Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn and Julianne Moore. Image via uaa.alaska.edu/

Car mechanic Benny (Aidan Quinn) has been living with and taking care of his sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) ever since they lost their parents a long time ago. Joon is mentally troubled and has certain obsessions. Her problems make her intolerant to certain things such as extreme noise, traffic and chaos. While social consultants advise Benny to register in a private care facility, Benny is perfectly content with the living arrangements and so is Joon.

Benny’s idea of fun is playing poker with his friends. At one game, the stakes get a bit unusual. One of Benny’ friends puts his eccentric cousin Sam (Johnny Depp) on the table. Benny loses and ends up taking Sam at home. Sam can’t read or write but he is a total movie nut and he is acting a lot like the silent movie actor Buster Keaton. It doesn’t take long for him to get used to Joon’s “eccentricities” and Joon has a lot of fun having him around. In fact they seem to form a special bond which leads to a romantic involvement. But how will Benny react? And how are these two ever going to make a relationship work? And will Benny be ever to concentrate on his romantic life while he is concerned about Joon all the time?

Benny and Joon is a delightful, emotional and very fun romantic comedy/drama. The performances are lovely but of course as always Johnny Depp shines through. Oliver Platt and Julianne Moore take supporting roles – Oliver Platt as Benny’s friend and Julianne Moore as Ruthie, Benny’s romantic interest. The soundtrack is just lovely and both Benny and Joon’s and Joon and Sam’s relationships are well-developed throughout the film. This film is so much more than a romantic/drama/comedy.

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil, 1993. 

Rated 6.9 on IMDB. Well, 7 or above 7 seems pretty fair to me. Benny and Joon is a total Johnny Depp gem. Of course the film is based in reality and you are having your most fun Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp collaborations, this might not be ideal for you. However, I do suggest you give this one a shot. 

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The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Catrall and Olivia Williams. Directed by Roman Polanski, 2010. Image via kampusteyiz.com

A  ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is a little bit reluctant about his next assignment. He is not all that into writing a politic memoir, especially when the ghost writer hired before him ended up dead. And while the cause of death is considered to be either suicide or accident, it doesn’t sound like the perfect job. However his agent and the promised fat paycheck persuades him to take on the job.

The memoir he’ll be ghost-writing is of former prime minister of UK, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). His working conditions are far from ideal as he is not allowed to copy or take out the manuscript, has only one month to finish it, the house of Lang’s is in the middle of nowhere, Lang has a discontent wife (Olivia Williams) who is followed by bodyguards wherever she goes and totally despises Lang’s perfectionist assistant Amelia Bly (Kim Catrall), who she suspects of having an affair with her husband.

The conditions get worse when Lang gets accused of war crimes and people are making frantic protests in front of his house. Because of the chaos, now our ghost writer has to stay in the house, and in his dead predecessor’s room. The publishers also want the book finished 2 weeks sooner.

Things get complicated as our writer is not sure who to trust and becomes increasingly convinced that the previous ghost writer was murdered. But who wanted him dead? What the hell is in that memoir? And will they be coming after him as well, whoever they are?

Directed by Roman Polanski, written/adapted by Roman Polanski and Robert Harris, based on the book called The Ghost, written by Robert Harris. The Ghost Writer is a solid, albeit a little slow-paced drama-mystery-thriller with a stellar cast. Pierce Brosnan certainly looks the part of a handsome-actor-turned-politician, Ewan is perfectly tailored for his role and who can blame an ice-cold wife Ruth Lang (icily portrayed by (Olivia Williams) for suspecting her husband was sleeping with his assistant that comes in the form of Kim Catrall, a.k.a Sex and The City’s Samantha. The slow pace is not a negative thing as the movie always holds your attention and keeps you guessing. Some viewers complained about the ending but I personally loved it. 7.8 on Imdb. I probably wouldn’t go as far to rate it a 7.8, but it is definitely above 7. You don’t always find intelligent entertainment. Thumbs up.

***

Note: I didn’t read the book. But I am tempted to read Robert Harris’s books.

Fun Note: Adam Lang’s lawyer is played by Timothy Hutton, star of the heist thriller TV series Leverage.

And the ghost is hired by a bald James Belushi.

