Arrested Development (Season 4)

Creator: Michell Hurwitz
Starring: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Ron Howard, Isla Fisher, Terry Crews
Original Airdate: 2013

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

All the addictive elements that made Arrested Development so brilliant and groundbreaking when its three universally acclaimed, but ratings-challenged seasons first aired on Fox, is also what ultimately led to its cancellation in 2006. Creator Mitch Hurwitz predicted our addiction to serialized storytelling years before it actually arrived and the bitter feelings surrounding its cancellation only seemed to grow worse when we realized it possibly could have thrived in an era of DVR's and Netflix. Back then viewers just weren't ready for a comedy series that dense and complex, requiring them to do some work--and maybe some rewatching--to pick up on all the inside jokes, call-backs and references.

It's Netflix's Arrested Development

The single-camera format and incorporation of rare for its time devices such as narration, flashbacks and archival footage demanded and rewarded a long term commitment, but made ratings success an impossibility. It may have only lasted three seasons but what it accomplished during them felt richer and more developed than any longer running comedy series to air before or since. More importantly, it was a show made for binge viewing before we even knew what that meant. The question was never if it would come back, but when, and whether we'd want it to with the risk that it may not be at the same level of quality. New episodes would be compared to what's arguably TV's all-time greatest comedy series. Not the most enviable position to be in if you're a writer.

It turns out the biggest revelation coming out of AD's fourth season streaming on Netflix is that it doesn't feel like it's back. At least in the form we knew. Forget about catching up on the first three seasons in preparation, because, with few exceptions, it really is a completely fresh start. And I've decided that's okay because much as the show revolutionized comedy TV when it first aired, it's doing it all over again in a new way, albeit with decidedly more mixed results. Reaction to the new episodes from fans and critics have been all over the map and that feels right. The first few episodes are really rough, and almost downright shocking in how much they diverge from the AD we all knew and loved. But the deeper you go, the more sense it makes and the funnier it gets, making it the only season of the show youll have to watch twice in order to fully grasp what's happening. Ridiculously dense and even more ambitious, it makes the most complicated season of Lost seem almost straightforward by comparison.

Trying to explain the narrative of the season would be a fool's errand but fans remember exactly where we left off in 2006 when Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) escaped with his son George Michael (Michael Cera) on Gob's (Will Arnett) yacht, fleeing his dysfunctional family for good and leaving overbearing, alcoholic matriarch Lucille (Jessica Walter) to deal with the legal fallout from her role in the Bluth Company's accounting scandal. Of course, as the responsible, likable one, Michael can never truly escape his family or resist bailing them out, so the biggest, most jarring development for fans occurs in the first episode ("Flight of the Phoenix") when we discover the past 7 years haven't treated him well. A failed real estate venture and the shame surrounding his family has derailed his personal and professional life to the point that he's pathetically dorming with his son at college (much to George Michael's embarrassment) while taking classes online.
 

Michael Bluth falls on hard times in "Flight of the Phoenix"

Considering much of the series' initial creative success hinged on Bateman playing straight man to the craziness and infantility surrounding him, this decision is easily the season's boldest and most polarizing. If nothing else, it pushes and challenges the actor (who appears in every episode) in a way he wasn't before, proving he's basically capable of anything the writers throw at him.  After being the solid anchor for his troubled family for years, it's now Michael who needs something from them that can help turn his fortunes around. Each character gets their own episode, with a few getting more than that, as we're clued in on the details of what happened to "a family whose future was abruptly cancelled." All the intersecting events eventually come to a head on a Bluth-created holiday known as "Cinco de Quatro."

Nearly everything is told out of chronological order, sometimes making it difficult to distinguish an event that's happening in the present from a flashback. And it's an adjustment getting used to Ron Howard's narrator explaining copious amounts of plot detail and narrative exposition to get us up to speed. Gone from the show are the days where random jokes would come rapid-fire at a mile a minute and you'd have to worry about blinking in fear you'd miss an absurd inside sight gag. Well, there's still some of that, but it's spread wider throughout the course of the season as something you may have noticed in the second or third episode will pay off in the tenth. In this sense, you have to give the writers credit. It would have been easy to fall back on the same successful jokes (and there are still a few), but they came up with completely new ones at the risk of alienating their core fanbase. About as many work as don't, but there's an unmistakable difference in the type of humor, as it's less laugh-out-loud funny and subtler, letting the audience fill in the blanks. But as it wears on, it's apparent some of the jokes are as strong as the ones in the show's original run. It just takes a while to get there.

