wes Bentley's Gamesmaker may instead be dishing out "hope." 

All the controversy surrounding Jennifer Lawrence not looking right for the part is pretty ridiculous. No, she doesn't look like she's starving (in other words she's a pretty, normal sized 22 year-old girl) but who really cares? When you have the opportunity to cast the best actress available for the part, you do it. No questions asked. Forget about her being the least of the film's problems, the conviction and gravitas she brings to Katniss is the sole reason this even comes close to working. There are many times when the story strains to be taken seriously and seems too juvenile but Lawrence refuses to go there. She takes this dead seriously and imbues the picture with more passion than it frequently deserves. Initially confused as to why an Oscar nominee would even take on a project like this, she answers my question by turning her into a character that feels stronger and smarter than it must have originally been conceived as. That said, I'm still kind of disappointed she took the part, if only because she's so clearly too talented for this. The last thing we need is this franchise to swallow her career whole much like Twilight did to the formerly promising Kristen Stewart, who's now basically just a human ATM machine. Just the mere mention of Stewart's name in relation to any kind of serious acting invokes uncontrollable laughter because of her association with that series. The best news coming out of this is that Lawrence gives you hope she can overcome that stigma.

Josh Hutcherson more than holds his own as the vulnerable Peeta, even if everyone in the picture seems to take a backseat to Lawrence and her command over the screen. Hemsworth's hardly in the movie at all, though I have the awful feeling his role will increase  in unwelcome ways over the course of the next film or two. Pointless Victorian costuming aside, Harrelson and Tucci are superb in their roles, especially Tucci who brings an undercurrent of phoniness and menace to his TV host that seems absent in the rest of the script. Lenny Kravitiz is gold in his relatively brief scenes as stylist Cinna, knowing the injustice of what's happening but cleverly playing the system for his tributes' benefit. Bentley has his juiciest supporting role in just about forever, making the most of his limited screen time as Seneca. Any of Elizabeth Banks' efforts are undone by the fact she's essentially playing a party clown.

Possibly the best subplot overall, involves 12-year-old District 11 tribute Rue, well played by Amandla Stenberg. In a relatively short amount time this character makes a big impact and her makeshift alliance with Katniss is one of the few elements of the film that really clicks emotionally. I'm tempted to say Ross could have shown more scenes of how viewers reacted to the competition, but given how lazily this future was depicted it was probably a wiser move not to. After a strong middle section, the movie really flies off its rails in the last act as the constant changing of the Games' rules is presented sloppily enough that at best it feels like plot manipulation, and at worst, deux ex machina. The Truman Show this ain't and the idea that these Games are "controlled" only rears its head at the most inopportune times, complete with some really bad CGI animals that could give Twilight a run for its money.

Through all this, we do care about these two characters, even if the ending has me seriously worried the entire story will soon be going the sappy tween romance route. They got away with it this time by incorporating it as a plot point in the Games themselves but now it seems inevitable that angle of the story will take center stage. I'd feel more comfortable recommending this installment if there seemed to be more potential moving forward, but that's a real long shot considering how this went. But at least the movie doesn't misrepresent itself. It's exactly what it says it's going to be from the beginning. It's better than expected and  not exactly another Twilight, despite the studio and media doing whatever it can to play it up as such. The ideas are there, even if they're merely implied rather than explored. It's a near-miss, albeit a fascinating one worth talking about. This is what happens when commercial concerns impede on the creative process.  Forget about a sequel. They should just go ahead and remake this one right now. Get a different director, slap on an R rating and just go to town. Like the Games depicted in it, The Hunger Games is all about overproduced entertainment at the expense of emotions, perhaps coming much closer to its story origins than was even intended.       

