I Love You, Man (2008)

We felt like a silly comedy this weekend and this one was an easy choice. Just to get the slight negative out of the way first, there were a few moments that dragged. We suspected they were improvised and could've been tighter. But perhaps the lags had more to do with the movie's celebration of awkwardness. Cringe comedy (The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, et al) was an acquired taste for me, but I have acquired it. Still, one cannot help but groan.

Jason Segel (TV's Freaks and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Knocked Up (2007), more) and Paul Rudd (The Shape of Things (2003), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Role Models (2008), Knocked Up, with his cell phone clipped to his belt, uncredited as John Lennon in Walk Hard (2007), and others) star here (perhaps competing with Steve Carell and Larry David for the Kings of Cringe).

Director John Hamburg, who co-wrote the screenplay, is no stranger to cringe comedy as he was one of the writers for Meet The Parents and Meet the Fockers, and the only writer listed (so far) for the three-quel, Little Fockers, set for release in 2011. Rudd played Peter, who had no male friends, and Segel was Sidney, who became his friend. Many of the laughs came from the turn-about of the "man-dates:" looking for friendship with fix-ups and arbitrary rules just like when looking for a love relationship.

Rashida Jones (The Office, 1 episode of Freaks and Geeks, among others), the daughter of producer/musician Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton (TV's The Mod Squad 1968-73, and Twin Peaks 1990-91), was Peter's lovely, perplexed, yet understanding fiancée, Zooey. One could say this is a guy movie but I think I got all the jokes, even though I'm not a huge Rush fan (spoiler alert: you may want to wait til you have seen the movie before clicking on that last link). Andy Samberg (TV's Saturday Night Live since 2005) was cute as Peter's brother and Jon Favreau (Swingers (1996), Love & Sex (2000), Made (2001), Four Christmases (2008)) was hilarious as Barry, the bad-tempered husband of one of Zooey's best friends, Denise, played by the always-good Jaime Pressly (TV's My Name is Earl). However, because I could not always understand Favreau's words, I look forward to coming across this movie on cable to read the captions. Along with a bunch of fun cameos we enjoyed Jane Curtin (Saturday Night Live (1975-80) and TV's 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001)) as Peter's mom and J.K. Simmons (Juno (2007) and Burn After Reading (2008)) as his dad.

Trivia: There a few other movies with commas in the title. When Jack & I discussed it, he commented that he always thought Bye Bye Birdie should have had a comma (that one didn't bug me) and perhaps a hyphen (his caring about punctuation and grammar is one of the many things I like about him). :)

Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir) (2008)

This multi-award winning movie (22 wins so far, including the ones on my list) employs the original gimmick of being an animated documentary, which works beautifully since much of the action is recollections and dreams. Director Ari Folman voices himself, a war veteran who is struggling to uncover his memories about the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in which a Lebanese militia group massacred Palestinian civilians in two Israeli refugee camps. Bashir Gemayel was president of Lebanon from 23 August 1982 until his assassination two weeks later on 14 September 1982, and his assassination supposedly prompted the massacre. Don't take your kids: there is violence (obviously), nudity (though animated), and a scene from a porn videotape. Read Folman's comments about the porn. This was powerful. Very good. But I was sleepy that day, nodded off, and missed some of it (that's what happens when I try to see 3 movies in one weekend--the operative word is "try").

Two Lovers (2008)

It's hard to separate Joaquin Phoenix's nuanced performance as Leonard, the tortured anti-hero of this movie, from his mumbling weirdo act on David Letterman and elsewhere. I am of the camp that believes it's all for Casey Affleck's camera, but I suppose it's reasonable for others to presume that Joaquin is spiraling down into the depths from which his brother River never resurfaced. We should hope it's an act, as we don't want to wish that kind of unhappiness on anyone (I was living a mile away in 1993 when River fatally overdosed at the Viper Room and 19 year old Joaquin called 911). 

My first recollection of Joaquin onscreen was in Gus Van Sant's deliciously twisted To Die For (1995), he was spellbinding as another loser in Return to Paradise (1998), and his dedication to his craft apparently inspired Reese Witherspoon to "step it up a notch" in Walk The Line (2005), for which she won the Oscar and he had to be content with his nomination. 

Leonard, the center of Two Lovers, yet another washout character for Joaquin, was clearly very troubled, and, though awkward, still able to smile, joke, and lie through his pain from time to time. Occasionally we wondered how someone like Leonard could attract such knockouts as Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) and Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), but both women obviously had self-esteem issues. Paltrow made me believe she was actually that messed up and Isabella Rossellini was sweet as Leonard's supportive but nosy (Jewish) mother. Two Lovers was nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes, but lost to The Class.

Cherry Blossoms (Kirschblüten - Hanami) (2008)

When I read that German writer/director Doris Dörrie had a new movie I remembered enjoying her previous one, Men... (Männer...) (1985), a comic tale in which a womanizer moves out when his wife leaves him for an artist, and then the husband becomes the artist's roommate, confidant, and mentor. Dörrie has made a number of others (including How to Cook Your Life (2007) about Zen practitioner and cook Edward Espe Brown), but Men... is the only one I've seen. Cherry Blossoms' trailer promised nice travel photography and a touching story and delivered big-time. In the first scene Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) learns that her husband Rudi (Elmar Wepper) is fatally ill, though now without symptoms, so she plans to make his last days (and hers with him) as full as she can, without telling him or anyone else of his death sentence. Their first move is to visit their grown children in Berlin: Klaus, married with children, and petulant Karolin, who is in a relationship with the lovely Franzi (no one could ask for a better daughter-in-law). Twists and turns take the story to Tokyo, where favorite son Karl lives, but he's even less mature than his sister. Hanami means flower viewing, usually cherry blossoms, and Jody and I marvelled at the realization that most of the movie was shot during the full bloom of the cherry blossoms, which lasts only about 2 weeks (and fills the country with tourists). I really liked this! It should be out on DVD soon.

