Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig

Written by: Kristin Wiig, Annie Mumolo

For a movie which came with such high acclaim from several of my friends and relatives, I was sorely disappointed with this movie.

When her best friend Lillian (Rudolph) asks her to be maid-of-honor at her wedding, Annie (Wiig) sets out to help Lillian have the wedding of her dreams. Unfortunately, Lillian's new friends is proving quite a rival for Annie, leading to multiple confrontations as the wedding approaches, putting a strain on the already-teetering relationships between all the bridesmaids. Meanwhile, as a subplot, Annie's love-life is falling apart as she's torn between two very different men.

Melissa McCarthy is outstanding in this film. At no point does she disappoint. I expect to see her at the top of many ballots during the upcoming awards season. She is the high point in this film.

There are a couple of memorable scenes, and the dress-shopping sequence is unforgettable in its grossness (which, to its credit, will be hard to top in terms of nastiness).

Generally, I was let down by this movie. When so many people tell me something is so great, I expect it to be pretty decent. Even if it's not great, I figure it'll be pretty good. I can't even give this movie that much credit.

I just did not see the point. There were too many missed opportunities. For example, the characters of Rita and Becca (McLendon-Covey and Kemper, respectively) had tons of potential, but after their humorous introductions they are basically background decorations. The love-story subplot is stereotypical and thin and really wasted a lot of time considering that it really did not fit with the rest of the movie at all.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just can't recommend this movie. Sorry folks.

Idiocracy

Tagline: "The future is a no brainer."

In Mike Judge's 2006 comedy, the perfectly average Joe (Luke WIlson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) take part in an military experiment with suspended animation. When they wake up five hundred years later, they find that evolution has actually led to humanity losing intelligence. While trying to get to a time machine so he can get back to his proper era, Joe gets into some trouble with the law. Through an IQ test (which, for some reason, is part of his arrest process), it is discovered that he is the smartest man on earth, and so he is recruited to solve America's problems. Joe proves adept at handling these issues - such as using water to help plants grow - and ultimately decides to stay in the future with Rita.

This movie was generally panned by the critics, especially after Fox put it on an extremely limited release and refused to give advanced screenings. And it's easy to see why. The movie lacks cohesion. It feels like a lot of semi-great ideas duck taped together with a limited budget. At times, the comedy is slapstick. At other times, it is almost absurdist (think Terry Gilliam). But most of the time it seems like the set was slapped together moments before filming, while the script was being edited and adjusted mid-scene.

Which is unfortunate, because this movie has a lot of great moments which are lost in the film's self-destruction. Justin Long's great appearance as a doctor is absolutely hilarious, but that scene is passed over so quickly that we barely get to enjoy it. Many of the best jokes are there and gone - Joe's cunning escape from prison - while some of the weaker material ends up being used repeatedly - such as how Starbucks's marketing caters to a more carnal menu in the future (and that's as far as I'll go here about that).

After finishing this movie, trying to find the silver lining, my wife said, "It was good for a laugh." But that's about it. A laugh. Or two. Maybe four or five, after drinking for a bit. But there just was not enough to make up for the film's inconsistency.