Movie Review Mad Money

Mad Money (2008) 

Directed by Callie Khourie 

Written by Glenn Gers 

Starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Stephen Root

Release Date January 18th, 2008 

Published January 18th, 2008 

For all her grace, style and class Diane Keaton certainly has poor taste in comedy. Her last picture was the vociferously awful Because I Said So a comedy so witless as to disprove the theory that young Mandy Moore had a bright future in this business. Prior to that Ms. Keaton demeaned herself as the dying cancer ridden matriarch of The Family Stone, a film that proved no matter how many well known actors and actresses you cram into one scene you can't make a bad script good. Now Ms. Keaton demeans herself further with what arguably should have been her first direct to DVD feature Mad Money. This alleged comedy about a down on her luck upper class housewife forced to take a job as a Janitor at the federal reserve where she plots a heist with two stereotypical co-workers is yet another low in the ever devolving career of the woman who once played muse to Woody Allen's finest work.

Mad Money stars Diane Keaton as Bridget, the wife of a wealthy investment banker (Ted Danson, also slumming) who suddenly finds himself out of a job. With their upper class lifestyle on the wane and buzzard neighbors circling their home at the stench of financial death, Bridget forces herself to take a job. Having never worked a day in her life the only work she is qualified for is janitorial. She finds a gig cleaning toilets and taking out the trash at the federal reserve, the place that prints the country's cash. Did you know they destroy the old cash there as well?

Bridget did not know that but once she finds out she hatches a complex plot to steal the cash that would otherwise have been destroyed. She can't do it on her own however, and what luck, the woman in charge of the cash destroying machine (Queen Latifah) happens to be a struggling single mom desperate to get her children out of the 'hood'. She alone is not accomplice enough. They need one more insider and find the help they need in a hippie chick (Katie Holmes) who transports the to be destroyed dollars from one part of the building to the other.

The 'complex' plan involves locks and trash cans... and that's about it. Not much to think about. Director Callie Khouri likely did not want to confuse the film's core constituency of low watt bulbs. The fan base for a film like Mad Money had best not be too bright otherwise they would be watching a better movie. The trailers and commercials have told you already exactly what I have told you, without the witty, cynical banter, obviously. Do our conspirators get caught? What do the respective placeholders who portray their love interests think of this stealing operation?

None of that seems to matter to Khouri or her cast who are more interested in looking cute and reveling in their girl power faux feminism than in actually crafting something that might involve an audience. Mad Money is yet another dismal effort from Diane Keaton whose lack of discernment is becoming a career hallmark dating back to the dreadful First Wives Club and only getting worse from there.

Movie Review Pieces of April

Pieces of April (2003) 

Directed Peter Hedges 

Written by Peter Hedges 

Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Isaiah Whitlock, Allison Pill 

Release Date October 17th, 2003 

Published October 24th, 2003 

It's been a terrific year for first time directors. Artists such as Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas) made their debuts in exciting and memorable fashion. The same can be said of Peter Hedges whose debut feature Pieces of April is a guerrilla-style DV feature made with the catering budget from one days shooting on The Matrix. A visually unspectacular character piece that works because of a smart script and the acid tongue acting of Patricia Clarkson.

The title character is April Burns (Katie Holmes), the black sheep of her upstate New York family who ran away at an early age to New York City and has never looked back. After years of aimless drifting and a tenuous relationship with her family, April is finally in a stable enough situation to reconnect. With the help of her new boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke), April has invited the family to her tiny apartment for Thanksgiving.

April's family isn't all that excited about the holiday excursion to the big city. Joy Burns (Clarkson) has little interest in reconciling with her oldest daughter of whom she claims to have no positive memories. Youngest daughter Beth (Allison Pill) can't stop complaining about the trip, her and April are far apart in years and have had no contact since April left. Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.), April's little brother, has little interest in anything outside the purview of his camera and the haze of pot smoke. April's dad Jim (Oliver Platt) is the only one in the family who has maintained any contact with April. Agreeing to go to April's for Thanksgiving seems to be entirely his effort and he holds the trip together over the loud protest of his kids and the biting wit of Joy.

