BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) THE TRIP
This tends to happen a few times a year. I hear about a movie that’s under the radar be it lower budget, a little weird, or in this case foreign. I like comedies that don’t throw tons of shtick and pratt-falls at you. I like the “artsy” comedies where it’s more literal gag than sight gag, more snark than bark, and more witty than “laugh out loud”. These movies seem to be a bit more realistic in tone and that’s an area of comedy that I’m always a fan of. I’ll piss myself laughing at Hangover part II all day, but I like the variety. In this movie we have Steve Coogan, Margo Stilley, and Rob Brydon. They play “themselves” the same way Larry David does in “Curb”. It’s like a road trip movie, but English. Steve Coogan is why I’m interested in this. I shit you not, Steve Coogan is the ONLY reason I watched “Tropic Thunder”.
(THREE) 30 MINUTES OR LESS
The trailer for this movie almost ruined my anticipation. I was balls out excited for this movie. I’m a huge fan of Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride so them in a movie together sounds cool to me. I was cautious about Jesse Eisenberg though. He’s the shit in “Social Network”, but comedy is a little iffy. He got by in “Zombieland” because of the supporting cast and “Adventureland” was a little bland. It’s about a pizza guy who is forced to rob a bank or else he’ll blow up. It seems really “schemey” and sounds like a good throw back comedy. The trailer felt a little too down tempo for my liking. I’m hoping it was a bad trailer cut or something, but regardless I’m going to see this movie as soon as possible and form my own opinion.
(TWO) MY STUPID BROTHER
Paul Rudd is the lead in a comedy! And all the people rejoiced! Some movies you can just bank on for being good. This is one of those movies. We have Paul Rudd playing a “free spirit” yuppie stoner type. In the trailer he comes off like if “The Dude” was in Seattle during the grunge era. It’s a cool role for Rudd and he seems to do it well. The story goes that he’s irresponsible and needs to rely on his sisters to figure out his life. We get Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer as the sisters. Then the cast fills out with Rashida Jones, Kathryn Hahn, and again Steve Coogan. It has the ‘indie” vibe to it, but no one in the movie has done a real “indie” since old man Bush was in office. It comes off as smart, charming, and potentially amazing. I’m hoping for nothing less than spectacular.
(ONE) BAD TEACHER
The trailer for this movie really shocked me. I’m a fan of the directorial work that Jake Kasdan has done. He has good taste in projects and seems to always associate himself with things I enjoy. The movie stars Cameron Diaz, who I admittingly am iffy about, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, and John Michael Higgins. I’ve never seen a movie with Jason Segel in it that I didn’t not AT LEAST like. JT can be hilarious if his SNL work has proven anything. Cameron Diaz is iffy for a few reasons. She rocked in the older raunchy movies she did, but then she abandoned it for way more commercial stuff. It seems like she’s trying too hard to be cool and edgy these days. I saw her on an interview on Lopez and she was talking about how she used to buy weed from Snoop in high school. Then in a Maxim interview it’s full of really strong “so THIS is what Maxim’s demographic likes? Okay… I’ll say that” vibes. I’m sure she’s a really cool chick and is down to earth as can be. It just seems to be layered on a little thick. Never the less, the trailer looks awesome. Kasdan has the tools to pull the funny out of Diaz and put together a really good movie. It might not get to Hangover numbers, but I think this movie might end up being the “unofficial summer comedy of 2011”. We shall see!
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