Movie Review: Her

Image via Huffington Post.

Yes, “Her” is about a man who falls in love with his computer. But eventually, the fact that the love interest in question is a computer will not faze you at all. That is the magic of “Her.”

“Her” is a little bit of everything. For anyone looking for a good laugh, a tear-jerking romance, and a science fiction fable all in one, “Her” is the perfect solution. The film takes place during an unspecified date in the future, though time doesn’t exactly matter. This is, however, one of the more accurate imaginings of the future on film. There are no flying cars or hoverboards here. "Her" is on par with “Children of Men,” minus all of the random acts of violence.

Analog This: SNL Without Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig

Last night, Andy Samberg announced that he will not be returning to "Saturday Night Live" in the fall. This was a sad, yet expected announcement. Expected as in I expected this to happen much longer ago, as Samberg has been a star for many years now. But he needed to stay because without him, "Saturday Night Live" would have been a much different show.

Samberg may have saved the show from irrelevance by launching his first Digital Short, "Lazy Sunday," in 2005. With the Digital Short, the show found a way to survive in the 21st century. Of course, promising new cast members and a Sarah Palin impression would also help, but let us not forget the importance of the Digital Short.

With his band The Lonely Island, Samberg has released two albums, and I pray that a third be on the way at some point in the near future.

Samberg does not get nearly enough credit for being such a versatile performer. He can sing, tell jokes, and act. While Samberg's videos are usually what he is best known for, he could do a few good impressions, including one that got him in trouble with Mark Wahlberg. I worry for Samberg's movie career if he chooses more projects like "That's My Boy." However, I am optimistic if he instead makes more movies like "Hot Rod." "Hot Rod" mixes a whole lot of insanity with a whole lot of heart, and dozens of YouTube worthy moments.

After the jump: Kristen Wiig, and some video highlights.

Movie Review: Friends With Kids

Let's clear one thing up right now from the trailer of "Friends with Kids": this is not a rom-com. This is not even a comedy about love. It is more along the lines of a dramedy with some awkward laughs, and a lot of babies ruining things. Man, do children ruin everything.

Summer 2011: In Which Woody Allen Saves Hollywood

Summer is the season that studios are supposed to provide audiences with movies that provide unforgettable entertainment. In the past, this season has given us "Jaws" and "Star Wars." Gone are those great days. In the outside world, it was one of the hottest summers on records. In cinemas across the country, it was one of the most miserable.

The summer of 2011 was the summer in which 3D killed itself along with good storytelling, with few notable exceptions. Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," without even meaning to be, became everything that the summer movie should be: wise and whimsical escapism. It is the most memorable movie he has made in years, and one that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as "Annie Hall" and "Hannah and Her Sisters."

Summer movies are all about creating a spectacle and the site of 1920s Paris is a spectacle, albeit one that didn't cost $300 million to shoot."Midnight in Paris" is Allen's return to his anti-intellectualism roots. Some scenes are about as good as the Marshall McLuhan scene from "Annie Hall." Plus, Owen Wilson is the most convincing Woody Allen stand-in to grace the screen thus far.

Before getting to the mediocre, it is necessary to acknowledge the good. Most of the best summer movies were definitely not saved for last. "Bridesmaids" was not the groundbreaking triumph in the women's rights movement as some suggested, but simply a near-perfect comedy. "Bridesmaids" works because of its playful anti-romantic comedy feel that's sometimes nasty but never really mean. In other words, it loves every single one of its characters. All of the dialogue and situations flow with the awkward and unforced feel of reality. One of the most underrated masters of awkward comedy (Paul Feig) got his moment in the sun. And the star and co-writer, Kristen Wiig, has gone from "Saturday Night Live" skit saver to bankable Hollywood actress. Sometimes, success in Hollywood can be well deserved.

Also at summer's beginning was the superb "The Tree of Life." It was a head scratcher, but more in the "2001: A Space Odyssey" sense. At this point in his career, Terrence Malick has earned the right to tell a story that jumps back and forth between the creation of the universe, 1950s Texas, and dinosaurs. Even in their shortest moments, those family scenes felt so real. It was never meant to create a complete portrait of their lives, but it is rather the story of how our memories, and our very existences, fit in to the universe as a whole. In the whole scheme of things, does it really matter how we live our lives? That is a question, along with many others that Malick raises, that countless people will explore for years to come.

