Table 19

First Hit:  Poorly conceived, not funny, and poorly executed.

When a film isn’t clearly defined, and has no real point, the audience will struggle. When a film adds poor execution to a lack of direction it ought to be tabled.

There is so little about this film that works, I cannot imagine the producer seeing it for the first time in the screening room saying, I can’t wait to get this distributed. So why did someone put this in theaters? They may have been hoping that the stars who are in it would fill seats ($).

Briefly, Eloise (Anna Kendrick) has become the ex-maid of honor after being dumped via text from the bride’s brother Teddy (Wyatt Russell). The story tells us she had known the bride her whole life and she was shocked to find out that she was also dumped from the bridal party as maid of honor. I did like the scene where she kept checking both the regrets and acceptance boxes on the wedding invitation. In her own disgust at her behavior, she finally sets it on fire and then puts out the flames and sends the burnt invitation back to the bride Francie Millner (Rya Meyers). Arriving at the wedding, her seating assignment is Table 19 the table furthest from bride a groom. This is the table for outcasts, people who the bride and groom wished had sent their regrets.

When Eloise gets to the table, she finds Nanny Jo (June Squibb), Bina and Jerry Kepp (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson) Renzo Eckberg (Tony Revolori), and Walter Thimple (Stephen Merchant). Eloise explains the entire room table setup because she did the seating chart and why the people she’s sitting with are not important to the wedding party. With this knowledge, the table leaves the wedding party and spends time outside learning more about each other.

There are several scenes when the camera is aimed at the wedding reception and wedding party and it is just wasted film. There is no reason for the camera pan and these scenes add no value to the story. There is a set of scenes when Eloise meets a handsome guy named Huck (Thomas Cocquerel) who dances with her, but the team at Table 19 find out later he’s the groom to a wedding just down the hall. There are several set-up scenes which could have evolved into a funny sub-plot or something interesting but they all failed.

The film tries to be funny and it has some wonderful actors who could have made it funny like Kendrick, Squib, Kudrow, Robinson, and Merchant, but most everything failed to be funny. The other side of the film wanted to be dramatic with the subplot of having Eloise pregnant with Teddy’s baby but it failed to gain traction.

Kendrick was as good as she could be with the material she had. I’d suggest that she do a better job of script selection. Squib was thoroughly underutilized and didn’t have an opportunity to share her comedic chops. Kudrow and Robinson as a couple failed. There was no chemistry and I could buy their story of how they got together. We know they both can be funny given good material but… alas. Merchant had a very odd role which if stretched could have been funny, but again the script and direction failed. Revolori was interesting as I couldn’t figure out why he was in the film. His character didn’t fit and the comedic scenes with him didn’t work. Walking up to a table and telling a young woman about the size of his penis didn’t work. Meyers was gracious in her minimal dramatic role. Russell was mediocre in his role. I know the role has him being a bit slow and not too bright, but it didn’t work. Jay and Mark Duplass wrote this strangely weak and poorly constructed screenplay that really had no real beginning, middle, or end. It just started at one level, ran for a couple hours and fizzled out all-together. Jeffery Blitz had no chance to make this film work because of the script, but it is important to note that his direction didn't help the film either.

Overall:  One of the worst films that will come out in 2017.

Fist Fight

First Hit:  Had an interesting start, faded quickly, and tried to redeem itself at the end.

I admit that I like Ice Cube’s intensity and he shows this part off in this film, however I must also admit that I’m so far away from what it might be like in a high school these days that I was taken aback by the way the kids interacted and the lack of respect they had toward school. Granted this was the last day of school and seniors tend to act poorly believing they are justified by acting stupid. But jeez, making the school out to be this way actually made the film worse.

The plot is that Andy Campbell (Charlie Day) and Strickland (Ice Cube) work at Roosevelt High School which we assume is the worst school in this LA suburb. Strickland barks at his students and is oppressive while Campbell tries to coax his students into learning. There is something wrong with a VHS machine in Strickland’s room and he asks Campbell to help him fix it. When Campbell figures out that it’s a student who is causing the issue, Strickland goes ballistic and takes an axe to the student’s desk.

Called into the Principal’s office, they are supposed to uphold the teachers code and vow to have each other’s back by not telling the truth about the classroom event. However, Campbell falters on the teacher’s code to keep his job and tells the Principal the truth about the axe incident. Strickland gets fired and vows to beat Campbell up after school. The proposed fight has the entire school body in a twitter with excitement.

There are other subplots in this film, including Campbell singing a song with his daughter Ally (Alexa Nisenson), the school being in a financial crisis has to fire a lot of teachers, the guidance counselor Holly (Jillian Bell) uses meth, is oversexed and wants to have sex with students, and Coach Crawford (Tracy Morgan) has a losing team and is sort of a joke in the school.

