No, I’m not “down” with comu-dramas. I mean to say, DOWN with comu-dramas, because they suck. In the past couple months, I’ve seen both Dinner for Schmucks and The Other Guys. Both are portrayed as comic and campy, via trailers. But in fact, Dinner for Schmucks was not funny; The Other Guys was hilarious. Now, let me tell you why …
FAIL
is about Tim (played by the adorable Paul Rudd. Remember
Clueless? I sure do). Tim is an executive climbing the corporate ladder. He’s climbing so fast that his boss invites him to a “dinner for idiots,” a monthly event in which attendees find an idiot to bring to dinner. Whoever finds the biggest idiot gains certain advantages around the office. Steve Carell plays Rudd’s idiot of the evening, Barry—a divorcee who’s obsessed with finding dead mice, stuffing them, and then, setting them into shadowbox-esque scenes. Such promise in this plotline! And yet, what utter failure.
In contrast, The Other Guys … Will Ferrell and Marky-Mark (excuse me, Mark Wahlberg) play disgraced New York cops, pushing paperwork while the stereotypical good cops—played by Samuel Jackson and Dwayne Johnson—run around, saving the day. Through an amusing mishap, the good cops die, leaving an empty space for Ferrell and Wahlberg to take over. The mismatched duo must look past their differences when they take on a high-profile investigation of a shady capitalist and attempt to fill the shoes of the notoriously reckless officers they idolize. Also a promising plotline, and in this case, epic comic success!
So what made Dinner for Schmucks so bad and The Other Guys so good? I chalk it up to a new film genre, that I hope and pray will soon go the way of Alicia Silverstone.
SUCCESS
They call ‘em “comu-dramas.” They’re comedy flicks with some drama thrown in. Case in point would be
Dinner for Schmucks. After some mildly funny stuff, Paul Rudd starts to feel bad about what he’s doing to Barry. He has a moral crisis, and oh, isn’t it so sad? Don’t we feel so awful? … NO! We don’t feel awful, because
Dinner for Schmucks was supposed to be a comedy, and it failed! It FAILED!
The Other Guys has some scenes that could easily have turned dramatic. There’s the scene in the dance studio, where Wahlberg confronts his old girlfriend. This could have added a touch of emotion, but instead, Marky-Mark busts out some ballet moves, and I swear, it’s one of the funniest moments in the movie.
I don’t understand why writers/directors see a need to add drama to perfectly good comic flicks. Did we feel a moment of remorse in Old School? What about Super Troopers? Most recently, what about The Hangover? No, we feel no remorse in these movies, because these movies make us laugh. Although I found parts of I Love You Man to be hysterical, this movie danced along the edges of comu-drama, but it still worked, because it never got too serious. And it shouldn’t have. It was supposed to be a comedy!
I say down with comu-dramas. I don’t want to see them anymore. I don’t want to be force-fed emotion
I don’t go out to theaters very often--it’s true. But earlier this year a friend and I went and saw Date Night, and among the previews was a trailer for a summer release, The Other Guys.
It immediately caught my interest. Not just because one of its stars happens to be Mark Wahlberg, for whom I have a teeny, tiny, so-small-it’s-hardly-worth-mentioning crush (and whose shirtless screen time in Date Night was both noted and appreciated by me). But also because the storyline of The Other Guys looked like a fresh spin on a cop buddy movie, and it came across as genuinely funny.
Yesterday I happened to notice that I was not alone in wanting to see it...that The Other Guys was the number one movie of the weekend. And reviewers are loving it. So now I really think I need to head out to a theater again...and soon.
But in the meantime, I happened upon this fun interview with Marky Mark on the Time Magazine Website, which can be read or viewed. And I will totally understand if feel you need to watch the video, especially if you happen to think he’s amazing to look at and want to hear more of his low, whispery voice...
A-hem! In any case, tell us, are there any movies on your list to see?
Tina
Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, 2010 Rita® Finalist
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita® Finalist
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com
I would like to see The Other Guys, too. I'm in the mood for laughter. Life is serious enough as it is.
Maybe we should go together, Janie!
i haven't hear of this movie yet so thanks for the head's up. Looks great, even though I do not have a crush on Mark. :)
I did like Date Night (saw it on a plane), especially the way they kept coming back to the "stealing the reservation" ... Too funny!
