OBVIOUS CHILD

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Jenny Slate: part-time comedian Donna Stern

Jake Lacy: an unlikely bar patron Max

Gabu Hoffman: Donna’s BFF Nellie

Gabe Liedman: their friend Joey

and others no doubt

REVIEW

I am not a big fan of humour that relies upon getting laughs about day-old female underwear and intimate details about the stand-up comedian’s sex life. And from the opening scenes it is apparent the patrons of the sleazy smoky bar are of the same opinion as no one laughs. Other than that the jokes are of the potty-mouth variety including reference to noisy bodily functions, the sort of gags that appeal to 5 and 6-year-olds.

Given that the film is promoted as a romantic comedy the comedy side is practically nil. As for the romance it is basically a one-night stand and there’s not a lot of romance in those type of encounters. So that aspect is practically nil as well.

It didn’t take long before I realized this is a big waste of time so I walked out.

CLASSIFICATION

 for profanity, sexual situations, crude humour.

FADING GIGOLO

 Romantic comedy

F.Y.I.

Shorim (Hebrew for watchers or guards) are Jewish civilian patrols set up in Hasidic neighbourhoods in the United States and England. Their primary role is to combat anti-Semitic attacks, burglary, vandalism, mugging, assault and domestic violence. The volunteers are unarmed and do not have the authority to make arrests. They ride in vehicles that look like regular police cars.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Woody Allen: former bookstore owner Murray Schwartz

Sharon Stone: Murray’s dermatologist Dr. Parker

Sofia Vergara: Dr. Parker’s friend Selima

John Turturro: Fioravante, Murray’s former employee

Tonya Pinkins: Murray’s wife Orthella, an African-American

Vanessa Paradis: Avigal, the widow of a Hasidic rabbi

Live Schreiber: Dovi, a volunteer with Shorim

REVIEW

Preposterous, ludicrous and vulgar. Other than that this film about a male escort does not have much going for it. The surprising thing to me is the fact Woody Allen is involved with such a trashy, pulp-magazine type movie. The fact that his role is so unbelievable and totally out of character begs the question “why?”.  

Although there are a few bits of comic relief, mostly of the slap-stick sort, the acting somehow feels wrong and does not ring true. And there is one other thing.

Once more Ralph’s Rule of Redundancy applies:

“Any film where one person takes on more than two key positions has a major shortcoming: the absence of independent critical judgement that results in something less than it might have been.”

In this case John Turturro stars in and is also the Writer and Director.

CLASSIFICATION

 for some sexual content, language and brief nudity.

THE LUNCHBOX

Some dialogue in Hindi with English subtitles 

F.Y.I.

In India for over 100 years hot lunches prepared at home or at a local restaurant are delivered to the employee’s workplace by a dabbawala, a person who also returns the empty lunchbox (called a dabba) at the end of the day. There are roughly 5,0000 dabbawala just in Mumbai who deliver an estimated 200,000 lunchboxes a month. They pride themselves on their punctuality and near-perfect record of delivery: a Harvard University study concluded that only one in a million lunchboxes goes to the wrong person.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Nimrat Kaur: housewife Ila

Nakul Vaid: her husband Rajiv

Ifran Khan: Saajan, a claims clerk near retirement

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Shaikh, his imminent replacement

REVIEW

This charming film about two people who meet by chance and establish a relationship is not your usual romantic comedy movie. For starters, the actors are not that well know and both leads give gentle, believable, unhurried  performances. And there is no wham-bam-thank-you-mam moments. So un-Hollywood. So refreshing.

CLASSIFICATION

PG for thematic material and smoking.

ENOUGH SAID

 Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: self employed massage therapist Eva

Catherine Keener: Marianne, one of Eva’s clients

James Gandolfini: Albert, employee of a museum of tv broadcasting

Tracey Fairaway: Eva’s daughter Ellen

Tavi Gevinson: Ellen’s friend Chole

Eve Hewson: Albert’s daughter Tess

Toni Collette: Eva’s best friend Sarah

REVIEW

By sticking to the conventional formula of these things the film does not break any new ground nor is it particularly funny, just mildly amusing. What does make it different from the others is the low-key performance by Gandolfini. He steals the screen just about every time he appears and it’s refreshing to see someone who comes across as real in this situation. That is reason enough to go see the movie but you’ll not hear about it when the awards are handed out for best picture of the year.

