Category: comedy
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The To Do List [2013] ★★
What do you say about a coming-of-age movie set in 1993 and starring 29 year old Aubrey Plaza in the role of a teenager? I mean, besides WTF? “The To Do List”, like every teen comedy, makes sex its primary subject. Yet even though the film is strictly low key, it borrows a lot from other…
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The Wolf Of Wall Street [2013] ★★★½
You don’t need to know shit about Wall Street to sink your teeth into this beast of a movie. Martin Scorsese is the man, the most exciting director of his generation, with such classics as “Raging Bull”, “The King of Comedy”, “GoodFellas” and “Casino” to prove it. Here’s the downside: any hint of dissatisfaction from…
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Grudge Match [2013] ★★½
Before this movie can laugh at itself, which “Grudge Match” (a story about a pair of aging boxers rival who are forced out of retirement for one last fight) does frequently and unashamedly, it must first cope with getting punched with parody titles. “Rocky Balboa Vs Jake LaMotta”, “Raging Old Men”, “Resurrecting The Old Champs”.…
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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty [2013] ★★★
Don’t expect anything standard from this uniquely funny, unpredictably tender and unapologetically weird movie. Ben Stiller, dropping the usual goofy faces, has never done anything this deeply felt. As a director and star of the show, he has crafted one of the most enjoyable films of the year. Based on James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret…
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Manhattan [1979]
In many ways, “Manhattan” is one of Woody Allen’s best and most personal movies. His relationship with New York is a never ending love story. “He adored it. He idolized it all out of proportion”. The film offers a funny version of Allen’s real life world in which existentialism plays a major role. His character…
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Last Vegas [2013] ★★½
Some actors don’t always need a great movie. Just the pleasure of their company is enough. And so Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman turn “Last Vegas” into pure entertainment. Add Kevin Kline to the mix and things get a little bit more wacky. The plot involves three old friends, Archie (Freeman), Paddy…
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Delivery Man [2013] ★★
Vince Vaughn plays dodgeball and crashes weddings, so why is he going soft in “Delivery Man”? Is it because it might win a pass at the box office for being so cute and family friendly? Where’s your edge man? And more importantly where are the laughs? Vaughn plays an irresponsible man who finds out that his…
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Bad Grandpa [2013] ★★
It’s damn hard to describe a movie like “Bad Grandpa”. It’s not exactly stupid. I mean who else would have thought of releasing a one joke movie based on Johnny Knoxville’s 86 year old character from the Jackass series? Daring might be a better word. Or even inspired, as long as your definition of inspiration includes…
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Ghadi [2013] ★★★
As a writer, actor and observer of Lebanese way of life, Georges Khabbaz just keeps getting better and better. Now he offers us “Ghadi”, a remarkably entertaining and thoughtful movie, and a solid feature debut behind the camera for Amin Dora, who directed the series “Shankaboot” a few years ago. Every detail of this modest…
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The Way Way Back [2013] ★★★
How do you take a familiar premise and turn it into one of the most enjoyable indie movies of the year? For answers, see the engaging new comedy “The Way Way Back” which introduces Liam James and Sam Rockwell (“Matchstick Men”, “Moon”) as you’ve never seen him before. Nat Faxon and Jim Rashare are mainly sitcom actors, but…
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Don Jon [2013] ★★½
Part of me doesn’t even want to tell you that “Don Jon” is a movie about a porn addict. Chances are you’ll stop reading. That would be a mistake, because “Don Jon” is not infected with the usual comedy formula. It’s far from perfect, but it’s funny, honest and acted with such no bull audacity that…
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About Time [2013] ★★★
There’s no reason “About Time” should play as well as it does; it’s formulaic and predictable. But it flows so well, and the cast is so likable, that it’s hard to resist. As a writer, director and observer of relationships, Richard Curtis (“Notting Hill, “Love Actually”) just keeps getting better and better. This time, he has chosen time…
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Habbet Loulou [2013] ★★
What were they thinking? I kept asking myself that question as I plodded through the watchable but pointless first hour of this new Lebanese comedy/drama. Why bother naming your movie “Habbet Loulou” if the movie itself isn’t worthy of its title? Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that writer director Layal M.Rajha simply wanted to transplant…
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The Family [2013] ★★
Robert DeNiro plays a mobster in “The Family”, the new movie from director Luc Besson (“The Professional”, “La Femme Nikita”). Last time he played the role of a mob was…10 minutes ago? Anyway he and his family are put in the witness protection program in Normandy (France, just in case), after daddy DeNiro ratted out…
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The World’s End [2013] ★★★
Leave it to the brits to turn a one joke premise into one of the funniest movies of the year. “The World’s End”, the third collaboration between director Edgar Wright and comic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made me laugh from start to finish. Much of this has to do with the likability of…
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This Is The End [2013] ★★½
Hate on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s bizarre comedy all you want. But these dudes know exactly what they’re doing. Yes “This is the End” is built on a one joke premise, but it’s one heck of a joke. Take James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, Craig Robinson, Jason Segel and Jay…
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R.I.P.D [2013] ★★
It was a huge flop at the box office, critics destroyed it (they said it was too much like “Men in Black” but then again so what?), and the audience didn’t bother to see it. And yet “R.I.P.D” wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. It’s not an unprecedented success (far far far…
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Grown Ups 2 [2013]
Look, I’m not an Adam Sandler hater. He was pretty good in “Reign Over Me”, “Funny People” and the underrated “Punch Drunk Love”. And I still have fun memories of “The Wedding Singer” with Drew Barrymore, made way before he turned into a doofus. That said, “Grown Ups 2” is arguably the unfunniest comedy in…
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We’re The Millers [2013] ★★½
Two summers ago Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston hit a peak with “Horrible Bosses“. “We’re The Millers”, co-starring Emma Roberts and Will Poulter isn’t in the same league, but it delivers exactly what it promises, and after a series of disappointing comedies this year (remember the lousy “Hangover 3”?) that is a great relief. Sudeikis…
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Admission [2013] ★★
Pairing likable Paul Rudd and the hilarious Tina Fey in “Admission” would seem to be a perfect comedy setup. The results, however, are less than perfect and that’s a bummer. Fey plays Portia Nathan, a Princeton admissions officer dedicated to choosing only the best. Later on she runs into into school teacher John Pressman (Rudd), a former college…
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