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  October '08

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  Forget Sarah

By Aaron 4/22/2008

Peter Bretter (Jason Segal) is a lazy music composer whose only work is on his girlfriend Sarah Marshall’s (Kristen Bell) crime-drama TV show. Peter’s whole life revolves around his music, and Sarah – but mostly Sarah. So his life goes into crisis mode when Sarah unexpectedly dumps him and tells him there’s someone else. Completely devastated and unable to function, Peter decided to go on vacation to escape all the things that remind him of Sarah – only to run into her and her new boyfriend at the same Hawaiian resort. The only thing keeping Peter from ending himself is the cute girl, Rachel (Mila Kunis), from the front desk who saves him from some embarrassing Sarah situations. As much as Apatow productions are supposed to be “original” and “push the envelope” you can guess most of the rest of the typical rom-com fare: having to choose which girl he wants to end up with, the usual screw up with the one he wants and the protracted win-her-back effort and of course the happy ending.

Brett wrote an interesting piece earlier about this movie in relation to Knocked Up. One of the things he said is that he likes the actors in this movie more. After seeing the movie I have to agree. Jason Segal was surprisingly good, and showed a larger comedic range than Seth Rogen. Kristin Bell was pretty good too and I absolutely LOVED Mila Kunis (who has to make a LOT more movies). And when it comes down to it, everyone knows Heigl’s a bitch now after she whined about the production experience.

The movie also had a few things Knocked Up didn’t. One of those was the movie’s use of flashbacks, something Apatow had not explored yet. These weren’t the clichéd flashbacks of any genre but were mostly used in limited instances to see inside characters’ memories. Not only were these funny, but also they helped contextualize and confirm a lot of things. The movie also had a bunch of characters that were really funny. Jonah Hill, Davon McDonald, Paul Rudd, and Taylor Willy all played resort staff who were good and pretty funny. Having multiple people who were funny made the movie a lot more sustainable – it didn’t have to go to Seth Rogen for laughs or count on Paul Rudd to lighten things up. People are funny – usually there isn’t just ONE funny person a la Jim Carrey/Adam Sandler movies. In particular, Russell Brand, who played the rock star Sarah leaves Peter for, was HILLARIOUS. A scene-stealer unlike one I have seen since Philip Seymour Hoffman robbed Ben Stiller blind of all the laughs in Along Came Polley. Every scene Brand was in was better because of him – he NAILED his role.

At the same time this leads into some of my criticisms. When I was on the bus today I was thinking, why aren’t women ever funny in comedies? With the exception of VERY FEW films, women rarely get to make the jokes. That is one of the reasons I’m looking forward to Baby Mama – because Fey and Poehler will be the comedic focal points. In a movie like this, it would seem the movie could have made Mila Kunis’ character a lot funnier – and based on what I have seen of That 70’s Show, she has the skills.

Another criticism was that Sarah wasn’t made to be as hateful as she should have. Despite the fact that she was cheating on him, dumped him for someone else, and generally broke his heart, the movie actually makes pains to show that it wasn’t Sarah’s fault. Why this happened was unclear, but when it comes the classic rom-com showdown of which character the male lead chooses in the end, it made it a little more difficult. But not enough so that it was a positive – i.e. there was actual suspense over which he would choose – rather it was just cloudy. This was particularly pronounced in the end of the second act (boy angers girl causing breakup), which seemed kind of stupid and unbelievable. The overall implication was that the third act was pretty weak – more than just the usual rom-com foregone conclusion – it was not nearly as funny or as developed as the strong second act. It made the movie feel top heavy and by the end, most of the laughs were over.

So, is Forgetting Sarah a “better movie” than Knocked Up? Probably not. Did I enjoy it more? Yes. Would I want to watch it more times than Knocked Up? Yes. Does that make sense? Probably not. So what do I think the movie is worth in SaltyStix? It was good. Seven and a half SaltyStix good.

   

Bob’s October Movie Preview

By Bob 10/2/2008

Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:

Cops, Robbers, and Blah

10) Pride and Glory: October 24th

From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.

9) Max Payne: October 17th

As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.

8) Body of Lies: October 10th

Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.

7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd

Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.

6) RocknRolla: October 10th

Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.

Movies that Intrigue Me

5) Changeling: October 24th

Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.

4) W.: October 17th

A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.

3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th

A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?

2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd

Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.

1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st

Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.

   

   


   


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