There is far more to this story than a daughter trying to reconnect with her family. The impetus for the attempted reconciliation is revealed in an episodic way with a little bit of information leaked out as the focus shifts back and forth from the family road trip to April's failing attempts at cooking, including some especially humorous encounters with her neighbors. With a busted oven, April is forced to run from door to door, soliciting help from anyone who will listen. 

Finally April is aided by an African-American couple, Evette (Lillias White) and Eugene (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), who take their cooking far more seriously than April. Also helping, in a way, is Wayne (Sean Hayes) who allows April to use his oven when Evette and Eugene need to use their own for their dinner. Wayne turns out to be way too weird and flaky and April is finally helped by an elderly Asian family who don't speak English but luckily have a visiting family member who does. April's aborted attempts to explain Thanksgiving to them are funny and a few of Holmes's best scenes.

Patricia Clarkson's much praised performance is unquestionably the film’s centerpiece. Her ascorbic wit and spitefulness is explained by the fact that Joy is dying of breast cancer and that this will very likely be her last Thanksgiving. The last thing she wants to do is spend it with the daughter who has been such a painful disappointment, especially since the dinner will more than likely be another disaster to add to the list. Clarkson's performance is painful to watch as she says horrible things about April who does not deserve most of the jibes. We are forced to forgive Joy her mean spirit because she is dying and we do but it makes her jabs at April and her attitude towards all of her family all the more disheartening.

Director Peter Hedges, who received a much deserved Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay for About A Boy, writes a story sketch for Pieces of April and then turns loose his terrific group of actors to make something of it. With a seemingly bare bones sketch of dialogue, the actors make some obvious improvisations that make the film feel real.

That effect is also brought out by the handheld DV camera and minimalist locations. The minimal lighting, ambient soundtrack, and miniscule budget are straight out of the Dogme 95 movement. While it's not nearly as accomplished as anything by Lars Von Trier and his Dogme crew, Pieces of April invokes a sort of Americanized version of Dogme. It incorporates the realities of American filmmaking that simply won't allow a filmmaker to follow the rigid Dogme rules.

Pieces of April is in spirit a Dogme film and the attempt to subvert the usual Hollywood style of filmmaking is a welcome sight. The film is also an affecting, funny family drama with terrific acting and writing that marks a terrific directorial debut for Peter Hedges. I hope that he will continue to be as interesting with a film that has a budget bigger than the cost of Peter Jackson's morning latte.

Movie Review Phone Booth

Phone Booth (2003) 

Directed by Joel Schumacher 

Written by Larry Cohen 

Starring Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Katie Holmes, Forrest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell 

Release Date April 4th, 2003 

Published April 3rd, 2003 

Like many fans of the D.C Comics Superhero Batman I have harbored a good deal of resentment toward Director Joel Schumacher for screwing up the Batman movies. However, whether I've become more mature or Schumacher's films have gotten better, that resentment has lessened. As Bat nipples and bat credit cards recede into the past, I find myself not liking Schumacher's take on the blockbuster franchise, but also not caring nearly as much as I once did about Schumacher having made a bad Batman movie. 

Since his Batman debacle Schumacher has done good work. Schumacher's work on Tigerland, for instance, was astonishingly low-tech yet very artful as the director coaxed a star turn out of then unknown actor Colin Farrell. Now with Schumacher's return to the big budget Hollywood machine, he brings Farrell with him in the minimalist action pic Phone Booth. I find myself once again appreciating the artistry of the man who killed Batman.

In Phone Booth, Colin Farrell is shady public relations guy Stu Shepard. Though Stu is married to Kelly, played by Radha Mitchell, he is also romancing a young starlet named Pam, played by Katie Holmes. When Stu decides to use a payphone booth to call Pam rather than one of his three cell phones, he finds himself the target of a crazed assassin (Kiefer Sutherland's voice). If Stu leaves the booth, he will be shot.