The writing has definitely lost a step or two, an issue at times unflatteringly highlighted by the extended, character-focused format which seems almost intentionally made for Netflix binge viewing. Without commercials to pad the running time, the show's a good ten to twelve minutes longer, which can seem more like an enternity when trudging through the first few episodes focusing on George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) and Lindsay Bluth-Funke (an unrecognizable Portia de Rossi). Of course, the problem is that some of these characters are better to build episodes around than others, as the show evolves into something slower paced and darker in tone. As expected, there's a noticeably smaller budget, which isn't really that big an issue when you this show was never dependent on expensive effects begin with. Just about the only time it's distractingly obvious is when they try to digitally insert actors into scenes with each other, which serves as another argument against this new, but seemingly unavoidable character-based format  

An injured Tobias Funke with wife Lindsay

The George, Sr. episodes ("Borderline Personalities," "Double Crossers") are especially problematic, if only in just how convoluted they are and how few laughs they offer. Much like everything else, it does eventually come together, but this is the one sub-plot where viewers are unlikely to care. Of course, Tambor is once again spot-on doing double duty as George and his twin brother Oscar but his scheme involving a corporate sweat lodge retreat and the building of a wall never seems to click. It's almost as if they didn't know what to do with George once his legal problems were over, and for the first time, the twin gag actually feels a little forced.  You know you're in trouble when even guest star John Slattery as a hippie anesthesiologist can't even save these.

Lindsay's episodes ("Indian Takers," "Red Hairing") try to return her to her to disingenuous activism roots but instead she's at the center of one of the season's most unfunny gags, as the formerly edgy and materialistic Lindsay character is softened to the point that she's almost nice and normal now. But at least de Rossi proves to be a good sport for letting them joke about her plastic surgery, which otherwise would have been a giant elephant in the room. The George Sr./Lindsay episodes are the only ones that truly drag in a big way, compounded by the fact they come at the start, creating a palpable fear of disappointment for a series that once spoiled us for three years straight without a single clunker.

It's around episode 4 or 5 when the show starts to show shades of its former glory, but a good enough argument can be made that it takes even longer. Hurwitz's plan starts to present itself, the puzzle pieces fall into place and his layout of the season as kind of a Rubik's cube starts making some more sense. The potential movie deal with Ron Howard (fantastic as himself) and Imagine entertainment about the Bluth family that was teased in the third season/series finale starts taking shape, giving Michael a new job as producer ("The B. Team") and injecting the rest of the remaining episodes a greater sense of purpose and unity. New jokes start paying off and everything seems to flow better as it chugs along. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the two actors who really knock it out of the park (again) are David Cross as "never nude" and aspiring actor Dr. Tobias Funke and Arnett as master illusionist and womanizer Gob.

"The Final Countdown" to Gob's most spectacular illusion yet.

Of all the episodes, Tobias's ("A New Start," "Smashed") are by far the funniest and come closest to capturing the magic of the show's original run without directly recreating it. Whether he's showing up at a methadone addiction group for his method acting class, accidentally getting busted on a To Catch a Predator-style program, or putting together a musical stage production of the Fantastic Four with rehab patients, nearly everything involving Tobias is comic gold with Cross so earnestly selling the most absurd situations with a goofy cluelessness. Thankfully, Gob's just as sleazy and over-the-top as ever, staging his most elaborately ridiculous "illusion" yet, finding himself trapped in an endless "roofie cycle" and reigniting an old feud with a bitter rival ("Colony Collapse", "A New Attitude"). He also has this huge nervous breakdown scene that's so bizarre and transfixing it defies any conventional description, proving that the series is still capable of perfection when you least expect it.

Of the main main players, Lucille and hook-handed "mother boy" Buster (Tony Hale) are probably the most underutilized, though the latter's single episode ("Off The Hook"), in which he attempts to break away from his domineering mother, is the season's darkest and creepiest, actually playing out out the most disturbing aspects of their relationship that were only implied during the first two seasons. It also leads to Ron Howard's best pop culture reference as narrator. Buster's appearances are primarily limited to only he and Lucille's episode ("Queen B."), making Hale the odd man out and sidelining him with far less screen time than many of the guest stars.

