Movie Review: Daddy’s Home – Hannibal Buress Single Handedly Saves this Film From Disaster

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I once tried chocolate covered bacon. While you wouldn’t expect it to work, weirdly, it did. While I wouldn’t live on it solely, I’d eat it again.

And that’s exactly how I feel about the pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Will Farrell. I enjoyed them in The Other Guys, so will admit it was a strange mix, and decided to give them a second shot on this one. Unfortunately, much like chocolate covered bacon, you can have too much of a good thing.

Farrell plays stepdad Brad, who is starting to get along with his new step kids. That is until Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) re-enters the picture intent on taking back his family. The two try to one up each other, while the long suffering wife just looks on in the thankless roll of ‘generic supportive female’.

The movie doesn’t capture the hijinks of The Other Guys as it lacks bite in the script. There’s no shock or laugh out loud moments. Instead the movie is all predictable punchlines and jokes that go on just a hair too long.

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The only thing I liked about this movie was Hannibal Buress, the lesser known comic who is most known for the Bill Cosby rape joke that started the flood of lawsuits to follow. In this, he was a hilariously inept handyman who decides to just hang out all the time and insert himself into the two main characters’ fights, often stealing the show himself. His small but significant roll is one of the best parts of the film.

His character is so clever, I feel like maybe he pulled the pen from the writer’s hand and rewrote his own part. His clever character doesn’t seem to fit in with the generic, “good enough” writing style of all the other characters.  My assumption is that his role was highly improvised.

I enjoy Will Farrell, but it has to be in the right roll. He’s been playing characters so long that even when writers try to make him real, he feels clichéd and boring. In this film, he’s nothing special and certainly not memorable. Mark Wahlberg is equally weak. Both men play stereotypes while trying to get laughs, but the whole effort feels forced.

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This is not The Other Guys. In that movie, the unique combination worked because the script had the right amount of edge. In this one, it just feels boring, though it is mercifully short. But it’s certainly no one’s best work to date…with the exception of Hannibal Buress. That guy was the flower that grew out of the pot of dirt.

For Hannibal Buress alone, I’ll give this one a worth the watch. The movie isn’t so much painful as it’s just not that funny. As a result, if you’re looking for laugh out loud humor, I highly recommend you fast forward to all the Hannibal Buress parts. As far as I’m concerned, he made this movie.

But this is one where the Wahlberg/ Farrell comedy team just didn’t work. It’s a predictable story with a lot of predictable humor that very few people will find funny. It just not interesting enough to be laughable.

WE GAVE IT : 3 STARS! Watch the Official Trailer and See the Official Movie Poster below

stars

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Movie Review – Welcome To Me – Kristen Wiig Shines In This Clever, Well Written Movie With a Clever Unique Plot

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The summer movie season started off strong, despite the fact that only one big budget movie was released. That’s probably because this was the week where unique, compelling story lines and intelligent direction came together to create some truly enjoyable films. Welcome to Me is no exception.

I like to say “it’s all been done’ when it comes to movies. For the most part, it’s true. I can think of very few storylines that haven’t been done. Then, I saw Welcome to Me.

Alice Klieg (Kristin Wiig) is a mentally ill woman who is obsessed with Oprah. She hasn’t turned off her TV in 11 years, has very few friends and spends most of her nights surrounded by old VHS tapes of her favorite talk show diva. Then, she wins an $86 million lottery. After being interviewed on live TV and getting cut off, Alice decides she hasn’t gotten enough time in the limelight. So she uses her money to start her own talk show on a cash strapped infomercial channel. There, she starts Welcome To Me, goes off her meds, and creates the weirdest show that ever existed.

Kristen Wiig has some great, awkward charm and she’s a natural as a comedic actress. That’s why it is great to see her as a leading woman for a change. She plays the part of the mentally ill, off her meds, socially awkward Alice with heartbreaking realism. It’s an unusual movie about an unusual person, and Wiig was the ideal choice for the leading lady.

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Another thing I like was this is a movie about mental illness that doesn’t attempt to ‘solve’ mental illness. It’s a unique take, in that Alice isn’t trying to get around her disorder. She’s actually using it to her advantage to make her show just as strange as her. I like the fact that they didn’t turn it into a cautionary tale about a woman going crazy. The writing is done in a way that doesn’t make us laugh at Alice, but with her.

Wiig is actually so good in this; she carries the show by herself. While there are a few notable stars, (Tim Robbins as her therapist, for example) Wiig is the one your eyes stay on. While she makes questionable decisions, and is a bit of an oddball, she’s endearing and loveable regardless of what she’s doing.

Sometimes, the awkwardness gets to be too much, like with Wiig’s inability to say the word “carbohydrates” or her segment where she neuters dogs on air, but for the most part, it’s all awkward/funny, not awkward/awkward.

I found many of the subplots were unnecessary and could have been left out entirely. Wiig is entertaining enough on her own to carry this unusual plot. It’ which makes it a pleasure to watch…if you get the chance to see it.

This one doesn’t have a high distribution, so if you live in a major city and get the chance to watch it, I’d give it a shot.

WE GAVE IT: 4 Stars – Watch the Official Trailer and Official Movie Poster below!

4 stars

 

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