Double Feature: 'Don Jon' and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Comedies are a funny thing. No, I'm not just saying that to be cute. Well, not entirely. What I mean is that they're not all that easy to categorize. One thing that makes someone laugh will be inherently different from another, and so forth. There are comedies about sex, comedies about politics, school, fantasy, reality... this list goes on. While most folk seem to agree on what makes an excellent dramatic performance, a comedic one divides its audience on a wide spectrum, whether done by Jim Carey, Will Ferrell or Anna Faris. For every human being, there are dozens of diverging ideas on what makes things funny, and that's why there's such a wide variety of subjects out there just ripe for parody.And you can be sure that many comedies for adults are CERTAINLY not for kids (although some aimed towards kids can be surprisingly insightful for parents).

Don Jon is one of those "adults only" kind of films. Written and directed by star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the story follows likeable douchebag (because statistically speaking, there has to be ONE out there) Jon Martello, who objectifies everything in his life, especially women. Every week he takes home a different girl from the club, until he meets who he believes to be the one, played by Scarlett Johansson. As they settle into an everyday relationship together, there's just one small problem: Jon can't get through his day without watching porn, which he sees as "better than sex". Naturally, that comes into conflict with his relationship to Barbara, and he soon must settle the differences between the two.

Seriously, that's the 3'rd Rock From the Sun kid

Despite being hampered by the usual mistakes that plague first-time directors (especially when those directors are actors to begin with), there's much more done right in this raunchy comedy. Gordon-Levitt proves that this is his element, as we suspected this genre was two years ago in the under-seen 50/50. But even besides his impressive transformation, most impressive is his cast, between the lovely Johansson - who is a better actress than many give her credit - to the always-strong Julianne Moore, the strong presence of Brie Larson (who only has one line but at times is the best part of the movie), and a surprisingly solid turn by Tony Danza. Yes, I said it: Danza does a good job. Don Jon is also unexpectedly insightful; while on the surface, the movie keeps the audience laughing with witty dialogue and perfectly-conceived editing and scoring, the director doesn't skip a beat in presenting his evidence on why an otherwise-decent guy like Jon treats women like things instead of people. According to Don Jon, it's a combination of public advertising (beautiful woman used to hawk hamburgers? That's Hot) to how he was raised. When Danza (as his father) recounts how he met Jon's mother (Glenne Headly), he recalls that the first time he saw her, the thought through his head was "That's mine." Now, Jon's dad is not a bad guy. As far as we know, he hasn't cheated on his wife, and despite some obnoxious elements to his character he's not a BAD guy. But his mental imagery of his wife as a thing to be possessed is an idea that has no shortage of examples all across the planet. Gordon-Levitt also tackles the other end of the spectrum - albeit more lightly - in dismissing romantic movies and entertainment as fake and damaging, essentially comparing Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey to the porn that men watch.

One big happy family.

As a director, Gordon-Levitt does make some questionable decisions (by playing a "guido", was he TRYING to draw in the Jersey Shore crowd? Or did he want to give mainstream audiences an easily-visible reason to dislike his character?), but for the most part Don Jon is raucously funny, surprisingly sweet and a treat for fans of 50/50 or similar works. Is it for everyone? God no, as the subject matter alone will definitely turn off many potential viewers. But as an honest, soul-searching comedy, Don Jon will probably come to a rest in my pantheon of 2013's best movies.

Meanwhile, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 specifically targets younger audiences this fall. With most of the year's potential competition either already released or not much of a threat, this sequel to the film based on the beloved children's book takes a whole new spin on the story, where the heroes of the first movie return to their home of Swallow Falls, where Flint Lockwood's (Bill Hader) invention, the food-creating "FLDSMDFR" has malfunctioned, turning the once-peaceful town into a "Lost World" of wild food-imals. Tasked with shutting his machine down for good so that the creatures cannot get off the island and assault the mainland, it's a race against time as Tim and his team journey across the island and attempt to take back their homes.

