Summer Movie Suicide Mission No. 25: Swing Vote

In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or squandered satirical opportunities.

The movie business has always had a strange relationship with politics. There are stars who often make it their personal business to take a political stance on pet issues, however hollow their statements may seem. There are also films, usually in the independent cinema, that advocate a particular cause or position, and often draw protests or boycotts from the other side. Then there are films like Swing Vote, which play at politics, but are ultimately so concerned with not offending anyone that they’re ultimately worthless. Not only do they fail at making a political statement, they’re lifeless and unentertaining.

Swing Vote, in which Kevin Costner is put in the immensely unlikely position of being the final voter who must decide the outcome of a presidential election, works neither as farce or satire. Costner’s options, strait laced Republican incumbent Kelsey Grammer and eccentric Democratic Senator Dennis Hopper, are both such stereotypical portrayals of the two parties’ ideals that they come off completely faceless. The only real message here is that every vote counts, and that America is such an awesome country because of that fact alone, no matter that the one vote of concern (Costner’s) is in the hands of an uninformed alcoholic who can be pretty easily bought off with platitudes and gifts. Exactly as the Founders envisioned.

When you suspend disbelief enough to get past the ridiculousness of the scenario, you find a film that really blows some great chances at satire. When the two candidates are pressed into courting the idiot Costner, they find themselves betraying their party lines, with the Democrat taking a strong stance against illegal immigration and abortion, while the Republican pays lip service to environmental concerns and promises legalized gay marriage. While both characters worry about losing their principles and rebel against their advisers (Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci, who provide some of the film’s only bright spots), they never really see the potential for any kind of compromise. The film also misses the opportunity to make a significant comment on the nature of an uninformed electorate that makes the existence of a character like Costner’s likely. And it doesn’t even have the balls to show what Costner’s choice is, after his climactic decision (at a hokey redneck Presidential debate) that, hey, voting is great.

This is a film that’s burdened with some complex issues, particularly the dog and pony show that the American electoral process has become, but just dips its toe into that water instead of making a strong satirical statement. In different hands, Swing Vote could have been a powerful artistic statement suggesting a radical change in the way the political system operates. But that would have hurt everyone’s feelings. It pokes a little fun at the status quo, but falls short of suggesting we do anything about it.

Film: Swing Vote
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Stars: Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci

Viewing Situation: Weekday matinee, 3 audience members; standard projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 40%
My Grade (Out of 10): 2

Next Up: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summer Movie Suicide Mission No. 24: Pineapple Express

In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or brand freakin’ new Huey Lewis and the News songs.

Pineapple Express, the latest film from co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad) and the newest chapter in producer Judd Apatow’s master plan to take over the movie universe, is not a stoner movie. It’s more Hot Fuzz than Half Baked. Which is to say, it’s far more derivative of the former than the latter. Even Rogen has sort of copped to this. To wit:

It’s funny, I was just talking to Edgar [Wright, director of Hot Fuzz] at Comic-Con over the weekend, and he had just seen the movie, and I told him—there’s a lot of shots in the movie of people loading guns and cocking guns and stuff like that, and that’s all because of Edgar. I asked him, “What’s your advice?” He’s like, “You know, the one thing we went back and shot was a lot of shots of people loading guns and stuff, because we knew we could just put them anywhere, and they were good cutting pieces.” So I told Edgar, “You’ve officially been referenced. These shots are directly referencing your movie, and it only came out a year ago.”

I’m pleased to see that Rogen and co-star James Franco didn’t reach for a modern day Cheech and Chong (who aren’t that funny to begin with), but I’m a little disconcerted that Rogen, Goldberg, and director David Gordon Green (George Washington) opted to walk such a similar line to a film that, as Rogen notes, is only a year old. Granted, the script for Pineapple Express is several years old, but the style is totally borrowed from Wright and collaborator Simon Pegg. It seems like Rogen had a last minute revelation that his film could be more than an action farce, and tried to turn it into a commentary on the action genre. The problem is, the film he so idolizes played that game better than any movie that preceded it. Pineapple Express, by its very design (and its timing), is going to feel a little thin by comparison. 

I really hate to nitpick on that, because Pineapple is, by all measures, a fine comedy. It’s refreshing to see Franco, who, like Rogen, cut his teeth in Freaks and Geeks, make a return to comedy. He has such wonderful timing, and really needs more roles like this, to balance out his typical casting as a “James Dean type.” Danny P. McBride plays third-wheel Red (who’s like the McLovin of this film; every one of Rogen and Goldberg’s scripts needs to have a McLovin, and also copious amounts of heterosexual man love), coming out of nowhere to get some of the biggest laugh lines in this movie. Bad guys Craig Robinson (The Office), Kevin Corrigan (The Departed, Grounded for Life), Gary Cole (Office Space) and Rosie Perez (pretty much every movie of the mid-90s, but nothing recently) spend the entire film hunting down Rogen and Franco, and all (save for Cole, who’s underutilized) have their fair share of gags along the way. This is a well cast film, where Rogen, the ostensible star, could well be the weak link, as he’s pretty much played the same character in every one of his films.