Stu's situation is complicated by a group of prostitutes who want the phone booth and are becoming increasingly more agitated. When the prostitutes get a male friend to try and remove Stu from the booth the assassin shoots the guy and Stu is blamed. As cops arrive, led by Forest Whitaker as the police negotiator, so do the media as well as Stu's wife and girlfriend.

This is quite a daring setup and the execution is flawless. When writer Larry Cohen pitched this story he had to have been met with a number of blank stares. So it comes as no surprise that he's been pitching the story for nearly 20 years. It wasn't until Joel Schumacher signed on that studios began to get interested in this challenging premise. Schumacher's involvement brought some interest from big name stars such as Jim Carrey and Will Smith but it's Farrell (admittedly the cheaper alternative to Carrey and Smith's $20 Million dollar price tags), who took the role and proved to be the perfect choice.

Farrell brings just the right combination of smarm and charm to the role of Stu. Farrel recalls a young Al Pacino, with his sweaty, passionate and energetic performance. Farrell melts down like a pro. As Stu slowly melts from cocky confident defiance to contrite good guy, Farrell never panders to the audience, never begs to be liked. Farrell remains true to the character’s nature, attempting to lie and negotiate his way out all the way to the end, always looking for an angle. 

The real star of Phone Booth however is Joel Schumacher, who's sweeping camera ratchets up the tension from beginning to end. Schumacher does a first rate Hitchcock impression taking this difficult premise and wringing every last bit of tension from it. Using the same real time approach that Hitchcock employed in Rope, Schumacher uses dialogue and stellar camerawork to keep the audience constantly off balance and on the edge of their seat.

Recently Joel Schumacher admitted that he screwed up Batman. That admission and a few more excellent films like Tigerland and Phone Booth and maybe I can forgive him. Of course, there is still 8MM to apologize for but let's leave that for another day. -

Movie Review: Year One

Year One (2009) 

Directed by Harold Ramis

Written by Gene Stupnitsky, Harold Ramis, Lee Eisenberg

Starring Jack Black, Michael Cera, Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt, David Cross

Release Date June 19th, 2009 

Published June 18th, 2009  

It's a nice idea. Get a bunch of funny people together; throw on some funny costumes, make some references to the bible and wait for one the talented performers to say something funny. That is the basic idea of Year One. Throw Jack Black and Michael Cera together with a large group of funny people like Bill Hader, Hank Azaria, David Cross and Paul Rudd and assume something funny will happen. Occasionally something funny does happen. More often however, a premise for a satiric scene is set and everyone stumbles about searching desperately for a punchline.

Jack Black stars in Year One as Zed a wannabe hunter. He stinks at it and the other hunters hate him. Unfortunately for Zed, he stinks at being a gatherer as well and those are really the only jobs in the caveman world. Zed's best friend is Oh played by Michael Cera. Oh is an expert gatherer but pines for a girl who only dates hunters. When he tries to go all caveman on her and drag her back to his hut, she beats him down, his latest in a long series of humiliations to come.

When Zed burns much of the village down he is banished and Oh decides to leave with him. Together they wander into biblical times where they witness the murder of Abel (Paul Rudd) by his brother Cain (David Cross). They move on and witness Abraham (Hank Azaria) offering his son Isaac (Christopher Mintz Plasse) as a sacrafice to God. Finally, Zed and Oh wind up in Sodom where the high priest (Oliver Platt) is a mincing queen and the princess (Olivia Wilde) thinks she can steal the crown with Zed's help.

The bible stuff is odd because Year One is not necessarily a biblical satire. It may have wanted to be but all the movie ever does is introduce biblical characters in their famous context and then waits for the actors to find something funny to do. These are very talented actors, some of whom with years of improv and sketch comedy training but without a solid script to work from even the best of the improv crowd simply flails about searching for something funny to do.

