Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Directed by: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell 

Ron Burgundy is a joke that’s worn out his welcome.  I know that’s harsh, but the persona that was hilarious in the original Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy can’t really sustain the laughs for longer than 30 seconds anymore.  I’ll give him the 30 seconds because a couple of the Dodge Durango commercials starring Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) are pretty funny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC_Up3zrKjE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxWAFOVrYKA

…but that’s about it.

The problem with Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is that it’s taken on the massive ego of Ron Burgundy and takes itself waaaay too seriously.  It’s as if it thinks the touch of Ron Burgundy can sustain a gag that was moderately humorous the first time into four more repetitions of the same farce.  It deludes itself into thinking purposefully inappropriate banter can be turned into comedy gold with the Scotch-soaked touch of Ron Burgundy.

But no.  Rather than exuding bravado, the Ron Burgundy of this film just looks like a buffoon.  Since the film is so focused on him, it barely leverages the strengths of his original San Diego news crew.  Other than a brief but well-staged joke in a questionably-appointed Winnebago, Burgundy’s posse of Champ Kind (David Koechner), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) has a relatively small role in the film.  Of the three, only Brick – via his blossoming romance with clueless secretary Chani Lastnamé (Kristen Wiig) – delivers any ongoing laughs throughout the film.

Even the storyline lacks true momentum.  Sure, Burgundy and his team have many obstacles to overcome, but it feels like a bunch of skits cobbled together rather than a cohesive storyline. The inconsistency in flow and pacing almost ruins one of the funnier moments of the film – a star-studded news team melee in the park – because it happens late in the movie and the timing is somewhat awkward.

I understand the larger storyline is how Burgundy’s pride and competitive nature damage his relationship with his wife (Christina Applegate) and son, and that he has to become a better person to get them back – but the self-consciousness required to make that serious of a storyline work is out of character for the Ron Burgundy that is “kind of a big deal.”

For those who do choose to slog through this film, the one consistently good element is the mix of 70s pop in the background music.  Baxter the dog is pretty good as well, though woefully under-utilized.

If you:

• Like to laugh
• Find racial jokes delivered by a clueless character awkward
• Don’t want to sully your fondness for Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy with this poor excuse for a sequel

Don’t put it in the queue.

However if you:

• Are a news farce fanatic
• Have an obsessive compulsion to watch sequels
• Are curious as to what animal is the chicken of the cave

Put it in the queue.

Despicable Me

Directed by: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Featuring the voices of: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand

I’m always a couple years behind on family-friendly films, probably because I don’t have kids.  That said, I actually remember when Despicable Me came out in 2010.  It was all about the minions. Who can resist a bunch of goofy little creatures that kind of look like yellow pills wearing overalls and goggles and primarily talk nonsense?  As far as fictional laborers go, they are at one end of the spectrum (adorable!!) and Oompa Loompas (creepy!!) are at the other.

But I digress.  The minions are only a small part of the story.  Their master, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell with an outrageous accent), is the main and despicable character.  He’s a career villain, but not a particularly flashy one.   And not a particularly successful one.  Sure, he’s pulled off a couple of cool heists, but nothing as outrageous as stealing one of the Egyptian pyramids.

However, Gru has a despicable new scheme tucked away in his bald head.  Flanked by his loyal elderly assistant Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand) and a ton of adorable and goofy yellow minions – all crafted from the same strand of mutant DNA – he intends to steal a shrink ray, build a rocket, and nab THE MOON.  Pure evil.

He has a couple of significant problems though.  First and foremost is cash flow.  Unless he can impress the Bank of Evil, there’s no hope for a loan with which to build said rocket.  Especially after a nerdy little upstart, Vector, with a pack of sophisticated gadgets (excluding a pirhana gun and other fishy weapons) swipes the shrink ray right out from under Gru’s pointy nose.

Gru is just inches away from chucking his entire villain career when he stumbles upon a solution.  Vector (voiced by Jason Segel) has a soft spot – his sweet tooth.  When Gru notices a trio of cookie-selling orphans from a local children’s home completely bypass the elaborate security system to deliver Coco-Nutties to Victor’s lair, he figures they are his ticket in.

With semi-suave trickery, Gru adopts the girls and then has absolutely no idea what to do with them.  The skeptical Margo doesn’t expect too much from the arrangement, oddball Edith isn’t sure what to think, and unicorn-obsessed Agnes doesn’t quite realize Gru isn’t the bedtime story and goodnight kiss type.

