THE BOOGEYMAN Review

Movie teenagers are the worst, but the teens in attendance at my screening of The Boogeyman made the experience all the more enjoyable. Screaming at every minor sound effect, hiding their faces under the covers they brought specifically for that reason and praying they don’t have to overcome a fear of the dark for a second time in their lives after seeing the latest from director Rob Savage (Host). Their reactions honestly may have influenced my enjoyment of the film slightly but only because it became very clear how effective the film was at working on its target audience just as it intended. 

The Boogeyman doesn't offer the most original premise, no, but Savage knows how to construct jump scares and build atmosphere; both of which are key to enjoying this well-made and effective horror flick even if the themes and conceit don’t reinvent the wheel. Beginning with the offscreen death of an infant is one way to set a tone (sorry if that's a spoiler) yet Savage goes there and leans into the idea of death without fear of alienating his audience. Rather, the dynamics and situations of his prmary cast members are strong out the gate because Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Mark Heyman's screenplay takes its time in both describing and processing the grief each character is experiencing and handling in different ways.

AIR Review

A film of conversations, processes, and considerations. Ben Affleck directs with ease allowing the inherent intrigue of the story to pull its weight while everyone else lathers on the charm. Plenty to dig into thematically if you so choose especially the icky territory of giving a certain level of underdog merit to what was already a million dollar corporation in 1984, but the thing is...that's not really what this movie is about. 

Affleck knows the terrain he's venturing into when he takes on a movie about said massive corporation finding a way to market an inessential product (shoes are essential, sure, but $200 shoes are not) to underpriveleged and marginalized communities. He knows this isn't a story of the American dream the way he undoubtedly knew it would be marketed as, but rather how companies and brands had become such obscure ideas behind the recognizable spokespeople they put in their commercials that it took a company doing the inverse - making said spokesperson the face of their brand (and changing the business around it as they did so) - to make middle class Americans comfortable with the idea of throwing down that kind of dough on sneakers. It's also a movie that revels in the aforementioned processes - showing people who are good at what they do doing it well - which makes for some of the films best scenes. Like the song that serves as Affleck's thesis here, we see the desperation and the details in the small moments and hear the energy - the hope, if one might be so kind - in the big, sweeping speeches. 

My favorite part of AIR though is that it - at the very least - encourages ideas of boldness, of taking the big bet, of striking out on your own, even if in this particular story that only means signing a well-compensated endorsement deal. Alex Convery's screenplay is intent on emphasizing time and time again that in 1984 Nike was the least popular shoe in professional basketball and that it's only thanks to the fortuitous eye of Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) who, with a little help from Arthur Ashe, came up with the idea to hang Nike's entire basketball line on the promise of Michael Jordan. Simple facts: Nike wasn't cool, but they had the most soul (sole?) and Jordan, with strong guidance from his mother Deloris (a wonderful Viola Davis), no doubt liked the idea of being a pioneer; a simultaneous rule-breaker and trendsetter. It also doesn't hurt that AIR is a sturdy and entertaining old school drama that hits all the right spots when simply viewed as a triumphant story even if that story is more about making a living than how to live.

I CARE A LOT Review

I Care A Lot is the type of film that knows exactly what it is and what it means to be from the very first frame. Healthcare workers divvy up monotonous rows of medications into small plastic cups intended to keep their targets as much in check as they do healthy. The first piece of dialogue is a woman's voice seemingly calling the viewer out, "Look at you. Sitting there," she says as she goes on to explain how the idea of "playing fair" is a joke invented by the rich to keep everyone else poor. All of this accompanied by the immediate needle drop of Death in Vegas' 1999 track "Dirge" or what is another word for a "sad song", an elegy. Writer/director J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) pushes all the way down on the syringe releasing every facet of his technique into the bloodstream as quickly as he can. From that first moment the tone is fully engaged and every tool Blakeson has at his disposal is being used to elevate the story being told; the film is firing on all cylinders. The difference between I Care A Lot and most films that begin with such promise though, is that it sustains its nasty yet overwhelmingly engaging tone throughout its nearly two-hour runtime. By the end of that runtime one is bound to be both satisfied as far as viewing experiences go, but also somewhat overwhelmed not simply by the lengths the narrative decides to venture, but the implications of our lead character's, the anti-hero in many respects, course of action. It is this course of action, this central scheme that Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson has cooked up, that provides much of the propulsion and confidence the film displays throughout as one would require such attributes to pull the type of legal Olympics off that she does here. While the tone is enjoyable - delectable even - and we, the audience are having a blast watching these people do these terrible things there is no escaping the fact that afterward, once the credits have rolled, we're also somewhat appalled at the fact we did enjoy this level of duplicity so much. 

