Cal is a steady going Dad whose life is turned upside down when his wife Emily brashly confesses that she’s had an affair and wants a divorce.  Thrust into a world of new single-hood, he finds an affable and incredibly stylish womanizing friend in Jacob.  Jacob helps him to reshape his persona and at the same time re-examine the steps that led him to his current state and how recapturing his manhood would inevitably get it back.  Lovelorn for his wayward wife and still seemingly obsessed with fatherly landscaping duties (witness the midnight trips to his old house just to keep the grounds immaculate…hilarious), he embarks on a complete mind and body makeover that not only opens his eyes to a world he never knew, but manages to help him cope and adjust his thinking about his outlook on family and friends.

Crazy, Stupid Love has the star power and plot material to make another great family hugging, love inducing, tear jerking all around feel good movie (like 2003’s Love Actually), but it just doesn’t get there.  I loved the casting though, Emma Stone (Superbad) and Julianne Moore (Short Cuts) are the dynamic redheaded duo leading the female star power, but are aptly supported by Marisa Tomei (Four Rooms) and even Beth Littleford (I still remember her as a delightful spunky correspondent on TV’s The Daily Show).  Steve Carell (Dinner For Schmucks) is solid on the male end, and thankfully transparent of his ‘Michael’ character from TV’s The Office.  Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) is picture perfect as ladies man Jacob.  Looking practically chiseled both in body and face, I was kindly reminded why he ranks so high on the ladies lists of ‘hotties.’  The subject matter was far from a stretch for him and he’s played vulnerability with much more conviction (do I need to mention that flick?).  Kevin Bacon (Footloose) rounds out the supporting cast as David the recipient of the cuckolding desires of Emily (is it me, or is Bacon aging roughly?).  I had the pleasure of knowing his father Edmund and the similarities are definitely getting closer.

As a family themed drama the film is barely passable.  Ditto for its attempt to be a hip and rowdy display of singles life, and even a teen angst filled throbbing love story.  Let’s not mention its misguided attempt at showing a signals-crossed relationship between Emma Stone’s character Hannah and her would be boyfriend Richard (hey…is that singer Josh Groban).   It has all the means to deliver, it just comes up episodic.  Less of a story of journey and discovery ending in a storybook happy ending, it’s more a piece of a family; a piece of life and only a part of the story that in its third act, just doesn’t end well.  I guess, like cuckolding, you can’t really think it will end on a positive note.  Maybe the filmmakers got it right.

2 stars out of 5

Crazy, Stupid, Love is rated PG-13 for coarse humor, sexual content and language.  Running Time: 118 minutes

This post goes out to my girlfriend, it’s got everything she likes- The TODAY Show, Steve Carrel, Tina Fey, Date Night the movie and the date night when we inevitably see the movie. I do think the movie looks entertaining but I also own The Man Who Knew Too Little on DVD so I’m a sucker for “not who you think I am” comedies I just usually rent them, after all how does the big screen enhance “you’ve got us confused with someone else!” *stepping down from soapbox. So Tina Fey of NBC’s best comedy 30 Rock and Steve Carrel of NBC’s former best comedy The Office were on NBC’s TODAY this morning, did any of you see this? Probably not and that’s why you’re here! For this-

I would love for you to share your date night plans to see Date Night with your significant other! I’ll start- Olive Garden for salad and breadsticks then chicken marsala (a couple of Andes mints) and we’re off to the AMC theater at NorthPark! You’re turn!

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Ed Helms (The Office) are joining the Duplass Brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives At Home. Helms most recently made the successful jump from the small screen to the big screen in last Summer’s hit comedy The Hangover while Segel starred in I Love You, Man as well as the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The Duplass Brothers’ directed the indie thriller Baghead and  soon to be released Cyrus starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei. Jeff Who Lives At Home is being produced byJohn Malkovich’s company Mr. Mudd and Jason Reitman’s Right of Way Films. I believe in jinxes but I also believe this movie can’t miss. Since we’re talking about the Duplass Brothers and television actors I have to say that The League on FX starring Mark Duplass is in my opinion one of the great new sitcoms joining the likes of Modern Family, Glee and Community.

