Comedy

Gas

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 30th, 2005

Synopsis

The frustrating thing in watching Gas is just how familiar it is to The Cookout, Barbershop, Beautyshop, and other films that involve groups of African-American men getting together in the neighborhood and having fun, and getting the most successful family member in touch with their roots. What’s next, Sunday Church? Or Night at Silver Diner?

There are even a couple of parallels to The Cookout in this film. While Damien in this film is played by “Flex” …
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The Noose Hangs High

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005

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It’s another case of mistaken identity that gets our boys (Abbott and Costello) in trouble, this time with a couple of gangsters. I’ve always been an Abbott and Costello fan but somehow missed this 1948 film over the years. It’s possible that because it was one of only a few pictures the duo did outside of Universal it did not enjoy the wide release their other works had. A few gems from the boys’ routines can be found. Look for the “horse eating his fodder” and “I’ll bet you you’re not here”. There is none of the Big Band Era song and dance routine to slow this film’s pace.
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The Naked Truth

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 27th, 2005

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The Naked Truth is a 1958 British farce that benefits most from an excellent performance by Peter Sellers. Sellers plays Sonny Boy MacGregor as a comedic Lon Chaney. Each of Sonny’s characters is a complete package from the makeup to the accents. Moments of the inspired genius that would be better displayed in The Pink Panther films make this average production something more. The comedy is decidedly European in flavor and probably not for everyone. Most of the film slows when Sellers is not on the scene
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Weekend at Bernie’s

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 22nd, 2005

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Synopsis

Well, considering that there were so many different strange film ideas in the 1980s, it was only a matter of time that someone write and produce a film about a dead guy, right? Well, you’re in luck, as two names from the period (Andrew McCarthy, St. Elmo’s Fire and Jonathan Silverman, Brighton Beach Memoirs) fulfill your wish as Weekend at Bernie’s finally comes to DVD.

McCarthy and Silverman play insurance reps with bigger aspirations in a owned by Bernie Lomax (Ter…
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It Started in Naples

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2005

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Synopsis

Well, I’m unsure how many people would see a romantic comedy involving a 59 year old man and a 26 year old woman (unless you saw Autumn in New York awhile ago), but the romance between Clark Gable (Gone With the Wind) and Sophia Loren (El Cid) in It Started in Naples is just a little creepy for me. Especially when you consider Gable seemed to always appear in his mid-60’s.

But enough about that aspect of it, Gable plays Mike, a lawyer about to be married, who …
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Love at First Bite

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 14th, 2005

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Synopsis

Expropriated from his castle by the Romanian government (the place is going to be turned into a training facility for Olympic athletes), Count Dracula (George Hamilton) and Renfield (Arte Johnson, mimicking Dwight Frye’s laugh from the 1931 Dracula) make their way to New York. Dracula has fallen for a fashion model (Susan Saint James), convinced that she is the reincarnation of a woman he has loved before. Though something of a fish out of water, Dracula does his best to adapt to his …
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D.E.B.S.

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

I didn’t know what quite to expect from watching D.E.B.S. for the first time. So, it looks like a group of college girls who double as CIA assassins, right? OK, I can buy that, I mean, I’m a fan of Alias, so I can dig it. You’ve got Amy (Sara Foster, The Big Bounce), D.E.B. Academy’s top notch student with her pick of anywhere she wants to go; her friend, the tough and ambitious Max (Meagan Good, The Cookout), along with the younger Janet (Jill Ritchie, Herbie Fully L…
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Jackass – The Movie

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

One could make an attempt at witty prose by comparing Jackass to the works of Kubrick, Cassavettes, Scorsese, or what have you. But look, it’s a bunch of guys, some of whom have reputations in other circles, such as skateboarder Bam Margera and acclaimed director Spike Jonze, doing stunts that you may not have thought, dared or remotely considered doing, and keeping parts of the general public off guard. The gang made a huge splash on MTV, and scores of crazed teens wanted to try what these guys we…
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Friday

