D.E.B.S.

Review #2357: D.E.B.S.

Cast: 

Sara Foster (Amy Bradshaw), Jordana Brewster (Lucy Diamond), Meagan Good (Max Brewer), Devon Aoki (Dominique), Jill Ritchie (Janet), Geoff Stults (Bobby Matthews), Jimmi Simpson (Scud), Holland Taylor (Ms. Petrie), Michael Clarke Duncan (Mr. Phipps), and Jessica Cauffiel (Ninotchka Kaprova) Written and Directed by Angela Robinson (#411 - Herbie: Fully Loaded)

Review: 

"I kind of “riff” on a lot of genre influences in my work, [and] in “D.E.B.S.” I’m constantly quoting other movies. It’s kind of a “mish-mash” of influences."

Sure, why not. This was the feature film debut of one Angela Robinson, a Chicago native who had made a handful of short films for nearly a decade before getting her chance with a studio movie. D.E.B.S. was actually originally a short film done in 2003 that had been sponsored by a grant from POWER UP that came from her inspiration of drawing comics when in college (she studied and graduated from Brown and NYU). The short basically was one where she "was playing with the idea of a really outrageous WB show" (so basically a riff on Charlie's Angels). The result was an a 11-minute short (released in 2003, most notably at Sundance) that Screen Gems liked enough to want to make a feature film of, complete with Robinson at the helm (Jill Ritchie was the sole returning actress from the short). The movie was released to literally less theaters than you could imagine: 45, but somehow it generated a reaction from one producer to eventually spring a deal for Robinson to direct her next film: Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). Robinson has mostly directed in television (ironically enough, it included an episode of the failed Charlie's Angels reboot). The movie eventually sprung some sort of cult following in the "I checked it out in the video store" sense.

Okay, so we've got a movie about a secret test in the SAT that tests one on recruitment to D.E.B.S: Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength. I think you can see where it might lend itself to aiming for goofy parody (complete with plaid skirts), but really you could call it an offbeat romcom (a spy and a kooky criminal) with two women that just happens to be a PG-13 rated movie. It has the hit-or-miss quality in being a parody on the level of say, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), which basically means you'll either get into the movie and chuckle or will just find it a bit of a lightweight. Eh, I liked the movie fine, mainly because it had the commitment to actually go where it wanted to go without feeling like a slapdashed product, which is more than one can say for certain movies of its ilk. "Camp" or not, one will at least get the impression that Foster and Brewster are having at least some fun trying to establish a repertoire with each other; it's a "meet cute" movie that happens to have a bit of greenscreen, what's not to get? Foster is quite proud of her appearance in the film, stating once that people apparently go up to her and say that the movie made them feel "comfortable being who I am". Her shaky road to realizing what she actually wants (coming of age meets coming out?) is interesting enough to work, mostly because the movie rolls on self-realization that is at least "real". It just happens that Brewster (she's named for a song, heh) has that "it factor" when it comes to charm even in the muddle of hang-up neurosis. You get two people yearning to figure out who they are with someone around them, Brewster just is a bit funnier when accomplishing the sell (you get a scene about accidentally snapping a bra, just to point the goofy stuff). The others are fine here and there in those little side gags (not every parody has that many well-defined people besides "smokes cigarettes" anyway). You get a bit of appearance time from Duncan and Taylor that mostly fill a bit of story time (well okay, Taylor is bitingly interesting, but a regular TV viewer already knows that), which is particularly interesting to reveal that really the "secret test" is all about measuring one's ability to lie (interpret that however you like). Its cheeky enough to get away with cheap gags because it has silly fun and doesn't bite more than it can chew. The 92-minute runtime is about what you might expect in drawing every last little gag you might hear from a spoof, which is fine by me when driving off into the sunset. Ultimately, it is the kind of movie where one can be called a "gay slut" and chuckle with the shallow but committed nature that may just be up your alley, midnight movie or not.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

Review #1861: Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

Cast: 

Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods), Sally Field (Victoria Rudd), Regina King (Grace Rossiter), Jennifer Coolidge (Paulette Bonafonté), Luke Wilson (Emmett Richmond), Bob Newhart (Sid Post), Bruce McGill (Stan Marks), Dana Ivey (Libby Hauser), Jessica Cauffiel (Margot Chapman), with Moonie the Dog (Bruiser), and Alanna Ubach (Serena McGuire) Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld.