The Next Three Days

Director: Paul Haggis
Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Olivia Wilde, Jason Beghe
Running Time: 122 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)


The Next Three Days is a thriller almost too smart for its own good, but gets away with it by making sense. It's 90 minutes of set-up and 30 of payoff but the suspenseful final half hour makes it all worth it, with a script that succeeds in convincing us what we're watching is plausible, even if it probably isn't. It's refreshing to see smart law enforcement officers unable to catch the protagonist not because they're dumb, but because he's smart, did his research and considered the options. This isn't the "pulse-pounding" popcorn action movie it's been promoted as, but rather all about how a detailed plan materializes and its consequences. It's also about a conviction, but the issue of the guilt or innocence of the convict is mostly left unaddressed. "Restraint" isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind when you see writer/director Paul Haggis' name attached to a project, considering he's responsible for 2005's controversial Best Picture winner Crash. Thankfully this film isn't political, isn't trying to take an obvious stand on any issues and has no real point-of-view. It's a simple story told well as a reminder that Russell Crowe is one of the best actors we have, seemingly incapable of giving anything but his all each time out. Add this to the already long list of quality films he's carried on his back.

The film opens with college professor John Brennan (Crowe) behind the wheel in a frantic race against time. We flash back to find out his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) was arrested and eventually convicted of murdering her boss following an altercation one night at work. Facing life in prison with no possibility of parole or any kind of appeal Lara is visited frequently by John, along with their young son, who refuses to even acknowledge her existence. Fed up, John consults former convict turned best selling author Damon Pennington (Liam Neeson) for ideas on how to break her out and discovers that the actual prison escape is the easiest part. Damon would know, having done it seven times already before turning himself in. The biggest challenge is avoiding capture and making it out of Pittsburgh alive. He finds out time is his worst enemy and he'll only have a very limited amount of it before the call is made to lock-down all the city's exits, preventing any possible route of escape. Most of the film concerns John's preparations and planning, like obtaining fake passports, investigating glitches in prison security and choosing a destination, should they even make it that far. The entire plot is meticulously detailed and methodically paced so those expecting The Great Escape or The Fugitive might be surprised, at least until John finally pulls the trigger on his plan and the chase is underway. But the reason the chase contains all the suspense it does is because of all the effort put into building toward it.

If you actually examined the series of events and tried to hold them up to close scrutiny you'd probably find plot holes big enough to drive a truck through, but within the confines of a movie universe they work because the characters behave intelligently and know what they're doing. We're too absorbed in the details to care whether every piece holds up and Crowe's intense lead performance is why. He specializes at making every action seem purposeful and is one of the few actors capable of playing a normal, everyday schlub thrown into an extraordinary situation and an action hero, a quality that only bolsters the credibility of an already tight script. In a rare, heavily dramatic role for her, Elizabeth Banks has less to do as Lara, if only because she spends most of the film's running time behind bars. The only wrong note Haggis strikes with her is an opening restaurant scene so hilariously overwritten is almost actually does play like an outtake from Crash. Still, her transformation in looks and demeanor from a successful, high powered businesswoman into an defeated convict is noteworthy and she more than holds her own with Crowe when the action picks up later. Olivia Wilde has a small role as a neighborhood mother who befriends John and we're not sure whether she's being set up as a potential love interest, key player in the prison break or something else. The part doesn't really amount to much at all but it's a credit to the script that you're constantly on your toes suspecting it might.

For a change in this genre, there's real legitimate doubt how this whole ordeal will all end and whether or not they'll even survive. You'll also gain a new appreciation for the film's poster, which figures into the plot in a clever, unexpected way. You could equally envision logical, satisfying conclusions where they survive and make it out of the country and another where both are either killed or captured. That the film is uninterested in the relevancy of her guilt or innocence is its most fascinating component, almost undone by a ill-conceived flashback scene in the third act that gives us more info than we want. It's a minor misstep, but anyone interested in a story about someone wrongfully accused might as well just rent Conviction because this is at its best when focusing on the intense mission of a man determined to see his risky plan through to the end. The important thing is that he believes she's innocent, and even if he didn't, you still get the impression his intentions wouldn't change and the unusually logical plot found in The Next Three Days would unfold just the same.

Role Models

Director: David Wain
Starring: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabth Banks, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Jane Lynch
Running Time: 100 min.
Rating: Unrated

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Familiarity can breed contempt and it seems every other week a new R rated comedy comes out that features the usual Judd Apatow players, or if they're not, they feel like they are. But something hit me while watching David Wain's Role Models. Apatow's name isn't anywhere on it as either producer, writer or director yet I'm still mentioning him in this review. Sure, a couple of actors who have appeared in his films are featured here but he was in no way creatively involved with this picture. Still, it's impossible to watch this and not think how closely it resembles much of his output.

