Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story 01/03/08

Once again I fear my impatience and anticipation of a movie has hurt my viewing pleasure. Damn you YouTube, they just had so much of this movie on it before I could see it in the theatres. I'm trying right now to remember how much I laughed before I saw the movie and then try to wrap that in with the mediocre to good experience I had at it. 
Here's are the plot jokes I was already aware of: I had seen all of the first ten minues, I knew he'd lose his smell, that he would get into rehab many times, that he would have scores of illegitimate children, that it would closely mirror Johnny Cash, and the songs Walk Hard and Let's Duet in their entirety. That takes out alot and most of it was gold. so keep that in mind.
The songs are great mostly. There are three very good ones, and three good ones. So as far as musicals go, this would be a three star movie (out of four). As a spoof of Walk the Line and Ray it also works well, the problem is that this movie is too good to be a spoof and the jokes that merely parody the biopics are the letdowns.
I think this movie could have been better if they had made it more serious, or less serious. I'll explain. John C. Reilly is a great actor and so are most of the cast in this movie (There must have been 10-15 comedians I could recognize, the ensemble in this movie was enormous). They bring a real human dimension to the story, so when the story is so way over the top and farcical they don't really fit together. Also this story has no straight character. In every comedy that is an essential part. It's important because it gives the movie an anchor, someplace the comedy can base itself around. If anything goes, than nothing does. Take the LSD trip for instance. Since its obvious we've entered another dimension are we supposed to be surprised when Dewey lifts a car with only his underwear on. After the first five minutes when the two kids played chicken with a tractor and a bull I was expecting things like that. They either should have toned down the way out of the park jokes or not had any tender moments of real human emotion.
I'll give here a note about shock humor: It's not neccessarily where you go, it's where you haven't been. One joke that fell particularly flat was thus: Darlene (the beloved Jenna Fischer) says to Dewey paraphrased "I know we can't do it because were not married but sometimes I still feel the need for a man's touch. And when I say that I mean a penis in my vagina." okay, I could definitely see how that could be shock funny. Unfortunately it wasn't the first time they had told that joke in the movie. In an earlier scene the movie had gone even farther by actually showing male genitalia in the background of a shot for a significant period of time. When Darlene sputtered her line it didn't elicit any laughter whatsoever because the shock was gone and there wasn't any joke left. For examples of funny curses look at "South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut," or "Kingpin," or even "Superbad.' In each of these movies there is a straight character (third grade kids, Amish dude, Michael Cera) that doesn't curse. So when they finally do, it is actually quite funny. A comedy with lots of shock humor needs a firm basis of where the funny can start so there are places where the shock can go. Walk Hard started with a kid chopping his brother in half with a machete. The rest of the movie consisted of the story vainly trying to keep up.

Blades of Glory 06/22/07

A comforting, unambitious, solid comedy from people who are venturing into well known waters. This has to be Will Ferrel's third sports movie (following KIcking and Screaming, and Talladega Nights) and the umpteenth time he played a droll, unmitigating badass. Again he knocks it out of the park. Why? Because like a very good Broadway star he manages to keep basically the same performance looking fresh and new. He's definitely the heart of the comedy, although another great part of this movie is the number of small parts that are given to well known faces. This movie has enough second tier comedians to rank it with a Christopher Guest film. In supporting roles we have Rob Corddry, Luke Wilson, Craig T. Nelson, Andy Richter, that gay guy from Reno 911, various skating stars (including an inspired cameo by Sasha Coen), the duo of Will Arnett and Amy Poehler who are perfect sister and brother villains, and Jen Fishcer, from the Office, as the shy love interest. All of them are playing roles they've played a thousand times before, but all of them play them well. So it's no surprise that the movie doesn't suck. Then again it's no surprise the movie is good. There you have it: no surprises period.

The one part of the movie that could have been better was Jon Heder. The main problem with this guy is that his acting conflicts with the part he's playing. He's supposed to be an infemminite, graceful, figure skating star. Instead Heder plays the guy like he's Napolean Dynamite's cousin. He's not graceful, he's clumsy and stupid. It doesn't fit well. and since the main love interest is between him and Jen Fischer I would have liked a guy that deserved to have someone fall in love with. Jen likes this guy because of the script, not because he's in anyway good looking or interesting. The role would have been better cast with a Topher Grace or maybe even a Jason Schwartzman.

But I'm getting carried away. The movie works and to it's credit it's not all gay jokes which was a relief. Some of it is clever wordplay. Notice a banter that takes place when the kids realize they have to spend the night in the same room. Ferrel objects and says deeply "Nights are a dark time for me." Which Heder retorts with "Nights' are a dark time for everyone." Ferrel shoots right back "Not for those living in Alaska and Men with night vision goggles." Very true, this movie relies on snappy lines like that. The movie's climatic scene is climatic and I was apprehensive and caught in the moment. The movie ends on a note that in a lesser comedy would have been bonehead ridiculous, but since I liked the movie I let the filmmakers get away with it and enjoyed it instead. 

The best part is a new twist on the old movie cliche "the nervous first telephone conversation," between Jen and Jon. What's great about is that both are receiving insane advice from Will Ferrel and Amy Poehler respectively. They both awkwardly throw heavily weighted innuendo at each other and are pleasantly surprised when the other responds positively even though they aren't really talking to each other and they're sages have completely different agendas. Those are good ingredients in any comedy, convenient complications.