Keeping It Reel

The Family Man

Continuing with my list of my 12 favorite Christmas movies of all-time...

11 - The Family Man

Nicholas Cage plays an extremely wealthy businessman who seems to have everything he could possibly want in life.  Everything except for a healthy family relationship of his own.  In steps Don Cheadle as a Mr. Destiny type who shows him what life would have been like had he pursued the family route.

What makes this so special is although it's centered around the   Christmas season, its plot isn't confined to the holiday.  Its family theme could have played in any circumstance.  It just so happens that having it occur during the holidays puts a greater appreciation on how important family really is.

Probably one of the reasons I enjoyed this movie so much was I could see some of myself in Cage's character Jack Campbell.  I was almost down that path myself.  The big difference of course being that I already had two children of my own at the time.  However, I was living the bachelor life and loving it.  I thought that not being tied down to one woman was where it was at.  In a way, seeing this movie assisted me in realizing that I was slowly letting my priorities get out of order.

"Family Man" doesn't break much new ground as far as its plot and/or premise.  There are hundreds of movies that have to do with someone facing a "what if" scenario of their life.  It's  amusing how so many of those have a holiday theme to them too.  At any rate, only a few of them can rise like cream and this is one of them.

Three's Company

There are sometimes when an actor gets so typecast that it can lead to some bad career choices.  If they're not good at their craft, after a while, their movies may get a little stale.  However, every now and then you'll get that one cat who can maximize their typecast ability.  Will Ferrell is one who immediately comes to mind but in this instance, I'm referring to Owen Wilson.

Owen has been recently playing the part of 30-year-old loser.  His characters are typically flawed with the trait of not having much going on in their lives.  He's at it again with "You Me and Dupree". 

The one problem this movie has that a lot have seem to had lately is the previews give away some of their best material.  I always try to maintain the philosophy that once I've established I want to see a movie, I won't watch more than one trailer for it.  That tends to backfire when I'm on the fence on a flick.  I'll watch a couple of trailers for it before I finally decide I am going to check it out.  By that time, the best bits have already been spoiled for me.  It's a risk I'm willing to take.

As I have mentioned before, Kate Hudson has pretty much cemented her role as one of the new age romantic comedy leading women.  Nevertheless, as talented as she is, I can't help but think of her mother, Goldie Hawn, everytime I see Kate.  Not only is she the spitting image of her mother when she was her age but she also sounds exactly like her.  She'll never grow out of that shadow as far as I'm concerned.  Good thing it's a pretty good shadow to be in.

I was a little worried at first they were going to take a seldom traveled turn with the plot and have this turn into a love triangle.  They did want you to think they were flirting with it although ultimately didn't make that commitment. 

Owen has the uncanny ability to always make his loser characters very likable.  In the process, his mannerisms and pure talent constantly infuses humor into any role he's in.  That's crucial in a flick like "You Me and Dupree" where the storyline is fairly weak.  It also helps that the talents of Matt Damon and Hudson are on board to assist in covering up the story's shortcomings.  Still, I wish so much of the trailer(s) hadn't spoiled some of the best moments for me.

My rating:  B-

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

By now, the Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston/Angelina Jolie thing is old news.  However, it's interesting that when it was still pretty fresh, Jen had just released a movie that summed up the ordeal with at least the title:  "The Break Up".  Even though it is a romantic comedy, it was still rather uncanny how the timing worked out with what was going on in her personal life too.

"The Break Up" was Jen's latest foray into romantic comedies.  It always seemed to be what she did best on the big screen, even if she had a history of some slightly mediocre ones to fall back on.  One would have to think that with Vince Vaughn on board, this one had to be better.  One would be right.

The trailers stole some of the best moments from this m ovie and ruined it for you.  The closet brother played by John Michael Higgins assaulting Vince's character could have been ten times better had it not been shown thousands of times in the trailer.  The beauty of it is with Vince's natural wit, it still turned out to be pretty funny.

Jason Bateman's tiny part in this movie was very much under-used.  Not so much a cameo although it may as well have been.  He manages to steal the show with very little screen time and reminds everyone even more so what a mistake it was to cancel the classic "Arrested Development".

I expected this to be the boy meets girl-boy loses girl-boy gets girl type picture interspersed with comedic moments here and there.  For the most part it was and the comedy did make it worth it.  Plus, it didn't have the typical fairytale ending that you would imagine.  There's no way this can be called Vince's best work when he has a classic like "Swingers" under his belt.  Jen, on the other hand, still has a movie track record that needs some work and this one helped considerably.

My rating:  B

Take the Time to Stop and Play in the Sand

I FINALLY got around to watching this movie. Now that I have, I'm convinced Kevin Smith can do no wrong.  It's now official.  How the movie ever got unfairly knocked is beyond me.  I take that back, I do know why. 

