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Movie Review: Seven Psychopaths

Published October 22, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring:  Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson.

Rated R.  Comedy/Crime/Drama.  Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes.

I’ve tried to pick my favorite psychopath, but it proves quite a task with casting like this.  Just take a peek at the rundown of actors involved in this film listed above.  Walken is always a selling point for me, personally.  Add to that Tom Waits, two beautiful women that you’ll no doubt recognize on screen – if not by their names (Abbie Cornish & Olga Kurylenko) and a special guest appearance by two of my favorite Boardwalk Empire characters, Michael Pitt (the late Jimmy Darmody) and Michael Stuhlbarg (Arnold Rothstein).  Not that casting is a definitive slam dunk in any film, but it helps generate a certain feel for the production at hand.  The vibe you should probably gather from this present selection of characters is a violent one…lots of blood and guts.  Not gore necessarily, but spatter.  Seven Psychopaths had a similar feel to the 2008 critically acclaimed “In Bruges” – and with good reason.  The very same man, Martin McDonagh, wrote and directed both films.  He most certainly has a style, as I had the inkling before we conducted further research.  I would describe McDonagh’s style as intensely dark and brutally humorous.  Nonetheless, even if you don’t like the style of Seven Psychopaths, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t be bored.  The confluence of characters in this film is a trainwreck and you won’t be able to avert your eyes, even if you hope to.

Maria and I have had a run of “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” lately.  First, the same night we watched the movie, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, we caught Louis C.K.’s stand-up act where he talks of his ‘man crush’ on Ewan McGregor.  Now just days after watching the quirky, but entertaining, In Bruges, we went and saw Seven Psychopaths.  Written and directed by the same man McDonagh, as noted by Maria above.  She was indeed all over the similarities between the two movie’s styles, as she pointed it out to me minutes in.  McDonagh loves to put serial killers, murderers and other odd characters in unexpected settings.  And though he certainly doesn’t mind shedding some blood – dialogue and character development are his real strengths.  In Seven Psychopaths, he tells us the story of alcoholic writer Marty (Farrell, who he cast in In Bruges as well), who has a name for a movie and little else.  His good friend, the oddball, struggling actor Billy (played by the always fantastic Rockwell: Green Mile, Cowboys and Aliens et al), has some wonderful suggestions for Marty’s movie and would love to be involved in the writing of the screenplay.  In the meantime Billy and his friend Hans (the legend, Walken) steal people’s dogs to make ends meet, waiting until they put up a reward, then cashing in on the return.  Unfortunately for them, they steal the dog of true criminal psychopath, Charlie (Harrelson), who loves his dog more than any human being.  As you may guess, it’s at this point that the Shih Tzu really hits the fan.

Fantastic pun sweetheart.  One of my favorite things about this plot is that it kind of follows the evolution of Marty’s screenplay.  McDonagh cleverly intertwines the development of the screenplay with the unfolding story that his viewers watch on screen.  We don’t want to give anything away, as there are some interesting twists and turns.  However, suffice it to say that this plot line is engaging, groundbreaking and drastically original.  Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges are similar in style, but the themes and colorful storylines are brilliantly diverse.  The longer removed from viewing the movie, the more impressed I was with its composition.  It certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to give credit where credit’s due.  Seven Psychopaths is refreshing and a pleasure to watch.  Especially in the present movie business where recycling and reinventing old ideas is the new trend.

I agree with you on several points.  Martin McDonagh’s writing is a breath of fresh air of originality, in a predominantly unoriginal time for movies.  Also, we have to be careful what we divulge about the plot, it would be easy to say too much.  And, the more I think about Seven Psychopaths, the more I like it.  I would add that I think it’s the kind of movie that should be seen again, perhaps when it comes out on DVD.  The things you know the second time around will give you clarity from the opening scenes through the end.  Not exact comparisons for sure, but The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense could be examples of the point I’m trying to make.   Time will tell if Seven Psychopaths can be mentioned in the same breath as those two classics.  But the exquisite acting by the four lead actors, coupled with superb writing, give it the feel to me of a movie that will get even better with age.  

Calling all psychopaths…

Ross’ Rating: 4 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Maria’s Rating: 4 Gummies.

 

 

 

 

Recent DVD Release: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Published October 15, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring:  Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, Kristen Scott Thomas.

Rated PG-13.  Comedy/Drama/Romance.  Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes.