The great thing about a film about "The Tree of Life" is that it didn't pander to its audience in order to make something that they want. Sometimes, the best directors make different and difficult movies because sometimes, those are the movies we ought to be seeing more of. Unfortunately, some filmmakers don't seem to realize that, and that plays a part in this mediocre summer. I didn't see "Transformers 3" or "Green Lantern" or "Thor," so I can't speak for any of those movies. However, I did see "Super 8." While it was a highly entertaining and superbly made piece of 70s nostalgia throughout, its ending reversed all its progress. It is great that J.J. Abrams took his time on his film and didn't reveal the monster instantaneously. However, its ending resolved every plot line too quickly and too easily and what should have been thrilling came out as dull.

"Horrible Bosses" also missed the mark just slightly. While its three leads (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day) pulled off three of the best comedic performances I've seen in years, a certain part of the story involving a navigation system turned the film into a sellout. The characters get themselves into some pretty terrible situations thanks to their stupidity, but letting them off the hook that easily doesn't seem fair to anyone. Despite that, Bateman can still deliver a punchline with flawless deadpan, and Day can seem innocently insane even when he's not parading cats with mittens around.

In the end though, 2011 can be defined as "The Summer of Meh." This is not the state of an angry reaction, but rather an uncaring one. I could talk about how terrible "Cowboys & Aliens" is but nothing about that movie really motivates me to. "Midnight in Paris" was the rare film that deserved to be seen by a wide audience and with a little patience, it was. "Terri" is probably going to go on my year end list, but it won't be in a theater near you anytime ever.

This summer, movies lost their mojo. Hopefully, Hollywood will take this as a learn from their mistakes rather than ignore them, as they always do. Perhaps superhero movies and shoddy 3D are on the way out. While it is understandable that story doesn't always get people in the theater, it should go without saying that the audience enjoy the product they are paying to see. Luckily, the fall and winter seasons look promising ("Moneyball" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," particularly). For now, just enjoy some of the fine programming cable television has had to offer this summer. For instance, have you watched "Breaking Bad" yet?

This is one of the funniest still images from a movie ever. Why isn't this a meme yet?

Movie Review: Bridesmaids

In most of the reviews for "Bridesmaids," there seems to be a common consensus that this is the movie that proves that women can succeed in comedy. Well, that is wrong, considering the ongoing success of Tina Fey and plenty of other female comedians who have been working for years.

Nevertheless, "Bridesmaids" quite impressively breaks down the gender barrier between male gross-out comedy and female rom-com and creates, well, a gross-com. Or maybe a rom-out? You think of a better name.

The great thing about "Bridesmaids" is that, despite its nearly all female cast, it can connect to a variety of crowds. Kristen Wiig stars in that role she's become known for: that awkward girl who moves her body too much and never says the right thing. Her character, Annie, has been assigned to the task of being maid of honor at her best friend's (Maya Rudolph) wedding. Any attempts Annie makes at planning the wedding are sabotaged by Helen (Rose Byrne), a bridesmaid who is a little too good at planning fancy events. This turns into a jealousy fest that doesn't spur a bride war, but rather a way for a lot of people to realize how screwed up they all are.

Everytime "Bridesmaids" headed down the usual rom-com path, it always took another turn that managed to prove me wrong. That's because the film isn't a rom-com, it's a usual Apatow film that replaces men with women. While the film was advertised as the female "Hangover," I would say the story is closer to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" or "Knocked Up," minus the weed. That is to say, Wiig is just as much of a sorry slacker as Jason Segel and Seth Rogen were in those movies. However, Wiig's Annie proves to be even more pathetic than either of them ever were, even at their lowest points.

I think what helps the comedy mixture work best is the fact that the female writers (Wiig and Annie Mumolo) are paired with a male director (Feig). This team works well in other ways. Both the writers and the director know how to make awkwardness funny, and the director is also especially good at stepping aside and letting good writing and acting speak for itself.

Let's discuss the writing: it is the main factor of why "Bridesmaids" has clicked so much with audiences. Unlike most mainstream comedy seen today, none of the jokes, dialogue, or situations feel forced. Most of them feel like they could have been improvised. Even the visual gags feel real. One visual gag I kept thinking about involves Wiig getting stuck on top of a gate after a morning walk of shame gone awry. Perhaps it is the character's reaction that truly makes it work; it just feels like the way anyone would act in that situation. Feig is great at getting "real reactions" out of people (just watch "Freaks and Geeks" already, please).

That scene is just one of many examples of Wiig's fantastic performance in the film. It is not surprising that a backlash has been forming against her recently. Unfortunately, the backlash makes some sense: she was basically pulling the same shtick in every single one of her performances. Here, she is playing that same uncomfortable, twitchy faced oddball she always plays. However, in "Bridesmaids," she actually feels like a real person.

Wiig has matured as an actress, giving us a multi-faced character who changes throughout the course of the film. It might be fun to watch Wiig play with her hair and do her whole Penelope routine, but a little change every once in a while is never a bad thing.

