Movie 164: I Love You, Man

I Love You, Man (2009) by John Hamburg

starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel

In a nutshell: An entertaining comedy that probably doesn't have any staying power.

Quick synopsis: Paul Rudd gets engaged, only to realize he doesn't have any guy friends worthy of being best man at his wedding.

Content: Keeping this one very short.

The whole concept of this film annoyed me. It felt like someone was trying to cash in on the super-annoying "bro-mance" trend much like ABC's lame attempt to cash in on cougars allegedly being hot with their new series Cougar Town (is the really the best name they could come up with?? I'm placing the over/under on this series at 6 episodes). Not that "I Love You, Man" is a better name. It's horrible. But after watching it, I realized that the filmmakers weren't the ones cashing in on "bro-mances" and, in fact, the term probably became popularized after production on this movie was well under way. It was most likely the studio marketing teams that stepped in and pushed the annoying "bro-mance" angle. But still, the movie has a lot working against it. The script is not creative at all. They just took a generic romantic comedy script and subbed another guy for the woman. But the movie turns out to be quite ok.

What made it succeed against the odds? That's an easy question to answer: Paul Rudd. He is so likeable that he carries the entire film (along with a little help from the charismatic Rashida Jones). If they had tried to cast anyone else (I can only imagine Dane Cook and McConaughey's names came up in casting discussions), it would have been a horror show.

Jason Segel plays the other guy. And although I usually like him (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Freaks and Geeks) he kinda annoyed me. I got the sense that he thought he was being cooler than he actually was which rubbed me the wrong way.

One of my biggest pet peeves with romantic comedies is when they have gimmicks and "I Love You, Man" had two: Rush and Lou Ferrigno. Another strike against it. (Thankfully the word "bro-mance" is never used in the film...they dodged a bullet there). So, you really have to believe me when I say that Paul Rudd did a great job because everything else seemed to working against it.

Rolling rankings:

1. Good Will Hunting (#156)

2. Do The Right Thing (#162)

3. The Hangover (#157)

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#155)

5. Doubt (#160)

6. Interview With The Vampire (#163)

7. I Love You, Man (#164)

8. The Happening (#161)

9. Fever Pitch (#158)

10. Fanboys (#159)

Movie 163: Interview With The Vampire

Interview With The Vampire (1994) by Neil Jordan

starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst

In a nutshell: Nice cast, nice sets, nice costumes, long story, nasty vampires

Quick synopsis: Louie the vampire tells the story of his immortal life, from 1791 through the present

Content: Interview With a Vampire is much lighter faire than Do The Right Thing. Nothing topical...just vampires. There are some parallels that can be drawn to issues of loneliness, addiction and vice, but I wouldn't exactly call the film allegory or social commentary. Instead, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride in this film that pulled in crowds using one of popular culture's darkest and most enduring obsessions: vampires!

Vampires have gone in and out of fashion many times in the history of film, dating all the way back to the original vampire classics, Dracula and Nosferatu. And even those were based upon stories that go back hundreds of years further. But in case you haven't noticed, vampires are back in again. Just go to Borders and take a look at the best sellers in the 'teen' section. Of course the Twilight books lead the way, but every author worth their weight in salt is seemingly trying to cash in on the trend. But it hasn't all been tragic tales of forbidden love. There was a supposedly fantastic vampire movie to come out out Sweden called Let The Right One In which certainly has a different target audience. Check it out in its original form or wait for the impending US remake.

But decades before Stephanie Meyer, there was Anne Rice. Arguably equally as shameless in exploiting the obsession with the bloodsucking masters of the night, Rice wrote an entire series of adaptation-ready vampire novels, but only one turned into a memorable film: Interview with a Vampire.

Some Vampire film are period pieces filled with elaborate costumes and others place the vampires in today's society in order to give people chills. Interview has it both ways. It takes us on an epic 200-year journey as the immortal vampires make their way from 1791 to present-day San Francisco. The elaborate bayou settings are very cool, as is the gothic theater in Paris. The casting is well-done. An only mildly famous Brad Pitt is the star and works as the mopey, depressing, whiney Louis. Equally as good is Tom Cruise playing the much more flamboyant vampire, Lestat, who embraces the blood he sucks rather than cursing it as does Louis.

