Zach Galifianakis – WilfridWong.com

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.

The Hangover, For Laughing Out Loud!

Super funny movie!

For the past few years, National Day has often involved music of some forms with my band. This year, the Movie Review Squad met up and watched a comedy instead. “Hangover” is quite possibly one of the more bizarre comedies I have watched. Good news is, the strange plot does make sense as this ‘detective’ story unfolds.

“Hangover” begins with one of the groomsmen calling the bride on his cell phone and tells her that they have screwed up, as the groom is missing. The story then rewinds to the beginning of the bachelor party at Las Vegas. Something happens to the group and the groomsmen wake up to a badly damaged hotel suite, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the wardrobe, and a missing groom. No one seems to remember what has happened the night before and they attempt to put together the missing puzzles by following clues that uncover more bizarre stories.

I remember all three of us laughed non-stop from beginning to the end of the show. Crude jokes, no doubt, but they did it with class. There is a plan for the sequel and I can almost imagine whose wedding will be next. Maybe once again, the same gang will wake up from a party without any recollection of the previous evening. We shall see.

On a side note, how Heather Graham has aged! Nevertheless, I still think she is really charming. She seems to be having roles like stripper, prostitutes, porn star, and etc. I wonder why.