I was intrigued by this cast of fun actors, all of whom I enjoy in different ways, bringing to life a non-fiction advice book (which, I was later told, grew out of a line and then episode of Sex and the City). This movie is funny, sweet, diverting, and frustrating, and reminds one of many [...]

The title and premise alone sound like every stupid comedy you’ve avoided for decades. The first time I saw the preview, with Kevin James (Hitch) foiling mall crime through Segways and pratfalls, my deep dark heart said, “I actually want to see that.” Kevin James was lovable and hilarious in Hitch, but that’s no guarantee [...]

Happy circumstances caused me to see this without my notebook, so please forgive me my failing memory. Despite my decade of Jim Carrey love, I had not run out to see Yes Man, fearing the film was going to be another Evan Almighty, a cheapening attempt at message with no funny slapped all over a [...]

Hey, did this movie ever come out? I guess so – I saw it before it vanished. The economic burnout seems to have extended even to holiday-themed movies, even though this one is unconcerned with presents and Santa and so forth. The adorable couple of Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughan are best friendy in their [...]

Hollywood loves making movies about Hollywood. To be fair, this business we call show is packed to the rafters with drama, sex, absurdity, double dealing, divas, and sordid glamour – who wouldn’t be tempted? Often as not, the movie is either too inside to be comprehended by the audience at large (Burn, Hollywood, Burn) or [...]

Role Models, brought to you by Wet Hot American Summer’s David Wain, is the most vulgar and heart-warming thing I have seen since the 40 Year-Old Virgin. And it may actually be a little more cockle-heating than that, but I’m not sure. Paul Rudd, reliable veteran of both the Frat Pack and the Apatow Gang, [...]

My companion exhorted me, before the movie began, and after we had had animated conversation with many folks in the theatre, “Don’t write a good review of this movie just because you like [Bill Maher.]” Well, I’m not writing a good review of this movie because I think Maher is funny, or right, or on [...]

I received this movie as a screener from the studio, because I find mockumentaries somehow irresistible. When I told him about this movie, my film buddy declared that he is “so over” mockumentaries. While Christopher Guest appears to have cemented the phenomenon as an actual genre, it still can surprise when done properly. Every few [...]

The Coen brothers pulled a deep and luscious film out of their pocket last year with No Country For Old Men. Eschewing their usual flavor of folksy, odd characters and detached amusement, that film was a Big Deal. With Burn After Reading, on the surface, the Coens have returned to their capriciously intellectual and dark [...]

After Romeo + Juliet (not the Zeffirelli, the DiCaprio one), it seemed as though tough urban moroseness would be a sly way to reinvent the Bard’s classics, or at least not the musical way. I sincerely did not want to see this one, because, I mean, come on, Ethan Hawke? I do believe the real [...]