Foot Fist Way
Jody Hill's directorial debut is a low-budget low-key affair about taekwondo that acts as a prototype for his later successes with Observe and Report and the TV series Eastbound and Down. Danny McBride walks a fine line between Baron Sacha Cohen-levels of mockumentary and a depressingly realistic take on loserdom. The film isn't without its laughs but some aspects are so deliberately uncomfortable that the minimalistic style and almost documentary-like production doesn't do it any favours. It's got cult classic written all over it but Hill hasn't perfected the brilliantly bleak and funny tone that would become his trademark with the future aforementioned products. Also, watch out for Hill in a rare onscreen role as a taekwondo expert who appears to be some sort of unspecified sex offender.
DIRECTOR: Jody Hill
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Ben Best, Danny McBride and Jody Hill.
KEY ACTORS: Danny McBride, Ben Best, Marie Jane Bostic, Jody Hill
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Along Came Polly
Stiller follows up his Meet the Parents success with another protracted study of neuroticism and social awkwardness. This time the character's social issues are writ large and confronted by an opposites-attract storyline. The capacity for change makes for an engaging dramatic angle even if some of the jokes (mostly of the grossout variety) seem a little overcooked. Look out for Philip Seymour Hoffman mixing the lowbrow and the absurd in a role that seems to have been written for Jack Black and no one else (and Hoffman does a great Jack Black impression by the way). Jennifer Aniston gets to play the comedic opposite of her character from Friends, though it's sometimes hard to believe she would ever fall for someone as needy, embarrassing and neurotic as Stiller's jilted protagonist. Entertaining if a little formulaic.
DIRECTOR: John Hamburg
WRITER/SOURCE: John Hamburg
KEY ACTORS: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bryan Brown, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria
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Old School
Whilst not quite as old school as I had hoped it to be (the presence of a fun-hating dean was good, but where were the nerds dammit!), this is still a great re-envisioning of 1980s college comedy. It had prankery, nudity and laughs - so what else can you ask for? I can't really fault it too much based on it meeting those requirements more than adequately. Will Ferrell steals the show (he was clearly warming up for the superstardom that would come with his next film, Anchorman) and Vince Vaughn is great as everyone's slightly-shifty mate (his usual role). The use of slightly-older than normal characters in a teen-aimed comedy is inspired, it puts a more unique spin on what could've been another run-of-the-mill Road Trip/Van Wilder wannabe (and let's face it, neither of those films were trailblazers either). Old School harks back to the campus comedy adventures of the 80s, it could've been a little more 'old school' but hey - it's still pretty funny.
DIRECTOR: Todd Phillips
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by Todd Phillips and Scott Armstrong, partially inspired by Frat House, a documentary that Phillips had previously made.
KEY ACTORS: Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Pompeo, Juliette Lewis, Seann William Scott, Snoop Dogg, Andy Dick
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The Longest Yard
It's weird to see this familiar story given the Adam Sandler lowbrow treatment, I think this would've been better if it was made as a more realistic-toned comedy ala the UK version, Mean Machine. The casting of Chris Rock in a supporting role is always welcome, but it could've done without the more cartoonish aspects like prison guards taking pills from canisters marked 'Steroids' in big bold letters. It also has an uneven tone - the big emotional moments seem at odds with the rest of the movie, a problem set up by the fact that it wants to be both a fairly faithful remake and an over-the-top modern comedy. Also, it repeats the Colonel Sanders joke from Adam Sandler's other football movie, The Waterboy, and Sandler completely phones in his performance.
DIRECTOR: Peter Segal
WRITER/SOURCE: Albert S. Ruddy and Sheldon Turner, based on the 1974 film of the same name.
KEY ACTORS: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Nelly, Terry Crews, David Patrick Kelly, Tracy Morgan, Nicholas Turturro, Edward Bunker, Rob Schneider, James Cromwell, William Fichtner, Kevin Nash, Steve Austin, Cloris Leachman
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Super Troopers
A refreshingly funny and original comedy about a group of enthusiastic and easily excited highway patrolmen battling a nearby police department over area-duristriction. And when they're not going head to head with their competition they're looking for a good time, often at the expense of civillians. I love this movie to pieces, I think it's probably the best comedy of the last 10-15 years. Each member of the Broken Lizard team crafts their respective character in equal shades of amusing, quirky and endearing, and their style of comic interplay seems so natural and perfectly judged that it's more like laughing yourself silly with your friends rather than watching some needy performers. Watch out for the character of Farva (Kevin Heffernan), one of the all-time classic comic creations, and a great supporting turn from legendary character-actor Brian Cox.
DIRECTOR: Jay Chandresekhar
WRITER/SOURCE: Jay Chandresekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme and Eric Stolhanske (Broken Lizard)
KEY ACTORS: Jay Chandresekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Eric Stolhanske, Brian Cox, Daniel Von Bargen, Marisa Coughlan
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50 First Dates
A jewel amongst Adam Sandler's formulaic comedies, this film recreates the "aw shucks" chemistry of Sandler and Drew Barrymore from The Wedding Singer and puts it in an inventive Groundhog Day-like scenario. The introductory scenes for characters (or scenes where they form first impressions of one another) are frequently a film's opportunity to surprise the audience or explore an actor's potential for variety... 50 First Dates exploits this opportunity over and over again to give us a thoroughly original take on the romantic comedy. Sandler wisely surrounds himself with the usual colourful characters (standouts include Sean Astin's steroid-leprachaun and Rob Schneider's put-upon layabout) and a colourful location (the lush mountains and beaches of Hawaii) to shoot a goal with one of the more personable and re-watchable films of his career.
DIRECTOR: Peter Segal
WRITER/SOURCE: George Wing
KEY ACTORS: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, Dan Aykroyd, Amy Hill, Allen Covert
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The Hot Chick
Rob Schneider is pretty much the low-rent version of Adam Sandler (one guy I know calls him a "poor man's Pauly Shore", ouch!) His films frequently plumb the 'high concept' depths that Sandler's films dare not to swim - and that's saying something. The Hot Chick has Schneider playing a petty criminal who accidentally swaps bodies with a spoilt cheerleader (played by Rachel McAdams in one of her earliest film roles). It's basically one awful joke stretched out over 100 minutes... if you can stomach the image of Schneider in a tight pink croptop as he yearns girlishly for the love of a teenage boy, well, then maybe there's something wrong with you! Astonishingly enough, this isn't even Rob Schneider's worst film (I'd reserve that dubious honour for The Animal). McAdams is especially fun in the scenes where she plays Schneider's grubby thief-character, but she only features peripherally. Also look out for Adam Sandler in a cameo as a dreadlocked pothead.
DIRECTOR: Tom Brady
WRITER/SOURCE: Tom Brady and Rob Schneider
KEY ACTORS: Rob Schneider, Rachel McAdams, Anna Faris, Adam Sandler
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Zoolander
Amazingly, this film flopped upon release. This was due to the unforseen circumstances of 9/11, shortly after which the film was released - and America didn't exactly feel like laughing yet. Ben Stiller's brilliantly crazy parody of an imagined world of male supermodels has grown to become quite popular in the years since its release. Not a single aspect of the film aims to be taken seriously, this is one of Stiller's occasional 'all-comedy' films (as opposed to his more dramatic comedies ala Along Came Polly and Meet the Parents). It's chockful of great jokes, ridiculously broad characterisations and has one of the best visual comedy sequences ever (Mugatu's Manchurian Candidate-like "kill the Malaysian prime minister" hypnosis routine - a scene that saw the film actually get banned in Malaysia!) Incredibly rewatchable and soon to spawn a sequel (which should have no trouble outperforming the first film at the box office), Zoolander combines the ridiculous world of fashion with an outlandish assassination plot and an all-star cast of budding superstars.
DIRECTOR: Ben Stiller
WRITER/SOURCE: Drake Sather, Ben Stiller and John Hamburg
KEY ACTORS: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, David Duchovney, Jon Voight, Alexander Skarsgard, Andy Dick, Jennifer Coolidge, David Bowie, James Marsden, Patton Oswalt, Vince Vaughn
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Envy
Ben Stiller and Jack Black teamed up for this incredibly bad straight-to-DVD movie. I initially greeted its production with excitement... at the time I was quite fond of Jack Black's antics and the presence of Christopher Walken was a good sign too, but by the time I had finished watching the damn thing my opinion of all involved had dropped somewhat. The central premise (a spraycan that disintegrates dog poo) is idiotic, the dialogue and jokes are flat and unfunny, and the cast are so energetic in what appears to be a complete waste of time that it's like they're inanely waving their arms about while they drown. Avoid at all costs!
DIRECTOR: Barry Levinson
WRITER/SOURCE: Steve Adams
KEY ACTORS: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Christopher Walken, Amy Poehler
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Stuck on You
The Farrelly Brothers have built a hit and miss career on possibly offensive scenarios infused with surprisingly heartwarming messages. They perfected their formula with There's Something About Mary and have been riffing on variations of it ever since. Stuck on You takes an unlikely conjoined twins-premise and delivers a somewhat charming tale of brotherhood and the realisation of one's dreams. Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play the brothers, who travel to Hollywood so that one of them can pursue a career in acting. Damon in particular is affecting as the quieter brother, though the film's somewhat bubblegum view of conjoined twins may invite some scorn from anyone not prepared to suspend their disbelief in the name of a good comedy-drama. Cher co-stars as herself, displaying a strange mix of self-parody and egotism in the role.
DIRECTOR: Farrelly Brothers
WRITER/SOURCE: Farrelly Brothers, Bennett Yellin, John August, Charles B. Wessler, David Koepp
KEY ACTORS: Greg Kinnear, Matt Damon, Eva Mendes, Wenn Yann Shih, Cher, Seymour Cassel, Meryl Streep
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