The second review we ever wrote was of the Savannah Nail Bar.  I had dropped Maria off to get her nails done and went on a couple of errands, one of which was to check the starting time of a movie we potentially wanted to go see, truth be told Maria wanted to see it more than me.  As you might have guessed, that movie was indeed Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.  In that review I wrote, “The time was a no go.  No offense baby but I wasn’t too disappointed.  The word Yemen in the title didn’t scream movie magic to me.”  Almost immediately after writing that, my friend Kevin called me and said “You know that statement is somewhat racist, beside the fact that the movie is pretty good.”  I informed him I was just attempting to be humorous and vowed someday to see the movie.  Well, we took advantage of Redbox’s 10th anniversary and rented it the other night for free.  Kevin was right, not necessarily about the racist comment imo, but the movie was very good.  You can’t get much more original than the premise.  Yemeni Sheikh Muhammed (Waked) an avid fisherman, wants to build a river in the desert and stock it with salmon from England.  Enter his associate Harriet (Blunt) who attempts to enlist the services of a fisheries expert, the incredibly boring Dr. Alfred Jones (McGregor).  He, of course, initially finds the whole project insane, but eventually is forced into service by government pressure.  I know it doesn’t sound too exciting, but the movie is superbly acted at every turn, and the chemistry between McGregor and Blunt is felt from their first scene.

The movie appealed to me for several reasons.  For starters, I had heard from several people that it was worth a watch.  Secondly, Emily Blunt is the cutest ever.  I loved her in “The Devil Wears Prada”, she’s equally adorable in “The Adjustment Bureau” and she proves herself again as a great female lead in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.  McGregor does a fantastic job opposite her, portraying the serious doctor who can’t help sharing his often sarcastic and comical thoughts on the absurdity of the project he’s been forced to oversee.  His socially awkward delivery paired with an underlying cynicism colors his character perfectly.  As a whole, the movie was relevant, smart and extremely original.  A delight from start to finish, Yemen made me feel good and inspired after watching.

Emily Blunt is cute and she is definitely working her way up the pecking order toward “A” list actress.  I personally love Ewan McGregor as well, and can’t think of a movie he’s been in that I haven’t enjoyed.  What an evolution of characters he’s had!  From one of his first efforts (if not his very first) a heroin junkie in Trainspotting, to a naive writer (with some seriously decent singing chops) in the musical Moulin Rouge.  A young Obi Wan in the Star Wars prequels, an untested but gallant medic in Black Hawk Down.  Even his Dr. Jones in Salmon Fishing, who I just described as “incredibly boring” has more layers than a parfait (a shout out to Donkey from Shrek).

McGregor is impressive in a lot of different roles, I thoroughly enjoyed him in Big Fish as the sweet talking, charming Mr. Edward Bloom.  Apparently we’re not the only big fans of Ewan.  Ironically, only hours after watching Salmon Fishing, we stumbled upon Louis C.K.’s ‘Shameless’.  I love a stand up comic by the way and Louis is hilarious.  He has a knack for perversion (which we love) and a killer delivery.  He starts this bit about meeting McGregor at some event and thinking to himself, “Wow, this guy is gorgeous.”  He went on to say he found himself later daydreaming about McGregor’s beautiful face…and other parts of his body.  And there’s another item for you to rent or add to your queue – his stand up is brilliant.  But I digress.  Salmon Fishing is a gem that you should not miss.  It touches on numerous subjects, examining love and marriage, but also religion and faith.  It doesn’t just spew out the usual formulaic romantic comedy dribble, it has real depth and range.

I totally forgot about Big Fish!  Another McGregor movie and role I love.  As Maria told you we happened upon Louis C.K. later that night, and we were rolling.  Then he does the bit about Ewan and we both knew that had to go in this review, just too coincidental.  Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is unique, entertaining, full of heart and recommended for your viewing pleasure.  As is Louis C.K., I might add.  If you want to catch some of his act now, I’ll give you two words to Google that will bring it right up for you: “duck vaginas.”  Enjoy.

Maria’s Rating: 4 Gummy Bears out of 5.  Also…5 Gummies for Louis C.K.’s “Shameless”.

Ross’ Rating: 3.75 Gummy Bears.  A big ditto 5 for LCK too.

 

 

 

Movie Review: Looper

Published October 6, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring:  Joseph Gordon -Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segun, Pierce Gagnon, Jeff Daniels, Qing Xu.

