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!

Going the Distance

I’ll admit it, I liked Going the Distance more than I expected I would. But since I expected to hate it, that doesn’t mean much.

Going the Distance covers the relationship between Garrett (Justin Long) and Erin (Drew Barrymore). Though the two knew they would only be in the same city for six weeks (and therefore intended to avoid anything serious), they just liked each other so much they needed to give a long distance relationship a try. As one might expect, it gets complicated. (What if they made a movie about a couple who decided to have a long distance relationship and all went well? What would you call that one?)

Going the Distance couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to be a comedy or a romance, and the mix it settled on just didn’t work for me. There would be a bit that made me laugh out loud (even though I was watching the movie by myself) and then a long dry spell where the relationship was awkwardly advanced (or lots of bad jokes were made). The plot-specifics were too predictable—there was that one out of place conversation in the movie that was clearly setting up the end of the movie. However, even despite these problems, it seemed that all the movie needed to be decent was another draft or two to tighten some jokes and add some subtlety.

Barrymore overacted and often looked too old for her part, but none of the other actors are worth complaining about. There were enjoyable cameo/sidekick roles played by several people I love including Jason Sudeikis, Jim Gaffigan, and the Daily Show’s own Rob Riggle and Kristen Schaal.

I’m giving Going the Distance a 2/5. It’s not a waste of time, but not worth seeking out. And it’s not worth writing more than a few short paragraphs about.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Drew Barrymore

Buy the DVD

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.

Grown Ups

You’d think, as I’m a huge Saturday Night Live fan, that I would be thrilled to see the guys from the cast of the early 90s get together for a movie. But here’s the thing, out of those guys, I truly dislike two (Adam Sandler and David Spade) feel neutral-leaning-to-dislike towards one (Rob Schneider) and like one (Chris Rock). Throw in yet another guy I could care less about (Kevin James) and you get Grown Ups, a comedy with too many leads and not enough laughs.

The premise: all these fellas were on a middle school basketball team that won a championship. Though they’ve drifted apart in their adult lives, when this coach dies, they all reunite at his funeral. (Let me drift away from the synopsis for a just a second here to talk about the implausibility of this whole situation. We’re talking about a middle school basketball team here. Could you tell me the first name of your middle school basketball coach? Would you go to his funeral? Also, this coach seemed to have no other friends/family other than the kids who were on this team. He asks that Sandler give his eulogy, Schneider sings a song—what about his children and loved ones? Hell, what about the other basketball teams he coached? – he did get a new one each year. This bothered me for the entire movie…clearly).

So these guys each bring their entire family out to this funeral for this guy they once knew, and, Sandler, feeling nostalgic, rents this lakehouse for them all to stay at. And each of these guys, of course, has their own family issues. Sandler is crazy-rich and his children are spoiled brats; Spade is a womanizer who’s never settled down; Schneider has married an old hippy (and has been a terrible father to his three grown daughters); Rock’s wife is pregnant and he has a crazy mother-in-law who lives with him; James is low on cash (and his wife still breast-feeds his 6-year-old son). Basically comedy waiting to happen…or at least that’s what these guys thought.

But the comedy didn’t pull through for me; most of it was on the fart joke caliber and the funniest line (“I want to get chocolate wasted”) was featured in the film’s trailer. Plus, I just wasn’t able to feel for any of the main characters because there were just too many of them. I couldn’t tell you a single character’s name because each family was only given a minute or two of introduction. After that, the movie is old guys trying to relieve their glory days by doing stupid stuff. And yes, that last sentence refers both to the plot of the film and its creation.

As you might expect, I’m giving Grown Ups a 1/5. If you’re a big Sandler and crew fan, maybe you’d like it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Adam Sandler & Chris Rock

Buy the DVD

Due Date

I was cautiously optimistic when I went to the theater on Saturday to see Due Date. With the combination Robert Downey Jr's bad-ass sexiness and Zach Galifianakis' consistent humor, Due Date's cast appealed to me. But the story also seemed a whole lot like 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobiles-- a movie that I certainly enjoy, but do not need to see remade.

The initial concept seemed all too familiar. In their attempts to fly from Georgia to LA, Peter Highman (Downey Jr) and Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) get placed on a no-fly list thanks to Highman's angry reaction to Tremblay's idiotic antics. Highman needs to make it home to LA in three days for the birth of his son, but is unable to rent a car because his wallet is with his luggage on the plane. Enter Tremblay, a wannabe actor headed to "Hollywood," ready to save the day with his rental car (and complicate it with the coffee can filled with his dad's ashes). Despite Tremblay's clear deficiencies as a travel companion, he is Highman's only option, so the two embark on a cross-country roadtrip. Hijinks ensue.

