Movie Review: Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe (2008) 

Directed by Adam Brooks

Written by Adam Brooks 

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Derek Luke, Kevin Kline

Release Date February 14th, 2008 

Published February 13th, 2008 

In his first mature leading man performance Ryan Reynolds becomes a star before our eyes in the terrific romance Definitely, Maybe. Call it his Sleepless In Seattle moment, Reynolds becomes the new millennium answer to Tom Hanks as he establishes his romantic leading man street cred opposite not a single Meg Ryan but three tremendous young actresses on three completely different star tracks.

There is the capital A actress Rachel Weisz, already a hairs breath away from Oscar. Elizabeth Banks, the comic character actress. And then there is Isla Fisher, who is still too young to know where her career is headed. Reynolds sparks with each and makes you believe that indeed one man could get that lucky in his life.

Definitely, Maybe stars Reynolds as Will Hayes an ad exec who has just received his divorce papers. He's been headed for divorce for awhile it seems. Will see's his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) on Wednesdays and Fridays and is on his way to pick her up as the opening credits wrap. On this particular Friday Maya's school is abuzz. Today the kids took a surprise sex education course and all are bursting with questions. All of this talk of sex has Maya wondering where she came from, not necessarily the technical details, she learned all too much of that, rather about how mom and dad met and how they are where they are today.

Dad is not so hot on telling the tale and thus devises the story as a romantic mystery, leaving Maya to guess which of three women from his past is her mother. There is Emily (Elizabeth Banks) not her real name, who was his college sweetheart. They split up when he went to New York. It's more complicated and messy than that but that comes later. Then there is the copy girl aka April (Isla Fisher). She makes copies for a living in the Bill Clinton for President campaign office where Will has come all the way from Wisconsin to work. Politics of the early to late 90's play a big part in Definitely, Maybe.

And finally there is Summer Heartley (Rachel Weisz), a woman from Emily's past who Will meets when he delivers a present to her from Emily. What that present is has all sorts of surprises attached. Summer is an aspiring journalist sleeping with her esteemed professor (Kevin Kline) when she meets Will. They bounce around each other a little before the girly crush on the professor passes and Summer wants to get serious. She and Will share a relationship with many twists and moments you will not see coming.

So which girl is really mommy? Which girl is also the ex? That is the mystery and the secret charm of Definitely, Maybe.

Writer-director Allan Brooks isn't teasing the audience or screwing with us just to keep us off track. What he devises, structurally and with these terrifically charming and smart characters, is a romantic mystery that in-trances and enchants.This seemingly typical romantic comedy defies convention by mixing three different romances and allowing us to guess, take sides, and hope for our favorite to win out. Leading the guessing game is 12 year old Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin. In yet another devastatingly cute performance, Breslin charms us into a romantic journey that would be lonely and a little dreary without her hopeful, doe eyed presence.

The humor of Definitely, Maybe is warm and comfortable. It emanates naturally from these characters without the force of set ups and punchlines. The skill of Brooks' script may not occur to you until much later when you realize just how invested you are in the outcome of this mystery. Listen for the subtle ways Brooks uses politics as an undercurrent of Will's emotional state. His optimistic investment in President Clinton's promise of hope in 1992 juxtaposed against his disillusionment with his love life and the scandal that engulfs Clinton's presidency. This sets up a final moment in the movie so subtle; blink and you'll miss it. It's a minor scene but it means so much if you follow the context of the film as a whole.

Definitely, Maybe doesn't necessarily break the mold of the traditional romantic comedy. Rather, like the best of the gentrified genre lot, it takes the typical and improves upon it. The formula is familiar, it's just better performed, filmed and crafted in Definitely, Maybe. Rather than limiting himself to what is expected of the romance genre, Adam Brooks goes in slightly off kilter directions. He tweaks the formula, changes the expectations and, by creating wonderful characters with just the right actors, he changes the dynamics of the formula romantic comedy, bends it to the will of his story and creates something special.

