This Is Where I Leave You

I have anticipated seeing This Is Where I Leave You before I even saw a trailer for it. The movie met all my expectations and was hilarious. The film is now among my favorite dysfunctional family flicks. It's right up there with Home for the Holidays, the Family Stone and the Royal Tenenbaums. The tagline is great, Welcome Home. Get Uncomfortable. I was also lucky enough to see the movie at a screening before its wide release Friday September 19th. The excellent cast is so large that not all of them are featured on the movie poster.

Jane Fonda shines as the matriarch of hilarious siblings, Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, and Adam Driver. Bateman and Fey need no introduction. Stoll was Hemingway in Midnight in Paris and one of the angry passengers in Non-Stop. Driver is best know for Girls and is in the new Star Wars. Rounding out the supporting cast are Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Connie Britton and Kathryn Hahn.

The writing is fantastic. It is the kind of movie that you know you will have to rewatch so that you can catch the dialogue that you were laughing over. The screenplay was written by Jonathan Tropper, the author of the novel the film is based on. I can not wait to read the book. There is also a great soundtrack.

The movie balances snark and heartwarming in just the right way. If the tone were focused on one more than the other, the result could have been mean spirited or corny. If you love a good dysfunctional family comedy, you will really enjoy This Is Where I Leave You. 

Neighbors

Neighbors is the comedic romp of Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne's young family up against their new neighbors, a frat led by Zac Efron and Dave Franco. I had high hopes for this one and it did deliver the laughs. The promotional oversaturation of all new releases more often than not begs the question, "are all the good parts in the trailer?" Particularly with comedies, one often can't help but wonder if all the funny parts are in the previews too. I am happy to report that there are many more jokes than in the trailers. And the jokes from the previews pass mostly at the very beginning. Rose Byrne was great in it, she held her own against the guys and it was fun to hear her Australian accent for a change. There are plenty of cameos early on and one casting choice that was a surprise to me. I loved that actor popping up. As I like to do, I will leave it as a surprise here. If you know me, you will know exactly why I was so tickled when you see the character.

There was only one, maybe two, scenes towards the end that could have been shorter. That's really the only criticism I have. You get what is advertised, a funny R Rated comedy with Seth Rogen doing what he does, this time as a new dad. The fraternity movie stereotypes were all present but they had a fresh coat of paint and a different angle. See the "How To Make the Ultimate Greek Movie" article from last week's Entertainment Weekly to jog your memory. The print version does have some excellent visuals and sidebars that are missing online -- it's the EW with Orange is the New Black on the cover (so you should be reading it anyway, but that's a post for another day...). There are tons of pop culture references throughout the dialogue of Neighbors, which I very much enjoyed, and the soundtrack is fantastic. Lots of good party music and well timed musical cues.

In watching press for Neighbors, it was discussed on the Graham Norton Show, when Seth Rogen and Zac Efron were guests, that there are no fraternities in Canada or the UK. The flick is also called Bad Neighbors in its UK release. Rogen gave the explanation that frats are like rugby teams, guys drink and beat up the littlest guy. Rogen and Efron also appeared in Jimmy Fallon's "ew" bit and it is hilarious. Efron nailed his role in a similar style to when Channing Tatum did the sketch with Jimmy. Rogen has a full beard and is in no way a convincing tween girl. How bad he is at it, makes it good. The selfies and the dancing are the best parts. 
If you are looking for a crazy comedy that has the heart to ground it, check out Neighbors.

Bridesmaids

Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy Bridesmaids. Much has been written about a comedy for women, or how this movie really is a comedy for all, and why in 2011 is a movie featuring funny women a headline. Apparently it does not matter how many successful, truly funny projects, created and featuring women are made, this is still news.

Well, a fun movie is good news in my book. There are many human and realistic moments. Those that shed a light on friendship, weddings and their accompanying events, and when life seems to just keep handing a person lemons. I love that imdb describes Kristen Wigg's character Annie as lovelorn and broke. It does seem to me that a few too many things were taken a bit too far. Gross out humor is not my favorite. The other moments more than make up for it and it was a very enjoyable movie going experience. There are some very detailed character layers that base the story in reality, allowing for the zanier times. There is also something so awesome, that I could not possibly mention it in the slightest way, because I would not want to spoil it for others.

The cast is phenomenal. Kristen Wiig is both a co-writer and main character. She even gets in what I swear is one phrase spoken in the Target lady's voice. Maya Rudolph as her marrying best friend, Rose Byrne as Helen the new friend of said bestie, Melissa McCarthy as the, quirky to say the least, sister of the groom (from tv's Glimore Girls and Mike and Molly), Ellie Kemper (Erin from the Office) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (from Reno 911). Jill Clayburgh portrays Annie's mom. This was her final performance before she passed away last November. I had thought that Love and Other Drugs was her last movie so it was a nice surprise to see her in the comedy. Jon Hamm is delightfully awful and Chis O'Dowd is a cute Irish cop.

Also, please be sure to respond to my poll on facebook. I am trying to decide which movie to plan an event for this summer. My top choices are Bad Teacher and Larry Crowne. I have voted and then un-voted, I want to be impartial. Bridesmaids would have been an excellent choice and if it was not so quickly approaching, Hangover II would be another.
Thanks for being patient with the flashing sign to get the picture Kari.

Adam

Watched the DVD this evening. What a sweet romantic comedy. Not the typical ridiculous scenario type. The movie stars Hugh Dancy as the title character with Asperger's and the new neighbor Beth (Rose Byrne) that he meets shortly after the death of his father.

I LOVE that on amazon, it says if you purchase Adam + Temple Grandin you save. See my rendition below. This is because, Hugh Dancy portrays a young man with Asperger's Syndrome in Adam, and Claire Danes, his wife, has won an Emmy, a SAG and a Golden Globe for her role as the real life Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is a highly educated animal scientist who has developed more humane slaughtering methods, all while coping with Autism. While I mention Temple Grandin, let me take the opportunity to recommend it as well. It is an HBO movie and if I had a blog when I saw it, I would have praised it at the time. Neurotypicals can learn much from the characters and people of both movies.

The soundtrack to Adam is excellent (and available on iTunes). It is very Grey's Anatomy/Catch and Release and features several songs by the Weepies (though only one is featured on the soundtrack album, Somebody Loved can be found on iTunes off the Happiness album). The movie Adam was also a prize winner at Sundance in 2009. I had seen both of the lead characters interviewed when promoting the movie and am glad to have finally seen it.