The Way, Way Back (2013)

It's no secret that I loved The Descendents, and called it one of my favorites of 2011.  The adapted screenplay from Jim Rash and Nat Faxon won an Oscar, as well as gave us a good laugh at AngiesRightLeg's expense.  I was eagerly looking forward to their next collaboration, as this time they were taking on directing duties, too.  The duo seems to have a knack for sweet stories filled with humor and nice human moments without resorting to too much quirk.  Plus, I love Rash on Community and really liked Faxon on Ben and Kate until Fox shortsightedly cancelled another good show.  You can say I'm a little biased on this one.

Duncan (Liam James) is on the road to summer vacation with his mother and her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell).  While Pam (Toni Collette) is asleep in the car, Trent asks Duncan to rate himself on a scale from one to ten.  Duncan reluctantly answers with six.  Trent disagrees and calls him a three.  Trent's kind of a dick, but he has a point.  Duncan is a terminally shy, awkward 14-year-old that really needs to get out there and develop some social skills or any kind of social life.  He's uncomfortable around everyone, especially the cute girl next door Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb).  Trent wants him to get that score up.  His heart is in the right place, but that's not the most constructive way to tell a kid you don't know that well that he needs to get out there.  Also, telling a kid he's socially awkward doesn't help him not be awkward or help him grow socially.  Give him some tools or notes to improve.  It's like saying I know you suck, you need to suck less.  How does that help?  He's a little too hard on the kid overall.  Plus, it's one thing to be hard on your own son, but when you're hard on the son of your girlfriend, I tend to think that's crossing a line.  It's interesting to note that Trent hides this behavior towards Duncan, as well as other things, by doing it when Pam is not around.

Trent has a older daughter (Zoe Levin) that doesn't want to be seen with Duncan either.  Pam and Trent spend a lot of time with the drunk next door neighbor (a fun Allison Janney), as well as a couple of Trent's friends, played by a somewhat muted Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet, who needs to be in more movies.  Betty (Janney) encourages Duncan to hang out with her younger son (River Alexander), but he's a bit of an oddball.

Duncan eventually gets tired of all the drunken, adult shenanigans and starts exploring the town on his own.  While hanging out at a local water park, the park's manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) takes Duncan under his wing and hires him to do odd jobs.  It's never really clear what Owen's role or job is, especially since he seems to answer to Caitlin (Maya Rudolph), who laments her station and that she works harder than just about everyone there.  Anyway, Duncan becomes more and more comfortable around everyone and makes many friends at the water park.  Owen is that mentor, older brother, or even father that Duncan lacks.

The Way, Way Back is yet another coming-of-age story.  Is 2013 the year of coming-of-age films?  I'm happy to say though that his continues the trend of good ones.  When I look back at earlier films like Mud or The Kings of Summer, they all have a distinct tone and style to them, so I've yet to feel like I'm in a cycle of watching the same movie and over and over.

Later in the film when Trent's true colors are on display, Duncan's finally able to stand up for himself and confront him and his mother.  It's that moment in the film where you see that he's becoming a man.  I think one of the reasons why I enjoyed the movie so much is that I saw a lot of myself in Duncan.  I was a goofy looking kid when I was that age.  Braces, bad hair, unsure of myself, and really, really shy.  What I would have killed for an Owen back then.  Liam James plays that socially awkward kid well.  I can forsee a few more roles like this for him in the near future.

Much of the supporting cast isn't in the film as much as I would have liked, but they're not the focus.  I appreciate seeing Steve Carell playing against type again.  I like it when he branches off his typical comedic track.  AnnaSophia Robb has been a favorite young actress of mine since Bridge to Terabithia and she finally seems to be getting larger exposure in recent films.  I still predict big things for her.

Where the film really takes off is when we're at the water park.  There's lots of playful interaction between Sam Rockwell and Maya Rudolph, as well as most of the other employees played by Jim Rash and Nat Faxon.  The relationship that develops between Duncan and Owen is sweet without being cheesy or forced.  When we finally reach the end of the film, you don't want to see these two say their goodbyes, but it's done in a way that's satisfying.

