Is "Movie 43" the Worst Movie of the Year? Not So Fast...

Get ready for the worst movie of all time...

No.

Not really.

The Story:

Charlie Wessler (Dennis Quaid) is pitching a movie idea to studio exec Griffin Schraeder (Greg Kinnear).  Each story pushes the envelope of sense and good taste.

What in the name of Kentucky Fried Movie is going on here?

First, this movie isn't that bad as people make it sound.  It's not the worst movie ever made.  It's not the unfunniest comedy ever filmed.

This movie won't even make my final list of Turkeys of the Year.

Strange, but true.

Is this movie a laugh riot from start to finish?  Nope, not even close.

What you have instead are a bunch of short skits or commercial parodies stretched over 90 minutes.  Yes, an episode of Saturday Night Live without censors.

Some jokes are hysterical, many fall flat.  The actors and actresses give a straightforward performance, ignoring the silliness of their particular scene and playing it as if they were in a drama.  That naturally makes the movie all the more absurd.

I did vow to watch the entire movie, ignoring my own 20 minute rule, just to see if there were any redeeming skits within the movie.  From start to finish, not really any that you must see, the best overall skit was probably the end of the movie with Terence Howard as the basketball coach, and you already know how that plays out if you saw the trailer. 

Honorable mention goes to the waterproof tampon commercial.  Genius.

The worst skit to make the film starts after the credits begin rolling, and is directed and stars Elizabeth Banks.  They would have been wiser to leave that out completely.

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Thanks, but no thanks.  Again, not a great movie, but not the stinker people make it out to be. 

What Kind of Movie Title is "Dorfman in Love" ?

It's never too late to realize your dreams...

The Story:

Deb Dorfman (Sara Rue) is an accountant in her brother's (Johnathan Chase) firm.  Basically, she's the glue that holds the place together while he has all the fun.  Poor Deb has a huge crush on Jay (Johann Urb), a blogger who covers the plight of the world in the hopes of getting an anchor job someday.  He gets a short-notice assignment after just moving into a new apartment.  Deb offers to watch his place and his cat so he can go.  It's there that she meets the neighbor, Cookie (Haaz Sleiman) and he begins to make her question some truths that she has about her life.  Slowly Deb begins to break from the mold that everyone associates with her, especially her father (Elliot Gould).  Will Deb finally stand up for herself and go after Jay?  Or will she remain quiet about her true feelings?

Okay, first things first, it's a terrible title for a movie.  I'll give you that, right out of the gate.

Other than that though...

It's a quiet, engaging little movie starring a whole lot of people that you (most definitely me) may not have seen or heard of before.

In fact, remove Elliot Gould from the mix, and I dare you to know anyone in this film.

However, that's how some of today's stars are created.  You've got to start in something before you can go on to something else.

Sara Rue is a cross between Amy Adams and Nia Vardalos, at least in my eyes.  She does a good job of carrying almost the entire movie with her interactions with the rest of the cast.

It's encouraging to watch her slowly realize that she not only can stand up for herself and what she needs and wants, but that when she does, good things happen to her, and she feels better about herself.

Plus she learns some valuable lessons about herself and her friends along the way, and that's always a good thing.

Enjoyed it...

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: While I'm not rushing out to buy it, if it were to come on cable while flipping channels, I could sit through it again.

When "Monsters" Put You To Sleep, The Movie Just Isn't Any Good...

Where's Will Smith when we need him?

The Story:

Aliens have invaded!  They have taken up residence in the lands between Mexico and the United States.  However a journalist (Scoot McNairy) agrees to bring the daughter (Whitney Able) of someone fairly important back to America by traveling through the infected area.

What could possibly go wrong?

ZzzzzzzzZzzzzzZZZzzzzzz.

Welcome to the most boring monster movie you'll ever endure.

I watched the first 20 minutes before invoking the 20 minute rule, and pulled the plug.  Well okay, technically I just walked out of the room and the movie kept plodding along.

Slow, plodding, meandering.  Much like the actors involved.

It kept playing and I periodically checked in on the movie, and from the looks, it never really got any better.

The film is available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

A very uneven week of movies this time around.  Hopefully next week will be more consistent.

Final Grade: D

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No chance for either.

The Movie is "Bulletproof", But is it Critic Proof?

