Dumplin’

Beauty isn’t always just skin-deep.

(2018) Dramedy (Netflix) Danielle MacDonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Maddie Baillio, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Luke Benward, Georgie Flores, Dove Cameron, Harold Perrineau, Kathy Najimy, Ginger Minj, Hillary Begley, Sam Pancake, Dan Finnerty, Molly McNearney, Tian Richards, Ryan Dinning, Andrew Fletcher, Oscar Gale, Ariana Guerra, Julia Denton, Kaye Singleton. Directed by Anne Fletcher

 

I have to admit, I didn’t have high hope for this Netflix film. For one thing, it’s adapted from a Young Adult novel, a genre that doesn’t exactly scream sophistication. For another thing, the plot sounded pretty pedestrian – and spoiler alert, it is.

And yet, I wound up pleasantly surprised. Danielle MacDonald (Patti Cake$) stars as Willowdean Dickson, a plus-sized gal whose mom Rosie (Aniston) was once a Miss Teen Bluebonnet back in ’91 which is where she pretty much peaked. Rosie runs that same pageant now, the oldest one in Texas. Willowdean, who she called Dumplin’ as a child (a nickname that Willowdean hates with a passion) was essentially raised by her Aunt Lucy (Begley), a fellow plus-sized gal who worships at the altar of Dolly Parton (a religion that Willowdean now shares, along with her bestest friend Ellen (Rush). But Lucy has passed away, forcing Rosie and Willowdean to have to rely on each other, which simply isn’t something they’re used to.

Fed up with feeling alienated because of her size, Willowdean decides to enter the pageant herself, despite the obvious fact that she doesn’t conform to the body type that most pageant girls tend to have. Inspired by her example, Ellen also enlists along with fellow plus-sizer Millie (Baillio) and militant punk feminist Hannah (Taylor-Klaus). The four girls intend to make a statement by virtue of being on the inside, although what exactly they expect to accomplish is a mystery, including Willowdean herself.

The movie is actually pretty warm-hearted and sweet-natured. Willowdean is aided in her subversive act by a group of Dolly Parton female impersonators; she also is dealing with the affections of teen hottie Bo (Benward) with whom Willowdean works at a local diner. It is telling, however, that there is no real villain here; even Rosie basically loves her daughter and wants the best for her. It’s just that Rosie can’t get past Willowdean’s size, nor the notion that fat people can actually be happy.

The movie works well because it takes basic teenage girl issues and tackles them head-on, handling the subject with a rare sensitivity and without taking the temptation to make Willowdean an object of ridicule. She may be full of insecurities – what teenage girl isn’t? – but at the end of the day, Willowdean was taught well by her aunt to love herself for who she is and not because of who she could potentially be.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the real highlight here is MacDonald, who in two short years became a very respected actress who rather than using her size as comic fodder, instead embraces it and allows others to embrace it with her. I’m not kidding when I say that Danielle MacDonald has the talent to become an important actress over the next couple of decades or so, so long as she steers away from movies that use her size as a weapon to heap score on the plus-sized people of the world.

REASONS TO SEE: Surprisingly effective and just offbeat enough to be interesting. MacDonald is absolutely delightful here.
REASONS TO AVOID: Has a few young adult movie tropes.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some mild profanity, body shaming and sexuality.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Although Dolly Parton herself doesn’t appear in the film, she did write and record several new songs for it.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Netflix
CRITICAL MASS: As of 5/18/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 85% positive reviews, Metacritic: 53/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Little Miss Sunshine
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: Bumblebee

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Office Christmas Party

Party on!

(2016) Holiday Comedy (Paramount) Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Kate MacKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Karan Soni, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Andrew Leeds, Oliver Cooper, Chloe Wepper, Matt Walsh, Ben Falcone, Adrian Martinez, Lynne Ashe. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

 

Holiday parties are a tradition for workers around the country. Some parties are staid and somewhat dull, others are raucous – generally in proportion to how much alcohol is consumed. Careers can be wiped out – or once in a great while – made by someone’s performance at an office Christmas party.