Some of the other acting highlights of the film include Jon Hamm, who shows as always that he can play comedic sleaze as well as he can play dramatic sleaze. A few newcomers make a big impact on the film. Irish comedian Chris O'Dowd is perfectly deadpan and very sweet as Annie's love interest.

The most notable scene stealer, however, is Melissa McCarthy as the slobbish bridesmaid with a heart of gold. McCarthy delivers hilarious (and very weird) dialogue at a pace that you have to try and keep up with. She establishes this with the very first lines she delivers. She is also the most riotous and disgusting part of the movie's soon to be famous, ultimate gross-out scene. Oh yeah, about that scene; I will try and keep it mostly secret, but what I will say is that it will one day end up in the pantheon of comedy's funniest poop/puke scenes. The fact that it is able to combine both and make it not just shocking, but actually funny, is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

The only real problem with "Bridesmaids" is one that is common with Apatow helmed comedies: running time. Sure, the story flows smoothly and all the jokes are funny, but some jokes run on just a little too long. Some of the improvised bits definitely could have been cut down and been saved for a future blooper reel. Also, the ending seems a bit too formulaic. However, a little twist in the end credits puts an end to that.

Despite this, "Bridesmaids" is a special movie that, after over two hours, won me over. "Bridesmaids" is a testament to the fact that female comedy should be left to female writers because men don't know anything about women, and women don't know anything about men; that's just life.

Most importantly though, "Bridesmaids" shows that the difference between a good and a truly memorable comedy is to have likable characters who have flaws and, in the end, are able to redeem themselves. That's not just great comedy, that's great writing.

I predict in the near future that this image of Jon Hamm will become a meme. Make it happen, internet.

Movie Review: Extract

It seems fitting that "Extract" takes place in a vanilla extract factory, since the film is about as plain as the flavor itself. And the saddest part is, it comes from one of Hollywood's most creative directors.

"Extract" is a comedy. Sometimes, it's a spoof on work hell. Other times, it's a spoof on suburbia. And then the rest of the time, it's supposed to be a comedic crime caper. It never really takes a stand at specifically which one it will be, and not a single one of these ideas ever seems to connect.

"Extract" is directed by Mike Judge, whose previous comedy about life at work is, of course, "Office Space." This time, rather than being from the perspective of the miserable mid-level worker, it's from the perspective of the stressed out boss. Joel (Jason Bateman) owns a successful flavor extract company. He's about to make a fortune by selling his company to General Mills until a freak accident in the factory leaves a worker without a testicle. His replacement is an attractive con woman named Cindy (Mila Kunis). She seems nice, but she's secretly trying to con the company out of millions of dollars.

Back at home, Joel's life is even more complicated. He has major sexual troubles with his wife (Kristen Wiig). This is what will eventually set the stage for some bad advice from a drug-loving bar tender (Ben Affleck) and a doomed relationship with Cindy.

Those are the two plots of Extract. If Judge wanted to make a better movie, he should've just stuck to one of them. And in my opinion, it should've been the hard working, frustrated boss tries to make things work at work and home. The con woman plot goes absolutely nowhere.

How Judge could make such a poorly executed comedy is beyond me. Not only did he direct "Office Space," he also created "Beavis and Butt-head." While many people without a sense of irony thought this show was just plain dumb, it's actually about the humor of observing dumb people. "Extract" certainly could have had some of that. At one point, Joel points out how all of his workers are giant babies, and he is like their babysitter. We see the workers' work habits. While the workers' work habits are annoying, they're never particularly hilarious. None of them seem to have those Milton-like qualities.

Like any Mike Judge film or show, "Extract" is filled with a wide variety of characters defined by their quirks. Usually these quirks include a less than intelligent brain, or a strange way of speaking. Maybe the best one in "Extract" is Joel's nosy neighbor Nathan (David Koechner). However, his quirks aren't shown in a lovable way. They're shown in a more "I want to punch this guy in the face" way.

Maybe the reason many of the characters don't work is because Judge underutilizes his obscenely talented cast. J.K. Simmons is barely given a funny line, and his role in the film is never defined. Wiig is great at playing shy and asexual, but again, she's given few chances to be truly funny. And while I was most looking forward to seeing Affleck (what? he's funny), he is given too little screen time. I always enjoy Jason Bateman, and here I think he did his best to re-create his other famous frustrated boss role: Michael Bluth--if only this film could've been more like "Arrested Development." However, there are two bright spots. Kiss's Gene Simmons does a hilarious job portraying a sleazy lawyer, and Dustin Milligan gets some of the film's best laughs for playing the brain dead gigolo Brad.