But Gru isn’t a completely cold-hearted villain.  You can see that coming in with the way he knows the minions by name and gives them and Dr. Nefario pep talks when times are tough. And even though he intends to send the girls back to the orphanage once he has the shrink ray (and the moon), this doesn’t mean he won’t take them to the amusement park, ride the roller coaster with them and blow up a fairway game to win Agnes a fluffy unicorn.

This isn’t just a sappy story about how Gru becomes attached to the girls – though of course that’s a key component.  It’s a film with little Easter eggs for the grownups as well, with little jabs like “Bank of Evil – Formerly Lehman Brothers” and Gru grumbling about the inanity of some children’s books.

The film has plenty of cheap laughs too (fart gun, anyone?) The nonsense-talking, giggling minions are all kinds of hilarious, and Gru’s perplexed reactions to the girls are fun to watch.  Even if you’re watching the film with a more serious and analytical frame of mind, Gru’s determination to fulfill his childhood dream and then his courage to follow his heart give Despicable Me sufficient substance to make it enjoyable from a philosophical standpoint.

If you:

• Enjoy a character with a dry sense of humor
• Get a kick out of wacky little kids
• Have ever accomplished what you were told you’d never be able to do

Put it in the queue!

However, if you:

• Can’t appreciate nonsense
• Don’t find bathroom humor funny
• Can’t appreciate supervillain gadgets

Don’t put it in the queue.

The Way, Way Back

Directed by: Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Starring: Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette

I had a number of reasons for wanting to see The Way, Way Back.

First, I listened to co-screenwriter/director Jim Rash give a great interview on comedian Marc Maron’s WTF podcast last September. Rash, who also plays Dean Pelton in Community, worked on the Oscar-winning screenplay for 2011’s The Descendants. It’s a film I like, so I was curious to see what he and writing partner Nat Faxon would do next.

Also, I’m a big fan of Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Moon). Any film he’s in that’s getting decent notices, I’m probably there. And though I’ve found his film career to be hit-and-miss, I think Steve Carell is a funny and talented actor. The fact that The Way, Way Back re-teams him with Toni Collette seemed promising, as well as what the previews sold as a quirky, coming-of-age narrative that also recalls Little Miss Sunshine.

The film focuses on 14-year-old Duncan (Liam James) and the summer he spends in New England with his recently-divorced mother Pam (Collette) and her new, overbearing boyfriend Trent (Carell) at Trent’s beach house. Also along is Trent’s snotty daughter Steph.

The movie opens en route, with Duncan in the way, way back of a station wagon. While the others sleep, Trent asks Duncan where he would rank himself on a scale of 1-to-10. Reluctantly, Duncan responds with a “6.” Trent, however, calls him a “3” and tells him he needs to work on building his score over the summer.

Yeah. What a dick.

Things don’t get better for Duncan at the beach house. Steph doesn’t want him around her friends, and Trent and Pam are busy entertaining Trent’s friends—most notably rowdy married couple Kip (Rob Corddry) and Joan (Amanda Peet). The one bit of luck Duncan has is living next to Susanna, a beautiful girl whose parents have also divorced and who is comparatively friendly. But Duncan doesn’t have the confidence for even a sustained conversation, so he takes to wandering around the beach and town on a pretty sweet girl’s bike.

A chance encounter at a local pizza joint connects Duncan with charismatic slacker Owen (Rockwell), the manager of Water Wizz, a local water park. Impressed and perplexed by this character, Duncan comes by the Water Wizz the next day and is hired for odd jobs at the park.

Under Owen’s goofy mentorship, Duncan begins to gain confidence and become part of the Water Wizz crew—even earning himself the nickname “Pop ‘n’ Lock.” The home front, however, continues to be a bad trip—even after Duncan has a sort-of breakthrough with Susanna. Under the influence Trent and their beach house neighbors, Pam indulges in a lot of teenage behavior (drinking, smoking pot, staying out)—leaving her son alone with few allies.

I won’t give any more away, but The Way, Way Back takes some fairly dramatic turns, though the film never loses its sense of fun. It does not make it to the level of a Little Miss Sunshine, but it is an enjoyable movie with enough surprises, laughs, and solid performances to elevate its somewhat familiar formula.

With a subject matter revolving around the awkwardness of puberty, first crushes, and parental divorce, there is some element in The Way, Way Back that just about everyone can relate to. The film is also interestingly subversive. The setting seems itself a relic of 1980s teen comedy, something that’s emphasized with nods to REO Speedwagon and Pac Man. And if summer vacation is “spring break for adults,” as it is called, then it must be in the 1980s of their youth.