Josh Parker (Bateman) is the recently divorced head of I.T. at the Chicago branch office of Zenotek, a firm that manufactures data storage devices. The branch manager is Clay Vanstone (Miller), son of the founder. However Clay’s big sister Carol (Aniston) is the acting CEO who is engaging in cost-cutting measures to keep the bottom line looking sharp so the temporary position becomes permanent.

One way of cutting costs would be to close down the Chicago office which hasn’t been performing up to standards, which Carol has conveniently raised. Carol and Clay have had a sibling rivalry that goes back to childhood and Carol is taking absolute delight in shutting down Chicago, despite the fact that it was the office that their father ran. However, there is one glimmer of hope; there’s a multi-million dollar account that Clay and his IT team have been pursuing. If they can get Walter Davis (Vance), a representative of that company, to sign on the dotted line the Chicago office and all the jobs there will be saved.

Unfortunately, Walter is looking at other options and in a last-ditch effort he is invited by Clay to the office Christmas party that night, one which Carol has already canceled. However the thought is if they can show Walter a good time, he might be impressed enough with the corporate culture of Zenotek to go with them instead.

Therefore, Clay prepares for the party of the century with an ungodly amount of alcohol, a living nativity scene, an ice luge, a DJ straight out of 1997 and enough oversexed techies to fill up a bad porn film. Paranoid tech whiz Tracey (Munn) may have a program that might bring the company to the next level – assuming she gets the self-confidence to finish it – hooks up with Josh, while Nate (Soni) hires a prostitute (Lee) to pose as a supermodel girlfriend he’s been bragging about. Mary (MacKinnon) is the uptight H.R. rep who may be the party pooper – or the life of the party. And it looks like they have a real shot at getting Walter Davis to get on the right page. Still, it will take a Christmas miracle to keep the doors open in the Chicago branch.

This is essentially a raunchy ensemble sex comedy revolving around a party as the crux of the film and let’s face it; this is neither a new idea nor an uncommon one. Generally there are a couple of movies with this basic plot released every year – this one having a holiday theme to differentiate it (most of these sorts of films are set at high school graduation parties). This has a better-than-average cast which helps elevate the film above the B-movie these types of films tend to be.

Most of these types of movies can’t boast the likes of Bateman, one of the most likable actors in Hollywood. Nor can they boast the likes of Aniston, who is as versatile an actress as there is working today. With a cast that includes Miller, MacKinnon, Bell, Corddry and Park – some of the funniest comic actors in America – there is plenty of potential here and certainly from time to time the movie lives up to it.

But then again, the movie has a very pedestrian, predictable plot that leaves you feeling like somebody took a rough outline of elements cribbed from other movies and then stuck the actors in to ad-lib their own lines. That can work under the right circumstances but not here, sadly. It feels a bit tired overall, like something one has experienced time and time again without much variation. The jokes are fairly predictable and like a lot of comedies these days, thinks the farther that the raunchiness is pushed the funnier the film. I’m no prude but I need a little bit more than crude visual jokes to hit my guffaw button.

This isn’t a bad movie by any stretch, but it isn’t a particularly good movie. It’s just kinda there, and if that’s all you need, this will fit the bill. If you’re looking for something a little more daring, a little more outrageous, keep looking.

REASONS TO GO: There’s nothing particularly off-putting here.
REASONS TO STAY: There’s nothing particularly noteworthy here.
FAMILY VALUES:  Lots of sexual humor, nudity, profanity, drug use and adult themes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT:  This is the fifth film to star both Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 12/26/16: Rotten Tomatoes: 43% positive reviews. Metacritic: 42/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Project X
FINAL RATING: 5/10
NEXT: Into the Inferno

New Releases for the Week of December 9, 2016

OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY

(Paramount) Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Jamie Chung. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

The CEO of a large company wants nothing better than to close down the branch that her hard-partying screw-up of a brother manages. The Chief Technical Officer wants to save the jobs of the people there. The only way to do it is to close a big sale and the only way to do that is with a Christmas party of epic proportions.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for crude sexual content and language throughout, drug use and graphic nudity)

