Airplane Mode
Airplane Mode made me feel old. Not because I didn’t recognize most of the YouTubers that fill out the cast, but because I was constantly startled and taken aback by the film’s hyper and annoying immaturity.
Gross Out
Sausage Party
Sausage Party is a shock comedy that’s heavy on “shock” and light on “comedy”. The film is supposed to subvert clean-cut animated films with inappropriate dialogue and black humour, but ends up becoming a crass and awkward in-joke between the comic cast.
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
There’s a difference between being self-aware and being self-involved – the former usually has more sense than the latter. For instance, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates is aware of its buffoonery, but neglects to be involved in its own idiocy. There’s still a brain behind the immaturity displayed by Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron).
The Brothers Grimsby
Sometime after Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and before Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen was at a crossroads with his comedy: does he expose more social experiments with wry satire or does he stick with outrageous nastiness?
Does It Float?: Dirty Grandpa
When Dirty Grandpa was released in January, it was panned by critics and moviegoing audiences stayed fairly quiet. However, after Wylie Writes’ Shannon Page reported that the film was a funny party with irresistible chemistry between veteran actor Robert De Niro and heartthrob Zac Efron, I was inclined to check it out.
Fifty Shades of Black
What happened? I was supposed to like Fifty Shades of Black. As someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up for Marlon Wayans’ Haunted House spoof series, Wayans’ riff on Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Fifty Shades of Grey should’ve been up my alley. So, indeed, what happened?
The Orange Man
The Orange Man is voluntarily uneven. After presenting itself as slasher horror, the film has a change of heart and decides to be a break-up comedy for bros, and then flip-flops some more. It’s a shame since the slasher bits are the most fun.
My Ex-Ex
By: Addison Wylie American gross-out comedies were so popular during the birth of the 2000s, Canadian cinema hopped on board. I vividly remember Mark Griffiths’ road trip flick Going the Distance and Dave Thomas’ workplace scrub clad comedy Intern Academy being released in 2004, and producing piddly groans. Canadian filmmakers are hitting another “monkey see, monkey do” phase as movie goers flock towards the comedic chops of Judd Apatow and his filmmaking protégés. Just like…
The Wedding Ringer
By: Addison Wylie With The Wedding Ringer, you get what you came for. But, just barely. It helps when you compare Jeremy Garelick’s film next to other recent R-rated comedies that take place around a wedding. It’s far better than That’s My Boy, and is narrowly beat out by What’s Your Number?. That’s a pretty pitiful way to look at things, but at this point, I’ll take whatever I can get. The Wedding Ringer also…
Bad Johnson
By: Addison Wylie In Bad Johnson, heartthrob Cam Gigandet plays Rich, a womanizing jackass who finds himself in predicaments when pleasing his manly needs. He cheats on girlfriends, checks out T&A, and forgets women he’s gone to bed with. According to the film, some of this is charming – usually when Gigandet is smirking and trying to woo. Alas, Rich’s mojo becomes too much of a burden. In frustration, he wishes away his penis. The…