Stuck with an idea and not a character, Jack Black falls back on his well known antics and shows why audiences are growing tired of his schtick. Michael Cera to is in fallback mode as he transports his much loved persona as a gawky, shy, loser who always seems the subject of humiliation into the role of Oh. The same nervous energy that people found charming in Superbad gets old fast out of context in Year One.

Director Harold Ramis must have thought that all he needed were funny people and a lot of goofy costumes and somehow they would find something funny. Instead, we have a lot of funny talented people lurching about searching for punchlines that should have been provided for them by an actual script.

Not only does what there is of a script stink but Ramis's direction is stunningly lax and inept. Scenes arrive and sputter to a finish or, in the case of an early scene where Cera is attacked by a snake and then a cougar, the scene doesn't really end so much as the scene suddenly is abandoned without resolution. This is a stunning level of apathy from such a veteran director.

Year One is one of the biggest disappointments of the summer.

Movie Review: Youth in Revolt

Youth in Revolt (2010) 

Directed by Miguel Arteta

Written by Gustin Nash

Starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard

Release Date January 8th, 2010

Published January 8th, 2010 

Michael Cera is not everyone's cup of tea. His fey, nonchalant nebbish-ness is a put off for some but not for me. From “Arrested Development” to “Superbad” to now “Youth in Revolt” and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Cera's persona has become a wonderful comic tool that he wields with precision. It's fair to say that “Youth in Revolt” takes the Michael Cera persona to an extreme but it worked for me and will work for anyone who counts them a Cera fan.

Michael Cera stars in Youth in Revolt as Nick Twisp a shy young man living with his slatternly mother (Jean Smart) and her loser boyfriend of the moment, Jerry (Zach Galifianakis). When Jerry gets in trouble with some local tough the 'family' has to go on the run. They take refuge in a trailer park where Nick spies the girl of his dreams, Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday).

Sheeni initially has no interest in Nick but his persistence is flattering and eventually she gives him a break but only after he becomes the bad boy of her dreams. Nick is no bad boy but when he manages to tick off Sheeni's parents it begins an unintended reputation that Nick must foster in order to keep Sheeni's attention.

After Jerry disappears Nick is forced to return home. Once there and torn from his beloved Sheeni, Nick must hatch a plan, a plan that will allow him to move back. This elaborate fiasco involves getting his dad (Steve Buscemi) a job and a place to live near the trailer park. Then, he has to convince his mom to kick him out and force him to live with dad. The ways in which Nick goes about this are part of a tricky, gloriously odd series of events that make up the plot of Youth in Revolt.

Director Miguel Arteta brings wonderfully subtle rhythm to some rather outlandish scenes and the conflict between the tone and the happenings in Youth in Revolt somehow emerges charming and very funny. The ways in which the direction is passive and the action is not clash so perfectly that if pushed in a more or less active direction the movie would tumble over.

Strangely, while the role of Nick Twisp seems custom built for the Michael Cera persona; “Youth in Revolt” is actually based on a series of novels from the early 1990's from writer C.D Payne. I have never read the novels but according to those who have it is as if Nick Twisp predicted Michael Cera and waited for his arrival before he could be brought to the big screen.

There is no other actor who could bring Nick Twisp to life other than Michael Cera. The changes of persona, the ways in which Nick imagines a more confident version of himself named Francois Dillinger, these are seemingly natural shifts for Michael Cera that would seem like comic extensions for other actors. Cera makes the move organic as if creating Francois came from his own mind.

People tend to see the Michael Cera persona as an example of limited range. I however, feel that what Michael Cera does on screen is quite challenging. He's like a modern day Chaplin carrying The Tramp persona from film to film, giving him different dimensions and playing him against different backgrounds and characters to a new and wonderful comic effect.  

Watch Michael Cera in interviews and then watch Michael Cera in movies and on TV and you get the full picture of the Michael Cera character. It is as if his entire career was a performance art piece that he keeps spinning out further in role after role with different names but always the same character in a new and fascinating comic context. It's rather genius if you like what Michael Cera does.

