Drinking Buddies (2013)

A movie about friends that work in a brewery and spend a lot of time drinking beer?  My kind of people!

Drinking Buddies is actually little more than that.  Luke (Jake Johnson) and Kate (Olivia Wilde) are co-workers and good friends at a micro-brewery.  They spend much of their time flirting and seem like  they'd be a great fit for each other, but both are in relationships.  Luke is in a long term relationship with Jill (Anna Kendrick), while Kate just started seeing Chris (Ron Livingston).  Luke and Jill have a good relationship, but Jill is starting to press Jake about marriage.  Kate and Chris are still in the hooking up stage and he doesn't even seem that into her.  Part of me had to suspend my belief a little bit that a knockout like Kate would have a lack of dating options and that someone like Chris would only be lukewarm towards her.  A hot chick that loves to hang out, drink beer, and works for a brewery?  Where do I sign up?  Is there a wait list?

The couples take a trip together, and without spoiling too much, something happens that you think will chain a particular series of events, but it doesn't play out that way.  Part of me applauds Drinking Buddies for not taking the predictable, obvious rom-com route, while the other part is frustrated that nothing happens.  One of the reasons why it's so frustrating is that Luke and Kate have such great chemistry together.  The "will they or won't they" question hangs over the whole film.

Drinking Buddies features a lot of what bugs me about mumblecore films: nothing really happens, it just kind of meanders without any plot, and there's no third act.  However, the open-endedness and ambiguity of Drinking Buddies worked for me.  In life, we don't always know what's going to happen next.  The situations dealt with are very real and easy to identify with.  While characters argue and get emotional, it's not melodramatic.  In fact, there's a very understated scene where Luke and Kate make up after an argument that I found very sweet.   I felt like a fly on the wall at times.  You're likely to watch Drinking Buddies and see a lot of familiar things from your own experiences.  It also doesn't hurt that these are people I could see myself hanging out with.  They aren't too quirky or caricatures, but just normal folks.

The strength are the performances of Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde, and the chemistry between them.  Jake Johnson is a favorite of mine from New Girl, so he gave me pretty much what I expected from him, but I was really impressed with Wilde's performance.  I've been kind of hard on her in the past, as I think she's taken roles that haven't given her much to do, but this is the first time I've seen her do something that made me really take notice of her.  She's funny, sympathetic and vulnerable.  This is easily my favorite thing she's been in.  Anna Kendrick is cute as she always is, and Ron Livingston had that same demeanor he has in Office Space after he got hypnotized.

Like many mumblecore films, it's largely unscripted, allowing the actors to improvise their dialog and get into their characters.  Director Joe Swanberg apparently just gave them an outline of major points that needed to happen in each scene and then let them go for it.  It really worked, as the dialog felt very natural and intimate.  People actually communicate and say what they want to say, something that usually bugs the hell out of me in traditional dramedies or rom-coms.  It's a credit to the cast that they were able to make it work so well.  While there really aren't any jokes in the film, there's a lot dialog and observations you're likely to get a laugh out of.  Plus, anytime Jason Sudeikis made an appearance, he got me to laugh.  That guy has my number so far.

On a side note, it's kind of weird that I happened to see Drinking Buddies about an hour after seeing You're Next, which also features Joe Swanberg and Ti West.  Swanberg has a cameo here as well.  Another weird observation is that Jake Johnson is totally clean shaven in the poster above, but sports a pretty scruffy beard in the film.  Never underestimate the power of the beard!

Drinking Buddies is a peek into the relationships of a few friends as they navigate their way through life.  Its open-endedness may disappoint those looking for a traditional rom-com, but the natural dialog, as well as the realistic and funny feel make it worth the watch.  Lastly, it's highlighted by two really strong performances from Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde.  It's available On-Demand now and worth checking out.

