Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
December 16, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Did You Hear About the Morgans? – Opens Friday
Find out what happens when two married people are forced to spend some time together. That, at least, is the take home message from the trailer to Did You Hear About the Morgans?, an uninspired Columbia Pictures comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant that's expected to bow this weekend in theaters. Reminding me of a less funny version of something like Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley's For Richer or Poorer, Did You Hear About the Morgans? has Sarah and Hugh playing highly successful Manhattanites who must put their dissolving marriage to the test when they're whisked away by the Feds to a teeny town in Wyoming after witnessing a murder and becoming targets of a contract killer.
If Did You Hear About the Morgans? turns out to be just as funny as that guilty pleasure of a comedy from the ‘90s, then I'll be pleasantly surprised. As it sits now, I find the project comparable to something like Date Night, that high concept comedy coming out in a couple of months with Steve Carell and Tina Fey filling in for Sarah and Hugh. Both it and Morgans simply place pretty people in ridiculous situations, and then we're supposed to uncontrollably laugh at the ridiculousness.
Grade: D+
When in Rome – Opens January 29, 2010
What has to be one of the longest trailers I've seen in some time – three minutes and 30 seconds – also happens to be one of the worst. When in Rome stars Kristen Bell as a hopeless romantic who, instead of leaving coins in a Roman fountain that's believed to bring love to those who toss money into it, snags a handful of coins from the fountain's bottom in hopes of finding a future man. Turns out that by taking coins from the fountain instead of leaving any in return forces the original hurlers to fall in love with the person who collected the money. Kristen's possible suitors include a street magician (Jon Heder), a narcissist (Dax Shepard) and an Italian artist (Will Arnett), among others.
Honestly, more thought was put into When in Rome's cast (including Josh Duhamel, Danny DeVito and Anjelica Huston) than its story. I'd sooner go out and see Did You Hear About the Morgans? than I would When in Rome. Because hey, if after three and a half minutes a comedy still hasn't made you giggle, there's a good chance it just isn't going to.
Grade: F
Death at a Funeral – Opens April 16, 2010
Death at a Funeral is far from perfect – I personally could have done without the gag involving an aged Danny Glover pooping on a defenseless Tracy Morgan, whose hand is stuck in the john below – yet there are enough truly funny moments packed in its trailer to have me believing this one could turn out to be OK. The movie revolves around a day in the life of a family (Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and so on) reeling over the death of their patriarch and the struggles that inevitably come to fruition do to each members' distinct dysfunctions.
Much of the comedy is physical – dead guy falling out of a coffin, big momma trampling over some dude on her way to hugging her son – or striking a bit on the absurd side, like when James Marsden's character mistakenly overdoses on a hallucinogenic. But when the setting is at a funeral, where people are expected to merely speak good of the dead and really nothing more, the sophomoric comedy works on some level with me.
Perhaps my favorite joke involves the revelation that Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence's recently deceased father had a down-low relationship with a little person. (Or, as Chris Rock puts it... wayyy down low). Cue vintage Rock: "Our father was bromatically involved... with a guy who could fit in his pocket. And you're mad that he's white?!"
Grade: B-
The Sorcerer's Apprentice – Opens July 16, 2010
Next year marks the year where Jay Baruchel finally breaks out. The 27-year-old actor, who got his start in short-lived TV shows like Undeclared and The Stones, appears here in a leading role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, based on the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment in Fantasia, alongside Nicolas Cage. Other 2010 projects of Baruchel's include the lead in She's Out of My League and the voice of boy Viking Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon.
Though quantity, mind you, doesn't necessarily equate quality, as The Sorcerer's Apprentice looks like a fairly lame attempt at science fiction. Here, Baruchel plays your average, every day college student who is recruited to work for a sorcerer (Cage), who prepares the boy for a battle against dark forces in present New York City. There's an unexplained over reliance on some mythical, machine-like bird that seemingly pops into frame every five or so seconds. And then there's the case of Nicolas Cage, who for the love of god needs to go back to making movies like Adaptation. and Leaving Las Vegas.
Grade: D