How real and damaging the effects of what the character of Marla Grayson is doing here are the reasons Blakeson has chosen to employ that all-knowing and judgmental narration, why he uses bold, primary colors in both setting and wardrobe to heighten the world in which his film takes place, and why he utilizes Marc Canham's electronic-heavy score to give Grayson's actions an edge that, while understanding she's an inherently evil person, still makes her seem cool. It's the age old question of why we root for the bad guy, the villain, and often times it's because we can recognize their flaws in our own, but even Marla Grayson would tell you her only flaw is being too ambitious and too driven and that she finds no fault in doing whatever it takes to get to the top. It's not that these qualities aren't relatable or are the reasons we aren't sympathetic to Grayson come the end of the film, but it's how far she's willing to cross the line in order to make her ambitions a reality that separates the human being from the truly despicable.   

THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF WOLFBOY Review

A modern fable of sorts, The True Adventures of Wolfboy feels like it's intended to largely be an allegory while in fact being a pretty straightforward story that seems to have been concocted for the sole purpose of delivering as broad a message as possible about acceptance. What's not curious is that a film with "wolfboy" in the title feels akin to the type of story that might have been told around countless campfires in the past, but what is curious is how a movie with "wolfboy" in the title comes away feeling as poignant and tender as Martin Krejčí's film does. There is a moment barely two minutes into the film after we're initially introduced to Jaeden Martell's Paul and his father, Denny (Chris Messina), as they stroll through a carnival on Paul's birthday that efficiently places us inside the perspective we're meant to inhabit for the rest of the story. Paul is a thirteen year-old boy whose biggest fear isn't the onset of puberty, but rather dealing with the fact his body has been covered in hair since he was a baby. This is actually the result of a rare disease called Hypertrichosis AKA Werewolf Syndrome and it has forced Paul to wear a ski mask for the better part of his life in order to conceal the congenital disease. Paul doesn't want to be at the carnival and in fact thinks that because it's his birthday he should have final say on what they do, but his father knows were it up to Paul he would spend all day in his room, alone. As Denny describes a ride to his son called "the dragon's dilemma" (which is not coincidentally also the name of the first chapter in Paul's saga) they are approached by three local boys around Paul's age. The boys claim to be Paul's friends - which brightens his father's face - but it quickly becomes apparent they're only bullies looking to get a rise out of Paul and Denny. They make their jokes and quickly run away, Denny immediately demanding their names as if already planning retribution via their parents, but it is Paul's response that highlights the moment and reminds the audience who isn't aware they even needed reminding that just because this is the first abusive encounter we've seen Paul endure it is far from the first or last time he will have to experience as much. When Denny asks for the names Paul simply responds, "They don't have names." Such provocations and badgering have been aimed in Paul's direction for so long now the enemies don't even have names or faces. They just exist, like weeds in a garden, and the moment you try to eradicate them twice as many take their place. This is heartbreaking, sure, and the interaction rings as such between Paul and his long-defeated dad, but this also tells us why - if we couldn't already surmise and sympathize with as much - we'll come to find out that Paul is kind of a jerk. Immediately dropping the expectation that our protagonist is a noble character who forges past life's biggest barrier to overcome the odds allows Olivia Dufault's (Legion, Preacher) screenplay to take us on a rather dark, but simultaneously uplifting journey where the story beats and characters feel neither trite or absurd despite the outward facade that would have you believe as much by placing the word "wolfboy" front and center.  

