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Good Luck, Cook

By Aaron 9/20/2007

I was so excited to go to my first sneak preview that I found time to hammer out a review. I went to the preview and half expected Jessica to sit down next to me. And by expected I mean I wanted it so badly.

Good Luck Chuck was everything it was made out to be in the preview – Charlie/Chuck (Dane Cook) is a dentist who becomes the city’s It-Guy when an ex reveals Chuck is a “good luck charm” – any woman who is with him, meets their husband immediately afterwards. While at the wedding of one of his exes, Chuck falls head over heals for Cam (Jessica Alba), a penguin handler who is Murphy incarnate. Chuck thinks Cam is the one but he is afraid the good luck charm will cause him to lose her. So of course Chuck has to do all this crazy stuff that causes Cam to freak out and Chuck has to set off on a quest to find out how to shake the “good luck charm” and a way to get Cam back.

As in all romantic comedies, this movie is driven by the acting and comedic skills of the two stars. Cook is supposed to be funny, and Alba, Alba is expected to be hot. And with that, the writers throw in lots one stand up type gag humor for Cook and lots of hotness for Alba. While it is easy to make Alba look hot, it is surprisingly hard to make Cook’s humor work.

Jessica showed signs of acting growth but her performance was plagued with many more instances where I wanted to bury my head into the ground like an ostrich. But I do appreciate her realization that she cannot make comic book movies forever. She needs to realize she could carve out a niche in romantic comedies – and she does okay here at playing the klutzy Cam. She needs to watch her credibility though too. In a Rolling Stone interview a year ago she said she wanted to do movies where the script did not have the words “and she stood in the shower as water ran down her body.” She is not choosing those types of movies very well – she was in water-drenched clothes and dancing in her panties within minutes.

Dane Cook does not seem like he can pull off romantic comedy fare – at least not with any empathy or depth. The only movie I liked Cook in was Waiting, a movie where he was dominated by his doppelganger, Ryan Reynolds. Cook is kind of screwed there he seems like a broken down version of Reynolds, which is embarrassing because Cook is supposed to be the established comic. In those annoying trivia snippets you read before movies Cook makes the proclamation “I would rather do “x” than do stand up again.” That “x” thing was pretty crazy, it escapes me right now because my thoughts are more along the lines of, “you better go back to stand up.” What hurts Cook is that even his one-liners, which should be well written and delivered, are not. Cook should have it easy – he is basically a pretty boy that supposedly has Adam Sandler “skills.” But Cook makes Sandler look like De Niro.

What really hurt the movie was that it tried to throw in some drama to give the movie depth. But the dramatic parts sucked. The lines were not believable, they were delivered poorly, and they made little sense. The movie seemed to reek of all the bad ways to make an R-rated movie – excessive nudity and a foul talking friend. The characters, despite being previously unseen played stereotypical, run of the mill romantic comedy players. In this regard the movie suffered from the producers not paying any money to fill supporting roles. And forget cameos – whoever made this movie has no friends.

Speaking of the makers of this movie, what were the writers thinking? What was with Dane Cook’s friend? Why did Jessica Alba say she was not ready for an emotional relationship? Did the writers think Alba’s character would not be funny without making her a klutz?

I was pretty harsh on the movie, but it was still a lot of fun. I like seeing Jessica Alba in whatever movie she makes. And I keep thinking Dane Cook deserves “one more chance.” In that regard, all I have to say to Dane Cook is “good luck.” All in all, the movie was fun and that is about it. 5/10 SaltyStix.

   

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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