CLASSIFICATION

for crude and sexual content, comic violence, language and partial nudity.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

Eva has a glass of wine at the party that changes level although she never gets it topped up. Same thing happens with Albert’s glass of water when they’re having dinner together.

P.S.

The closing credits include “For Jim” as James Gandolfini passed away in June 2013 from an unexpected heart attack while vacationing in Italy.

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

 Romantic comedy
Portions in Danish with English subtitles

Original title: Den skaldede frisør

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Trine Dyrholm: Ida, a hairdresser

Kim Bodnia: her husband Leif

Molly Egelind: their daughter Astrid

Sebastian Jessen: Astrid’s fiancé Patrick

Pierce Bosnan: Patrick’s father wealthy business tycoon Philip

Paprika Steen: Philip’s sister-in-law Benedikte

REVIEW

Unlike most movies of this genre, this one is about young love and grown-up romance. The differences make for an interesting study in human psychology. That is but one of the unusual aspects of this movie: it shuns most of the clichés associated with romantic comedies and so it comes across as more real and closer to the truth than the usual run-of-the-mill sort. How refreshing. 

Apart from a few questionable plot devices and a subplot involving one of the daughters that goes nowhere, the story evolves at a nice pace. Dyrholm’s performance is letter perfect and Brosnan has never been better.

As an added bonus we are treated to the lushness of the Southern Italian countryside. Almost makes you want to pack you bag and go. But before doing so, go see this movie: your effort will be well rewarded.

CLASSIFICATION

 for sexually suggestive scene, nudity and coarse language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• Ida tells her doctor she does not want to have any reconstructive surgery but when she comes to shore after a brief dip it is clearly evident she had the work done.
• Philip explains that they pruned the orange trees so they would bear lemons; to accomplish this you have to graft the trees not prune them.

ADMISSION

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Tina Fey: Princeton admissions officer Portia Nathan

Michael Sheen: her live-in boyfriend English professor Mark

Wallace Shawn: Portia’s boss Clarence, Dean of Admissions

Gloria Reuben: Portia’s associate Corinne

Paul Rudd: Director of New Quest John Pressman

Nat Wolff: one of the school’s students Jeremiah Balakian

Lily Tomlin: Portia’s mom Susannah

Travaris Spears: John’s adopted son Nelson

REVIEW

Certainly not the best movie of the year, but not the worst either. There are moments of real drama and inspired comedy but at other times it is beyond plausible.

Contrived situations stand out in large measure because they do not meet our expectations. Case in point: Portia is a very experienced highly regarded key member of a prestigious university yet she embarrasses herself at a student party. Perhaps we are supposed to giggle at this out-of-character behaviour? I’m sure if the writers tried harder they could come up with something better than that.

With the all-star cast this could have been a real winner. Could have.

CLASSIFICATION

for language, some sexual material.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• Portia’s pen on the left hand side of her desk moves about from one change of scene to another.
• This is one of my classic nitpicks: when Portia hangs up, John hears a dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.

P.S.

Autodidact: noun

A self-taught person

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

 Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Bradley Cooper: former high school teacher Pat Solitano

Chris Tucker: his friend Danny

Jacki Weaver: Pat’s mother Dolores

Robert De Niro: his father Pat Sr. a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan

John Ortiz: their neighbour Ronnie

Julia Stiles: Ronnie’s wife Veronica

Jennifer Lawrence: Veronica’s sister Tiffany

REVIEW

Unlike most movies of this sort, this one is not aimed at the younger crowd. With some serious issues, it is anything but fluff. In fact, some scenes are difficult to watch as they are that real.

With a strong storyline and some great acting by Cooper and Lawrence (De Niro too) it is at times funny, inspiring, unsettling and engaging. That makes for a strong contender for recognition of some sort, maybe at the time they give out the Academy Awards?