All We Had

(Gravitas) Katie Holmes, Stefania Owen, Richard Kind, Luke Wilson. A young mother of a teenage daughter flees yet another ill-advised boyfriend and heads out on the road. When the money runs out and the car breaks down, they are stranded in a small town where a kind-hearted diner owner gives her a waitressing job and the two find out that the world may not be as bad a place as they thought it was. Look for a review for this here on Cinema365 shortly.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

The Bounce Back

(Viva) Shemar Moore, Nadine Velazquez, Matthew Willig, Kali Hawk. A relationship expert appears on a talk show whose host is convinced he is a charlatan. Of course, you know he’s going to fall in love with her and in doing so must confront the painful truth of his past relationships.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Waterford Lakes
Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, language and brief drug use)

Frank and Lola

(Paladin) Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette. An up-and-coming chef and an aspiring fashion designer have a torrid affair. It seems to be everything he ever wanted – until a man from her past appears on the scene, calling into question everything he thinks he knows about her – and himself.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Romance
Now Playing: Premiere Fashion Square Cinemas
Rating: R (for some disturbing violence and language throughout)

Manchester by the Sea

(Roadside Attractions/Amazon) Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler. A janitor living in Boston is shocked to discover that he has been named guardian of his teenage nephew after his older brother dies. Moving to his hometown – a quaint New England fishing village – his life is transformed by the experience.

See the trailer, clips and a featurette here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for language throughout and some sexual content)

Miss Sloane

(EuropaCorp) Jessica Chastain, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow, Allison Pill.  Elizabeth Sloane is one of the most formidable and successful lobbyists in Washington. She is known for doing whatever it takes to win but when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she must choose whether winning is worth the price she must pay for it.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for language and some sexuality)

Storks

For those who wonder how babies are made, here’s your answer.

(2016) Animated Feature (Warner Brothers) Starring the voices of Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Anton Starkman, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Danny Trejo, Stephen Kramer Glickman, Chris Smith, Awkwafina, Ike Barinholtz, Jorma Taccone, Amanda Lund. Directed by Doug Sweetland and Nicholas Stoller

 

In a cutthroat commercial world, one must adapt to survive. Nobody knows that better than the storks, who at one time delivered babies exclusively. However, as satisfying as that job was, it wasn’t very lucrative. Now they toil for Cornerstore, a dot com shopping site that bears a sneaky resemblance to Amazon. Less baby poop to clean up, too.

Junior (Samberg) is the best courier in all of stork-dom. He has earned the attention of Hunter (Grammer), the boss stork who is looking for someone to succeed him. Junior seems the most likely candidate. All in all, Junior’s life is going exactly the way he wants.

Not so for Nate Gardner (Starkman), a little boy who is bored and lonely. His Mom (Aniston) and Dad (Burrell) are both completely involved in their real estate business with little time for their son. He desperately wants a sibling to fill his time, preferably one with ninja skills. As a result, he sends a letter to the Storks hoping to get a new baby brother.

Junior gets his first assignment as Hunter’s protégé; he is to fire Tulip (Crown), a human girl (the only human on Stork Mountain) whose delivery to her parents was messed up by the psychotic stork Jasper (Trejo) so she has been trying to earn her keep for the storks, except that she’s something of a klutz. Hunter has had enough of her, but the tender-hearted Junior exiles her to the “mail room” where letters requesting babies are essentially warehoused, as the storks don’t answer those any longer. Of course, Tulip being Tulip, she accidentally activates the baby-making machine with a single letter – the one Nate Gardner sent.

Now there’s a baby to be delivered and Junior realizes that it must be done quietly or his career is history. So he and Tulip set off to get the rugrat delivered, while Nate prepares his house for the new arrival and the deliverers are chased by a pack of very limber wolves (don’t ask) and when Hunter finds out from Pigeon Toady (Glickman), a real stool pigeon, things are going to get even more complicated.

The tone here skews towards the whimsical, with occasional moments that recall the Looney Tunes which are part of the Warner Animation Group’s DNA. The Rube Goldberg-esque baby making machine is fun to watch in action and the Wolves who turn themselves into submarines and motorcycles (among other things) are also pretty clever.