As much as I complain that Apatow doesn't always get it right (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), a lot of the time he does (The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, Superbad, Pineapple Express) and despite my occasional misgivings toward this brand of comedy, no other recent filmmaker has made as positive an impact on film. Because of him actors and actresses who would be unthinkable as leads just a few years ago are now headlining major releases and the face of comedy has completely changed. It's smarter and everyone else has been forced to step up their game. Spielberg is an influential producer and director but have his projects transformed an entire genre and actually MADE stars? Have other writers and directors tried to imitate him? Are his fingerprints on movies he had nothing to do with? Wain was around way before Apatow starting on MTV's The State and moving on to direct one of the most underrated comedies of the past decade in Wet Hot American Summer. He knows what he's doing anyway but there's no denying this new style of comedy has influenced his latest, and in a mostly good way.

Energy drink salesmen Wheeler (Seann William Scott) and Danny (Paul Rudd) travel from school to school hawking their Minotaur beverage and urging kids to stay off drugs (isn't caffeine a drug?) While Wheeler loves his job and is essentially a big kid, Danny is cold and morose wondering how his life got so off track as he passes 30. After his girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) can't stand it anymore and dumps him, he and Wheeler find themselves sentenced to 150 hours of community service after causing property damage at a school. The charity they're sent to is "Sturdy Wings," a big brother like program led by recovering drug addict Gayle Sweeney (Jane Lynch) whose behavior and methods in overseeing the program are bizarre to say the least. We find out about her troubled history through a hysterical flashback video that may be the highlight of the entire film.

The guys are assigned to a kid each with Wheeler stuck with Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), a foul-mouthed 10-year-old obsessed with breasts. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Danny is assigned nerdy teen outcast Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's obsessed and way too involved with a live-action Medieval role playing game called LAIRE (Live Action Interactive Role-playing Experience). Unless Danny and Wheeler provide sufficient guidance to these kids and carry out all their tasks within the allotted time, Gayle will call the judge and have them thrown in the slammer, an option that's beginning to look better to them by the second.

Predictably, after a rough early going, Danny and Wheeler start to bond with the kids and find a common ground on which they can connect. The story's obvious from the first frame but that's not why you watch a movie like this. You watch to laugh and there are plenty of laughs here thanks to some scene-stealing performances and Wain's affectionate depiction of a role playing universe we don't often see explored in comedies. It would have been so easy (almost too easy) for Wain to take cheap shots at this hobby that is supposedly popular among geeky circles but rather than laugh AT the people involved in it Wain lets us laugh WITH the characters and appreciate their dedication to it. I was surprised how involved and excited I was during the final fight and found it interesting how all the role-players are on the same page with their honor system. But the largest reason Augie's role-playing sub-plot works is Mintz-Plasse.

Like in Superbad, Plasse is playing a nerd but you'll be surprised just how differently he does it this time. That character was confident in his non-conformity while Augie is kind of hurting and struggling to fit in. It's a small touch, but Plasse plays it just right. This isn't just a rehash of McLuvin' as the trailers and commercials indicated. Kerri Kenney-Silver and Ken Marino also manage to get some good jabs in as Augie's unlikable mom and boyfriend, particularly during a memorable dinner scene with Rudd's character. Plasse's junior co-star Bobb'e J. Thompson is basically playing a 10-year-old Chris Rock, cursing up a storm and having a blast doing it. It's hilarious at first but after a while it started to wear on me.

Though its through no fault of his own Seann William Scott is saddled playing an older version of Stifler in that there isn't much depth to that character beyond his emotional immaturity. But he does have a great scene where he offers up the most logical defense of KISS's music possible. Rudd, who seems to be the go-to leading man in comedies these days, succeeds in making Danny a depressed jerk, but invests him with enough innate likability and charisma that we still really want to root for the guy.