CLASSIFICATION

 for sexual content, brief nudity and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

• The car Dolores is driving does not meet the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 202 so would not be allowed on the road  since both head restraints have been removed.
• During dinner at Ronnie’s house in the mirrored cabinet behind Veronica a crew member can be seen trying to get out of the camera’s view.
• While Pat Sr. is explaining his strategy to Dolores and Randy, his gambling friend never stays put; from one shot to another Randy is either behind or beside her.
• Although Pat and his father are alone in the car and Pat Sr. keeps both hands on the wheel, the back seat window closes all by itself.
• When Tiffany recaps the Eagles season she mentions that they won both games  against the Seahawks; since these teams are in separate divisions they would not play each other twice in a season.
• Pat walks into the dance studio with duct tape on his sneakers. He sits down so  Tiffany can wrap duct tape around his now tape-free shoes.
• While reading the letter in the dance studio, without touching it the pendant on his necklace comes and goes; sometimes it is on the front of his shirt or not and when he walks away it is at the back of his neck.

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Aubrey Plaza: Darius Britt, intern at a Seattle magazine

Jake Johnson: Jeff Schwensen, one of the magazine's writers

Mary Lynn Rajskub: Jeff’s boss Bridget

Karan Soni: Amau, another intern

Mark Duplass: grocery store clerk Kenneth Calloway

Jenica Bergere: Liz, one of Jeff’s old flames

REVIEW

Although it’s not going to win any awards, this whimsical tale about people connecting with others (or reconnecting) is a pleasant enough outing. Promoted as a romantic comedy the humour is of the chuckles variety rather than all-out laughter. In fact pretty much everything is low key including the budget.

CLASSIFICATION

for language including some sexual references. That classification is way out of line: this is a PG-13 movie nothing more.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY

While sitting in front of the fire, Darius has a sweater around her shoulders. From the front it’s on both shoulders but viewed from the right hand side it is only on her left shoulder.

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Emily Blunt: management consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot
Ewan McGregor: Department of Fisheries expert Dr. Alfred Jones
Rachael Stirling: his wife Mary
Amr Waked: Sheikh Muhammad
Kristin Scott Thomas: Prime Minister's press secretary Bridget Maxwell
Tom Mison: Harriet’s boyfriend Capt. Robert Mayers

REVIEW
There are more than a few chuckles and laughs in the telling of this rather unusual story including the premise itself of sport fishing in the desert. The acting is first rate and some of the scenery is pretty impressive.

It is thoroughly entertaining even though the British accent keeps you on your toes so as not to miss any of the dialogue.

In the words of one movie-goer “it’s a charming gem of a movie with almost unbelievable challenges facing them with great acting by all the principals”.

CLASSIFICATION

for some violence, sexual content and brief language.

FRIENDS WITH KIDS

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Adam Scott: advertising executive Jason
Jennifer Westfeldt: his long time friend foundation staffer Julie
Maya Rudolph: 38-year-old Leslie
Chris O’Dowd: her husband 32-year-old Alex
Kristen Wiig: their friend Missy
Jon Hamm: her husband Ben
Megan Fox: Broadway chorus dancer Mary Jane
Edward Burns: divorced father Kurt

REVIEW
A lot of the dialog is just one notch up from gangster rap what with the blatant references to all things sexual and rude hand gestures just in case you missed the point. Almost every verbal exchange includes the f-word at least once as this potty-mouth crowd even uses the word in front of children. What a fine example of parenthood that is!

The visual jokes are infantile: I kid you not, relying on such hilarious things as a photo of their child’s first "poo in the potty" or a feces smeared father changing the child’s diaper. Doesn’t get any better than that I’ll tell you.

Although I walked out and didn’t get to see the ending I have little doubt about how everything plays out given the fact everything up to that point was so déjà-vu.

