Gently poking small-town politics

 IRRESISTIBLE (2020)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Satirizing politics in a nation overcome by radical division and incessant divisiveness further caused by social media is a tough nut to crack. For one, there are too many comedic political TV commentators who focus and pounce on the ridicule set forth by everyone at 1600 Pennsylvania. How can you lampoon a politician when, in the age of Trump, they are kind of lampooning themselves. Jon Stewart, former TV's host for "The Daily Show," attempts to lampoon the politics of a small, forgotten town that nobody cares about except every four years. Admirable as a comedy of restraint that doesn't reduce townsfolk to stereotypical buffoons, Stewart's "Irresistible" is still fairly mild though consistently funny taking potshots at how elections are run. 

After the Democratic Hillary Clinton loses in the 2016 Presidential race, some time has passed and Democratic Party campaign consultant Gary Zimmer (perfectly cast Steve Carrell) is struck by a viral video of a stubborn Marine Colonel Jack Hastings (also perfectly cast and highly underrated actor Chris Cooper) who speaks out at a town hall meeting against the new immigration policies. We first see the actual town hall meeting and then the viral video and Zimmer has his A HA! moment. In order to win back voters and show Democrats have values that extend to small towns like Deerlaken, Wisconsin, Zimmer wants Colonel Hastings to run for mayor against Republican incumbent Mayor Braun (Brent Sexton). Never mind that the RNC is funding Braun and that Zimmer's ruthless rival (Rose Byrne) is ready to start a showdown of Fox News propaganda proportions.   

There is a nostalgic factor running through "Irresistible" and it is in the minutiae of a small town. Everyone goes about their business, not looking to fight each other but rather accept each other wholeheartedly (when Zimmer is first introduced to the local townsfolk, he tries to curry favor by saying he had once been in Madison. Their response: "Madison is not Wisconsin"). The local coffee shop has prepared sweets and coffee with two sugars and milk for Zimmer every morning (that is not how he takes it). The Colonel's upbeat daughter (Mackenzie Davis) has a winsome quality about her - she can hold her own against this Washington left-winger without much help. Even the Colonel is not too hard-bitten about life, though he suspiciously has little to say in his campaign speeches other than big money rules (that suspicion figures in an ending that had me surprised). The Braun and Zimmer supporters are not angry, divisive folk - they just want their town to thrive during increasingly difficult times. Director and writer Jon Stewart is not so much taking a page from 1972's "The Candidate" - he's crossing into the small town idealism of the "Welcome to Mooseport" variety where strength follows by example of loyalty to family.

"Irresistible" is hard to dislike, it has ample charm and a sweet innocent quality to it (even the Fox news reporters are not so unappealing as much as they are clueless). Yet the movie is never aiming to be sharp and incisive in its skewering - it pokes at the demonized politics run by financial interests but it never cuts it and leaves it as an open wound which we all know it is. From any other director, I might have expect a gentleness but not from abrasive Jon Stewart. Or maybe Stewart is just casually saying as he did when he finished his last "Daily Show" episode many years back: "Bullshit is everywhere."

Not bad yet Jack Black and Zooey Deschanel would've launched a better movie

FAILURE TO LAUNCH (2006)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Reviewed in 2007)

Sometimes there is a movie that pops up that doesn't work on any level, yet it still surprises you in the

end. Hollywood has its share of such passable follies, such as "Boys and Girls" (yes,

that Jason Biggs comedy). Notably romantic comedies can fall under such a pattern. "Failure to Launch" looks like a cookie-cutter, cut-and-paste romantic comedy that shouldn't work because

it looks like any other romantic comedy. Yet, for some reason unbeknownst to me, this movie got under my skin. Who knew?

"Failure to Launch" stars Matthew McConaughey as Trip, a 35-year-old boat broker who seems to have everything he wants in life. He is carefree, loves the idea of being in love, has his
own house, his parents cook his meals and do his laundry for him and, wait a second. No, he does not own his own house at all. He lives with his parents (played by the charming Terry
Bradshaw and Kathy Bates)! Trip has never moved out! When he brings a date over to his bedroom, he has sex before being interrupted by his dad and, well, the date is supposed to be horrified that Trip still lives with his parents. It is an easy maneuver for a break up.

Trip's parents, however, are tired of their son living at home. So they hire a "professional interventionist," Paula (the always electric Sarah Jessica Parker) to date Trip and pretend to fall
in love with him so he moves out! Of course, this movie has an idea that hasn't been considered - what if the parents just told Trip to move out! Ah, but that would be a different movie altogether and would effectively delete the Parker character and her offbeat, kill-a-mockingbird-with-no-shame roommate
(Zooey Deschanel)!