Smith smartly downplays the fact that J-Lo and Ben Affleck are in "Jersey Girl" together, even if it was very briefly.  I don't care what anyone says, I still think that "Gigli" wasn't that bad of a movie.  However, their chemistry here was much better.  Of course, it only lasts 15 minutes of screen time so it's kinda' hard to screw that up.

"Jersey Girl" finds Ben Affleck as Ollie Trinke who loses more than his wife.  He also loses his career while trying to come to grips with his new life as a single dad.  He doesn't seem to really ever accept it until a wise "poet" inadvertently talks some sense into him.

J-Lo is just one of the secondary actors that makes this work.  Smith's movies are always known for sporting those actors that really help the script pop.  Here, it's George Carlin's take as Ollie's widowed father.  His character is able to show Ollie the right way in his own rough-around-the-edges manner because he's learned from his own mistakes.

I'm a firm believer that there are some movies that you connect to that make them better than what the masses may think.  This is one.  Ollie struggles with a relationship with his daughter.  It's hard for us guys raising little girls sometimes.  I have never felt my children took my life away like he did, but I can appreciate the challenge a daughter presents.

My rating:  B+

Based on a True Rumor

They say that every rumor has at least some truth to it.  Keeping that in mind, it only stands to reason that some movies have the possibility of having that distinction.  That's why they always have the disclaimer you see at the end talking about "any similarities between these characters and real life ones are purely coincidental".  I could see that "The Graduate".  Apparently, so could the could the creators of "Rumor Has It".

Jennifer Aniston plays the daughter of a mom who she suspects inspired the book and the movie.  It turns out a lot of her family inspired the two.  She suspects something is different about her since she doesn't seem to gel with the rest of her family.  She's pretty certain she's not adopted so what else could it be?

Once she finds out she was right, how does she deal with such an awkward coincidence?  She sleeps with the guy, Kevin Costner, of course.  Makes perfect sense to me.  Especially since just hours before it, she thought he was her dad.  Thanks to her insecurity, Costner's character scores a creepy trifecta by getting with the grandmother, daughter and granddaughter.

I think Aniston has gotten unfairly criticized for her movie efforts.  They may not have been smashes, but they've been decent.  And who else to play opposite her in this as the love interest?  The reigning prince of romantic comedies, Mark Ruffalo. Their chemistry doesn't work much for me here.  Then again, that's how it should be since she's doubting the relationship

This one is definitely a chick flick.  Not there's that anything wrong with that.  It's sort of a twisted chick flick, but still one nevertheless.  Maybe the fact that it is twisted is why I was a little partial.  Just a little.

My rating:  C+

Not Much of a Vacation

Have you ever seen one of those movies that was SO predictable that you knew how it was going to end from just seeing the previews?  One that comes to mind right off the bat is "The Village".  In that instance, since it was M. Night Shyamalan's piece, it was really disappointing.  I expected more from him.  He better step it up with this upcoming "Lady in the Water".

Anyway, "Last Holiday" was doomed from the beginning with having that same fate.  Queen Latifah plays a retail clerk who finds out she only has a few months to live.  Naturally, she decides to go out with a bang and live it up.  Big shocker here...she finds out later on she's going to live afterall.

Now I give Latifah her props for blowing it up in "Chicago" for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.  However, her acting abilities are still somewhat limited.  She has typecast herself by only being able to play the stereotypical sassy Black woman.  There's no depth to any of her characters and it's no different here.  I wonder how long it is before she does a Will Smith and starts going to just being known as Dana Owens.

LL is also in here as the love interest.  Let me state right now that I STILL maintain LL would not be a "sex symbol" if he wasn't famous.  The man is not that attractive.  He's got a HUGE Barry Bonds steroids-induced melon.  If it wasn't for his cut up frame, he'd have nothing going for him but his rhymes.

Nevertheless, we're supposed to believe that LL is so into Latifah's character that he travels halfway across the globe to find her when she goes on a leave of absence from work.  Sorry, not buying it.  Latifah's cute, but she ain't THAT cute.  A brotha would travel halfway around the world for Halle Berry, not for Queen Latifah.

The one bright spot in this movie is the Indian doctor who mis-diagnosed Latifah's character.  Sure, he was playing a stereotypical foreigner, but it was still a little humorous.

I originally saw this flick a little while ago on one of my visits to the folks' place in Bloomington and I'm just now getting around to logging the review.  Mom and Teandra had recommended it so I took their world for it.  Afterall, it was Mom who hipped me to Madea.  There are times that Mom and I don't always have the same taste in movies and this is definitely one of those times.

My rating:  D+

Shades of Gray

Back when "Jungle Fever" first hit the scene, it goes without saying that it was controversial.  At that time, black and white couples were seen, but not too commonplace.  They were still looked at as borderline taboo.  It's gotten to the point now where that is viewed as old hat.  Movies that deal with it these days are no longer considered groundbreaking.  I'm guessing that wasn't what the director was shooting for in this one anyway.