But it's Michael Cera who who brings everything he gained on the big screen back with him to deepen and expand his portrayal of George-Michael in "It Gets Better," which isn't only the best written episode of the season, but an absolute joy to watch from start to finish. Creating the "anti-social network," a fake piracy software program called "Fakeblock," George Michael finds himself entangled in a few giant lies that cause a rift with his father and Cera's astounding in how he keeps the character the same "nice kid" he was while adding dimensions and maturity that make him even funnier.

A reunited George Michael and Maeby

The nature of the relationship between he and his dad (always a strong component of the show) is much more intriguing now that the character is older and there are more directions to go with it. It's work Cera couldn't have done 7 years ago and the one glaring improvement made on a show where no improvements seemed possible. The George Michael greatness even extends into his rebellious "cousin" Maeby's (Alia Shawkat) surprisingly entertaining episode ("Señoritis"), which answers the big question of what became of their semi-incestuous sort of romantic friendship. That reunion doesn't disappoint, and with all the problems with scheduling actors we can at least be thankful they have plenty of scenes together and pick up exactly where they left off. It was near the top of the list of details Hurwitz had to get right, and he nails it, as George Michael and Maeby's weird bond remains just as warm, awkward and hilarious as it was.

AD jump-started the now popular TV trend wherein guest stars can be just as important to the story as the main cast. Anticipation was high and they've done a pretty good job keeping a lid on which favorites would be returning, as well as the size and nature of their roles. A moment comes in the first few minutes of the first episode that convinced me everything was going to be alright and the season would probably work. I smiled and laughed uncontrollably as a bruised, desperate Michael climbed the Bluth Company stair car and proceeded to intentionally induce the vertigo of Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), the show's most valuable and hilarious recurring character.

A big surprise is just how much Lucille 2 we get, with her role greatly expanded to the point that she may as well be considered a regular. Her impact is felt in some way through every episode, as Lucille 1's kooky social rival seems to have her hands in all the family business this time around, with Minnelli again proving just how skilled she is at delivering this material. And if that wasn't enough, there's also a great sub-plot involving her rehab clinic, "Austerity," run by her bizarre younger brother Argyle (Tommy Tune) who in just his few outlandish appearances makes an impression that somehow rivals hers in sheer hilarity. Of all the new characters introduced, he feels like the one who most needs to come back.    

A desperate Michael propositions Lucille Austero

Also among the returning favorites are the Bluth's bumbling attorney Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler), George Sr.'s former secretary and mistress Kitty Sanchez (Judy Greer), the notoriously plain George Michael ex Ann Veal (Mae Whitman), magician Tony Wonder (Ben Stiller), lawyer Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio), screenwriter and former prison warden Stefan Gentles (James Lipton), acting coach Carl Weathers and Andy Richter as themselves, follically challenged Stan Sitwell (Ed Begley, Jr.) and his daughter Sally (Christine Taylor), a heavily aged, completely unrecognizable Steve Holt (!) (Justin Wade Grant) and a lot more.

It ends up being the new faces who, for better or worse, have the biggest impact on the season. The idea of Michael unknowingly getting involved with Ron Howard's "illegitimate daughter" Rebel Alley is a good one, but Isla Fisher just never seems right for the role despite how hard she tries. Maybe the problem is that she does always seems like she's trying, which is an occupational hazard in the AD universe where random spontaneity rules the day. Charlize Theron's mentally handicapped Rita was admittedly a tough act to follow, but part of me thinks casting Bryce Dallas Howard as herself in Fisher's place with Michael not knowing her identity would have been far funnier and better suited to the meta comedy the show specializes in. Instead, Fisher comes off as if she's performing in a traditional sitcom, which this definitely isn't. What saves her is being sandwiched between the two strongest storylines, and Bateman and Cera, who are clearly the MVP's.

Terry Crews fares pretty well as Herman Cain-like conservative politician, Herbert Love, who's in cahoots with George Sr. in his building of the wall and takes a romantic liking to Lindsay. Unfortunately, those are the season's two weakest sub-plots, so his game performance is mostly done a disservice. Maria Bamford is a memorably goofy addition as Tobias's meth-addicted girlfriend DeBrie while Chris Diamantopolous is buried in nonsense as Lindsay's love interest, the "face blind" ostrich farmer Marky Bark. The stunt casting of Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen as a young Lucille and George Sr. in flashbacks has generated a lot of discussion, and while the execution of it never really works and Rogen just phones it in, Wiig actually seems to have studied Jessica Walters, impressively incorporating many of the actress's mannerisms into the performance.

Guest star Isla Fisher as Rebel Alley.

