Review: Playing for Keeps

One of the best things about a buffet is that you get a little bit of everything - prime rib, king crab, lasagna, shrimp cocktail all piled sky high on an overpopulated plate.  One of the worst things about a buffet is that while you can a little big of everything, none of it is done particularly well.  That more or less sums up the biggest problem plaguing Playing for Keeps starring Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel.  There are a bunch of subplots running concurrently in this film beneath the umbrella of the central narrative, but none of those side stories are particularly compelling or entertaining.  The result is a film that feels more muted than emotive.

The plot of the movie focuses on Gerard Butler’s George, a former soccer great, who has fallen on tough times in the aftermath of his playing career.  Recently relocated to Virginia, he tries desperately to reunite with his estranged son and ex-wife (Jessica Biel) while trying to find a job to alleviate his financial woes.  In a completely unforeseen turn of events (sarcasm should be noted), Butler becomes his son’s team’s soccer coach in an attempt to mend fences shattered by the selfish behavior of his past.

This premise makes the film sound like some decent family fare packed to the gills with melodrama that builds an emotional crescendo, culminating with a warm and fuzzy moment.  And this very well might have unfolded perfectly had director Gabriele Muccino’s film not veered off into “Desperate Housewives” territory.  What started off as a movie with soccer images, families, and a central father/son relationship, almost literally takes a sharp left turn onto Wisteria Lane in a not so subtle attempt to make sure that this film caters to as large a target audience as possible.  Sadly, vamping up the familial themed plot serves only to muddle up the  tone and vibe of the film.

However, one of the more positive aspects of this film is Gerard Butler, who seemingly finally found a role perfectly he was perfectly suited to portray – that of a past-his-prime burnout with a reputation for poor life-choices and philandering.  It almost makes you wonder if writer Robbie Fox wrote the part with Butler in mind.  The moppy hair, the disheveled clothing – it’s as if the powers that be let him onto the set after a late night without stopping for making and wardrobe.  And sadly, that gives his character a modicum of believability.  I dare say it may be Butler’s most credible work since 300 – though it’s not nearly as interesting. 

Working opposite Butler is Jessica Biel as his ex-wife Stacie.  In regards to Biel, let me ask you this.  When was the last time you walked out of a theater and thought to yourself how great she was in that movie?  Three years?  Five years?  Never?  Well fear not, that streak (however long it is) will remain intact.  In Playing for Keeps, she isn’t as soulless as she was in Total Recall (2012) or as inept as she was in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, but of all the women to be featured in this film, her character clearly represents a step down in regards to screen presence.

As for the rest of cast, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman, Judy Greer, and Catherine Zeta-Jones look and feel at least a decade past their respective primes but they are for the most part satisfactory as cynical individuals who are cavalier with their indiscretions as a means to navigate the banality of their every day lives.  While collectively the presence of their characters in this narrative  greatly undermines the overall direction of the film, the seasoned actors do manage to provide an entertaining moment or two.  On the other end of the age spectrum, Noah Lomax (as Butler’s son) shows himself to be as capable a child actor as I have seen in a while and that helps to offset some of what ails this movie.

So when you put all these pieces together ,you are looking at a film that is an absolute pass as a rental.  It’s not quite  a RomCom nor is it family fare; and there’s not enough of either genre embedded in the film to satisfy anyone who might be tempted to watch.  And really, there are too many other titles in this sphere of filmmaking ranging from mediocre to fantastic to spend your time on this one.  If you’re really looking to satisfy your Gerard Butler fix (not that anyone in this world would or should require one), I would suggest you take a look at Chasing Mavericks.  While I haven’t seen it as of yet, I can’t imagine it being much worse than this film.

Standout Performance:  Noah Lomax.  In retrospect, it’s not entirely surprising that the youngest member of this cast turned in the best job.

Read More

Review: The Descendants

When George Clooney is focused on being an actor/entertainer, his movies tend to be very good.  And when he is more interested in pushing other agendas (i.e. political), those films tend to be bland, didactic, and not nearly as intelligent as some knights of the keyboard would have you believe.  But then again, I tend to be skeptical when those who hardly reside in the real world step down from the mountaintop to lecture us common folk on how we should view our real world problems (see also, Sean Penn).  And so Clooney’s career has metamorphosed from obscure mediocre television actor to grounded and gracious television and film A-lister, to self-important pseudo intellectual sensationalist.  But that doesn’t mean the man can’t still participate in a good movie every now and then, and that is precisely what The Descendants is – a good movie.

I know I am really late on this film, but like I mentioned before, Clooney’s films are very hit or miss for me so I am almost never in a rush to see the latest from Stacy Keibler’s lesser half.  Fortunately, this one earns him a checkmark in the plus column as it is a compelling story featuring strong acting, good directing, and nice cinematography.  The plot of the movie finds Clooney’s Matt King juggling the imminent death of his comatose wife, her recently discovered marital indiscretion, his disconnect with his two rapidly maturing daughters, and an impending real estate deal that will greatly affect the local economy in Hawaii.  Clearly, the man has a lot on his plate.

