The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)

Tags

Cameron Diaz, Chris Messina, Comedy, Drama, Jenna Fischer, Movie, The Giant Mechanical Man, Topher Grace

hahaha, that's so pleasant...

I wish I liked this movie more.  I wish the supporting characters hadn’t been so unbelievable.  I wish some of the situations and plot developments hadn’t felt so forced.  I wish it had more of an emotional core.

The central idea is a nice one – slow down, stop trying to chase material things and focus on bringing a little happiness into a fellow human’s life.   And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that one person in the world that gets you.   That one true love of your life.

Of course, from frame one, it’s clear that Tim (Chris Messina) and Janice (Jenna Fischer) are destined to fill that role for each other, so all of the manufactured complications in between just seem like time wasters.  Especially Topher Grace’s character.  Sorry, caricature.  I mean, just look at him in the trailer and you’ll see that it’s impossible to take him seriously at all.

It’s a pleasant little story with likable leads and its heart in the right place, but there’s nothing that feels very original here.  It just goes through the usual romantic comedy paces without taking any real risks.   Likable but unmemorable.  Hey wait, I think that’s what it said under my yearbook photo in high school…

5.8/10

[youtube http://youtu.be/T5D8JMsPk3o]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

Tags

Comedy, Jenna Fischer, John C. Reilly, Movie, Tim Meadows, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

It's funny cause it's the 70s...

R

John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows

Dewey: Edith, I am startin’ to think…that maybe you don’t believe in me.
Edith: I do believe in you.  I just know yer gonna fail.

Parody of musician bio-pics, particularly Walk The Line.  Dewey Cox (Reilly) accidentally kills his older brother when they are young and has to live with the guilt, and disapproval from his father, for the rest of his life.  He’s a gifted musician who starts to gain popularity, but then succumbs to the temptations of drugs and women.

This movie starts off really well, with a lot of funny moments and a story that moves along at a good pace.  Unfortunately, the second half is just a series of comedy set-ups involving Dewey’s various music styles and encounters with other musicians.  Some of it is funny, but it’s so meandering and repetitive that I got a bit bored with it.  I will say, though, that the version I watched was listed as the “Unrated” version, which means there was probably some extra footage thrown in.  The theatrical release may have been edited a bit more tightly.

Also, be warned (or just notified if you don’t see it as a negative), the version I watched had copious amounts of nudity – female and male – so if that bothers you, be ready with the fast-forward button.

The music in the movie is surprisingly easy to listen to.  They didn’t just throw together some lame songs.  They had to make it at least somewhat believable that these songs could bring him fame and popularity.

Overall, it’s a funny movie, with a TON of guest appearances by all kinds of comedians and celebrities.  I just wish there was more structure and flow to the second half so that my attention wasn’t moving away from the screen and to the clock as I checked how much longer this movie was going to last.

10 – 3 for the tedious second half + .3 for the decent music – .5 for the full frontal = 6.8