I don't know why Anna Faris doesn't get to make better movies than the low-rent crap she always seems to end up in, because I think she is one of the funniest actresses her age working today. She has an effortless charm about her, and a total willingness to put herself in situations where she won't come off charming at all. In the few movies I've seen her in, she's been an expert physical comedian, skilled with words, and endlessly likeable.
Chris Evans is, of course, best known now for playing Captain America (and for appearing in The Fantastic Four before that). But he too has a comedy pedigree, starting out in movies like Not Another Teen Movie. He also has charm to spare, a sharp sense of comic timing, and is easy to root for.
Oh, and they're both hot. I don't need to say that; the movie makes damn sure you're aware of that. If for some reason you haven't noticed by the halfway point, the "strip H.O.R.S.E." game on a professional basketball court is designed specifically to get them out of their clothes for your viewing enjoyment.
There are some fun people in the secondary cast as well. Eliza Coupe, hysterical on the TV series Happy Endings, has a small but humorous role. Joel McHale plays a sleazy boss. Zachary Quinto has essentially a cameo in the opening scene. Veterans Blythe Danner and Ed Begley Jr. show up to play around a bit at the end.
But the thing is, this all really ought to be much, much funnier, given the talent involved. Like I said, the people involved do make the film watchable, but they can't disguise that it's a very paint-by-numbers rom-com. You know where it's going five minutes after it starts, and there's nothing surprising or especially hilarious about the journey there.
Overall, I'd call it a middle of the road C. Put another way -- you've seen this movie before. Whether or not you want to watch these people probably depends on how many times you've seen this movie before.
No comments:
Post a Comment