Hot Tub Time Machine

So often in life, you rarely know what you are getting. “Green Zone,” “Shutter Island” and “Bounty Hunter?” Too vague.

With a film like “Hot Tub Time Machine” you know exactly what you get. A warm — dare I say hot — tub of water and some sort of time travel, what else do you need to know?

John Cusack (“Pushing Tin”) Rob Corddry (“Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”) and Craig Robinson (“Pineapple Express”) play three friends who have lost touch with each other over the years, until they are reunited after Corddry suffers a Motley Crue-related accident.

They decide to relive their glory days at the Kodiak Valley ski resort, and they take along Clark Duke, who plays Cusack’s nephew. During their night of debauchery, wires get crossed, energy drinks get spilled and the foursome wakes up 26 years in the past.

Cusack, Corddry and Robinson all have their own memories from Winterfest ’86, and they are tempted to change things for the better. The trio appears to everyone else to be in their early twenties, and Robinson even has the Kid ‘n Play high-top fade.

Each character has his own subplot to carry them through the movie. Cusack is trying to avoid breaking up with his then-girlfriend, Corddry is trying to avoid a beatdown at the hands of the ski patrol and Robinson is trying to make sure his band’s debut show goes smoother than it originally did.

This leaves Duke to try and get the group back to the present. He occasionally fluctuates in and out of existence, so he has a personal stake in making sure the past follows the same path.

The movie combines the inherent cheesiness of the classic 80s movies (many of which Cusack starred in) with the comedy that comes along with meeting people from your past, or in Duke’s case, his mother, who is in the midst of her hard-partying youth.

The group tries almost everything you would try if you went back to the 80s, betting on games you know the outcome of, telling ex-girlfriends how they got fat and so on.

As the three older guys try to atone for their mistakes, the movie has plenty of comedy and even a few touching moments, courtesy of Cusack and a journalist played by Lizzy Caplan (“Cloverfield”).

Cusack is almost there for nostalgia, he doesn’t get too many punch lines, and is really a secondary part of the plot. You may empathize with him more than any of the other characters, but he doesn’t get many laughs.

Cusack might be the heavy hitter when it comes to names, but the movie is really Corddry’s to carry the comedic weight. From his obsession in discovering how the hotel bellhop loses his arm, to his relationship with a certain squirrel at the resort, he wins every scene he’s in.

If you’re serious about the consequences of time travel, this isn’t the movie for you, as you will no doubt find paradox after paradox after the movie winds to its conclusion. But if you went to the movie to see a movie that examines the serious consequences of messing with the space-time continuum, you clearly only read the last two words of the title.

It doesn’t require much brainpower, it doesn’t make you think hard after its over, but that’s sort of the point when you call a movie “Hot Tub Time Machine.” It brings the funny for 100 minutes, and it’s a very entertaining ride.

Rating - $9.50

She's Out of My League

When Bo Derek introduced us to the concept of a “10” in 1979, it brought a ranking system into popular cultures in which people were given a number, one through 10, to describe their attractiveness. More than 30 years later, sets of “rules” have come from the scale, and one such “rule” is what “She’s Out of My League” is based on.

According to a character in the film, one cannot go more than two points above themselves in any relationship. Enter Kirk Kettner, a TSA screener at the Pittsburgh International Airport and a “six” at best.

Baruchel is the latest leading man from the Judd Apatow family tree, much like stars Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Jason Segal, Baruchel worked with Apatow in television, then worked as a supporting role in his films, before getting his own project.

He has that same sort of stumbling, awkward style of humor, but with his rail-skinny body and odd hairdos, he’s much more at the nerdy end of the spectrum.

While desperately trying to win back his ex-girlfriend after a two-year split, Kirk meets Molly, an event planner who is a “hard 10.” Molly misplaces her phone, Kirk finds it, and so begins a romance that threatens to turn the world upside down.

Kirk’s friend Stainer (played by T.J. Miller, best known as the cameraman in “Cloverfield”) tells him that the budding relationship is destined to fail, while Kirk’s other friends offer varying stages of bad advice and weak support.

The movie deals with Kirk’s struggle to accept the fact that this beautiful woman is interested in him, and his struggle to prevent the inevitable — her leaving him — from happening.