BIRDS OF PREY AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN Review

If one wants to talk about how much Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn doesn't care about precedent the movie could essentially be boiled down to a story about a girl, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, seeking out a diamond for a guy (a fantastically eccentric Ewan McGregor). No matter what you thought (or didn’t think) of 2016's Suicide Squad it would seem that at the very least the majority would agree that Robbie’s Harley Quinn was a highlight. With that, Robbie both brings us and takes on the Birds of Prey story while continuing to carry on Quinn's arc in a manner that is respectful to a character that hasn't always had the most respect for herself. While the film may take its title from the DC Comics team that made its debut in 1996 and originated from a partnership between Black Canary AKA Dinah Lance (played here by Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Barbara Gordon AKA Batgirl (who is not in the film), this is mostly a spin-off of that aforementioned David Ayer flick centering on Harley Quinn and the trials she faces as she moves past being more than just the Joker's girlfriend to becoming her own person whereas the project as a whole seemingly serves as Robbie's opportunity to champion the formation of the more traditional "Birds of Prey" line-up so that they might earn their own spin-off. So yes, this is touted as Birds of Prey AND the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, but while Black Canary, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) get their formidable introductions one would be mistaken were they to expect anything more than introductions to these new characters. That said, writer Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) and director Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) take this combination of different DC elements and characters and create in Birds of Prey an energetic, vibrant, violent and all-around ambitious yet very playful production where the tone of the film and the world in which it exists are completely representative of the main character anchoring all of the story and action beats. Yes, this is the same Gotham City in which Ben Affleck's Batman once roamed, but as seen through the eyes of a crazed former psychologist who wants to blaze her own trail Gotham City possesses a more manic zeal that Yan stylizes to the hilt even when the Guy Ritchie-like narrative becomes muddled in moments. It is in this fresh and enthusiastic-feeling direction that Birds of Prey really comes together as Yan, despite not having the time to fully flesh out each of the individual members of this femme force, delivers a thoroughly entertaining and endearingly practical movie that doesn't upend expectations as much as it throws them out the window completely; giving the audience something wholly unexpected to experience yet completely satisfying in ways they probably didn't know they were ready for.

First Trailer for BIRDS OF PREY Starring Margot Robbie

One of the few highlights of 2016's Suicide Squad were a handful of the performances, namely Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Robbie's performance made her feel tailor-made for the part and her portrayal was one of the few things that made that film come alive. There was no question we'd be seeing her character again, but in what incarnation and capacity was uncertain. David Ayer's Suicide Squad made nearly $750 million worldwide, but the shake-ups in the DC Extended Universe that occurred post-Suicide Squad left a lot up for debate as to where planned projects might end up and what characters might make it through to the next phase of Warner Brothers' plans for their cinematic universe of caped crusaders. Enter Birds of Prey, a movie that will continue the story of Harley Quinn after the events of Suicide Squad, but a movie that will also arrive in the DCEU after audiences have just experienced Aquaman and Shazam which, as you might already know, present quite a different atmosphere than anything done under Zack Snyder's guidance. Directed by Cathy Yan who only has one previous feature under her belt (2018's Sundance stand-out, Dead Pigs, a satire which reportedly blends drama and comedy well) and written by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee), the film has been pretty secretive as far as plot or story is concerned with much of the speculation coming from the cast of characters known to be involved. Speaking of that cast, what is known so far is that joining Robbie will be Jurnee Smollett-Bell playing Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli AKA Huntress and Rosie Perez as Gotham City detective Renee Montoya who are on a mission to save Ella Jay Basco's Cassandra Cain (one of the original Batgirls) from baddies Victor Zsasz and Black Mask as played by Chris Messina and Ewan McGregor. Though Harley Quinn has always been associated with Joker since her inception on the nineties Batman animated series, Birds of Prey will see her break loose of Leto's interpretation (keep in mind this has nothing to do with the Joaquin Phoenix film opening this week) and as can be seen in this first, official trailer both Robbie and Harley Quinn herself seem to be having a blast without having to be tied down to a man. It's hard to be all in on this one given the fantastic (fantabulous?) trailer for Suicide Squad which ended up being a rather disappointing film, but other than the title character and producing studio/distributor this film doesn't seem to have much in common with that one. Here's to our cautious optimism being rewarded when Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Miss Harley Quinn opens on February 7, 2020.