The only subplot that is interesting is the one with Campbell and his daughter Ally although her song in the end is a little over the top for grade school but was done for a point.

The middle of the film is a bunch of wasted motion of trying to have Campbell find a way to get out of the fist fight. Unfortunately, little of this film seems plausible and in the end when the fight does come to fruition the film pulls back together just a bit, but not enough to make sitting through the whole film interesting.

Day is OK. His voice grated on me because it seemed overdone. It was so wimpy and whiny that it didn’t work. Ice Cube is intense through most of the film but shows some humanity in the end. He does a good job of staying himself and somewhat unattached to this poor film. Bell’s character was an unneeded distraction and not needed. Morgan was more of the same, unneeded distraction. Both were in roles that does nothing to assist them in their careers except financially. Nisenson was the best of the lot. I liked her ability to be afraid of being seen as a wimp and a nobody and then powerfully doing her inappropriate song. Van Robichaux and Evan Susser wrote a very weak screenplay. It’s use of distracting characters to keep the film moving compounded its weakness. Although Director Richie Keen had a poor screenplay to work with, he did, from time to time, make a few scenes work.

Overall:  This film was poorly conceived and the execution did nothing to make it any better.

Everybody Loves Somebody (Todos queremos a alguien)

First Hit:  There are genuinely funny moments and it also lags in the middle.

The opening holds promise as Clara (Karla Souza) an OB-GYN doctor in a Los Angeles Hospital as we watch her examine patients while the background monologue talks lovingly and sarcastically about the couples she sees. She says she can tell the people who ought to be together versus the couples that don’t seem to be in love any longer.

We then have scenes where she goes to bars, gets drunk and allows herself to be taken home by some guy whom she sleeps with then escapes before they wake up, often leaving her clothing behind for fear of waking up the guy. Her sister Abby (Tiare Scanda) is married, has a young boy with whom Clara has a great relationship, and is aware of her sister’s reckless and lonely lifestyle. The film more than sets up Clara’s inability to have a serious committed relationship.

Clara works with Dr. Asher Grace (Ben O’Toole) who is a very nice fluent Spanish speaking Australian. When he asks her to go out on a date, she avoids doing this using smart-alecky remarks and defensive comments. Having to go to her parents wedding, after they’ve lived together for 40 years, she decides to bring Asher as a date because he looks nice and can speak Spanish. Upon arriving at her parent’s Mexican beach hacienda, lo-and-behold her long lost young love, and longtime family favorite, Daniel (Jose Maria Yazpik) is there also. This sets up complications because Asher wants to create a relationship with Clara, Clara likes him but is unsure, her heart is still with Daniel, her family loves Daniel, and Clara’s long held feelings of love and hurt for Daniel are evident.

After the initial combustion between the two men, the film starts a slow decline into scenes of internal struggle and meanwhile the audience waits for Clara to get herself together and learn how to get clear about what it is she wants and how to love again.

Using a Lily (Ximena Romo) and Beto Alvarez (Harold Torres) patients of Clara’s as a vehicle, the director gets the film on track again and it expectantly ends is a sweet scene.

Souza was strong as a commitment phobic young professional person. I loved many of her expressions as they effectively conveyed her fears. O’Toole was wonderful and sweet. His strength and quick witted comebacks were great. Scanda is good as Clara’s sister who is wondering about her own relationship as well. Yazpik is perfect as the charming commitment phobic old boyfriend who is looking for another temporary place to land. Romo and Torres are sublime as Clara’s patients. Their fear and excitement of having their first baby is wonderful. Catalina Aguilar Mastretta’s script lagged in the middle and there was plenty (15 – 20 minutes) that could be cut out and not hurt this film. Mastretta also directed the film and many of the scenes were well done. However, a critical independent person helping her edit this film would have good.

Overall:  In the end the good outweighed the bad as the funny parts were funny and the story is realistic.

The Comedian

First Hit:  A good story and look into the life of an older comedian whose had his day.

Being about the same age as the character Jackie Burke (Robert De Niro) it was an interesting story, look, and life of an older comedian. Jackie was once a television star and part of the issue is that people see him as this television character and not as himself, an insult comic that is just getting by.

Burke is a sarcastic man in both his communication with everyone he interacts with. Although he's not asked to perform when he goes into a comedy clubs, he is known, gets an occasional shout-out, and carefully watches the younger comedians to see what works, what's  funny.