So now we know. Everyone was wondering what Arrested Development would look and feel like if it ever came back and here's our answer. Fans hoping for the return can probably be split into two camps. Those who demanded it maintain the same exact tone, style and quality of the original episodes and others who just wanted the characters come out for a curtain call or reunion special. What we got was closer to the latter, which is fine, but if Hurwitz and company plan to keep going with this (and right now it looks like they are), I'm not sure they can successfully continue this approach without making some changes. The episodes definitely need to be shorter and tighter and there was too much reliance on the narration, which likely stemmed from the need to catch viewers up on 7 years worth of backstory for eight main characters. There's a lot potential here if they play their cards right and plenty of open-ended storylines to be continued in another season or movie. The finale ("Blockheads") is basically a cliffhanger.

While I can certainly understand the fact that the well deserved boost these actors' careers got as a result of the series made scheduling impossible, it's also easy to sympathize with fans who may feel this shouldn't have been attempted unless the entire cast was available at once. Actors need to pay the bills with other projects but I'm still not sure how I feel about the series being treated as a gig everyone does on the side, as there's no question not having an the entire ensemble together limited the creative possibilities. But within those limits, they came up with something truly inspired and original, refusing to rely on the old stand-bys (no Banana Stand!) in favor of expanding the universe and tweaking its format for new kinds of laughs. Like the Bluths themselves, it's kind of a mess, but with an undertaking this ambitious, that was inevitable. Compared to its previous incarnation, it's tough not to view this new more binge-friendly AD as somewhat of a disappointment. But, honestly, anything would have been. What matters most is that it's still more clever and innovative than any comedy currently on TV.           

When in Rome

Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny DeVito, Angelica Huston
Running Time: 91 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★ (out of ★★★★)

Whenever I see or hear the phrase, "When in Rome..." I always think of that joke in Anchorman. It's worth mentioning since the movie When in Rome contains only two gags about half as funny as that one. An insipid farce that can't decide whether it wants to be a fairy tale or a romantic comedy, it's also Kristen Bell's first full-fledged starring role, which should be good news. And while this material is clearly way beneath her, she could have done worse. What the film does successfully convey, or at least not hide completely, is that she's a uniquely charismatic actress with a "girl next door" quality who's capable of big things if given the opportunity.

While watching, I couldn't help but wonder what witty, sarcastic put-downs Veronica Mars would come up with if she were forced to sit through this. I've accepted that a role as rich and complex as that one comes along once in a blue moon but it still stings seeing her appear in mindless fluff. The film is only slightly worse than I expected and I expected it to be pretty awful, but the leads do have decent chemistry and it isn't hard to imagine a romantic comedy starring them that could have worked well. Instead, one mistake after another sinks it and the laughs are in short supply, mostly due to poor execution of a premise that wasn't incredibly promising to begin with.

Bell plays Beth, an ambitious, hard-working career woman unlucky in love, as if there's any other kind of heroine in movies these days. As curator for the Guggenheim, she has to land "THE BIG ACCOUNT" for her demanding boss, Celeste (Angelica Huston--why?)....or else. The timing couldn't be worse as she has to be at her younger sister Joan's wedding in Rome. That sister is played by Alexis Dziena, who after this, Fool's Gold and Nick Norah's Infinite Playlist, I'm convinced could be the most annoying supporting actress working today. Just her very presence may as well signal any film's journey to DVD within a month. At the wedding, Beth impulsively steals coins from a "fountain of love," belonging to smitten tourists aggressively pursuing (i.e. stalking) her upon her return to New York. There's Jon Heder as a street magician, Dax Shepard as a male model, Danny DeVito as a sausage impresario and Will Arnett as a struggling artist. But the only guy she's really interested in is Nick (Josh Duhamel), a former college football star and sports journalist she meets at the wedding. The big question is whether his feelings are real or he's also under the spell.

The fountain scene where the suitors are revealed is almost too clumsy to do justice in words, cutting between these goofy reaction shots from all the guys as they're put under the trance. It would have been much smarter to gradually introduce them throughout the film, but the writers think we can't figure out anything for ourselves so they instead come out swinging and clobber us over the head with the concept right away. More embarrassing though is that THEY DIDN'T CAST WILL ARNETT AS THE STREET MAGICIAN. Talk about not even trying. In addition to having Arnett reprise his Arrested Development role they should have just let Heder play Napoleon Dynamite (Pedro already makes an appearance anyway) and have Don Johnson, as Beth's dad, bust out the white suit and reprise his Miami Vice role. None of that could be any worse than what we get, which includes pointless cameos from the likes of Shaq and Lawrence Taylor (good timing there).

