Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Opposite Day in TV Critic-land! While I usually agree with film critics on their picks, I give them a two thumbs down on two improperly critisized films. Now don’t get me wrong, the critics weren’t completely off the mark about either film, but both failed to see what the average pop culture nut like myself enjoys.
First up to bat is Judd Apatow’s Funny People. Starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, the film centres around a man trying to make it in the comedy biz who becomes the assistant to George Simmons, who is basically Adam Sandler with a different name sans wife and child. Critics thought it was thought-provoking, and Rolling Stone claimed it was Sandler’s best performance yet. Whaa???? While Sandler was good, he was certainly better in Reign Over Me if you like his more serious side. Me? I think, like most Sandler fans, I prefer his goofier roles like Sonny Koufax in Big Daddy, Bobby Boucher in The Waterboy, or his pièce de résistance, in my opinion, Happy Gilmore in Happy Gilmore. I didn’t come to Funny People thinking Sandler would play his typical goof in need of anger management classes, I was well aware that Apatow created a dark comedy, but the lengthy movie just wasn’t comedic enough. The video clip in the film’s opening showcasing a young Sandler making prank calls was great, as was the short clips of his idiotic box office hit films, but other than that, Sandler was George Simmons. A middle-aged comic who just wasn’t that funny anymore. Which is why his acting skills are top-notch, because I believe Sandler still has it, this just wasn’t his film, it was Seth Rogen’s. Unfortunately, Rogen and his odd laugh weren’t very funny either, and Aubrey Plaza’s stand-up bit stole the show (“If I wrote a rap song I’d say, ‘boy, take that coat off. I’m cold as shit.”) Overall, the movie was “meh.” It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. It should be noted, however, that Jason Schwartzman not only acted in Funny People as the egotistical star of Yo, Teach, but collaberated with Michael Andrews on original music. I’m a fan of Schwartzman’s “Coconut Records,” so I was happy to see him further pursuing his music endeavers.
Here’s one of my favourite Coconut Records recording, “Microphone.” Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. His voice is a little Beatles-esque.
Time for one more clip? Here’s a preview for Funny People.
And now for my take on Nora Ephron’s film Julie & Julia. Going with the trend of Film Critics International Opposite Day, I LOVED this film! Every review I read said it was terrible, but, Meryl Streep was good, as per usual. Watch it just to see Streep’s terrific impersonation of Julia Child, other than that, the movie basically sucked. Oh yeah, and CBS’s Sunday Morning added that it was poorly edited as well, jumping from ’40s France to 2002 Queens. Ouch. Well, you know what? I whole-heartedly disagree. No, this film isn’t a masterpiece and surely won’t recieve an Oscar-nomination for cinematography, but it was an excellent, feel-good film. Meryl Streep was amazing, as the critics’ said, and despite the fact that nothing sad, bad, terrible, or anything else of that nature happened to Child during her stay in France, every line brought a tear to my eye because Streep was just so endearing. I actually felt for Julia. Having never watched her cooking show, let alone even attempted a recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I didn’t think I’d care that much for the Julia Child portion of the film. But, on the contrary, I found myself wanting more. Streep’s flutter of the paper heart when her dear husband Paul toasts her, competetively chopping onions in the kitchen so the men in her cooking class would feel she deserved to be there, and crying tears of jealously “happiness” when her sister becomes pregnant, all make Meryl Streep’s Julia a heart-warming woman who is just so gosh-darn endearing. And Stanley Tucci, the unsung hero of the film, is remarkable as Paul Child, a man who was thrilled for his wife’s accomplishments without an inch of jealousy. As for Amy Adam’s Julie Powell, she was perfect as well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve read the novel Julie & Julia written by Powell herself, and I felt like her marriage to “Saint Eric” was portrayed accurately to the book. One particular scene I am fond of is when Eric gives Julie a string of pearls for her 30th birthday (of which she dressed as Julia Child.) “Just like Julia’s” says Julie in amazement./”Except I’m sure her’s are the real deal,” responds Eric. To me, Julie & Julia is a movie where, for once, the wife isn’t a heartless bitch trying to control her husband and manipulating her way to the top of the career ladder. Both Julie and Julia were housewives who adored their husbands and were adored in return.
Click here for the Julie & Julia trailer.
So there you have it. Sometimes critics can’t always critique what you will or will not enjoy. And either can I- so see for yourself what you like. Maybe you’ll agree with me, maybe you won’t, but maybe, next time, I won’t be so quick to judge a movie based on its review.