As much as I liked The Way, Way Back I have to wonder if I would have liked it as much if Sam Rockwell hadn't been in it.  Would I have been as invested not knowing he's showing up later?  Sam Rockwell is easily the best thing about the film.  Every scene he's in is great.  He's so good that if another actor had played Owen, I'm not sure that movie would have worked at all.  A water park might not need an anchor, but sometimes a movie needs an anchor like Rockwell.

One thing struck me as odd is that when you see the family driving in an old station wagon, I wasn't quite sure if this was a film set in the past.  This is confused further when it's mentioned that Trent is car salesman and brags that he's fixed the car up as a classic.  I'm pretty sure I saw some of the younger folks using cell phones (but not Duncan), and there's references to iPods.  Then in other scenes, you see people playing Pac-Man and Duncan is familiar with the game to the point where he points out that the game has a pattern.  There's also lots of 80's music.  It really doesn't matter all that much as this is another movie that's timeless.

Much like I said about The Kings of Summer, The Way, Way Back is a film that I didn't want to end.  While it's a simple, coming-of-age story in a year full of them, it still manages to stand apart with its own style and voice.  It's extremely funny, sweet and is worth seeing just for the great performance by Sam Rockwell.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a best supporting nod for Rockwell this year.  I look forward to seeing the film again.  Still playing at select theaters, I highly recommend checking it out soon.

4.5 (out of 5)

Grown Ups 2 (2013)

Wait, say that again?  There's a sequel to Grown Ups?

I was surprised as anyone the first time I saw the trailer for Grown Ups 2.  Did anyone actually like it?  I don't know anyone that does, but maybe that's because they're afraid of being Force-choked for admitting that in my presence.  Good taste aside, I guess the first made enough money because there's no way they'd make another one otherwise.

I guess the beauty of Grown Ups 2 for the studio is that it couldn't have taken more than a week or two to make, and the budget couldn't have been spent on much else than the actor's salaries.  I know they didn't spend money on writers or an editor.  Grown Ups 2 doesn't even have a plot.  Seriously, I defy anyone to watch Grown Ups 2 and tell me what it's about.  It's just a bunch of short sketches and gags.  I think this is what frustrates me about Adam Sandler and Co. so much.  With these guys being SNL alumni, you'd think this would be their strength.  Also, we've all seen guys like David Spade, Tim Meadows, Kevin James, Chris Rock, and even Nick Swardson be much funnier in their own standup routines, other movies and TVs shows.  Yet somehow combining all of these guys amounts to a bunch of lazy, uninspired comedy.  Is it that they don't care, have total contempt for the audience, or genuinely think this stuff is funny?  I can't help but watch Grown Ups 2 and think that if they had just put even a modicum of effort into the writing, then we'd genuinely have a funny movie on our hands.  I can forgive a lack of plot if the movie is hilarious otherwise.

A lot of the humor is based on things that simply can't happen in reality.  The opening scene is the one you see in the trailer where somehow a deer gets into the house and up to a second story bedroom without anyone noticing or waking up.  I guess it was a stealth deer.  This leads into a stupid pee joke that wasn't funny in the first place, but looked awful because they did it with bad CG.  They do this pee joke twice!  Why is this even in the movie?  They could have not put this in the movie and saved the money on the bad CG.  Cause F-you, that's why!

At least I didn't find the humor as mean spirited as in Sandler's more recent films.  However, if you aren't into poop, fart or throw up gags, then there's a lot you aren't going to like.  I'll admit there's a part of me that still can laugh a good fart or burp, so when Kevin James does his burp-sneeze-fart I couldn't help but chuckle a little.  I also got a giggle out of some of the various cameos sprinkled throughout the film.  The thing is a cameo isn't a joke by itself, and many are dependent on you even knowing who these people are.  Like if you don't recognize older SNL cast members, ESPN anchors, or lesser known comedians, their appearances will likely go unnoticed by you.

The rest of the film is lame fratboy humor, or making fun of characters that aren't aware they are the butt of the joke.  There's a running gag where Tim Meadows and family just go "Whaaa?!" anytime they are insulted.  There's no comeback, just "Whaaa?!"  It doesn't go anywhere, and it's a non-joke.  Lots of these scenes ended abruptly when it wasn't working.  It didn't seem to be working on the audience either as I heard muted laughter at most of these things.

