What's Playing at My House

Keeping Mum

Oh my word. This is one of the best comedies I've seen in months and months.

I will say, the movies I have seen lately fall more into the "Horton Hears a Who" genre. So that explains some things. [Mini-review: Brilliant animation. Otherwise a snore and not deserving of its great reviews. I'll take the Incredibles 10 times over first.]

Keeping Mum brings out the firepower: Dame Maggie Smith. Rowan Atkinson. Kristin Scott Thomas. Even Patrick Swayze, whom I normally wouldn't count as "firepower." But he's damn funny. In a really creepy way.

 

Short plot summary, no spoilers: Rowan Atkinson is a vicar in a little community, married to Kristin Scott Thomas. They've grown bored with each other and she's sleeping with Patrick Swayze, her golf instructor. They hire Maggie Smith as a housekeeper and she quickly gets the family back in shape, albeit through some creative means.

If you liked State and Main, or Fargo, or Rushmore, you'll love this. Me? I'm buying the DVD asap.

The Holiday vs. Sleepless in Seattle

Really, it's not fair of me to do this. The Holiday is a sweet little movie and if you can get over the fact that Cameron Diaz is one of the actors [my dislike of her blonde bubblehead persona knows no bounds], it's worth your time.

But I had the misfortune to watch The Holiday just a couple days before I re-watched Sleepless in Seattle.

And what started out as a fun, light flick quickly faded when I remembered what a great comic romance really looks like.

In The Holiday, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are alone for the holidays and decide to trade homes for Christmas vacation. Removed from normal routines, each discovers a new relationship. I guess my biggest problem here is, that I could much more easily believe Kate Winslet and Jude Law falling for each other, and Cameron Diaz falling for Jack Black. Of course, it's the other way around.

The Holiday is slow at various times. It's not as tightly scripted as the best movies in this genre. And while I noticed it a bit while I was watching it, it wasn't really obvious until I watched Sleepless in Seattle.

We watched SiS in Florida last week, hoping for a movie that everyone from the 7yo to my dad would enjoy. We did it! The 7yo has discovered Bill Cosby, so I hoped she'd enjoy this too. What I didn't remember was Rosie O'Donnell's character in SiS. Oh my word, so funny.

But best of all, the movie is quick, unexpected and well written. Each character shines in a different way, and they fit together perfectly.

While I've enjoyed everything Tom Hanks has ever been in, I just love him in a comedy like this. It seems so effortless, so real, to watch him. The man is a genius. And perfectly paired with Meg Ryan.

So sure, watch The Holiday. Just don't go expecting Sleepless when you do.

Man of the Year

I really wanted to like this Robin Williams comedy. Frankly, I'm their target audience: I watch Jon Stewart religiously; I love political comedies; I'm a Robin Williams fan. But Man of the Year just disappointed me.

In MotY, Robin Williams plays a talk-show comedian who's egged on by his audience into running for president. Originally a token candidate, he runs a decent race, but then unexpectedly wins, despite polling very much to the contrary.

Now, to be fair, it's an amusing movie. Robin Williams [paired with Christopher Walken, hilarious] is funny without being overbearing. But....

* The opening—narrated by Christopher Walken as if he's being interviewed—gives the feel of serious political satire. Nothing else in the movie rises to that level.

* Want a good political satire? Bob Roberts, first off. This fabulous Tim Robbins flick bites hard. Done in documentary style, and highlights a corrupt candidate for Senate and his "down-home fascism" as Roger Ebert calls it.

* How about Wag the Dog? Also a Barry Levinson movie (like Man of the Year) but Wag the Dog is fast-paced, political and hard-edged all the way through.

With Man of the Year, I felt like Levinson couldn't decide whether to do a romance, a comedy or a political satire, so he threw in a tad of each and mixed them all together. Laura Linney's character is especially infuriating: she knows how and why Williams became president, but it takes her repeated encounters with him to a. spill the beans and b. stop acting like a lunatic.

Final thoughts: Got a free evening? Eh, go ahead. But don't make a special effort over this one.

Bewitched

Bewitched is a cute movie if you have a couple hours to kill, but you'll go through life just fine -- maybe better -- if you miss this one. Best showing: rainy afternoon at home, nothing to do.

I really think this was pitched as a family movie, which it is if your kids are over a certain age -- the youngest won't get it. But the challenge with anyone today who's under say, 30, is, did they watch Bewitched reruns as a kid? They seemed to be omnipresent when I was a kid -- I certainly wasn't around for the first showing :) -- so that's why I said under 30. If you haven't seen the original -- or at least, if you don't have some cultural awareness of it, this movie is a waste.

The storyline is that some Hollywood execs decide to remake Bewitched in modern-day terms, and by accident, they cast a real witch as Samantha. To me, the movie was an incredible waste of Nicole Kidman's talents, though maybe it was a fun jaunt for her. And how many times can we see Will Farrell doing Will Farrell?

I feel like I'm being overly harsh here. There's nothing wrong with the movie. But don't think you'll come away a better person. It's just a cutesy-cute light flick.

Last Holiday

When I first saw Last Holiday advertised on a trailer a number of months ago, I was massively skeptical. Keep in mind, I am not a high-brow movie person, in general. I have tried so, so hard to like many independent and foreign films, with only a middling degree of success. But Queen Latifah? I thought. I couldn't imagine how this could be amusing.

It was actually the 7yo who convinced me to watch it, only because she wanted to see it. I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate for her or not. So I added it to my Netflix queue. It finally came in last week, and I have to confess I really liked it.

Now, don't be expecting any Oscar-caliber performances here. And especially not an Oscar-caliber plot. But it is good, light fun ... perfect for a sick day at home, which is when I watched it. You don't have to think too hard, and you will laugh.

Queen Latifah comes across as the most delightful, believable person. The movie makes you want to be her friend.

And the added bonus: she is a play-at-home watcher of Food TV, so there's plenty of pretty food and fun cooking scenes. I enjoyed that a lot.

Oh and, would I let the 7yo watch it? Probably. It has some sexual humor but I think much of it would go over her head.