Bottom line: While this sequel doesn’t offer the surprise factor of its big brother of two summers ago, I still laughed. A lot. The “wolf pack” reassembles — somewhat reluctantly — for the wedding of mild-mannered dentist Stu (Ed Helms, TV’s “The Office“) to a lovely Asian woman (Jamie Chung, “Sucker Punch“), whose father hates […]
The Office
Posted inArts & Culture
The Hangover Part II
Bottom line: While this sequel doesn’t offer the surprise factor of its big brother of two summers ago, I still laughed. A lot. The “wolf pack” reassembles — somewhat reluctantly — for the wedding of mild-mannered dentist Stu (Ed Helms, TV’s “The Office“) to a lovely Asian woman (Jamie Chung, “Sucker Punch“), whose father hates […]
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Hesher / Just Peck
In the infancy of “Saturday Night Live,” John Belushi starred in a sketch about an obnoxious party guest, “The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave.” That’s the character of Hesher in a nutshell, minus the cultural impact. As played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Inception”), he’s an aimless, homeless, near-worthless stoner metalhead who essentially enters the house of grieving […]
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Cedar Rapids
So when a comedy comes along like “Cedar Rapids,” in which the apple-cheeked innocent is a nerdy man and the big, bad world takes the form of an insurance agents’ convention, it’s not likely to break new ground. But that’s all right. The story’s familiar contrivances and clichés actually feel kind of cozy in “Cedar […]
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Hall Pass
Best because it launched their careers into the stratosphere; worst because everything they’ve done since has the unfortunate position of being compared to it. From “Me, Myself & Irene” to “The Heartbreak Kid,” the brother filmmakers’ post-“Mary” work has been regarded as “not as funny,” even when it’s not true. This spring’s underperforming “Hall Pass” […]
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Win Win
The characters in those films created their own families. His newest work, “Win Win,” manages to take a nuclear family and still convert it into something different and deeper. Paul Giamatti (“Barney’s Version”) plays Mike Flaherty, a New Jersey attorney with a struggling practice and mounting debt. When he finds himself with an opportunity to […]
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Cedar Rapids
But that’s all right. The story’s familiar contrivances and clichés actually feel kind of cozy in “Cedar Rapids.” The film is burnished with the glow of sweetness not easily replicated by the Hollywood machine. That is no small feat, but the movie’s sly appeal is even more impressive when you consider how it also manages […]