Drinking Buddies (***1/4)

Those expecting a wild-and-crazy Hangover retread, based on the title, may be disappointed in this naturalistic indie film that is perhaps 70% drama and 30% comedy. Olivia Wilde (of Fox’s House M.D.) and Jake Johnson (of Fox’s New Girl) play coworkers at a craft brewery (in Chicago, though you can’t tell). Ron Livingston (Office Space) and Anna Kendrick play the love interests, and the story, such as there is, centers around a camping trip the foursome take at a cozy cottage along the shore. Director Joe Swanberg, a movie-making machine withover a dozen little-seen features to his credit in seven years (and even more as an actor), establishes the characters and the style early one, with hand-held camera work and improvised dialogue. The movie looks too carefully shot to be cinéma vérité, but it’s to the credit of the actors that it sometimes sounds like the director simply followed around a group of friends and filmed them. The lack of a score (though there are some songs with a chill vibe) contributes to this sense. The actors also wear noticeably less makeup than in most movies. 

Swanberg has been identified with the “mumblecore” school of moviemaking, and there’s lots of fumbling around in the characters’ speech and a few awkward silences, though I didn’t think the movie was as slow as some other movies shot this way. More significantly, the emphasis is not on plot, but on the relationship that occupies a sometimes-uncomfortable space between platonic and romantic. The low-key ending will not be to all tastes but makes sense in the context of a low-key film.

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viewed 7/22/13 7:00 pm at Ritz Bourse [PFS screening] and reviewed 7/23 and 7/24/13

21 & Over (**)

Had this been titled 18 & Under it might have been an apt tribute to the teen boys for whom this may hold the greatest appeal, and for whom this mixture of drunken revelry, potty-mouthed dialogue (“I‘m gonna fuck you with alcohol”), and sexual titillation may seem transgressive. Of course, some of these teens may need to be accompanied by their parents, who are more likely to see this as old hat.

It comes from Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writing team responsible for The Hangover, which I kind of liked, and can be seen as a very loose rewrite, or rehash. Instead of The Hangover’s Las Vegas, the setting is that other center of collective debauchery, the college campus. Instead of four over-30 guys, there are three 20ish ones. Miles Teller  plays the obnoxious one, kind of a pimplier version of the Bradley Cooper character in The Hangover. His straitlaced counterpart is played by Skylar Astin; he makes noises during the movie about the need to grow up. Their friend Jeff Chang (Justin Chon), rather than disappearing a la The Hangover, merely spends much of his 21st birthday in a drunken stupor, just short of requiring medical attention, presumably. This jury rigs a plotline in which his pals are desperately trying to get him home in time for his morning med-school interview.

As with The Hangover, the comedic elements include a series of mishaps, recurring characters, crazy revenge-minded persons (sorority girls, a male cheerleader and his posse), a large wild animal, and, of course, the “one-crazy-night” plot. Yet The Hangover seemed, if not exactly clever, at least a little bit fresh, and if not exactly plausible, then inhabiting its own reality. It had some element of mystery, even. Mostly, this appears composed of recycled parts of teen comedies past, possibly grafted onto a discarded old John Hughes script. Jeff Chang (always referred to by both names) is the most appealing character, except for the projectile vomiting scene and the drunk-driving scene, but he doesn’t speak for much of the time. Given the odd bit of quasi-racist humor in the movie, it’s probably worth mentioning the complete absence, as far as I could tell, of black people. Otherwise it’s barely worth mentioning at all.

 

IMDB link

viewed 2/26/2013 7:30 at Ritz 5 [PFS] screening and reviewed 2/27–28/2013

Cedar Rapids (***1/4)

Ed Helms stars as the milquetoast hero whose only daring act has been the affair he’s having with his onetime seventh-grade teacher (Sigourney Weaver). But even that represents the timid act of a small-town boy who still maintains his child’s eye view of the world, which doesn’t include potty-mouthed salesmen, cheating, lying, or death by deaths by auto-erotic asphyxiation, all of which he comes to grips with in the kind-0f-big city in Iowa. (The city and state are played by Michigan, which gives bigger tax breaks to filmmakers.) In many ways Tim Lippe is the same sort of relative innocent as Helms played in The Hangover. And, structurally speaking, the movie is a lot like that farce, in that it involves a diverse foursome going a little wild on a trip, in this case an insurance conference.

But this comedy will also appeal to people who found that movie a little on the silly side. Yes, there’s some unlikely plotting, but director Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt) and writer Phil Johnston keep the focus as much on the characters. Besides Tim, unexpectedly asked to represent his agency at the conference, these include his temporary roommates, foul-mouthed Dean (John C. Reilly) and reserved Ronald (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), who confesses a fondness for “the HBO program The Wire” in a tone suggesting one who’s discovered a hidden gem. Ron also amusingly shocks Tim by being…black and also garners perhaps the movie’s biggest laugh line when he later uses racial stereotyping to his own advantage. Lastly, there’s a female in this buddy quartet (Anne Heche in a great comeback role), who’s the right mix of flirty and down-to-earth to lure Tim out of his comfort zone.

Creating strong characters is why this movie is a cut above its buddy-comedy brethren. Even Dean is not simply a wild-and-crazy guy, but might also be like someone you’ve met. And while Tim is naive, your sympathies are still with him. The comedy is not about in Tim being so dumb he thinks Cedar Rapids is a big city, but a coming-of-age story about a guy who’s just waited awhile to come of age.

IMDB link

viewed 2/9/11 at Ritz East [PFS screening] and reviewed 4/19/11

The Last Kiss (***1/2)

? A remake of the Italian comedy-drama of the same name, released here in 2002, with a screenplay by Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash). Zach Braff is a young architect who adores his girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett) but has marriage anxiety that may lead him astray. Meanwhile, his friends and his potential in-laws (Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson) have their own relationship issues.

+ The subplots surrounding the friends are mostly played for laughs, but the primary story gets under the skin of its characters and is both hilarious and painful, sometimes at once. The confusing period between college and adult responsibilities is the turf being explored, yet the older couple provides a different perspective. Danner is absolutely heartbreaking as a woman whose husband seems unable to give her the affection she craves. The female characters seem as strongly written as the male ones, and Barrett does a nice job.

- You’d think from watching American comedy movies that guys always want to stay single and women always want to get married. But I guess that’s not the fault of this movie alone.

= ***1/2 Worth seeing as a comedy; worth seeing as a drama, and sure to provoke debate about when a relationship is worth sticking with. One of the few American remakes of a foreign film that is a bit better than the source.

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The Descent (***1/2)

 A must for horror fans, this minimalist British chiller brilliantly meshes the elements of a harsh natural environment (an underground cave), the interactions of a group of friends, and a small bit of sci-fi.

This creepy little film was a popular highlight of the 2006 Philadelphia Film Festival. Without being particularly gory, it delivers genuine scares. The setting for most of the movie is an underground cavern where a group of women friends have gone exploring. I won’t say what they find there, except that it’s not a crazy lunatic with a chainsaw, and the peril is compounded by the natural difficulty and unfamiliarity of the surroundings. It’s a naturally spooky environment. There’s a short introduction to the film in which one of the women suffers a tragic loss; this indirectly affects the outcome of the story. At several points, the audience watching the film with me audibly gasped in surprise, then laughed at themselves for having been successfully been manipulated. Making the most of its simple, yet original, concept, The Descent is chilling fun rather than gruesome excess.

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viewed April 2006 at Philadelphia Film Festival