3.5 out of 5 Death Stars

We're the Millers (2013)

In the not too distant past, I've often often lamented seeing movies late in the Summer.  I know I've mentioned this before, but August and September are usually the dumping grounds for stuff the studios don't think can compete or hold up against the blockbusters.  However, there's been a recent trend of films I've looked forward to, or even enjoyed more than the bigger films of Summer.  I don't know if it's that they aren't marketed well, simply fly under the radar, or the Summer has become so saturated that otherwise decent movies are getting pushed back.  We're the Millers continues this trend.

The trailer for We're the Millers actually had me rolling my eyes at the premise a bit, but it worked in the context of the film.  David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time, successful drug dealer in Denver, but he gets into a little trouble with his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms), after a robbery.  Brad makes a him a deal: smuggle some drugs across the border and he'll wipe the slate clean.  When struggling for a way to pull this off, David is inspired by a family in a mobile home.  He figures that if he can pull off the appearance of a squeaky clean family, the border patrol won't give them another look.  David doesn't have a family though, so he recruits a dorky kid in his building, Kenny (Will Poulter); a runaway, Casey (Emma Roberts); and finally a stripper, Rose (Jennifer Aniston).  David and Rose have butt heads in the past, so she wants no part of the plan, but reluctantly comes along when she runs into money trouble of her own.

Once they make it to Mexico, they find that the 'smidge' of marijuana they thought they were picking up is actually a huge amount.  Brad also neglected to mention that the pot wasn't meant for them in the first place, so now a drug lord (Tomer Sisley) is after them to get it back.  Does drug smuggling in movies ever go off without a hitch?  If actual drug smuggling was this much of a pain in the ass, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would even try it anymore.

Along the way, the Millers meet up with the Fitzgeralds, a seemingly straight-laced couple played by Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn.  If you've seen the trailers, you already know that there's more to them.  I was a little worried about how their characters were going to play out, but I thought Offerman and Hahn were both funny.  I don't think Nick Offerman can do anything wrong at this point though.  Would someone please write a movie with Offerman as the lead?  I'd go for a Ron Swanson movie.

It's a high-concept film, but it's an example of when you assemble a great cast that has good chemistry, and they sell the material, it can work.  Jason Sudeikis is perfect for this type of film with his smart-ass delivery, and he carries Millers well.  I've always enjoyed when he goes into full-on 'dick mode'.  I even got a little bit of Clark Griswald from him, particularly towards the end.  Jennifer Aniston played off Sudeikis well, and showed that she still has her comedy chops after all these years.  Has it really been almost ten years since Friends ended?  Anyway, I like when she doesn't play it safe or plays against type, like she did in Horrible Bosses.  Plus, I'd like to drink from the same fountain of youth that she's been drinking from.  Although, if you pay attention closely, you'll see a body double was used in a few shots.  It's a dead giveaway whenever they cut away and it comes back to a shot of the backside or their head is no longer in the frame.  This isn't meant to be a slam on Aniston or the film, but just an observation.

I also enjoyed Emma Roberts and Will Poulter as the rest of the 'family'.  It was nice to see that they were actually given their own arcs, rather than be throwaway characters without any depth.  You're given reason to care about the Millers, and it's believable why they would bond in such a short time.  You'll also see from the outtakes during the credits that the cast clearly had a lot fun making We're the Millers and I think that comes across in the final product.

There are a few cameos from recognizable comedy actors.  I especially enjoyed Ken Marino as Rose's boss at the strip club, and he has few great lines.  Luis Guzman and Thomas Lennon also appear.  While in a smaller role, I got a kick out of Ed Helms, who seemed to be really enjoying himself playing more of a douchebag that we're used to seeing.

While I didn't find myself rolling on the floor, there were plenty of good laugh-out-loud moments throughout.  I generally like snarky, sarcastic dialog and this is full of it.  There's something about the character interaction I found natural, but maybe it's because I tend to a pretty sarcastic guy myself.  There are some siller and raunchier moments, but I felt it all balanced out nicely.  We're the Millers is also an example of why I appreciate an R-rated comedy simply for the fact that the trailer can't ruin a lot of the better lines and moments.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (try saying that name five times fast), he allowed the cast enough room to play around a little.  He also kept the pace moving at a good clip, as I didn't realize that this clocks in at 110 minutes.  That's usually around the point where I start feeling a movie's length, especially with a predictable comedy, but I didn't notice until after.  Thurber was the director of Dodgeball, as well as the old Terry Tate, Office Linebacker short, so I'm surprised to see that he's been inactive in recent years.  Here's to hoping he gets more shots at directing comedy.

