Posts tagged Jason Bateman
“The Change-Up” Gross, Coarse, and Crass
0August 27, 2011
“Gross, Coarse, and Crass”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Change-Up begs the question, “Are you getting as tired of watching these lame body-switch movies as I am of reviewing them?”
Another question that goes begging about this movie is “Did the filmmakers believe they could get bigger audiences to come to this Hollywood cliche of a story by throwing in lots of obscenities and excessive nudity?”
And, finally, “How does Jason Bateman feel about being in one of the funniest movies of the year and one of the worst movies of the year in a matter of only one month?”
Yes, Bateman plays Dave Lockwood, a happily married father of three who is a successful lawyer and close to being made a partner in his firm.
Meanwhile, Dave’s best friend is Mitch Planko, played by Ryan Reynolds, who is a single actor and womanizer, but because the story takes place in Atlanta, you can’t imagine that he is all that successful an actor, can you?
Dave and Mitch have been best buddies since the third grade, and one night they go drinking together, and at the end of the evening they are talking about how they envy each other’s life while they are both urinating in a fountain in a park, and they both say simultaneously, “I wish I had your life.”
There is a statue of a woman overlooking the fountain, the lights go out around the city, the statue’s expression changes to one of a smile, and, of course, you know what happens.
Yes, when they wake up the next morning in their respective beds, even though they look the same to the audience, Dave is now in Mitch’s body and Mitch is now in Dave’s. And then comedy is supposed to ensue, but it doesn’t.
They get together, rush back to the fountain where they hope to undo the switch, but the fountain is gone, having been removed and is going to be restored and placed in a different location.
If they fill out the proper paperwork, the city might be able to tell them in three days to three weeks where the fountain is going to be.
The boys tell Dave’s wife, Jamie, about the switch. She is played by Leslie Mann, and of course she doesn’t believe them.
The Change-Up is gross, coarse, and crass, and I recommend you avoid it.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
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“Horrible Bosses” Great Fun
0July 13, 2011
“Great Fun”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Horrible Bosses has built right into the title that the bosses in question are much worse than just “bad bosses,” doesn’t it, but the best thing about it is that the movie might just be better and much funnier than you expected it to be.
So, if you have ever had a bad boss or, worse yet, a horrible boss, you owe it to yourself to see this movie and be prepared to laugh your head off.
On the other hand, if you have ever been accused of being a bad boss, or if you think you might have been a bad boss, then you owe it to your employees to see this movie and perhaps learn how to repair the error of your ways.
No, I’ll make it easier for you: Are you now or have you ever been a boss? Then see this movie, even if you have just known a boss, but don’t expect to get any tips from it, either on how to be a bad boss or how to handle a bad boss.
Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis star in the movie, but they are not the bosses of the title. They are the ones who have the bad bosses, who are played by Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, and Colin Farrell, respectively, although you might not recognize Colin Farrell at first.
Early in the movie, Spacey tells Bateman’s character, Nick, “If you want a promotion, you’ve got to earn it.”
And then Spacey does everything in his boss powers to prevent Nick from getting a promotion.
Well, Nick, Dale, and Kurt are friends going back to high school, and they meet regularly for drinks. One night while they are engaged in a mutual commiseration society, they come up with the idea to kill their bosses.
I didn’t say it was a good idea.
They know that they can’t do it themselves without getting caught, and after one hilarious attempt to hire a hit man on the Internet, they end up paying Jamie Foxx in a great performance as their “murder consultant.”
Now, because this is a comedy, you know that everything isn’t going to go as planned, even though the plan seems so simple and even draws from the great mystery writers and also Alfred Hitchcock.
Horrible Bosses is great fun.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
