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How Do You Know? starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson & Jack Nicholson

Posted on April 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Basics

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson

Writing/directing Credits: James L. Brooks

Made in: 2010.

The Plot

Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is a professional baseball player whose life is centered on the sport. Even her boyfriends have all been athletes and her latest, baseball player Matty (Owen Wilson) is no exception. Matty is a charming and immature womanizer, who provides the distraction Lisa needs while she waits to be informed about her future career.

George (Paul Rudd) is a very nice guy, and unfortunately this comes back to bite him in the butt with his company. He is being sued by the government, even though he has no idea what kind of mistake he or his employees have done. To add insult to the injury, his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson) decides to be the ultimate businessman and save the company first. This means the company board won’t be paying George’s legal expenses, and he won’t be informed about anything company-related. His only ally is his pregnant assistant Annie (Kathryn Hahn).

When Lisa and George meet, Lisa is no longer a part of the team and Matty has already decided that he is in love with her. George becomes infatuated with Lisa, but he has no idea how to charm her when they are both going through the worst career-related chapter in their lives…

So how entertaining is the movie?

How Do You Know is a romantic/comedy/drama with a great cast and a mediocre trailer. It is thoroughly enjoyable, and while it is not hilarious, it is very sweet and entertaining – with 5 really quirky characters (including George’s secretary).

Now, the movie is not pure comedy. It is not pure romance. And rather than dramatic, it has some necessary emotional moments. It’s also not just about Lisa finding the right guy. It is a bittersweet self-discovery for her, as well as George, who is also trying to survive the most depressing phase of his life. George is broke, in trouble with the law and discovering that his father can’t be relied upon and Lisa needs to figure out what she will do with the rest of her life. They are both clueless and neurotic, and their interaction is off to a clumsy start. And while the viewer can, and probably will, wonder about what really attracts George during their first date, Paul Rudd makes us buy the connection.

Owen Wilson’s character is a riot. He provides some of the best entertaining moments as his character is totally clueless about what a serious relationship actually means. He is practically a well-meaning yet totally shallow man child.

Who can enjoy it more?

– Fans of the cast.

– People who don’t mind that Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd keep playing the same type of characters over and over again.

– Genuine romantics who don’t mind characters will have to go through some personal stuff, and they won’t always be funny while dealing with them

– If you can handle characters that talk a lot and are clueless about a hell lot more.

Favorite Scenes:

– Lisa spends the night for the first time and Matty (Owen Wilson) has a whole drawer full of new toothbrushes and a whole wardrobe for the morning after (all either XS or S!).

– When both the doorman and Matty actually give space Lisa to think.

– George’s birthday gift and speech

– When Annie impulsively stands up to punch George’s dad…

Fun Notes:

Monk’s starring actor Tony Shalhoub makes a short appearance as Lisa’s therapist.

Verdict:

I’d give the movie a 6.5/10 as a whole, and 7.5 for the entertainment level.

Also on Paul Rudd:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis feat. Paul Rudd

I Love You, Man starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd

I could Never Be Your Woman starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd

Also on Owen Wilson:

Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston

Wedding Crashers starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn & Rachel McAdams

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Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves

No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman & Kevin Kline

Posted on April 3, 2011 Written by ripitup

No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutche & Kevin Kline. Directed by Ivan Reitman.

No Strings Attached: Plot in a Nutshell

Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) go way back to summer camp. Never really friends or lovers, they keep crossing paths, until one day they decide to finally have sex. It is fun, and they realize they can just be friends with benefits. Although this is more Emma’s idea than Adam’s, he decides to go with it and live every guy’s fantasy: a no-strings-attached, sexual relationship with a beautiful woman. But Emma is smart, funny and just different, and it doesn’t take long for Adam to want more. And while Emma is also developing feelings for him, she just can’t risk getting hurt. She keeps sabotaging the chances of a relationship. Will Adam settle for the friends with thing, or will he keep challenging Emma?

Details and the Verdict

On the surface, the movie doesn’t seem to offer something new or very interesting. The trailer is sort of funny, but to be honest, I never expected the movie to be this funny. It is often quite hilarious, with some laugh-out-loud moments. Also the trailer hides one of the movie’s biggest gems – Kevin Kline as Adam’s father. Kline plays a morally corrupt (watch the movie to see what he does:)), but loving, weed-smoking famous actor whose fame, and TV show lines, keep haunting Adam. Adam also has to deal with the “wisdom” of his two best friends, Wallace (Ludacris), Eli (Jake M. Johnson).

This movie is full of great one-liners, funny characters, good comedic timing as well as some decent physical comedy on Ashton’s part. Our Oscar-winning Natalie doesn’t disappoint in a comedy. And while Ashton does run the risk of being typecast as the funny but hunky romantic lead, I have no complaints here. The guy knows how to entertain his audience.

Yes, just like almost every romantic comedy, this one has a happy ending. But with romcoms, it is almost always about the journey of the couple, and this one offers a very entertaining one at that. It does inevitably get romantic (and emotional) on occasion, but this doesn’t take away from all the moments it made you grin and laugh.

See it. Currently, 6.3 on IMDB. I think it deserves a 7.

Written by Elizabeth Meriwether & Michael Samonek. Directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters series, Six Days Seven Nights).