I was also surprised to see there were four writers (Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris).  That many is usually a bad sign, but it didn't seem to hurt the film too much.  Fisher and Faber are credited with the story, so I wonder if Anders and Morris were brought in to punch it up.  Collectively these guys have written films like Wedding Crashers, Hot Tub Time Machine, Sex Drive, and She's Out of My League, so the comedy pedigree is there.

As I mentioned earlier, We're the Millers is predictable and gets a little cheesy towards the end.  It wraps up a little too cleanly, and there are a few spots in the story where the Millers are let off the hook by convenience.  They also had to show that even though David is a drug dealer, he has rules like he won't sell to kids.  Had they been able to stay away from some of the standard cliches or take some chances, it could have been a real stand out.

It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but We're the Millers has enough laughs to still be a good time at the movies.  Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston are a duo that works well together, and despite the predictable and cliched plot, it hits way more than it misses.  I recommend it as a matinee.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars

Epic (2013)

You may have noticed that I have kind of a blind spot when it comes to kids films.  Not having any kids, the appeal or desire to see some of these films just isn't there sometimes.  Epic is an example of why I tend to avoid them.  It's not that Epic is a bad film, but it's definitely a film geared towards a younger audience, and as far as the story, isn't anything you haven't seen before.

M.K. (Amanda Seyfried) moves in with her father, after the recent death of her mother.  Her father, Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), is an eccentric scientist obsessed with finding evidence of tiny humans living in the forest.  They do a pretty good job of making M.K. unlikable, giving her no tolerance or compassion towards her father.  She just thinks he's weird and wants him to give it up.  She's so frustrated that after like a day, she bails on him.  I don't know where she was planning on going, being only 17, and walking out on her remaining parent.  Leave it to angsty teens to have a thought out plan, right?

Anyway, as M.K. is leaving, she chases their half-blind, three-legged dog (I'm not making that up) into the woods.  She finds the queen of the forest, Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), dying.  Tara gives her a pod that was part of a ritual to name her heir, and shrinks her down to their size.  Her dying request is that M.K. take this pod to someone to complete the ritual.  She joins up with Ronin (Colin Farrell), a commanding soldier; a snail and slug, Grub (Chris O'Dowd) and Mub (Aziz Ansari); and a rebellious soldier named Nod (Josh Hutcherson) to complete this task.  Their primary threat are the Boggans, a race of creatures that seek to destroy the forest.  They are led by the evil Mandrake (Christoph Waltz).

It's a standard adventure story from there.  People overcome their differences, characters grow up and learn lessons, etc.  It's all pretty predictable and familiar.  It's almost ironic to call this Epic, as it didn't feel too epic to me.  If anything I'd expect some indie film to use the title ironically.  Epic was based off the William Joyce book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, but it was director Chris Wedge's goal to adapt the story to make it more of an action-adventure.  It looks like something got a little lost in the adaptation as the whole story felt thin to me.  There's not a lot of depth to the story or characters.  I'm sure having five (five?!) screenwriters didn't help either.

Again, I'm not saying Epic is a bad movie, or even has a that bad of a story.  I just never got invested in what was going on or found myself caring about any of the characters.  I spent more time keeping all the character's names straight in my head, and when I wasn't doing that, I was trying to figure out who the voices of all the main characters were.  For the record, I only guessed four right: Beyoncé, Aziz Ansari, Colin Farrell, and Christoph Waltz.

Most of the attempts at humor fell flat.  It seemed to be working for the kids though, and that's really all Epic can aim for, an average kids film.  I see this being something you can put on the TV, and it'll entertain your kids for 100 minutes, but I don't see them falling in love with it and watching it over and over.  It's just not that memorable.