***

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. Written by Jason Segel and directed by Nicholas Stoller. 2008. Image via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is a musician working on the music of a popular crime TV series, starring Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Peter also has been dating Sarah for 5.5 years and he is still very much in love with her. That’s why he is devastated when she dumps her for another guy. Peter gets seriously depressed and despite the common sense his stepbrother Brian (Bill Hader) tries to talk into him, he tries to get over Sarah by going to bed with any woman he meets. When he realizes this is not the cure, he decides to go to Hawaii, thinking that maybe an exotic vacation might help him cheer up.

However what he finds in Hawaii is his ultimate nightmare, as Sarah and her new boyfriend, obnoxious but extremely popular British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) are there on vacation. Sarah is uncomfortable but Aldous couldn’t care less whether Peter was there or not. So Peter’s vacation is off to a terrible start, except for the one fact. The hotel desk clerk/guest manager Rachel (Mila Kunis) is nice, gorgeous, fun and has a good sense of humor. So in between trying to get over Sarah, meeting the weird but funny hotel workers (stoned surfer Chuck, the Aldous-obsessed waiter, sea turtles and fish-loving bartender, gentle but gigantic food server and the even weirder hotel guest- the newly married, devout Christian who is having sexual problems with his wife and sharing them all with them) and romancing  Rachel, Peter’s Hawaii vacation gets crazier and much more complicated than he ever envisioned.

If I had to use one word to describe Forgetting Sarah Marshall, that word would be hilarious. This movie is one of the best comedies I have seen. It is original, funny, cute, entertaining and romantic all at the same time. While this is not your typical romcom, it is definitely not your typical crude comedy etiher. The writer of the film is How I Met Your Mother and I Love You, Man star Jason Segel. While the comedy series How I met your mother never hit home with me, I knew Jason Segel had comedic talent when I watched I Love You, Man. However as it turns out, Jason can also write marvelous comedy as the writing credits of this hilarious film are his.

Yes, the movie does contain some typical romcom elements: Such as the guy tries to get over a girl and then meets another girl and we root for him to get the second girl. But this movie is never all about Peter trying to hook up or end up with Rachel as the supporting characters are always ready in the background to make you laugh. I had a laugh out of every single character in the film.

And while the humor includes male nudity, sex, awkward sex attempts, mentions and implications of blow jobs , sex pointers on the beach and more, Jason Segel has managed to make everything funny and not disgusting.

The Cast:

It is also fun to see a cast you are familiar with. There is a big chance the actors will look very familiar to you.

*Chuck the surf instructor is played by Paul Rudd who you may have known from his movie roles in Clueless, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, Knocked Up, Role Models, “I Love You, Man”, I Could Never Be Your Woman or his co-starring role in Friends as Mike Hannigan. Paul Rudd is charming and can be funny in any role. While he is not exactly what you can call a diverse actor, he does pull off comedy well.

*Jason Segel stars as Marshall on the hit comedy How I Met Your Mother and has been Marshall since 2005. And he does share some movies with Paul Rudd.

* This is the first time I see Mila Kunis in a movie as I am more familiar with her as Jackie from That 70’s Show. She is playing a pretty different character here and she really is good.

*Sarah Marshall is brilliantly played by Kristen Bell, who I had never seen her play a “bitch” before. She is famous for her title role in the detective TV show Veronica Mars that went on for 3 seasons. She is also the voice on Gossip Girl. While she is never seen, her voice is present in every episode. She also starred in movies When in Rome, Couples Retreat and the sort of spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall- Get Him to The Greek. Get Him to The Greek is a comedy written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, who also directed Sarah Marshall. It features Russell Brand as Aldous Snow one more time. While Russell hit the target here, I am not sure I can take him through another movie. But I guess Nicholas Stoller deserves a chance as he wrote the scripts of Yes Man and Fun with Dick & Jane, two of my favorite Jim Carrey movies.

*It’s refreshing to see Jonah Hill appear in a movie without Seth Rogen around. While I don’t particularly like him, he doesn’t bother me in small doses. You might remember Jonah from Knocked Up, Funny People or The Invention of Lying.

*The stepbrother Brian is played by Bill Hader, a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live. He has stints on two Saturday Night Live episodes I covered: One stars Jon Bon Jovi and the other Gerard Butler. Trust me, if you see those stints, you will recognize Bill Hader.