Rated R.  Action/Science Fiction.  Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes.

Joseph.  Gordon.  Levitt.  Seriously!  I don’t know if you’ve seen any previews, but honestly I did not recognize him.  I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I am usually right on with putting names to faces in the film industry.  Of course, there’s always that one pesky actor that shows up after major plastic surgery or being on hiatus for several years, but Gordon-Levitt’s face is one that I easily recognize.  I’ve seen it countless times in the past few years in Inception and the lesser known 500 Days of Summer.  But he looks so different in this role.  Ross and I were both speechless at his epic Bruce Willis impersonation.  He must have studied Willis’ work incessantly.  He had his mannerisms, facial features, his coy looks and wry smile down to a science.  In the first twenty minutes Ross turned to me and said, “This kid should win the freaking Oscar for this performance!”

Honestly, Maria wanted to go see this movie much more than I did.  The little I knew about Looper from the trailers, Bruce Willis time traveling and running into another version of himself; made me think, Twelve Monkeys.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Twelve Monkeys, this movie just felt like it might be “been there, done that.”  No way.  Maria told you about JGL’s performance, it was sick!  We’re sitting there trying to figure out what he’s done to himself to look so different.  Is he just getting older and changing?   Is he working out?  Then it hits me, he has Bruce Willis’ exact nose.  I don’t know if it was prosthetic or CG, but beyond the nose, the kid is supposed to be a younger version of Bruce Willis.  He turned into Bruce Willis!  It really is unbelievable.  I was a huge “3rd Rock from the Sun” fan, but I never thought Gordon-Levitt would go anywhere.  Wrong again.  I’m batting a thousand here so far.  Anyway, the movie.  JGL is a looper.  Time travel is invented in the future, but only gangsters have control of it.  When they want someone dead they transport them back in time 30 years where loopers exterminate them upon arrival.  When the gangsters want to “close the loop”, they send the looper’s older self back for him to kill himself.  (Are you keeping up? I know some others that weren’t.  We’ll get to that in a bit.)  The body is strapped with gold and the looper has his severance pay and thirty years to enjoy it.  I don’t think I’m spoiling too much here telling you that Bruce gets away from Joseph and the game is most certainly on.

Needless to say, it was a total mind fuck.  One of those you take with you from the theatre and end up discussing hours later in bed or at a bar.  This innovative science fiction film had my head spinning for hours, which I enjoy occasionally.  I like a film that makes my mind work a little harder.  Looper is the best grown up film I’ve seen in the theatre for years.  The plot was original, engaging and brave.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole film, and although the ending didn’t sit well at first – it has slowly grown on me.  Of course, you’ll have to go see the film for yourself to see what happens.  Hopefully, if you go to view it, the people in the theatre will have some common courtesy and not babble throughout the first hour.  These two old broads a few rows back from us would not shut up.  I realize the plot was a little difficult to understand, but these women were so rude.  I almost applauded when they finally got up and left in the middle of the movie.

I’m guessing they thought Looper was the latest Woody Allen movie, or a Meryl Streep vehicle.  They were totally bewildered, their “months away from the nursing home” brains jangling wildly in their skulls.  They were screaming at each other like 8 year olds.  “But Mildred this movie got such good reviews.”  “I don’t know what the hell is going on.”  Yelling, I’m sure because neither of them could hear a fucking thing.  I was seconds from screaming myself, “would you just shut the fuck up!”, when mercifully they left.  Fortunately they were the only bad part of our Looper experience.  Beyond the aforementioned brilliant performance of JGL and Bruce Willis’ usual professional turn, my favorite character in the movie was the little boy Cid played by Pierce Gagnon.   I don’t know how old he is in real life, his bio says he can play 5-8 year olds, but this kid is pure genius.  I don’t know where they’re finding these kids these days.  A couple of months ago we saw and reviewed The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and that boy CJ Adams was also very impressive.  Pierce Gagnon steals every scene he’s in, and I’m curious to see if we see more of him in the future.  If you like Sci-Fi, by all means go see Looper, but bring your thinking cap with you.  If you’re old and can’t hear, I think they’re having a Mel Torme tribute at the Kravis Center next month.  Wait for that.