We get introduced to Molly’s lantern-jawed ex-boyfriend, a jet pilot, as well as Kirk’s family, each of whom serve no other purpose than to constantly remind him of the strangeness of the situation he’s in.

It’s the classic “fall for the nice guy” kind of movie, but it sort of works in this case. Molly is played by British actress Alice Eve, who is very attractive, but she’s also very down-to-earth, so it doesn’t seem like a terrible stretch.

While the story arc is the same as any romantic comedy, the story wins points because it puts the improv-style humor of Miller, Baruchel and others first. They all get time to say their piece, tell their stories at the bowling alley, the bar or wherever else the group finds themselves.

Nate Torrance, who plays Kirk’s portly, married friend Devon, is the gem of the film, he steals quite a few scenes, and in a movie rated “R” for language, his complete refusal to curse is both refreshing and off-putting in a funny way. This, combined with a few funny scenes with Kirk getting ready for his dates, fill out the movie where it could otherwise be filler. By the time the inevitable fight between Kirk and Molly comes and then the race-against-time reconciliation is happening, the movie is just wrapping up.

It makes the movie more of a comedy and less of a romance, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The only problem is that the comedy doesn’t always deliver. They rely on a lot of the same old awkward guy gags that were done much better in films like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”

It’s entertaining for sure, but there are large gaps in the funny throughout the picture. Of course it tries to teach the whole “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” thing, but in the end, you walk out of the theater pretty sure that a skinny geek like Kirk couldn’t really get a hottie like Molly.

Rating - $7.50

Extract

Mike Judge has made a career of creating characters who are perfect caricatures of the people who populate everyday life. In “Office Space” he created a whole cast of them, people who were cartoonish enough to be funny, real enough to become pop-culture staples. If you hear someone end a sentence with “that’d be greeeeat” or slowly say “I’m a Michael Bolton fan” you have that instant flash of recognition.

After all, Judge’s strength has always been about highlighting the most annoyingly idiotic tendencies of us all, mostly to comic effect. So when the trailers for “Extract” started dropping, and the scene had shifted from a white-collar office to a blue-collar factory, it looked like Judge was primed to make another blip on the pop culture radar.

Jason Bateman plays the manager of a factory that manufactured flavor extracts. Stuck in a rut with his wife (Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig), Bateman has his eyes out for a woman who is interested in flavor additives.

Bateman plays the same character that was so well received on television’s “Arrested Development,” a normal character trapped in a world of people too dumb to be real.

His factory is populated with the type of secondary characters that usually make such an impact, but most of them aren’t on screen nearly enough to get big laughs, and the two women with the most lines are too annoying to laugh at.

Bateman finds solace at the local bar, where Ben Affleck serves his cocktails and a sympathetic ear for his problems. After a horse tranquilizer or two enters the mix one night, Bateman sets in motion a chain of events that leaves him fighting to save his marriage.

Like “Office Space,” this movie deals with a man whose dissatisfaction about where his life is going takes a strange turn after an altered state. But in “Extract,” the trouble in Bateman’s marriage takes him away from his place of business, and also shoves many of the goofy characters into the background.

It’s too bad. J.K. Simmons plays Bateman’s second-in-command, and he has far too little screen time. He calls the men at the factory “dinkus” and the women “what’s-her-face” but aside from that funny exchange in the beginning, Simmons isn’t featured nearly enough.
The two secondary plots dance in and out of the film, but they aren’t developed enough to be anymore than afterthoughts. Mila Kunis plays a beautiful con artist, but after a great first scene she only pops in on random occasions and is pretty much irrelevant.

It’s a hard movie to classify. It’s funny, but it’s not going to be quoted by generations of teenagers in the years to come.

Unfortunately, and despite the title, “Extract” seems to be a diluted version of what Judge has made his career doing. The characters are funny, but not that funny. The laughs are there, but they’re not the same quality of laugh.

You’ll probably laugh throughout most of the film’s 90 minutes, but afterwards you’ll be hard pressed to remember the funniest scene, or a specific joke that made you laugh.

Rating - $7.00

Funny People

“Funny People” could easily describe the reason for Judd Apatow’s success over the last few years. It’s a simple, but effective formula. Put funny people on screen together, let them have conversations that range from the awkward to the obscene and don’t let the plot get in the way of the people.