A recent one I saw in the theater and LOVED is Inception but it is not funny, just really interesting, well acted, and cool
ok, this is hard for me, because I LOVE all movies...but saying that...I didn't LOVE The Other Guys--First off, you're going to be disappointed because Marky Mark is constantly going around wearing clothes--Seriously, I was trying to do a memory recall, and while I can picture the shirtless scenes from Date Night very well, I can't come up with one from the Other Guys.
If you do go to see it, there's an outtake at the end of the credits.
One movie that I would ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND is Ramona and Beezus--heartwarming and fun--it totally brought me back to when I used to read the books as a kid--And bonus, they have a good solid cast (Selena Gomez is good, even if you're afraid of Disney kids).
Grown-Ups is good, something the whole family can see; it's a good, old-fashioned family comedy.
Also, I wouldn't substitute Dinner for Schmucks for The Other guys, although it, too, has stuff at the end if want to wait. I wouldn't take kids to see this, or the Other Guys--or your parents, as the case may be. Friends or guys would be your best option.
I really liked Salt, although it definitely leaves room at the end for a sequel--It's a fast paced action movie from start to finish.
Also, Day and Knight was a good action movie, with some on-the-run romance thrown in--I thought it was a lot of fun.
If you haven't seen Eclipse--It's my favorite of the Twilight series so far!
Despicable Me is cute and enjoyable--Perfect if you want to take the kids; still fun if you don't.
The Last Airbender is good, lots of great visuals, a good story, definitely want to see what's going to happen next---It is also THE. SLOWEST. ACTION. MOVIE. I have EVER seen. They would say something like "Water!" and the water would come out like "waaaaaaaaaaaattttttttteeeeeerrrr!"
It also had a great set-up, and was very thorough in explaining the characters and the story line--which was great for me, not having seen the tv series.
---------------------
Movies I am really looking forward too:
-RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous)--with Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich as ex-CIA agents.
-Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
-TRON: Legacy (not out until December!)
-Morning Glory w/Rachel McAddams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, and Patrick Wilson
-The Switch, with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman--looks like a funny romantic comedy a la Baby Mamma, and the Back-Up plan.
Nymfaux, you are amazing in your reviews...and I swear, you've seen everything! And so sorry to hear that Mark keeps his shirt on in The Other Guys! ;)
Wendy, I saw Date Night a second time on the flight from LA to Orlando...maybe you caught it that way, too? I usually don't watch movies on airplanes--quality reading time--but I made an exception for that one!
@Tina :) --besides books, movies are my other obsession, and especially since you don't go to see a lot of movies, I wanted to give you some options so you'd enjoy yourself ;)
I definitely want to hear what you see and how you like it!!! I hope you have a great time!!! :)
--Oh, and I double-checked with my sister, neither of us can remember him being shirtless...and that's just not something you forget ;)
Warren and I can't wait to see The
Other Guys. I haven't seen Date Night yet but am looking forward to it. I also want to see The Expendables.
Thanks again, Nymfaux, but I should add that I catch most everything on DVD...so I'm usually just a little late! :)
@Tina--no problem!--I love seeing things on the big screen, but definitely think dvd might be a better medium for some of the ones I've seen lately ;)
Will Ferrell sometimes irritates me, so I might give it a miss. But I've gotten behind in my summer movie watching, so I'm still looking forward to seeing Salt, Despicable Me, and Toy Story 3! (Yes, I still haven't seen it.)
Also looking forward to Scott Pilgrim, and Red!
Yeah, Wow! You are up on the movies, Nymfaux. I would like to see The Other Guys - and I think Cyrus, though it's been out for awhile... ;)
Hi, Tina! I saw this and it was good! I'm not a Will Ferrell fan, but, uh, a big Mark Wahlberg fan, so I took my 12-year-old son to see it. While parts of it were dumb, I did laugh out loud many times and had to admit afterward that it was better than I thought it would be.
Can't wait to see Easy A which comes out next month.
Cara, you've got a great movie list there...here's hoping you make it to all of them!
MD, I'll look for that one, too!
Robin, so glad you saw The Other Guys and liked it...and clicked on your name and it took me to your blog, featuring a review of my book! Thank you so much, and I'm delighted that you liked it! :)
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