Similarly, Green is an inspired choice of director. He’s not typically known for comedy, but he handles the action scenes, including a great chase in a stolen police car, and a hysterically over-the-top fight scene in the home of Red, the middle man who tries to sell Rogen out. He does a great job of playing the action for laughs, and it’s certainly not his fault that somebody had already made Hot Fuzz. He does the best with what he’s given.

Ultimately, though, you have to judge a comedy on how funny it is, and Pineapple Express does pretty well by that count. It just lives in a huge shadow, and at least as far as I’m concerned, falls prey to some pretty huge expectations. The trailer (which was excellent) was modeled after 1970s and 80s action television series, and promised a send-up of that genre. The final product was a little bit slicker than that, and made action movies a much more pointed target than they needed to be. Not only does it fall short of Hot Fuzz, it falls short of Superbad, too. It’s not quite the action movie satire it thinks it is, and it’s not quite the laugh factory it could have been.

It’s good that Pineapple Express isn’t a stoner movie, which is really a hollow genre. However, there was no reason it couldn’t have been a little sillier. It would be a stretch to claim this movie takes itself seriously. But if all of its characters are going to light up, It would be nice if the filmmakers would lighten up.

Film: Pineapple Express
Director: David Gordon Green
Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Craig Robinson, Kevin Corrigan, Danny P. McBride

Viewing Situation: Weekday matinee, half full; digital projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 68%
My Grade (Out of 10): 7

Next Up: Swing Vote

>> Interview: Seth Rogen [The A.V. Club]

Summer Movie Suicide Mission No. 23: Step Brothers

In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or cover bands that only play ’80s Joel, sir.

It’s certainly good to see Will Ferrell finally get away from his string of sports comedies, a cycle which began with the goofy (and wickedly funny) Nascar satire Talladega Nights, but had pretty much worn thin by the time of last year’s Semi-Pro. In Step Brothers, Ferrell re-teams with frequent on-screen collaborator John C. Reilly, a veteran character actor who, thanks mainly to Ferrell and producer Judd Apatow, has begun to get his due as a comedic star in his own right. Both actors have an uncanny ability to play developmentally stunted manchildren, and in that sense, Step Brothers is an inspired premise, with Reilly and Ferrell playing 40-somethings who can’t seem to leave the comfort and security of their parents’ houses. When their single parents meet and move in together, the pair must learn to finally get a life.

As this summer’s comedic star vehicles go, Step Brothers far outshines the likes of The Love Guru, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, and Meet Dave. But still, in spite of a lot of good laughs, it left me a little cold. It’s different from the most recent crop of Ferrell films, but on a number of fundamental levels, it’s much the same. It leaves behind a common formula, opting to focus equally on its two stars, rather than presenting Ferrell as some sort of troupe leader. But the tone remains the same. For Reilly, whose early career was marked by incredible versatility, may now be pigeonholing himself as a Ferrell sidekick (or a Ferrell surrogate). Ferrell himself has shown some range (though usually in bad films, like Stranger Than Fiction, Melinda and Melinda, and The Producers), but as he ages, he’ll need to consider what tack he wants to take with his personal projects.

Don’t get me wrong here; I’m a huge fan of a well-made stupid comedy, and Ferrell has long been one of my favorite performers. I just fear for his future a little. This summer, I’ve lamented the fates of the likes of Mike Myers and, especially, Eddie Murphy. It’s not hard to imagine, ten years from now, looking at Will Ferrell’s career arc and seeing something similar.

But that’s all a future concern. For now, both Ferrell and Reilly have enough laughs still in the tank to make Step Brothers work. The get a little help from the always awesome Richard Jenkins (as Reilly’s dad) and a well delivered straight woman performance from Mary Steenburgen (as Ferrell’s mom). Adam Scott (a familiar bit player from other Apatow projects) has some of the film’s best gags as Ferrell’s successful and obnoxious younger brother.

Step Brothers is also aided by the direction of Adam McKay, a veteran of several Will Ferrell projects, who knows how to play to his star’s sensibility. The overall look of the film is understated, but the filmmaker’s intention shines through; despite few bells and whistles, it’s clear McKay has a handle on his story. You can draw a pretty strong line between the way McKay approaches directing a film and the way his boss Apatow does. Apatow himself doesn’t so much direct, as he just shoots. It’s refreshing to see someone like McKay, who’s able to handle the genre.

