Cinema Crazed

2010

Rated: R for language, drug use and sexual content.

Genre: Comedy Adventure

Directed By: Todd Phillips

Written By: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, Todd Phillips

Warner Bros. Pictures

Running Time: 1:50

Review by: Momar Van Der Camp

Review Date: 11/11/10

DUE DATE

You know the good when you see it. Zack. Downey. This should be domination on an epic scale. And there are certainly periods of hilarity that make this movie more than it could have been. The sad thing is that it’s not nearly as funny as Hangover which it has been labeled as and it’s not nearly as heartfelt as Planes Trains and Automobiles, which we will get to. Zack and RDJ have great chemistry. Zack plays the idiot stoner he’s made a name for over the last few years on-stage and in films, and RDJ plays his usual charmed self. There are problems with their chemistry, but we’ll get to that. The best moments of this film come in small doses. The scene with the dog and Zack enjoying themselves, if you will, makes for great comedic moments. The stuff with the Federales and the chase stuff is great. Danny McBride’s cameo is hilarious. And when Todd Phillips shows up, I dare you not to laugh at what RDJ does in the house. It is probably the funniest point in the movie, only for sheer shock sake.

There are periods where this movie drags. You get the feeling that there is a lot of improvisation going on, and that’s never a good thing. You want it to be seamless, like special effects. You don’t want to feel like you’re watching a dress rehearsal, and sadly, a large chunk of this movie feels exactly like that. Throwing lines around and seeing what sticks and then moving to the next scene. It gets to be a little much when Zack and RDJ are both fighting for the limelight. Also, have we not learned that RDJ shouldn’t be the straight man in a comedy?

There are too many comedies these days where the funnier actor plays the straight man (see Get Him to the Greek which royally sucked). He’s the better actor too, but Zack is coming into his own (between this and It’s Kind of a Funny Story he’s starting to show his range isn’t as limited as most people give him credit for). As for the comparisons to past movies, the marketing team brought up Hangover.

And Hangover danced circles around this movie when it came to comedy. Then when this tried to be heartfelt, it lost most of the wind from it’s sales. Look at this as a cross between Father’s Day and Planes Trains and Automobiles with a tinge of Hangover and you might be onto something. But if you go in expecting the comedy of the year, then you are sadly mistaken.

Not a bad way to spend your day at the movies, but it could have been so much more. Another promise not kept is what this seems like, and it puts a somewhat negative spin to what might come from Hangover 2, but we shall see. Overall, the performances were okay, they weren’t exciting and the comedy didn’t leave too many bits to joke about at home. Thankfully, Todd Phillips knows what he can get from his actors and lets them have fun, and when they have fun, we do too.

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