Cloudy 2 distinguishes itself nicely from the original with a vastly different premise, and the steady direction of Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn feels seamless with the preceding duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who ran off to make 21 Jump Street and the upcoming Lego Movie), and the story itself takes off mere moments after the end of the first movie. The jokes - even if they are all food puns - are crisp, vibrant and ought to appeal to children of all ages ("There's a leek in the boat!" is a personal favorite and doesn't get old.) They also rarely repeat the same gags, and the cast all have their parts to play, from the spunky love interest (Anna Faris) to the dim-witted friend (Andy Samberg) to the requisite tough-as-nails policeman (Terry Crews) and the father who is the exact opposite of his scientist son (James Caan). Though nowhere near as subtle or intriguing as the best of Pixar or Disney (it reveals the main villain in just a few minutes after the film's open), it's still a fun story that will keep the kids happy and won't bore their parents.

Beware, for El Pollo Diablo is coming... for you!

No, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 doesn't have the heart of The Croods, the witty dialogue of Monsters University or even the solid story structure of Turbo or Epic. When all is said and done, it probably will be less remembered than even the underwhelming Despicable Me 2, if only because Minions exist. But Cloudy 2 is still a lot of fun if you want to see something with your family this weekend, since Prisoners is absolutely not a kid-friendly option. If nothing else, it's a very nice option given the alternatives.

Too Dumb

All I wanted to do was see a stupid movie. Why did the creators behind Movie 43 have to ruin that?

A series of sketch shorts from the minds of Peter Farrelly and Charles Wessler (who ruled Hollywood in the nineties with hits like There's Something about Mary and Dumb and Dumber) and filmed over the course of many years, Movie 42 uses a dozen directors and an insane number of A-list stars in fulfilling the most base of art forms; they try to out-gross one another with scenes that include a young couple with a poop fetish, superhero speed dating, teen menstruation, a truth or dare game gone out of control, violent leprechauns, and a man with testicles dangling from his chin. No connection other than existing within the same 90 minutes is made apparent, and if any of that appealed to you, I guarantee that Movie 42 will still find a way to disappoint you.

Yup, Emma Stone will officially do ANYTHING.

What fools you at first into thinking that there's something here is the multitude of top-notch talent involved in the process. There are two Academy Award winners (Kate Winslet and Halle Berry) in this cast, countless former nominees (as well as current noms Hugh Jackman and Naomi Watts) and even more respected character actors, all of whom apparently didn't realize what they were getting into when they signed on for the ride. Gross-out humor is one thing when it comes from people you expect (the Scary Movie and associated spin-off franchises use most of the same low-budget talent) but with the exception of Anna Faris (in a scene with real-life husband Chris Pratt), you wouldn't expect the same from this particular class of actor. Watching these celebrities do things they wouldn't normally on film was much of the appeal of seeing Movie 43, and likely the only thing to draw audiences this past weekend.

Anna, I thought you had gotten past this!

The problem is that for all the gross-out, completely obscene humor Farrelly and company put forth, they often forgot to make sure what we were seeing was FUNNY. You can get through entire scenes without even cracking a smile, and that happens far too often. It would be one thing if there were just spots of weakness, misogyny and the over-reliance of sex jokes that interrupted the gut-busting laughter, but that is tragically THE WHOLE THING. Even if the scene in question had a promising concept, it was quickly lost to easy sight gags and rampant stupidity. For instance, watching Richard Gere, Jack McBrayer and Kate Bosworth argue over why teenage boys are having sex with their company's new music player, the iBabe (which represents a full-sized, naked woman) gets old quickly. And Liev Schreiber and Watts playing homeschooling parents who don't want their son to miss out on all the bullying, awkward situations and humiliations of high school plays like a scene out of time. Berry, Winslet, Jackman, and Greg Kinnear are all wasted as they do little or nothing that could possibly get a rise out of the audience. The only moments I found remotely funny were the skits "Veronica", in which Kieran Culkin and Emma Stone murmur dirty things they want to do to one another over the PA system of a supermarket late at night, and "Victory's Glory", in which Terrence Howard plays a coach giving an inspiring speech to a black basketball team who believe they are inferior to the opposing, all-white team. In fact, Howard's emphatic screams of "You're black! They're white! This ain't hockey!" were the only times the entire film that anybody in the theater laughed out loud.

Yup, that's the whole game plan.

