Tag: Steve Carell

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Comedy Movie Reviews

Crazy, Stupid, Love – Finding Your Manhood

Cynthia was pretty hyped up about “Crazy, Stupid, Love”.  TK went along with the romance comedy wagon.  I am a huge fan of romance comedy films.  Except, I think, “Crazy, Stupid, Love” is more like a drama of romance than a comedy.  Most bits are rather real, rather sad.  The 40-year-old virgin (now close to 50) Steve’s wife Julianne wants a divorce because she has an affair with someone at work.  Meanwhile, his 13 years old son is having a crush with his babysitter.  The babysitter in turn has a crash on an older man.  In a bar, Steve meets Ryan Gosling – a womanizer who has a look and a body to die for.  No wonder Cynthia loves this movie so much!  In return, Cynthia gives me Emma Stone, which in my opinion, I am not sure why millions of viewers are falling on their kneels over her.  OK, she is quite seductive.  Kind of cute.  Not quite my type.  In this movie, she loves someone who is not ready to settle down.  Out of nowhere, we have a crazy teacher played by Marisa Tomei whom I wish she could find a better role for her age.  In my heart, Tomei is forever frozen and immortalized in “Untamed Heart (1993)”.  It is one of my favorite movies that I wish to remember her of.

“Crazy, Stupid, Love” is light and entertaining.  It mashes the love stories of all these goodhearted people into one.  If there is one take home message, it is about the importance of finding and holding onto your manhood no matter how old you are.

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

Dinner for Schmucks – Laughed Till My Face Went Numb

Again, thanks to Omy.sg, we were invited for an exclusive preview of “Dinner for Schmucks” at Iluma.  I think Omy.sg loves me, and I love Omy.sg the same.  I picked “Schmucks” because it is mid week and I reckon I need some comedy.  The movie is not perfect.  But it delivers.  Cynthia and I had a hearty fun time.

We love Steve Carell, the 40 years old virgin and the Tripplehorns.  And in “Schmucks”, he plays the role of an idiot.  Or so it seems by and large as there is a deeper debate on who are the schmucks, which I would not want to spoil your fun watching this movie.  Steve is a talented comedian.  He can play any role and be convincing.  We also love the other lead actor Paul Rudd who has acted in “I Love You, Man”.  If you enjoy watching Western comedy, putting the two together can be quite a treat.  The surprise to us is the talented New Zealander Jemaine Clement from “Flight of the Concords“.  His airtime in this movie is way too little.  I really wish that he had a more significant role to play.  The spooky yet hilarious Kristen Schaal too from “Concords” is also involved in this movie, together with a quality team of comedians too long to be listed here.

From the story writing point of view, “Schmucks” is not going to be memorable.  Rarely comedy films do.  The middle part of this 114 minutes film could be quite awkward to watch, though hilarious.  Because it can be quite … stupid (the young girl next to me were laughing and screaming “It is so stupid” at the same time, all the time – which is quite funny on its own).  The good news is that it has a quality ending and some of the jokes are original.  And if you are not in a hurry to leave the theater at the end of the show (interestingly many people here do), there is a tiny bit of extra clip after the end credits.

If I could single out one thing I wish to complement, that would be those miniaturized mouse models.  So beautifully made, so heartwarming / heart wrenching to look at.  I seriously think that the filmmakers should sell the replicas of these models as merchandise.  I would want to get some.  The choice of soundtrack is good too.  Need a good brainless laugh?  I doubt “Schmucks” would disappoint.  I laughed till my face went numb.

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

Date Night – By And Large, Tastefully Hilarious

Cynthia and I have been stuck with each other for more than a decade.  So suffice to say, we can relate to “Date Night” perhaps a little bit more than others.   We are finding it hilarious, even down to the mundane daily routine.  The little conversations or silly things that couples do when they are on their own.  Not sure if that is the reason why the overall review of this show is mixed (as some may not be able to relate?).  If you have watched the trailer, the story is more or less there.  A couple wants to do something different to spice up their marriage life.  They take the table of a no-show couple in a restaurant and are mistaken as the “Tripplehorns”, who apparently are wanted by some gangsters.  Silly storyline aside (it is a comedy!), the main characters Steve Carell and Tina Fey do have great on-screen chemistry.  And they are talented comedians as well.  It is so easy to draw to the main characters when there are in fact quite a number of stars in the show (by the way, Cynthia cooed when she saw Leighton Meester from the Gossip Girl TV series acting in this movie).  From the outtakes, it appears to me that Steve and Tina created some of the scripts on the fly.  If so, that is pretty amazing.

I don’t have much complain on “Date Night”.  I needed something light and entertaining to cheer me up and the show did its job nicely.  The only complain I have is how they trashed the Audi sport car on the screen.  I mean … I really like that car!  My favorite color some more (for that model).