Indeed, Definitely, Maybe is something special in the romantic comedy genre.

Movie Review: Waiting

Waiting... (2005) 

Directed by Rob McKittrick

Written by Rob McKittrick 

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Faris, Justin Long Alanna Ubach, Dane Cook, Luis Guzman

Release Date October 7th, 2005 

Published October 6th, 2005

There is an art to low or crude humor that makes it work. The brother directing duos of the Weitzs (American Pie) and the Farrellys (There's Something About Mary, et al) have mastered the formula of lowering the level of humor to childish levels but still delivering very funny movies. The formula works only when the lovable natures of characters and the pathos they bring from the audience is equal to the level they degrade themselves to.

The new movie Waiting..., written and directed by first timer Rob McKittrick, goes to new lows to achieve its humor but without characters we love and feel for it's an exercise in both crudity and futility.  

Shenaniganz is one of those cloned chain restaurants that pervades the parking lots of mini-malls around the country. Inside, its staff are the kind of wage slave drones biding their time until they graduate college, get fired, or end up in prison. Justin Long stars as Dean, a 22 year old finally confronting his arrested development. While high school friends are graduating from University and getting high paying, real life, jobs, Dean is wrapping up a general arts degree at Community College and contemplating the chance of becoming assistant manager of the restaurant.

Ryan Reynolds plays Dean's best friend and roommate, Monty, who is defined by his raging libido and rapid fire wit, essentially Van Wilder kicked out of college. Monty's job on this day in the life of Shenaniganz is to be our narrator without actual narration. Monty is training Mitch (John Francis Daly) which gives him the opportunity to introduce the rest of the cast and set the stage for all of the seriously low humor to come. It's a clever gimmick that removes the need for a third person narration and sets the stage for the films main running gag 'the penis game'.

Waiting... features a huge cast of well known and recognizable characters that include veterans Luis Guzman, David Koechner and Chi McBride; newcomers Dane Cook, Andy Milonakis and Kaitlin Doubleday; a couple of "Hey where have I seen them before?" types in Robert Patrick Bennett and Alanna Ubach; and established stars Reynolds and Anna Faris, the only members of the cast to have toplined a feature before.

Waiting... suffers the typical pitfalls of such a large cast, the main one being the loss of continuity caused by trying to find time for each character. The main story seems to be Justin Long's Dean struggling to grow into an adult but he is too often shuffled offscreen for his storyline to take hold. The only consistency in Waiting... comes from its series of running gags about sex, genitalia and the classic urban legend of the food service industry: What are they putting in the food?

Waiting... revels in the juvenile humor that the Farrelly brothers made safe for the masses in Dumb and Dumber and that was furthered by the Weitz's in the original American Pie which brought low humor to a whole new mainstream blockbuster generation. Unfortunately for Waiting... it lacks the elements that elevates low humor from mere shock for shock's sake to transcendentally funny. Where the Farrellys humanize the craziness with pathos and the Weitz brothers humanize it with lovable characters, Waiting... simply has no time for either. You never feel for the characters in Waiting... because you simply don't get to know them well enough and some of them you don't want to know at all.

There is something to be said for the economy of characters.  American Pie, for example, focused on four main characters and worked to establish each before delivering the humorous humiliations. These characters were familiar, the actors made them lovable and pathos is borne of that. Waiting... is simply too crowded to establish its characters beyond stereotypes and placeholders and thus we could care less when they are hurt or triumph.

The women of Waiting... especially suffer from the lack of characterization. Each of the ladies fall into types: the girlfriend type, the best friend type, the bitch type and the less pervasive lesbian type.  None of the woman break the mold of their character.  Even Faris, who gets marginalized early on, is given only one scene, a verbal showdown with Reynolds where she shows the comic chops that made the Scary Movie series so funny.