It's sadly obvious that Peter Farrelly has no freaking clue what funny is anymore. While he was able to get away with gross-out gags back in the nineties, those at least were both outrageous and hilarious when they needed to be. Here his antics (and those of directors like Brett Ratner, James Gunn, Steve Carr and Steven Brill) fall completely flat, easily maintaining the targeted level of obscenity but almost never getting off the ground with anything representing actual humor. As a result, it's easily the worst movie of 2013. Sure, it's still early, but you have to WORK to be this bad, and I can't imagine anyone else falling this low in the near future. My old movie-watching sidekick Anne used to speak of the "Stupid Factor", a phenomena in which something could be so stupid that it was actually pretty funny and clever. That used to be Farrelly's M.O. not all that long ago. Now he gives stupid movies a bad rap, possibly putting out not just the worst movie of 2013, but of the whole decade.

Follow the Supreme Leader

When I first saw the trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen's latest farcical satire, The Dictator, I definitely had high hopes. While on the surface it looked dumber than dirt, the movie nonetheless showed a bit of the charm and humor that made Cohen's previous films Borat and Bruno worldwide hits. The Dictator became one of my more anticipated summer releases, as more and more viewings of the trailer cemented itself into my good graces. Then the second trailer was released. While in some ways funnier than the first, I couldn't help but feel a little let down. Instead of being another in the series of mockumentaries that made Cohen the star that he is today, this latest entry turns out to be a story-driven comedy, featuring Cohen as a North African ruler dethroned and forced to actually work for his next meal. Add Ben Kingsley as his chief of staff and Anna Faris as a resident New Yorker who takes the former despot under her wing, and you have a film that goes far out of its way to be nowhere close to what I expected. Still, it had the potential to out-funny 21 Jump Street, and I always have more fun watching R-rated comedies than I think I would going in. They always seem to surprise me in some way, and while Seth MacFarlane's Ted looks great, I was betting on The Dictator to be the summer's best adult comedy.

Well, this made the Gay Pride Parade a bit awkward...

Admiral General Aladeen (Cohen) is the racist, sexist, anti-western and antisemitic ruler of Wadiya, a rogue North African nation that would be rich off the sales off its oil reserves, were Aladeen's numerous human rights violations and rumors of nuclear weapons development not the cause of numerous United Nations sanctions and threats of military actions from the world's leaders. Threatened by attack, Aladeen and his entourage visit New York City to lie to the UN about their nuclear program, only for the leader of Wadiya to be betrayed by his uncle and second in command, Tamir (Ben Kingsley). Replaced by an easily-manipulated double, stripped of his trademark beard and stranded in the slums of NYC, Aladeen must partner with former political prisoner Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas) in order to infiltrate the UN, reclaim his position of power and prevent the ultimate evil from descending upon his native Wadiya: Democracy. And he might even get lucky with feminist vegan human rights activist Zoey (Anna Faris) while he's at it.

"You don't understand... I like to be in Amer-i-ca!"

Right from the start you can tell how ridiculous the whole thing is going to be, as the film opens with a dedication to the memory of North Korea's former leader Kim Jong-il. From there, it is a constant barrage of political satire, wildly inappropriate humor, and more wrong than a week's worth of Fox News broadcasts.Cohen obviously had a lot of inspiration in creating the model for his Wadiyan dictator, from  Saddam Hussein to Libya's Muammar Qaddafi (complete with Amazonian Guard) and just about anyone with political clout in Iran. Considering the atrocities those leaders had amassed in just the past decade, let alone the entirety of their reigns, you can imagine how difficult it is to create something borne from them that could actually be funny. Cohen's response to that is to act just as outrageously as humanly possible, and for the most part his approach actually works. The Dictator at its best features no direct involvement with the plot, but is in the gratuitous asides that cause you to shriek with unexpected laughter at the trials of the idiotic deposed ruler. Whether it is the flashbacks of ordering the executions of his people for inane reasons, asking a police officer how much he charges for assassinations or the efforts of his "work" at an organic food store, the film is absolutely at its best when little is actually happening, and Cohen is allowed to go buck wild and let us enjoy his efforts.

Which one is more used to working on their back, I wonder?