Movies to Watch With Your Kids

Updated January 1, 2012

Julie asked me a few years back what DVDs she should take on vacation with her kids, then aged 9 and 11. Here is a selection of netflix movies to which I've given 5 stars (I've left out the obvious animated ones, her kids have probably seen them):

the big musicals: Sound of Music, Gigi, My Fair Lady, Music Man, etc. are all rated G

Sorry, the rest are PG unless noted
African Cats G
Babies
Back to the Future - the first one is best, then III
A Better Life PG-13
Big
Bran Nue Dae PG-13
Bruce Almighty
Buck documentary about a horseman
Cocoon might be too sad
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - has good slapstick
Driving Miss Daisy - maybe too sad, too
Duma
Earth G
Enchanted
Evan Almighty
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hairspray - only the remake (2007)
The Help PG-13
Hugo
The Illusionist (2010) the animated one
Karate Kid (any)
Larry Crowne PG-13
Little Man Tate
Mad Hot Ballroom
Martian Child
Mao's Last Dancer
Michael
Millions
Moneyball for baseball fans
The Muppets (2011) as well as the old ones
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
No Reservations
Oceans G
Ondine (2009)
Parent Trap - either one
Parenthood
Ratatouille
Roxanne
Selena
Sleepless in Seattle
Some Like It Hot
Splash
Super 8 PG-13
Three Men & a Baby
Tootsie
The Triplets of Belleville (animated) PG-13
The Truman Show
Up
Waking Ned Devine
Wall-E
We Bought a Zoo

these should get you started!

The Class (Entre les Murs) (2008)

With a lot to write about, I'm going to break my tradition and write about the newest one first. This afternoon Jack (a teacher of English here in America) and I really enjoyed this movie about François Marin, a teacher of French in Paris. Not really a documentary and not really a drama, it was adapted by François Bégaudeau, Robin Campillo, and Laurent Cantet from Bégaudeau's novel Entre les Murs, which literally translates to Between the Walls. Every minute takes place between the walls, if you include the courtyard, of the inner city school, especially Marin's (Bégaudeau) racially mixed classroom of 13-15 year olds. Bégaudeau and director Cantet, using the novel as a springboard, invited students and teachers from a school in the 20th Arrondisement (a poor neighborhood, though one travel website said it is becoming "yuppified") to work out relationships and plot points, and then act in the movie (many of them used their own first names for their characters). I know a little French, and I know that occasionally the subtitlers used their imagination: in one scene a student is at the blackboard attempting to conjugate the verb croire (to believe). The subtitlers decided the best way to show her mistakes was to make us think the verb was to swim (nager) and have the other kids read, "swammed?" "swummed?" Petty, yes; necessary, maybe; and clearly not the fault of Bégaudeau and Cantet, who won, among others, a unanimous vote for The Palme D'Or at Cannes (the highest prize, which hadn't gone to a French film for 21 years), the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film, and the César (French Oscar) for Best Writing - Adaptation.

Entre les Murs (I like the French title better) may be the first film set in Paris that does not feature a shot of the Eiffel Tower (which is in the 7th Arrondisement), the exception that proves the #2 rule for movies.

#2 rule for movies

If a film or a scene is set in Paris, the Eiffel Tower will be visible from at least one location. See all rules.

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Now that Oscar season is over, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Light, fluffy chick flicks can be enjoyed without the nagging feeling that there’s something *important* we should be seeing instead. But be careful what you wish for.

I’ve been talking up Muriel’s Wedding (1994) lately, as it was the now-classic first hit for United States of Tara’s Toni Collette. It was directed by P.J. Hogan. So I had high hopes for Hogan's latest work starring Isla Fisher (that’s EYE-la, Sacha Baron Cohen’s baby mama, amusing ditz in The Wedding Crashers (2005), and maybe love interest in Definitely, Maybe (2008)) with a host of stars in supporting roles. Two girlfriends responded to my emailed invitation to join me at the matinee. Jody said she had found it "painful," but Sally is a fan of author Sophie Kinsella and we made plans to go. Alas, Sally’s work intervened so I stayed home. Mary Ellen texted me from the movie, where she had expected to meet me, and then sent the imdb link, adding, “great cast!” I went alone the following week, in a theatre with 2 other women alone, one pair of women, and a 40-something guy in a shirt and tie. I didn't need tylenol but understood why Jody had reacted the way she did because this movie could not decide what to be and ended up a mishmash. It was 1. cartoon/slapstick (the best parts); 2. a fairy tale love story; 3. a cautionary tale about addiction & hitting bottom & FINALLY crawling back up (the additional addiction to lying and omitting wasn't addressed til nearly the end); 4. a fashion chick flick (but in carnival colors--like Happy Go Lucky); 5. with dead moments to look at your watch or text a friend; 6. and many notable cameos--Wendy Malick! Kristin Scott Thomas! John Lithgow! John Goodman! Joan Cusack! It will always be compared to The Devil Wears Prada (2008) because of 4, but instead of the mean boss she has a monkey on her back of uncontrollable shopping, credit card debt, and the collections agency. And there's no makeover sequence. Of course, Amy Winehouse's song "Rehab" was used, once with her vocals, once instrumental. And there was some good jazz.

I saw this weeks ago and had forgotten the post was still in the draft stage. Post-Oscar laziness has set in plus I took a vacation with family who do not share this obsession. I have three more movies to blog about, not including the three I plan to see this weekend. Stay tuned.