One night, while performing in a small club owned by Jimmie “J.J.” Walker (yes Mr. Goodtimes), he’s harassed by a couple in the audience. She’s filming him as her husband shoots barbs at Burke. The husband gets under Burke’s skin so much that Jackie ends up hitting the husband with the microphone. The couple sues and also posts the fight they filmed on YouTube. While in court, Jackie refuses to apologize in an appropriate way and the judge gives him jail time. After getting out he starts community work at a homeless shelter which is where he meets Harmony Schitz (Leslie Mann).

She’s also doing community work at the same homeless shelter. They hit it off and spend time together by going to a comedy club, she joins him at a family wedding at the invitation of his brother Jimmy (Danny DeVito) and his wife Florence (Patti LuPone), and then he joins her at a dinner with her father Mac (Harvey Keitel).

In each of the interactions he does a routine, and each one is insult based which goes over in some audiences and not so much in others. He gets an opportunity to be part of the dais of a roast for a 90+ year old May Conner (Cloris Leachman) who ends up dying during his part of the roast.

His agent Miller (Edie Falco) tries to get him gigs, but it is hard because of his age, type of comedy he does and his past history. To juxtapose his past with his more successful peers, the storyline has him visiting the Friars Club in NYC where he talks with Charles Grodin, Billy Crystal, Brett Butler, and Gilbert Gottfried to name a few.

However, despite the star power and interactions with these comedians, the jabs aren't very funny. As it turns out, the funniest and most popular parts of his life are the mistakes he makes which are video taped and posted online.

I thought the jokes that Jackie had were good and De Niro’s delivery was very strong, it just isn’t the type of humor I'm attracted to. However there were moments of out loud laughter. I did like the film's more serious turn when Jackie finds himself wanting to spend more time with Harmony.

De Niro was solid as the old-time comedian and his comedic act was really good. I just didn’t connect with the jokes. Mann was superb. I loved her intensity and skittishness. She was one of the very best parts of the film. Keitel was strong as Mann’s controlling father. LuPone was really perfect as the sister-in-law who doesn’t like Burke. DeVito was wonderful as Jackie’s brother. Leachman was interesting as the 90+ year old honored comedienne. Falco as Jackie’s manager was very good. I liked her realistic engagement and devotion to Burke. The team of Art Linson, Jeffery Ross, Richard LaGravenese and Lewis Friedman wrote a good script that reflected the time of Jackie’s fame very well. I especially liked Harmony’s role and lines. Taylor Hackford did a great job of directing the main characters, but the script didn't use the other great comedians very effectively.

Overall:  Although I didn’t really like the humor in this film, I did think it was well done.

20th Century Women

First Hit:  I liked it overall and some scenes are wonderfully funny, but it didn’t impress or stay with me afterwards.

There was something missing in this film and I’m not sure what it was. As I previously said, I liked many of the scenes individually but together as a story it just missed the target.

The basic story is that a single mother Dorothea (Annette Bening), in her late 40’s early 50’s, is raising her fifteen-year-old son, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), in Santa Barbara in the late 1970’s. She lives in a large home with people who rent rooms; Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and William (Billy Crudup). Abbie, who’s in her early 20s, has come to Santa Barbara from New York after learning she had cervical cancer to be an artist. William is slightly younger than Dorothea is a handy man with cars and is fixing up Dorothea’s huge rundown house. Dorothea is stressing about her son and wants him to be a smart caring whole man who navigates the restlessness of the ever-changing world. There are peace protests, punk music is flourishing, and there is also the feminist movement.

Julie (Elle Fanning), is a neighbor girl whose mother is a child psychologist and requires Julie to sit in her youth therapy groups. She often spends the night with Jamie but only to talk and rest. She sneaks in by climbing the scaffolding surrounding the house. She comes back into the house, through the front door, in the morning and has breakfast with the rest of the household.

Always worrying, somewhat defensiveness, and not being forthcoming about her past is the byword of Dorothea’s character. Abbie is about finding peace with her life. She wants to express and settle down. William lives easily and as the dialogue stated, women come to him and he gets bored with them easily. Julie is exploring her freedom from her mother through sexual behavior and depressive based rebellion. Jamie is simply growing up and although he’s going out and experiencing new things, his mother seems to think that he needs more help.

Bening is very good, however I didn’t necessarily like her character much. There was a distant neediness to her that didn’t really work for me. Fanning was fantastic. She does the part woman/part girl nervousness with amazement. Watch her hands and feet move as when she’s nervous – wonderful subtle acting. Zumann was very good as the boy learning to become a man. Scenes where he becomes sullen and frustrated are excellent. Gerwig is wonderful. Her energy and engagement with the role and the other characters was perfect. Crudup was strong as handyman William. His soft kindness towards the women in the house and others was delightful. Mike Mills wrote an excellent script, however overall the film felt too scene based which may have been through his direction.

Overall:  Although I enjoyed many of the scenes, the overall film felt a little disjointed and scene based.