I did enjoy the CG though.  The design of the world was very interesting and there were a lot of nice details with the characters and settings.  The animation was very fluid, with the exception of how they animated Professor Bomba.  He had a very jerky and unnatural way of moment that was too cartoonish and seemed too much of a contrast from everyone else.

Epic isn't a complete waste of time, but it's yet another middle of the road animated film that borrows heavily from many other films and themes.  Unlike some stronger animated films, it's gonna struggle to hold the attention of anyone over the age of 10.  It's a solid kid's film though and one you can feel confident with letting them watch unattended.  Epic is a rental.

2.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Campaign (2012) - Movie Review

Hooray for low expectations.  I have to admit that The Campaign was yet another movie I was not looking forward to watching.  The trailers looked too silly, and I didn't think this was going to amount to much. Fortunately, The Campaign, while not a particularly good movie, managed to be much funnier that I could have hoped.

Will Ferrell stars as Cam Brady, a North Carolina congressman that's had the good fortune to have been running unopposed for several terms.  He's had his share of slip-ups though.  Two wealthy business owners (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) have plans for the area and see Cam's current weakness as an opportunity to back a candidate they can manipulate and essentially buy the election.  They decide to back the odd son of a friend of theirs, Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis).

Marty is naive, and a little weird, but he genuinely cares about his community and thinks he can do some good.  With some coaching, he gains support and moves up in the polls, which throws Brady into attack mode.  The mudslinging begins!

The Campaign does take some shots at our system with regards to dirty campaigning, rhetoric and political manipulation.  However, it doesn't have quite the bite of other political satires, but I don't think you watch a movie starring Ferrell and Galifianakis and expect it to be heady.  One thing I did enjoy about the movie, is while Brady is a Democrat and Huggins is a Republican, the movie is free of any partisanship.  They don't talk about any issues, and I didn't see any shots taken at either side.  This genuinely sticks to 'the campaign', and not much else.

Like many comedies, The Campaign is a mixed bag and the humor has varying levels of success. I imagine when filming, there was lots of improvising and throwing stuff out there until they found something that either stuck or worked well enough to get by. This is rated R, so you do get a lot vulgar and goofy humor, but it has its laugh out loud moments. This is what I expected from director Jay Roach (the Austin Powers series, Meet the Parents), and he sticks to what he knows.  I think the movie would have benefit from a stronger screenplay though (written by Shawn Harwell and Chris Henchy).

If you're worried that this is just about the leads doing voices and not much else, it's a little more than that. Zack Galifianakis actually played a character, and I enjoyed him where I was initially worried he might annoy me. Will Ferrell's basically doing a variation of his George W. Bush impression, but not quite as dumb.  You pretty much know what you're going to get when it comes to Ferrell.  Fortunately, I'm a fan, so it worked for me.

One thing I always enjoy about movies like this are how you always seem to get a few standout or scene stealing performances from the supporting cast.  For example, Dylan McDermott has a great role as a campaign manager who's job is basically to make Huggins 'not suck'.  He has many of the best moments in the film and was a character I wish they could have found more ways to use.  Karen Maruyama pops up from time to time in a hilarious role as a maid.  I always like seeing Jason Sudeikis and he has a straight-man role as Brady's campaign manager.  Much of his best moments simply come out of him being the voice of reason.

With how John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd's characters were always trying to manipulate behind the scenes, I got a bit of a Trading Places feeling from the movie.  It probably doesn't help that Aykroyd was in Trading Places.  I'm not saying The Campaign is anywhere in that league though.

Much like I said about The Watch, it all depends on how much you like the cast or movies like this.  If you've grown tired of Ferrell's man-child shenanigans, or aren't a huge fan of vulgar humor, then there's probably nothing here that's going to win you over.  For fans, The Campaign has enough funny moments that made it worth watching.  It's also a shorter more, only 85 minutes, so it lets you off easy by not dragging the movie out or running it into the ground.   While I think this is more in the rental category, it's one you can watch with a few friends and have a good time with.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars