Reviewed by Steven Frith

My Romantic Comedy Movie Standard – Forgetting Sarah Marshall **New Standard**

Viewed on: 4/19/08

The guys of the Judd Apatow camp strike comedy magic once again as Sarah Marshall is the perfect blend of “toeing the line” comedy and a story about the aftermath of a relationship.

Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill, and Paul Rudd

Rating/Length: R / 1 Hour 52 Minutes

Directed By: Nicholas Stoller (no major previous direction that I could find)

Written By: Jason Segel (no major previous writing credit that I could find)

Synopsis: Recently dumped musician, Peter Bretter, goes on a Hawaiian vacation (thankfully not on Aloha Airlines) to get away from everything that reminded him of his actress girlfriend, Sarah Marshall. Once in Hawaii, it doesn’t take long for him to run into, none other then, Sarah Marshall…with her new boyfriend. The aftermath of the encounter will shape the future of both of their lives.

Review:

Honest Opinion: All good things come to an end, and because of this, I know it’s only a matter of time before these Judd Apatow movies lose their luster. The seemingly endless list of recent successes that he has touched include Superbad, 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Talladega Nights, and Anchorman. When you put those together with his TV successes, you are assembling one “fairly” impressive resume. Well, after viewing Sarah Marshall, it looks as if we (thankfully) are going to have to wait a bit longer for that “end” to happen.

Director Nicholas Stoller and writer/star, Jason Segel combine to create the perfect romantic comedy that satisfies both the guys and the girls in the audience. The raw comedy may not have been as high as Superbad or the 40-Year Old Virgin, but that doesn’t mean that it was lacking as I laughed from beginning to end. As a writer, Segel made the characters extremely likeable and easy to relate to. The magic in this movie is that you could sympathize with everybody from Peter (our main character), Sarah (the actress/ex-girlfriend), Rachel (hotel front-desk clerk), and even Aldous (the European rock-star new boyfriend of Sarah who may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but still seems like a cool guy) as they suffer from heartbreak, embarrassment, confusion, awkwardness and grief.

I actually had the chance to partake in a focus group for the previews of Forgetting Sarah Marshall a couple months ago, therefore watching the many forms of the trailers several times (at least I got paid to do it). While some of the previews make the movie look like your classic “girl breaks up with boy and boy getting back at girl,” (without getting into too much detail) Segel’s script did a nice job of steering clear of that as life rarely allows us to act in such a way. Instead, that is replaced with criss-crossing relationships and complexities that even the best of us can relate with. And other then being forced to look at Jason’s prosthetically enhanced 11th appendage about five times too many, I was very happy to be involved in these characters lives for the two hours of this movie, and there is a good chance I will see it again soon.

Directing: As I have mentioned before, I feel like directing a comedy is more not messing it up rather than forcing something to happen. That being said, Stoller did just that. While there was really nothing original or groundbreaking, he kept the story moving and got solid performances out of his actors.

Writing: Writing a comedic romantic-comedy can’t be easy. The genre has been done so many times that usually either a) they are all the same jokes or b) everyone tries to be so original that it just comes off as corny and unrealistic. While not a perfect script, Forgetting Sarah Marshall does well at keeping the characters real, not allowing the story to become too predictable, and including well placed one-liners to keep the audience off-balance.

Reviewed by Jeff Walker

My Current TV Comedy Standard – “How I Met Your Mother”
My All-Time TV Comedy Standard – “Seinfeld”

Airs: ABC – Thursdays, 8 p.m/7 p.m. Central time and 8:30 p.m./7:30 p.m. Central time
All episodes also viewable at abc.com

A grade-A lead performance cannot overcome an uneven tone and familiar plots that should be sent to detention.

Length: 30 minutes

Genre: Single-camera comedy

Starring: Judy Greer (27 Dresses, 13 Going on 30, “Arrested Development”), Kristoffer Polaha (“North Shore”), Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”), Brooke Burns (“Baywatch”), and Earl Billings (Thank You for Smoking)

Produced By: Ashton Kutcher, Caroline Williams (“The Office”), Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Kevin Etten (“Desperate Housewives”)

Synopsis: Quirky high school guidance counselor Becky Freeley returns to her alma mater to give advice to students and vie for the affections of Spanish teacher Tim. She must deal with administrative issues and try to finally outdo former high school cheerleader and current English teacher, Lisa Germain.

Review:

Honest Opinion: She may not be the classic beauty and has been relegated to supporting roles in film, but I have always really liked Judy Greer. She’s cute, quirky and seems like one of those women whose personality really grows on you. In “Miss Guided,” she fits that definition to an extent and enthusiastically throws herself into the role of Becky Freeley. Unfortunately, her character is a bit too pathetic at times, which makes it tough to root for and really care about her.

On the whole, the inconsistent tone is one of the weaker elements of the show. At times, Becky is painfully naïve and unaware, which generates some humor, but at the cost of her character seeming real. Without an anchor to reality and surrounded by wacky characters (Chris Parnell channeling his Dr. Spaceman character from “30 Rock”) who are more amusing than actually funny, the show strains to maintain interest. The writers would be wise to take a page from the aforementioned “30 Rock,” and make Becky more similar to Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon character in terms of being smart and relatable, in spite of some geekier quirks and wackier traits.

“Miss Guided” only has four more new episodes airing over the next few weeks. With ABC scheduling back-to-back episodes of the show on Thursday nights, it seems like they are not giving it much of a chance. The show would benefit from being surrounded by new episodes of popular shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” or paired with a similar comedy like “Samantha Who.” Instead, a show that struggles to maintain interest over thirty minutes is forced to do so for a full hour. Overall, “Miss Guided” is amusing, has its moments, and is led by the great Greer, but isn’t funny or endearing enough to inspire any “Save Our Show” campaigns.

Directing: The show employs a “talking to the camera” element similar to “The Office,” but without any justification for it. While it leads to a few funny scenes or humorous revelations, it slows down the pace and seems unnecessary. Similar “Family Guy”-esque cutaways are also very hit or miss and instead of doing anything new, seem to remind you of shows that do and have done it better. Aside from that, the direction is fluid and non-intrusive.

Writing: The writers give Becky some interesting characteristics, but the lack of consistency is annoying. Becky also needs to become more relatable, as only Greer prevents the character from being a shrill, annoying, mess of a woman. There are moments when Becky seems to be a great guidance counselor and self-aware, while other scenes suggest differently. Tim’s Spanish teacher that is struggling to learn the language is funny and becomes more rounded as the series goes along, which is nice.

The plots and characters arcs are all pretty typical. There’s the obligatory will they-won’t they romance, rival from the past that constantly reminds Becky how lame she was in high school, and the charming outsider who threatens Becky’s loyalties to Tim. If anything, the show needs to establish more overarching goals for the characters and the plot. Otherwise, the series can never grow and it seems like Becky is forever hopeless.

Acting: Given the material, the actors all do a pretty solid job. Judy Greer is the standout and carries the show through the inconsistencies of the writing. Brooke Burns will never win an Emmy, but she also isn’t a detriment. Parnell’s vice principal character could be toned down a bit to resist becoming too much of a caricature. Even Mr. Belding wasn’t this over-the-top.

To Quote the Show: “Keena, homecoming is spelled C-O-M.” – Becky Freeley

Verdict: Check it out if you like Never Been Kissed or have nothing else to really watch. It isn’t bad, but not worth Tivo-ing or altering your normal TV-viewing schedule.

Reviewed by Steven Frith

My Comedy Movie Standard – Old School

Viewed on: 2/25 and again on 2/29

Sticking to the formula of “Will Ferrell as ________,” this comedy about the final season of the ABA, while not a classic, is still a comedy that will make you laugh.

Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 from Outkast), Andy Richter and Maura Tierney

Rating/Length: R / 1 hour 30 minutes

Directed By: Kent Alterman (no major previous direction that I could find)

Written By: Scot Armstrong (Old School, Road Trip, The Heartbreak Kid)

Synopsis: Former one hit wonder musician, Jackie Moon, is the owner, coach, and player of the soon-to-be defunct American Basketball Association’s Flint (Michigan) Tropics. In order to survive as a team and make the move to the NBA, the Tropics find out midseason that they must escape from last place and finish in the top 4 of the league. Madness and antics (as only a Will Ferrell movie can do) ensue.

Review:

Honest Opinion: Semi-Pro was exactly what I expected - Will Ferrell bringing his offbeat, random comedy back to the 70’s as in Anchorman. But unlike Anchorman (as well as Old School), Semi-Pro fails to live up to the comedy expectations that many now expect of Ferrell. However, I do have to say that this was much better then both Blades of Glory and Kicking and Screaming.

The biggest difference between Anchorman or Old School and Semi-Pro may have been the main supporting cast. Woody Harrelson and Andre 3000 are just not the first guys I would think of to have in a comedy. I’m not saying either did a bad job, but they just didn’t bring the laughs as much as you would like for a movie like this. Other Will Ferrell regulars make appearances throughout the movie, but none have what you would consider a significant part. All that being said, I did laugh my ass off during most of the movie and there are plenty of one-liners for you and your drunk friends to recite.

On a side note, making this movie R-rated probably hurt it in the box-office more than anything. They obviously threw some cussing in there because they could, but (even though I know it can) it didn’t really help the movie this time. The movie would have still been just as funny had they made the movie fit in the PG-13 rating. That way, all the 15 year-old-boys (who Ferrell’s comedy seems to appeal to the most) would be able to see it in theatres without parental permission.

Directing: Directing a comedy shouldn’t be that hard, I (without any experience I will admit) would think that in a movie like this, it is a matter of not screwing it up more than doing a good job. By not screwing up, Alterman did a good enough job to let Will Ferrell do his thing and kept what story there was moving.

Writing: I’ve always wondered how much of Will Ferrell movies are written and how much of it is improvised. There were obviously scenes that were written and Armstrong can make you laugh by himself as well. As far as the story goes, there wasn’t much of one, but it at least kept you interested enough to see what would happen next. No major plot turns to speak of, and nothing overly creative (although I did like what Jackie dreamt for in the final game).

Acting: I thought the acting was fine. I feel like some of the characters (such as Woody Harrelson and most of the basketball team) were miscast. While Harrelson was fantastic as a comedic actor in Kingpin, he just didn’t have “it” in this movie. I don’t know if it was because he’s older, just doesn’t fit in this type of comedy, or what – but he just seemed awkward. Andre 3000 was just okay, but I think he actually would have fit better had someone else been there to play Harrelson’s character. I needed more comedy from one of those two characters. Maybe the casting director was just trying to find guys that could actually play basketball as Woody and Andre 3000 are known to be able to do.

Music: I actually really enjoyed the soundtrack. There were a lot of fun 70’s songs if you like the Earth Wind and Fire, War, and Ohio Player hits. I also really liked and actually downloaded Will Ferrell’s (or should I say Jackie Moon’s) song from the movie. It had a surprisingly catchy beat and is pretty funny, check it out on iTunes.

To Quote the Movie: “In the anals of history, people are going to be talking about three things: the discovery of fire, invention of the submarine, and the Flint, Michigan Mega Bowl.” – Jackie Moon

Verdict: DEPENDS – If you like Will Ferrell movies, it is worth the $10 price of admission. If you didn’t really like any of his old ones, this movie isn’t going to convert you, so go ahead and wait for DVD.