In these days of the cookie-cutter romantic comedy or the interracial buddy comedy, it’s
refreshing to watch people that are just plain funny.

Adam Sandler, someone who has starred in many of those same clichés, now takes on a role that is basically a caricature of himself. He plays George Simmons, a once-groundbreaking stand-up comedian, who has earned his fortune by starring in terrible movies. Pay attention to the various movie posters in the background and you can see that Simmons has starred in movies that look so bad they could have been made.

He wakes up every day alone in his mansion, with only his staff to keep him company. But we aren’t meant to get to know the old George Simmons, because five minutes into the film, he learns that he has a rare disease that will more than likely kill him within months.

Living at the other end of the spectrum is Ira Wright, played by Seth Rogen. Rogen is crashing on a couch, working in a deli and trying to make it in the world of stand-up. He takes advantage of the chance to get laughs at Sandler’s expense, and gets a gig writing jokes for him.

Rogen also helps Sandler navigate his illness, encouraging him to tell his friends and family, including the woman that got away, played by Leslie Mann.

The film balances the fine line between comedy and drama, going back and forth between the two often within seconds of each other. There are times when people crying is the funniest part of the scene, and times when things get so real that all you want to hear is a dick joke.

The film comes in at a sturdy two hours, 26 minutes. A little long for anything but an epic, but when you’re first two directorial efforts gross almost $400 million, I guess you can have some leeway.

For a movie of its length, it moves very well. It doesn’t slow down very much, because you don’t know what’s coming next, you’re always on your toes.

The secondary cast is great, with Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman providing a lot of humor at the expense of themselves and the main characters.

Almost every stand-up comedian worth his salt from the ‘90s has a cameo in the film, and while some are more memorable than others (Ray Romano), they add to the texture of the film.

Since Sandler and Apatow were roommates before striking out in different directions (one in front of the camera, one behind), this movie is sort of a "What If?" for them.

The only thing different is that both men are married with children, and one would like to hope both men have more satisfying lives than anyone in the film. I guess it goes to show the stabilizing influence of family.

And for a movie, a director, and actors that have roots in the simple act of telling jokes, that's pretty deep.

Rating - $9.50

Bruno

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. This is not a family film, nor anything close to it. Regardless of who you see it with, it will make you uncomfortable in several parts throughout the film.

That being said, “Bruno” offers laughs more consistently than actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s last work, “Borat.” The awkwardness is there. The bigotry is on full display. And Cohen, too much of him, is there.

Bruno is a flamboyant host of an Austrian fashion show who loses his credibility when his all-velcro suit leads to a fashion show disaster. Not knowing what to do with his life, Bruno sets his sights on America with an assistant, in order to become a celebrity.

If there’s one thing American can do, is make a celebrity out of people with no discernable talent. Cohen whittles it down to an almost step-by-step guide on how to become a celebrity. Reality shows, controversial statements, illicit video tapes, he tries them all.

Various celebrities make appearances, and it’s clear that most of them are unwitting accomplices to Cohen’s assault. 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul, singer Paula Abdul and actor Harrison
Ford are all caught on tape, and their reactions range from the confused to the profane.

Ironically, as much as the movie seems to mock celebrity, the real people that come off the worst.

The ignorance displayed by some church offcials, a mixed martial arts audience and a group of hunters, to name a few, is startling. Some of them could be forgiven, for they only crack in the face of Bruno’s onslaught, but others seem perfectly willing to make themselves look like fools with little provocation.

For example, a stage mother offers to get her baby’s weight down from 30 pounds to 20 pounds within a week to get a job. By being so off the wall himself, Cohen allows these people to open up and let out their own faults, and one wonders why on earth they would agree to sign releases to appear in the film.

“Borat” brought about a slew of lawsuits after it became a smash hit, most likely from people trying to cover themselves after the world saw what they had to say, and “Bruno” figures to have similar claims brought against it.

There’s a reason that Cohen isn’t known just as a simple gross-out comedian. Through his caricatures of stereotypes, he is able to unearth something that’s not funny at all: there are people even more ignorant than the characters he plays out there, and unlike Cohen, these people are 100 percent real.

