Comedy

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 12th, 2004

There is an interesting trend that seems to be going on in Hollywood right now. Contrary to the record of history, sequels are starting to turn out better, not worse, than their original productions. X2 was better than X-Men, Spidey 2 was better than the first, and each installment in the The Lord of the Rings trilogy built upon the previous episode to an eventual Best Picture climax. I am thrilled that this is the case, since there are more sequels being made now than ever before.

...p>The trend seems to work better with dramas and action films than it does with comedies, though. For every Kill Bill Vol. 2 out there, there seem to be six or seven The Whole Ten Yards’. Understandably, it was with some trepidation that I approached my viewing of Barbershop 2. Thankfully, when it come to this comedy, the positive trend continues. I have no problems saying that this film was better than the first one in just about every way. Obviously, the budget was bigger, which allowed for expanded sets and a larger cast. Apparently it allowed for even funnier writers this time around as well, as the jokes come at a fast and furious pace.

Barbershop 2 - Back in Business (Special Edition) dvd cover art

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Super Spy

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 9th, 2004

This is an odd little film, indeed. The best way that I can describe it is as a cross between Bowfinger and a James Bond film. It is billed as a comedy, but the first half-hour is clearly drama. Of course, when the comedy portion does come in, it’s not funny either. The plot is surprisingly complex, but at its core, it involves a movie production that accidentally captures a crime taking place on film. Now the criminals are after the crew.

Truth be told, this might have turned out to have been a pret...y decent little script after 20 or 30 re-writes. There are elements of action, mystery and comedy that could have been developed into something at least as entertaining as The Tuxedo. Unfortunately, however, those re-writes were not performed, and what we have here is a rough draft caught on film.

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Party Animalz

Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 7th, 2004

Sometimes, I just don’t know where to begin with these reviews. There are bad movies, there are really bad movies, and then there are movies such as this. When it comes to DVD, extremely bad comedies are the lowest of the low. Bad dramas, horror films or love stories are usually only bad because they are tired and predictable. While that doesn’t make them any less annoying, at least they are comfortable. A bad comedy, however, goes beyond those other annoyances and creates something that is truly uncomfortable. It’s ...ot just a poorly-made film, but it actually makes the viewer groan at how bad it is. This is an all-new level of suckage.

The plot of this bad movie is a simple one (of course); Mexicans throw a party. That’s about it. Oh, and there are “hot girls” (the majority of whom are not hot at all) that sometimes take their tops off for no apparent reason. There’s hardly enough material here to make a full movie. (In fact, as an interesting side note, the box lists the running time of the movie at 90 minutes, but a screening revealed that the time is actually closer to 70.)