The Switch

I was under the impression that The Switch was aiming to be an uproarious romantic comedy—taking the comedic angle more than the romantic one—and, truth be told, I was over the movie before it even started. However, The Switch had a lot more heart than most rom-coms, and, in fact, almost doesn't belong to be classified that way. And, though I don’t plan on watching it again, The Switch was not a bad movie-- certainly better than I expected.

Wally (Jason Bateman) and Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) are best friends who drift apart after Kassie has a son via sperm donor and moves away. What Wally and Kassie don’t realize is that Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) is actually their son together, since drunken Wally accidentally dumped Kassie’s donor sperm and replaced it with his own. When Kassie and Sebastian move back to New York and into Wally’s life, Wally realizes both that Sebastian is his son, and that he has feelings for Kallie, and is unsure what to do about either.

Though the trailers play up the relationship between Wally and Kassie, the one that the story really follows is that between Wally and Sebastian—who, can I say, is absolutely adorable. I want Robinson to be every movie's “cute kid.” Though it certainly got too cornball on more than one occasion, Wally’s and Sebastian’s interactions seemed genuine, and—though I am loathe to admit it—had me teared up on one occasion. And Bateman certainly had more chemistry with Robinson than he did with Aniston.

The romance plotline, with Kassie’s sperm donor Roland (Patrick Wilson) coming in to complete the love triangle, could have been more developed and less cliché. Though I didn’t mind it taking a back seat to Sebastian’s story, it was what kept The Switch from being a good movie. Still worth the watch, though, with a 3/5.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Jennifer Aniston. (It is the most awkward interview I have ever seen on the Daily Show)

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Jason Bateman

(Yes, this movie was promoted twice—a two for one deal for me!)

Buy the DVD

Hope you all had a Happy 4th-- that's why this review is one day late!

Cyrus

It’s been almost a week since I saw Cyrus, and I’m still not sure exactly what I think of it. Like most indie films, this sort-of comedy, sort-of drama starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, and Jonah Hill, presents interesting, funny characters, but also seems to end about 15 minutes before the storyline does (which can be frustrating).

The premise: John (Reilly) is not doing so hot with his life until he meets Molly (Tomei) and really falls for her. She’s crazy about him too, but it’s complicated by Cyrus (Hill), her grown son who she is incredibly (kind of creepily) close to. Cyrus, upset that there’s another man in his mother’s life, pretends to accept John while secretly attempting to undermine him.

Generally, the movie was pretty funny, and Reilly, Tomei, and Hill were all fine actors, but something didn’t make it there for me. Perhaps it was the lack of closure, but, in addition to that, the movie was kind of predictable. I don’t mind a predictable comedy, but since Cyrus was obviously trying to be something more, I wanted a surprise or two.

Don’t get me wrong; Cyrus is still worth watching if the concept intrigues you. I’m giving it a 3/5. It employed a neat technique of putting a sort-of montage of scenes over a single scene’s dialogue, to indicate time passing and relationships changing. And it did a super job of making the relationship between Cyrus and Molly weird, but not too creepy. And, it did make me laugh out loud, more than once. But it definitely remains a 3 movie.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with John C. Reilly

Buy the DVD


Sorry if this review is a little more casual and scattered than usual. Just as I was about to go to bed last night, I remembered that I had yet to write my review for today—and I did not have time to write one in the morning. Tomorrow’s will be better, I swear.

Greenberg

Greenberg was weird. I watched the film with my parents last Friday, and after it finished, my dad said, “Well. That was strange. It had funny moments, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a comedy. I don’t know if I liked it or not.” That alone could be my review.

Greenberg’s plot is entirely character driven. Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), a 40ish guy with emotional problems who doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life, is house-sitting for his wealthy brother and reconnecting with old friends from California. He also develops a thing (I wouldn’t call it a relationship) with Florence (Greta Gerwig) his brother’s personal assistant. Before she meets Roger, Florence, in her mid-twenties, is struggling finding balance after the end of a serious relationship, and her interactions with Greenberg don’t help any. Greenberg shows both of their lives over the six-week period Roger is house-sitting, not limiting its focus to only the interactions between the two.

My biggest complaint with Greenberg was that it moved incredibly slowly (particularly the first two thirds of the movie). I wanted scenes to be shorter and a little more relevant, and I wanted something to happen. There were some incredibly funny scenes (particularly in the last half), but not nearly enough for it to live up to the quirky comedy the trailer portrayed.

I was hoping that by the time I reached this point in the review, I would know how I wanted to rate Greenberg. I liked the characters, I liked the jokes, I thought the acting was well done, but I can’t say the same about the movie as a whole. I’m going to give it a 2/5, though part of that low rating can be attributed to expecting a comedy and getting a drama with some funny moments.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Ben Stiller

Buy the film

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I'm currently making my way through the incredibly long biography of Willie Mays, though I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.