Another big problem with Waiting... is its look. The film looks as if it was shot through a bad lens. The look of the film is grainy and distracting. There is very little visual imagination in Waiting... which is damning because of the colorful setting which lends itself to creative set design. The film never takes advantage of either the restaurant setting or the condo set of Monty and Dean's apartment which also contained strong possibilities.

The best films combine the creative and technical aspects of filmmaking. Waiting... is in the hole from the outset because little care is taken for the look of the film and the various other technical aspects of film craftsmanship, lighting, camera work and especially set design.

Do not under any circumstance see Waiting... before you go out to dinner. Waiting... does for the restaurant kitchen what Psycho did for the shower, what Jaws did for the ocean, and what Silkwood did for nuclear waste. Heed the films warning; never send it back. The scenes portrayed in the kitchen in Waiting... are not for the weak stomach. They are also only rarely funny. A perfect example of the film's hit and miss humor, the kitchen scenes are either riotously funny or a complete strikeout.

With all of the things wrong with Waiting... it's still often quite funny. Even the lowest of all of the running gags in the film has its moments and of course I'm talking about the penis game. Not wanting to be too detailed because the film goes into way too much detail itself, the penis game consists of finding sneaky ways of getting co-workers to look at your exposed genitalia. Points are assigned for the various different kinds of exposure and punishment is assigned for those who fall for it.

As outrageous as it seems I know guys who could do this. Listening to the game as it is explained and watching it unfold I feared for the fact that I could ever witness such a thing, because I actually could. Uggh! Still I cannot deny that I laughed a few times at the horrifying ways that director Rob McKittrick worked this running gag.

The unfortunate part of this gag, however, is the homophobia inherent in its conception. Part of the rules of the game, as part of the punishment, is calling the victim a fag and the punishment is punishment for falsely perceived homosexuality. Though I know that this is not meant to be harmful, it is undeniably homophobic and plays to the basest of stereotypes. Attempts to excuse homophobia by acknowleging it only serve to affirm it. Am I being too politically correct? Maybe, but the joke is so excessively homophobic that at some point it goes beyond good natured ribbing.

The cast is a group that could really make a very funny movie but not this movie. The film's charismatic lead actors Long, Reynolds and Faris required more screen time in order to pull the film into the mold of a real movie as opposed to the stop and start episodic piece that is this finished product. The producers of Waiting... simply could not resist the stunt casting of hot comic Dane Cook and MTV star Andy Milonakis. Neither one does a particularly poor job but taking time out for them pulls the focus of the film away from telling a coherent story. 

Even with all of deficiencies in Waiting... I see little standing in the way of this film becoming a cult classic. Among its target audience of frat boys and service industry drones the film was a hit from its trailer to its commercials. There are just enough laughs in Waiting... that the core fans are likely to be satisfied and will scoop the film up on DVD.

The setting is so ripe for this type of sendup that it was very difficult for this film to miss completely and it doesn't. It does miss though and where it misses is in creating characters we identify with and care for. Without those characters all you have are a group of talented funny actors creating a hit and miss gag reel of grossout jokes, not a funny movie.

Movie Review Green Lantern

Green Lantern (2011) 

Directed by Martin Campbell

Written by Craig Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins

Release Date June 17th, 2011 

Published June 16th, 2011 

"Green Lantern" is the latest superhero story to hit the big screen following the spring adventures of "Thor" and the summer spectacular that was "X-Men: The First Class." "Green Lantern" however, is the first of these superhero flicks to feature a big star as the big hero. Ryan Reynolds, long on the road to superstar status, plays the heroic Green Lantern and while the casting is alright there was little any star could have done to improve the rather limp story.

Hal Jordan, Our Hero

Hal Jordan is a bed-hopping, test-pilot with serious daddy issues. So serious, in fact, are Hal's unresolved issues with his late father, that he nearly crashes his plane as he distractedly recalls his dad's death. Naturally, Hal comes through the crisis alright but not without angering his best friend, and would be love of his life, Carol Ferris (Blake Lively.)