There is another SNL cast member on the show: Kristen Wiig. She keeps getting small roles in movies. You can also see her in Whip It and Ghost Town.

7.4 on IMDB, voted by over 70.000 voters. I have no objections.

Trivia: In the fictional tv show that is starring Sarah Marshall co-stars a male detective who is played by William Baldwin, one of Alec Baldwin’s brothers. And there is very little Jason Bateman cameo as well who co-stars with Kristen Bell in Couple’s Retreat.

Buy Forgetting Sarah Marshall on Amazon.com at $ 9.99

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The Watcher starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei.Directed by Joe Charbanic. Image via histreaming.com

Joel Campbell (James Spader) is an ex-FBI agent. He has left active duty due to disability: He has severe migraines, suffers from lack of sleep, forgetfulness and more. He goes to therapy two times a week. His psychiatrist – beautiful Polly- (Marisa Tomei) is sure he can handle being an agent again.  Joel’s home-therapy-restaurant ritual in Chicago is totally disrupted when the smart serial killer Griffin (Keanu Reeves) strikes again. And he is not just any serial killer. He loves being chased by Joel and when he moved to Chicago, he has followed him. This man targets young women and he has also killed Joel’s beloved wife. He starts sending Joel pictures of his next victims. Being the only man experienced with this case, Joel involuntarily starts working to catch him.

Somehow, the killer manages to be ahead of them. But of course the killer loves risks and targeting young women without an emotional attachment stops being exciting. Can Joel save himself, and the next target? And do keep in mind, Joel doesn’t even know what the killer looks like!

The Watcher is a very decent drama/thriller. Its atmosphere and acting add a lot to the plot. It is refreshing to see James Spader as the good guy and Keanu Reeves as the psycho. Of course if you are a single woman alone, there is a chance this movie might get under your skin more. It is also creepy that Keanu Reeves’s character seems and acts totally charming and normal in public, meets his victims and talks to them. His cool makes it all more chilling when he gets to “work”. His fascination with Joel is equally daunting.

I have to say I enjoyed this film more the first time I saw it. But the first time was in a dark movie theater, not knowing what will happen next- racing against time with James Spader as he tried to prevent the murders. I watched it a second time and even though I still enjoyed it, it wasn’t so exciting.

However, keep in mind that this is not a horror film. It is a thriller-drama and it is not gory at all.  I think this movies is a must for Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei fans. Written by Darcy Meyers, David Elliot and Clay Ayers. Directed by Joe Charbanic. 2000.

7-7.5/10 after watching it the first time

6-6.5/10 after watching it a second time

But it is definitely underrated at 5.2 on IMDB.

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Monica Belluci and Teresa Palmer. Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Image via disnology.com

Balthazar Blake (Nicholas Cage), Veronica (Monica Belluci) and Horvath (Alfred Molina) are sorcerer apprentices to Merlin. They are all very powerful and are supposed to use magic for humanity. When Horvath makes a deal with the evil sorcerer Morgana (Alice Krige), steals a powerful magic and attacks them,  Veronica imprisons Morgana in herself ;and herself in a “grimhold” to save Balthazar and the world. Before Merlin dies, he tells Balthazar that he needs to find ther “premerlinian” (I have no idea how to spell that!!)- a sorcerer so powerful that he will be able to destroy Morgana.  So Baltahazar searches for this special person for over a thousand years, with no avail.

Come 2000 and by coincidence, the child he is looking for walks into Balthazar’s shop. His name is David Strutter, he is 10 and he is in love with his classmate Becky. Just when Balthazar gives him his special ring and tries to explain his purpose, David accidentally sets Horvath free. This ends in Balthazar imprisoning himself and Horvath in a grimhold and David running away.

Come 2010,David (Jay Baruchel) is a total physics nerd, working on a Tesla related thesis. When he runs into Becky (Teresa Palmer) at the university, he can’t believe his luck. But just when he believes he has a shot with her, Balthazar and Horvath reappear. Balthazar starts training David and involuntarily lets him date as well. In the meantime, Horvath is trying to find himself other sorcerers who can help him with his mission.