That said the movie also goes for the Disney points by getting the family bonding thing going between Nate and his parents and setting Tulip up to find her “birth” parents. Kids today are also a lot more sophisticated; while they may not necessarily know how babies are born, they certainly know that storks don’t bring ‘em. In that sense, the story is a bit antiquated.

The voice casting is top of the line, and one must give the producers kudos for including both Key and Peele in the cast; they work as well together here as they do on their hit Comedy Central show, albeit with less scintillating material. In fact, things pretty much go the non-subversive route, although the anti-corporate tinge here might infuriate your average Trump supporter.

In any case, this is pretty lightweight material that will keep your kids occupied and likely not rile you up too much unless, of course, you tend towards the heavy capitalist philosophy of life. Chances are you’ll be drifting off with far better movies on your mind while you watch this bit of fluff with your kids.

REASONS TO GO: Plenty of whimsy displayed throughout the movie.
REASONS TO STAY: Plenty of cliches displayed throughout the movie.
FAMILY VALUES:  There are some thematic elements and some kid-friendly action sequences.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT:  The Ty Burrell character is a real estate agent; Burrell also plays a real estate agent in his TV series Modern Family.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 10/23/16: Rotten Tomatoes: 64% positive reviews. Metacritic: 56/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Arthur Christmas
FINAL RATING: 5/10
NEXT: Stray

New Releases for the Week of September 23, 2016

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

(MGM/Columbia) Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard, Luke Grimes, Matt Bomer. Directed by Antoine Fuqua

A desperate border town overrun by a savage businessman and his army of mercenaries reaches out to a bounty hunter for help. He recruits a group of seven outsiders who are willing to take the job. The odds are overwhelmingly against them but this small group finds that they are fighting for a lot more than a paycheck. This is a remake of a classic which in turn was a remake of a classic.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Western
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for extended and intense sequences of Western violence, and for historical smoking, some language and suggestive material)

End of a Gun

(Grindstone/Lionsgate) Steven Seagal, Florin Piersic Jr., Jade Ewen, Jacob Grodnik. A former federal agent, now working as a mall security guard, rescues a woman from the wrath of a drug lord’s enforcer. Now he’s going to have to call upon all his skills to keep the two of them alive. However, seeing as it’s Steven Seagal, I think we can safely say the enforcer’s days are numbered.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Action
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: R (for violence, language and brief sexuality)

The Hollars

(Sony Classics) Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley, Richard Perkins, John Krasinski. A struggling New York artist returns home to the small town he’d fled years before when he receives word of his mother’s illness. Staying in the house he grew up in, he is forced to deal with his family’s dysfunctional drama, the machinations of a high school rival and the seductions of a former girlfriend even as he prepares for fatherhood himself, a job he feels woefully unsuited for.

See the trailer and clips here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Dramedy
Now Playing: AMC Disney Springs, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: PG-13 (for brief language and some thematic material)

I.T.

(RLJ) Pierce Brosnan, James Frecheville, Anna Friel, Stefanie Scott. The CEO of an aerospace company would have every right to feel on top of the world. After all, his company is about to revolutionize what airplanes are all about, he has an adoring family and lives in a state-of-the-art smart house where everything is computer-controlled. When a glitch shows up in his system, he calls an I.T. guy out to take a look at it and gets a lot more than he bargained for – a psychotic stalker.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: NR

Max Rose

(Paladin) Jerry Lewis, Kerry Bishé, Kevin Pollack, Claire Bloom. Days before his wife of 65 years passes away, jazz pianist Max Rose makes a discovery that shakes his world to its foundation; his marriage and consequently his entire life may not be what he thought it was. Dogged and determined, even as his own health requires his children to put him into a nursing facility, he determines to find out who may have been his wife’s lover.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: NR

Storks

(Warner Brothers) Starring the voices of Andy Samberg, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell.  We all know how babies are delivered, right? Yup…via stork. But that business has long been unprofitable and the storks have wisely gone into the more lucrative package delivery biz. However, the baby making machine has unaccountably produced an unaccounted for baby. Needing to find the rightful parents before the powers that be discover the snafu, the best courier in the stork fleet and a couple of friends try to right what could be a monumental error.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for mild action and some thematic elements)

