Tag Archives: comedy

#265-MASH

Quick recap: Hijinks at a hospital during the Korean War? YOU BETCHA!

376

Fun (?) fact: Robert Altman’s 14 year old son wrote the lyrics to the opening theme song.

My thoughts: Four movies in, and I think I can finally say with confidence that I don’t really care for Robert Altman. I loved The Long Goodbye, but that was largely because of Elliot Gould,and I just didn’t get the appeal of Nashville or The Player. And now there is MASH to add to the list,which just might be my least favorite of all of his films thus far.

I have this image in my head of Donald Sutherland (Hawkeye) and Elliot Gould (Trapper John) standing behind me as I type this review, yelling things to me like, ‘buzzkill!’, ‘where’s your sense of humor?’ and ‘why are we here? What happened?’. Their imagined disappointment in me comes from the fact that I just didn’t think this movie was funny. Most of the jokes were about how hot the nurses were and how they wanted to have sex with the nurses, which, if you’re not an Animaniac, it’s just creepy to watch.

HelloNurseyakkowakko

I can’t speak for the show, having never watched it ( I KNOW), but I was hoping for something along the same lines of being funny but also touching and dark at times. This movie was none of that. There was that one scene where Hawkeye and Trapper John saved a baby but they acted like such jackasses towards everyone that it ruined the moment.

Final review: 2/5

Up next: Full Metal Jacket

 

3 Comments

#264-Beverly Hills Cop

Quick Recap: Eddie Murphy plays Axel Foley, a Detroit cop looking for answers to his friend’s murder in upscale Beverly Hills. Are there hijinks? Buddy, you won’t BELIEVE the amount of hijinks this movie has.

giphy.gif

HIJINKS

Fun (?) fact: Sylvester Stallone was originally chosen as Axel Foley but dropped out when he couldn’t successfully negotiate what kind of orange juice would be kept in his trailer (according to legend).

vlcsnap-2013-09-23-21h18m58s131.png

Where there’s Balki, there are hijinks

My thoughts: Is it possible that Beverly Hills Cop is the most 1980s movie ever made? Let’s check the facts:

  • various people casually dressed up as Michael Jackson
  • music is heavily played on a synthesizer
  • a black man puts a banana in a tailpipe and his only consequence is a look of sadness from the two white officers
  • Eddie Murphy

I think if you were to throw in some neon, a few catch phrases and Kenny Loggins this would win.

With 100%  certainty, Eddie Murphy is the reason this movie is so memorable. The plot about a guy looking to find his best friend’s killer is dark but also just general enough to allow Murphy to do his thing. Many of the scenes felt more like I was watching a stand up special than a movie. ( When white people go to a hotel they act like this, but when black people go to a hotel, they do this!) It’s not a bad thing, but it did make the movie seem a little disjointed at times. I also never really bought that Murphy’s character really cared about his friend. They were only together for a few minutes onscreen so I was never really invested in him. Everything just felt like a set up to another joke, which, although they were usually funny and I’ll never turn down a chance to see Judge Reinhold humiliated, the whole schtick gets old.

Nevertheless, it’s a breezy movie and if it was on basic cable on a Saturday afternoon, I would probably sit down to watch it again, if only because of Balki.

PERFECT-STRANGERS_article_story_large

Final review: 3/5

Up next: The Big Lebowski

1 Comment

#261- Pink Flamingos

Quick recap: Divine is in a battle against Raymond and Connie Marble to keep her title of ‘Filthiest Person Alive’.

6a0133ed4a0a3a970b0133ed52b5d1970b

one of the few shots I’m willing to post on here.

Fun (?) fact: I’m never eating eggs again!

giphy

Let’s instead remember much happier times

My thoughts: The hell?

Okay, but really, WHAT did I just watch? Unspeakable acts with chickens, abundant nudity, and eating real dog poop, apparently. I’m stuck in a conflict between being absolutely shocked at what I sat through but also knowing that was John Water’s point so he’s getting the result he was going for by me freaking out. On the other hand, SHE ATE REAL DOG POOP. I try to be as open minded as I can, but this was just too much. Do you know how much I used to love eggs?? Sunny side up, scrambled, hard-boiled, it didn’t matter. After Pink Flamingos, I can never look at one again without gagging.

I feel obligated to at least point out that in the most messed up way possible, this movie has heart. I can’t believe I’m saying this after all that I saw, but it was (almost) heartwarming to see all the friends and family who supported Divine and were willing to do anything for her, even if it meant committing murder. There were some legitimately funny things in this movie because that’s how shock entertainment goes and I especially loved John Waters as the narrator. There was a fun, campy aspect to the whole thing and it looked as if everyone genuinely enjoyed their time making the movie. So, there’s that.

dgg

You and me, both, couch.

Final review: 2/5. Should you watch Pink Flamingos? Sure! Knock yourself out and then throw out all of your eggs just like I have done.

Up next: Touch of Evil

 

1 Comment

#257-She’s Gotta have It

Quick recap: Nola Darling is perfectly happy dating 3 guys at the same time but the guys turn it into a competition to be her boyfriend.

SGHI_71_640x391-1600x900-c-default

Nola and Jamie

Fun (?) fact: The film was shot in 12 days and because of the tight budget. There were no retakes.

SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, Tracy Camilla Johns, Spike Lee, 1986

Nola and Mars

My thoughts: She’s Gotta Have It is my first Spike Lee film and I’m so glad I started with it. I expected some sort of comedic romance story about a girl having to choose between three guys but thank god it went so much deeper than that. For starters, it’s directed in the style of a documentary, although it’s never clear who is filming everyone’s confessions. Combined with a no name cast (besides Spike Lee), the whole saga seemed real and got me invested in the characters. She’s Gotta Have It is also wonderfully progressive, which is even more amazing considering it was made in 1986.

So, Nola is dating 3 guys- Jamie (sensitive jazzy guy), Mars (funny cool guy) and Greer (narcissist). The guys all know about each other, so it’s not like she is being deceitful in anyway. She is also upfront about wanting everything to be casual, going so far as to reprimand any of the guys who mistakenly say they are in love with her. Jamie, however, flat out asks her to make a choice about settling down and this ruins everything. I love how opposite this is compared to other rom-coms. Settling down makes Nola miserable and unhappy. She just wants to be herself and not tied down to anyone. Society still has an issue with this point so I’m kind of astounded by Spike Lee’s stance.

Despite all the evidence, a part of me wanted Nola to ‘settle down’ and choose Jamie. He was the obvious choice, of course: bringing her groceries when she was sick,staging an elaborate dance sequence for her birthday and helping to clean up after the Thanksgiving meal. He is your typical ‘nice guy’. He’s the kind of guy that sits around, not being able to fathom how come he doesn’t have girls falling at his feet because he is such a ‘nice guy’. Which is a dangerous thing to think about, because it breeds resentment and you know what resentment breeds, kids! That’s right, the Dark Side. Which Jamie manifests one evening by coming over and raping Nola. It’s horrible and ugly and utterly realistic because it makes her rethink her life and and decide he is the one she wants after all.

As I was about to write off this movie, it ends with Nola confessing to the camera that she in fact broke it off with Jamie soon after because she realized he wanted her to be something she wasn’t. I loved how nonchalant she was about the realization and how it drove home the point that she is who she is and there is nothing wrong with it. Perfection.

Final review: 5/5.

Up next: The Bridge on the River Kwai

 

Leave a comment