The always lovely Banks is given one of her least memorable roles to date as the thankless love interest, but given the nature of this script I'm not sure much more could have been done with the part, or that it needed to be. What all the performances have in common is that they pale in comparison to the work of Jane Lynch, who steals the entire movie with her zany portrayal of program founder Gayle. The things that come out of her mouth are completely insane but Lynch finds a way to somehow ground it in reality enough that she's a believable counselor also, which just make her antics even funnier. Just as strong is Ken Jeong as Augie's role-playing arch-nemesis King Argotron, who plays his part so hilariously straight you'd think he wandered off the set of Braveheart.

It's a relief knowing that comedies have gotten a lot smarter lately and the amount of unfunny ones being released in a given year are lower than ever. The Apatowian R-Rated comedy with a message is just about the safest studio bet left and there are many audiences out there who will only take a trip to the theater to see this kind of film. Having said that, I'm not sure how long it'll be before I start to tire of them. We're not there yet, but I can easily see it happening. The same actors are starring in the same types of movies with only slight variations on similar themes and you have to wonder how long it'll be before they run out of gas. Luckily, Wain's script and the performances come through to make Role Models more entertaining than most.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Brandon Routh, Justin Long
Running Time: 101 min.
Rating: R

*** (out of ****)

So, I’m sitting there watching Zack and Miri Make a Porno and laughing a lot, like I do most Kevin Smith films, until I realized about 40 minutes in, “Oh, it’s about THAT.” I kind of suspected the direction it was going but didn’t think he had a chance at pulling it off. Smith cranks out so many smart comedies that I’m starting to think that maybe we’ve taken for granted just how good he is. When he’s given good actors he’s even better and someone should start a petition to have Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (who both had one hell of an ’08) to star in every studio comedy, as if they aren’t already.

With the casting of Rogen, Smith bravely opens himself up to criticism that he’s trying to tap into the Judd Apatow brand of comedy and steal a slice of his box office, but what can’t go overlooked is that he was writing and directing Apatow films long before Apatow was. He invented the R-rated raunchy comedy with heart and it’s ironic, given the subject matter and the battle he waged to have it released, that Zack and Miri feels like his most mainstream picture.

The best news is it’ll at least go down as a creative success even if it didn’t hit the commercial pay dirt it deserved. The reason it works is because it is a Smith movie through and through and he does one of his most interesting jobs slyly covering that up. It settles into a more standard, predictable rom-com groove in the final act but Smith even pulls that off pretty well. Thanks to his writing and awesome performances from the two leads, it’s a great time and delivers everything we’ve come to expect from his pictures. Just about the only difference is that its set in Pennsylvania instead of Jersey.

Lifelong platonic best friends and roomates Zack Brown (Rogen) and Miriam “Miri” Linky (Banks) are broke, unable to make rent and suffering without water or electricity. Unless they think of a plan soon they’ll be out on the street since Zack’s job as a barista at a Starbucks-like chain isn’t getting it done. After an awkward and hilarious encounter at their high school reunion with Miri’s longtime crush, Bobby Long (Brandon Routh!?) and his gay porn actor boyfriend Brandon St. Randy (a hilarious Justin Long) Zack gets the crazy idea to film and distribute a porno to pull them out of debt. He calls on favors from some of his friends to help get it done, which ends up being a bizarre combination of veteran Smith and Apatow players as well as some real life porn stars thrown in for authenticity.

Pineapple Express’ Craig Robinson is Zack’s coffee shop co-worker, henpecked at home by his wife and misinterpreting a customer’s order for their coffee “black” as a racial slur. As “producer” of this endeavor he has the tough job of auditioning women for the roles while Zack enlists his hockey buddy (Clerks’ Jeff Anderson) to film it. They hire their actresses (adult film stars Traci Lords and Katie Morgan) and find a nutjob (Jason Mewes) with a special talent as one of the male leads. Full of Smith’s trademark vulgar humor throughout, the film takes a more earnest turn later on.

Of Smith’s films, this is probably his most mature, technically put together effort thus far and a sign that he tried to step out of his comfort zone just a little despite the material he was dealing with. What works best is the fact that you really believe that Zack and Miri were best friends their entire lives. So much so that the idea of a prequel exploring their misadventures in high school wouldn’t seem like such a bad idea after witnessing the hilarious reunion scenes. The gross-out, vulgar humor you typically expect from Smith is on full display for much of the running time and even though I expected this to be more than about just making a porno I was kind of surprised just how much more there was besides that and how well it was executed. In a rather believable way making a porno brings something out of Zack and Miri that they weren’t aware they had and forces them to view each other in a different light.