 
Is there a better word to describe Adam Sandler's movie career? : )

The Story:

Two criminals, Keats (Damon Wayans) and Moses (Adam Sandler) are working for drug lord Frank Coltan (James Caan).  However, Keats is an undercover cop, and Moses accidentally shoots him in the head during a shoot out.  Keats survives and gets a metal plate in his head.  He can neither forgive or forget, and imagine how happy he is when he learns that he must protect Moses when Coltan orders a hit on him.  Can Keats get him to safety, or will he wind up dead this time?

I'd seen about 10 total minutes from this film over the last 17 years.

Coming out in 1996, this is probably the forgotten movie in Sandler's career.

Possibly because he was just a co-star, versus the star of the film.

Or maybe because compared to the movies that surrounded it:  Billy Madison before, Happy Gilmore at the same time, the Wedding Singer afterward, it's easy to get lost in that shuffle.

There's nothing wrong with this movie though, it's just one that definitely doesn't fit the mold of what Sandler was putting out at the time, though much of his schtick comes through during the film.

Instead, he is given the buddy cop formula to play in, and he does his part rather well.

Oddly, these movies normally work best when you have a straight man as the partner, not another comedian.  Wayans has to reel himself in for the role, and it's probably to the detriment of the movie that he isn't allowed to be as funny since he is the cop.

It's a minor quibble, but there you have it.

Otherwise, pretty enjoyable film that was worth finally seeing the whole thing.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability Purchase Factor: While I own a lot of Sandler's films, I don't know that this one is in any hurry to be added to the library.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 74 ~ Desperado

Desperado.

Why don't you come to your senses?

Wait a second, wrong Desperado!

Welcome to today's installment, which brings the story of El Mariachi to the big screen in a remake/sequel to Robert Rodriguez' indie flick, El Mariachi.  This time, he gets a bigger budget and some bigger stars.

Except...

Really, at the time, at least in America (which is all that truly matters, right?) the biggest star in this film was probably Cheech Marin!

No, instead we are treated to that rare movie that gives you not one star-in-the-making, but two!

First, Antonio Banderas slides into the title role, and owns the picture.  He's got the presence and ability to carry the movie on his charisma alone.

Matching him note for note in looks and ability, Salma Hayek was offered up to audiences in her first feature film role.  A memorable scene involving a car crash underscored the beauty and talent that were unfolding on the screen for audiences.

Naturally, putting all this together and making it work, you have to give credit to Robert Rodriguez.  Able to craft a small story on a little budget, he was then offered a big budget ( a few million ) but made Desperado look like a 50 million dollar Hollywood blockbuster.  Check out the director's commentary track to see how he did it, it's a very good listen!

Otherwise, buckle up and enjoy the action adventure tale, and realize it's a very cool snapshot in cinema history as literally some cinematic stars were born right before our eyes.

After seeing Desperado, I was sold on all three talents.  While I haven't seen every movie that all of them have worked on since that point, I've seen a good majority.  Over 20 years later, Banderas and Hayek would smolder on the screen again with their chemistry.

The movie?

Puss in Boots.

Yep, the magic was still there, for a whole new generation of fans! : )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 75 ~ Happy Gilmore

It was only a matter of time, really.

With the array of stars that have graced this countdown so far, you knew Adam Sandler had to make the list, right?

And here he is, in possibly his greatest role, ever.  Yes, it was hard to choose between the Holy Trinity of Sandler movies (Waterboy and Billy Madison making up the others) but ultimately, Happy Gilmore wins out.

Whenever I hear people say they don't find Sandler to be funny, or they hate his movies, I figure they've never seen Happy Gilmore, or they have no sense of humor whatsoever.  Either way, like politics and religion, I'm not here to change anyone's mind, just presenting my opinion and moving along.

So what makes Happy Gilmore so great in the annals of cinema history?

Could it be the fish out of water story of a hockey player who turns to golf?

That certainly helps. 

Personally, as I mentioned in a previous review, a hero is only as good as his villain.  And that's why Gilmore makes the cut over the other 2 titles.

Shooter McGavin!

How can you not love to hate that creep?  Christopher McDonald owns the role and played the perfect foil to Sandler.

However, if that wasn't enough, you have the throwdown between Sandler and Bob Barker, which is pure cinematic gold.