LIVE BY NIGHT Review

The problem with Live by Night is that it is both too much and never enough. Ben Affleck, who has proved himself a strong storyteller in his screenwriting and directing skills, certainly has a fine ambition in his latest effort, but it simply never seems to pan out the way he originally imagined it. This is to the point that Live by Night is as big, extravagant, and sexy a gangster drama as one could hope to get made in the studio system today and yet the story is nowhere near as compelling as it should be to make the amount of effort put into the costumes, production design, and other period details matter. The question on my mind as the film came to its one too many endings-none of which are satisfactory, I might add-was, "how did this happen?" How did a filmmaker such as Affleck, with a story he himself adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel (Gone, Baby, Gone, Mystic River, Shutter Island, The Drop), in this time period, and with a star-studded cast that features stand-out performances from the likes of Chris Messina and Elle Fanning end up sinking as quickly as a dead body attached to a boulder in a river? There is seemingly never a clear answer as to how so many promising parts can come together to form a subpar whole, but with Live by Night the majority of as much seems to fall on the script never knowing exactly what type of story it wants to tell and as a result, the momentum of the pacing never finding its footing well enough to keep viewers invested. There is always more material in a novel than a two hour movie can handle and it seems rather than relay what was more or less the same story the source material was telling through the prism of a single perspective or theme that Affleck instead attempted to cram in as much of Lehane's novel as he could resulting in the film feeling more than overstuffed while still leaving the viewer hungry for more. When talking of adapting a book for the screen director David Fincher said, "The book is many things. You have to choose which aspect you want to make a movie from." It seems Affleck might have learned a thing or two from his Gone Girl director as this lack of a singular viewpoint is exactly what Live by Night is missing; delivering so many characters, ideas, and plot strands it's hard to care about any of them.

First Trailer for Ben Affleck's LIVE BY NIGHT

In the wake of the fall movie season kicking off this week with the release of the Warner Bros. Sully it seems the production company has gone into full media blitz mode with the remainder of their fall slate that contains many of their likely awards contenders. We already caught a glimpse of the WB's Christmas week release on Wednesday with Collateral Beauty and now we have our first look at Ben Affleck's directorial follow-up to his Best Picture-winning Argo. It's been four years since Affleck directed a film and in the interim has worked with Terrence Malick, David Fincher, and Zack Snyder who likely have contributed to what growth we might see in Affleck's fourth feature. Given the actor, writer, director, and producer has been enamored with the DC extended cinematic universe as of late with more being made about the pre-production of his solo Batman film (which will be his fifth directorial venture) than that of his upcoming turn in Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant which drops in theaters in just over a month it's nice to finally see a glimpse of what Affleck has been up to behind the camera as I'm in the middle of reading the Dennis Lehane novel on which Live By Night is based. Set in the prohibition era Affleck plays Joe Coughlin, the youngest son of a prominent Boston police captain who has long since turned his back on his strict and proper upbringing for a career in the pay of the city's most fearsome mobsters. Honestly, I love the look and the tone this trailer conveys and even the soundtrack featuring Hozier's "Arsonist's Lullabye," works. Affleck enlisted legendary director of photography Robert Richardson (The Aviator, The Hateful Eight) and the particular aesthetic shines through here as visually the film looks as thrilling as the story should be. While I was worried that the film would for some reason end up getting dumped amidst the early spring crowd WB seems to have confidence in the film as they've scheduled it in the same slot as The Revenant last year with a limited qualifying run in December. Here's hoping they're right. Live By Night also stars Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Brendan Gleeson, Scott Eastwood, Chris Cooper, Titus Welliver, Anthony Michael Hall, Chris Messina, and opens on January 13, 2017.