Many viewers had problems buying Seth Rogen “knocking up” Katherine Heigl. With enough drinks anything is possible but where I started to have problems with credibility was when the two actually attempted to a have a real relationship. It’s hard to root for characters who not only can’t stand one another, but try to make things work only out of a sense of obligation. That movie lost me right about there. Thankfully this one doesn’t make similar mistakes and by starting Zack and Miri off as friends Rogen and Banks are able to cultivate an easygoing chemistry together that makes what comes later much more believable and rewarding.

None of this would click like it does if Banks wasn’t the female lead since we know Rogen is an old pro at playing this type of slacker role. She really had to deliver the goods to convince us that Miri could fall for someone who besides being a schlubby loser, is stuck in the “best friend” zone. But she pulls it off and so easily keeps up with the vulgar humor of the guys that we’d also believe that Zack would have problems seeing her as more than a friend. This role was originally written for Clerks 2’s Rosario Dawson who dropped out so she could star in…Eagle Eye. The less said about that choice the better. As awesome as Dawson is it’s tough to imagine her bringing anything to the table that Banks didn’t.

Also credit Smith as a writer for noticing that a meaningful relationship would translate to terrible porn. It may be the only kind of acting that requires a complete absence of real feelings to be most effective. People watch porn to seeing two people going at it like animals, not making love. As much as Zack and Miri try to leave their lifelong friendship at the door and attempt to convince each other this won’t change anything, it’s a lost cause. That detail is what I liked most about the film and in many ways represents the humanity that’s prevalent in all of Smith’s work. It’s also a real treat to see his usual View Askewniverse players like Mewes and Anderson in roles other than Jay and Randall for a change.

No, it isn’t Shakespeare, but it does take talent to mine real feelings out of a subject matter this crude and shallow. With all his commercial success, Apatow’s creative expertise in this area of comic pathos has been mixed. Smith’s never was. Zack and Miri curiously doesn’t amount to all that much when it’s over, but that's okay. It goes down like a quick, fast food meal that has you hungry again within an hour. That could be because of the rushed (and somewhat forced) false crisis that occurs in the third act that’s become a trademark of every romantic comedy for the past twenty years. It feels somewhat fresher in Smith’s capable hands but still holds back a writer/director who I don’t believe for a second has given us his best film yet. It’s no Clerks or especially Clerks 2, but what is? And none of it is funnier than Smith’s own performance as Rick Rubin (or whoever that was) in Southland Tales, but again, how can anything be? Even when he’s essentially making a standard rom-com with vulgar wrapping around it he still outmatches most of the comedies we have out there.

It’s a shame Smith had to fight a battle to get this released under its proper title, edit it tirelessly to avoid the dreaded NC-17 designation, just to see it flop because the studio wouldn’t back it. I’m convinced if this were the late ‘90’s this film would get a massive release and a huge promotional push. When did we get so uptight? And yet again, the MPAA proves that they seem to have no problems showing graphic violence and torture just so long as no one’s having sex during it. After the burnout of Oscar season this was just the kind of movie I felt like seeing right now and a healthy reminder that we see movies primarily just to be entertained. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it really is. And Smith has always been one of the few filmmakers consistently able to give it to us with no strings attached.

W.

Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Jams Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Toby Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Scott Glenn
Running Time: 129 min.
Rating: PG-13

***1/2 (out of ****)

In a lot of ways I fit the profile of the type of moviegoer Oliver Stone is reaching out to with W. Someone who definitely agrees George W. Bush didn’t do a good job as President yet doesn't necessarily have a burning desire to see him dragged through the mud. He was bad at his job and that’s it. A lot of people are bad at their jobs, but unfortunately it just so happens his job description reads: “Leader of the Free World.”

It’s possible for someone to enter a situation with the best possible intentions, only to find themselves in way over their head. Recently, I was talking to someone about the upcoming election and mentioned that Bush must be counting down the days until he’s a free man so he can go home to Texas to get some rest. That didn’t go over so well. Just that I even implied Bush was trying to do his job to the best of his abilities was blasphemous. As if he’s been sitting in the Oval Office for 8 years thinking of ways to wreck our country.

