Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Summer Movie Roundup

Well, RavenWeb did a summer roundup, so this give me the excuse to do so as well....

I finally saw two Will Ferrell movies on DVD over the past few days: Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory.

Talladega Nights is somewhat funny, and might be worth a rainy-Saturday rental, but it's not fantastic. (The extras are far funnier than the movie, which is always a bad sign.) It's too long by 30 minutes or so, and goes in too many directions at once -- over the top crazy for a while, then maudlin, then tear-jerker, then crazy again. It takes genius writing and editing to pull that off, and the filmmakers don't in this case. The supporting cast is quite good, with small but good supporting turns by Molly Shannon, Amy Adams, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch, and Gary Cole, plus a criminally underutilized Sacha Baron Cohen. The two actors playing "Ricky Bobby"s sons ("Walker" and "Texas Ranger") are fantastic, especially the younger, Grayson Russell. Expect to see more of him.

Blades of Glory was a pleasant surprise: a tight, funny movie that never takes itself terribly seriously. Ferrell and Jon Heder play men's figure skaters who get booted out of competition for fighting, and later combine to do doubles skating (through a rules loophole) to get back on the ice. Hilarity ensues. Lots of homosqueamish jokes ensue, but they don't seem mean-spirited (except towards the characters showing the squeamishness). Good guest turns by Jenna Fischer, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, and several real figure skaters round out a fun time. Recommended for a nice brainless hour and a half of fun.

RavenWeb may have liked Knocked Up, but I thought it rotted. The 40 Year Old Virgin was far funnier, and far less stupid, in my opinion. I found Knocked Up implausible, semi-insulting, and far too hyped. Plus, I don't like Seth Rogen much. Paul Rudd was good in the supporting role, but it's Leslie Mann (director Judd Apatow's wife) who really shines -- as an actress -- her character was annoying.

I know I saw more movies this summer, but I can't remember them.

1 comment:

Raven said...

Well, you know how it goes with Will Ferrell movies, 60% of the time, they're funny 100% of the time. (Thank you, Ron Burgundy.)