The movie contains two scenes that could qualify as mildly hilarious. The first involves the breaking of a vase at the wedding, which I laughed at during trailers and commercials, but plays even funnier when viewed in context. Another, involves Beth and Nick's date at a restaurant named "Blackout," where they dine in total darkness, complete with a hostess with night vision goggles. If only the rest of the film contained the ingenuity of those scenes. Of her stalkers, only "Sausage King" Al Russo entertains since it is humorous (and a little scary) seeing DeVito chase Kristen Bell down the street with a gift basket of sausage. Shepard's arrogant model is the worst, seemingly inspired by a Zoolander extra. The biggest surprise is Duhamel who was a lot better than I expected as the male lead, displaying a goofy charm that's right for the part and matches Bell nicely. He's as much a victim of the poor writing as she is.

Though Bell makes Beth believable as a driven museum curator, the idea of her as a dumped, lonely woman unlucky with men is preposterous, as is the notion they'd need a "spell" put on them to fall for her. That's why I wish screenwriters would come with a different kind of heroine for a change instead of continuously asking us to pity the rich, beautiful, ambitious career woman who "just can't find love." Doing this would also put an end to the clumsy workplace scenes we always seem to get in these romantic comedies, which are getting so ridiculous that "THE BIG ACCOUNT" is now indistinguishable from "THE BIG GAME" in sports movies. But what's most bizarre, and could have easily been a complete accident on the part of the filmmakers, the piece of art at the center of this "BIG ACCOUNT" actually justifies the hype surrounding it and you could easily picture it prominently hanging in a prestigious gallery. It's hilarious that they got nearly every important thing wrong in the movie, yet somehow managed to get that small detail right.

It's hard to chalk up any film with Bell as its lead as a complete loss since it's always a pleasure seeing her on screen. And as badly as the script misfires, at least this represents the kind of part she should be taking and plays to her strengths, unlike the bitchy supporting character she was saddled with in the slightly superior (but still really flawed) Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She should continue playing likable characters we can root for because that's her bread and butter, but she really needs to start making better choices in terms of how to do it. Big screen stardom for her won't come starring in projects written and directed by the visionary who made Grumpier Old Men and Ghost Rider. Expectations for date movies are understandably low since you're really just looking for a good time, but even by those meager standards, When in Rome still finds ways to disappoint.

Blades of Glory

Directors: Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, William Fichtner, Craig T. Nelson \
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: PG-13

*** (out of ****)

Blades of Glory is a one-joke movie. Fortunately, that one joke happens to be very funny. Helping further is that the film takes a swipe at a sport long overdue for ridicule in a feature film. The biggest mystery coming out of the movie is how we went so long without a comedy mocking professional figure skating. If you think about it, could there be a goofier sport? With its outrageous costumes, bizarre personalities and ridiculous choreography it's almost too easy. How do you mock a sport that's a mockery in and of itself? It's simple. You hire Will Ferrell, maybe the only comedic actor alive capable of making figure skating look even sillier than it actually is. Then you pair him up with Jon Heder, who has the market cornered on playing wusses. Throw in Will Arnett as a crazed rival and add that guy who was on Coach to play…a coach. The end result is a comedy that's a lot better than it should be and much of the credit for that can go to the actors, who look like they're having the time of their lives. After a solid set-up, the movie really starts to find its groove and milks just about every laugh it can from its one-joke premise, resulting in a really good time all-around.

It's the 2002 World WinterSport Games and the top two men's singles figure skaters are going for the gold. One is a testosterone-fueled brute named Chazz Michael Michaels (Ferrell), who's nickname is "sex on ice,' a reputation only bolstered by the fact that he really is a sex addict and not shy about saying it. His arch-rival, James MacElroy (Heder) is figure skating's golden boy, groomed for greatness from a very young age by an eccentric billionaire (played by William Fichtner). That MacElroy actually stands out as too girlish and effeminate in the world of male figure skating could be viewed as an accomplishment far more remarkable than any medal victory.