CAKE Review

Cake wants to be a lot more than it is, but it is nothing short of well-intentioned with something resembling ambition. What is even more fascinating about a film such as this is the alternate universe where Jennifer Aniston became a strictly dramatic actress and this film is given more weight than it's currently receiving. Given Aniston is largely known for her comedic work and as something of a lesser, more archetypal actress it is when she does something pointedly dramatic it's automatically assumed it's nothing more than an Oscar bid. This could be taken in a number of ways given Aniston not only stars as the face on the poster here, but executive produced the effort and so one might cynically see it as a power play to cast herself in a movie she wouldn't normally be picked for putting herself in better standing as a "real" actress. The thing is, Aniston has already proved she's a real actress if not with 2002's The Good Girl, but with her inherent ability to relate to almost anyone in the audience. Aniston, especially in her comedies, has always had the uncanny ability to serve as the common audience members way into the world of whatever movie she is starring in with the added bonus of being what every female viewer would like to envision themselves as physically and an ideal image of what every male viewer imagines himself being with. Aniston is one of us, or at least she is able to convey that sense of community, and while many may not consider her exceptionally talented it's difficult to find anyone who doesn't necessarily like her. While one may not consider that talent, it certainly takes a lot of skill. In Cake, Aniston uses this skill of relatabilty to gain access to the psychology of a lost cause. Aniston's character, Claire Bennett, is a mysterious figure to us, frustrated and consistently irritated by the people around her. We don't know why, but this is who we go on a journey with and in the end it's not so much about Aniston's performance as it is the disappointing fact she's still looking for the right vehicle with which she might spread her wings.

ARGO Review

There is a scene in the The Town where Ben Affleck's Doug MacRay is attempting to cover a certain clue on Jeremy Renner's James Coughlin that could give away both of their identities to an unsuspecting Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). In this single scene Ben Affleck, the director, is able to put his audience in the most vulnerable of states as we feel as exposed to the possibility of this guys entire world shattering around him as he does. We are set in this moment and the tension is palpable. Affleck clearly has a gift for creating these types of moments on film that all have to do with pacing as he creates moment after moment of such suspense in his third directorial effort Argo. After exploring the cinematic landscape of his hometown of Boston in his first two films Affleck now seems to have the confidence to venture outside of this comfort zone and take on a story that deals with issues in the bigger scope of the world. What Affleck has now gone on to accomplish is to create what feels like a very authentic period piece that pulses with intrigue and keeps its audience first informed, second engaged, and third on the edge of their seat. It was clear from the vintage opening credits to the storyboard history lesson we receive in the first moments of the film that set the stage for the relationship between the United States and Iran at the time that everything here was meticulously planned out in order to elicit and implement the specific kinds of reactions and thoughts it wanted. This, for me, only exemplifies the kind of director Affleck is and shows us the care in which he takes on each project even if his craft does receive more attention because of his name. The point is the craft deserves the attention.

John Chambers (John Goodman) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) put together a fake picture that will effect more
people than an actual movie ever could.

While much about Argo will dwell on the fact its directors former status in Hollywood was something of a poster boy for celebrity, a type-cast doofus who starred in more bad films than he could leverage with his early successes. Though Argo will get a lot of attention for this fact, that Affleck has solidified his status as a credible director having made a third above average film will forever change his reputation and how he is remembered and looked at in the cinematic landscape. What is more interesting obviously is to see how he has actually done this. He has done it with all three of his films, but he never allows it to be an outright, up-front obvious characteristic. He takes a type of film, one that clearly fits into a genre and has been defined by certain structures before and churns his movie on these archetypes that he doesn't necessarily imitate but allows for them to unspool in a more natural manner that makes whatever his film is documenting all the more real, all the more genuine. It is especially stunning that Affleck can provide such a piece of Hollywood cinema while telling the story of historical events that most audiences would initially find more daunting that entertaining to sit through. This is not your standard film about a historical event though, it is the truly unbelievable story of when the Islamic people, in reaction to the United States taking in Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi after the Iranian people revolutionized and wanted his dynasty replaced with an Islamic republic. As these revolutions reached their boiling points the Iran militants stormed the U.S. embassy and took 52 hostages. Six Americans were able to escape and find refuge with the Canadian ambassadors. Enter Tony Mendez (Affleck) an "exfiltration" specialist who is assigned the task of conjuring up a plan to get these escapees out of the country.