What say you?

It seems the word on Bill Murray’s involvement in the third Ghostbusters film has finally been confirmed by the man himself. The how and why of that involvement are slightly different than expected. While Murray will indeed be returning as the sarcastic and sly Peter Venkman from the original films, he’s trading in his proton pack for a slimy coating of ectoplasm.

Looks like Bill has requested he be made a ghost for the next outing.

Various cast and crew members have recently spoken about their return to the franchise but Murray has been the lone hold-out. Weaver, Hudson, Ramis, and Akroyd are all onboard in front of the camera with Ivan Reitman returning to direct. However, in a recent interview with  Mail Online  Murray confessed he was returning, although it was under condition of the following:

 “I’ll come back in Ghostbusters III only if I get to be a ghost. I said to them, ‘I’ll do it if you kill me off in the first reel.’ So now they are going to have me as a ghost in the film.”

Umm, ok, Bill. I’m not sure how that’s going to work exactly but I’ll remain optimistic for the time being.  If Venkman still gets to hang about for the entirety of the film, learning how the other half after-lives than I think this could be a creative way to go. If it’s essentially Murray trying to squeeze out a small cameo and then bolt, I’m less enthusiastic about it. Why do detriment to a great character to meet the needs of a fussy star?

Still, anyone who saw last year’s Zombieland (another horror-comedy that delivered the belly laughs) knows that Bill can nail a cameo like few other actors around. If his work in Ghostbusters 3 is even half as inspired as that bit, than I look forward to whatever Reitman has in store for us.

Until we see the final product, I’ve got my particle streams crossed that this one works out.

Members of the  cast of  Steve Pink’s upcoming sci-fi comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine decided to take the plunge this weekend– the Polar Bear plunge.

Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, and Rob Corrdry stepped out of their time-bending, bubbling oasis of comfort to shuck down to their skivvies and thrust themselves into freezing water, all in the name of charity.

 In the process they donated $10000 to The Maryland Special Olympics. After a brisk dash through the snow and into the icy arms of the Chesapeake Bay, the trio finished up in a steaming hot tub at The Ram’s Head Ice Lodge where they signed autographs and chatted up the fans.

Robinson (Daryl from The Office),  Duke (Greek) and Corrdry (The Daily Show) were not the only personalities out on Saturday. Also braving the elements and a wicked case of goosebumps were the likes of Joe Flacco, Martin O’Malley and Kimmie Meisner, all aiding in the cause at what ended up being the 14th Polar Bear Plunge in the Bay.  

Below are some pics from Saturday’s Plunge. Hot Tub Time Machine opens on March 26th, 2010.

Movies are never just movies. For most of us there’s the poster first, then the trailer, finally the movie. Sometimes. if not most of the time, there will be multiple versions of the posters and trailers before we see the movie. The movie is what it is – or is it? The posters and trailers have the ability to change our perception of what the movie is before we’ve seen the movie. How many times have you seen a really good-looking poster and thought “I wanna see that movie!” only to be disappointed by a film that didn’t live up to the poster’s representation? After all isn’t that what the poster and trailer are supposed to do, for better or worse, represent the product they’re pitching?

Of course there are also those times when a poster (this happens all too often, usually involves a head on a CG body) or a trailer convinces you to not see the movie? For me the best example would be the trailer for Frequency starring Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid. I saw the trailer and immediately knew I didn’t want to see the movie. Eventually I did see the movie, and enjoyed it! I hope whoever put that trailer together got a lot of grief for making an entertaining movie look so bad.