If you aren't a fan then you will call it limited range and dismiss Cera as some one note performer. I happen to be a huge fan and I love his work more and more each time out and I feel like I am in on a wonderful running gag that never stops and grows more and more fascinating with each role. One of these days the Michael Cera persona is going to hit upon a role that will cross over from just funny to poignant and even moving and more people will begin to get it. “Youth in Revolt” likely isn't that movie but for fans it's enough for now.

Movie Review Superbad

Superbad (2007) 

Directed by Greg Mattola

Written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg

Starring Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen

Release Date August 17th, 2007

Published August 16th, 2007

There are moments of the teen comedy Superbad that remind me so much of my own teen years that I would have been red faced embarrassed if I weren't laughing so hard. This latest brilliant comedy from under the shingle of Judd Apatow is the movie that Porky's and American Pie wished they could have been. Smart, funny, and balls out filthy, Superbad has a heart as big as its love of penis drawings.

Written by the team of Seth Rogan, star of Knocked Up, and his childhood friend Evan Goldberg, Superbad is so true and authentic that guys between the ages of 18 and 34 will be in hysterics at just the familiarity of the characters and the situations.

Superbad tells the story of one night in the lives of two best friends. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) have been friends for over 10 years, something you get quickly from the shorthand of their conversation that seems as if it began a decade before the movie began. This is their last night of High School and the boys have been invited to their first High School party.

The party is being thrown by Seth's longtime crush Jules (Emma Stone). By promising to get alcohol for the party Seth hopes he can entice Jules into a drunken, last night of High School tryst. Also attending the party is  Evan's longtime crush Becca (Martha MacIsaac), she is into Evan but he is clueless how to handle that. He too hopes that a little alcohol will grease the wheels, though his intentions with Becca are slightly less puerile.

To get the booze the boys must rely on Evan's friend Fogell who has promised a fake I.D. Unfortunately, when Fogell produces the I.D his name change threatens to blow the cover. Fogell decided to call himself "McLovin", no last name, just McLovin. Nevertheless, McLovin is the boy's only hope to get the drinks and thereby, get the girls.

On my surface level description Superbad sounds like nothing more than American Pie Redux or maybe Porky's 15. In reality however, Superbad, under the skilled direction of Greg Mottola, is much smarter than the American Pie movies and even more outlandish than Porky's. Superbad is the rare teen comedy that delivers strong characters with the extra strength of low brow humor.

Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg wrote the script for Superbad based on their experiences as teenagers. The two have been friends since junior high and that friendly shorthand lends the film authenticity that most other teen comedies can only imitate. Despite having to compound a high school lifetime of experiences into one night, Superbad never feels overstuffed. Director Mottola along with Rogan and Goldberg escape this trouble by simply ignoring it.

The bedrock of Superbad is the loving friendship of Seth and Evan. This is really a platonic male love story about two guys overcoming social pressures to confess that they love each other. Men in this culture are not allowed to admit their feelings for one another, not without a joking reference to Brokeback Mountain or some anti-gay slur to break the awkwardness.

Superbad throws off the social shackles and allows Evan and Seth to be honest with each other, with the aid of a little booze. They are headed to different colleges in the fall and they are going to miss each other more than even the girls whose hearts they hope to win. Now, before you start to think that Superbad is some touchy-feely, male bonding comedy, trust me, there are plenty of dick jokes. In fact, there is almost a dick subplot. I don't want to get too detailed, just keep an ear out for Seth's reasons for not liking Evan's crush Becca.

A great group of actors mixed with tremendous behind the scenes talent, Superbad is among the best films of 2007. Yes, some will be put off by the truly low brow humor but trust me, they will be missing the point. The lowbrow stuff comes from a good hearted place within these terrific characters. It's all in good fun and only occasionally is it gratuitous. In a year where we have seen The Simpsons Movie and Knocked Up it is Superbad that takes the crown as the funniest movie of the year.