With such a description, as I said before, it may sound like your typical actioner in which a hero protagonist is required to go through the motions in order to save the day and deliver a climax filled with excitement and explosions. When I say Affleck is able to churn these archetypes on their heels I mean that these very uniform script tools are still in place, but they are used in such a distinct, unexpected way. As if taking the ideals of an indie film and altering them to fit in this world of gripping, powerful, and generally uplifting tale that Hollywood likes to make so much. Allowing to further proclaim itself as a historical drama with entertainment roots Affleck gives a generally fine performance if not the main thing that stands out about the film. In fact, as much as you can applaud the guy for crafting such a fine film it is almost as if he left the thoughts about his own characterization on the back burner. Lucky for him, he has a lovely group of supporting actors here that take much of the focus from him. Whether it be bit roles such as Chris Messina and Kyle Chandler who show up in a few scenes (and who each deserve better exposure) to a nicely even Bryan Cranston as Jack O'Donnell who serves as the face of the CIA to Affleck's Mendez while he is in Iran trying to make the mission a successful one. Cranston brings an honesty to the role that is usually lost in these types of characters who are a culmination of what was likely several people in real life. The guys that really steal the show here though are the ones who make Mendez's idea for the mission all the more authentic and in return all he more successful indeed. As Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers and legendary producer Lester Siegel John Goodman and Alan Arkin are in one sense the comic relief, but in another they are the heart if Mendez is the brain. Turning a folly of a Star Wars knock-off into the legitimate reason that saves the lives of these hostages proves to be something neither of these men were required to do and something they really had no need to put their business in at all. It makes you realize there are always those sterling people still existing even in a city full of imperfect beings.

The six refugees of the American embassy in Iran find safety at the Canadian ambassadors headquarters.

In the end it comes down to the hostages though. Affleck has been smart enough to cast the majority of these roles with unknown actors (though an older Tate Donovan takes on the ringleader role) as to allow the audience to sympathize with them better, being able to see them for real people in a life-threatening situation rather than actors portraying how these people might have felt. That is also, the essential catch of Argo. It places you dead center in the middle of the conflict and hardly allows you to breathe. As if you were under water, against your will and only allowed to come every so often for a breath of air. It is a conventional thriller, but it rises above that word with all its negative connotations by being expertly acted and crafted. Each performance speaks to the bigger picture it is contributing to while the care taken by its director to convey a sense of authentication is enjoyable to take in. It is a movie that doesn't necessarily feel designed or manipulated in any way so that it will gain awards show attention or even as the kind of film that is likely to be recognized by the Academy simply based on the way in which it decides to tell its story and the aforementioned reputation of the director who has now proved himself again and again. It is nice to see these things being disproved as Argo seems to be generating plenty of awards buzz, but none of that matters when you are glued to your seat with your nails literally up to your teeth and your eyelids ready to clinch as those six desperate hostages and the man who came up with a ludicrous idea about making a fake movie that would set them free walk through that airport or drive through that crowd or narrowly escape insults and accusations. All that matters in those moments are how sucked into the film you realize you've become. That isn't the sign of a filmmaker who is out to validate himself by obtaining a statue; that is a filmmaker who truly enjoys the art of film and knows himself as well as any audience member what is required to have an experience rather than an excuse to escape.