Putting aside Hal's daddy and romantic issues, he is a special guy and we know this because a purple alien guardian from another world carrying a very powerful green ring and a green lantern tells us so. Of the billions of people on earth Hal Jordan has been chosen as humanity's protector, the newest member of the universal force known as the Green Lantern Corp.

The Green Lantern Corp

Soon, Hal has a special suit and mask that are made from -- well we aren't quite sure what. The suit seems to generate directly from Hal's own skin and the fewer questions asked about the suit's (ahem) functionality (?) the better. Through his alien ring and lantern Hal can now create anything he wants using only his mind.

If we go with Hal to his training on a distant planet we are just asking for this plot description to grow far too unwieldy and since the plot isn't great to begin with let's just leave it at special voice appearances by Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clark Duncan and go to bad guy Mark Strong as sort of a good guy.

Peter Sarsgard is creepy

Back on earth Hal will have to defend humanity against a former colleague and friend, Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgard) who has contracted an alien infection that somehow managed to make him even creepier than the massively foreheaded, dweeby, community college professor he already was.

There is also a good deal of nonsense related to a giant monster cloud of what I believe is fear energy combined with some all powerful alien creature. Honestly, I stopped caring so early on in "Green Lantern" that I tuned out whatever wasn't Ryan Reynolds being cute and Blake Lively flashing her beautiful, "Gossip Girl" half smile; truly is there a woman in the world who is so attractively bemused?

Fanboys Only

"Green Lantern" was directed by Martin Campbell who is an immensely talented director. Here, however, Campbell hits the wall with far too much fanboy nonsense and not nearly enough stuff that's interesting to people who aren't in fealty to the D.C Comics legend. I assume, because I am not familiar with the comic, that much of the stuff I found goofy and nonsensical was some kind of homage or nod to the faithful? How else do you explain it?

The thing about a great superhero movie like "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" or "Spiderman 1 & 2" or the "Iron Man" movies is they were good movies first and comic book movies second. The best of the genre add the fan touches on the sides in the periphery. "Green Lantern," like "Thor," places the comic book stuff first and in doing so leaves the non-comic fan distracted and waiting for the actual story to kick in.

Not Recommended for General Audiences

When the story never really kicks in it only serves to magnify why the filmmakers included all of the comic book stuff, they didn't have enough of a compelling original story to push the fanboy stuff to the sides. I liked Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and the voice of Geoffrey Rush, as some kind of muscled up alien fish, but in the end that is not enough for me to recommend "Green Lantern" to a general audience.

Now, if you are a fan of the comic book Green Lantern, I do recommend the movie. You are going to get it on another level. You will enjoy the stuff I found goofy and or needless. You will get the stuff that I found distracting. You, Green Lantern fan, may just really enjoy this movie and bully for you. Enjoy.

Movie Review: Buried

Buried (2010) 

Directed by Rodrigo Cortes 

Written by Chris Sparling

Starring Ryan Reynolds 

Release Date September 24th, 2010 

Published November 19th, 2010 

Ever since it debuted at Sundance in 2010 audiences have been clamoring to see “Buried” the buzz-heavy buried alive thriller starring budding superstar Ryan Reynolds. More than a year later the film arrived on DVD with so little fanfare that many film fans may not have even known it was there. How did Lionsgate, the company that produced and distributed “Buried” manage to screw up the release of this unbelievably good movie? I will tell you how; it's your fault.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Paul Conroy, a truck driver working for a civilian contractor in Iraq. Though we never actually see the attack we eventually learn that Paul was driving near the end of a convoy delivering supplies when it was attacked. Paul was knocked unconscious and now finds himself awake buried in a wooden box somewhere in the desert.

That is the set up of “Buried;” the execution involves a cell phone, a lighter and Ryan Reynolds's considerable talent for fearful breathing, screaming and general freaking out. Director Rogrigo Garcia puts us in the box with Reynolds and the feeling is shockingly claustrophobia inducing considering that we can just turn off the DVD and walk away.

