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

Who's A Good Dog? "Max"

Max (2015)

Rated PG

Starring Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Mia Xitlali, Luke Kleintank, Dejon LaQuake, Robbie Amell,

Written and Directed by Boaz Yakin

The Story:

When Marine Dog Handler Kyle Wincott (Amell) is killed in action, his dog Max comes to the funeral. Max is very loyal and misses Kyle, so much so that the Marines really can't use him anymore. Somehow, Max bonds with Kyle's brother, Justin (Wiggins). Justin doesn't care for the dog, but as time passes, the two begin to bond. However, when one of Kyle's friends (Kleintank) comes back to town, Max begins to act strange, and Justin begins to learn things that put his life in danger.

Based on a true story needs to be said upfront, though I'm sure it's more the dog at the funeral than the conspiracy over how the Marine was killed.

Boaz Yakin crafts another fine tale as both writer and director, but he's been doing that for some time now.

The movie balances fairly nicely between a coming of age / boy and his dog / murder mystery subplots that get equal time without really shortchanging or sabotaging anything.

It's possible that the murder mystery could have easily been dropped and the movie would still have been enjoyable, but it's a nice treat that what is essentially a family movie can also delve into some darker areas.

A great cast, but it's easy to see how this was overlooked in theaters and dismissed as a Made for TV movie.

That's a shame because it is indeed worth a look.

Final Grade: B-

Wishing You "A Merry Friggin' Christmas"

A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Joel McHale, Robin Williams, Lauren Graham, Clark Duke, Candice Bergen

Directed by Tristam Shapeero

The Story:

Boyd (McHale) is taking his family to spend the holidays with his estranged family. He doesn't want to because he and his father (Williams) don't exactly see eye-to-eye. In fact, Boyd has spent his entire life trying to overcompensate his Christmas traditions by being the father he never felt his dad was.

Another of Williams' final performances, this one is pretty fun.

A great cast, it feels like it could have been a tv movie, but that's not a huge surprise considering the pedigree of most of the cast and the director coming from a television background.

They throw a bit of the PG-13 language/innuendo in there to spice things up, but nothing horrible that keeps it from being enjoyed by the whole family.

It's a darker comedy than you expect from this holiday season, but not a terrible viewing experience.

My guess, this will grow on some and become a cult holiday classic as the years wear on.

I'm still on the fence, I enjoyed it enough, and I think I could come back for more, maybe just not in an annual dosage.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No purchase yet, but again, I could be persuaded to visit the Mitchler family.

The Right Manny For The Job... "The Pacifier"

The Pacifier (2005)

Rated PG

Starring Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Carol Kane, Morgan York, Kegan & Logan Hoover

Directed by Adam Shankman

The Story:

Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Diesel) is reassigned to protect the family of a scientist who died.  While the mom (Ford) goes with the Navy to attempt to find out what her husband left behind, Shane must babysit the kids (Snow, Thieriot, York and Hoover).  Naturally, his way of doing things, and the way the kids think things should be done are at odds.  However, bad guys are lurking and if the kids and Shane don't kill each other first, the bad guys might take them all out.

It's Uncle Buck meets Under Siege.

Actually, that's a pretty good description.

Vin Diesel struck out into family friendly territory with The Pacifier.
Much like The Rock, Disney took an action star and tried to turn him into a family friendly movie star.

In both cases, it pretty much worked.

Now, you can dislike this film (or any of the Rock's) all you want, but Disney succeeded with what they set out to do.

That the Tooth Fairy and The Pacifier teamed up in Fast Five for one of the most successful movies in the Fast & Furious franchise?

Full circle.

:)

I like films like this that allow action stars to broaden their career into comedy.  It's one of the muscles they usually only get to flex with a quick one-liner or a sarcastic dispatching of a villain.

If you can pull off broad, family friendly slapstick and walk away with your career intact, you're going to be somebody.

It doesn't hurt if you've got the charisma of Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson though.

:)

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Harmless fun for the whole family.  The kids love it, and it's an enjoyable film to revisit every so often.