Single Mom Fever
May 4, 2016
Out in the US on July 29 and in the UK on August 19, the first trailer for the new comedy Bad Moms has dropped. Starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate and Kathryn Hahn it is basically revenge of the non cardigan-set mothers. Written and directed by the Hangover team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore the trailer begs a few questions. Where are the dads? Are we still confined to presenting motherhood as either good or bad? Success or failure? Isn’t parenting a process? This seems thin. My ultimate takeaway is that Kathryn Hahn continues to be an amazing comedian and you should watch all of her films now!
Bad Moms
Planetary Belly Laughs
March 2, 2015
Jupiter Ascending (2015).
D/W: The Wachowskis. DP: John Toll. Starring: Mila Kunis/Channing Tatum/Eddie Redmayne/Sean Bean/Douglas Booth/Tuppence Middleton/Maria Doyle Kennedy/Gugu Mbatha-Raw/Nikki Amuka-Bird.
First success is oftentimes like a hot air balloon. Full of performance and awe at the sendoff then you are just up in the sky waiting for the scenery to change. The Wachowskis brothers, now known as just The Wachowskis due to Laurence now living as a transgender woman named Lana, must have experienced this after the conclusion of their trilogy of Matrix films. Their new film Jupiter Ascending appears to be literally and figuratively chasing Neo and Morpheus down the rabbit hole.
Jupiter Ascending follows working class Russian immigrant Jupiter (Mila Kunis) who cleans toilet bowls with her mom all day and resolutely exclaims “I hate my life.” Yet frankly she never seems to do anything about changing it. Enter wolf human hybrid stud Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) to save her from near death and help her ponder the size of the universe. Apparently, Jupiter is the reincarnation of a dead ‘entitled’ queen whose children are now battling over their inheritances. Just some basic sci-fi Shakespeare for the masses. But what this leads to is long action sequences with a plot woven in that carries more humor than you would expect, frankly the whole film is a superb accidental comedy.
What works in Jupiter Ascending are some the action sequences, as laughable as the gadgets may seem. Wise’s hovering surfing boots are a charming way to allow Tatum to move wherever he pleases. The first Chicago action sequence is shot remarkably well, but by the time we get to the third long sequence it feels like a bore. Especially when Kunis is involved as there is a straight from video game moment where she must attempt to escape a burning planet. She doesn’t know where to go so the building tells her, oops not that way there’s flames and so on.
The lead couple’s chemistry leaves a lot to be desired and it’s sadly thrust to the forefront of the film towards act three. Kunis is rather wooden and resolute for the majority of the film until a few scenes where she turns it up a notch. At least she gets the humor right, especially with some moments with grunting Tatum whose physique seems to be his only tool here. A tool better served in Magic Mike. Tatum is a bit better alongside Sean Bean whose clear purpose is to provide back story for Caine Wise (could his name be more obvious). This is no Ned Stark however, be warned.
Eddie Redmayne has the unfortunate luck that this is the film that follows his Oscar winning performance in The Theory of Everything despite it being filmed over two years ago. His Balem Abrasax whispers commands and yells like a petulant child as he seems to have crept into this film from a failed gender swap production of King Lear. By the end he is practically begging reincarnated Mummy to tell him how much she really loved him, inheritance and all. Maybe it could have worked in a different film where his siblings, played by Douglas Booth and Tuppence Middleton, had more scenes with him.
Jupiter Ascending despite all its flaws addresses complex issues of consumption, greed, and the obsession with youth and time. The parallels between these themes and modern culture today are admirable. It shows the strength in the Wachowski’s core writing that was unable to deliver in the dialogue here. Sadly all the effects swallowed this project whole, but it is good for laughs.
Cinematic Sexual Deja Vu
July 29, 2011
Friends with Benefits (2011).
D/W: Will Gluck. Story by Keith Merryman, David A. Newman & Harley Peyton. DP: Michael Grady. (Starring: Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis/Patricia Clarkson/Richard Jenkins/Jenna Elfman/Woody Harrelson/Shaun White/Emma Stone/Andy Samberg.
Like January’s No Strings Attached, this summer’s Friend’s With Benefits attempts to delve into the modern worlds of sex and friendship. And, if you hadn’t already learned from Rob Reiner’s 1989 classic, When Harry Met Sally…, you certainly by now should know that in the cinematic world sex between friends is…complicated.
The film starts off pretty slow, allowing time for cute Mila Kunis’ Jamie to jump around and convince Angeleno Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to take a huge new job and move to NY. Although it was great and amendable that a film actually tackled and made fun of the differences between New York and L.A., there will always be something tiresome about every romantic comedy set in either city. That being said, at least the cities played a role in the story and addressed real 20-30 something year olds’ issues of lifestyle, friends, and work.
Kunis and Timberlake have decent chemistry and the script allows the laughs to be shared and well balanced between the two. The context of their friendship is believable and murky enough that audiences will probably never know which character to root for. Oddly enough neither character seems to have other friends, which works for Timberlake as he is moving to a new city. But more noticeable is that Kunis doesn’t appear to have any close girlfriends she councils with about Timberlake or their friends with sex benefits. She certainly doesn’t need the stock movie best friend, but someone other than crazy loony mom, played here by Patricia Clarkson (a definite knock off of other characters she’s played), is necessary.
Conversely, the problem with Timberlake is that he inevitably feels like he’s playing himself. Much was my complaint in The Social Network, but it’s something he will have to tackle when choosing future roles. His friendship with gay sports editor Tommy (Woody Harrelson) get’s a few laughs, mostly because Harrelson plays a gay character who is pretty clear about his own sexual motives. Yet his scenes almost play separate from the whole film, bringing in relationship relief as somehow they do not blend into the rest of the story. Yet although, by the end, the film feels long, in the second act there is a decent amount of relationship and sexual humor to bridge into final phase of the film and some of that is because of Harrelson.
Lastly, Gluck, who directed last year’s Easy A, seems at home here with Kunis and Timberlake. He never creates too much of a romantic atmosphere, it’s all giggles and smooches until someone wants more. And thankfully, unlike other romantic comedies about sex (umm…Love & Other Drugs) he doesn’t let his cameraman, Michael Grady, shoot extreme close ups with movie star lighting. However, he is a little too in love with montages for my taste as they were not as effectively used here than in his previous film.
Yet, by the end all audiences will reach the same conclusion and compare Friends with Benefits to other films on the same subject. And unfortunately, this one will inevitably pale by comparison.