For the first half hour of the movie, I was thinking, "Yeah, yeah, this is funny, but nothing new." And then, with a surprise sucker-punch, the movie starts to go a little nuts. Highman gets a little crazier than initially presented, Tremblay continues to become wackier, and the problems their trip poses stop being typical travel mishaps. It was just what the movie needed to become its own.

One of the things that impressed me the most about Due Date was how it dealt with the more tender scenes that most comedies stumble over. Due Date sneaks into them: what starts as a joke morphs into a moment where you really feel for one of the characters. Then, just as you start to get in a little too deep, Galifianakis says something ridiculous and you're laughing again.

Due Date is doomed to be compared to The Hangover, as they're both directed by Todd Phillips. Though I did like The Hangover better, Due Date is certainly worthy of being packaged with it in the nostalgic comedy box-set that will be released in another 15 years.

Due Date is a dumb movie, but a good kind of dumb. (However, be warned, if you're like my sister and don't like Galifianakis, this is not the movie for you). I give it a 4/5.

Watch Jon Stewart's interview with Zach Galifianakis

Death at a Funeral

Death at a Funeral is a movie filled with zillions of characters, each with his orher own problems, who are all thrown together at a family funeral. Here’s just a sampling: Aaron (Chris Rock) is saddled with the burden of planning and paying for his father’s funeral while his younger brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence) gets all the admiration from family without doing anything. Elaine (Zoe Saldana) is planning on revealing to the family that she is going to marry her boyfriend Oscar (James Marsden), but accidently gives him LSD, which causes him to hallucinate and act inappropriately. Norman (Tracy Morgan) has been given the responsibility for looking after crotchety Uncle Russell (Danny Glover). And then there’s the mysterious little person who appears at the funeral, revealing something about Aaron’s father that his family never knew.

That’s just a fraction of the many plotlines that Death at a Funeral puts forward. Unfortunately, I did not find the majority of them to be funny. Watching Marsden’s trip and the chaos it caused was the only part of the movie that made me laugh; generally, the jokes were lowest common denominator. Additionally, though Rock is an excellent comedian, his serious acting left more to be desired – much of his delivery sounded like emotionless reading.

Though Death at a Funeral’s glut of characters and situations took away from the movie as a whole, it kept the time moving quickly. Even though I wasn’t really enjoying it, I didn’t find myself counting the minutes until the movie was finished. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it. It gets a 2/5.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Tracy Morgan (This is a funny one. For some reason, Morgan reminds me so much of my paternal grandfather in this clip. I know that's irrelevant, but since many of the people who read this are my relatives, I figured I'd put it out there.)

Buy the DVD

The Other Guys

I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think I was going to like The Other Guys. As much as I love Will Ferrell, the previews made it look stupid, and not in a good way. I was pleasantly surprised last week, then, when my family saw The Other Guys and realized it was quite funny.

The premise: Partners Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) are detectives with the NYPD who, rather than going out and getting bad guys, are stuck in the office doing paperwork. Gamble loves this lifestyle; Hoitz hates it. He also hates Gamble. But after the deaths of the department’s star crime-fighters (the perfectly-cast Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson), Hoitz sees an opening and manages to get Gamble to join him in investigating a jewelry heist. Of course, everything is not what it seems, and the two become wrapped up in a corporate fraud case.

Ferrell, as to be expected, is a delight – practically everything out of the man’s mouth makes me laugh. And Wahlberg stood his own, not only as a straight-man, but also making jokes of his own.

One of the things I appreciated most about The Other Guys was that its jokes were not directed to a particular demographic: there were broad laugh-lines, silliness, and smart jokes. The lines that made my family laugh were different than the ones that made the people behind us laugh, but we all found the movie funny.

Though The Other Guys is clearly meant to be a comedy about action movies, rather than an action movie itself, it doesn’t let that stop it from having plenty of car chases, fights, and explosions. The movie lost me a bit in those sections – I would choose comedy over action in a heartbeat – but I can see why others would enjoy it.

Though I would never describe The Other Guys as a political movie, it does comment on the irresponsibility of Wall Street. Within the movie are a few digs at the SEC, and over the closing credits, graphics illustrate statistics of the misuse of bailout money and the disparity between CEOs and other workers. I never would have guessed that The Other Guys would remind me so much of some of the economy-centered books that I’ve read this year.

In the end, I’m giving The Other Guys a 3/5 (though it’s on the higher end of the “3-scale”). It’s worth seeing once, but not more than that.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Will Ferrell

Get Him to the Greek

First off, before I jump into the review, I want to apologize for my absence here (not that anyone is really at the edge of their seat waiting for a Daily Shill update.). I just graduated from Kalamazoo College, and the week of graduation and the one following have been crazy busy. But I am back!