Review: 

I'm sure you remember Legally Blonde (2001), the movie that dealt with forging a path for oneself with confidence that was pitched at one point as "Clueless meets The Paper Chase", based on the material of the same name by Amanda Brown. It was a feel-good movie that Robert Luketic directed as the feel-good legal hit of its time. Or something like that, because I remember it surely could have reached further in the departments of humor and legal mumbo-jumbo besides what it did. Yea, subverting the expectations of a perpetually smiling lawyer that bounces off snide comments as it was just another sunny day in lawyer land. It was more interesting in the small attempts at awareness rather than its goofy hand at comedy. The less you predict, the better it went. Herman-Wurmfeld is probably best known for this film alone, despite the fact that this was his third feature film (Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) had attracted attention on the indie circuit). Kate Kondell served as the screenwriter.

It is evident that someone watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and thought, hey I can do a movie kind of like that, complete with cribbing footage from it too. But this movie has an idealism about it that manages to come off as the equivalent of too much cotton candy at the fair that only leads to simple vomit. It is a movie that seems to have been nicked and tucked in re-writes to where one would hope it is taken out to pasture with the mix of sitcom lines and characters to go with. absolute zero meaningful drama. Taking something like the issue of animal testing and making one bored to tears is quite the achievement in dubiousness. It begs for a cynical hand at the wheel to deal with politics or some sort of inspiration beyond cribbing dynamics from the first film in being yet another fish out of water story. Beyond (million dog) marches and congressmen changing their mind on things because their dog is gay, one simply finds themselves wishing these scenarios were, well, funny. Witherspoon fares the best out of everyone in the same way that a shirt with a dirty spot looks cleaner when washed but doesn't really get rid of the spot. The cheery disposition presented here only works to the fishbowl level of sitcom times here, where one would rather see more scenes between her and Wilson because of the interesting dynamic between sunny charm and a dry Wilson. Sally Field (accompanied by a goofy wig) seems lost with material that has her say at one point "don't worry Bob, I'll get her ... and her little dog too." At least the secret adversary mentor in the first film was suitable for what was needed. Here, she seems there more for name recognition and a nice check rather than something useable. King plays the snooty foil that was already done before in the first film, and it is evident that nothing really changes for the better beyond what you already know what is going to happen in bla-bla land that King can't elevate too much. Newhart as a doorman with key knowledge to help Witherspoon in the ways of politicking sounds like the lead to a joke, but this is one is at the expense of the audience who find themselves rolling their eyes at whatever paycheck was used to waste his time here. McGill is nice and dandy in the easy cliche role, one that might have been a better fit for the second lead role rather than Field in terms of smarminess...instead he gets to play a guy swayed in protecting dogs from getting animal tested because damn it he loves his gay big dog. As a whole, the original movie has been dissected and had some of its aspects repeated here within a fish-out-of-water story where the lead gradually wins the respect of her peers with her can-do attitude to adapting to the environment that uses her know-how (i.e. fashion sense) to get what she aims to do before giving a speech at the end while everything goes exactly right for her. It is the equivalent of chewing gum for 95 minutes, where one will find a bit of sweet release on two points: the one moment where chewing it is cool, and the moment when you finally decide enough is enough and spit it out. Folks big on the original might find something okay with this one, but others would do better to look elsewhere.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Legally Blonde.

Review #1698: Legally Blonde.

Cast: 

Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods), Luke Wilson (Emmett Richmond), Selma Blair (Vivian Kensington), Matthew Davis (Warner Huntington III), Victor Garber (Professor Callahan), Jennifer Coolidge (Paulette Bonafonté), Holland Taylor (Professor Elspeth Stromwell), Ali Larter (Brooke Taylor-Windham), Jessica Cauffiel (Margot), Alanna Ubach (Serena McGuire), Francesca P. Roberts (Judge Marina R. Bickford), Oz Perkins (David Kidney), Linda Cardellini (Chutney Windham), Bruce Thomas (UPS Guy), Meredith Scott Lynn (Enid Wexler), and Raquel Welch (Mrs. Windham-Vandermark) Directed by Robert Luketic.

Review: 

Well, sometimes you need a movie about the law to go with a tale of forging a path forward for oneself with confidence, I suppose. Legally Blonde is adapted from the novel of the same name, which was self-published by Amanda Brown in 2001 (although it should be noted that the 1994 copyright filing lists both Brown and Brigdet Kerrigan, who coincidentally had attended Harvard) based on the writer's experiences in Stanford Law School, which namely involved making fun of her classmates with letters sent back home to Arizona while reading Elle magazine; one key experience involved her going to a group for women attending the school that Brown found amusement over their serious tone (such as trying to change "semester" to "ovester"). She dropped out after two years, but she eventually cobbled a manuscript together; while it didn't attract much attention as a book, it did find interest with film studios, and one pitch that was used for it was "Clueless meets The Paper Chase". At any rate, the film was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who saw numerous script changes that turned a first draft with raunchy material into one with adversity to overcome and a murder trial (including an ending that came from test audiences caring about the success of its character rather than a kiss on the courthouse). In other words, a script that would probably have come off the heels of stuff like American Pie (1999) ended up being more of a feel-good movie that surely plays its own note in the blonde circuit (which has quite a few stereotypes that I'm sure would make for an interesting discussion somewhere else). This was also the feature film debut of Robert Luketic, a native of Australia who had been making short films since he was a teenager before his short Titsiana Booberini (1997) attracted Hollywood.