New Releases for the Week of January 23, 2015

THE BOY NEXT DOOR

(Universal) Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, Ian Nelson, John Corbett, Kristin Chenoweth, Lexi Atkins, Hill Harper, Jack Wallace, Adam Hicks. Directed by Rob Cohen

A high school teacher whose husband has recently walked out on her and her teenage son welcomes a new addition to the neighbor – a young teenage boy who becomes fast friends with her own son and takes an unhealthy interest in her. At first she is flattered by the attention; she’s just a little bit lonely and has been feeling under-appreciated as a woman for some time. But when things go too far and her husband moves to reconcile, the new neighbor won’t take no for an answer and he already has a few bodies buried to his credit.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard (opens Thursday)
Genre: Thriller
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for violence, sexual content/nudity and language)

A Most Violent Year

(A24) Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks. 1981 would be the worst year on record for violent crime in New York City. An immigrant looking to provide for his family enters a slippery slope of moral compromises and dangerous decisions. When violence threatens his business, an investigation further details the corruption that is rampant in his industry and in his business. His next decisions will define who he is as a man – and possibly put his wife and children gravely at risk.

See the trailer, clips and featurettes here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard
Genre: Crime Drama
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for language and some violence)

Cake

(Cinelou) Jennifer Aniston, Sam Worthington, Anna Kendrick, William H. Macy. A woman in chronic pain takes out her anger, frustration and rage on everyone around her, including those unfortunate enough to cross paths with her. When another woman in her support group commits suicide, she finds herself obsessed with the woman’s husband and son, inserting herself into their lives and maybe finding what she needs to move on with her life. Aniston received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance here.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard (opens Thursday)
Genre: Drama
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for language, substance abuse and brief sexuality)

Manny

(Gravitas) Manny Pacquiao, Liam Neeson, Mark Wahlberg, Jimmy Kimmel. Manny Pacquiao may well be the most popular boxer in the world and one of the all-time greats. He is revered as a national hero in his native Philippines where life comes to a screeching halt every time he fights. From inconceivable poverty to the height of the sports world, his life story could only have been invented by Hollywood – if it wasn’t already true.

See the trailer and a clip here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: AMC Loew’s Universal Cineplex
Rating: PG-13 (for some sports violence/bloody images)

Mortdecai

(Lionsgate) Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewen McGregor, Paul Bettany. An English noble, art dealer, scoundrel, rake and dilettante named Mortdecai is quietly – or not so quietly – heading into bankruptcy and scandal when a member of MI-5 approaches him to assist with a stolen painting which will be used to fund international terrorism. With his jaw-dropping beautiful wife, his ever-suffering manservant with him and an array of Russian mobsters, terrorists and assassins against him, Mortdecai will try to save his dignity – and maybe save the day in the process.

See the trailer, clips, interviews, promos and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard
Genre: Action Comedy
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: R (for some language and sexual material)

Strange Magic

(Touchstone) Starring the voices of Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina, Maya Rudolph. Deep in the woods, creatures of myth battle for a magic potion and for the hearts of true love in a story inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream and with a soundtrack of popular music from the last six decades. From the studios of Lucasfilm, Ltd. and with the aid of Industrial Light and Magic comes this enchanting family film that arrives with almost no fanfare.

See the trailer, interviews, clips and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard (opens Thursday)
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG (for some action and scary images)

Horrible Bosses 2

The cast of Horrible Bosses 2, sneakin’ around,

(2014) Comedy (New Line) Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Chris Pine, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Christoph Waltz, Jonathan Banks, Lindsay Sloane, Keegan-Michael Key, Kelly Stables, Jerry Lambert, Sam Richardson, Brianne Howey, Lidia Porto, Jaye Razor, Lennon Parham, Alyssa Preston, Suzy Nakamura, Keeley Hazell. Directed by Sean Anders

I have to admit that I have a fondness for movies set in the workplace. We can all relate to those – the tedious drudgery, the office politics and of course the horrible bosses.