So what works best about this movie is Clooney and his ability to shed his celebrity baggage and immerse himself into a role that runs counter to everything that people tend to admire about him.  His Matt King is a conflicted man running short on both confidence and bravado, seemingly lost and vulnerable on many fronts both personally and professionally.  Though the plot of the film is highly layered and very unique, the sense of self-doubt and the tormenting search for answers that Clooney’s King endures is a profoundly universal experience and that is what is so engaging about this movie.  Reinforcing this inner struggle is the Hawaiian Islands as a backdrop as the confines of this geographical region heightens the sense of isolationism that permeates King’s life.

One of the other challenges to this film is the importance of Patrice Hastie as Elizabeth King.  Since her entire body of work in this movie involves lying motionless in a hospital bed, it is left to the supporting players to lend a voice to her character and create depth.  Robert Forster, Rob Huebel, Mary Birdsong, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Nick Krause perform admirably in this capacity and add color to Clooney’s struggles through the portrayal of their own respective coping mechanisms.  As for Shailene Woodley (Alexandra King), she is perfectly cast as Clooney’s petulant and defiant teen so much so that you wonder whether the seams between performance and reality actually exist.  Hers is the right character to act as the sidekick for Matt King on this emotional journey and their relationship acts as one of the key elements of catharsis.

Now having the seen the film, I have to admit that I am not sure it is worthy of all the platitudes lavished upon it during last year’s awards season.  Don’t get me wrong.  Writer/Director Alexander Payne has put together a well-executed film that is constantly tugging at your emotions and sensibilities.  But I think the film is just that; a good (not great) movie that tells a very personal story, with solid direction, and some very strong acting.  None of this is a bad thing, but in some ways I think the critical masses convinced themselves that they were seeing something in this film that wasn’t necessarily there - as I believe was the case with Clooney’s last critically acclaimed movie – Up in the Air.  Still, if you have not seen this one, I would definitely recommend renting it since well-executed films have been in short supply as of late.  This one may not be a game changer, but you will most definitely find yourself engaged and invested.

Standout Performance: George Clooney.  I am partial to his work in Ocean’s Eleven and in O Brother, Where Art Though? but he does a very good job of disappearing into this role.

Read More

Review: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

I am going to cut to the chase in regards to my review of Jeff, Who Lives at Home.  Either it was a horrible piece of filmmaking or I absolutely did not get it.  If you’re a betting person, put your money down on the latter, because from start to finish this movie feels like a very poor man’s Our Idiot Brother sans any laughs whatsoever.  And as I was watching the film, eagerly anticipating a wit-inspired chuckle here or a gut-buster there, I realized that the writer and director team of Jay and Mark Duplass were cleverly trying to educate the viewer with some existential lesson on life, love, and happiness buried into the subtext of their plot.  The problem is that their message was complete nonsense and their delivery neither clever nor subtle. 

The gist of the plot is that everyone in the Thompkins family has an unsatisfying life.  The patriarch of the family died at forty-four and some fifteen years after his passing we find that his widow (Susan Sarandon) is a lonely single mom in need of companionship; his oldest son (Ed Helms) is a complete douche with marital problems and a midlife crisis, and his youngest son (Jason Segel) is an idiot who lives in his mother’s basement.  Fortunately for this family, Segel’s Jeff is actually an idiot savant who on his fate-guided path to find " a KEVIN" and enlightenment just might be able to resurrect his family from the malaise of mediocrity.  If that doesn't sound funny, then you're getting the picture.  Even if you make the assumption that the movie was poorly marketed because of the presence of Segel and Helms and frame it as a dramatic piece, it still fairs poorly.  The plot fails to flesh out the depths of apathy and resentment that have gripped this family to create any true sense of catharsis in the final act.

As for the cast, Segel absolutely sleep walks through this film, but I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it may have been by design.  I am guessing it was his attempt at playing quirky though the problem with that approach is that he's not Zooey Deschanel so he can't pull off that kind of quirky.  Ed Helms does a great job exuding utter low rent douchebaggery.  It’s too bad the thinness of the script makes you not care, and care even less that his wife (Judy Greer) is cheating on him.  Susan Sarandon adds very little value in her role as the lonely mother and the slight plot twist with her character arc can be seen coming from a mile away.

I want to say that the movie unravels at the end but really that happens right from the start.  The best thing that came from seeing this film is that the staff had technical issues with the projector and so the fine people at AMC gave everyone in attendance a free pass.  Without the promise of a free movie pass, I can't recommend a film that starts with everyone’s life completely sucking at the outset and then sucking a little less at the close.  This may be an attempt to authentically portray real life in the eyes of the filmmakers, but for me it takes a more than a mysterious Kevin, a bad goatee, and a lesbian turn to call something entertaining (believe when I tell you that last sentence made the movie sound far more interesting than it is).  In lieu of this film, rent Our Idiot Brother – similar concept with better writing and acting.

Standout Performance:  Judy Greer.  Her characters tend to be loud, obnoxious, and/or neurotic, but in this film she hits the right notes of desperation and it makes you sympathize with her in as much as one can with an adulteress.

Read More