‘Bad Teacher’, is the latest comedy from director Jake Kasdan; his last comedy ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox’ story was brilliant; however, that may have been due to the sheer comedic genius of John C. Reilly. With ‘Bad Teacher’ he earns a resounding failing grade with a flop of a comedy on a mammoth scale.
The previews are all the best bits and lines; I would recommend a quick YouTube of the trailer rather than wasting your money on this failing effort. ‘Bad Teacher’ is the sort of movie that has you looking at your watch a mere ten minutes into the first reel; the kind of movie that simply never lives up to its promise. It’s as if the writers, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, pulled all of their ideas from a Cliff Notes on comedy, I mean this is really just a string of bad sitcoms thrown together with some foul language to give it some punch; which it never really accomplishes, foul language for simple use of foul language does not constitute comedy. See the use of foul language in the hilarious ‘Bridesmaids’ and you will understand what I mean.
Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) is a gold digger turned teacher, biding her time in the classroom until her rich fiancé can marry her. As it turns out, the rich fiancé calls off the wedding and Elizabeth is forced to return to the classroom as a way of supporting herself. She devises a scheme to raise $10,000 for a boob job, which she feels, will attract another rich guy. So – if you can grasp this premise, she is teaching to get a boob job; one wonders how this school even hired her in the first place.
At the school, Elizabeth encounters a teaching adversary (Lucy Punch), a dim-witted substitute teacher who happens to be rich (Justin Timberlake), an everyman gym teacher (Jason Segel), and a best friend teacher (Phyllis Smith, the only funny actress in the movie). “Bad Teacher’ is a promising idea with a fairly good cast that just does not have anything funny to say. Eventually, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky resort to fart jokes, erection jokes, very weird and unfunny sex/non-sex jokes and the always available breast enlarging jokes; when you have nothing funny or original to say, go with toilet humor. Well, at least in the theater I was in that did not work on the audience (well, except for a few 12 year olds who were able to sneak in hoping to get a glance of Diaz nude).
Most of the worthwhile comedians in this film simply move from line to line, they seem to be just as bored as we are. Diaz tries hard to make the ‘Bad Teacher’ lovable and funny, but even she cannot work with the failing material. We never come to like this teacher or sympathize with her plight; in fact, I found myself waiting for her to meet just desserts!
Save this 1 star ‘F’ for the local Redbox, where I am certain it will be in a few short weeks. Better yet, head to my favorite $1.00 movie rental service, Redbox, and pick up ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ before Part 2 hits theaters in July. In the final installments, Harry has definitely grown up and so has the story; darker, richer and filled with pathos, the final chapters of Harry Potter are something to enjoy! Catch this 4 star Part 1 soon, before Part 2 arrives!
Showing posts with label Cameron Diaz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cameron Diaz. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, July 05, 2010
“Knight and Day’ – Don’t let the title fool you – this is a fun movie!
Ok, I admit it. I love Cameron Diaz as much as I love Sandra Bullock. And because I am pretty sure neither one of them reads The New Lenox Patriot or my Blog – I am ok with admitting that! But I promise you – I will not let that love for either of them cloud my reviews (as evident with ‘All About Steve’…really Sandra…did you have to make THAT???).
‘Knight and Day’ is one of those big, flashy action comedies where you have to throw all logic and laws of physics out the door and enjoy the ride. Director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) delivers a fun filled popcorn (large bucket please) movie worthy of a big screen showing but not exactly worthy of any Oscar buzz. But you know what? That’s not the intention here – the intention is to have some fun.
Tom Cruise is yet again another secret agent ala Mission Impossible; Roy Miller (whose last name is also Knight – get it? I am still trying to figure out the Day part though, which really ticks me off!) who is trying to save a super secret battery called the ‘Zephyr’ and its creator, an odd boy genius named Simon Feck (Paul Dano) from his ex partner Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard) who wants to sell it to a international weapons dealer. While trying to sneak away in an airport, Roy slips the battery into a chess piece (a Knight) and then bumps into June (Cameron Diaz), twice, slipping the Knight into her luggage and helping him ‘mule’ the item into the terminal.
June ends up on the same plane as Roy – which as it turns out – is a plane full of bad guys, which Roy quickly disposes of as June is preparing herself in the bathroom. The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz is simply enchanting and Cruise has never been better or more likable. Normally I find him a bit ‘smarmy’ but he seems to be aging nicely and softening up a bit. The action follows fast and furious from one local to the next – red herrings are thrown around without a care and it is best not to over think it, better to just sit back, enjoy the dialogue and smile at the natural banter that Cruise and Diaz share.
The stunts are incredible as is the scenery; you will be left with your jaw on the ground with the motorcycle chase throw the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I know it was CGI – but it was exciting none the less! The rest of the movie pretty much goes on like this and you never seem to tire of it. It is a shame that it is not getting the marketing it deserves; it does deserve a viewing on the big screen. The spirits are high, the touch of Diaz and Cruise are light; their star appeal is fantastic. This is a 3 ½ star effort well worth and cooling off in the theater on a hot, humid July evening!!
For my Redbox pick for this review – got to keep it in the action vein and light and go with ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, while I did not give this a great review, for $1.00 this 2 ½ star effort is worth a trip to your local Redbox. I am thinking the sequel will be a bit better!
‘Knight and Day’ is one of those big, flashy action comedies where you have to throw all logic and laws of physics out the door and enjoy the ride. Director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) delivers a fun filled popcorn (large bucket please) movie worthy of a big screen showing but not exactly worthy of any Oscar buzz. But you know what? That’s not the intention here – the intention is to have some fun.
Tom Cruise is yet again another secret agent ala Mission Impossible; Roy Miller (whose last name is also Knight – get it? I am still trying to figure out the Day part though, which really ticks me off!) who is trying to save a super secret battery called the ‘Zephyr’ and its creator, an odd boy genius named Simon Feck (Paul Dano) from his ex partner Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard) who wants to sell it to a international weapons dealer. While trying to sneak away in an airport, Roy slips the battery into a chess piece (a Knight) and then bumps into June (Cameron Diaz), twice, slipping the Knight into her luggage and helping him ‘mule’ the item into the terminal.
June ends up on the same plane as Roy – which as it turns out – is a plane full of bad guys, which Roy quickly disposes of as June is preparing herself in the bathroom. The chemistry between Cruise and Diaz is simply enchanting and Cruise has never been better or more likable. Normally I find him a bit ‘smarmy’ but he seems to be aging nicely and softening up a bit. The action follows fast and furious from one local to the next – red herrings are thrown around without a care and it is best not to over think it, better to just sit back, enjoy the dialogue and smile at the natural banter that Cruise and Diaz share.
The stunts are incredible as is the scenery; you will be left with your jaw on the ground with the motorcycle chase throw the running of the bulls in Pamplona. I know it was CGI – but it was exciting none the less! The rest of the movie pretty much goes on like this and you never seem to tire of it. It is a shame that it is not getting the marketing it deserves; it does deserve a viewing on the big screen. The spirits are high, the touch of Diaz and Cruise are light; their star appeal is fantastic. This is a 3 ½ star effort well worth and cooling off in the theater on a hot, humid July evening!!
For my Redbox pick for this review – got to keep it in the action vein and light and go with ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, while I did not give this a great review, for $1.00 this 2 ½ star effort is worth a trip to your local Redbox. I am thinking the sequel will be a bit better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)