Why am I talking about this? Because I finally watched In the Loop. This is a movie that hit the trifecta – great art and trailer both left me foaming at the mouth for the film (although I somehow missed my opportunity in theater) and when I saw the film it lived up to the expectations created by the poster and trailer. Take a look at the poster

and trailer

Please tell me we’re on the same page and you’re expecting something completely Kubrick, a Dr. Strangelove for the new millenium. Admittedly the movie is more Dr. Strangelove meets The Office (not the NBC cute fest, but the original Ricky Gervais laughapalooza); the point is everything delivered on everything! What? The cool poster (I want one for my room!) and the frantic, A Clockwork Orange-ish trailer preceded a very good movie! jackpot! Peter Capaldi was perfectly horrible as the fire-breathing, foul-mouthed boss and possibly the best fictional boss since Gervais’ David Brent. I would love to share some of Capaldi’s lines from the movie but my asterisk key just doesn’t have the stamina! James Gandolfini’s Lt. Gen. George Miller is the orange to Capaldi’s apple, and David Rasche seemingly reprising his role from Burn After Reading (but not really). Where can I get more David Rasche? Rasche is J.K. Simmons good. See In the Loop.

Out of curiosity does anyone know who designed the poster for In the Loop? What are some of your favorite movie posters? What are your favorite movie trailers? Do you know of some other movies that hit my aforementioned ”trifecta?” please share!

Adam McKay’s The Other Guys has quickly developed a great cast. The film centers upon Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who I maintain has the chops to become an excellent comedic-action actor if given the right material to work with) and Samuel L. Jackson, who play “an elite cop tandem whose exploits are the envy of the department and the second-tier fellow cops played by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.” Steve Coogan also plays an unknown role in the cast.

Now we can add two more names to that roster: Andy Buckley and Ben Schwartz. Buckley is known as the real-life financial executive whose part time hobby as an actor led to his casting as Michael Scott’s boss in the American version of The Office, while Schwartz is widely known for Mystery Team, and is soon to be seen alongside Robert De Niro in Everybody’s Fine.

Buckley in particular is a great addition to this cast. His sense of authority and comedic timing could be a wonderful asset to McKay. I can’t wait to see this cast in action.

Never give up hope. Never give up your dream. Never let anyone keep you down. Those are the first three things that came to me after I watched “The Rocker.” This comedy is about hope and keeping your dreams alive. Yes there is a naked drummer. And yes, there are some penis jokes. And yes, it does star that other guy from TV’s “The Office.” But deep down there is a message in this movie and I felt it.

Cleveland, 1986. The up and coming metal band Vesuvius is on the rise. They have a chance to go from local bar-room favorites to a major recording contract. The only catch is they have to can their drummer and take on the head of the record company’s nephew as the new drummer. Done. And just like that Robert “Fish” Fishman’s (Rainn Wilson) world comes crashing down. His vision of being a rock-and-roll legend have been shattered as his band moves on without him.

Twenty years later, Fish still has not gotten over his one time dream. Every time he hears the name Vesuvius mentioned it puts him into an angry rage. He has lost relationships and his job many times due to this repressed anger that will not go away.

Staying at his sister (Jane Lynch) and her husband Stan’s (Jeff Garlin) house, Fish is left to ponder what will happen to him and his boring life. Their house is in the shadows of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Fish can see the life he never had each and every time he looks at the building

His nephew Matt (Josh Gad) is in a bad called A.D.D. and they are set to play the Prom that weekend. However they have one problem…their drummer just got suspended from school so he isn’t allowed to play. The band needs a drummer and Matt just happens to know the guy. Enter Fish and his 20-year wait coming to an end.

The band A.D.D. is just what Fish needed to relive the life he never got to live. Fish, on the other hand, is what the band needed to jump start their career and get out of Cleveland. Fish teaches Curtis(Teddy Geiger) and Amelia (Emma Stone) along with Matt what it takes to be a rock band.

I enjoyed this movie. I went into it thinking that it would be so-so as I’m not a big Rainn Wilson fan. Yet I came out of the movie very happy that it wasn’t bad at all. There are laughs from the first minute up to the 80′s freeze frame ending. The pace was very good and with only one to two slow spots, I wasn’t worrying about the length of time. This is a great date night movie and when finished, you won’t feel as if you had spent all night at the movies

Last impressions – SEE THIS MOVIE – you won’t regret it.

“The Rocker” is rated PG-13 for drug and sexual references, nudity and language. Directed by Peter Cattaneo and has a run time of 102 minutes.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