Of course Horvath can’t be trusted, Balthazar has a hard time convincing David he is the one and we find about the real reason why Horvath betrayed them.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an absolute summer fun. This summer gave us totally entertaining action/adventure films with romantic subplots on the side and really good jokes. After Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia The Sands of Time and Knight and Day, we get another fun movie that totally entertains. I couldn’t have cared less if Inception topped this one at the box office.  The script is really well-balanced, Nicholas Cage is totally lovely and funny as Balthazar, Alfred Molina makes a fine villain (Chocolat, Spider Man 2) and Monica Belluci is gorgeous as always.

I really liked Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer’s performances as well. The comic timing, action sequences with magic , special affects and chemistry between the cast complement each other perfectly. I laughed a lot and had a great time. This movie is directed by Jon Turteltaub, and I have always loved his directing, regardless of the genre. He has also directed the National Treasure films starring Nicholas Cage, While You Were Sleeping and Phenomenon.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a Jerry Bruckheimer production. It was written by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Matt Lopez, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernhard.

But of course keep in mind I love the combination of action/comedy/romance and I am not that into magic.I don’t likethe Harry Potter series. But I am a fan of Cage and Molina and they deliver, big time.

Trailer 1

Trailer 2

8/10. Perfect escapism!

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Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Javier Bardem, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johannson and Penélope Cruz. Written and directed by Woody Allen. 2008. Image via:vickycristinabarcelona.files.wordpress.com

There might be spoilers in this review but trust me: there won’t be anything you haven’t predicted from the poster or trailer.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johannson) are good friends who come to Barcelona for the summer.  They are pretty opposite when it comes to their views about romance, love and relationships as the film’s narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) informs us: Vicky values commitment and is engaged to be married (to Doug-played by Chris Messina). Cristina loves drama and passion and even though she doesn’t know what she wants from a relationship, she is sure she is not striving for the stability Vicky seems to be so fond of.

With the occasional but not overly intrusive additions from the narrator, we follow the girls to the house (family friend of Vicky’ s- played by Patricia Clarkson) they will be staying at, going to an art gallery and meeting the movie’s leading guy: Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem).While Cristina is fascinated about what he learns about the guy (that he is a painter and had a violent relationship with his ex-wife Maria Elena/played by Penelope Cruz) and his good looks, Vicky seems less than impressed. She seems even less happy when Antonio comes over to meet them and offers to sleep with them both. He offers a weekend trip and obviously it is up to the girls whether they want to have sex or not. While Vicky is outraged, Cristina has loved how upfront Antonio is and finds him absolutely charming. So despite her better senses, Vicky follows Cristina to the place Antonio takes them.  However when Cristina gets sick, Vicky is left to spend time with Antonio and to her surprise, she realizes she does want him- a lot!

Guess what happens afterwards? Although Juan Antonio can’t have the threesome he envisioned, he does managed to bed Vicky first and Cristina later- who doesn’t know about the night with Vicky. Now, we have a guilty and confused Vicky, an experimental Cristina who doesn’t even seem to mind when his psychotic ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) comes into the picture. In fact, she even “experiments” with her. Even though this love triangle seems to be working for a while, Mary Elena is highly unstable and neither Vicky nor her fiancé were ever out of the picture.

Written and directed by Woody Allen, this film is easy to watch and is entertaining. However I need to warn you: I am not a Woody Allen fan and most of his films bored me to death as I don’t usually his share his views on relationships or his sense of humor.  And for me, Vicky Cristina Barcelona was a popcorn film- an entertaining, light comedy so I totally disagree with IMDB’s genre labels: drama and romance. There is nothing romantic or dramatic about this film. It is a fun little love rectangle to watch with some real eye candy for both sexes, beautiful location that is Barcelona and great music. This film is  a nicely told male fantasy. Think about it: a painter charms the pants out of two good friends and one of them would probably have a threesome if the other one had been up for it. Then the experimental girl sleeps with his ex-wife…Seriously! A man gets to have all three women in one movie, two of who have sex with each other and one of these women is Penelope Cruz. The other is Scarlett Johannson. While Javier Bardem is certainly a good-looking guy, he is not that cute. No man is.