In terms of acting performances, The Way, Way Back largely delivers. As usual, Sam Rockwell gives a superb supporting performance as the charismatic Owen. The character is certainly the driving force for a lot of the movie’s laughs, but Rockwell plays the character with the proper degree of emotional resonance. On those few occasions when Owen gets serious, we know how much that means and we come to see this guy as a real mentor to Duncan. I should note that the entire Water Wizz staff—which includes Faxon and Rush, as well as Maya Rudolph—delivers in their performances, and really add to the film’s entertainment.

That said, The Way, Way Back doesn’t gel entirely. The movie starts slowly, and Duncan’s early scenes are pretty cringe-worthy in their awkwardness and angst. And while it’s no fault of actress AnnaSophia Robb, the Susanna does seem a bit of a “too-good-to-be-true” type. However, I was most disappointed by Carell’s character Trent. I don’t think it’s a necessarily bad performance, but the actor doesn’t breathe a lot of life into the one-dimensional role. I get that Trent is a self-important jerk who doesn’t necessarily realize how cruel he’s being, but I ultimately wanted a bit more complexity from the “villain” role, if only because the rest of the film’s characters and places seem to have those interesting layers.

Overall, I would recommend The Way, Way Back, which is currently playing in limited release. It’s an especially refreshing film to go see if you’ve gotten your summer fill of superheroes, robots, and guys with lots of guns. As a movie of more modest ambition, The Way, Way Back provides a level of entertainment and heart that tops many a blockbuster. If it’s playing near you, get in the queue while you can!

Written by Scott Volz

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Starring:  Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

Apparently it’s horrible wife week on In The Queue Reviews.  In the very first scene of Crazy, Stupid, Love, Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) informs her husband of 25 years, Cal (Steve Carell) that she slept with a co-worker and wants a divorce. Not good wife behavior.

How has Cal’s husband behavior been?  Not bad, but not great either.  He wears sneakers with his slacks, dress shirts and suit jacket to a nice dinner with his wife.  He doesn’t seem to be interested in understanding why she’s unhappy, and is ready to move out and sign divorce papers without a fuss. In short, he seems to have given up on…well, every hope of being attractive.

Someone is attracted to him, though. There’s only two problems.  One, she’s the 17-year-old babysitter of the Weaver kids.  Two, 8^th grader Robbie Weaver (Jonah Bobo) is madly in love with her and isn’t afraid to let her (and anyone else without shouting distance…with the exception of his parents) know it.  And saying Robbie is philosophical beyond his years is like saying Steven Spielberg directed a couple good movies.

To further reinforce Cal hasn’t got a clue, he attempts to break into the singles scene at a trendy watering hole where he broadcasts his romantic woes to anyone within bemoaning distance.  Jacob (Ryan Gosling), the suave and sexy local pick-up artist takes pity on the shell of a man Cal has become.  With Jacob’s coaching, Cal learns to wear the right suit size, get a nice haircut and get women to leave the bar with him.  Problem solved, right?

The refreshing thing about Crazy, Stupid, Love is that it’s not all that predictable.  Sure, some things have to happen. Cal has to succeed at being a suave guy who can score with the ladies.  Jacob has to encounter that one woman who is so much better than a string of one night stands. However, every time you think the storyline is going to fall into the same old summer blockbuster shtick, the plot gets a little twist.

Crazy, Stupid, Love is truly a drama dressed up as a comedy.  The funny scenes are REALLY funny – generally in a witty way without too much slapstick (although the point where all the real and assumed love connections collapse involves fisticuffs among four grown men).  It is a good thing I never encountered anything like Robbie’s tirade about how the ‘A’ in The Scarlet Letter should stand for ‘assholes’ rather than ‘adulterer’ when I was teaching 8^th grade English because I probably would have found it difficult to punish the kid for such an astute observation.

However, the scenes that show how much serious relationships hinge on basic acts of vulnerability, nurturing and validation can be extremely poignant. The characters don’t always know what they want or what will make them happy.  They’re struggling, relatable people with more depth than you typically see on the silver screen.

If you:

• Hated The Scarlet Letter
• Understand that a serious, long-term relationship can be kind of like caring for your lawn and landscaping
• Understand the pursuit of romantic love does make people act like assholes sometime

Put it in the queue!

However, if you:

• Think it’s OK to wear New Balance sneakers out to a nice dinner with your significant other (unless you have a medical excuse, or perhaps your significant other also steps out in similar footwear)
• Have never experienced unrequited love
• Cannot appreciate what Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei bring to a movie, even in small supporting roles

Don’t put it in the queue.

p.s. I would like to apologize to my husband and guest blogger Ryan Venson for my horrible wife behavior;  I frequently commented on the hotness that is Ryan Gosling is while watching the movie.