This past weekend the movies that were for viewing were mostly comedies. I was looking forward to them due to the fact that it has been a dry time in the workld of good comedy. There was a Jim Carrey/Ewen McGregor comedy that looked promising as well as "Little Fockers." This was the third installment in the "Meet the Parents" saga. Also something that looked promising. I generally find Ben Stiller to be amusing and I thought that RObert De Niro and Ben Stiller made a good team in the other two. Needless to say I felt that this weekend just might be a good movie weekend. Wow when I'm wrong, I'm REALLY wrong.
Starting with "I Love You Phillip Morris" starring Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor, written by John Regua and Glen Ficarra and directed by the same team this is a story about a gay con man. Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell a man who grows up living a lie. He is gay but he gets married, has a daughter, works on the police force and goes to church. He joined the police force to find his real mother, he had been adopted, and when he finally does and she rejects him he decides he is going to move his family to Texas and start over. While there after a night spent with a lover he is driving home and gets into a car accident. This is when he decides to change his life and just be gay. He moves to Miami and moves in with a boyfriend and starts living the expensive "gay lifestyle." This is where things start going awry.
Steven decides that in order to keep things the way they are and treat his boyfriend the way he deserves to be treated he starts running insurance scams. Finally he gets put in jail and there he meets Phillip Morris, played by Ewen McGregor. After a whirlwind courtship they fall in love and bunk together. After Steven gets out he promises to get Phillip out as well. What follows is the two of them living together happily for awhile, Steven goes to work and Phillip stays home. But it's in Steven's nature to go hunting for more. He continues to pull scam after scam. And he continues to get caught. Until finally he ends up in prison for good.
This is supposed to be based on true events and it's based on a book written by Steve McVicker. The whole time I was watching the movie I felt like instead of being a comedy about a con man it was a movie poking fun of gay men. It kind of made me sad in that respect. I felt that Jim Carrey's portrayal was over the top and the sex scenes, and yes there were a few, were over done. I was really pretty disappointed in the film. I felt that Ewen McGregor and Jim Carrey were an awkward match for the movie. I thought that they should have used Jim Carrey and someone equally outrageous and make it a complete farce or use Ewen McGregor and someone as tame and make it more a dramedy but the two of them were too opposite and the movie turned into a strange mix of real acting and one liners. I don't recommend it. It's a 2.
Onto "Little Fockers." The movie is pretty much what you expect, starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Blythe Danner and new comers Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel the best part of the whole thing was the cast. I thought that this was going to be a sure thing in the laughter area but it was not to be. It is the story of the Focker's getting ready for their twins' 5th birthday party. A few weeks before the party Jack Byrnes, Robert De Niro, has a heart attack. And realizes how life just might be shorter then he hoped. He calls Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, and informs him that he is now the "GodFocker" of the family. Things kind of proceed from there. The whole "GodFocker" thing goes to Greg's head as well as his new happy relationship with Jack. When Jack and Dina come to visit for the party things go back to the way they were. In the first two movies that is.
The whole thing is a repeat of the first couple of films. The jokes are pretty much identical to the ones in "Meet the Parents," and "Meet the Fockers." It's the same misunderstandings and the same joke of Jack not liking Greg. It was pretty boring. And I think the only reason they had Jessica Alba in the cast was so that she could take her clothes off. I was really disappointed with the whole thing. It's a 4, maybe, out of 10 and although I know it won't stop people from renting it, due to the series it is a part of, I don't suggest it. Then again I might end up once again in the minority in this.
I also watched a TV movie called "The 19th Wife" based on a book with the same title. It was all about the murder of a polygamist man. And his 19th wife is accused of the murder. It stars Chyler Leigh and Matt Czuchry, both best known for other TV roles. Chyler Leigh is probably best known for her role in "Grey's Anatomy" and Matt Czuchry is most likely best know for his role in "Gilmore Girl's." The movie was like a long episode of the TV show "Big Love." It really wasn't much. If it is a story that interests you then go for it, and I didn't think that it was horrible. But it also wasn't anything to get all that excited about.
I guess none of the movies this week were really all that great. It's too bad. Tomorrow there will be a book post, I have finished a couple of books and will review at least one of them on the morrow. Until then gentle readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment