Morning Glory

First Hit: Actually funnier and better than I expected.

Rachel McAdams plays Becky a very ambitious television producer who is well liked by her colleagues because she is hardworking, compassionate and willing to work with almost anyone. She is ungraciously fired from a job where she thought she was going to be promoted. She beats the pavement and finds a new job on a show that will soon be replaced if they don’t get higher ratings.

Jeff Goldblum plays Jerry Barnes, a prickly sarcastic VP of the studio that decides to give her a chance. The production team and talent on this morning show are odd balls and they work in a congested basement like mess of a studio.

Becky sets the tone and gains admiration of her staff in her first staff meeting when the entire staff tells what they want to work on all at one time, but then in this welling of confusion, she responds to each of their ideas right after she fires the head male talent because he is a pervert. However, all her work gets her nowhere until she comes up an idea to hire on a veteran hard news reporter the studio has on contract.

This reporter, Mike Pomeroy (played by Harrison Ford) is grumpy, arrogant, hates anything that isn’t what he considers “hard news” and declines her offer. However Becky points out that if he refuses he will lose the last two years of his lucrative contract with the studio. He’s paired on the set with the current long standing hostess Colleen Peck (played by Diane Keaton) who would like the show to do well and will try new stuff.

However, Colleen and Mike do not get along and some funny lines are written for these two as they squabble on air. Of course the film ends in a Hollywood way and the show is saved.

McAdams is intense in this role and almost feels like she as pressing the character. However, there are some very funny moments with her bringing some funny comedic timing with her lines and cute physical characterizations (like her walk). Keaton is low keyed and she brings out a strong character that isn’t going to be fooled with. Ford is a good grump. He can screw his face up in a very convincing way. When his character is to be a little bit open and vulnerable he carries this off without making incongruent with the overall wizened and grumpy character. Aline Brosh McKenna wrote an amusing script, however there wasn’t enough in the script to really bring a depth to Becky as to why she was such a workaholic. There was some stuff about her mom and dad but it lacked realism. Roger Michell directed this and for the most part did a wonderful job of keeping it all moving in the same direction with drama and comedy from many different characters.

Overall: Not a great film but there were some very good laughs and it was enjoyable to watch and I left the theater feeling better than when I walked in.

Due Date

First Hit: There are funny moments but the film is forgettable upon leaving the theater.

The first thing that struck me about the first 15 minutes of this film is that it was highly improbable. To make a road film like this there needs to be some belief that something like this could happen (Remember “Silver Streak”, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, “Midnight Run” and even Phillips own “Hangover” to some extent).

Here an angry temperamental Peter Highman (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is headed home from a business trip so that he can be with his wife during the birth of their first child. Enter Ethan Tremblay (played by Zach Galifianakis) who is headed to Hollywood because his recently dead dad told him he should live his dream.

The difference between these two characters is so massive and stark that the likelihood of their meeting had to be created by a bizarre set of unlikely events.

Downey Jr. gives this his best shot as does Galifianakis. together they create two entrenched characters that are bizarrely different. Downey is a straight laced businessman who is on edge most of the time and has to be reminded by his wife to watch his anger. Galifianakis is goofy, overweight, sweaty, and wears pants that are too tight which make him walk like he’s got something stuck up his bum. He’s always talking and asking questions which annoys Downey’s character. And then there is the dog – masturbating with one paw – yeah right, it was stupidly unfunny. Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland were the main writers of this unconvincing film and the poor direction can be pointed at Todd Phillips.

Overall: Because it was not believable that these two people would meet let alone drive to LA together makes the premise bad and a poor film. However there are funny moments.

RED

First Hit: A silly fun film which showed off the quirkiness of some great actors.

I like films like RED which are a farce but reasonably put together enough to make it fun. I like when the implausible is made plausible enough so that I can sit back and just go for the ride. RED is one such film.

Is any of it plausible? No, but that isn’t the point. The point is to create enough of a plot with some writing which fit the actors range, yet move them enough outside their norm to make it enjoyable.

Frank Moses (played by Bruce Willis) is a retired CIA spook who, years ago, happened to be on a mission in Guatemala where the current Vice President got himself skewed by giving favors to a corporate executive named Alexander Dunning (played by Richard Dreyfuss).

The story begins to leak and a reporter is killed as are others who were on the mission. Moses was on the mission and is now being hunted. He innocently gets hooked up with a Social Security Claims associate named Sarah Ross (played by Mary-Louise Parker) because he likes the sound of her voice over the phone but meeting Moses means she is hunted as well.

To get out of this mess Moses finds others who were on the same mission in Guatemala to warm them that a CIA operative is out to kill them because they know the Vice President’s past. There is Joe Matheson (played by Morgan Freeman) who is dying of cancer, has nothing else to live for and thinks stopping these useless deaths is important.

Then there is Marvin Boggs (played by John Malkovich) who is paranoid, thinks the government is always after him and may mistakenly think a particular person is out to kill him but is often times right. These people are joined by Victoria (played by Helen Mirren) who is steely eyed and ready to kill someone at the drop of a hat (just to keep her finger in the pie).

All these older CIA covert operations people (RED Retired Extremely Dangerous) are out to expose the truth because if they don’t the current CIA will kill them.

Willis is great with his typical sarcastic wit conjuring up a way to resolve the crisis he finds himself. Dreyfuss is fine as the man behind the scenes with money and the stings which are pulling on the VP and soon to be President. Parker is a perfect fit as the girl living in Kansas City who’s never seen or done anything in her life as she gets pulled into the espionage mess and enjoys the change of life. Freeman is perfect as the sound thinker and always ready to do the right thing for the team even if it means pulling a trigger or being on the other end of the bullet. Malkovich is perfect as the right on the edge guy who spent many of his early years in the Army’s LSD program. Mirren was funny in her out of character role firing machine guns and wasting other’s lives. For fun Ernest Borgnine the CIA deep dark records keeper is a joy to see again. Jon and Eric Hoeber wrote this in a funny tongue-in-cheek sort of way while Robert Schwentke made the best of his actors and a tight script that moved things along in a silly funny sort of way.

Overall: It was a romp, easy to watch, predictable and engaging.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

First Hit: There are strong themes in this film and it came together very well.

Suicide: Many young people consider this option as the pressures of life begin to unfold in the teen years. Many teens deal with these pressures differently; however there are a significant number who think long and hard about this option of checking out of this life.

Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist) is having thoughts and dreams of killing himself. In his dreams he begins the practice of acting them out but always stops. One night his dream has him going all the way. He awakes and heads to the hospital where they check him into the adult ward for 5 days of observation. Right after he gets a glimpse of who else is in the ward, he decides he’s cured and wants out. However his parents and the lead doctor think the stay will do him good.

Here is where the film could have fallen apart. It could have been a mockery of a mental health ward with Craig having odd or unintelligent interactions with others in the ward, but the film doesn’t go in this direction.

The writers and director (together Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) head into the reality that each person in the ward is real with their own version of struggling with life and through this one can learn about themselves and others. One of the patients, Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis), is a father who wants to get into a halfway house and spend time with his daughter but feels safe in the ward.

Muqtada (played by Bernard White) just stays in bed and sees no point in ever getting out of bed again. Then there is Noelle (played Emma Roberts) who is nearly the only other person in the ward that is his age. She’s there because she is a cutter and there is fear that there will be one cut too many.

As the film unfolds Craig learns about himself and others and a slowly begins to understand he can work with the pressure of life and knows he has change the things in his life that allow him to embrace it. Through his interaction with Noelle, Muqtada, Bobby and Dr. Minerva (played by Viola Davis) he finds his way and realizes it won’t always be easy but he can choose to make it work.

Gilchrist showed a great range in the part because it required him to have different sequences (like the one in which he sings “Pressure”) showing different aspects of who he could be and who he is already. Galifianakis was strong as a mentor and friend to Craig while also showing vulnerability and disappointment of his own life. Roberts was absolutely wonderful in her character. Davis was excellent as the ward psychologist. Boden and Fleck co-wrote and co-directed this film and it is their smart writing, well-crafted scenes and well executed storyline that made this film work.

Overall: This film may not get a lot of play, but it is a wonderfully crafted film in which the participants can be proud of.

You Again

First Hit: Generally a very poor film with a few splashes of laughter.

The moment this film starts you know how it will end. Kristen Bell plays Marie who was bullied by the cool girls at school. They played mean tricks on her and she was labeled a Loser.

The leader of bullying girls was Joanna (played by Odette Yustman) who was very mean and picked on her all through high school. In current time they meet again as Joanna is going to marry Marie’s brother. When they meet prior to the wedding Joanna pretends to not recognize Marie.

However as they spend time together they both know their history and Marie makes one final direct plea for Joanna to say she’s sorry for her past actions. Joanna refuses and Marie gets revenge. In an attempt to make it more interesting Joanna’s Aunt Ramona (played by Sigourney Weaver) and Marie’s mother Gail (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) had a falling out in high school which hadn’t been repaired.

So now we have two sets of women who have a grudge against each other. It does get worse but I won’t share that as well. The goal of the film is forgiveness but the film is so poor the aim of the film barely stays with you a day after watching it.

Bell is cute, has a great smile and is engaging enough and this film was a waste of her energy. The same goes to Yustman and especially to accomplished actors like Weaver and Curtis. There are some funny lines in the script written by Moe Jelline but overall the script is childish and Andy Fickman directed it with this sort of energy.

Overall: This film is forgettable the moment one leaves the theater.