Rating - $9.00

Duplicity

From the trailers, “Duplicity” seems like “Ocean’s Two,” where Clive Owen and Julia Roberts replace Danny Ocean and his crew in swindling some titan of industry. The first five minutes of the film would lead you to believe the same, with moving split screens, a pseudo-electronic soundtrack and the presence of a sultry Julia Roberts.

Then the opening credits roll, and you get a sense that this movie might be something different. Two jowly men (Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson) spend the entire six-minute sequence wrestling, and the ridiculousness of it all opens up the film right away.

What follows is a movie that shifts between romantic comedy and spy film almost effortlessly, and the star-studded cast of Roberts, Giamatti, Wilkinson and Clive Owen (“Inside Man,” “The International”) pull it off quite nicely.

Owen and Roberts, who meet in the opening scene that takes place a few years before the main action, seem to have an attraction for each other beyond their mutual love of good champagne. The questions of whether or not this attraction is merely a means to accomplishing their mission is what the entire movie hinges upon.

Owen is working for Giamatti’s company, trying to steal a miracle product from Wilkinson’s rival company. And did I mention that Roberts is the head of security for Wilkinson’s company?

It is very interesting to observe two people who are in the business of not trusting anyone, try their hands at a real relationship, and the trust that becomes necessary when you’re in one. Their relationship can be summed up by one of Roberts’ quotes in the movie, “Admit it. You don’t trust me either.”

One of the interesting themes of the movie is how the distrust that comes with espionage is so close to the distrust that relationships can breed. By the end, it has almost become a staring contest between the two, the only question is who will blink first.

Roberts and Owen have a very good give-and-take throughout the film, as it takes almost half an hour for the viewer to know the exact nature of their relationship. As they move forward in the present, flashbacks clue us in, one step at a time, just how these two people got to where they are and what they are doing.

“Duplicity” is one of those films where the viewer doesn’t see everything, plot elements are carefully portioned out when necessary. This can at times be jarring, sometimes it seems as though when the plot is finally picking up, there is another flashback. At first it seems to derail the building suspense, but as we learn more about the characters’ past, we can begin to guess as to where it is going.

The cinematography of the film is different than a standard spy flick. Offices can be as vast as canyons, and cityscapes can feel as claustrophobic as a plastic bag. Many of the more intense scenes are visually striking, whether is it the play of shadows, the view outside of a window or

There are some genuinely funny moments, some painfully awkward moments and moments when everyone but the characters can see what’s about to happen.

On one hand, by combining a romantic comedy with a spy film, one could say the movie tries to do too much, that it spreads itself too thin. On the other hand, it could be seen as an interesting take on the nature of relationships and trust in the most trying of circumstances.

Either way, it keeps you guessing until the last cork is popped, literally. The ending might not satisfy everyone, but the ride is more than worth it.

Rating - $9.00

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

When trailers for “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” started hitting the airwaves in late December, they didn’t exactly put members of the Academy on notice. The tale of an overweight mall cop who takes his job too seriously doesn’t seem like it would resonate too deeply come awards season. And it won’t.

But it is a comedy that provides good, clean laughs for what it offers, and sometimes that’s all it takes to make a decent movie. What starts as a standard dumb famly comedy evolves into a decent send-up of the over-the-top ‘80’s action movies.

Kevin James plays the rotund title character, a mall security guard who enjoys peanut butter on his pie and harbors dreams of being a real cop, channeling that ambition into his mall security job. A single parent, his daughter and mother spend their time trying to find him a girlfriend via an online dating site.

The role is similar to the one that made him famous, in “The King of Queens,” with Jayma Mays playing the part of the attractive woman that is inexplicably attracted to him.

The most serious part of the film is the opening credits, when a “JFK-“ like theme plays over close-ups of a mall security badge. From there it devolves into slapstick comedy, jokes so bad they’re funny and other staples of mediocre comedies.

The plot of the film is incredibly cliché, with the single-parent James falling for the doe-eyed woman who works at the wig kiosk, and he is forced to save her when she is taken hostage by the terrorists who take over the mall.

While the plot has more holes in it than , the jokes are solid. James provides the best segway humor since Will Arnett in “Arrested Development,” and he can take a pratfall with the best of them.