It's the story that unfortunately derails the whole process, and makes you wonder just why Cohen and director Larry Charles steered clear of the mockumentary style that had served them so well in their previous efforts. If The Dictator had simply been a faux documentary about Aladeen's trip to America, I'm sure the humor overall would have carried the hour and a half it took to watch this movie. As it stands, the plot is silly (in a bad way), forcing our hero (yeah, I'm using the term loosely) into a character growth spurt that can't possibly be sustained in any way, and for the sake of entertaining the audience, it isn't. I guess since Cohen did so well in Scorcese's Hugo, he thought he could take some of those elements and make The Dictator even better than Borat. While I genuinely loved Hugo, and by extension Cohen's work in it, he and Charles combined are no Scorcese. Even worse is the love story, which somehow conspires to pair Aladeen with a women who represents everything he hates... and then makes it work! I don't usually get uber-political, but there is no way a vegan, feminist, organic-consuming, human rights activist would ever have anything to do with Aladeen, who hates everything and generally views women as sex objects. Zoey is also apparently business-inept, as it is the intervention of Aladeen that ultimately saves her fortunes. Faris' character is the perfect example of what is wrong with women in film, and it doesn't help that the perpetually-disappointing actress is unable to keep up with Cohen on a humor level to balance out the dynamic.

Ah, this is the Kingsley role I had gotten used to. I was worried after he was actually GOOD in Hugo.

The Dictator has some great moments, and a speech at the end in which Aladeen tells the UN what is so great about his brand of rule (best lines include 1% of people having all the wealth, "free press" actually owned by one family, and nobody complaining when you place excessively numerous members of a particular race in prison) is truly inspired, as is a helicopter tour over the city of New York, and the brief shot of the Wadiyan Olympic Games (sadly plopped in at the very beginning). The soundtrack also charms, with Middle Eastern music artists remixing tracks like Dr. Dre's 'Next Episode', R.E.M.'s 'Everybody Hurts', and Dolly Parton's '9 to 5', translating them into foreign speech. Ultimately, though, this is the type of comedy you feel bad about laughing at, especially when you consider just how many rape jokes the script features (I stopped counting after the first dozen). It is Cohen's excellent delivery and timing that make up 99% of the laughs you'll get out of The Dictator, and they are all definitely earned. Still, in a world where a Hollywood film makes most of its revenue from foreign markets, it's difficult to imagine Cohen and Charles' latest effort getting out of the United States without causing a holy war, even if you tightly regulated the releases. This film features one of the world's top satirists definitely off his game, and that's a shame, as a better story might have forced its way into the Top 10. Instead it will settle somewhere in the pack, disappointing not only Cohen's fans, but anyone who hoped for an R-Rated comedy in the same league as 21 Jump Street. The Dictator goes out of its way to offend everybody, but if you're a woman, Jewish, Korean, feminist, Middle Eastern, a New Yorker, a parent, or in any way liberal, you'd be right to think that you've been singularly targeted, and might wish to stay away.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a Wadiyan warlord to evade.

"I am Admiral General Aladeen, and I do not approve of this message."

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

My loyal movie-going sidekick Anne introduced a new term to me this past week. "Stupid Factor" refers to how amusing a film can be based on the pure inanity of the execution. When you create a great film in the vein of any year's Best Picture Academy Award winner, often a great amount of attention is given to refining the screenplay, getting the smallest details correct, and casting the best and brightest talents available. Much like a cooking steak, it is that attention that makes the difference between  a five-star dinner and a burnt vaguely meat-like carcass. Of course, you don't always want steak for dinner, and by extension you don't always have a strong desire to see The King's Speech or The Hurt Locker, no matter how high the quality in their design. As my father often says, sometimes you just want cotton candy. Sure, it might be completely without nutritional value, but for a light, filling snack that's euphoric in flavor, it will do the job. Many films don't possess anywhere near the attention deserved of a sure award nominee, but still manage to be entertaining nonetheless. That's where Stupid Factor comes in. Many movies entertain not by telling original stories or even by showing off superior acting skills. No, these films attract people to the theaters despite rote characters, cliched plots and mediocre performances by cranking up the stupidity and raunchiness. They've been around forever; how else could Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura be so well remembered by people my age if not because of how stupid they were? But since Jim Carrey hasn't had a solid movie career in years, these days Stupid Factor generally applies to one particular genre of film: romantic comedies. What's Your Number? at face value looks like a typical romance tale of a mismatched pair destined to be with one another. Would the Stupid Factor manage to bring it to a higher level than this by-the-numbers storytelling could take it?