I don't want to give "Extract" as bad a review as I could because I know there's potential for a great movie in here. That potential is perhaps best seen at the film's end. The ending has an underlying, subtle humor to it and an almost moving, human quality. It is the ending to a film that never actually existed. That end scene showed the film's true, wasted potential.

Judge is one of Hollywood's most under appreciated talents, and I thought "Extract" would become another underrated cult hit. It had potential. If only it had emulated that ending scene and been the kind of satire of American life Judge is so great at doing, than this comedy would've been an instant classic.

Movie Review: Adventureland

I never had the pleasure of growing up in the 1980s. However, after watching "Adventureland," I almost feel like I did. 

The best period pieces must be made years after the year they are set in, especially if they're a teen angst dramedy. "Dazed & Confused" was set in 1976, but came out in 1993. "Adventureland" takes place in the summer of 1987. It's a few months before the "Black Monday" stock market crash, but already the family of James (Jesse Eisenberg) is facing financial trouble. James recently graduated from college. Before going to grad school in New York, he plans on spending the summer in Europe. However, his father's recent demotion brings an end to his plans, and instead James must work the summer for grad school money.

The job market of '87 looked just about as bad as the job market of '09, as James can barely get a job. However, there is one place in the Pittsburgh area that will take him: Adventureland Amusement Park. Taking this job becomes both the best and worst mistake of his entire life.

While working there, James associates with philosophical Joel (Martin Starr), an immature friend (Matt Bush), a failed rockstar (Ryan Reynolds), two awkward bosses (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig), and of course, Emma (Kristen Stewart). In Emma, James finds what he could never find in any other girl.

Besides the relationship between James and Em, "Adventureland" has no strict plot to follow. It would make sense that writer-director Greg Mottola, who also directed Judd Apatow produced "Superbad," would use this Apatow plot device. However, credit for this goes way back to directors like Hal Ashby. Ashby never attended to make plots; but rather, people. In movies like "Harold and Maude," Ashby just tried to let the growing relationship between Harold and Maude but on its own. Mottola attempts to do the same with James and Em.

Mottola is not known as much for film as he is for television. He's directed episodes of two of the best shows ever: "Undeclared" and "Arrested Development." However, he's started to become a formidable comedy movie director. While "Superbad" was certainly well made, "Adventureland" truly shows his talents for he both wrote and directed it. Therefore, "Adventureland" feels like a much more personal film, as he is bringing to life his own story and not somebody else's. That is probably why every shot is filmed with both giant and pain and an ounce of joy, a sort of uplifting light of love seems to shine from above throughout.

"Adventureland" is to the '80s what "Dazed & Confused" was to the '70s: an extremely stylish, extremely accurate piece of nostalgia. Like any good director making a period piece, Mottola focuses on the little details to make the movie feel exactly like the '80s. And it does. He emphasizes everything from the cars, to the outfits, to the way people dance. He especially emphasizes the music. He uses many bands popular in the '80s; mainly the soothing sounds of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground. The soundtrack, while great to listen to, is there for a reason. It's not only there to remind us of the decade we're watching, but to also reveal little minor things about the characters. For example, Mike's (Reynolds) inability to name the song "Satellite of Love" correctly reveals his underlying phoniness.

The characters for the most part, are well cast. Eisenberg broke out in 2005 with "The Squid and the Whale." While he played Walt in "Squid" with much more hidden sadness and an outer layer of betrayal, all of James's emotions are on his sleeves. Eisenberg plays him with flawless awkward vulnerability. He is no doubt one of the best young actors out there today.

 Perhaps the film's biggest mistake is Reynolds. He is a decent actor, but he really doesn't bring much to the character. While it would've been nice to see Mike played with much more vulnerability, Reynolds just makes him seem like too much of an invincible human being. Maybe that's because Mike is a little smug, but he obviously has some marriage problems. 

Another small mistake made by Motolla is the criminal underuse of Hader and Wiig. The pair is only in a few scenes. However, Hader steals every moment he's in, bringing that same zaniness to the film that has made him one of the funniest people in comedy. Wiig manages to be funny by just standing there and making creepy faces. I don't think it would've killed them to give her a few more lines, but maybe she's just one of those comedians like John Belushi whose funnier when they aren't saying anything.

Perhaps "Adventureland" is such a convincing nostalgia film because not only does it feel like your looking at the 1980s, but it also feels like a movie that could've been made in the '80s. The influences of such '80s icons as John Hughes and films such as "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" feels tangible. While I enjoyed pretty much every minute of this hilarious and moving dramedy, some references did escape me. Oh well, I guess you just, kind of had to be there.

Recommended for Fans of: Dazed & Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Graduate, Superbad, Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Harold and Maude, The Last Detail