The 40-Year-Old Virgin can be looked to as perhaps the breakthrough film that started this new era of comedy. It's Judd Apatow's directorial debut, and with this film, he took the teen comedy format to a whole different level, proving that the movies can be more entertaining and more lucrative if aimed towards an older audience.
Although we've seen over the years smaller examples of this method, Apatow finally proved to the world that comedies could be blockbusters too. To the extent that nearly 15 years later, a film in the genre could potentially be in a box office war with a big budget action flick.
And it's led by a not-yet-well-known Steve Carell, who plays Andy, a 40-year-old nerd who's never been with a girl before. He doesn't really have any friends, so when his four coworkers discover his purity, they vow to "help him out".
His colleagues weren't necessarily friends with Andy before, but throughout this journey, they come to be very close.
The movie's not all pro-sex. In fact, the movie takes a refreshing turn towards the end of the 2nd act. Not only is the movie very funny, but we get a great story out of the characters' varying agendas.
The film also took comedy completely off-script in a way that hadn't been done before. It felt really loose and open-ended. Comedians were able to riff for as long as they wanted to without being confined to what's on the page. And this not only enhanced the intimacy of the viewing experience, but upped the ante for comedies in the future. If a comedy wanted to compete with the likeness of Apatow and Company, it would require some people who were actually funny.
But there's a downfall to all this too. Comedies eventually tended to get way too long, and directors weren't able to tell if a scene dragged on for too long. But the best from the bunch always stood tall.
Carell's supporting cast consists of also-not-yet-well-known Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Jane Lynch. Even a young Jonah Hill gets a couple scenes.
Considering all this, it's a surprise that Romany Malco, who plays one of Carell's three work buddies, carries his own extremely well amongst soon-to-be comedy legends. He gets some great lines and executes them as well as anyone could have.
Most people who hear the title of the movie will either want to see it or not want to see it. But the latter may be pleasantly surprised. Whether or not this film is for you, one can't deny how it changed the comedy landscape forever--for better or worse.
Twizard Rating: 92
The Night Before is as flippant and goofy as any Seth Rogen helping, but just like every Christmas movie, it's deeper than meets the eye. It's about something more than Christmas. Christmas is just the nucleus that helps give significance to a story about self-discovery. And even Rogen's irreverent humor can't change that.
The film follows three best friends, Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Chris (Anthony Mackie), and Isaac (Rogen), who get together every year on Christmas Eve to raise a little hell. The tradition started years earlier following the death of Ethan's parents. This being the last year of feral fun for the guys, seeing as they are grown-ups now with increasing responsibilities, they try to make it the best one ever.
There's not much to the plot other than a very generic concept, but that's not why our butts are in the seats. We really just want to see Rogen and company's antics as they run uninhibitedly throughout Manhattan.
While it seems at times like this movie serves as just another excuse for three actors to mess around while making a movie for us to sit and watch for 101 minutes, that's what these romps are all about. We like watching them simply have a good time. We want a night like this where crazy things happen and we can talk about for the rest of our lives. These films serve as vessels for us to live vicariously through. And we're okay with that. It's an added bonus that it happens to have the backdrop of everyone's favorite time of year; a time of year that we romanticize more and more as we grow older--mostly because we long for that childlike innocence and simplicity of our youth. And it's interesting to witness amidst the crudity of a Seth Rogen film.
If nothing else, this film proves once again that Rogen can make anyone funny. His humor is contagious and motivates others to match his wit. On an unrelated note, Michael Shannon nearly steals the show as the spectral Mr. Green. He's mysterious and totally believable as the older scraggly pot dealer who keeps these guys continually paranoid throughout the film.
The film isn't perfect. It has its slower moments, but those also happen to be when the narrative picks up and we aren't as concerned about sustaining our laughter. Some plot devices show up merely for comedic effect and don't contribute much to the movie, but that's okay because it's that kind of comedy. And although this one doesn't get a pass to break all the rules, the filmmakers have crafted that type of movie.
There's a final realization copout that's forgiven with the satisfactory ending that follows, but the beauty of this movie is the chemistry of the core cast, which occurs through the empty script and heightened improvisation.
It's a good Christmas movie. It's not for the whole family, but it's a more unique addition to the genre. One that's definitely worth multiple viewings.
Twizard Rating: 84
Amidst the controversy of a film that was more famous prior to its release than Star Wars VII, you sort of have a fear in anticipation of seeing this movie. Will they find me and kill me for purchasing a ticket? Am I contributing to an act of war? Maybe I'm just paranoid. Nonetheless I'm glad I decided to take the risk.
Seth Rogen sure knows how to stay relevant. Part of that reason is the fact that he still refuses to sit back and become complacent. No. He still takes risks with comedy and with his career. And it's never been more evident than with his current piece of work. He, partnered with Evan Goldberg, loves asking "what if?" while answering it just as eloquently.
Besides it's edgy nature--as we all know the general plot--this film eventually moves beyond predictable, down a rabbit hole where anything could be at the bottom.
It's not so much of a political commentary because they're telling us everything we already know, but it's the smartest film they have written to date. Their maturity level goes up another notch. They tone down the potty humor in favor of a much smarter straight-man/banana-man schtick.