The two end up tying, which leads to a funny brawl on the podium and a lifetime professional skating suspension for both. Three years later Jimmy is working at a skate shop, while Chazz (in a very funny series of scenes) is working in costume at a kid's ice show completely drunk. Jimmy soon finds out about a loophole that would allow him to compete in pairs skating and his old coach (Coach's Craig T. Nelson) convinces Jimmy and Chazz to team up. Their competition: The incestuous brother-sister duo of Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (played by real life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler). They blackmail their sister/assistant/slave Katie (Jenna Fischer) into spying on the duo, but soon she finds herself falling for Jimmy and comedic complications arise from that, threatening the partnership of Jimmy and Chazz heading into "big competition." Also hanging over their head is the pressure from their Coach to perform a complicated and deadly maneuver known as the "Iron Lotus," which we learn from hilarious video footage once resulted in the decapitation of a pro skater.

One of the first things I noticed about Blades of Glory was how much work must have gone into making it. Figure skating may look silly but there's no denying it's extremely difficult. Sure the actors had stuntmen there to perform the more complicated maneuvers, but they all had to learn to not only skate, but skate very well. If none of these stars looked like they could skate professionally the comedy wouldn't work. To their credit, Ferrell, Heder, Arnett and Poehler never look awkward on the ice or like they're actors "trying to skate." I'm not sure how much visual effects played a role in this and I don't care because at least the action scenes looked real, which is more than you can say for a whole lot of other sports movies. Since everything looks believable that just makes the inherent goofiness in the premise that much funnier.

Of course, they couldn't have a figure skating movie without a bunch of cameos from professional skaters like Nancy Kerrigan, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill. Nor could they make it through the entire length of the film without inserting a joke about clubbing someone in the knee. Really, it was too easy for them. Not to feel left out, Luke Wilson appears briefly as a sex addiction counselor. His appearance is so random and unnecessary that it's actually somewhat funny.

The teaming of Ferrell's macho character and Heder's girly one not only gives the writers a chance to slide in gay jokes, but allows Ferrell to go over-the-top in his attempts to shock. Ferrell's antics should seem beyond tired by now but for some reason they're not. The sight of him as a womanizing, sex addicted professional figure skater is a cheap, easy laugh but Ferrell, not known for his restraint, gives us exactly what we'd expect and it's still hilarious. This is about the third or fourth film in a row Jon Heder has just played a variation on his Napoleon Dynamite character. Until he tries something different I'll have to assume he isn't capable of anything else, but here he adds a girly twist and his contrast with Ferrell makes the film, which was obviously the intent behind the casting.

I'm convinced Craig T. Nelson was only cast as an inside joke because of his onscreen television coaching experience. It's funny (even if he doesn't really do anything), but not as funny as, say, Judge Reinhold playing Judge Reinhold in a mock trial on Arrested Development. If any fans of The Office are interested in seeing this because Jenna Fischer's in it they'll be disappointed because her role is woefully underwritten. That's a silly complaint though since in a comedy like this it's a given she'll just be a plot device, which she is and that's fine. The sub-plot works for what it is. Still, as someone who's never seen The Office and was curious why everyone's been raving about her, I was hoping to see at least a glimpse of what she could do as actress. I didn't. It just wasn't that kind of part.

When I reviewed Hot Rod I complained that the film underused the comedic genius of Will Arnett. Here he's utilized far better and is given a chance to show us what he's got, especially in a gut-busting chase sequence late in the film that reminds us how impossible it is to walk, much less run, in ice skates. Arnett and Poehler do nearly steal the film from under their co-stars with their inspired weirdness, which is never clearer than during their bizarre interpretive ice routine of Presidential history toward the conclusion.

There are no less than four writers credited on this, which is surprising since it's far from the highest concept comedy, but they somehow pulled it together. Interestingly, there's also a story credit given to Busy Phillips, who you might remember as a television actress from shows like Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's Creek. It's pretty funny to think she's been spending her free time coming up with the idea for this movie. While hardly groundbreaking or revolutionary, she at least deserves the credit for realizing this would work, something clueless Hollywood studios apparently couldn't for years. In their defense they were probably too busy planning a remake of Citizen Kane or a prequel to Jaws.

Anyone going into this expecting shocks and surprises won't get any. What you will get is a lot of laughs and some entertaining performances. I wouldn't have lost any sleep if I never saw it but it's fair to say what it does for (or maybe to) figure skating is no better or worse than what Talladega Nights did for NASCAR. If you liked that, you'll like this. Blades of Glory is no Superbad, or even Hot Rod, and you'll likely forget about it five minutes after the final credits role, but it does continue the 2007 streak of winning comedies.

