Quick Movie Review: Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Satire films are difficult to review. Do we judge them simply based on how well-written the jokes are? Or how good the story is? Already, they have to be given a handicap because there are some aspects of ordinary film that, by nature, they usually don't possess--like character depth or a traditional narrative.

But on top of it all, they're supposed to be funny. And while this one may not be laugh-out-loud for everyone, it definitely has its moments. The style of humor is consistent. It never tries to be something it's not. And for those who enjoy its irreverence, they will get a lot out of this one.

Wet Hot American Summer takes place on the last day of camp, during the summer of 1981. But instead of it being about the campers, it's about the counselors and how they all try to make the best of their final 24 hours.

With a cast that reads off more like a very odd Garry Marshall holiday-themed film, one would think that this was the comedy event of the year (consisting of Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bradley Cooper, Molly Shannon, Elizabeth Banks, Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Ian Black, A.D. Miles, et al). But unfortunately, most of the talents went underutilized and nobody gets nearly enough screen time.

And despite this being a summer camp themed movie, there are not a lot of archetypes. The characters are all pretty much the same type of stupid, with not much varying in personalities.

There are some really clever bits, but it's mostly just a massive compilation of jokes without any real overarching linearity. It resembles some sort of modern-day Airplane! but even Airplane! had us invested in how it would end.

But oddly enough, the movie's best moments all involve the kids in some way--although the film is meant to be about the counselors. And the highlight is the penultimate scene at the End of Summer Talent Show, where we are treated to an MC that echoes a demented Henny Youngman.

As much as I laughed, I was hoping this movie would be something a little different. With not a lot of good coming-of-age summer camp movies out there to choose from, Wet Hot American Summer misses an opportunity to really touch upon the nostalgia of going to camp. There are some really great scenes and story arcs that it doesn't capitalize on.  As a former camper-turned-counselor, a lot of my own memories from growing up happened at camp, and I just wish that the filmmakers weren't so concerned with making it a satire. It's not like there's some overindulgence of these type of films for a satire to be warranted. It has the ingredients of a really great, meaningful film, but sacrifices this for the sake of irreverent jokes--albeit a few, I admit, I laughed at.

Twizard Rating: 68

Quick Movie Review: Ant-Man (2015)

As one of the few people who are beginning to get tired of these Marvel Universe movies, Ant-Man was extremely refreshing. It's not that I dislike the movies--it's just beginning to feel like the same stories with different characters. I've also noticed that the first film in each character's "series" has been the standout. Hopefully the same does not bode true of Ant-Man, since I would love to see this be the flagship series of the Avengerverse.

Without giving too much away, Ant-Man is about ex-convict, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who is hired by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to put on a suit that makes him the size of an ant in order to pull of a heist and make the world a better place.

If you're looking for something large-scale and meaningful, you may not completely find it here. But in a way, that's what makes Ant-Man more believable. In the real world, if there were superheroes like this, not every crime would be catastrophically jeopardizing the world as we know it. Some may just be on a personal level.

It lacks a certain depth and big emotion that the other Marvel films give us, but that adds to the uniqueness. The script isn't perfect, but it also changed hands midway through development.

While not perfect, it's exactly what we need. It's fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. The action isn't forced, but is always necessary. The changing of Ant-Man's height back and forth actually makes for some of the most unique fight sequences in cinema. However, we always know what's going on and it doesn't alienate any of its audience. Although it does tend to hurl a lot of information at us all at once, it does so while bridging the gap between the superhero-movie-lovers and the non-fans. It plays as more of a comedy and doesn't fill of our brains with too many made-up substances or secret organizations.

But don't think that this film is dumbed-down by any means. It's filled with thought-provoking themes and blurs the lines between right and wrong--making every character that much more interesting. No one here is the spitting image of morally pure--in a way, much more similar to Iron Man than Captain America.

Rudd does a fantastic job carrying the lead of this film, along with Douglas, who plays the quasi-mysterious mentor with a secret past.

This Marvel film finally gives us a fun scenario to play with. Unlike the other Marvel Universe films, this concept won't wear thin because there is so much you can do with it to continue answering our "what-if" questions. And with the plus side that Scott Lang is a very unique personality, this won't just be blending in with all the other superhero movies.
 
Twizard Rating: 94

Quick Movie Review: They Came Together

It's very obvious what this film is trying to do. As a romantic comedy satire, it's like a highbrow Leslie Nielsen movie. The cast is great and overall it's for a more pretentious audience. Nielsen's films were just simply for laughs, but this one wants to have a deeper message--and I think gets its point across well.

But in comedies we like to find some comfort knowing that they style of humor won't be all over the board. We want consistency and reliability. Some jokes were amazingly funny and some were simply there to gross us out. And those of the latter variety created a jarring inconsistency in the tone and made the humor unpredictable. They didn't fit, and there weren't enough of them in there to make the film a true gross-out comedy either. Therefore the erraticism of those jokes make us feel even more uncomfortable than the actual jokes themselves. And any of them could have been easily fixed by not making them go on for as long. And if this film's purpose was to have a deeper message, these jokes pop up every once in awhile and make the film less highbrow than what it's aiming for and actually turns into a Scary Movie type of film.

However, throughout all the irreverence and ridiculousness, you're strangely still invested in these characters. And in the end the message is sincere in that not all of these rom-coms feature seemingly perfect endings, while we never see what happens afterwards. Will they stay together or drift apart? We get too blinded by our emotions to think about it usually. Romeo and Juliet seem perfectly in love, but if they hadn't died maybe they would have ended up realizing that they weren't soul mates after all. 

I like this film for everything except for the few inconsistent jokes. I'll try to see past that.

Twizard Rating: 80