Since the movie is rated PG, it provides laughs without the nudity and profanity that so many comedies of late rely so heavily upon.

The villains are a group of terrorists who, for some reason, prefer to skate, leap or bike their way around the mall, and very rarely do they use their guns. The terrorists are so hackneyed at times that it’s painful to watch.

The supporting cast mostly drags down the movie, with the exception of Stephen Ranna zzisi, who plays a pen salesman in the mall. He draws laughs every time he is on the screen, and he is the perfect obnoxious foil to Kevin James’ goodhearted nature. Think of him as the Ellis character from “Die Hard.”

Throughout the course of the movie, James becomes a combination of John McClane and Rambo. Except in this case, the Nakatomi Tower has been replaced with the West Orange Pavilion Mall and the Vietnamese jungle is the Rainforest Café.

In a world of gross-out comedies, “Paul Blart” shows that you don’t need f-bombs or nudity to get laughs. Sometimes a fat man on a Segway running into the back of a minivan will do just fine.

Rating - $6.00

Role Models

While Judd Apatow’s modus operandi of late is to bookend the summer with movies that gross over $100 million, that doesn’t stop his troupe of actors from acting in their own films. Paul Rudd (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”) and Seann William Scott (“American Pie”) are two of those actors, and they perform the typical roles in “Role Models.”

Rudd plays the typical sensitive guy who is so devastated by the end of his relationship that he loses control. Scott plays a typical hard partying, womanizing guy that he has cashed so many checks as. Rudd is clean shaven and wears collared shirts, while Scott is stubbled and wears MMA shirts.

While the casting offers nothing new for either actor, there is a reason that they continue to play these roles. They are very good at them. Maybe even more importantly, they have the timing down with each other that they can constantly produce laughs.

Add in the usual cast, such as Jane Lynch (“Best in Show”) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Superbad”) and it’s hard not to chuckle as they riff off of each other.

The plot isn’t anything fancy, and it doesn’t have to be. Rudd, distraught over his break-up decides to play tug of war with his company’s vehicle and a tow truck, while a police officer looks on. This lands the duo in a predicament: go to jail for 30 days, or spend 150 hours mentoring troubled youth.

Rudd is assigned to Mintz-Plasse, who brings back his McLovin persona in all its awkward glory. Scott is assigned a rowdy child with a filthy mouth played by cinematic newcomer Bobb’e J. Thompson.

The story gets very trite from here on out, with both men initially dreading their service, before coming to enjoy their assigned punishment. There is the obligatory moment where it all comes crashing down (with a high-voiced, acoustic guitar playing singer singing a mournful tune on the background of course), and then the rest of the movie is spent rebuilding.

What keeps it fresh is the interaction between the characters. Whether it is a camping trip, or a weekend spent participating in a medieval role-playing game, the characters always find time to exchange snide remarks.

Basically the whole movie plays out like an Apatow-inspired remake of “Problem Child” which is an intriguing possibility. The movie is much funnier than the few cheap laughs played in the trailer, and while it won’t be making a dent this awards season, it is a great way to spend two hours.

Whether it is worth your ten dollars, well, that depends on your sense of humor.

Rating - $8.50

Ghost Town

Most Americans are unfamiliar with the name Ricky Gervais. Maybe you’ve seen his name as a producer under NBC’s “The Office,” even though he created the original version. Maybe you’ve seen the Simpsons where Marge and Homer swap spouses on a reality show, which was written by Gervais.

Now he is thrust into his first leading role in a film, and the result is a movie that doesn’t quote know what to do with him.

Weapons in Gervais’ arsenal include the best comic timing on the planet, as well as the ability to be both irritating yet charming. He plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who cares little for people and less for their trivial natures.

After a colonoscopy that leads to seven minutes of death, Pincus finds himself with ability to see and hear the ghosts that populate lower Manhattan.

The film operates under the “Casper Rules” of ghosts, that is they are ghosts because they have unfinished business. When they look to the one person who can actually hear them, Pincus becomes inundated with requests from these ghosts to help them.

The pushiest of these specters is played by Greg Kinnear, an adulterer in life who is damned to do nothing but play Tetris on his ghostly BlackBerry and watch as the wife he cheated on plans to get remarried.

He offers Pincus an offer he can’t refuse, respite from the other ghosts, and the plot is set in motion. The plot works well because Gervais is at his best when trying to extract himself from awkward situations, often of his own making. Imagine a man carrying on conversations with people only he can see, and you’ll appreciate the situations he finds himself in.

Gervais could hold a dialogue with a brick wall and make it funny, so when he’s bouncing his zingers off of people like Kinnear, SNL’s Kristen Wiig and others, the conversation crackles.
The film starts out looking like a new spin on the standard romantic comedy, but as the plot progresses, it quickly falls back into the standard mold.

In the process of breaking up her marriage, Pincus falls for Kinnear’s wife, played by Tea Leoni. As the independent, yet feminine woman, she is quickly able to penetrate Pincus’ shell, and he begins to fall for her.

As their relationship progresses, the movie becomes more and more formulaic, which slowly strips it of its charm. Gervais’ jokes are tossed under the rug, the rug being the standard story about the guy falling for girl, the guy has a secret, the girl gets upset when he reveals it.

Just before the movie falls completely into generic oblivion, the ending twists in a way that brings back its originality. Aside from the 20 minutes of schlock, it maintains its freshness.

There are quite a few moments that set the film apart from the standard romantic comedy. No spoilers here, but to watch a ghost try to encourage the man who is giving his recently deceased body CPR is a funny moment at what could be an awkward scene.

Overall, the movie is well worth seeing. If you appreciate the subtle nuances of awkward comedy, Gervais is your man. While the movie flirts with a cookie-cutter comedy, it is Gervais and his co-stars that are able to return it from the brink.

Rating - $9.00

Pineapple Express

If this summer has taught us anything (besides the fact that comic-book movies are back for good), it’s that the name Judd Apatow practically guarantees a blockbuster.

“Pineapple Express” is no exception. Effortlessly combining the stoner genre with an action-packed thriller, the film manages to pay tribute to both while staying original.

The plot, while it won’t be putting Tarantino out of business any time soon, does what it needs to. That is, put Apatow’s usual cast of cronies is as many improv-inducing situations as possible.

Whether it is Seth Rogen and James Franco waxing about their newfound friendship, or Gary Cole and Rosie Perez alternating their desires for each other with murderous impulses, the film has enough give-and-take to make anyone crack up.

As a twenty-something process server with an 18-year-old girlfriend, Rogen requires massive amounts of cannabis to get through his day.

His dealer (Franco) is the closest thing he has to a friend, which is the reason Rogen hides at his place after witnessing a murder.

The addition of action allows Seth Rogen to flex his acting muscles, and he does a passable job of being furious, scared to death or overcome by emotion.

The comedy is also much more phycisal than previous Apatow films. There is plenty of witty back-and-forth, but there are slapstick scenes that are done with such reality that it makes the viewer laugh and cringe at the same time.

It seems that every Apatow move brings another potential comic superstar to the forefront. Last year it was McLovin, this year is Red. Played by the previously unknown Danny McBride, the invincible Red steals almost every scene he’s in.

When you consider he’s trading lines with as many established actors as there are in the film, his performance is even more impressive.

Almost every bit player in a Christopher Guest, Adam McKay or Apatow flick is given their zingers, and the result is a comedy that feels very familiar, but new at the same time.

There is plenty of gore, plenty of violence and more than enough f-words, but the film shows just how easy it is to make a funny movie when you cast funny people. The sense of comic timing between all the cast members is excellent, and the lines that are in the cutting room floor must be just as good.

It even resists the temptation to become a straight spoof of the action genre. It uses a few clichés, but only in carefully measured doses.

Quite simply, if you want to see a funny, obscene movie featuring funny, obscene people, then this movie hits the spot.

Rating - $10.00

Step Brothers

With the hype vacuum created by the release of “The Dark Knight”, Will Ferrell’s latest has slipped somewhat under the radar.

By the time award season rolls around, critics and audiences alike should have recognized the brilliance of this story of two grown men experiencing life, love and happiness while trying to be loved by a world that isn’t ready for them.

Okay, maybe that’s going a little too far. Rather, “Step Brothers” is a comedy in the vein of Ferrell’s other movies such as “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Old School.”
His co-pilot on this magic carpet ride is John C. Reilly (“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Chicago”), making this the duo’s second pairing after “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

Both of them are six-year-old children (although ones that wear Pablo Cruise and “Star Wars” t-shirts) trapped in grown-up bodies.