As the camera roams around as if making room for Paul to squirm around us, his fellow captives, we squirm and breath shallow breaths and desperately hope whatever oxygen is left will be enough. We leap when the cellphone he's been given in order to arrange ransom rings and we feel every bit of Paul's rage at the series of functionaries and fools who attempt to placate and pacify the buried man.

Most of all we feel Paul's anguish as calls to his wife go unanswered and a call to his mother offers the saddest of all results. The harsh voice of the kidnapper is a muffled, thickly accented growl that offers no hope of reprieve even if outrageous demands of millions of dollars are met. Any outward sound, explosions or even the sound of the Muslim call to prayer, somehow heard through the dirt offer as much hope as terror.

Buried is a triumph of a cinematic technique from the ways in which Garcia induces claustrophobia within the audience through classic film techniques in lighting and editing to the exceptional makeup and especially the well measured terror of star Ryan Reynolds who shakes off all of his natural charm to expose a man in pure terror and what that experience might be like for anyone.

So, why did “Buried” bomb so badly? It's our fault. As filmgoers we say we want different and challenging movies and we talk a good game about wanting to see “Buried” as the buzz was building but when it comes along we tend toward avoiding it. Take for instance another much more famous claustrophobic experience in fear, Best Picture nominee “127 Hours.” Despite near universal acclaim and Oscar nominations audiences have stayed away and the film has barely broken a meager 20 million dollars at the box office.

The makers of “Buried” pushed the film out to a few theaters and while critics raved, audiences stayed away and sought more familiar and safer movies. For heavens sake “Piranha 3D” made more than both “Buried” and “127 Hours” combined in its first week at the box office! This is your fault!

Never mind that “Buried” has more honest terror in 10 minutes of it's  95 minute runtime than a million “Piranha 3D's” or “Hostel's” or whatever other garbage Eli Roth types slap their name on, Americans want their movies dumb and ugly not exceptionally crafted and truly terrifying. That's why “Buried” is languishing in obscurity on Netflix and gathering dust in Redbox's across the country. It's YOUR FAULT!

You can make up for your lack of taste however. Rent “Buried” today. Give some love to a movie that deserves it and will pay it back with a movie watching experience more honest and compelling than anything you have seen other than maybe “127 Hours” or maybe a handful of other film's released in the last year.

Movie Review: Wicker Park

Wicker Park (2004) 

Directed by Paul McGuigan

Written by Brandon Boyce 

Starring Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Matthew Lillard, Diane Kruger 

Release Date September 3rd, 2004 

September 2nd, 2004 

When Josh Hartnett starred in Jerry Bruckheimer’s awful blockbuster Pearl Harbor, his next-big-thing status was just hitting its stride. Then, his first solo starring gig, 40 Days and 40 Nights tanked. Then his shot at action stardom opposite Harrison Ford in Hollywood Homicide also failed. Suddenly the next big thing was next to nothing.

That may explain why the film Wicker Park, a once highly buzzed about remake of a French movie called L’Appartement, ended up in the September waste bin. It is quite a shame that MGM has chosen to give up on this film because it’s really not that bad.

A plot description for Wicker Park is a bit of a minefield. There are a number of important twists and turns that are better left unmentioned. What can I tell you without giving anything away? Well, Josh Hartnett stars as Matthew, a dour young ad exec who has just moved back to his old Chicago neighborhood, the artist enclave Wicker Park. Two years earlier Matthew moved to New York to escape the memories of a lost love.

Her name was Lisa (Diane Kruger) and it seemed like they would be together forever. Then out of the blue, right after he asked her to move in with him, she vanished. No note, no phone call, no explanation whatsoever. Despondent, he took the gig in New York and disappeared himself.

