Tag: Humor

REVIEW: Lawrence helps ‘No Hard Feelings’ punch above its weight

It’s nice to see a straightforward, R-rated comedy on the big screen again, and it certainly helps that this one features an Academy Award winner.

That Oscar recipient is of course Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the character Maddie in “No Hard Feelings.” Short on cash and wanting to prevent her late mother’s house from being taken by the bank, Maddie is trying to make money as an Uber driver. Unfortunately, she wakes up one morning to see her car being repossessed.

Needing a new ride, she follows up on a Craigslist ad from two parents offering a car in return for dating their shy, awkward son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who’s going to Princeton in the fall. Maddie initially balks at the idea, but ends up going for it out of desperation. At first, she just reluctantly agrees, but as time goes on, Maddie starts bonding with Percy.

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REVIEW: While thought provoking, “Nope” is rarely gripping

“Nope” is a UFO movie. I’m resistant to using the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena term, UFO just sounds better.

In writer/director Jordan Peele’s newest film, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as O.J. and Em Haywood, respectively. The brother-sister duo inherited a ranch from their father where horses were raised and trained to be used in the entertainment industry.

The business is struggling lately, though, and to generate revenue, O.J. has been selling off the horses to Jupe Park (Steven Yeun), the owner of a nearby cowboy-inspired theme park. As time goes on, the family’s financial situation becomes a lesser issue, with strange and disturbing events beginning to happen, with a potential UFO in the area.

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REVIEW: ‘Coming 2 America’ offers an enjoyable reunion

Sequels always have a lot to live up to and usually don’t succeed in surpassing the original picture. However, sometimes it can just be a joy revisiting some old characters.

Both are true for “Coming 2 America.”

The film takes place 30 years after the events of the last movie. Following the death of his father, Akeem Joffer is crowned King of Zamunda and he has three daughters. The oldest, Meeka (KiKi Layne) is well trained in combat and diplomacy, yet she is ineligible for the throne, as only a male heir can inherit the role. This is soon pointed out in the first act by General Izzi, the leader of Zamunda’s neighboring nation of Nexdoria. In a meeting between the two nations, Izzi says Akeem’s lack of a male heir is a sign that the future of the throne is in trouble.

However, Akeem soon learns that he actually did have a son, Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) with a woman in New York named Mary (Leslie Jones). Akeem, joined by his best friend and advisor Semmi (Arsenio Hall) travel to New York and bring Lavelle and his mother back to Zamunda. There, Akeem begins teaching how Lavelle should act, as he is now the crown prince and heir to the Zamundan throne.

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REVIEW: ‘An American Pickle’ plagued with issues

A good idea can make a movie intriguing, but it can’t hold up a whole feature when executed poorly.

Unfortunately, that’s what we have with “An American Pickle.”

Brandon Trost makes his feature directorial debut here in this movie about an immigrant named Herschel (Seth Rogen) who moves to the United States with his wife to start a new life. Herschel gets a job to establish his family in America, but because of an accident, he falls into a pickle brine chamber where he’s preserved for 100 years.

After a century, Herschel is released from the brine storage and is examined by scientists. Soon after, he’s put in contact with his descendant, Ben (also Rogen). While the two are at first excited to learn about each other, the time difference and disagreements over family values causes a rift.

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REVIEW: ‘Babysplitters’ is mostly abysmal

Parenthood and the process of getting there has been the subject of comedies for quite some time and some, like “Knocked Up,” can be big hits.

However, these types of films usually require a balanced approach. Unfortunately, “Babysplitters” is too all over the place.

The movie focuses on the married couple Jeff (Danny Pudi) and Sarah (Emily Chang). The two have a good relationship, but they somewhat disagree on the prospect of having children.

Meanwhile, their friends Don (Eddie Alfano) and Taylor (Maiara Walsh) are having the same conversations. After having some discussions all together, they come up with a plan of sharing one baby, but their plan has complications.

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REVIEW: Despite some good moments, ‘King of Staten Island’ can test patience

The King of Staten Island isn’t as cool of a title as The King of New York, but few people can be as cool as Christopher Walken.

While this 2020 movie has that title, main character Scott Carlin (Pete Davidson) is certainly no king. In this Judd Apatow-directed feature, Scott is a 24-year-old who lives with his mother Margie (Marisa Tomei) and isn’t a student attending college or working any job.

What Scott does instead is either get high with his friends, or work as an amateur tattoo artist. Much of this behavior is pinned to the death of Scott’s father, who was a firefighter who died in the line of duty. His way of life is challenged, though, when his sister Claire (Maude Apatow) moves to college and his mother begins a relationship with another person working in New York City’s Fire Department, Ray (Bill Burr).

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REVIEW: ‘The Wrong Missy’ is a miserable comedy

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Happy Madison production, since I haven’t really kept up with the studio’s move to Netflix. I have to say, the quality hasn’t really changed, and that’s not a good thing.

David Spade stars as Tim in “The Wrong Missy.” The film starts out with him going on a blind date that turns out to be a disaster. The person he goes on a date with is Missy (Lauren Lapkus), who is completely coco for Cocoa Puffs. The date is so bad it actually turns him off from dating for a while.

However, during a business trip, Tim meets another woman named Missy, which is short for Melissa, (Molly Sims) and the two immediately hit it off. They share interests and have an easy time chatting with each other. The two eventually exchange numbers and Tim likes her so much that he wants to invite her on a company retreat to a tropical island. The only problem is he mixes up the phone numbers and invites (gasp) the wrong Missy! Comedy is allegedly supposed to ensue.

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Best of the Decade: Comedy

This is a series called “Best of the Decade.” It’s a list including 10 movies that I found to be the best in a specific genre from 2010-2019.

Whether they were based on TV shows or real life experiences, the past decade provided audiences with a good deal of laughs. Here are my favorite funny flicks from the 2010s.

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