                      

ARGO Review

There is a scene in the The Town where Ben Affleck's Doug MacRay is attempting to cover a certain clue on Jeremy Renner's James Coughlin that could give away both of their identities to an unsuspecting Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). In this single scene Ben Affleck, the director, is able to put his audience in the most vulnerable of states as we feel as exposed to the possibility of this guys entire world shattering around him as he does. We are set in this moment and the tension is palpable. Affleck clearly has a gift for creating these types of moments on film that all have to do with pacing as he creates moment after moment of such suspense in his third directorial effort Argo. After exploring the cinematic landscape of his hometown of Boston in his first two films Affleck now seems to have the confidence to venture outside of this comfort zone and take on a story that deals with issues in the bigger scope of the world. What Affleck has now gone on to accomplish is to create what feels like a very authentic period piece that pulses with intrigue and keeps its audience first informed, second engaged, and third on the edge of their seat. It was clear from the vintage opening credits to the storyboard history lesson we receive in the first moments of the film that set the stage for the relationship between the United States and Iran at the time that everything here was meticulously planned out in order to elicit and implement the specific kinds of reactions and thoughts it wanted. This, for me, only exemplifies the kind of director Affleck is and shows us the care in which he takes on each project even if his craft does receive more attention because of his name. The point is the craft deserves the attention.

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER Review

Going into Celeste & Jesse Forever I expected something more along the lines of (500) Days of Summer than maybe The Break-Up but that is what we have here doused with plenty of indie flavor. There is nothing wrong with that, I always enjoyed the latter film to a degree it didn't receive credit for. If for anything for the fact it skewed the nicely wrapped ending of formulaic romantic comedies for a more honest and brutal look at relationships. Celeste & Jesse Forever can be commended for the same thing. While the film has been marketed as a hip, introspective look into modern relationships it doesn't exactly go against type as much as one might expect. I was rather surprised to see so many staples of the standard romantic comedy show up here, but they do. Still, what this progressive love story adds to the mix is a touching bit of realism in its character development. These aren't archetypes we're watching wander through a very contemporary world (except for maybe Elijah Woods gay best friend) but instead they feel like friends we have known for years who can do nothing but sit back and watch as these two make decisions that will forever impact their lives yet don't seem to realize that impact in the moment. The film who was also co-written by star Rashida Jones clearly has some experience with the topic she has chosen to tackle here and it is evident in the way that she handles the small moments both in her writing and her acting. Her performance anchors the film while showing her audience she is more than capable of handling dramatic material.

Beth (Ari Graynor) and Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen) are
weirded out by the fact Celeste and Jesse remain
friends after their split.

Naturally, we know what the story is here and if you've seen the trailers you have a pretty good idea of the tone that is set. Tone is important here as the striking characteristic that carries the film above everything is its commitment to being an indie charmer for the generation that keeps pushing its limit to maturity further and further back. Celeste (Jones) is a successful owner of her own media consulting firm while Jesse (Andy Samberg) struggles to find a sturdy job and would rather be out, catching waves and painting when he feels like it than maintain any sense of real responsibility. They met young, probably early in college and married early because why not? They are best friends and that is the hard part, that is what matters. The rest will come with growth. Thus come the issues when both are entering their early 30's and are growing apart. It would have been interesting to see how the couple survived in the early days when Celeste was starting her business and Jesse was doing what? Supporting her emotionally? The film skips all of this though and picks up after the couple has decided to separate and now hang out because there are no strings attached to simply being friends. They can get along this way when there is no further responsibility other than to make each other laugh, and it works if only for a while because no matter how bad Jesse or even Celeste want to try to avoid it, they have to grow up at some point. There is also plenty to love in the supporting category as the always pleasant Ari Graynor and underrated Eric Christian Olsen show up as Jesse and Celeste's best friends from college who are preparing for their own wedding. Also, is it a requirement Chris Messina show up in every indie romance? He seems to have a great track record with these things but is so charming you can't hate the guy for it and he turns up again here as well. It's also worth mentioning Emma Roberts showing up as a client for Celeste's company as a Kesha like pop star who is basically used as a plot device to expose the layers of which our lead character relies on to make herself feel superior and thus doomed her relationship.

Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) find
leaving one another to be a difficult task.

The heart of the film though truly is that issue of how to stay true to one another when you know that things are over. It is not the more common question of can lovers remain friends successfully as the ad campaign suggests but instead it digs into the psychology of why it doesn't stand a chance of working and if it is attempted why that can sometimes hurt more than simply making a clean break. As Jesse, Samberg also shows more range than he has even been required to do so far in his career. I have always enjoyed Samberg's antics, but they have never seemed to be more than that even in his feature film roles. He is a naturally funny guy with a voice and persona that you instantly recognize as being humorous and Samberg is smart enough to know how to turn that so when he hurts it is all the more clear how painful what he has to do really is. As Jesse the actor has to not only realize what the best thing for he and Celeste is in their relationship but he also has to face the fact he can't escape responsibility. In a somewhat surprising turn, the screenwriters throw in a deciding factor that can do nothing other than force someone to grow up and the complications that come along with it create a complex amount of questions for our characters to work through and address. In this regard the film rises above those rom com cliches and delivers moments of real hurt and insightful moments that teach them as well as anyone watching that has experienced something similar that we cannot always opt for the choice that feels right in the moment but instead have to step back and make a decision that will be best five or ten years down the road. There are a lot of in-the-moment decisions made in this movie and while it does bring an honest feel to the way Celeste and Jesse deal with their divorce it also makes us question the authentic feelings that make that one person stand out as the one you want to be around more than any other.

Celeste's business partner Scott (Elijah Wood) gives
his friend plenty of relationship advice.

Celeste & Jesse Forever rises above the crowd of films about relationships in my books not only for its genuine interpretation of how we deal as a race with what we want out of love, but also because it documents the progression of pain in such a delicate way. The back and forth, the looking at the situation from hundreds of different angles, the regrets, the memories; all of those things that we consider after ending a relationship and influence us to go back to that person. Jesse and Celeste can't escape those memories, they can hardly escape the fact that everything in their universe tells them to be together yet they reach that point where they step back from how overwhelming their emotions are in the moment and realize that no matter how good of friends they are or how many memories they hold together neither of them will be able to take care or nurture that relationship the way the other needs them to. In this aspect I applaud the film for not falling into the trappings of a stock script, but instead staring down the influences of real life and taking them into consideration. It is a refreshing move made ever better by the lead performances of Jones and Samberg. They make the film, for the most part really affecting and at other times really funny. The chemistry is there and the back and forth rings so true it is hard for us to choose a side (something the movie never asks us to do) but it also exposes the ugliness in each when pushed to the edge of confusion and frustration. The characters are genuine, the progression is natural, and the epiphany is grounding with the realization we cannot always love only with our hearts. If forever was a moment Celeste and Jesse would be perfect, unfortunately their moment seemed to have come and gone without them realizing.

  

CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER Review

Going into Celeste & Jesse Forever I expected something more along the lines of (500) Days of Summer than maybe The Break-Up but that is what we have here doused with plenty of indie flavor. There is nothing wrong with that, I always enjoyed the latter film to a degree it didn't receive credit for. If for anything for the fact it skewed the nicely wrapped ending of formulaic romantic comedies for a more honest and brutal look at relationships. Celeste & Jesse Forever can be commended for the same thing. While the film has been marketed as a hip, introspective look into modern relationships it doesn't exactly go against type as much as one might expect. I was rather surprised to see so many staples of the standard romantic comedy show up here, but they do. Still, what this progressive love story adds to the mix is a touching bit of realism in its character development. These aren't archetypes we're watching wander through a very contemporary world (except for maybe Elijah Woods gay best friend) but instead they feel like friends we have known for years who can do nothing but sit back and watch as these two make decisions that will forever impact their lives yet don't seem to realize that impact in the moment. The film who was also co-written by star Rashida Jones clearly has some experience with the topic she has chosen to tackle here and it is evident in the way that she handles the small moments both in her writing and her acting. Her performance anchors the film while showing her audience she is more than capable of handling dramatic material.