Now back in Chicago, Matt has reconnected with his old friend Lucas (Matthew Lillard), thanks to a chance meeting on the street while Lucas was leaving lunch with his girl, Alex. Alex has a mysterious connection to Matt that is one of the film’s more intriguing plot points. Later, as Matt is having dinner with his new fiancé Rebecca (Jessica Pare), he thinks that he saw Lisa leaving the restaurant, a sight that sends him into a tailspin and effects everyone he knows.

Director Paul McGuigan and writer Brandon Boyce, adapting the original French screenplay by Gilles Mimouni, have crafted a dense, often confusing story of lost love, manipulation and heartbreak. Step away from the movie at the end and you realize that this twist filled story has a rather thin plot. The film uses many flashbacks, often covering the same scene more than once. This use of flashbacks tends to confuse the film’s timeline and leave the audience playing catch-up.

However, as confusing as this film can be it’s also surprisingly engaging. Hartnett in particular does a tremendous job of drawing in the audience, gaining our sympathy and delivering in the big emotional moments. He is well matched with Kruger (whose face launched a thousand ships in Troy) with whom he has a terrific chemistry. Matthew Lillard is quite a surprise in a strong supporting role in which he drops his usual obnoxious posing in favor of real acting.

Lillard does not spark with Rose Byrne’s Alex but he’s not necessarily supposed to. Alex is the most complicated character in the film and also the most difficult to describe without giving something away. I can say that Byrne, who had a walk on in Troy with Diane Kruger, does what she can with this difficult role. If she did not succeed it’s likely because of how the character is written as opposed to her performance.

McGuigan, whose previous film was the underrated The Reckoning, does a fantastic job of disguising this paper-thin plot. His film style evokes a Eurpoean aesthetic, a likely nod to the film’s French roots. From its color palettes to its somber mood, it is very easy to imagine Wicker Park set in the classic French traditions of sidewalk cafes and disaffected artists. The script includes a quick nod to the Italian master Fellini, who also knew a little something about making the most of a thin plot.

Wicker Park is a stylish, well-acted romantic drama the likes of which we rarely see anymore. Yes, the plot is thin and becomes quite obviously so after you leave the theater but the good in Wicker Park far outweighs the bad. What makes it work is Hartnett in what could have been a comeback performance if MGM hadn’t decided to give up on it. What a shame to have your career best performance in a film so few people will see.

Movie Review Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Detective Pikachu (2019) 

Directed by Rob Letterman 

Written by Dan Herdandez, Rob Letterman, Benji Smart, Derek Connelly 

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse,Bill Nighy 

Release Date May 10th, 2019 

Published May 8th, 2019 

Pokemon Detective Pikachu is some hardcore fan service. In fact, if you are not immersed in the universe of Pokemon, you aren’t likely to find much to enjoy beyond the occasional Ryan Reynolds quip. Reynolds himself is a kind of Pokemon fan service as giving this franchise the voice of one of the world’s most popular and charismatic actors is akin to one of the cool kids passing up the cool kid table in the cafeteria so he can sit with the A.V Club and they can absorb some of his aura. 

Pokemon Detective Pikachu opens in pure, visual chaos. A car is escaping from a mysterious lab facility while being chased by a powerful Pokemon called a Mewtoo. The Mewtoo appears to blow up the car, knocking the vehicle over the side of a bridge. The driver appears to have been killed but the swirling vortex of CG chaos makes it impossible to know what happens and since this is our introduction to the story, we are at a loss to care much for what is happening. 

The film slam cuts from the car crash to a field in a small, vaguely Asian town. Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is one of the few people in his small town who doesn’t have his own Pokemon, a tiny, animal-like creature, who people capture using a special ball that opens up to capture the Pokemon, but only if the Pokemon likes and trusts its new owner or master or trainer? I’m not familiar with the terms and the movie is less than forthcoming for newcomers. 