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 3rd, 2005

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Synopsis

I’m a very white guy. But in growing up, one of my first music gods was Jimi Hendrix. Then, one day I saw Bustin’ Loose with Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson (a.k.a., Miles Davis’ punching bag) when I was 10, so I wanted to see any comedy Richard Pryor had made. And I did, from Car Wash to Uptown Saturday Night. These were my first real lessons or experiences, watching a cast (or film) with African Americans in it. It wasn’t Star Wars or anything, it was memorable for its …
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Weird Science

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 29th, 2005

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Synopsis

When it comes to 80’s films, you can talk about Spielberg, Lucas, or whomever, but those in the know will always put John Hughes at, or near, the top of influences of that era. Take a look at the 7 year run that he had in the 80’s when it came to writing movies in that era. From 1983 to 1990, the list brings up a flood of kitsch and nostalgia for any movie going kid during that time – Mr. Mom, Vacation, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Ferri…
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Even Stevens Movie, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 29th, 2005

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Synopsis

Out of the blue, the Stevens family (whacky dad, brainy sister, dorky brother, and so forth) finds out they’ve won a trip to a tropical paradise. Unbeknownst to them, they have in fact been selected to participate in an over-the-top reality TV show, and their holiday turns into a series of slapstick catastrophes.

Collapsing temples, rampaging squirrels, lots of yelling and double-takes. This is Disney slapstick at its most uninspired. Extremely undemanding younger viewers might get…
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Cadet Kelly

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 28th, 2005

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Synopsis

Hilary Duff plays a good-hearted by scatterbrained teenager. Her happy existence in NYC is disrupted (how many Disney teens has this happened to?) when her stepfather starts his new job as head of a military academy, and she is enrolled, willy-nilly. She has trouble fitting in, initially having as nemesis her Captain Christy Carlson Romano, but eventually both she and the institution adapt to each other.

It’s Legally Blonde meets Private Benjamin in this sorry exercis…
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Team America – World Police (Uncensored & Unrated)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 21st, 2005

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Only could Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the (gulp) geniuses behind South Park, could come up such a wildly crazy (and funny) film such as Team America: World Police. What is so wild about this film you ask? Well, the actors are marionette puppets, every other word is an f-sharp, and almost every big Hollywood actor is portrayed negatively. And what is wrong with this? Absolutely nothing. This film will not be for everyone, but for the loyal fans of South Park, this film is pure bliss. Not o…
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Dodgeball

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

The superbly obnoxious Ben Stiller plans to have his Globo Gym take over and destroy the building that houses the apathetic Vince Vaughn’s Average Joe’s. Unless Vaughn and his friends raise $50,000.00 before the end of the month, all will be lost. Their only hope is to win a dodgeball championship. They’re no damn good, but help comes in the form of psychotic ex-dodgeball champ Rip Torn and Christine Taylor as an accountant with a killer throw.

The premise is ludicrous enough to be…
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Hitch

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 19th, 2005

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I was not too eager to see Hitch in the theater, thinking that DVD was just fine for a film such as this; it is after all only a romantic comedy. I was one of the few who thought this way, as Hitch killed at the box office, brining in over $175 million in its theatrical run. After seeing the film on DVD, I can see why it did so well at the box office – it is the ultimate date movie. You get a charismatic Will Smith, a funny Kevin James, and a gorgeous Eva Mendes – the perfect blend for any sure fire enjoyment by all.
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Being John Malkovich

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2005

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In watching Being John Malkovich again recently, for the first time in awhile, the thing I was struck by is how unique it is (duh!). It doesn’t try too hard at being different, to the point that it’s going to suck, everything is matter of fact, and it’s hilarious. Its characters are flawed, but we feel for some of them a great deal. It’s funny, it’s touching, it’s dramatic, it works on many levels. I’d expected this to be a 112 minute MTV video from Spiegel heir Spike Jonze, but it’s clear that with his work, combined with Charlie Kaufman’s script, the result is a story about the 3 main characters experiencing deep, life-altering experiences, and from those experiences, finding (or wanting to find) love. How they get there though, that’s another story.
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National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 16th, 2005

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As usual, National Lampoon comes up with a silly but at times funny movie – if you like silly that is. The two leading goofballs are just off the wall enough to make this movie bearable.