Honestly, it's just an okay movie. It's an obvious movie, one that plays exactly to the bone of "being yourself with confidence" that makes for a few chuckles for a 96 minute movie that sure takes its time to really get going, even when it has something to say about workplace dynamics in conduct (or perhaps not judging stuff like sorority life or law school by the cover...?) and something something feminist classic something something. Or something like that, because really it is the trial parts that are more up to speed in actually doing something beyond "aw shucks". You know how folks will randomly approach stars and have them do "classic stuff" at a convention? The appeal for this movie is kind of like that, albeit without as many nerd lingo (as any convention attendee would say). That, or it is basically a sports movie for sorority folks. Strangely enough, with a pitch evoking the name of Clueless (1995), it really doesn't seem to have that much "zing" to it, if you know what I mean. Sure, there are quite a few quirky moments, such as the "bend and snap" sequence, which sounds believable when you note that the writers came up with it while at a bar. It comes and goes, really, when you think about it. There is nothing here that is exactly harmful or ridiculous, and I imagine that it certainly proved an inspiration to at least one person when it came to law or perhaps something else - so yeah, average isn't the worst possible experience one could have with this feature. If it wasn't for Witherspoon, this probably would have been a lesser experience. Her sunny charm and wit certainly play off against the others well enough with flourishing interest that you would see from a "fish out of water" type without being played out, and its easy to see how two decades have only cemented the enduring entertainment that Witherspoon brings here. The others keep up fine for the most part. Wilson is casual enough to keep his portion of the film going well enough without asking for too much more (the aforementioned ending involved the two leads kissing at the end, but I think you can see why they just went with a different one). Blair brings up the snobby parts to where it needs to go (complete with the predictable stuff), which is followed by the snooty snake charm from Davis to go with the slithering calmness generated by Garber. Coolidge gets a chuckle in shyness while others get a line or two to show up (such as Larter doing some well-blown hysterics over gluteal efforts), which means that one will do just fine in keeping their attention airtight. As I stated already, it is the law parts that generate interest more, probably because its predictability is a little less obvious than the school segments, but that is probably just me. In the two decades that have followed the release of this film, a sequel was released alongside a musical and a spinoff, and it is perhaps representative of the legacy of the film that another sequel is in development. Is it predictable? Indubitably, but it has plenty of charm in the right places to make a worthy time for those in the mood for what it yearns to say about having fun as oneself without letting folks or other things get in their way. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Valentine.

Review #543: Valentine.

Cast
David Boreanaz (Adam Carr), Denise Richards (Paige Prescott), Marley Shelton (Kate Davies), Jessica Capshaw (Dorothy Wheeler), Jessica Cauffiel (Lily Voigh), Katherine Heigl (Shelley Fisher), Hedy Burress (Ruthie Walker), Fulvio Cecere (Detective Leon Vaughn), Daniel Cosgrove (Campbell Morris), and Johnny Whitworth (Max Raimi) Directed by Jamie Blanks.

Review
So yeah, I hope everyone had a decent Friday, regardless of the harbinger of annoyance, Valentine's Day. So in (dis) honor of the so called holiday, I'm reviewing a movie...called Valentine. At least I'm not reviewing Valentine's Day (or My Bloody Valentine), so there's that. So yeah, a slasher film that has some relation with a holiday, clearly such an original concept (Except for some other films with holiday relation like Black Christmas, April Fool's Day, Thanksgiving (A trailer, but still), Halloween, etc.), too bad the movie stinks. The cast don't work well with each other, and they aren't interesting to watch, since what's the point when it's certain that all of them have a 99-100% of dying. The characters themselves are stale, unlikable (except for Shelton's character, but still not enough to save the movie), and disposable. The movie might've been better if their were comedic elements, but now I'm just thinking of Scream. The killer himself isn't really threatening, he just trudges around, wearing a mask that while I know is a Cupid's mask (real clever), isn't really scary, just laughable. Boreanaz is probably the only notable actor (Unless of course you've never watched Angel or Bones, like me, in that case the only notable actor is Denise Richards, for The World Is Not Enough), and he actually does try in this film, though it's not enough. The movie is never scary, given that since it's easily predictable where the killer is and when the characters will die, there's no suspense. You'd think I'd care that the killer actually gets away with the murders, but given the dull nature of the movie and its lack of surprises of who the killer was, it's best to forget the movie, but not before trashing it.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.