I’m laughing to myself right now because Ross went on a similar rant as soon as we left the theatre, but he was right – these women were dreadful.  I understand that it was a hard plot to grasp, but at least give everyone else a chance to view it in peace.  Watching Bruce Willis sit across from a guy doing a perfect impersonation of him was worth the price of admission.  Looper is the type of movie made for theatre viewing, I just hope that if you do go to see it everyone’s quiet and courteous.

Ross’ Rating: 4 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Maria’s Rating: 4.5 Gummies.

Movie Review: Hotel Transylvania

Published October 2, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring the voices of: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, David Spade, CeeLo Green.

Rtaed PG.  Animated.  Running Time: 1 hour 31 minutes.

Today was my son Ethan’s birthday, he’s 9, and even though he saw it already he was nice enough to agree to go again with Maria and I because we really wanted to see it.  He’s an awesome boy my Ethan.  He told us ahead of time it was a great movie, and he was spot on.  Hotel Transylvania was a joy from start to finish.  Count Dracula (Sandler) opens a hotel for monsters only, no humans allowed.  Humans in his view, only want to kill monsters, and he desperately wants to keep his daughter Mavis (Gomez) safe.  Dracula is a stereotypical protective single father, and he has kept Mavis smotheringly safe for over a century.  On her 118th birthday he throws her a huge party, and everyone shows up.  Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, assorted zombies, The Blob, The Werewolf,  Bigfoot etc.  Everything is going according to control freak Dracula’s plan, until the clueless, kind-hearted, surfer dude, human Jonathan (Samberg) stumbles into Hotel Transylvania.  Then everything gets turned upside down and the movie gets even better.

Jonathan literally breathes some life into the hotel of the undead, which could use some breath.  Sandler and his crew of boogeymen have become so accustomed to residing in the shadows that they’ve lost some lust for action along the way, but it doesn’t take long before they loosen up and start enjoying themselves.  Initially everyone takes a liking to the new guest, except for the Count.  Eventually, he can no longer resist Jonathan’s charms, especially when he sees how happy his daughter is around the human boy.  The film had a wonderful plot and many parenting tips on letting children experience life for themselves and learn from their own mistakes.  Hotel Transylvania took a fresh look at a theme we’ve seen displayed in many films, but at a relevant time.  Vampires have seen a huge upswing in popularity following the success of Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries – just to name a few.  It’s refreshing to see a playful and humorous take of the undead in a kids movie and I love hearing a guy like Buscemi as Wayne The Werewolf dad, who I see every Sunday playing Nucky Thompson (Boardwalk Empire), in this type of role.

Couldn’t agree with you more honey, some truly wonderful messages for the kids in this movie, and they’re not rammed down their throats.  The voice actors are all fantastic and the story, though not anything near unpredictable, is heart-warming and appropriate for kids of all ages (which is a cool feat with all the monsters about).  The scariest moment in the movie for me, was when Ethan asked if he could go to the bathroom by himself.  Obviously, I know he could make it there and back alone, but like the over protective Dracula, I just couldn’t do it.  We compromised and I walked to the end of the hall and watched him go the rest of the way.  Good thing too, because he ran right by the bathroom heading toward the movies on the opposite side.  I sceamed “Ethan”, he turned back and looked at me while circling to run into the Ladie’s room.  Another scream from me, and I eventually had to go all the way down to guide him anyway.  He still needs his Pop, that’s not such a bad thing.  We made our way back to our seats, Maria and our popcorn, and enjoyed the end of the entertaining and sweet Hotel Transylvania.

I was hoping Ross would let Ethan go by himself, but after hearing about his oblivious ventures down the hall, I was glad he had his dad following.  Life imitating art.  Sure the plot of Hotel Transylvania is predictable, but done with such clever flair.  Something about this movie made a lasting impression and had me cracking up for hours later.  It’s one of the few that I’ll be looking forward to viewing again, and I’m sure my companions feel the same way.

Ross’ Rating: 4 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Maria’s Rating: 4 Gummies.

Movie Review: ParaNorman

Published September 1, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring the voices of: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein, John Goodman.

Rated PG.  Animated.  Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes.

