Join our Mailing List!
Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news.Sign Up Today!
Step away from 'Step Brothers'
By: Keith Cohen, The Movie Guy
printable version
e-mail this story
STEP BROTHERS
One-half star Rated R
It is hard to believe that in the span of two weeks both the best (“The Dark Knight”) and worst movies of the year have opened in area theaters.
This is the third outing for the writing team of Adam McKay (who also directs) and Will Ferrell following “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights.” Their careers date back to 1995 when they worked together on “Saturday Night Live.” They are also reunited with “Talladega Nights” co-star John C. Reilly.
Brennan Huff (Ferrell), a 39-year-old mama’s boy, and Dale Doback (Reilly), a 40-year-old bum, become step-brothers forced to live together under the same roof when their parents (Mary Steenburgen as widowed Nancy and Richard Jenkins from “Six Feet Under” as divorced physician Robert) marry.
These two immature guys are like oil and water. They start off hating each other with physical confrontations and competitive stare downs. When Brennan’s successful younger brother Derek (Adam Scott from HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Me”) appears on the scene offering to sell the family homestead so the newlyweds can set sail on the open sea around the world, these moronic imbeciles join forces against a common enemy.
Derek’s wife Alice (Kathryn Hahn from “Crossing Jordan”) is thrown into the mix as a closet nymphomaniac.
This movie plumbs the depths of bad taste with a sick sense of humor. It takes exaggeration and absurdity to extremes in its message of never losing your inner child. This movie is embarrassing and the actors make fools of themselves: Ferrell exposes his testicles, Reilly licks dog poop and Hahn pees into a men’s room urinal while standing on one leg.
You find yourself laughing at as opposed to with Ferrell and Reilly for being feeble-minded retards. The below-the-belt humor is crude, raunchy, vulgar and offensive.
The screenplay seems like a series of improvised skits. The ad-libs repeatedly have the two leads parading around in their underwear while destructively sleepwalking.
As things progress from bad to worse, the movie tries to salvage things at the end with a Hallmark moment. Consider yourself forewarned to stay clear.
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
2 and a half stars Rated PG-13
Director Julian Jarrold (“Kinky Boots” and “Becoming Jane”) brings to the silver screen this provocative tale of forbidden love and loss of innocence set in pre-World War II England.
This version of the classic 1945 Evelyn Waugh novel should not be confused with the 11-episode Golden Globe and Emmy-winning television series that aired in 1982 on PBS.
Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode from “Match Point”), an aspiring painter, meets and is seduced by the charming Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw from “Perfume”) while studying at Oxford. Sebastian is a homosexual from a privileged aristocratic family. He introduces Charles to a world of privilege and entitlement.
The title refers to the magnificent mansion home on a countryside estate where his family resides. Charles becomes intoxicated in the presence of this wealth, which includes an impressive art collection. Although he regards Sebastian as a chum, Charles, an atheist, is attracted to Sebastian’s beautiful, sophisticated sister Julia (Hayley Atwell).
Standing in the way of any lasting union is the intimidating, white-haired matriarch Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), an ardent Catholic. The romantic triangle comes to a head when Charles, Sebastian and Julia visit a separated Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon) and his mistress Cara (Greta Scacchi) in Venice.
This movie is a proverbial feast for the eyes. The stunning locations, impeccable interior designs, authentic period props and gorgeous costumes overshadow the dramatic story and stock characters.
The movie has a wistful, lugubrious tone and reflects the powerlessness of Charles when looking back on past events. The movie plays up the decadent lifestyle with wine tasting, skinny dipping and leisurely pursuits.
An interminably slow and deliberate pace becomes tedious at the halfway point. The 135-minute running time seems much longer. The movie has a literary feel of a book on tape with live actors.
Since it is hard to have empathy for any of the main players, it’s as if the lights are on but nobody is home.
The handsome Goode does his best to carry the picture. His subtle desires and desperate need to be liked are ambiguously conveyed by his very bland facial expressions. Thompson just goes through the motions with a performance set on autopilot. Whishaw gives the best performance with the most daring and flamboyant role. The forward momentum of the film is lost when his character disappears for long stretches from the film.
Atwell gives us a glimpse of a promising acting career. Her star is definitely on the rise with anticipation growing for her next appearance in “The Duchess.”
For a more lasting connection, my recommendation would be to read the book first and then rent the DVD for home viewing. Opening soon at AMC Studio 30, Cinemark Palace and the Leawood.
TELL NO ONE
2 and a half stars Unrated
There is nothing more pleasurable than sitting on a chaise lounge by a body of water and reading a mystery.
Director Guillaume Canet boldly attempts to bottle that experience in his condensed feature film adaptation of Harlan Coben’s best-selling novel of the same title.
The teaser opening of a couple skinny-dipping in a remote lake is just the tip of the iceberg for a convoluted and confusing narrative.
The central story involves pediatrician Alex Beck (Francois Cluzet who looks like a young Dustin Hoffman from “Marathon Man”), still mourning the abduction and murder of his childhood sweetheart wife, Margot (Marie-Josée Croze from “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), which took place eight years ago.
His memory of the events are sketchy because he was knocked unconscious and in a coma for three days. He was a prime suspect until the crime was pinned on a serial killer who mutilated seven other women.
When the bodies of two men are found near where his wife’s corpse was dumped, the police reopen the investigation and Alex becomes their main target again.
The mystery and suspense are turned up another notch when Alex receives a series of e-mails from an anonymous source with a link to a live streaming video that indicates Margot is alive and well.
The message also bears the words of the title and cautions Alex to be careful because they are watching every move. Alex is like a pawn on a chess board.
In the middle of the movie, there is an exciting chase on foot between Alex and the police that leads to a multiple car crash and huge pile-up on the beltway.
An essential subplot involves a powerful politician (Jean Rochefort) and his equestrian son (Canet) with deviant pedophilia urges. There are a multitude of characters popping in and out with scant explanations of who they are.
The movie keeps you clueless and guessing with red herrings, twists and turns. A second viewing is necessary to get everything straight. The subtitles containing the juicy detailed explanations of police corruption and cover-ups get lengthier as the movie progresses.
The most familiar actress in the cast is Kristin Scott Thomas (“The English Patient”) who plays the lesbian partner of Alex’s sister.
The movie will remind you of Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, “The Fugitive” and “Memento.” The ear-pleasing soundtrack of jazz tunes with English lyrics maintains the mood. The dialogue is entirely in French with English subtitles.
The movie won four César Awards (French equivalent of the Oscar) for best director (Canet), best actor (Cluzet), best editing and best musical score. This movie should whet your appetite to read the book to further savor the intricate story. It will also stimulate a lively post-viewing discussion sorting out the wheat from the chaff.
Opening this weekend exclusively at the Glenwood Arts and Tivoli.
Weekly Top 5 Flick Picks
The Dark Knight
Mamma Mia
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Tell No One
Brideshead Revisited