Sure, it is a common female fantasy to meet a stranger on exotic soil and have a romantic night or two with him. But those fantasies most often don’t involve best friends, lesbian sex, threesomes and cheating on lovely fiancés. But then again, if your idea of romance and fantasy are anything in line with Woody Allen’s mentality, you will disagree with me. Yes, I disagree with the guy’s outlook on life- he slept with his adopted daughter, for God’s sake!

But I’ll say it again, this movie is a fun comedy. And it does make me want to go to Barcelona. And I’ll rate it a 6/10 (it is rated a 7.4 on IMDB). But if you don’t watch this movie, you won’t have missed a thing.

Note: There is one thing romantic about this film: Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz started dating during the shoot and now they are married.

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Gegen die Wand (Head-On) starring Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Güven K?raç, Catrin Striebeck and Meltem Cumbul. Written and directed by Fatih Ak?n, 2004. Image via legalmoviesdownloads.com

Gegen die Wand

The English Title is Head-On, and roughly translated it means Against The Wall, which I believe to be a much better title.

There are millions of Turks living in Germany and the problems depicted in the film are not exaggerated. While the film might seem  to be more of a concern to either Turkish people or Germans or the people caught between the two national identities, it all comes down to very universal themes of culture clash, unhealthy relationships between family members/generations, tradition vs. individuality, pain, love, drugs, depression and hope all at once. Let’s get back to it after the plot:

Cahit (Birol Ünel) is a Turkish guy in his 40s, who has been living in Germany ever since he can remember. He doesn’t really believe in anything. He is living a depressed, self-destructive life on alcohol and drugs and doesn’t really seem to mind if he ends up dead. When his actions cause him to end up in a psychiatric clinic, he meets another patient- a younger, attractive Turkish girl named Sibel (Sibel Kekilli) who asks him to marry her right on the spot, as soon as she finds out he is Turkish. She hates living with her family- especially her oppressive, religious, controlling and even occasionally violent father and brother. She is in the clinic because she has attempted suicide. It is not that she really wants to die, but she just doesn’t want to keep living her life under the ruling of her family. Cahit is amused by her suggestion and wants to laugh her off, but he soon realizes she is serious.  So he unwillingly agrees. The arrangement seems simple enough: she will cook, clean, and even pay rent- they will just be roomies. She couldn’t have cared less about how messed up he is, as she is dying to get away from home.

They get married and Cahit keeps his old habits up, while Sibel keeps sleeping around with any man she wants. But things don’t remain as simple as they planned them to be. They connect – and even fall in love. But before they have a chance to even try really being together, Cahit kills one of her “conquests” by mistake and goes to prison. Scared for her life and with nowhere else to go, she goes to live with her cousin (Meltem Cumbul) in Turkey. She can’t however manage to live a simple, regular life and ends up in serious trouble.  Can she survive her own self-destructive side and eventually get back together with Cahit?

Writer/director Fatih Akin  is Turkish-German- which means he is Turkish but grew up in Germany. Having experienced the culture clashes first hand, he has made a solid, albeit depressing film.

While not all Turkish people are like Sibel’s family and obviously not every rebellious person ends up like her, it is not unseen for young women to marry whoever, just to get away from home. Since she has not had the chance to act like she wanted her whole life, she goes overboard with everything- especially hooking up with as many men as she can. Cahit could have connected with her sooner, had he not been depressed for so long about his wife’s death.

This movie is depressing, I won’t lie. It is powerful and humane but the second half is too depressing for my taste. In fact the second half pretty much can compete with Requiem for a Dream in the depressing and dark department. So while I never expected a happy movie (well, both lead characters are suicidal on a level), I was hoping for a less tragic story. That being said, this movie is slightly more uplifting about human nature than Requiem for a Dream.

As for the story plausibility; obviously not all Turkish Germans are like that, although there are many families who are that way. But then again old-fashioned and blind traditionalism and so-called religiousness (it is not acceptable in any religion for married men to go and sleep with hookers. You will notice the hypocrisy of male attitude with Cahit’s in-laws) is not exclusive to Muslims or Turks. Hell, Stephen King created a horror/thriller classic called Carrie. Remember Carrie’s mother?

Yes, I like happier films. But when a film is good, you have to give its due.