CLASSIFICATION

for sexual content and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• The product placement rotating bottle nitpick. From one shot to the next the bottle rotates without being touched so that the label is clearly seen. In this instance all this takes place while Jason and/or Kurt are drinking their beer of choice, Budweiser.
• When Jason abruptly turns his car around he does so illegally because he’s on a one-way street.

P.S.
Ralph’s Rule of Redundancy once more holds true:
“Any film where one person (Jennifer Westfeldt in this case) takes on more than 2 key positions (Writer, Producer, Director and Star) has a major shortcoming: the absence of independent critical judgement, that results in something less than it might have been.”

ONE DAY

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Anne Hathaway: Emma Morley
Jim Sturgess: Dexter Mayhew
Patricia Clarkson: Dexter’s mother Alison
Ken Stott: Dexter’s father
Rafe Spall: Emma’s boyfriend Ian
Romola Garai: Dex’s girlfriend Sylvie

REVIEW
By showing snippets of two people’s lives on the same day each year over two decades, the basic premise virtually guarantees failure because there is no real story. Instead we get to see what Emma and Dex were doing that day, sometimes together, often apart. It soon becomes very predictable and frankly a bit boring because as one movie goer put it “the whole thing goes nowhere.”

Furthermore it stretches the imagination that a randy young man like Dex would act in the manner he did the first night together with a stunning sexy woman like Emma and then again on several other occasions later such as in the swimming pool. In a word, I don’t believe it for a moment. It does not ring true!

In fact, that could be said for the entire movie.


CLASSIFICATION

for sexual content, partial nudity, language, some violence and substance abuse.

STUPID CRAZY LOVE

Romantic Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Steve Carell: Cal Weaver
Julianne Moore: Emily, Cal’s wife of 25 years
Jonah Bobo: their 13-year-old son Robbie
Analeigh Tipton: his 17-year-old babysitter Jessica
Ryan Gosling: Jacob Palmer a womanizing stud
John Carroll Lynch: Cal's neighborhood buddy Bernie
Emma Stone: Hannah, a law student
Josh Groban: her boyfriend Robert
Marisa Tomei: Kate, a teacher
Kevin Bacon: Emily's coworker David Lindhagen

and others no doubt.

REVIEW
It’s not often the title serves as a self-evaluation: this is one stupid, crazy movie. In a word it’s a total mess, a series of contrived unbelievable romantic encounters that begs the question “what has this got to do with me?”

If you have a lot of time on your hands and are willing to keep track of at least a half dozen love connections intermingled with some pretty lame jokes, then this one is for you. Otherwise, you’ll do as I did and walk out.

CLASSIFICATION

for sexual situations and coarse language.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

84th Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Owen Wilson: Hollywood screenwriter Gil Pender
Rachel McAdams: his fiancée Inez
Mimi Kennedy: her mother Wendy
Kurt Fuller: her father John
Michael Sheen: Inez’s ex Paul
Carla Bruni: Rodin museum guide
Alison Pill: party-girl Zelda
Tom Hiddleston: her husband Scott
Corey Stoll: Ernest
Léa Seydoux: Gabrielle, owner of a second-hand store
Kathy Bates: Gertrude
Adrien Brody: Salvador
Marion Cotillard: fashion designer Adriana

REVIEW
At the risk of spoiling the pleasure of having the events unfold at their own pace just let me say that this is a clever and entertaining movie with more than a few well considered bits of dialogue and some astute observations.

Good romantic comedies are hard to come by but this one is definitely for the discerning audience and not the usual “made for the masses” light-weight forgettable ones too often foisted on the public.

Owen Wilson is perfectly cast as the romantic with his laid back childlike outlook on life. Also turning in excellent performances are Marion Cotillard and Adrien Brody to name but a few.


CLASSIFICATION
for some sexual references and smoking.

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Natalie Portman: Dr. Emma Kurtzman
Ashton Kutcher: Adam Franklin, television producer
Ophelia Lovibond: his girlfriend Vanessa
Kevin Kline: Adam’s father Alvin
and others no doubt

REVIEW
It is not likely anyone other than the target audience (women between the ages of 17 to 24-years-old) will find very much to like in this fanciful story about today’s attitude towards casual sex.