As with all Sandler films, his obsession with the 80's continue.  We get our normal fix of 80's music, but the film ends with a 80's themed party.  I wonder who's idea that was?  It's just another lame reason to shoehorn more 80's references into the movie.  I love the 80's as much as the next guy, but this is gone way past being old.  Although I did think it was kind of funny to see Chris Rock dressed as 80's Prince.

Lastly, I'm glad they had the good sense to get rid of that scene about getting wasted and tricking the kids into thinking it had something to do with ice cream  "I'm wanna get chocolate wasted!"  Did a child actually write that?  Ugh...so much of this film is just cringeworthy.

Grown Ups 2 is lazy, uninspired, childish, unfunny and directionless.  If the name Adam Sandler wasn't on the top of the poster, I don't see how this film sees the light of day, let alone gets made.  The only reason I'm not giving this a zero is that I chucked a few times at the cameos and I haven't completely outgrown burp and fart humor.  There are some genuinely funny films in theaters right now.  Grown Ups 2 isn't one of them.  Don't pay to see this film in any format.

.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Friends With Kids - Movie Review

This is going to be a quick review as I find that I'm probably going to echo a few sentiments about this movie from my Jeff, Who Lives at Home review.

The premise of Friends With Kids might be a little out there depending on your perspective: two old friends, Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt), after seeing how having kids have affected the relationships of their mutual friends, decide that maybe the best course of action is to just have a kid together.  The hope is that this will get them past any messy divorce issues and allow both of them to still date and play the field.  The movie shows that they are both still looking for 'the one', but understand that their window of opportunity for having a kid is closing.  They agree to split responsibility down the middle.  What could go wrong, right?

Initially, it works out well for them, as it's treated almost as a business arrangement between friends.  They are both rational and mature about it.  This irritates some of their married friends, as they think it's a bit of a slap in the face to their relationships and wonder if they will be able to keep over the long haul.  As you may have already guessed, emotions do get invested and the relationship gets complicated.  This the main flaw of the film.  What starts out as a subversive look at 'traditional' relationships and having kids, ends up becoming just kind of a standard romantic comedy aimed at people over 30.

One thing that kind of bugged me was when characters talked about New York like the audience is all from New York.  I know movies can't 100% appeal to everyone, but there's a part of me that feels left out when very specific references are made to living in a certain city.  I imagine people from NY though might feel the same way about movies based in San Francisco or LA.  This is a minor point though and it didn't make or break the movie for me.  It's just a pet peeve of mine.

The movie is basically carried by Adam Scott.  If you've been a fan of his from Parks and Recreation and his other various movies, then this movie is the one you've been waiting for.  I think it's going to be a breakout role for him as far as being in more films.  He's kind of like a more serious, less snarky, Paul Rudd.

The cast is very strong.  It's essentially a Bridesmaids reunion with good performances from Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Chris O'Dowd.  They are all very funny in parts.  Although, I'm actually mad that Don Draper wasn't in it more.  He's shown that he has the comedy chops and I didn't feel like he got a chance to really show it.  Maybe because Jennifer Westfeldt his is real life girlfriend she avoided putting him in the movie too much.  I dunno, but I think we could all use some more Hamm.

It's runs on a bit too long, especially once you figure out how the movie is going to play out.  I think about  5-10 minutes needed to be trimmed to tighten it up.  Overall I thought Jennifer Westfeldt's story and direction were fine.  This is her directorial debut, but I think many may be fans of her previous writing for Kissing Jessica Stein (haven't seen it).  I hate to criticize her, but I think as far as the cast goes she might have been the weakest link.  I didn't think she was bad, I just think there a missing element between her and Scott as far as the chemistry goes.  Oh wait, Westfeldt could never be the weak link in a movie that features Megan Fox in any role.  Megan Fox just bugs me.

Despite the way the film wraps up, it does avoid a lot of the usual conventions of weaker romantic comedies.  How many times have you seen a romantic comedy where there's a conflict that would be resolved if the characters just had a five minute conversation.  Well, in this movie, characters actually communicate once there's conflict.  Because Friends With Kids avoids that flaw, it's conclusion does feel a little more earned.

I did enjoy Friends With Kids despite my issues with it, which really are minor compared to other films.  It's very funny in parts and has a great cast.  It's an above average romantic comedy with it's subject and setup, but the ultimate conclusion is what prevents this from being rated higher.  I do think it's worth watching, but maybe saving for a rental.

3.5 (out of 5) Death Stars