Movie Diary
1. I Think I Love My Wife
Beneath his rep as the modern definition of a braying, foul-mouthed black comic, Chris Rock has always had this kind of sentimental, old-school approach to comedy that tends to come through more in his interviews, and in the projects where he has a role behind the camera (mainly Down To Earth and "Everybody Hates Chris"). This isn't quite in line with that, but it is a little more cerebral and old-fashioned than, say, CB4 (still his best movie for my money). I haven't seen the Rohmer movie it's a remake of, but it feels like Rock's attempt at a Woody Allen movie, except, unfortunately, it's as clumsily directed as Head Of State, and the funniest parts are yanked from Rock's and co-writer Louis C.K.'s standup material. Still, through all the plot contrivances and botched gags (the Viagra bit, the song cue at the end that I liked but would've work way better if the singing/lip syncing wasn't executed so badly), it ended up being a pretty clever look at marriage and fidelity that had some kernels of truth to it.
2. Conversations With Other Women
At first the splitscreen gimmick grated on me, and I thought it made the whole thing look cheaper than it really was. But gradually they used it as a storytelling tool in a way that really worked, and I liked this more than I wanted to, even if it was carried by some very actor-y acting by the two leads.
3. The Third Wheel
A really weird Luke Wilson/Ben Affleck comedy from back when Affleck was more bankable than Wilson but completely slipped under the radar enough at the time to be a pleasant surprised when caught one afternoon on cable. Kind of rambling and nonsensical in a strangely enjoyable way. Plus, it features Ben Affleck declaring "I always wanted to get my swerve on on my bike!" which I think is reason enough by itself to see it. Jay Locopo, who wrote the movie and plays the weird homeless guy Phil, apparently created a show produced by Conan O'Brien that's going to be on NBC later this year, so I'm kinda looking forward to that. I am kind of annoyed, though, by the part where one of the cast members lip syncs Young MC's "Bust A Move," which was a really weird thing for them to considering that almost the exact same thing happened in Dude, Where's My Car? two years earlier.
Beneath his rep as the modern definition of a braying, foul-mouthed black comic, Chris Rock has always had this kind of sentimental, old-school approach to comedy that tends to come through more in his interviews, and in the projects where he has a role behind the camera (mainly Down To Earth and "Everybody Hates Chris"). This isn't quite in line with that, but it is a little more cerebral and old-fashioned than, say, CB4 (still his best movie for my money). I haven't seen the Rohmer movie it's a remake of, but it feels like Rock's attempt at a Woody Allen movie, except, unfortunately, it's as clumsily directed as Head Of State, and the funniest parts are yanked from Rock's and co-writer Louis C.K.'s standup material. Still, through all the plot contrivances and botched gags (the Viagra bit, the song cue at the end that I liked but would've work way better if the singing/lip syncing wasn't executed so badly), it ended up being a pretty clever look at marriage and fidelity that had some kernels of truth to it.
2. Conversations With Other Women
At first the splitscreen gimmick grated on me, and I thought it made the whole thing look cheaper than it really was. But gradually they used it as a storytelling tool in a way that really worked, and I liked this more than I wanted to, even if it was carried by some very actor-y acting by the two leads.
3. The Third Wheel
A really weird Luke Wilson/Ben Affleck comedy from back when Affleck was more bankable than Wilson but completely slipped under the radar enough at the time to be a pleasant surprised when caught one afternoon on cable. Kind of rambling and nonsensical in a strangely enjoyable way. Plus, it features Ben Affleck declaring "I always wanted to get my swerve on on my bike!" which I think is reason enough by itself to see it. Jay Locopo, who wrote the movie and plays the weird homeless guy Phil, apparently created a show produced by Conan O'Brien that's going to be on NBC later this year, so I'm kinda looking forward to that. I am kind of annoyed, though, by the part where one of the cast members lip syncs Young MC's "Bust A Move," which was a really weird thing for them to considering that almost the exact same thing happened in Dude, Where's My Car? two years earlier.
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