Next up for Step Brothers’ major players? Ferrell is starring in a film adaptation of Land of the Lost, a pretty dubious proposition given the history of beloved TV shows going to the big screen years after the fact (see Get Smart). Reilly is slated to appear as a vampire in Cirque du Freak, helmed by American Pie director Paul Weitz, which, if Weitz’s recent history is any indication (American Dreamz, In Good Company) probably isn’t terribly promising. McKay, sadly, has nothing in the pipeline, undoubtedly awaiting the call for Ferrell’s next vanity project.

For now, those projects still work. Ferrell just needs to start considering his options.

Programming Note: The X-Files: I Want to Believe

The new (about eight years too late) X-Files film (I Want to Believe) was released the same weekend as Step Brothers. But it didn’t stay in release for long. I missed it completely. Since I hadn’t seen the first X-Files film, I could claim I Want to Believe under my “unseen sequel exemption,” but I won’t. I had intended to see it, but it turned out to be even more of a catastrophic failure than I thought it would be. I’m awaiting its inevitable release at Athens’ $1 theater, where it will join the likes of College Road Trip, which has been running there for months. Look for a Summer Movie Suicide Mission addendum some time in September.

Film: Step Brothers
Director: Adam McKay
Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott

Viewing Situation: Weekday evening, half crowd; standard projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 51%
My Grade (Out of 10): 6

Next Up: Pineapple Express

This Week in David Zucker “Satire”: An American Carol

I don’t have anything productive to say about this, except that I think I may have to cover this for Zucker Movie Suicide Mission. Remember Airplane!? That was good, wasn’t it?

I think I’m going to watch this as part of a double feature with Beer For My Horses.

>> Beer for My Horses [IMDB]
>> An American Carol [IMDB]

Summer Movie Suicide Mission No. 22: Space Chimps

In which one man attempts to view every summer blockbuster for the entire season, regardless of taste, genre, or primates in outer space.

We’re living in a post-Dark Knight universe now, and, for all intents and purposes, that film heralded the end of the summer movie season. While there are some anticipated films left before summer’s out (Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, The Clone Wars) which are sure to make some pretty nice box office, there’s really nothing left that rivals the sheer spectacle of the huge Batman installment and some of the other actioners that preceded it. What we’re left with is a pretty good bit of filler, as throughout August the movies will roll into and out of theaters at a pretty fevered pace, with as many as four movies arriving per week. A pretty tall order for someone who has to watch all of them, but I’ll manage.

Space Chimps, which premiered in late July and disappeared pretty quickly, marks the first strain of the summertime death rattle, one of the last kid-friendly flicks to hit theaters before the little bastards pack it up and head back to school. The family friendly fare, though, has been pretty consistently good throughout the season. WALL-E rivals only The Dark Knight for the honor of best film of the summer, and Kung Fu Panda was a nice surprise. Space Chimps, though, marks a film with less ambition and focus than either of those two rivals. If you could even call them rivals, as I don’t think Starz Media is really playing in the same league as Pixar or Dreamworks.

Despite the laughs that greeted me every time I told someone that I’d just seen a movie called “Space Chimps,” the film itself is not nearly as terrible as it should have been. First, it’s delightfully short. I’ve found all summer that brevity is almost always a blessing. Second, Chimps presents a world that’s nice enough to look at, even as the story flies off the rails a bit. The true history of chimpanzees used for early tests in space travel provides an interesting backdrop for a narrative, but this film fails to do anything with it.

The casting is, perhaps typically for a third or fourth-tier animated feature, not really up to snuff. Often studios cast well-known stars in voice acting roles, not recognizing that voiceover work is an altogether different skill from a typical on-screen appearance. Sometimes this strategy pays off, but more often than not, it doesn’t. Space Chimps reaches for the best it can get in terms of talent, ultimately deciding that anyone with a recognizable name will suffice, even though none of these B-listers are likely to bring in an audience by name alone. The producers would have been better off casting professional voice talent rather than just grabbing the likes of Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Andy Samberg (“Lazy Sunday,” “Dick in a Box”), who just read their lines pretty aimlessly. I also have a personal predisposition against Patrick Warburton (playing the third-billed chimp; I don’t think anyone really cares about this movie enough for me to bother with a summary), who’s a seasoned voice actor but has little by way of range and has pretty much worn out his welcome with me.

Of all the movies I’ve seen this summer, Chimps is likely the most forgettable. Even sitting in the theater, I kind of felt like I had just surfed across HBO Family, found it sitting there, and tuned out for 80 minutes. This is background noise for the kiddies. I’d strongly recommend it for any frantic parents who see it in the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart. I just wouldn’t recommend it for anyone else.

Film: Space Chimps
Director: Kirk Di Micco
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Daniels

Viewing Situation: Weekday matinee, 3 people, one child, one mother in the lobby on her cell phone; digital projection
Rotten Tomatoes Average: 33%
My Grade (Out of 10): 3

Next Up: Step Brothers