The movie has great acting and I love the rock part of the soundtrack. But yes, the story is not for everyone. It is easy to feel sympathy for Sibel for the first half and hate her for the second. I found myself feeling sympathy for Cahit- but obviously, this is not a movie where you will find characters you can respect or admire. I also dislike the cuts to Istanbul scenery where a sort of folk group singing-  they kill the mood rather than adding to it.

Gegen die Wand is rated 8 on IMDB by over 16.000 people. It has won many awards, including the Golden Berlin Bear. It was made in 2004. It has scenes in Turkish and in German with a mixed cast. Both Birol Ünel and Sibel Kekilli are German Turkish. It is not always easy to watch but it is worth your time, no matter where you are from. 7.5/10 from me.

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Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, in 2003. Image via evlilikhazirliklari.com

Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is well into his sixties but is still dating much younger women. His latest girlfriend is a young woman named Marin (Amanda Peet) who plans a romantic getaway in the Hamptons. The problem is, the house is her mother’s-  successful playwright Erica’s (Diane Keaton), who has just arrived with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). Erica is shocked to see a half-dressed old man at her house and is even more shocked to find out he is not an intruder, but her daughter’s boyfriend. At Zoe’s suggestion, they all decide to stay at the house. As she puts it, they are sophisticated adults.

Erica is definitely not impressed with Harry’s track record of dating. She is even less impressed with his attitude towards older women. Later that night Harry has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. The doctor in charge is Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves), a very handsome 30-something who turns out to be a fan of Erica’s work. To everyone’s surprise, he is flirting with Erica. A bigger, and a much less pleasant surprise comes , however, when Harry doesn’t seem well enough to travel and she ends up having to “babysit” him at her house, alone.

Harry is more than anxious to go back to his life-sex life in particular. But Julian tells him to stay put until he can climb stairs without feeling exhausted. So as Harry and Erica inevitably spend time with each other and realize –to both their horror- that they may be enjoying each other’s company a little too much. Can Harry handle a mature relationship with a woman his age? Will he realize that Erica is actually the one for him? And if he does, does he have a chance against his competitor- the gorgeous, sweet and passionate Julian who is crazy about Erica?

Something’s Gotta Give is a very funny romantic comedy from writer/director Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, What Women Want,  It’s Complicated). The storyline is original, the actors are marvelous and the jokes are funny. It is one of those rare romantic comedies where guys will enjoys as much as girls, because the movie balances the two genres very well. In fact, I’d rather say the comedy is much more dominant than the romance. Even when Erica and Harry fall for each other, the reactions entertain you immensely. It is also a breath of fresh air to the couples with age difference theme, as the younger girls want Harry, younger Julian wants Erica and Erica and Harry seem to be more right for each other than both of them will realize.

I don’t need to rave about how brilliant and hilarious Jack Nicholson is. I am a huge fan but I suspect that so are you. Diane Keaton is sweet and just as funny. Frances McDormand’s role is important as she tries to make sure her relationship-wary, divorced sister doesn’t give up an opportunity as hot as Julian. And Keanu Reeves is as charming as ever.

The movie is rated 6.8 on IMDB. As for as romantic comedies go, this deserves a 9, if not a 10. I watched thousands of movies and Nancy Meyers has written/directed the romcoms that top my list.  Sure if I have to compare it to all other movies I’ve ever seen, it is probably a fair 7 or 8. But, it is no way justly rated at 6.8. See it and have a great laugh. Of course some people with issues won’t like the film- I read a funny user comment on how it was impossible for Jack Nicholson to pull Amanda Peet, how it was disgusting it was two watch Diane and Jack have sex (right, because only young people with perfect bodies have sex!)  and how a guy that looked like Keanu would no way go for Diane…Right, because young men never fell in love with older women…And Jack has never charmed the pants out of every woman with his acting…

You don’t have to suspend your beliefs to like this film. Just see it. Fun is guaranteed.

Favorite Lines:

*Julian hasn’t met the family yet, he is updating them about Harry’s condition:

Julian (Keanu Reeves): Your dad is going to be OK.

Marin (Amanda Peet): He is not my dad.

Julian: Oh, I’m sorry. Your granddad is gonna be okay.

