Friends with Kids (2011)

Starring: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns

Director: Jennifer Westfeldt

Genre: Comedy

Rating: B+

What do you do when you know you want kids, and the significant other, and all that comes with it, but see how miserable all of that has made your closest friends?  This is the problem that two best friends, Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) come across.  In their mid-30s they've always been somewhat unsuccessful at dating and have watched as their married friends - the placid Alex (O'Dowd) and Lesliee (Rudolph) and the sex-obsessed Ben (Hamm) and Missy (Wigg) - settle down, have kids, and then appear to become completely miserable.  So Jason and Julie come to a conclusion - the trick is to first have a baby, then find love, and decide that they should have a child.

What I think really helps make this movie so great is the fact that the cast are all friends - or more - and thus the chemistry between the group is really easy and fun - even when the shit is hitting the fan.  The film feels real, although I could have done without the mentioning of Jason and Julie's parents as that awkwardness didn't really add anything (still felt real, just didn't feel necessary).  I actually really loved how none of the characters seem to really have it together, even when they think they do, and each set of couples goes through a point when they think that they're better than their friends - and consequently find out that no, they really aren't.  The one thing that I would have wanted from this film in terms of the cast is a bit more development into the two not-core couples; the dynamics between Rudolph and O'Dowd and Hamm and Wigg are great, and you just kind of want more of them at times.  I also didn't really think that Edward Burns' character needed to be so perfect, it kind of made him out to be a bit of a Mary Sue which was disappointing given how great the rest of the cast was.

I do have to admit, though, that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending.  To me, it kind of felt as though this film was trying to do something different - which I loved - but in the end caved into pressure and went the route that you expected.  It was kind of a cop out, which was just disappointing.  It's not that the ending was bad, per say, just that it wasn't what fit with the tone of the rest of the movie.

3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom (2012)

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Chris O'Dowd, Lizzy Caplan, Nora Dunn, Whitney Cummings, Ron Perlman, Chris Noth, Sam Anderson

Director: Jordan Roberts

Genre: Comedy

Rating: B

Frankie (Hunnam) has always been the focus of two things: his brother's pranks and his brother's films.  These pranks have lead to some disastrous results, notably when he became a Youtube sensation following a disastrous incident at what was supposed to be his wedding.  Wedding called off, Frankie withdrew to the desert and did his best to cut off all ties with his family.  That is, until his brother, Bruce (O'Dowd), is released from rehab and his parents (Dunn and Anderson) insist that Frankie come to the reunion.  Bruce has decided that he wants to become a director, and his favourite person to focus on is his brother.  Frankie wants no part in it, but when he finds out that Bruce secretly filmed an encounter that Frankie had with Lassie (Caplan), Frankie must embark on a journey to regain his dignity.

This journey is what makes this film absolutely awesome, as Frankie comes up repeatedly against the not exactly sane people that inhabit his brother's world - notably rather deranged actor Jack (Noth), and the transsexual Phiyllis (Perlman).  Each character in this film is really a character - most of them you suspect might be mentally unstable and a good portion of them who you really hope aren't supposed to be realistic depictions of people, even if some of them do kind of remind you of people you know - and their actions are both hilarious and infuriating at the same time.  It's very easy to relate with Hunnam's character because the events that happen to him are in a way so clear cut that it's hard not to be mad at Bruce.  At the same time, however, once you write Bruce off as not all there mentally it becomes easier to try to make allowances for his behaviour, even when he crosses the line - which he does multiple times.

The thing that I really liked about 3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom was just how unconventional it is.  It addresses issues that, while you might see addressed normally, don't get touched on to the great length that Frankie touches on them.  I mean, it's a movie that combines the power of the internet and viral videos with hidden sex tapes and erectile dysfunction.  And on top of all that it also has this great love story underneath it.  You never really care about most of the characters in this film - you aren't rooting for Bruce or Jack or Phiyllis - but there isn't any addition to it that could have been done away with.  You are rooting for Frankie and Lassie, and they need Bruce, Jack, and Phiyllis in order to make their story work.  Plus, you can't go wrong with Ron Perlman as a transsexual.

Bridesmaids (2011)

Stars: Kristen Wigg, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covy, Ellie Kemper, Chris O'Dowd, Jill Clayburgh
Director: Paul Feig
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: C+

From producer Judd Apatow Bridesmaids is a film about a group of thirty-something women dealing with impending nuptials.  While it increasingly appears that every comedy meant for women has to deal with weddings in some way – because, of course, the only thing women care about is weddings – on paper Bridesmaids looked awesome.  It was co-written by SNL’s Kristen Wigg, who also starred.  It was critically acclaimed and even passed the Bechdel Test.  It was compared to The Hangover.  It was totally overrated.

Annie Walker (Wigg) is a thirty-something whose life is basically screwed up.  She’s working in a go-nowhere job (and not exactly good at it), she lost all of her money when her bakery went under, rents a room with two very annoying roommates, and is sleeping with an ass (Jon Hamm) who goes to great lengths to make it clear that they’re just beni-friends.  Then her best friend, Lillian (Rudolph) gets engaged and asks her to be her maid of honour.  Everything pretty much goes downhill for her from there.  She really has no clue what she’s doing as a maid of honour and is competing at every turn with Helen Harris III (Byrne), Lillian’s new, outrageously rich friend.  Annie also has to deal with the other eclectic bridesmaids, Megan (McCarthy), Rita (McLendon-Covey), and Becca (Kemper).  As things get worse for her on the bridesmaid front so do they in life in general; she loses her job and is kicked out of her apartment, forcing her to move in with her mother (Clayburgh).  And while this is all going down, she meets Nathan (O’Dowd), a nice guy who pushes her at every opportunity.

This film does have its moments.  The relationship between Wigg and Rudolph is a touching one, although I kind of feel that Rudolph’s character is a bit unjustly harsh on Wigg at times.  I also liked the connection between Rita and Becca, as they bond over how much marriage sucks.  However, if comparing Bridesmaids to The Hangover one is faced with the inevitable question of who played the Zach Galifianakis character.  The problem here is that every character is very much a Zach Galifianakis character.  As amazing of a comic as he is, he needs to be balanced out by a series of straight men.  There is no straight man in Bridesmaids.  They’re all just over the top.  My other problem with this film was with Wigg’s sexual relationships.  Jon Hamm is a total over the top dick, no question about it.  Hamm is an amazing actor, but I can’t help but feel that he’s rather misused in this role.  While O’Dowd is a total loveable guy, there is a fine line between encouraging someone to follow their dreams and trying to force them to do so.  Overall, as the movie progresses it just becomes more and more ridiculous.  In the end it’s all pulled together, at least for a bit, but then it decides to conclude on another over the top moment.  For the record, Mike Tyson is an awesome cameo.  Wilson Phillips not so much.