People can say what they want about Bush (and likely have) but I never thought there was a phony bone in his body. This isn’t Nixon. He’s not a crook or a liar. Instead, this is someone who shoots straight and will go to whatever lengths necessary to carry out what he believes in, even if it’s wrong. But in his mind he’s never wrong, especially when surrounded by people whose primary job it is to agree with everything he says. W. may be a fair portrayal of the man but despite what you’ve heard it isn’t necessarily a sympathetic one. That it’s actually been considered such should tell you all you need to know about how poorly the public perceives him. But it is just about as flattering a portrait as he could have possibly received and you could argue he’s just lucky to have a film based on his life with this much depth at all.
Stone paints him as an underachiever, full of self-doubt and burdened by expectations. In doing that he sets the stage for the film’s most frightening realization: He’s just like us. And whether we want to admit it or not, there’s no guarantee we could have done a better job in the White House under the circumstances. But more importantly, in being the first biopic centered around a current sitting President’s legacy, we’re robbed of time, distance and historical context in examining the film, making for some fascinating results. Not having that context may affect how we view the film right now, but strangely it doesn’t seem to have any impact on how Stone made it. Is it too soon? Probably, but that doesn’t make it any less memorable.

Stone presents Bush (Josh Brolin) as living a life defined by a failure to earn his father George Senior’s (James Cromwell’s) love and respect, something that was always exclusively reserved for his younger brother Jeb. The film follows a non-linear structure, flashing back to Bush’s younger days at Yale as a drunk womanizer who couldn’t hold a job and occasionally had to be bailed out of jail. He meets his future wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks), runs for Governor of Texas and helps dad with his 1988 Presidential campaign. There’s little shown of Bush’s days as owner of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, though that’s more than made up for with a very inventive framing device. He never really got his act together until the age of 40 when he quit drinking and found God. That faith would beckon him to seek the country’s highest office and guide much of his future decision-making. The flashbacks are interspersed with scenes of the Bush Presidency post-9/11. This is the portion that will have everyone talking.

Of course the real thrill here is seeing a diverse and talented group of actors flesh out current political figures whose personalities have just only been touched upon in the media. Each of them plays a pivotal role in Bush’s life and career and, as expected, some performances work better than others. Toby Jones’ Karl Rove is a coach to Bush with Stone insinuating that as clueless as Bush is with Rove's guidance he’d be even more clueless without it. Jones’ take on the character is interesting as he plays him as a know-it-all creepily lurking in the shadows waiting to impress everyone with his answers.

Richard Dreyfuss wisely doesn’t go for a full-on impersonation of Dick Cheney and instead inhabits him. But if we were giving points for how well he gets the mannerisms down he’d score high marks there also. It’s scary, but not as scary as Thandie Newton’s transformation into Condoleezza Rice, which is either brilliant or terrible depending on your perspective.You could argue all day and night whether Newton’s dead-on mimicry is even appropriate for this kind of film but there’s no denying she nailed it to the point where the real Condi wouldn't be able to tell the difference. She’s basically portrayed as a suck-up to the President.

Jeffrey Wright’s Colin Powell is the sole “the voice of reason” clashing often and memorably with Dreyfuss’ Cheney, particularly in one electrifying “War Room” scene. Bruce McGill, Rob Corrdry, and Noah Wyle have much smaller roles as George Tenet, Ari Fleischer and Don Evans respectively, popping in and out when the picture requires. What’s interesting is that the film presents those working for Bush as being just as underwhelming as he is, if not moreso (that’s particularly true of Scott Glenn’s Donald Rumsfeld). With all the clashing personalities, egos and agendas, Bush never really stood a chance.

The worst thing that could have happened to the younger Bush was his father being elected President because that set the bar even higher for him. He carried that resentment all the way to The White House and Stone surmises that he went into Iraq at least partially to prove that he could finish the job his father couldn’t. Cromwell’s performance is miraculous in that he never attempts to capture George Senior’s mannerisms or any of his physical characteristics, but instead focuses his efforts on conveying the elder President’s deep disappointment as honest and reasonably as possible.

