Guilty As Charged..."American Vandal"

American Vandal (2017)

Starring Tyler Alvarez, Griffin Gluck, Jimmy Tatro, Camille Hyde, Eduardo Franco, Calum Worthy, Camille Ramsey, Karly Rothenberg

Created by Dan Perrault & Tony Yacenda

The Story:

Dylan Maxwell (Tatro) stands accused of a heinous act of vandalism: drawing dicks on 27 teacher's cars at the local high school. Now the school's morning show is out to discover whether Dylan is indeed guilty, or being framed.

This Netflix Original premiered this morning.

I posted the trailer the other day, and now halfway into the 3rd episode, it's every bit as compelling as the true crime documentaries that it's poking fun of.

Satire. Loving homage. Mockumentary.

However you want to classify it, they're taking the components of "Making a Murderer" or any other true crime series and making their storyline just as compelling.

But also, hilariously funny.

Each episode is a half hour, so it flies by much quicker than an hour-long drama.

But the cast is believable and again, the storyline works perfectly as a crime whodunit that keeps you captivated.

And at the end of each episode, they toss the next curve ball at the audience to make you go "no way!" and then you're hooked for the next episode.

Not sure how it's going to end, but with nearly half the series over...

A-

Every Father's Worst Nightmare..."Why Him?"

Why Him? (2016)

Rated R

Starring Zoey Deutch, James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mulally, Griffin Gluck, Keegan-Michael Key,

Directed by John Hamburg

The Story:

Stephanie (Deutch) invites her family out to visit her at Stanford for the holidays. When they arrive, they meet Laird (Franco), her millionaire boyfriend that she's been keeping a secret for months. This doesn't sit too well with her father (Cranston) and when he realizes that Laird wants to pop the question, well daddy's going to do whatever it takes to keep his daughter safe.

Here's the bottom line:  it's crude and it's stupid.

But...

It's also very funny and underneath the f-bombs and bluster is a comedy with a well-meaning heart of gold.

What wins you over is the cast who play their characters perfectly and imbue them all full bodied personality and not just one dimensional cardboard cutouts.

Cranston, as usual, is superb, and a far departure from dramatic roles proves he can pull off straight comedy with ease.

Franco is his comedic foil and plays the slacker millionaire perfectly.

He's not a bad guy, he's just awkward around people, and the results are often hilarious.

I would also be remiss to not single out Keegan-Michael Key as the right hand man that keeps everything in Laird's world running on time.

He also provides Laird with his own personal Kato in the film.

Now, if you don't get that reference, that's a shame, but it's also a running joke in the film as well, and it was hilarious.

It also shows that you're apparently old enough to be the dad, and congratulations, that means your daughters will be bringing 'him' home soon enough.

Good luck!

:)

Final Grade: C+ 

They Weren't That Bad..."Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life"

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)  

Rated PG

Starring Griffin Gluck, Alexa Nisenson, Thomas Barbusca, Lauren Graham, Andrew Daly, Adam Pally, Rob Riggle, Isabela Moner

Directed by Steve Carr

The Story:

Rafe (Gluck) is trying to get through his middle school years, but just can't seem to catch a break. Now on his latest, and last chance at school, his creativity is immediately stifled by a seriously by-the-rules principal (Daly). Meanwhile at home, Rafe's mom (Graham) is getting serious with an obnoxious boyfriend (Riggle) who is driving Rafe and his sister (Nisenson) crazy. At the prompting of his best friend Leo (Barbusca) they devise a plan to undermine all of the principal's rules, and hopefully get through the rest of the year in one piece.

This was a pretty fun film.

Based on a series of books, it is close in style and tone to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, only I found this one to be more enjoyable. It does borrow a bit of plot from Max Keeble's Big Move, but that's okay, because that too was a pretty funny movie.

The kids do a pretty fine job of carrying a lot of the film as they build prank upon prank at the school.

This eventually wins many of Rafe's classmates to begin to like and respect him, which is a feeling that Rafe hadn't had in some time, with so many moves under his belt.

As for the villains of the film, they struck comedy gold with boy Daly and Riggle. The two are insufferable and egotistical, and garner much of the laughs in the movie as they both get put in their place by film's end.

There's also some surprisingly heartfelt moments in the film that creep up on you when you're least expecting it.

Very well done, and a very enjoyable film.

Probably not good enough for best of the year honors, but one I wouldn't mind watching with the kids again.

Final Grade: B