Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
December 2, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Crazy on the Outside – Opens January 8, 2010
While I found just about nothing funny in the Steve Carell/Tina Fey ensemble comedy, Date Night, a couple of weeks ago in this space, it seems my opinion of Tim Allen's own ensemble, Crazy on the Outside, is higher. A lot higher. There were more than a handful of instances in the two minutes we're shown here where I vocally gave approval to its comedy through a quality, hearty laugh. Perhaps the trailer's best gag is also the one that takes the least amount of time. All you've got to know is that it involves Tim Allen, a pirate-themed restaurant and a poop deck.
In Crazy on the Outside, Tim Allen (who also directs) plays a man recently released from a three-year stint in jail who finds himself having to keep mum about his experiences when he learns that his sister (Sigourney Weaver) fibbed to the family that he had been merely passing the time in France. Other cast members include Jeanne Tripplehorn as a potential love interest, Ray Liotta as his former partner in crime, Kelsey Grammer, J.K. Simmons and Julie Bowen, who I'm absolutely loving this fall in ABC's Modern Family.
Grade: A-
Leap Year – Opens January 8, 2010
As much as I like Amy Adams, Leap Year looks to be little more than your standard Hollywood romcom. In it, Adams reverses the tables on who typically gets down on one knee by investing in an old Irish tradition whereby women propose marriage to their significant others on February 29th. Her plan? Follow her beefcake (Adam Scott) to Dublin and do the dead there. The catch, however, comes in the form of a handsome boy (Matthew Goode), who Amy meets in Wales after her plane is rerouted there. The trailer ends on the note you'd expect it to, with Amy having to choose between her boyfriend and the new guy.
It's not that I can't enjoy these kinds of movies – in fact, I can't say I'd decline to watch The Holiday if a friend of mine was in the mood – it's just that Leap Year doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table. The jokes are stale and the drama is melodramatic as best.
I'm not sure how much of a role John Lithgow has in this one. Playing Amy's dad back in the States, it's probably safe to assume he only makes a brief appearance. But, as always, good to see his mug on camera. (Anything, really, to erase from memory his bare backside from this season's Dexter).
Grade: D+
Greenberg – Opens March 12, 2010
I must say it's pretty refreshing to watch Ben Stiller not play "Ben Stiller." (If Michael Cera ever ceases to play "Michael Cera," I'd be applauding that too). Ben's character, Roger Greenberg, in Noah Baumbach's latest movie is mellow, funny but not over-the-top, and just about drive-less, but willing to try new things if it feels right. In Greenberg, Roger is unemployed and at a crossroads. So, among other things, he shacks up with his brother in Los Angeles to reassess his living situation and how he came to be so old without anything to show for it. Along the way, he falls for his brother's personal assistant, Florence (Greta Gerwig).
As I tend to approve of Noah Baumbach projects – The Squid and the Whale happens to be one of my favorites of 2005 – I have faith that this one's going to turn out OK too. Besides an aged Stiller – even his hair has gotten a little gray! – kudos are in order for casting Greta Gerwig as his love interest. Not that Greenberg screams blockbuster or anything, but it's pleasing to see her in something with a decent budget after getting her start in super indies like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Baghead.
Grade: B
Why Did I Get Married Too? – Opens April 2, 2010
If your typical Grey's Anatomy episode doesn't quite do it for you anymore, get a load of the drama in Why Did I Get Married Too?, the sequel to Tyler Perry's 2007 hit movie about four couples who take a yearly weeklong vacay together – and always manage to learn about their infidelities at the exact same time. While I thought the original Why Did I? movie looked decent (and also Perry's more recent I Can Do Bad All by Myself), this 2010 sequel doesn't look all that enticing. (Unless, of course, you enjoy high-octane drama that apparently doesn't let up). Beyond verbal (and physical) fighting, I'm not sure what else this project offers.
Grade: D
Kick-Ass – Opens April 16, 2010
Based on the same name comic book that launched only last year, Kick-Ass is the name lonely teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) dubs himself while wearing a green mask, matching bodysuit and obnoxiously bright yellow gloves. (Or, better put, when he's emulating what he thinks is a superhero). What has to be every nerdboy's fantasy, Dave literally takes to the streets. And sure enough, along the way he encounters a situation – a mysterious vigilante trying to take down a drug lord – that requires his "powers."
If I was into graphic novels, I'd probably be more enthusiastic about Kick-Ass. Even so, having recently read books like Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, I find myself relating a bit with Kick-Ass' lead character, a boy who takes it upon himself to live out his dream – even at the expense of what others must be thinking. I also give props to Kick-Ass' creator, Mark Millar, whose comic puts a unique spin on the typical superhero.
Other notes: Kick-Ass' tone is more slapstick than this write-up may have you believe and the movie stars no one you've ever heard of (save for Superbad's Christopher Mintz-Plasse and, well, Nicolas Cage).
Grade: C+