What a pleasant surprise ParaNorman turned out to be.  Although, I wasn’t expecting much to begin with.  I definitely wasn’t tripping over my feet to get to the theatre for this one, but it was probably the best film I’ve seen in a few weeks.  We go to the movies A LOT.  Not just for the sake of writing relevant reviews, but because we love going.  Once again, the movie was 3-D, which is starting to literally drive me crazy.  I don’t even remember a great deal of the 3-D effects, so how good could they really be?  I do remember the story, which was unique and, quite frankly, a little scary.  However, it balanced its chilling undertones with clever humor and an intriguing gang of characters.  The plot and theme explored some similar topics we’ve seen in a lot of children’s films lately; bullying, tolerance and the importance of friendship.  Sounds familiar, I know, but I’m glad they are broaching these important subjects.  Especially the bullying, which has become a prevelant issue across the country.  It seems bullying has been on the rise with the influx of technology into our children’s lives or maybe we’re just becoming more aware of it.  One thing I’m certain of is that there are MORE ways to bully now.  A bully is not just confined to confronting their victims at school, they have outlets such as cell phones and computers.  They can harass by text, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter etc. etc. etc.

It is good to see Hollywood adressing bullying, a serious problem in this country.  ParaNorman does a good job of that and much, much more.  The same people that brought us Coraline, the animation company LAIKA along with Focus Features, have created another entertaining but dark tale.  Norman (Smit-McPhee) is a loner who constantly sees the dead (they all seem to really like him too), much to the chagrin of his father (Garlin) who just wants a normal kid.  Their relationship totally reminded me of the father/son dynamic from the film Chicken Little, his dad just wanted CL to stop with “The sky is falling” routine.  At any rate, as Maria pointed out there are meaningful themes in ParaNorman and they are delivered very well.  The only downside is that some of the visuals are quite frightening.  Readers of our blog know that we see lots of kids movies with my son Ethan who is 8.  He was pretty brave thoughout, but I would certainly think twice taking anyone younger than him.  The zombie chases, a scene with Norman’s crazy uncle and a couple of scenes with the “witch” were great cinema, but intimidating in the stop-motion 3-D animation.

Ethan was very brave, but I think you’re right Ross, 8 and up is a pretty good policy for this one.  It was a fairly difficult story to bring to the screen for its intended audience.  They really had to be cogniscent of how dark and scary it got.  This seems to be a recurring theme in Hollywood.  I loved the Harry Potter series, which Ross turned me onto, and that took some very dark turns for its intended age group as well.  We’ve really started to become quite lax when it comes to entertainment ratings for kids.  This seems most apparent in The Hunger Games trilogy that recently took to the big screen.  That first installment just seemed too mature for children under 16, in my opinion.  ParaNorman isn’t nearly as daring with pushing the boundaries as the aforementioned films are, but it still flirts with that very thin line of acceptability.  I enjoyed seeing the use of the less popular stop-motion animation in this movie, which reminds me of claymation in some ways.  In fact, I thought it was claymation until Ross informed me otherwise.

This was a tough movie to review for me.  I did enjoy ParaNorman, it had a lot of heart.  I liked Norman, he’s a good kid.  My favorite part of the movie was the friendship that he and Neil (Albrizzi) formed.  Neil is an overweight boy who gets picked on and doesn’t have any friends, but he hasn’t let that ruin his zest for life, and he is a fantastic friend.  I guess the “problem” I’m having is, that when we see an animated movie we really love, we generally can’t wait until it comes out on video so we can rent it or buy it.  Sometimes we will even go see it again in the theater.  I don’t have that feeling with ParaNorman, but I’m still going to recommend you see it.  I think because it’s so different.  No madcap romp through (Madagascar), or race around (Cars), Europe here.  Just a good story with good lessons.

ParaNorman isn’t rocketing to the top of my favorite animated movies list, but it’s worth a watch.  If your kid really wants to go see it, bring them – you won’t be disappointed.

Maria’s Rating: 2.75 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Ross’ Rating:  3 Gummies.

Movie Review: The Campaign

Published August 26, 2012 by mrsrag

Starring: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox.

Rated R.  Comedy.  Running Time: 1 hour 25 minutes.

We watched an interview of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis on the Charlie Rose Show shortly before we saw the movie, and they really had some chemistry going on.  They were feeding off each other, making the usually serious Charlie Rose lose his shit laughing, and they were effusively extolling their awesome experiences on the set of The Campaign.  I just knew this movie had to be fantastic.  I love Will Ferrell.  Old School, Stranger Than Fiction, Step Brothers, Saturday Night Live.  C’mon.  Galifianakis.  Quirky ass dude from The Hangover movies.  Can’t miss.  Cannot miss.  Guess what?  Missed.

