Tag Archives: comedy

Review: The Heat

The buddy cop comedy genre has been around forever and comes back in different forms. The Heat takes a shot in this genre of marrying the serious career of crime fighting with two upholders of the law that find little to agree upon.

Let’s state the obvious: Melissa McCarthy steals the show. To her credit, if you loved Sandra Bullock as Lenina Huxley in Demolition Man, you’ll find her awkward-yet-capable character in The Heat also charming, but it’s McCarthy who portrays Boston local cop,  Shannon Mullins, that gets credit for the many of laughs that ensue.

The good; you do know that this movie is more about comedy than drama, right? Good!

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy really work together. You get the feeling they became friends working together if they weren’t already and I can’t help but wonder why the makers didn’t give us a gag reel during the credits as icing on the cake.

Watching Bullock in this movie just makes you want to hug her, especially if you know someone just like her and chances are you do.

Bonus: You’ll appreciate some of the cameos even more if you’ve watched Bridesmaids.

The bad; The film runs 117 minutes but unfortunately some of the jokes don’t work. A bit editing could have kept this comedy leaner and more potent.

Overall, if you’re craving comedy and looking for a reason to cool off in theaters check out The Heat. One question remains, would a third Paul Feig + Melissa McCarthy movie be a charm?

Casa De Mi Padre

Casa de mi Padre opened this weekend.  The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.  It’s about Armando Alvarez who’s a rancher in Mexico, his brother comes back home and not only brings along a soon-to-be wife, but criminal trouble.  Now put Will Ferrell and an overly dramatic telenovela (soap opera), in the spirit of Black Dynamite and you get the greatness that is… Casa de mi Padre.

The good; Will Ferrell, doing what Will Ferrell does.  You either love it, or you hate it.  For some, this might be classified as part of the bad, for me, it certainly is not.  Ferrell hams it up and plays to the audience, and he does it in Spanish.  What more could you want?

Well, you get Bernal and Luna who are typically serious dramatic actors, but now they’re doing that in a comedy and it just adds to everything.  I won’t ruin the ending, but there’s a slow-mo death scene that is hilarious.

One more thing, that won’t ruin the plot, there are a number of mannequins throughout the film, it’s both creepy and hilarious.

The bad; I seriously can’t find any.  But if you’re not a fan of this type of comedy then you’ll have more to add to this section than I do.

Overall, a thoroughly entertaining comedy.  They make the film scratchy, the editing is jumpy, there are numerous continuity errors and it’s just a whole lotta fun.  If you hate reading and atypical comedies, don’t see Casa de mi Padre, but if you enjoy awkward laughing and over the top humor coupled with guns and Mexican drug lords, go see this masterpiece.

Jim Gaffigan Follows Louis C.K.’s Move, Announces New Special to Be Hosted on His Site

Awhile back, Radiohead decided to do something different. They offered their album, In Rainbows, to fans for whatever price they deemed it worthy. The experiment was a hit. More recently, Louis C.K. decided to host his latest stand-up comedy special and offer it for $5 to fans. The download was DRM free. There was nothing to stop people from freely distributing it to friends afterwards or sharing it with anonymous users via BitTorrent or physical copies. The release was a financial hit and backed by proof presented by Louis C.K. himself. Today, Jim Gaffigan, announced his upcoming stand-up comedy special through his website.

The motives behind independent distribution are easily summed: cut out the middle man and engage fans with a very reasonable price and they’ll be more than willing to buy and make the release viral. Even better, if you tell fans part of the proceeds go towards a great cause, they’ll think of the offering as a bonus. That’s what Jim Gaffigan decided to do by donating $1 from every purchase to The Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Even though independent distribution is the only option for smaller names in the entertainment industry, I applaud Gaffigan and others before and after him for taking this risk and embracing the internet as a dominant distribution platform. It will be fun to see the finished form of this project, as Gaffigan will be self-producing most of the recording.

Jim Gaffigan has been in the comedy game for quite some time. If you’ve never heard his bit on Hot Pockets, you haven’t lived. What makes Gaffigan’s brand of humor even more accessible is that it’s generally family friendly. Using quirky observations and silly voices, this special is sure to be a laugh riot. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him twice and highly recommend you check him out if he’s in your area.

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Occupy Wall Street? Jeff Ross Tweets He’ll Roast It

Jeff Ross just tweeted the following:

Attention protesters at @OccupyLA – I’m comin down there to “Roast Wall Street” Wed at 1pm on the south lawn steps of Los Angeles City Hall.

I’ve always believed that comedy is a great way to cope with serious matters and I’m sure the Roastmaster General has some funny and thought provoking material to share with the folks of Los Angeles.

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