WHY HIM? Review

John Hamburg hasn't directed a feature film since 2009, but that film was I Love You, Man. Seven years and several television directing gigs later and Hamburg has delivered Why Him? Personally, I love I Love You, Man. It has become one of those reliable movies you can put on at any given time and are guaranteed to laugh and enjoy while having the added bonus of intelligently breaking down the barriers of masculinity and the weird culture surrounding male friendships. This automatically sets up an expectation that the follow-up won't be nearly as good, especially based on the rather outlandish trailers we received for Why Him? The thing is, it wasn't that I Love You, Man had a more seasoned or credible screenwriter, but in fact Hamburg himself seemingly had a lot to do with both screenplays with his co-writer on Why Him? admittedly having more promising if not limited previous works on his resume whereas Hamburg's co-writer on I Love You, Man, Larry Levin, has such credits as Doctor Dolittle and Dr. Dolittle 2 to his name. Of course, comedy does and doesn't have a lot to do with the writing as the funniest jokes in the world can be written down, but if they don't have the right people to execute them they'll still fall as flat as the worst types of jokes. What is on the paper provides only a basis for the type of comedy hoping to be obtained as well as a launching pad for talented comedians and improvisational actors to take the material to new heights. And so, it isn't that I Love You, Man necessarily had better writing going for it, but rather that it was a novel premise that thrived on the chemistry and appeal of its two stars. Why Him? doesn't necessarily have as interesting a dynamic at its core and its stars aren't nearly as charming as Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, but that doesn't automatically render the film a failure on the comedic front. By all accounts, Why Him? is a perfectly accessible broad if not rather crude comedy that utilizes said broadness to relate to whole families in Middle America, teenagers, and older parents that walk into the film because the trailers featured a scenario familiar to them or because they saw the guy from Breaking Bad being funny. Why Him? is a perfect example of why mainstream comedies both work on certain levels and why they can easily fail on so many others. Though it may not garner me much credibility I rather enjoyed Why Him? to the point I'm not grumpy enough to get mad at a movie for failing to be as introspective about the dynamics it means to document while instead making up for such a lack of substance with easy laughs.

GONE GIRL Review

Having read the Gillian Flynn "airport novel" before heading into David Fincher's adaptation I knew what to expect. Having started reading Flynn's novel only a month ago and knowing who was playing who I knew what to picture in my head. There was never any debate in my mind how perfect for this role Ben Affleck was (or any of the casting for that matter). Having seen the trailers before opening the pages I knew what tone to imply and what aesthetic to place these characters in. As with any Fincher film, it is a world of precision and it couldn't have been more in tune with the demented psyches that populate the characters this world. What is fascinating is how easily this could have been something else, something that was picked up by Lifetime as a made for TV movie and is given a more prestigious, thought-provoking, heavier translation by Fincher because that is the point-the point being this isn't just another Lifetime original for us to latch on to as entertainment. These are lives, painfully honest explanations of how even exceptional individuals can become clichés. This is not only the story of a wife, a once high profile New York socialite who married a salt of the earth Missouri boy came to disappear on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary, but of how the media reacts to these simple, concrete facts they can play with. How they can twist, manipulate and exploit any one detail they want turning the entire personality of a man or any subject it sets its eyes on into a one note killer. Further, it is the analysis of relationships gone wrong. When the person you thought you married grows up to be someone you didn't think they'd be and you don't necessarily like who that person is. It isn't so much a discussion of the white suburbanite household or marriages that slip into boredom because they become routine, but more it is the discussion of how well we know ourselves and the things we truly want, even if we know we'll never have the gall to take them. What would happen if we did though? What would happen if we were so self-consumed with not only ourselves but how other people perceive us that we did whatever it took to keep that image and ambition intact? That is what Fincher's adaptation of Gone Girl explores and despite the fact I knew what to expect going in, it surpassed every expectation.

First Trailer for David Fincher's GONE GIRL

I've yet to read Gillian Flynn's supposedly extremely suspenseful novel from which David Fincher's latest film is based, but certainly intend to before the film premieres. Anytime Fincher is involved in a production I am game and with the buzz and intrigue surrounding Flynn's novel paired with the fact the author wrote the screenplay herself only make me all the more excited to see what Fincher has to offer next. It is a shame he will seemingly never finish his Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, but I am happy to see him back behind the camera as this first trailer sees him playing with a story that shares a few of the same genre elements of that previous feature as well as incorporating what seem to be themes of lies and deception that are similar to what pushes House of Cards for which Fincher directed the first two episodes last year. Gone Girl, on the surface at least, seems to be the story of the disappearance of Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) an out of work writer who has moved from the big city of New York to the doldrums of Missouri and whose marriage to her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) has been floundering for years. This status of their marriage makes Nick look all the more guilty when Amy disappears on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary. Though many have criticized the casting of Affleck in the lead role (I have no idea if this has anything to do with him simply not fitting the description of his counterpart in the novel) but with his current run of directing hits paired with the scrutiny he received for being hired as Batman I can only imagine the man feels like he can do no right. I think he can certainly be an interesting actor though and middle-class family man plays to Affleck's strengths, not to mention the strength of all the other pieces in play here. To say the least, I'm highly anticipating this one. Gone Girl also stars Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Scoot McNairy, Missi Pyle, Casey Wilson, Emily Ratajkowski, Neil Patrick Harris and opens October 3rd.