I love Will Ferrell.  Ross likes him…I. love. him.  Step Brothers is one of my all time favorite movies.  It’s like Adam McKay (1 of 5 producers of The Campaign), Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly went into my head and created the story.  I’ve wasted numerous hours watching and re-watching Old School, Anchorman and, the lesser known, Blades of Glory.  I’m no stranger to Galifianakis either.  I’ve been a fan of his for years.  I first came upon Zach while he was doing stand-up and even got a chance to see him for peanuts at Edwards auditorium, whilst attending the University of Rhode Island.  Chatted and hung out with the dude for a bit.  My college friends and I even had him prank phone call a good friend of ours, Jon, who couldn’t make it to the show because he was studying for finals.  The show was great and he was very gracious afterward.  Sadly, I was mildly disappointed with this film.   Mildly – because I half expected it.  Just seemed too good to be true from the start.  I believe it must have been a hoot to film, but on screen it just appeared over-the-top.

I had forgotten Maria told me about meeting Gakifiankis in college.  But I know she loves Ferrell.  She quotes the guy so often, sometimes I’m not sure she’s talking TO me or using Ferrell wisdom ON me.  I’m like, “Wait, are you asking me a serious question, or is that a Will Ferrell quote?”  I’m batting .500.  Okay so the movie, they’re opposing candidates in a North Carolina congressional race.  Ferrell is the incumbent, who ususally runs unopposed.  His character is a caricature of every horny, corrupt, useless politician; and the reason the movie lost me very quickly.  Even a spoof comedy has to have a base in somewhat believable reality.  This guy couldn’t possibly get elected to any position anywhere.  He’s so morally bankrupt, he couldn’t be elected shotgun on a garbage truck.  Galifianakis’ character isn’t much better.  A quasi-gay, married man, who is clueless about anything in real life.  His father (Cox), is a grizzled, old timer, obviously disappointed with such a fop for a son.  He jumps at the opportunity presented to him by the Motch brothers (Aykroyd and Lithgow), to have his son run against the ridiculous Cam Brady (Ferrell).  They’re super rich and want to bring a Chinese sweatshop to North Carolina to make even more money.  Buy the election with the naive doofus, get what you want.  Maybe I’m losing my je ne c’est quoi, but I need a little more for my comedic entertainment.

I didn’t completely hate it – the film had its moments.  I guess we just come to expect a certain degree of hilarity from these two stars, especially when they’re together.  I found the WMHT interview with Charlie Rose, the one Ross mentioned earlier, more amusing than the movie.  Galifianakis is so noticeably stoned in the interview and he takes some classic stabs at Chick-Fil-A and Sarah Palin.  At one point in the interview he tells Rose to let him know when he’s thinking of retiring because he would love to take over.  Then he plugs his bit on Ferrell’s website ‘Funny or Die’.  The bit is called ‘Between Two Ferns’ and its similar in premise to Rose’s show, except that Zach is a complete asshole to his guests.  I would seriously recommend you give the bit a look.  Some of my favorite interviews he conducts are Jon Stewart, Richard Branson and Jon Hamm.  Sadly, The Campaign just didn’t float my boat, which doesn’t jive with their track record.  It seemed like a great idea that just didn’t translate to the big screen.

Never a giant fan of horribly uncomfortable humor either, I’m not as wild about “Between Two Ferns” as Maria is.  If you do like that, Meet The Parents-type, cringe worthy stuff, you will love it.  Galifianakis has no conscience with his “guests” and anything goes (the Michael Cera interview is unbelievable).  I do agree that the Charlie Rose piece and BTF are both better than The Campaign.  Of course it had a couple of laughs, and there are a few incidents that are incredibly over the top.  Without giving anything away, a couple of the ads they each endorse are absurd, as well as the hunting trip incident which you may have seen in the previews.  Let me sum up my feelings.  If this movie was presented as an Airplane!, or Naked Gun-type total spoof, I probably could have bought it more, but it isn’t.  They are parodying Washington and these characters are just not believable at all.  I actually found the end to be the best part of The Campaign and that surely isn’t saying much.  My advice would be, at best, wait for the video.  At least then if you hate it, you’ll only be out two bucks.  I’m sure Ferrell and Galifianakis have much better in store for us in the future, they have to, because they couldn’t do much worse.

Maria’s Rating: 2.5 Gummy Bears out of 5.

Ross’ Rating:  1 Gummy Bear.