I had low expectations going into Get Him to the Greek. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the movie where Aldous Snow’s character originated, the trailers did not look good. My expectations were met; the movie was okay.

Get Him to the Greek follows Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), an under-appreciated record company employee, as he attempts to escort washed-out, drugged up rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) to a concert at the Greek Theater. As one might expect, everything that could go wrong in this transportation process, does.

The movie was very hit or miss for me. Though there were some scenes that cracked me up, like the “furry wall” one the movie will likely be remembered for, they were outnumbered by the attempts at humor that didn’t land. I never thought I would say this, but I thought Diddy was the funniest actor/character in the movie. Make of that what you will.

Get Him to the Greek follows the comedy blueprint that has worked well for movies of the past two summers like The Hangover and Superbad: there is some time-sensitive problem (get rock star to the gig, groom to the wedding, or booze to the party) and a duo (or trio) of guys have lots of comical obstacles until they solve it. But unlike in Superbad and The Hangover, I wasn’t endeared to the characters; I just didn’t care if they succeeded in the end. Also, I didn’t laugh as much.

I give Get Him to the Greek a 2/5. It’s a high 2 (I’d rather watch it than read George Lucas’s Blockbusting or Newt Gingrich’s novel), but a 2 nonetheless.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Jonah Hill

I’m currently making my way through David Remick’s biography of Barack Obama. It’s a long one, so it may be a bit before another review. But I will be back!

Cop Out

Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, attempts to be both a comedy and an action flick and succeeds at neither. I did not once laugh, nor was I impressed or excited by the chase scenes and fights. Don’t go see it.

The story follows Jimmy (Willis) and Paul (Morgan) a pair of cops with the NYPD with their share of problems. The two have been suspended without pay for a failed drug bust, Paul thinks his wife is cheating on him, and Jimmy needs to sell a baseball card to pay for his daughter’s dream wedding; unfortunately for Jimmy, the card is stolen when he attempts to sell it and gets in the hands of a dangerous gang (which happen to be the same one for the earlier drug bust). Also, there’s another set of partners at NYPD who seem to dislike them, but I couldn’t really understand how those guys fit in.

So Jimmy and Paul set off on a mission to get the card, and end up wrapped up in drama with the gang. That’s the movie. I could give away the ending, but I bet you can figure it out on your own. Hint: All the problems are solved.

Watching Cop Out was a waste of time. I actually had to stop halfway through and watch episodes of 30 Rock to remind myself why I’m a fan of Tracy Morgan. It gets a 1/5.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Tracy Morgan (Morgan is pretty darn funny in his non-sequitor ways, and the clip they show is the funniest part of the movie)

Buy the DVD

And it’s a long weekend filled with movies on the Daily Shill. Come back tomorrow for my thoughts on Tooth Fairy and Monday for a review of A Single Man.

Date Night

I've gotten to the point that whenever I see I preview for a movie I think either, "I want to see that, I hope it's on the Daily Show" or "Man oh man, I sure hope that's not on the Daily Show." Though there have definitely been more of the latter (Tooth Fairy and Remember Me for example), Date Night was a movie I was truly looking forward to.

I love Steve Carell and Tina Fey, and I went into the movie with ridiculously high expectations. Though Date Night didn't quite reach them, it was still a very funny movie and worth seeing.

I'm sure you've seen the previews and know the premise, but for those who have been sitting in a cave for the past two months (and have just come back into the modern world and decided the first website they should check out is the Daily Shill) I'll give a quick summary. Carell and Fey play the Fosters, a couple whose marriage has gotten boring and predictable. During a date night, they take another couple's reservation, claiming that they are the Tripplehorns. This leads to the two being chased by bad guys who don't believe the Fosters when the argue that they are not really the Tripplehorns. Dangerous hijinks and hilarity ensue, and the Foster's marriage is spiced up in the process.

One of my worries, when I go to see a funny movie, is that the only funny bits were in the trailer. That is not the case for Date Night -- I found myself laughing out loud many times. Though the "let's talk about our marriage" moments that occurred a few times throughout the movie got a bit long and boring, I understand they were necessary to showing the Foster's progression as a couple (though maybe they could have been shorter).

I give Date Night a 4/5. It's funny, exciting, and not too long. Plus, the scene where Carell and Fey try to pole dance is, in itself, worth the price of admission.

Watch Jon Stewart's Interview with Steve Carell

Buy the DVD

And come back tomorrow for my review of Jim Wallis's book Comeback America. (Lies. The book is actually Rediscovering Values. Comeback America is by David Walker and I have not read it yet)