Tim’s lack of interest in Pokemon is a reaction to his father’s dedication to Pokemon, as a law enforcement officer with his own Pokemon partner named Pikachu. Work took his father away and Tim resents Pokemon for his dad not being around when his mom died. Tim is soon thrust back into his father’s world however when he receives a message that his father was in a deadly car accident. 

Tim must travel to his father’s home in Rhyme City, the rare place where Pokemon and humans live in harmony together. Everyone has their own Pokemon and peace reigns as the two species live in harmony under the watchful leadership of Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy). Howard created Rhyme City as a utopia for Pokemon and humans alike. Naturally, however, there are snakes in Eden and Pikachu is on the lookout. 

Pikachu was believed to have died in the crash that killed Tim’s father so when the two come face to face in Tim’s father’s apartment, they nearly kill each other. In what we are told is a completely unfathomable anomaly, Tim has the ability to hear Pikachu speaking English. No one else on the planet has the ability to communicate with a Pokemon directly and this will not be used in any useful way beyond quips, lots of quips, mildly amusing, inoffensive, only occasionally funny, quips. 

Together, Tim and Pikachu will team with ace junior reporter Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) to find the source of some strange Pokemon behavior. This strange behavior harkens back to the days before humans and Pokemon became friends and it is the key to finding out who is behind Harry’s disappearance, the dangerous Mew-Too and the apparent intention to create a rift between Pokemon and humanity. 

Rob Letterman directed Pokemon Detective Pikachu and he has packed it full of stuff that Pokemon fans will adore. There are Easter eggs on top of Easter eggs with appearances by fan favorite Pokemon doing fan favorite Pokemon things. Characters from the longtime Pokemon cartoons make cameos, I am assuming, special attention is paid, ever so briefly, to a character even I recognized from years of cultural osmosis. Fans will be excited and the inclusion could hint at a wider Detective Pikachu-Pokemon cinematic universe. 

Or so I assume, only Pokemon fans will be able to tell me if I am right or wrong about that. The bottom line issue that I have with Pokemon Detective Pikachu is with the remarkable amount of fan service. The movie is very bland and basic in its general storytelling and so the only thing left in terms of making Detective Pikachu special would either come from making it funny, which it really isn’t or in making it so packed with Pokemon stuff as to render story unnecessary for the hardcore devotees. The makers of this movie went with the second option and left non-Pokemon fans scratching our collective heads waiting for Ryan Reynolds to get funny.

The story takes elements of the mystery genre and mushes them up into a highly predictable story arc. The opening scene is meant to provide a mystery that will play out over the course of the movie but the story cheats this opening repeatedly throughout the movie to fit the narrative. This particular narrative feels as if it was altered numerous times, something strongly indicated by 6 credited writers for Pokemon Detective Pikachu. 

If you can’t tell who the bad guy is from the cast list you aren’t really trying. It’s glaringly obvious throughout where the movie is headed, albeit the actual endgame of the story is a tad bizarre, but by then it was hard to care. In fact, a lot of fans might really have liked what the movie plays as an evil scheme, but that’s an odd digression for another, spoiler filled time. Weird ending aside, there isn’t a story beat in Detective Pikachu that will surprise you from the mismatched partners, the convenient bouts of amnesia, to a third act separation that is so perfunctory the screenwriters should step on screen to introduce it while thanking and giving credit to every screenplay guide ever written.

But, as I stated earlier, I am not the audience for this movie. I am not a Pokemon fan. I have nothing against Pokemon, I know plenty of people who find Pokemon delightful. I am just not into it, it doesn’t do anything for me and since the movie isn’t very funny, even Ryan Reynolds is missing that classic Ryan Reynolds wit, there isn’t much for me to invest in. Fans of Pokemon will likely flip for all of the neato Pokemon stuff in Detective Pikachu but if you are not part of the cult of Pokemon, you’re better off sitting this one out. 