Hot Rod

Director: Akiva Schaffer
Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Isla Fisher, Bill Hader, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek, Danny R. McBride, Will Arnett, Chris Parnell
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rating: PG-13

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

When I saw Hot Rod there were four people in the theater, including me. By the end of the movie there were only two and both of us had been on the floor laughing the entire time. I walked out thinking to myself that someone should send a copy of this film to Adam Sandler as a reminder of the kind of movies he used to make. That's not a knock on Sandler who's too old to be playing the role Andy Samberg does here and I'm glad he's stretched as an actor and made more interesting choices. But who are we kidding? Sandler was always at his most entertaining and found most of his success in stupid 90's slapstick comedies like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore. Those were the movies that really connected with audiences and afforded him the opportunity to branch out and try different things, all of which didn't result in nearly the same kind of commercial success.

While no one wants to admit it, there's a reason why those comedies are still remembered and referenced today: because they're bad. That's right, bad. And when I say bad I mean they're so bad they're great. They fully commit to their ridiculous premise and make no apologies for what they are. They're stupid, hilarious and most important of all, they're in on the joke. Nearly every comedy since Sandler's heyday have attempted to repeat that formula and failed miserably, struggling most with that last criteria. There seems to be a disturbing trend going on lately with comedies actually taking themselves seriously, even going as far as to spread their running time over two hours and giving us plots that are actually (gasp!) somewhat complex. I'm actually glad that's happened to a certain extent, and there are some filmmakers out there doing it well, but I can't believe I'm saying this: I miss the stupidity. It's been long enough. We're due. As the quality of comedies have improved in recent years, Hollywood's forgotten about giving us a brainless good time.

How ironic that even a film produced by Sandler himself (last year's Grandma's Boy) couldn't recapture that magic and contained only minimal laughs? Now, with relatively little fanfare, comes Hot Rod, from director Akiva Schaffer and stars Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, known collectively as the "Lonely Island" comedy group. They met and became best friends at middle school in Berkeley and went on to achieve a cult following through their digital shorts online. This led to Saturday Night Live where they were responsible for two of the funniest sketches in that show's recent history with "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick In A Box."

This movie is much of that same humor, stretched out longer, but just as hilarious. That it's produced by SNL creator Lorne Michaels would usually guarantee failure, but this deserves to be ranked among the best films starring SNL cast members. Or at least it's definitely closer in quality to Wayne's World than Superstar or It's Pat: The Movie. That the script comes from Pam Brady, one of the writers on South Park, won't come as a surprise after you've seen it. After the final credits rolled I felt like running to the roof of the multiplex and screaming "FINALLY!" Finally, a movie that "gets it," basking in its own stupidity and fully committing all the way through. Why did they stop making comedies like this?

Samberg is Rod Kimble, an incompetent aspiring stuntman with a little bit of a problem. His stepfather, Frank (Ian McShane of tv's Deadwod) is dying of heart failure and Rod needs to somehow earn $50,000 for his transplant so he lives to be on the receiving end of an ass kicking. Yeah, you read that right. You see Frank is a cranky old man who routinely defeats his stepson in fights and has absolutely no respect for him. Rod cannot let him die without first earning that respect, a joke that pays off big later. Inspired by stories of his deceased biological father's history as a professional stuntman, Rod formulates a stunt of his own that involves jumping 15 buses.

He gathers a training crew that includes his dweebish brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone) and slacker friends Rico (Danny R. McBride) and Dave (Bill Hader). What's so funny about these characters is it's never quite clear what they do all day or even how old they are. It's seems the movie wants us to believe they're teenagers even though they look like they're pushing thirty or beyond. However, at other points part of me thinks they're actually supposed to be in their twenties. I'm not sure. Whatever the case may be I know it wouldn't have been nearly as funny if they had cast real teenagers in the roles. Also along for the ride is hot neighbor Denise (Isla Fisher) who Rod is trying (in hilariously pathetic ways) to win over, but of course she's going out with a total jerk (played by Will Arnett).

It's no mystery where this movie is going (although the ending is somewhat surprising), but the real fun is how it gets there. Sure, there are your obligatory training sequences and pratfalls but the difference here is they are actually inventive and consistently funny, with even more goofiness sandwiched in between. This is one of those movies that are knowingly winking at the audience the entire time with hallucinatory dream sequences, completely random jokes that could exist independent of the picture, bizarre cameos and inspired 80's musical montages that come out of nowhere. A particularly memorable one features possibly the only Europe song ever used in a movie that wasn't "The Final Countdown."