Fun note:

Boston Legal’s Lake Bell co-stars as Adam’s neurotic and talkative friend/co-worker.

Favorite lines:

Adam & Emma are having sex anytime, anywhere. At Adam’s house, Eli. comes knocking on the door to complain:

Eli: I can’t concentrate on the porn with all the real sex going on around here!

Wallace tells Adam to man-up & (and try to have sex with Lake Bell’s character), right after Wallace has cried at the shooting of the episode Adam has written.

Eli: You just cried at the show!

Wallace:I liked it!

Favorite Scenes:

– Pretty much any interaction Ashton has with Kevin Kline.

– When Ashton wakes up naked at Emma’s house (from the trailer).

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You Again starring Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Odette Yustman & Sigourney Weaver

Posted on February 28, 2011 Written by ripitup

You Again starring Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Odette Yustman & Sigourney Weaver

Marni (Kristen Bell) has transformed herself from the ugly and unpopular high school girl to a beautiful and successful PR professional. Since she is pretty certain her awful high school days are way over, she’s more than happy to return home for the wedding of her older brother Will (James Wolk).

So she gets the shock of her life when she finds out that he’s marrying Joanna (Odette Yustman), the very girl who made Marni’s life hell all those years ago. What’s more shocking and disturbing for Marni is that Joanna claims to have become a much different and better person and Marni!

Poor Marni has no allies in the house as her mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) wants her to embrace the now and forgive Joanna’s past. Of course Gail’s optimistic “past is past” attitude disappears when she meets Joanna’s aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver). As it turns out, Ramona is the very woman who made Gail’s prom a nightmare. And it is Gail’s turn to be frustrated, as Ramon is the ultra successful, ultra-rich, very pretty multi-lingual owner of a hotel chain. And everyone adores this cool aunt, including Marni.

Can mother and daughter keep it together until the wedding? Or will disaster follow as Marni is pretty determined in proving to everyone that Joanna hasn’t changed at all?

You Again is a romantic comedy from 2010, with the emphasis on comedy. It is really fun for the most part, although some things just don’t add up, even for comedy’s sake. And the first half of the movie is a lot more fun than the second. Still, it is a great cast. We even have Victor Garber as Marni’s father and Betty White as her grandmother. Remember Victor Garber as Jack Bristow, a.k.a Sydney’s dad from Alias? If you don’t, please watch him in one Alias episode at least. Then you’ll know why I like watching him in a comedy so much.

I really found Gail’s lack of empathy – even after she finds herself as frustrated as her daughter- hilarious and very humane.

On a note: Could the wedding planner be more annoying and Tim (Kyle Bornheimer) more of a loser? And am I the only one who thought Joanna’s rehearsal dinner show totally stupid and not romantic?

It could have been a little more original if Marni didn’t get her high school crush (Sean Wing) in the end (it is not a spoiler, and u know it!), but hey, all in all, it is a very entertaining effort. It is not a should-see, but a could- see. And its biggest fault is that Betty White’s role wasn’t Betty White enough.

Fun notes:

– Dwayne Johnson has a very small but entertaining part as the Air Marshall

– 70s and 80s duo Hall& Oates make an appearance as themselves.

– Both Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis have co-starred with Mel Gibson in different movies. Sigourney Weaver co-starred with him The Year of Living Dangerously and Jamie in Forever Young.

Currently 5.4 on IMDB.

My verdict: 7 for the first half, 5.5 for the second.

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Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac & Zoe Saldana

Posted on December 20, 2010 Written by ripitup

Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac, Zoe Saldana & Judith Scott

Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) has a lucrative job at a bank and a busy weekend coming up as his wife Marilyn (Judith Scott) has insisted on a big, 25th-year, vow-renewal party and his photographer daughter Theresa (Zoe Saldana) is coming for the weekend and bringing her boyfriend Simon (Ashton Kutcher).

Percy has checked out Simon’s credit reports and is satisfied to hear that he has a great job at J.P.Oliver. What he doesn’t know however is that Simon’s boss is a jerk, and this has led Simon to quit. Oh, and Theresa has neglected to tell her family that Simon is white.

Percy gets a big shock when the ideal black boyfriend turns out to be white, uninterested in sports and not exactly from a stable family.

It soon turns into a weekend from hell for Simon when Percy uses every method to keep him under his surveillance. And what will happen when Percy finds about his job?

Yes, Guess Who is as predictable and clichéd as a movie with this plot can get. However it is not to say the movie doesn’t have its moments. It’s typical but enjoyable. It’s not for the people who look for something original but for the movie lovers who want something easy to go with their pop corn. And Bernie Mac is great as the nightmare future father-in-law.

Favorite Lines and Scenes

On the way to her parents, Simon asks if she has told her parents about his being “pigment-challenged”. Theresa looks blank so he says “Did you tell them I was white?

Theresa feigns shock. “What? You are white?!!!” (to the cab driver) Stop the car!!!!!

(the driver stops the car and Simon hits his head hard.)

Theresa: Baby, are you okay?

Simon: Who are you?

Simon teaches Percy to Tango.

Simon and Percy play cushion rugby in the living room.

Percy sleeping with Simon…

Another romantic comedy on a white guy dating black girl:

Something New starring Simon Baker

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No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher & Natalie Portman

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