We see how the elder Bush would feel let down by his screw-up son, but at the same time we see that he unintentionally helped cause the whole mess. His inability to communicate with him on the most basic level plagued them both, right up to and throughout his term in office. When the going got too tough in his son’s administration he couldn’t even bring himself to offer any advice, much to his wife Barbara’s (Ellen Burstyn) dismay. Ironically, W. always had something his dad lacked. Not ambition, but a fire in his belly and an obsessive desire to prove everyone wrong. It ended up taking him further than anyone expected, but also helped destroy him.

What shocked me most and I didn’t expect going in was how in control of the material Stone was. I expected the tone to be all over the map and if you’ve seen any of the trailers and commercials you wouldn’t be wrong to expect the film to be a political satire. While it definitely has its subtle moments of humor, Stone plays it remarkably straight. That these were the people making decisions of that magnitude and that’s what they said while making them is scary not funny. Cheney embodies it as Dreyfuss is given the best line of the film, laying out the timetable for when U.S. troops should get out of Iraq. What he says will send chills down your spine. There’s a scene of Bush choking on a pretzel at Camp David that on paper should be hilarious, but Stone makes terrifying. No giggles. You could hear a pin drop. It’ll be a while before you can eat pretzels again.

Last year I may have had some issues with the overpraised No Country For Old Men, but Josh Brolin definitely wasn't one of them. Here he delivers a career high performance that starts as great imitation but evolves into much more as the film slowly evolves with it. The more notes he’s asked to hit the more he starts to resemble Bush in both appearance and in spirit, to the point where midway through you realize it’s a full immersion. His work never comes off as parody, a huge feat considering the subject he was asked to portray.

I didn’t think the present-day scenes worked as well as the flashbacks to his early life mainly because they’re almost too uncomfortably “of the moment,” but I could be bias since I enjoyed watching the dynamics of Bush’s younger days so much. The last hour drags its feet a little bit and spins its wheels in hammering home the message that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction. Dumb mistakes were made. That goes without saying. Like most of Stone’s film’s, its also messy but not to the point where I feel we were seriously shortchanged on anything so he could rush it into release before the election.

With all the jumping back and forth we're missing a full-fledged emotional connection with the man, although that’s almost fitting. Nor do we really form a full one with Laura, just about the only aspect to Bush everyone agrees they like. In just a few early scenes Banks shows us why, encapsulating everything we suspected she was. What she saw in him we'll never know. The term “Better Half” couldn't be more applicable. It’s a bit of a let down she doesn’t play a bigger role, but inevitable she’d have to take a backseat given the direction of the story. This isn’t Walk The Line.
W. is a return to form of sorts for Oliver Stone who took the easy way out with 2006’s World Trade Center. It wasn’t a bad film, but played with the resonance of a Hallmark greeting card next to something as powerful as Paul Greengrass' United 93, which was released the same year. There are elements in this that characterize Stone's best work like JFK and Nixon where he’s focusing on doing what he does best: pushing our buttons. This film isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about George W. Bush and I don’t think Stone intended it to. Whether you like the man or not you can't deny it's far better to attempt to understand him than angrily make ridiculous films like Rendition, Redacted, Lions For Lambs, In The Valley of Ellah, Stop-Loss or whatever other political garbage Hollywood feels like feeding us this week. That doesn’t accomplish anything. This does.

In the long run I don’t think it matters whether this was released now or 10 years from now because this almost feels like it was made in the future and time will likely treat it well. Those who went in expecting a train wreck won’t exactly be disappointed and neither will those who expected a serious examination of Bush’s psyche. On one level it’s a standard biopic, yet on another it isn’t at all. Everyone wins. But more importantly it gets us to feel something for him. I’m not sure if it can be categorized as pity, sympathy, understanding or even any of those but it at least it’s something other than hatred.

History will judge the 43rd President, not Stone. It would be nice to think that Bush now has time to contemplate the mistakes he’s made but if there’s only one thing to take out of this film it’s that he doesn’t think he made any. In his mind he did what he felt was right for the country, acting with unwavering, stubborn consistency the entire time. Whether we needed W. to be released right now is debatable but what isn’t is that you’ll have plenty to think about when it’s over.