"Crazy Eyes" since 1976

Based on the novel 20 Times a Lady by Karyn Bosnak, What's Your Number? takes inspiration from those silly Cosmopolitan articles and tries to see what will happen when one of its readers takes the story a little too seriously. After reading that a woman with twenty or more sexual partners is much less likely to find their true love and marry, Ally Darling (Anna Faris) finds herself suffering a crisis as she realizes that she has hit that milestone without finding "The One". Not wanting to sleep with anyone until she meets that special someone, she soon realizes that the answer might be in her exes, many of whom have improved with age. Despite other critical issues going on in her life, Ally enlists the help of Colin Shea (Chris Evans), the perennial ladies man from across the hall, and begins to hunt down all twenty men she's slept with, hoping to find the one of them has gone from loser to winner.

I would not want to have to climb those stairs

Okay, yes, I admit it: that premise was PAINFUL to commit to the page. As I already stated, the whole story surrounding a fictional Prince Charming is a bit tough to swallow. Thankfully the Stupid Factor kicks in to assist in making the whole experience far more palatable. First of all, Ally is given a broad array of former beaus on whom to focus, from the formerly obese Disgusting Donald (Chris Pratt) to puppeteer Gerry Perry (SNL's Andy Samberg) to gynecologist Dr. Barrett Ingold (Thomas Lennon), each with their own background and individual characteristics. Some of the more interesting moments in the film are the reuniting of Ally with these men, and realizing why the pair never worked out in the first place. There are definitely some raunchy moments (and some body parts that should perhaps never be shown on film) but for an R-rated romantic comedy it's nowhere near as revealing as Love and Other Drugs or as crass as Bad Teacher, which is nice since the film wouldn't have worked if it had tried to portray Ally as a sex-starved harlot. Here she's mostly innocent, just a hapless young woman trying to find her way, and that makes for great interaction between her and just about any other character in the cast.

Aaand this review just got more interesting!

The only problem is that Ally as a focal point is just not the most engrossing person. That part belongs to Colin, played by the superb Chris Evans. While Faris is certainly competent and well-cast to her role, the slight addition of Clueless-era Alicia Silverstone to Faris' existing cinema persona does little make Ally any different from any of her previous roles. If you saw her breakthrough in the early Scary Movie titles, congratulations; you've seen everything she has to offer as an actress and as a comedian. Evans however is something special. I've remarked in recent months that there are some actors and actresses for whom I'll see any motion picture, from Helen Mirren to Ryan Gosling. Evans has silently crept his way onto that list, most notably because of the variety of roles he takes on. Evans has no issue with starring in sci-fi thrillers (Sunshine, Push) or comic book adaptations (The Losers, Captain America) or really WEIRD comic book adaptations (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and that's both excellent and refreshing to find in a young actor. It doesn't hurt that each character he plays is fundamentally different from the last, meaning that as a performer Evans has nowhere to go but up in the industry. Here is no different as he tackles the role of an unapologetic man-whore expertly, never making Colin unlikable and in fact transforming him over the course of the story. Some other standouts are Ari Graynor as Ally's soon-to-be-married sister and Blythe Danner as her overly-critical mother, but nobody comes close to topping Evans.

This is how bad decisions are born

Unfortunately, that is also true for the film as a whole. While the Stupid Factor can indeed raise a film above its limitations, it is usually invoked when there's no choice but to do so. Despite some genuinely interesting moments (as well as taking place in my hometown of Boston, Massachusetts) there's very little that elevates this above similar RomCom fare, and it's not much better than the fun but generic Larry Crowne or the pointless One Day. While I liked that the first shot of the film was an article declaring that romantic comedies were not just for women anymore, there are few opportunities like this that really make you feel that any of this is new. The worst part is that in What's Your Number?'s final moments it reneges on the entirety of progress our lead character made over the length of the film. Part of this is surely from the typicality chick lit book on which the film is based. Part of it likely falls on director Mark Mylod, who doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in a future film career. Whoever is at fault, the film suffers from a serious lack of conviction in the closing of the story. Though there's only so much Stupid Factor can do, it can make even bad movies into a joyful trip complete with picnic baskets, as it does so here. Just don't go in to this one thinking it's smarter than your average film.