*Harry (Jack Nicholson) to Erica (Diane Keaton) on his seeing her naked by accident and her freaking out:

Harry: Hey! You saw my ass, you don’t see me acting nuts!

* Harry is complaining to Julian about how uptight Erica is.

Harry: I actually saw her naked last night.

Julian: That doesn’t sound so uptight.

Harry: It was an accident. She thought I was asleep, I thought her bedroom was the kitchen.

Julian: You know what Freud said? There are no accidents.

Harry: Trust me. This was an accident. Although why would she be walking around naked when she knows I am 20 feet away?

Julian: Why would you think her bedroom was the kitchen?

Buy Something’s Gotta  Give from Amazon

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Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Image via terraespiritual.locaweb.com.br

Shallow Hal is one really good movie. It is funny, but it is not always laugh-out-loud, let’s- get- as-crude-as-possible sort of movie. If anything, it just might be the gentlest thing the Farrelly Brothers ever did. Before I get carried away, here is the plot:

Hal (Jack Black) is a shallow guy. As much as you would sometimes want to call him a jerk, “shallow” describes him much better, as he is very in humane in shallowness. After all, he is a guy who just wants to be with as many hot women as he can. It doesn’t really matter whether he is a hunk, he just wants hot women. And while we- and I mean women- may not be that aggressive in showing it, we do want hot dates. Don’t give me that I’m- all- too –deep- for- this- line- of- thinking- attitude; even for a second. Just do me a favor and consider these two hypothetical options:

-          There are two men who want you. They are both good guys, fun to be around and you have loads in common. But one of them is not attractive at all in your standards. The other is gorgeous. Which one would you pick? Assume they both want you. Neither has a bad bone in their body. Admit, it you’d go for the gorgeous one. Some women would go the other way, not because they are deeper but because they wouldn’t feel secure, as their boyfriend would get so desired by other women and they wouldn’t feel comfortable. This is not deep. This is called having issues.

So, can readers of both sexes be honest with me? You can be a nice person and you can place all the importance you want on personality. But given the choice between pretty and ugly (pretty and ugly in your terms) and assuming everything else is equal, you’d choose pretty. It may not be a great human trait, but unfortunately it is sort of imprinted on us. Blame whoever, whatever you want but it is there.

So, Hal, despite being a totally average-looking guy, wants to date babes. And it is screwing with his life because a hot girl won’t generally go for Hal. Let me “shallow” here. The moment Hal started appreciating hotness over everything, all I could think was,” Dude, look in the mirror! You are way too short, you need to lose like 15 pounds, get at least 5 pounds in muscle, and you don’t exactly have the prettiest face!”.  Of course as you watch Hal and see him transform, you start to find him cute. Oh yeah, he can be sweet. He can look nice. Still, Jack Black or Clive Owen?  Answer me. Exactly.

And then there is his much less attractive and much more shallow friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander, aka George Costanza of Seinfeld). He is even worse than Hal. But something changes drastically when Hal gets stuck in an elevator with self-help guru Tony Robbins (played by Tony Robbins himself). Tony notices Hal is totally looking at the wrong things, but is a nice guy inside. So he sort of hypnotizes him into seeing only the inner beauty of people. So if a person is nice, she will look like a babe to him. She will look like a babe to Hal, even if she is ugly and/or very fat.

That’s why obese Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow) looks like an extremely fit woman with a really good body to Hal. Of course to everybody else in society, she is fat and not so attractive. Mauricio is terrified as he can’t understand the sudden changes in his best friend. So even though Hal is head over heels with Rosemary, Mauricio makes sure he finds a way for Robbins to take the whole thing back. But what happens if he can reverse it? Hal will see a fat woman whose personality he is in love with…Tough call, right? And yeah, she is borderline fat- not just plump or a little heavy. She is fat enough to have health problems due to her weight, fat enough to break some solid chairs and sofas.

Despite appearances, this is not a shallow movie. It is done by humane people with the deepest of intentions. We keep our own superficial tendencies in check and hope Hal will make the right decision- the right romantic comedy decision, that is- to be with Rosemary at all costs.

