Disc Reviews

Lucille Ball was originally a radio personality starring in a popular comedy, My Favorite Husband. It was here that she began to develop the character she would continue to play for decades in television through several shows, all bearing her name in one form or another: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life With Lucy. See the pattern? Anyone who was a fan of the radio show would instantly recognize the red-haired actress even though they had never actually seen her on the radio. That exaggerated cry was already a staple of her physical comedy, even when she couldn't be seen. She had also toured for many years with her real-life husband Desi Arnaz. When they could not convince a network to film a pilot of a show featuring both of them, they made it on their own dime. CBS was so impressed with the pilot they reimbursed the couple, and in 1951 I Love Lucy hit the airwaves.

Lucy played the character she had already perfected on radio and on the stage. Desi played her husband, a Cuban bandleader who headlined at the Tropicana. Lucy was always trying to find a way to get into Ricky's act. She had no talent, but that never stopped her, usually embarrassing Ricky along the way. The couple lived in an apartment owned by the Mertzes, Fred (Frawley) and Ethel (Vance). They were not only the Ricardos’ landlords but also their closest friends. Ethel would often find herself talked into one of Lucy's crazy schemes. The show also found comedy fodder in Ricky's thick Cuban accent. Sometimes his mispronunciations caused hilarious misunderstandings. William Frawley as Fred had the job of playing straight man most of the time. It was a thankless job, to be sure, but he was perfect at it. He didn't talk as much as the others, but he had some golden moments over the show's very successful six-year run. During that time the series never once fell below number three for the entire year in ratings.

In 1975 a group of guys thought it was a good idea to steal $30 million from the mob. Vault just happens to be the “Hollywood” version of how that heist went down.  This is the kind of story I’m surprised has taken so long to make it to the big screen. While I’m not familiar with the facts on the heist and how it went down, something tells me there we plenty of liberties taken with this film.  Here’s the thing, though; whether the whole story was fiction or a true story, it’s a good idea and should have resulted in a fun heist film.  I’m impressed by how this film took such a good idea and turned it into the snooze-fest that we get here.  Despite having Chazz Palminteri, Don Johnson, and Vincent Pastore making appearances and a running time of 99 minutes, I can’t understand how this manages to feel like an over-bloated missed opportunity.

The film opens up with Deuce (Theo Rossi) and Chucky (Clive Standen) prepping to rob a pawn shop and then arguing in the car about wearing ski masks, Deuce seems to think no one will be able to ID them; Chucky is nervous about cameras and a variety of things going wrong.  The robbery is a mess, but somehow these knuckleheads manage to get away with it. Deuce in the process of the robbery decides to take this moment to flirt with a cashier, and later on when she’s walking home, Deuce pulls up and offers to take her to his house to meet the family and have dinner.  Yeah, we’re talking about a guy who really is that stupid, but we’re supposed to believe he and members of his family are successful thieves.  Seeing Deuce and Chucky working together and how nothing seems to work out for them is filmed as though maybe these guys just have bad luck.  It’s this kind of decision making where the director Tom DiNucci just doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing here.  He treats his heroes like a couple of tough guys trying to make the right moves, when really it’s like watching a two-man take on The Three Stooges.

Plus One takes a completely predictable premise and injects some much needed chemistry and comedic timing into it. I mean, come on; based off the synopsis alone we can tell that it is inevitable that our leads’ interactions will eventually turn romantic. I mean, we’ve got Ben, played by Jack Quaid (Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s son, also the star of Amazon Prime’s latest series, The Boys), the last of his single friends who has romanticized the idea of the perfect companion. Then there is Alice, played by Maya Erskine (PEN15), a jaded woman following a breakup. These two single friends decided to team together and act as each other’s plus ones to all their friends’ weddings. Come on, it doesn’t take a seasoned critic to see the romance coming. This ideal is pretty much standard operating procedure in romantic comedies with hit-or-miss potential. Well, if it hadn’t been for the chemistry between Quaid and Erskine, the comedic timing of the supporting cast, and Erskine’s individual performance, this movie wouldn’t have been a hit.

As I mentioned earlier, the premise of the film was very predictable. We all knew where the story was heading, so instead of focusing on where we were heading, we need to focus on the journey. This is where Quaid and Erskine’s chemistry was of the most importance. When we meet them, Alice is just Ben’s annoying friend looking to drown her sorrows in the open bar, which she then proceeds to do. Naturally she is the one to suggest the arrangement, and of course Ben is hesitant to the idea, but we all know that he is going to go along with it eventually. The two even act as each other’s wingmen to varying success early on. I must admit that I prefer Alice’s method of throwing Ben into the deep end to Ben’s subtlety. All that pretext aside, we all know that it is only a matter of time. What I couldn’t believe is where their relationship began. I laughed so hard at the idea of getting it on in this insane locale. I literally couldn’t imagine a less romantic setting if I tried. I give the film major points for the out-of-box thinking in this regard.

I am a Power Rangers fan. I grew up during the first incarnation of the series and had every one of the action figures with the flipping head to show them masked and unmasked. Hell, I am even a fan of the film that premiered in 2017 so much that I would welcome a sequel, though that prospect seems unlikely with the rising profiles of Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, and Dacre Montgomery. All that said, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is where I get off the bandwagon. Despite featuring some of the original cast members, the story is too convoluted and over-the-top to find enjoyable. Taking place after the events of Powers Rangers’ fourth season, also known as Power Rangers Zeo, Turbo sees Tommy Oliver still in command (i.e. the red ranger) of the last crop of Rangers. While competing in a local charity fight to save the Youth Shelter, Rocky DeSantos takes a fall and is seriously injured, which leads to the discovery of their identities by Justin, a friend of Rocky and frequenter of the Youth Shelter. Meanwhile, a new enemy emerges in the form of Divatox, an intergalactic space pirate who is searching for a key that will allow him to traverse an inter-dimensional gateway in order to marry a Maligore, who has promised riches and immense power in exchange for their union.

This movie served as the segue into the Power Rangers Turbo TV show, as well as Kimberly Ann Hart’s exit from the universe with the exception of her cameo in the 2017 incarnation. Perhaps this is bias on my end, but this film would not have been how I wanted to leave the franchise. The story was too convoluted and ridiculous for me. Now this is obviously the opinions of me as an adult; I’m sure when I was a kid and the movie first premiered back in 1997, I thought it was the greatest thing to come into my young life. Fast forward to my adult self; I can’t digest the silly storyline.