Movie Review Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (2008) 

Directed by Peter Sollett

Written by Lorene Scafaria 

Starring Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Ari Graynor, Jay Baruchel

Release Date October 3rd, 2008

Published October 2nd, 2008 

One goal of a good critic is to try not to judge a movie before seeing it. That isn't so hard for me except when I really want to like a movie, sight unseen. I really wanted to like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist before I saw it. I like the cast, I liked the premise. As I watched the movie I ignored my niggling doubts and kept track of the things I liked. Now, as I sit to write the review, the flaws are crisper and my lingering doubts have replaced much of things I tried hard to love.

Michael Cera is one of the most likable actors to come along in years. From his adorable George Michael Bluth on TV's Arrested Development to his breakout in Superbad and Juno, Cera has grown before our eyes and is prepared to become a huge comic star in the classic Tom Hanks vein. For his latest starring role he plays Nick a musician in a gay rock band.

Nick is not gay but his two bandmates are. Nick, as we meet him, is bumming over the end of his relationship with Tris, a bubble -headed private school girl who abruptly dumped him on his birthday. Thankfully, Nick's bandmates won't let him sit home and cry, they drag him off to New York City where they have a gig and then a quest to find a legendary band performing in secret.

Kat Dennings plays the Nora half of the title, a dyspeptic music loving soul who happens to be an acquaintance of Tris. As Tris has discarded Nick's many mixed cd's Nora has picked them out of the trash and found Nick a kindred musical soul, though they have never met. That changes that night in New York City when Nora, her best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor) and even Tris head into the city and happen upon Nick's band and a mutual quest for this mythical band "Where's Fluffy".

I won't give away Nick and Nora's meet cute other than to say the contrivance is pretty weak even by romantic comedy standards. Once together there is no question that they are meant to be together. The question then for director Peter Sollett is how to believably keep them apart until they are supposed to be together. Thanks to Cera and Denning's prickly repartee this is one of the few things that really works.

What doesn't work, quite shockingly, is the film's music conceit. In a movie called Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist one would quite fairly expect a lot of really great music. What you get is a lot of mediocre indie bands from some yet printed insert in Paste Magazine. The songs on Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist sound remarkably indistinguishable from one another, whiny alt-rockers too hip indies, gay rock. No R & B. No hip hop, this soundtrack has a remarkably white, bourgeois sensibility for an 'infinite' playlist.

Worse yet from my perspective was the filmmakers inability to craft one singular music/movie moment. In the best movies with strong musical sensibilities the filmmakers craft a scene that combines music and film in a way that transcends both expressions. Who can forget Say Anything and Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes, Moulin Rouge and the performance of Roxanne, every second of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's sublime duet in Once.

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist needed a moment like that, an expression of the way Nick and Nora's musical souls were entwined. It is referred to and indeed assumed but it doesn't exist in the movie. I have many issues with Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist but none with stars Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Cera and Dennings spark terrific chemistry first as strangers, then as sparring partners and finally as love interests. Dennings has toned down the goth persona that had driven her type casting as recently as August's The House Bunny, and the change serves her well.

Here, Dennings is a leading lady with quirks that set her apart from the typical rom-com heroine. As for Dennings' co-star? What more can I say about Michael Cera. The kid just gets better and better with each succeeding role. Even in this flawed teen-centric romance Cera crafts a thoughtful, humorous, well observed performance.

Both actors, as well as the tremendous, hard-working supporting work of Ari Graynor, are lost, adrift in a movie that knows the lyrics to every Judd Apatow, Cameron Crowe and John Hughes movie, but ironically not the music. Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist plays like a mix CD of Apatow, Crowe and Hughes and while I am not adverse to a good classic mix, I was hoping for something more... original.

With Cera and Dennings Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist has a lot working in its favor. Unfortunately, by recycling the best of teen-centric romance and coming up short on the music side of things, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist fails to rise above its many influences. The movie really failed for me however by not finding one song and one moment to transcend all of the whole. The best movies with a strong musical presence do that.