I don't have much to say about everything else other than it is long, but paced well, so it never drags. I didn't care too much about the encounter with the group of vampires in Paris until it turned deadly. The modern bookends with Christian Slater were creepy in a good way, and the final twist revealed that Interview is far more mischievous and less self-serious than I gave it credit for.

Growing up in the 90's, I'm surprised I missed Interview the first time around, but then again, I am not a girl and would therefore not go out of my way to catch a film with the holy triumvirate of Cruise, Pitt and Banderas (and vampires). Nevertheless I'm glad I caught up with it. I owe Chris and Jimmy from Scene Unseen for the recommendation. Listen to Scene Unseen podcast if you are into movies! It's easily my favorite movie podcast out there.

Rolling rankings:

1. Good Will Hunting (#156)

2. Do The Right Thing (#162)

3. The Hangover (#157)

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#155)

5. Doubt (#160)

6. Interview With The Vampire (#163)

7. THe Happening (#161)

8. 21 (#154)

9. Fever Pitch (#158)

10. Fanboys (#159)

Movie 162: Do The Right Thing

Do The Right Thing (1989) by Spike Lee

starring Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, John Turturro

In a nutshell: I finally understand where Spike Lee's reputation as a good director comes from

Quick synopsis: A day in the life of a pizza delivery-man spirals out of control as long-standing racial tension in Brooklyn reaches a boiling point.

Content: The only Spike Lee movie I had ever seen before checking out Do The Right Thing was Inside Man. Although Inside Man is a good film, it is not immediately recognizable as Spike Lee work. It has racial elements but not nearly as much as the movies on which he made his name. So I though it was high time to find out what a trademark "Spike Lee joint" is all about.

Do The Right Thing kinda blew me away. It's ALL about racial tension. It takes place in a neighborhood in Brooklyn where the African Americans, Italians, white guys, Latinos and Koreans are all living in extremely close proximity to each other. The entire story takes place in just over 24 hours, but we get a good sense of history. Not of any specific character, but of what the neighborhood is like. Many races have an uneasy truce with each other. They act as friendly as possible while resenting others when amongst their own. And the day we watch is the day when tensions, agitated by extreme heat and humidity, finally reach a boiling point.

Something happens as a result. I won't get into details, but I found myself pondering why it happened. Whose fault was it? And although many individuals made decisions that helped us reach that point, I have a hard time blaming anyone in particular. I almost feel like it needed to happen. Either that or everyone was at fault.

The characters are fantastic and so is the cast. Spike Lee himself plays Mookie, who can probably be considered the protagonist. He is a very passive character and most of what happens, happens around him as he observes. But in an ironic twist, he is the straw that breaks the camel's back before all hell breaks loose. He takes his first real stand of the entire movie, and I'm 99% sure that the title refers to that moment, even though we, the audience, are left to ponder whether or not it actually was the "right thing" to do. Relatively deep stuff we are talking here...

The rest of the cast features many familiar faces including John Turturro, Danny Aiello, the valet guy from Ferris Bueller, Rosie Perez and her awful awful voice, Samuel L. Jackson, the GREAT Ossie Davis, a very young Martin Lawrence and one of the cops from the Usual Suspects. The characters have fantastic names like Da Mayor, Mother Sister, Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, Sweet Dick Willie and Mister Senor Love Daddy.

At the film's very core are the conflicting philosophies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X regarding the use of violence. Some characters like Mister Senor Love Daddy and Da Mayor fall squarely within the MLK camp, while others drift the other way. And tying the sides together is Smiley, the mentally challenged man who walks around all day with pictures of the two civil rights activists shaking hands.

I have successfully made Do The Right Thing feel rather overbearing and preachy, but the magic of the film is that it never comes close to that dreaded territory inhabited by films like Crash. You could watch the entire thing without thinking and be entertained thanks to the fantastically colorful characters and memorable moments. But when you reflect on what you saw, all of these discussion points emerge and perhaps surprisingly, Spike does not offer too many answers, but leaves things open for debate.

Do The Right Thing is an excellent film and I daresay it is Spike Lee's best work without even seeing the rest of his movies. I just can't imagine anything being better than this.

Rolling rankings:

1. Good Will Hunting (#156)

2. Do The Right Thing (#162)

3. In Bruges(#153)

4. The Hangover (#157)

5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#155)

6. Doubt (#160)

7. THe Happening (#161)

8. 21 (#154)

9. Fever Pitch (#158)

10. Fanboys (#159)