The makers of this film brought that to sharp focus with Horrible Bosses, a 2011 movie that I found seriously funny as three Joe Schmoes with psychotic employers plot to get out of the situation the only way they know how – by killing their bosses. Of course, they know nothing about how to do this so they ask an expert.

Two years later they are going into business for themselves. Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) have come up with a new product that is sure to be a big hit – the Shower Buddy, a kind of car wash for people that automatically sprays shampoo and conditioner into your hair and then rinses. I know there are people out there thinking right now “Say, that’s a good idea…” It plays to the laziness of the American consumer which is never a bad idea.

They bring it to Rex Hanson (Pine), the son of billionaire marketer Bert Hanson (Waltz). What they don’t realize that they are a trio of guppies swimming among sharks. It doesn’t take them long to take their best-laid plans and see them ground into the dust. With bankruptcy and scandal looming, they come up with another loony tunes idea – to kidnap Rex and use the ransom to save their company. Their old buddy Mofo Jones (Foxx) thinks it’s a sweet deal.

That’s all well and good but they haven’t taken a few things into account; one, Rex is basically psychotic. Second, they’re still swimming around in a pool full of sharks. Lastly, they’re essentially morons. Predictably they end up going from the frying pan into the proverbial fire.

And predictable is the word of the moment here. Many of the jokes are rehashes of things that went on in the first movie. That’s never a good sign, especially when the first movie was more successful when it was edgy while this one seems more geared to play it safe. I’ve read elsewhere that the original intent for the sequel was to have Nick, Kurt and Dale finally move into managerial positions and all three of them have employees who get fed up with their antics and plot to off them. The studio chickened out on that concept but I think it would have made for a much better movie.

The chemistry between Sudeikis, Bateman and Day isn’t marvelous but it’s workable. While a lot of critics are enamored of Day and his style, I find his voice to be whiny and irritating. Sometimes people just get on your nerves for no particular reason. Looking as objectively as I can, I can’t fault his performance and I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushed through to bigger and better things. Bateman, the master of comic exasperation, plays to his strengths and Sudeikis, who co-starred with Aniston last year in We’re the Millers, continues to build up to being one of the leading comic actors in Hollywood.

The support crew is pretty good, and Pine comes in like a bull in a china shop which in this case is a good thing. Pine, who has primarily done more action-oriented roles, has decent comic timing and I think that roles like this will mark him as a more versatile actor, opening up more doors for him than were previously available. Sadly, Waltz – one of my favorite actors over the past five years or so – is completely wasted in a part that he really looks uncomfortable in. Pity, that.

The movie isn’t nearly as manic or as well-paced as its predecessor. It just feels more leaden, less like the actors are having a good time and more that they’re punching a clock. It’s not that Horrible Bosses 2 is that bad – it really isn’t – it’s just that it’s not that good either. I don’t really advise you to go see it. If you do, chances are it will be forgotten ten minutes after you leave the theater and if that’s what you’re going for, then get yourself a ticket. If you want something a little more memorable, move along.

REASONS TO GO: Some decent individual performances. A few really funny bits.
REASONS TO STAY: Lacks the energy of the first film. Recycles too many jokes from Horrible Bosses.
FAMILY VALUES: Lots of overt and suggestive sexual material, a whole lot of profanity and a couple of scenes of violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: In a scene in the Nick & Kurt & Dale office, one can see a schematic of the Shower Buddy which is shaped like the U.S.S. Enterprise; that was done to honor Chris Pine who plays Captain Kirk in the reboot of Star Trek.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 12/16/14: Rotten Tomatoes: 34% positive reviews. Metacritic: 40/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Bad Teacher
FINAL RATING: 5/10
NEXT: The Babadook

New Releases for the Week of November 28, 2014

THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR

(DreamWorks) Starring the voices of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Conrad Vernon, John Malkovich, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong. Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon Smith

The most lovable and covert penguins in Madagascar now get a turn at their very own movie after a successful TV series and of course appearances in the Madagascar movies. Here they join forces with an elite spy network to take on Dr. Octavius Brine who intends to reshape the world to fit his own nefarious plans. Not on their watch, right Kowalski?