We all judge books by their covers whether we want to admit it or not. Farrelly Brothers just have brought a nice little twist to the thing. Yes, more often than not, we don’t care about the looks that much if we are in love. But how do you get past that until you are in love? Do you really need a hypnosis or just some faith? And what is the guarantee that person who is not beautiful in your sense of the word is not superficial? Would he/she still go for you if you weighed 100 pounds higher? 200 pounds higher? 100 pounds lower? With virtually no breasts? With no hair? With absolutely 0 taste in clothes?  Multiply and diversify the examples. But make sure you think about it….

And then again, there is the notion that we do want to be considered pretty, inside out. Who here wants to be considered ugly by the person they are attracted to? No one. You wouldn’t probably care if the rest of the world thought you were average, but the person you want, should think you are beautiful/handsome, right?

This is a lovely romantic/comedy/drama and a lot less crude than Me,Myself and Irene, The Heart Break Kid or There is Something About Mary. Even the fat jokes feel like they are there to make fun of Hal and not Rosemary. See this, no matter how you see yourself. No matter how you think others see you. You will feel good.

Other Movies of Peter and Bobby Farrelly

There's Something About Mary starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. Rated 7.2 on IMDB. Directed and co-writen by Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Image via klausen1976.files.wordpress.com

Me,myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger. Directed and co-written by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Image via images.amazon.com

The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan. As usual, directed and co-written by the Farrelly Brothers. Image via bloggang.com/

Back to Shallow Hal…

And yes, it has unrealistic parts. So what? It makes nice points, sometimes at the price of looking overly optimistic and/or naïve. 6/10 on IMDB. I think it should get at least a 7 for all the decent jokes (and there are many!), making amends for the way we are, showing how things should be and making you laugh all the same…

Buy Shallow Hal on Amazon.com

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Death at a Funeral starring Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk, Peter Dinklage, Daisy Donovan, Keeley Hawes and Kris Marshall. Image via http://www.lovefilm.com

While Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) is getting ready for his dad’s funeral that will take place at home, he thinks his biggest concerns are preparing a good eulogy and remembering to  put down a deposit for the flat he and his wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) will be moving to. However from the very beginning, everything that can go wrong (and things that you thought would never happen do) go wrong:

His cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) is driving with her fiancé and is supposed to pick up her brother Troy (Kris Marshall) who is studying to be a pharmacist and is experimenting with drugs. When she wants to calm her extremely nervous fiancé (Alan Tudyk) down, she gives him a Valium. Only, it is not a Valium- it is a mixture of drugs, including acid- designed to keep you high, very high.

Daniel’s mates Howard (Andrew Nyman) and Justin (Ewen Bremner) are supposed to pick Daniel’s Uncle Alfie up- a very grumpy old man in a wheelchair and all the dirty work falls upon Howard since Justin is really only coming to the funeral so that he can hit on Martha.

Death at a Funeral starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes. Yes, the last guy on the right is Alan Tudyk. And he is naked. At a funeral. Image via http://i43.tinypic.com

There is a very short man in the funeral called Peter (Peter Dinklage) who claims to be his father’s friend but no one has met him before. And he insists that he needs to talk to Daniel.

And everyone seems to be disappointed that the eulogy won’t be coming from Robert (Rupert Graves), Daniel’s accomplished novelist of a brother who is not exactly the most responsible kind…

From then on, it is about trying to control a drugged fiancé, an angry father, a friend who is more concerned about his skin than the funeral, a supposed friend only concerned about shagging Martha, a man with a very humiliating secret, lost drugs posing as valium and….yeah, there is more.

Matthew Macfadyen in Death at a Funeral. Poor sod. His dad is about to have one hell of a funeral... Image via http://www.smh.com.au

While you have seen families with issues before, you probably haven’t seen families dealing with all these issues, at the same time, during a funeral. Events are so funny that there is really no need for one liners. Some stuff will make you grin and some might really make you laugh out loud. Sure, you might not enjoy one thing or two. I thought the whole toilet incident was disgusting. But overall, this is a funny comedy. And the hilarity increases when Peter explains what he is there for and family members try to prevent him from exposing.

It is fun to see Matthew Macfadyen in such a film after seeing Pride and Prejudice. Who could have thought a funeral could have been so hilarious?

Written by Dean Craig and directed by Frank Oz. 7.3. Agreed.

Buy Death at a Funeral on Amazon.com

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