Unlike “Talladega Nights,” this movie doesn’t operate under the guise of a family flick, it earns its ‘R’ rating. Any time the plot threatens to get serious on us, something ridiculous or obscene happens, which keeps the laughs coming.

The script was penned by Ferrell and Adam McKay, who teamed up for “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights.” McKay also directed.

Ferrell and Reilly play two 40-year-old men (virgins?) who still live with their mother and father respectively. When the two parents get married, the bliss of their childish worlds suddenly changes.

Mary Steenburgen (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) plays Ferrell’s mother, and Richard Jenkins (“Six Feet Under”) plays Reilly’s father. They create good screen chemistry with each other as well as Ferrell and Reilly.

Though the fact that they both have sons still living at home initially attracts them to one another, it soon becomes apparent that the arrangement won’t work.

The movie takes on the feel of an extended “Saturday Night Live” skit, which isn’t a bad thing. There is a reason why Ferrell was its highest paid cast member.

There are entire scenes which consist of nothing but traded insults between Reilly and Ferrell. It is clear that everyone involved in the movie had a great time filming it, and it becomes contagious.

Yes, it features Ferrell going to another level with his signature nudity. It also contains arguably the most awkward first kiss and brotherly hug in film history. Viewers will never be able to take the Guns ‘N’ Roses tune “Sweet Child o’ Mine” seriously again either.

It’s not ground-breaking, it’s not a cinematic tour-de-force, but it is a raunchy, funny movie, and it doesn’t try to be anything more than that.

If there is any lasting lesson to be taken, it’s that no matter how tough things get, there are always crossbows and Chewbacca masks to make it all better.

Rating - $10.00

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

The movie "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle" promised in its final moments a sequel in which the pair head to their nirvana, Amsterdam. Since this movie is called “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay,” we are left to wonder what went wrong.

The film opens to find the drug-addled duo, hunger satisfied, planning their next move. After a quick shower from Harold and a trip to the bathroom from Kumar (at the same time in the same bathroom, they are nothing if not efficient), they are ready to board an international flight.

Amsterdam is the destination, besides the legal drugs, there is a hot neighbor for Harold to track down. Even the best laid plans can run afoul, as a battery powered piece of drug paraphernalia leads to the two being arrested as terrorists.

It becomes apparent in the first few minutes that the film is raising the bar on the crude humor its predecessor was based on. Human and animal defecation provides the punch line to several early jokes.

Enter Daily Show alumnus Rob Corddry as a bigoted government bureaucrat with questionable personal hygiene. While he is a caricature of any sort of real person, in the farcical world of Harold and Kumar he is a funny and formidable foe.

Alliteration (and assonance) aside, the movie provides a deeper look into Harold and Kumar. The first film showed Harold’s insecurities while painting Kumar as an underachiever concerned only with his next bong hit.

This film delves a little deeper into who both characters are, including a scene of what the dyad were like pre-cannabis. A love interest for Kumar is also introduced, making him a slightly more dynamic character.

While the movie isn't in any danger of being an Oscar sleeper, it does have a coherent plot structure. Besides the conflict between the twosome and Corddry, tension build throughout the film between the two

A believable conflict between Harold and Kumar, as well as between them and the government guides the movie through its various funny scenes.

Of course, no Harold and Kumar movie would be complete without the obligatory Neil Patrick Harris appearance. Harris’ scene in the first film has shaped his legacy to anyone born after “Doogie Howser, M.D.” NPH's perversions in this film manage to climb to another level, including a memorable farewell.

Between drug humor and full frontal nudity the movie does have a message about the inaccuracy of stereotypes and the dangers of racism. The pair encounters a tobacco-chewin’ redneck who happens to live in a modern ranch house with a beautiful wife. Of course, for comedic purposes all isn’t as it seems, but the point gets across.

Anyone looking for a poetic and epic story of man’s redemption over circumstances that threaten to destroy him should probably search elsewhere. Anyone looking for 102 minutes of a crude buddy comedy that isn’t too taxing on the noggin, will find this movie very enjoyable.


Rating - $10.00