And it's the most consistently funny comedy that I've seen in awhile--along the lines of Jonah Hill's 21 Jump Street adaptation. What's typical with films of this genre is that the 1st act usually fills itself with rapid fire jokes, while the rest of the film focuses more on story and less on humor (e.g. Dumb and Dumber or Caddyshack). But The Interview manages to keep you laughing AND equally engaged in the unpredictable story at the same time.
There's not a lot that doesn't work. Maybe we could see some better character growth, but when it comes down to it we don't feel robbed of anything as the credits roll.
Rogen and Goldberg definitely have a knack for good ideas, and it's clear through their direction of this film. They take chances with the action and they're never afraid to ask each other, "What if we [blank]?" They outdid themselves, as this is their best piece of work yet.
Twizard Rating: 95
This movie definitely has its moments. Although the tone was very inconsistent throughout--sometimes even annoyingly. It has a lot of moments where it gets deep and meaningful, but it is also tries to be too irreverent by forcing jokes that are easy, but not necessarily warranted. The film is a borderline dark comedy. I'm not sure if that's what the filmmakers were going for, but they somewhat succeeded. However, there are too many off-the-wall jokes (a la Happy Madison) that keep pulling it away from that consistency which would make it a solid dark comedy. The kind that requires an acquired taste. It's not easy to love like Bad Santa. The 3rd act is actually brilliant though. It really makes you forget that the first 2 acts were all over the place. Probably because now it doesn't even seem like they set that much story up to begin with.
It's a good character study but Ronnie is a bit challenging to relate and warm up to at first. Seth Rogen was great. It was a bit of a different character than he's ever played before, and also one of the deepest. Although the other characters aren't quite as deep, it's alright because they aren't really the main focus. I wish we could've seen more of Aziz Ansari's character though. And a follow-up with the gang that Ronnie beat up after he got ditched by the cop.
Also, it has a killer soundtrack!
Twizard Rating: 73
In general, there are two types of comedy films: unrealistic over-the-top ones, such as Anchorman or 21 Jump Street, and realistic ones, such as Animal House or The Hangover. Maybe in the realistic ones there will be a character or two who is, in fact, over-the-top, but in a unique way that is creative in respect to the film itself (e.g. Alan in The Hangover). However, Neighbors couldn't quite figure out which one it wanted to be. Here you are presented with a realistic premise but when necessary for the continuation of the plot, they sprinkle in some unrealistic characters and situations, as though straddling the fence between the two movies that they wanted to create.
Situation #1: The entire film is based on a plot hole. Teddy (the frat dude) makes Mac (the neighbor) promise that if he has a problem with the noise that he will call him first before calling the police. Teddy says that he values promises very highly--especially in his newfound friendship with Mac. So the next night when the frat house is having a party for the 2nd night in a row, Mac calls Teddy 10 times (although later he says 5) but Teddy is doesn't pick up the phone. They can't take it any longer so they finally call the police. The officer comes and then rats out Mac for calling him. Then Teddy goes over there with the officer and Mac tells him that he called him 5 times but he didn't answer. Teddy ignores this and proceeds to get upset and tells Mac that he broke a promise and that he is going to pay the consequence. Mac--who seems like a very aware and pedantic guy--doesn't even attempt to explain to Teddy that, in fact, he did not break any promise--if anything, he KEPT his promise. The entire rest of the film stems from this "breaking of the promise".
Situation #2: The police officer lets the fraternity off the hook because of the fact that the complaint came from a guy (Mac) who partied with them before. So it's okay that there is loud noise on a work night in a residential neighborhood because the guy who complained has partied before??
Situation #3: The dean of the college uses every faulty argument you could think of when Mac and Kelly go to her to complain about the fraternity after their baby daughter put a condom in her mouth on their front lawn. She explains that there is a 3 strike policy when it comes to the frats and that the frat would have to do something "headline worthy" in order to earn them another strike. She also states that there should be a headline talking about how they are neglecting parents for "letting" their daughter put a condom in her mouth. It's not like they just let it happen. They're not expecting her to find that on their own front lawn. And they ran after her and got it as soon as they realized what it was...Also, at this point, the fraternity has extremely vandalized Mac and Kelly's home, and proceed to do so very illegally throughout the rest of the film.
Scenario #4: How in the world is it possible that Mac and Kelly are the only neighbors that are filing noise complaints and are having problems with the fraternity. They are having parties every night! Sure, they are "buying out" their neighbors with gifts and favors or whatever, but no matter how many favors and gifts you give someone they are going to get annoyed if they are kept up every night because of excessive loud noise and partying.
Scenario #5: How in the world is Teddy even allowed to be in a frat--let alone the president. He says that his GPA is in the high 1s. That's barely enough to even keep you in school.
Although the pranks are pretty clever, the equality in the back-and-forth makes for a frustrating viewing because you really only want one side to win. Seth Rogen is the only main actor who is not completely annoying. I guess Franco is alright--he's not annoying, but he's also just not really that funny either. Rose Byrne is annoying and tries too hard and Efron plays douchey way too well.
It has some decent bits, but even the jokes that are funny are hard to laugh at a lot of times because of everything else that is happening, and you become so mad at the antagonists that everything they do is just annoying and frustrating as if you hate them in real life.
The only other things that this film has going for it are the decent character development across the board and a thoughtful theme of growing up. However, these things are going to be overlooked by most of the people seeing it because everything else is way too distracting.
I wanted to like this film, but there really is no hope for me.
Twizard Rating: 54