For the target demographic there is lots to see including very much of Ashton Kutcher in fact, about 99% of him with only a small towel affording him any measure of modesty. By contrast Natalie Portman manages to keep her clothes on (well at least her undergarments) despite the frequent passionate sex scenes.

The dialogue is sprinkled liberally with potty-mouth references and lots of raunchy situations. I could see where all this was headed so I walked out.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual content, language and some drug material.

LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Jake Gyllenhaal: sales clerk Jamie Randall
Josh Gad: Jamie’s younger brother Josh
Oliver Platt: Pfizer Area Manager Bruce Jackson
Katheryn Winnick: Pfizer sales rep Lisa
Hank Azania: Dr. Stan Knight
Anne Hathaway: 26-year-old artist Maggie Murdock
Gabriel Macht: Trey Hannigan, top salesman for Eli Lilly's Prozac

REVIEW
Much of the film is squarely targeted at teenagers and it should satisfy the wet-dream of even the most horny of them. And they don’t have to wait very long before the first tantalizing scene: about two minutes after the opening credits we get to see two people “doing it”.

But that is only the first of many similar encounters, sometimes within 10-minutes of meeting for the first time, providing ample opportunity to view topless women and bottomless men. The requisite masturbation scene is there as is the clueless rich boy, even a pajama party with everyone pairing off.

CLASSIFICATION
for strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, and some drug material.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• Set in 1996 the grey-market electronics store where Jamie works has nothing but large flat screen televisions. Although these were invented two years earlier by a team at the University of Illinois it was not until 1997 that Sharp and Sony introduced them to the marketplace.
• The first large flat screen televisions sold for more than $15,000 making them well out of reach of most people. Consequently they were available only in high-end retail stores not the kind of store where Jamie was a sales clerk.
• Although Dr. Knight never touches the stethoscope slung over his left shoulder it moves by itself from one scene to another.
• In the same manner, the straw in Maggie’s drink changes location by itself.
• And so does Jamie’s roller-bag when he sets it down beside the dumpster.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

Romantic comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Katherine Heigl: Holly Berenson, owner of Fraiche bakery/café
Josh Duhamel: Eric Messer, sports network technical director
Hayes MacArthur: his best friend Peter Novak
Christina Hendricks: and his wife Alison
Josh Lucas: pediatrician Dr. Sam
Sarah Burns: Child Protection Service representative Janine Groff
Britt Flatmo: preteen baby sitter Amy

REVIEW
As long as you don’t set the bar too high and don’t expect too much out of it, this is a pleasant outing. Given that the premise is not all that original (the godparents of a one-year-old are put in a position of having to take care of her) there’s a sense of déjà vu with predictable results. The sight gags and one-liners provide some amusing moments and the romantic element plays out as it should.

Certainly not the best movie ever but it’s not that difficult to sit through despite being a tad too long.

CLASSIFICATION
for sexual material, language and some drug content.

HEARTBREAKER

Romantic comedy
Orignal title: L'arnacœur
In French with English subtitles

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Romain Duris: Alex Lippi, professional romantic mercenary
Julie Ferrier: his sister Mélanie
François Damiens: Mélanie’s husband Marc
Vanessa Paradis: 30-year-old wine expert Juliette Van Der Becq
Jacques Franz: her rich father
Héléna Noguerra: Juliette’s best friend Sophie
Andrew Lincoln: Juliette’s investment-banker fiancé Jonathan Alcott

REVIEW
What sets this one apart from others of this sort is that both elements are very much in evidence: there’s romance (lots and lots of it) and some funny bits. Not many romantic comedies can match that.

But it goes a bit too far allowing Sophie’s slutty nature to predominate for several scenes. Frankly it lacks credibility as I cannot see Juliette, the “perfect lady”, hanging out for a minute with someone like that. To my mind it takes the whole thing down a notch.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief sexuality and language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
In an attempted carjacking the driver’s side window gets smashed but just minutes later Alex and Juliette drive off and it’s perfectly fine, not a scratch on it.