Movie Review The Cookout

The Cookout (2004) 

Directed by Lance Rivera 

Written by Laurie B Turner, Jeffrey Brian Holmes 

Starring Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lewis, Storm P, Danny Glover, Ja Rule 

Release Date September 3rd, 2004 

Published September 4th, 2004 

Not being African-American myself it's difficult for me to complain about the way African-Americans are portrayed in the movies. Still I find the segmentation of black actors to be one of the most disturbing things about the movie business. It was something that crystallized with the release of the movie Soul Food in 1997. Hollywood took notice of that film’s breakout success and saw the potential of films with all black casts to make money only appealing to black people.

That's not an indictment of Soul Food, which did appeal to a number of people beyond African-Americans. It is the way that subsequent films of similar appeal have been so cynically made and marketed to African-Americans that I find disturbing. Hollywood marketers underestimating the savvy and intelligence of moviegoers began packaging cheap stereotypes and recycled clichés with all black casts in the hopes that the paucity of quality entertainment featuring African-Americans would draw in that segment of the audience. It is with that same cynicism that The Cookout reaches theaters.

Cobble together loose stereotypes under a banner of one big star (Queen Latifah) and just hope that at least black people will come and see it. The cynicism and dare I say racism that comes from that approach flows from the screen and what is supposed to be a comedy feels disturbing and uncomfortable to watch.

The film stars Storm P as basketball star Todd Henderson. Todd has just become the number one draft pick of the New Jersey Nets and is ready to celebrate. With his mother Emma (Jennifer Lewis) and dad JoJo (Frankie Faison), Todd is ready to throw a traditional Henderson family cookout at his brand new multi-million dollar pad. The place is perfect with a big backyard and Todd's expendable millions. This should be the best family cookout ever, but if it were that easy we wouldn't have a movie.

Todd has a new girlfriend Brittany (smokin hot Meagan Good) who complicates everything by getting on mom's nerves. Brittany was raised in the suburbs, obsessed with social climbing and has no idea what a cookout is all about. She does know how to spend Todd's money, on the decorating of the house, on fancy European chef's and expensive cars, and anything else that might drive Todd's mother crazy, especially since Todd and Brittany have no plans for marriage.

Todd's family is a collection of movie cliches so tired that they aren't worth mentioning other than to mention that Tim Meadows, Godfrey and Reg E. Cathey play various family members too dull to name. The supporting cast outside the family is actually quite good, especially Eve who plays Todd's childhood best friend who's grown a lot from the awkward girl he knew as a kid to challenge Brittany for his affection. Sadly, her part is very small.

The other good supporting role is that of the security guard played by Queen Latifah. Latifah is credited with writing the screenplay, which if true is mind blowing. Maybe she only wrote her part, which is by far the best thing in the film. Latifah gets all of the film’s big laughs, which are few and far between. The remaining supporting players are treated worse than the cliched family members, especially poor Danny Glover who sacrifices all dignity in a poorly written stereotype of a black man acting like an uptight white guy.

The less said about Ja Rule in the film’s unnecessary bad guy role the better. I would tell Ja to not quit his day job but his recent album sales leave him few options.

What Cookout really comes down to essentially are its two disparate lead performances by Storm P, real name Quaran Pender, and Jennifer Lewis. When I say disparate I mean they are two very different performances. Where Pender melts unnoticeable into the scenery while Lewis stands out and damn near makes this thing work with her sheer force of will. Lewis' role is an underwritten cliche, clipped together from pieces of other movies featuring domineering black mothers. Yet Lewis manages to make many of her scenes work. Were the film about her and not Storm P's character the movie might have had a chance.

Sadly, who am I kidding, this film never had a chance. Cookout is the cynical invention of a marketing department salivating at the opportunity to appeal to what they see as a reliable niche market. They aren't concerned with making good movies starring African-American casts, the studios simply want them cheap and fast with the thought that just having black people in starring roles is enough to draw small segmented audiences, just enough to make a little profit. Cynicism is bad enough but combined with racism as it is here it's disturbing.