"Something New" gives us Sanaa Lathan playing a successful attorney vying for partnership who, for some reason I'm not buying, can't seem to find a good brotha. Enter Simon Baker, a blind date who can also landscape and they end up falling for each other.  Naturally, this has to follow the romantic comedy formula so they do break up, she thinks she's found the right brotha, but discovers she'd rather be skiing instead.

I don't even begin to consider myself an expert when it comes to the actual movie making process.  I may not know the intricacies involved with the lighting and all that.  However, it was painfully obvious that the director was going for a certain effect with the lighting in this movie that was annoying.  Every time Simon and Sanaa were in a scene together, the lighting was softened so their colors almost seem to blend together.  He's fairly tan and she's fairly pale.  When the lighting is adjusted properly, they both look almost opaque.  And as I figured, at the final scene when they were together for good, the lighting was done normal.  It's as if she (the director, Sanaa Hamri) was trying to subtly show us that their worlds had finally conformed.

What also didn't work for me here is there seemed to be an unbalanced chemistry between the two.  Chemistry between an actor an actress on screen has to go both ways.  I was buying that Sanaa was into him, but dude was not pulling it off very well.  In a movie that deals with a topic that's as sensitive as interracial dating, you would think they would have paid more attention to that.

Once again, Blair Underwood is here playing outside his typecast.  He starts out suave enough but they eventually turn him into a borderline pompous yuppie who is hard to like.  I can appreciate him wanting to buck his image, still, can we get the old Blair from "Set It Off" back for just one movie?

Now contrary to what the people who stuck with me thru my militant years may think, I really don't have a problem with mixed couples.  If they're happy, more power to them.  The problem I have is when a brotha or a sista has one bad relationship and just decide they're going to give up on our folks and ONLY date elsewhere.  That wasn't the case in this movie so I give them kudos for them not falling into that trap.  Having said that, they didn't exactly tread any new ground and that did hurt the hike a bit.

My rating:  C

May-December Formula

Where did that phrase even come from?  If it's supposed to symbolize the cradle-robbing relationships, how is it that May was the month that was picked instead of an earlier month?  However it came about, those type of couples are becoming increasingly more popular.  It used to be that the older man-younger woman was the most well known but thanks to matches like Demi Moore and Ashton Kuchter, that's not the case anymore.

"Prime" is one of those stories that owes its origin to those romances.  It follows the formula of boy meets girl...well, let me rephrase that...boy meets woman, boy loses woman, boy almost gets woman back.  The twist here is that the older woman falls for her therapist's son and doesn't realize it until it's too late.

I thought there was such of thing as conflict of interest in the therapist profession?  When Meryl Streep's character finds out her patient is dating her son, in the real world, that would be the end of the patient/doctor relationship.  Not in the movies.  And the excuse she later gives for not terminating that relationship is flimsy at best.

Uma Thurman is a tremendous actress, but she's been doing something in all of her movies lately that has been annoying me.  For some reason, she always finds a way to show off her feet.  This wouldn't be an issue if she actually had cute feet.  In fact, she's probably got some of the ugliest feet I've ever seen.  Please stop doing that to us, Uma.

The boy toy in this movie, Bryan Greenberg, has a friend who has a routine that I became infatuated with.  After he dumps a girl, or has been dumped, he gets a cream pie and throws it in her face.  I realize they're in New York, but how is he not running into any of these females again in other places around town?  It only stands to reason since after the break up, Boy Toy and Uma are always running into one another.

This movie doesn't follow the typical romantic comedy formula to the end.  I was all ready to berate it since it was going down that path but they managed to go against the norm.  That and the fact that it's actually quite funny is what makes it very memorable. 

My rating:  B+

Dead Lady Walking

If Reese Witherspoon has turned into her generation's Meg Ryan of the romantic comedy world, then it almost seems as if Mark Ruffalo has become the male counterpart.  It's not that that's a bad thing.  It would be if he didn't have the skills but he seems to pull it off pretty well.

"Just Like Heaven" brings the two of them together in this other-worldly love story.  Reese plays an MD married to her job who needs an out-of-body experience to realize life is passing her by.  Ruffalo is an average schmo who appears to be that life.

I went into this expecting to get a story similar to "Ghost" though hopefully not as sappy.  It was actually closer to "All of Me" which was a pleasant surprise.  And even more shocking was Ruffalo's ability to pull off physical comedy like Steve Martin of old.  Of course it wasn't as good as Martin's genius, but it was entertaining.

Watching this reminded me of something that I often wondered about the medical profession in general: Why do they have MDs working ungodly long shifts?  Isn't that dangerous to have a physician managing life-threatening situations when they're at the tail end of a 12 - 14+ hour shift?  Why not just hire more physicians and break the shifts up?  No wonder there are so many malpractice suits.

As far as romantic comedies go, this one was funnier than most.  I also enjoyed how near the end, they could have made it very formulaic but they throw a little snag just enough to throw you off a bit.  Sure, it has a happy ending like you would expect; however, it trips you up just a little in getting there, making it not just like every other flick of its genre.

My rating:   B+