See the trailer, clips, interviews, premiere footage and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard, 3D, IMAX 3D (opened Wednesday)
Genre: Animated Feature
Now Playing: Wide release
Rating: PG (for mild action and some rude humor)

CITIZENFOUR

(Radius) Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, Julian Assange, Laura Poitras. One of the greatest whistleblowers of all time is Edward Snowden, who brought the story of the NSA and their spying on their own people and on the governments of friendly nations to light. But how did he do it? This documentary was made by the people who were intimately involved in Snowden’s actions. Should make for interesting viewing whether you regard Snowden as a hero or a traitor.

See the trailer here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard
Genre: Documentary
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for language)

Horrible Bosses 2

(New Line) Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Anniston. Having vanquished their terrible employers, the three ne’er-do-wells from the first movie decide to go into business for themselves. However when their business is literally stolen away from under them by a ruthless businessman, they concoct a scheme to kidnap the businessman’s son to force him to give them their business back but as you can imagine, it goes about as well as their criminal activities from the first movie did.

See the trailer, clips, interviews and B-roll video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release formats: Standard (opened Wednesday)
Genre: Comedy
Now Playing: Wide release.
Rating: R (for strong sexual content and language throughout)

We’re the Millers

The cast gets their first look at the finished film.

(2013) Comedy (New Line) Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Molly Quinn, Tomer Sisley, Matthew Willig, Luis Guzman, Thomas Lennon, Mark L. Young, Ken Marino, Laura-Leigh, Crystal Nichol, Dickson Obahor, Brett Gentile, Kelly Lintz, J. Lynn Talley, Deborah Chavez. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

What could be more middle America than a road trip vacation with the whole fam damily in the ol’ RV? Nobody is going to take a second look at one of those, not even George Zimmerman even if the entire family is wearing hoodies and munching on Skittles.

David Clark (Sudeikis) is a low level drug dealer; he has a certain moral compass (he doesn’t ever deal to kids, even 18-year-olds) and is part of the neighborhood fabric, making deliveries like the milk man used to. He lives in an apartment building where his neighbors include the dorky latchkey kid Kenny (Poulter) and the grouchy stripper Rose (Aniston).

When David gets robbed of all his cash, he knows he’s in deep to his supplier, Brad (Helms). However, Brad gives David an assignment; go to Mexico, pick up “a smidge and a half” of weed, and bring it back to Denver and not only will the debt be forgiven but he’ll get the standard courier rate of $100K. David isn’t exactly leaping at the opportunity to be a drug smuggler with potential federal ramifications but he doesn’t have much of a choice.

He’s a bit worried on how exactly to go about it when he hits the idea of the family RV road trip. Nobody at the border will give him a second look, particularly if he clean up and shaves. However, David is single so he’ll have to rent a family. Kenny is all in, and David convinces a street urchin named Casey (Roberts) to be the daughter. That leaves mom.

David approaches Rose but she – having an ingrained distrust of drug dealers to begin with – isn’t having it. However her finances are, shall we say, in crisis so reluctantly she agrees to get on board. And of course, we know this isn’t going to be a trip one is going to show home movies of afterwards.

As with most R-rated comedies these days there’s a fair amount of raunchiness although surprisingly less than you might expect. There’s plenty of drug humor although not so much of the Cheech and Chong variety; this is a stoner film where nobody gets stoned. Then again, it really isn’t about the marijuana.

Aniston plays very much against type; ever the girl next door, she does one scene where she delivers a pretty hot strip tease (down to her undies – sorry pervs) and she’s not so much brassy as she is grumpy, but she is definitely the star attraction here. Sudeikis meshes well with her, maybe as well as any actor since David Schwimmer, and plays against his usual nice guy type as well.

Hahn and Offerman are hysterical as a straight-laced couple also on an RV adventure who aren’t as straight-laced as they might lead you to believe; Offerman’s career in particular is really taking off and I suspect it won’t be long before he’s headlining some big flicks of his own.