"Failure to Launch" is hardly anything but a completely formulaic and foreseeable comedy at its every turn. A little surprise here or there would've been welcome, including more scenes with Paula's kooky roommate. Too many scenes focus on Trip's buddies' who of course, well, get wind of what Paula is really up to. There are also scenes of mammals biting Trip...I know why they exist in terms
of the main character's evolution but they nevertheless feel distracting. And McConaughey, a handsome, charismatic actor, seems miscast in the role of a 35-year-old slacker (at first glance, the part seems tailor made for Jack Black). That is until you discover why he lives with his parents.
Plus, his timing is impeccable when he utters the only F-word in the entire PG-13 movie.

"Failure to Launch" has a few funny lines, some ideal chemistry between McConaughey and Parker, a hysterical butt shot with Terry Bradshaw, and a sappy finish that seems earned, no matter how many times you have witnessed it in the past. It is an agreeable, pleasing comedy that leaves me with a certain impression. It is Zooey Deschanel (who was wonderful in "The Good Girl"). Give this girl a chance to make a romantic comedy with Jack Black, and you really might have something than the normal romantic confection.

Us usses got to save the world

 BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC (2020)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Although the first two "Bill and Ted" films were enjoyable in their own spirited, upbeat way, I never expected them to return. 1991 was the last time we saw the dim-witted pair of would-be musicians who are supposed to change the world with their music and, in those days, sequels were frowned upon. Look at it this way - it took 12 years before there was a Terminator 3. Most other sequels ended up straight to VHS doom past a number 2 or 3 (Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street were the exceptions). So I was surprised to hear the most eminent return of the bogus musicians returning to cinema screens with their trademarked air guitar solos in 2020. Of course we are going through a pandemic so they are only in a few screens, mostly streaming online. Yet here we are and it is fittingly called "Bill and Ted Face the Music," an even more upbeat and funnier entry in this now Holy (?) trilogy. Most stupendous yet not quite excellent - there are a few lulls yet it never fails to entertain and share in Bill and Ted's joy of writing the perfect song even if they have to cross through time and space to do it.

In this less than excellent suburban world of Bill and Ted, they are now middle-aged dudes with wives and daughters living in a nice house! Sounds excellent yet not quite. Their wives, formerly princesses from the year 1408 (must see the original to understand all this), are unhappy and the nonintellectual duo of Bill and Ted believe in couples therapy where the word "we" is included in their love for their respective spouses. Meanwhile, while singing pretentious songs that even hair metal bands or Air Supply would find most discomfiting dude at a wedding, the world is about to collapse with the space time continuum losing its footing. Jesus, for example, walks on water while George Washington is crossing the Delaware and other notable historical figures end up in periods of time where they don't belong. Bill and Ted have got to write their most precious, prophesied song that will save the world, God willing, and it is Rufus's time-traveling daughter, Kelly (Kristen Schaal), arriving in an egg-shaped time machine, who tells them they have 77 minutes to write it or the world vanishes. So this means the bodacious pair have to get in their phone booth time machine and run into their future selves to steal the song from themselves! (Note: if none of you have seen the original Bill and Ted flick, Rufus was the cool dude from the future played by the late George Carlin). Why 77 minutes I am not clear and since they are time-traveling, oh, hell, I do not watch these movies for logic. Most illogical to think that way, dude.

Meanwhile Bill and Ted's daughters, who certainly have a knack for music history, Billie and Thea, travel in Kelly's time machine and procure the talents of Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ling Lun, and a prehistoric woman playing drums with bones! There is a twist here but I won't reveal it. There is fun to be had here though I wish I saw more of these musicians on screen - not enough is done to exploit their appeal. I couldn't help but laugh at Jimi Hendrix trying to one-up Mozart's piano-playing with his electric fingers touching the guitar, but I wish there were more scenes like that. In fact, the film falls a bit flat getting to the all-star performance of the song that will change and make for a better world. We do get an extended Hell sequence that has some comical bits, especially the return of William Sadler as Death playing the guitar, and yet having the gang all die and turn up there feels a bit out of tune with the rest of the film. Hell and Death were more engaging in "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey." 

"Bill and Ted Face the Music" is still definitely fun and, in key moments such as the couples therapy sessions or Bill referring to himself and Ted's future selves as "usses," funnier than the first two films. Keanu Reeves can still play a dim-witted fool better than anyone and yet we laugh with him, not at him, Same with Alex Winter who is a colorful scene-stealer especially when he and Keanu play their future counterparts which range from musclebound prisoners to Brit-accented, spoiled musicians. Keanu and Winter bring a sense of joy and zest with their energized performances - it is actually mind-blowing how much fun it is so see a less sullen Keanu Reeves. Almost as good (and you can almost smell a future spin-off) are Samara Weaving as Thea and Brigette Lundy-Paine as Billie and their mannerisms perfectly encapsulate the expressions of Reeves and Winter yet still developing their own personalities - they turn out to be smarter than their dads! That's progress, well done dudes.