Gold Diggers is about two young losers named Cal (Will Friedle) and Lenny (Chris Owen) who enter a life of crime trying to survive on the streets. Unfortunately, they are terrible at it and end up going in and out of jail a couple of times before things begin to look up for them – they attempt to rob two very old si…
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Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2005

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In the unnecessary sequel department comes Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Why make this movie? Because Sandra Bullock needs a hit? It doesn’t come here. Bullock, once again (and hopefully for the last time), plays Gracie Hart. Her involvement in a well known beauty pageant has made it impossible for Gracie to maintain a low FBI profile. So she has become the PR person for the bureau. But Gracie is “called back” into the line of duty (against the FBI’s wishes) when two of her friends (played by …
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Dirty Filthy Love

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2005

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Synopsis

Michael Sheen (so good as the sweet, big-hearted protagonist of Heartlands) is on the verge of losing his job as an architect, and he and his wife have just separated. His obsessive compulsive disorders, which led to these problems in the first place, are enormously exacerbated by the resultant stress, and Tourette’s Syndrome becomes a problem now too. He is desperate to win his wife back, an in an attempt to get his life together, he joins an OCD self-help group led by Shirley Hender…
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Princess and the Pirate, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Without a doubt, Bob Hope was one of (if not) the best comedic actors of his era. During a time after Charlie Chaplin had peaked in silent films, Hope picked up the comedic torch, and during a time where actors consistently appeared in 3-5 films a year, and an early recognizable title was 1940’s Road to Singapore, the first of several Road To films with him and friends Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

The Princess and the Pirate, made in 1944, was made during this …
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National Lampoon Presents Lost Reality 2: More of the Worst

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 2nd, 2005

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National Lampoon was still around? I didn’t think so. But sure enough, there is a staff, they still produce movies occasionally (the cinematic tour de force Van Wilder being among their recent contributions to cinema), and in order to satirize some of the absolute sheet on TV nowadays, came up with the Lost Reality series of discs.

With introduction from (who I’m assuming are) members of the Lampoon staff, the clips are a bit hit or miss. Some of the funnier bits are OK, and could have turned …
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Dance With Me, Henry

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 29th, 2005

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Synopsis

Costello is a big-hearted soul who takes in every stray (human or animal) that comes along.He runs afoul of the authorities, who deem him an unsuitable father for the two orphans he hasadopted. Meanwhile, Abbott, the black sheep Costello has taken on, is an inveterate gambler whoowes the mob a huge sum. Cue the running around.

This was the last film the two comedians made together, and the humour is getting ratherhere. There is also something very odd about having C…
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Dirty Shame, A

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 27th, 2005

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Synopsis

Irritable, repressed Sylvia Stickles (Tracy Ullman) is conked on the head, and the concussiontransforms her into a sexual dynamo, one of the followers of sexual healer and prophet Ray-Ray(Johnny Knoxville). The streets of Baltimore are the battleground of a culture war between theanti-sex Neuters, led by Sylvia’s mother-in-law Big Ethel, and the forces of the polymorphouslyperverse. The result is a little bit like a George Romero zombie movie, where getting headingthe bonked transf…
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Cookout, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 23rd, 2005

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Continuing in the bold tradition of centering a movie around a place or event in the African American community (see The Wash, Barbershop and Beauty Shop, to name a few), Queen Latifah has decided to run the horse into the ground, and subsequently throw it over the coals, in a film she wrote and appears in, entitled The Cookout.

The concept of the film is simple enough that everyone can identify with it; cookouts are a good time where friends and family, sane and crazy, can get t…
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Son of the Mask

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 19th, 2005

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Some sequels should not be made. I mean, was there any reason to have another Caddyshack? So who thought having a sequel to The Mask was a good idea. And not have Jim Carrey. Son of the Mask goes into the category of unnecessary sequels.

The premise is simple: the missing mask (which can give the wearer powers) is found floating in a stream by Otis, a dog. The dog takes it back to the Avery family. Tim Avery, a cartoonist, is played by Jamie Kennedy. The new mask gives him new powers,…
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