There are some really wicked bits here, including a girl-on-girl action scene, one in which Kenny is taught how to properly kiss a girl, and an adverse reaction to a spider bite. A lot of the humor has to do with taboo sex and those whose values are a bit straight-laced might be offended – of course not many of those will be lining up to see a comedy about drug smuggling I would think

I didn’t have particularly high hopes for the film – the comedies this summer have been a pretty dismal lot in general and I suspected that the funniest bits of the movie might well be in the trailer but that doesn’t turn out to be the case (although the trailer hints at them). While the ending is a bit predictable, the cast – particularly the core family cast – get on so well that you feel a genuine affection for the lot of them by the film’s end and do stay for the credit roll outtakes; one of the funniest moments in a movie I’ve seen all summer can be found there.

We’re the Millers is one of those summer movies that the expectations are pretty low for and manages to exceed them. In a summer where most movies haven’t met the expectations set for them, mild or not, it’s a breath of fresh air. Well, maybe Detroit-smelling air. Not really fresh mountain air. You smell what I’m cooking.

REASONS TO GO: Laugh out loud funny. Nice chemistry between Sudeikis and Aniston. Offerman and Hahn nearly steal the show.

REASONS TO STAY: Those who don’t like drug humor might take offense. Pushes the taboo sex angle a bit hard.

FAMILY VALUES:  Oh, where to begin? A ton of foul language, plenty of drug humor, a ton of sexual references and one scene of brief but unforgettable nudity (as in you can’t un-see it once you’ve seen it).

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Poulter stayed up all night listening to TLC’s ”Waterfalls” in order to learn the rap portion properly for shooting the following day.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 8/27/13: Rotten Tomatoes: 47% positive reviews. Metacritic: 44/100

COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Pineapple Express

FINAL RATING: 6.5/10

NEXT: Life, Above All

New Releases for the Week of August 9, 2013

ELYSIUM

(TriStar) Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, Brandon Auret, Josh Blacker, Emma Tremblay. Directed by Neil Blomkamp

In the future, the haves have left the building and moved to a snazzy new space station in Earth orbit where disease, hunger and want are unknown. The have-nots i.e. us are left to make due on a resource-depleted Earth where every day is a struggle for survival and all of our earth benefits those living above. One desperate man will risk everything to make it up to Elysium; hanging in the balance is not only his life but the lives of millions.

See the trailer, clips, featurettes and a promo here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard, IMAX (Opens Thursday)

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: R (for strong bloody violence and language throughout)

Chennai Express

(UTV) Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Rajnikanth. A grieving young man carrying his father’s ashes to scatter on a sacred river meets a lively young girl on the train journey south. He meets her eccentric family and falls deeply in love with her despite a language barrier. They will take a romantic journey that will showcase the beauty and liveliness of the land and people of South India.

See the trailer here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Bollywood

Rating: NR

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

(20th Century Fox) Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Nathan Fillion. When their home and sanctuary comes under brutal attack, the only thing that can save the demigods is the legendary Golden Fleece. However, the artifact rests in the Sea of Monsters – what we humans call the Bermuda Triangle – and is guarded by some pretty tough customers.

See the trailer and a clip here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard (opened Tuesday)

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: PG (for some rude humor and action)

Planes

(Disney) Starring the voices of Dane Cook, Teri Hatcher, John Cleese, Brad Garrett. A crop duster dreams of racing glory. Didn’t we just see this same story with a snail dreaming of winning the Indy 500? Just sayin’… 

See the trailer, a promo and a featurette here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard, 3D (opens Thursday)

Genre: Animated Feature

Rating: PG (for some mild action and rude humor) 

We’re the Millers

(New Line) Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms. A mild-mannered pot dealer get into deep debt with his supplier who in turn promises to wipe out his debt if he will go to Mexico and bring in a shipment of product. Knowing he’ll never get over the boarder without being searched himself, he enlists a stripper, a street punk and a nerd from his apartment building to pose as his family, thinking nobody will give them a second glance. Turns out that it’s a lot easier said than done.

See the trailer and a clip here.

For more on the movie this is the website.

Release formats: Standard

Genre: Comedy

Rating: R (for crude sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and brief graphic nudity)