Schaffer has also uncovered a little trick not many directors are aware of. If you repeat a line or a visual joke for just the right amount of time it can be hilarious as long as you know when to stop. There's a fall down a mountain that starts off typically, but then it keeps going….and going. It extends just to the point where it becomes downright hilarious, then stops just in time. Many directors wouldn't have a clue when to yell "Cut!" and it would have crossed that line into annoyance. Not here. He even knows when to stop the movie, something most directors of comedies seem to have forgotten lately. It runs 88 minutes and it feels just right for the type of movie he's making and the story he's telling. It doesn't overstay its welcome. The film is also very cleverly directed visually, despite its low budget. When Rod performs a stunt late in the film we see him in the air giving the thumbs up to the crowd, then the camera pulls back to reveal…he isn't on the bike! Sorry, but that's pretty hilarious.

This movie contains more laughs than just about any comedy I've seen so far this year (yes, that includes Hot Fuzz) and there wasn't a second I can remember not laughing. It also puts the skills of nearly every performer to good use. McShane is hilarious as the step-dad from hell who's just begging for comeuppance while Sissy Spacek plays the mom completely straight, making Samberg's character look that much goofier, if that's even possible. We know exactly what Isla Fisher's role will be like as Denise: Smile and look pretty. It's true, but at least they picked an actress who is pretty and has a nice smile. She does what she's supposed to. No complaints here. Chris Parnell has a small role late in the film as an A.M. radio D.J. and has a gag involving the explanation of a tattoo that in under thirty seconds is funnier than anything he's ever done on Saturday Night Live. Listen to his color commentary during the big stunt.

If the movie has one problem it's the underutilization of Will Arnett in the role of the evil boyfriend (although he does have one great scene). Having the comedic talents of Arnett at your disposal in a film and not fully exploiting them is inexcusable and I had to shave half a star off for it. In way though, even that could be seen as a plus because the movie never takes the familiar route of this story coming down to a battle for the girl. Still, Arnett should have had more screen time because a killer supporting turn from him could have taken this movie over the top. Maybe he'll have more scenes on the unrated DVD, which could be out in stores by the time you've read this judging from the film's box office take.

For some reason this movie has drawn comparisons to Napoleon Dynamite and I have no idea why, aside from the fact they share a little of the same type of humor. While I liked Napoleon Dynamite, I do understand why some people despise it, and even those who love it have to admit it hasn't aged too well. That film, while sporadically hilarious, was full of itself and carried a false air of superiority and arrogance embodied by the behavior of the title character. That's not the case with Hot Rod. The title character may be goofy and delusional, but he isn't mean-spirited or arrogant and this movie never adapts a condescending attitude toward his behavior or the material. It's just out to have fun and it succeeds.

Originally this was supposed to be a starring vehicle for Will Ferrell, but I'm so glad it wasn't. Ferrell sometimes falls into the trap of trying too hard to get laughs, which wouldn't work here like it did in Anchorman and Talladega Nights. Samberg is perfect for this and it's a shame the movie hasn't done well because he has what it takes to translate his SNL success to the big screen and become a major comedy star, much like Ferrell and Sandler before him.

One of the things I love most is when I have the opportunity to review a movie that just sneaks up on me. I don't go in expecting much, and I come out with something so much better than I anticipated. That this brought in just over $5 million on its opening weekend and was massacred by just about every critic in the country says something. It wasn't meant for all audiences, which is how it should be. The best comedies aren't. I also don't think it's a coincidence that the two people who walked out of the theater I saw this in were a guy and his girlfriend, with her leading the charge. This is a guy's movie and some guys may not even care for this kind of humor. Let's put it this way: If you've never pondered such life altering questions as who would win a fight between a taco and a grilled cheese sandwich this movie probably isn't for you.

Just wait until this arrives on DVD and everyone suddenly discovers it. This is the kind of cult comedy that could end up playing in stoned-out students dorm rooms for the next 10 years. It deserves to go down as one of the funniest movies of 2007 and the prospect that Superbad, which opens very soon, could possibly be even funnier (and advanced word suggests it is) is frightening. I just read an interview with Andy Samberg where he said the goal he had in making Hot Rod was to recreate the comedies he and his friends grew up on, like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. As someone who grew up those also, I can honestly say that mission was accomplished. Mr. Sandler would be proud.