Murder Mystery

Murder Mystery (2019)

Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Luke Evans, Gemma Arterton, and Terence Stamp

Directed by Kyle Newacheck

Written by James Vanderbilt

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Dumplin'

Dumplin' (2018)

Starring Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Odeya Rush, Maddie Baillio, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Luke Benward, Dove Cameron, Harold Perrineau, and Kathy Najimy

Directed by Anne Fletcher

Written by Kristin Hahn

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix***

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C+

Movie Review - Cake

Cake (2014)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, and Chris Messina

Directed by Daniel Barnz

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

A little more darkly comic than I was expecting, Cake gives Jennifer Aniston a nice vehicle to showcase her dramatic chops (with tinges of humor), but surprisingly doesn't give her that "Oscar" moment for her to really make a huge impact.  Granted, that's not necessarily a bad thing -- the simplicity of the movie doesn't really call for that "Oscar Scene" to happen.  Still, the flick really fails on creating an emotional arc, with things feeling decidedly and disappointingly one-note.

Aniston is Claire Bennett, a woman in chronic pain struggling to cope with an horrific event from her past that fails to let her create a livable present.  With her life in shambles -- her husband (Chris Messina) has left her, a friend (Anna Kendrick) from her chronic pain support group has committed suicide, her anger causing issues with her group's leader (Felicity Huffman) and physical therapist (Mamie Gummer) -- the only person giving Claire any modicum of support is her housemaid Silvana (Adriana Barraza) who wishes nothing but the best for her employer, but is increasingly frustrated by Claire's reliance on pain medication to make it through day-to-day routines.

The best part of Cake is this relationship between Claire and Silvana, with both Aniston and Barraza playing off each other quite well creating moments of both humor and heartache.  The film falters when it branches out to some of the other aforementioned characters mainly because none of them are really given adequate time to create an emotional impact.  Ultimately, that's the underlying problem with Cake -- too many superfluous side stories when the best part of the screenplay focuses Claire's grief and how she and her only friend -- her maid -- deal with her issues.

You could certainly do worse than watch Cake and Aniston and Barraza are absolutely the reasons to give it a go.  Unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't quite give these two characters the adequate justice they deserve.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Life of Crime

Life of Crime (2014)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Mos Def, Isla Fisher, Will Forte, Tim Robbins, and John Hawkes

Directed by Daniel Schechter

Detroit 1978.  Seeing an opportunity, two down on their luck small-time criminals Ordell and Louis (Mos Def and John Hawkes) see an opportunity too good to pass up.  They'll kidnap the wife of prominent, though corrupt, real estate developer Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins) and hold her for ransom.  Little do Ordell and Louis realize that Frank has decided to divorce his wife Mickey (Jennifer Aniston) and instead shack up with the younger Melanie (Isla Fisher)...and Frank may not give a damn that his wife is out of his hair.

Life of Crime begins rather promisingly, walking the delicate line of comedy and heist film, but it unfortunately begins to fall apart after the first act failing to really go anywhere once Mickey is abducted.  Instead, screenwriter and director Daniel Schechter's film just keeps hitting the same beats over and over again.  The acting across the board is surprisingly solid, but the film based on a book by Elmore Leonard is just so far below other Leonard adaptations that the cast can't elevate the material enough to make it a success.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - We're the Millers

We're the Millers (2013)

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, and Kathryn Hahn 

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

Jennifer.  Aniston.  Striptease.

I could simply leave this review at that, but I guess I'll continue by saying in addition to that sultry dance performed by one of my celebrity crushes, We're the Millers provides enough laughs that even if a nearly naked, seductively gyrating Jennifer Aniston doesn't float your boat, you'll still probably have a good time.  Thanks to a game cast who milk the comedy bits for all they're worth, We're the Millers successfully brings the raunch while also giving us characters and a story that hold our attention.

Jason Sudeikis is David Clark, a pot dealer who ends up losing his stash of weed and a significant amount of dough when an attempt to save a homeless girl being attacked by a bunch of street thugs goes awry.  This doesn't sit well with David's boss (Ed Helms) who forces David to head to Mexico and smuggle into the states a significant amount of marijuana without getting caught at the border.  With seemingly no feasible way to smuggle in the pot on his own, David concocts a plan to rent an RV and make up a fake family, acting as if they're taking a trip to Mexico for recreational purposes hoping that the border agents won't possibly think anything is out of the ordinary when they try and get back into the States.  To achieve this task, he enlists his down-on-her-luck stripper neighbor Rose (Jennifer Aniston) to play his wife, the aforementioned homeless girl Casey (Emma Roberts) to play his daughter, and his virginal downstairs neighbor Kenny (Will Poulter) to be his son.  Along the way, this fake family (known as the Millers) runs into drug kingpins and crazy RV enthusiasts (the latter played by Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn) in their attempt to bring an humongous stash of pot over the US border.

While certainly raunchy, We're the Millers does have a bit of heart although it never goes too far over that sentimental edge which works in its favor.  As mentioned above, the entire cast works quite well together with nary a bad apple in the bunch which was a welcome surprise.  Watching a film like this in the comfort of your own home alone can oftentimes ruin its ability to succeed because you don't have the rapturous laughter of an audience around you, but We're the Millers made me laugh out loud enough to deem it a success.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses (2011)

Starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Aniston
Directed by Seth Gordon

Perhaps I did Horrible Bosses a disservice by watching it a day after Bridesmaids, but this modern-day retelling of 9 to 5 from a male point of view just didn't provide the laughs needed to succeed (especially when compared to the Kristen Wiig-starring raunchfest).

Three guys all have severe problems with their bosses.  Nick (Jason Bateman) is aggravated when his sadistically controlling boss (Kevin Spacey) passes him over for a vice president's job at a big corporate firm.  When Kurt's (Jason Sudeikis) boss dies, the job is taken over by the boss's druggie party-guy son (Colin Farrell) making day-to-day activities a living hell.  For Dale (Charlie Day), a dental assistant, his problem revolves his sex-obsessed, completely inappropriate dentist boss (Jennifer Aniston) as she attempts to do whatever she can to get Dale into bed despite the fact that he is engaged to be married.

Fed up, the three concoct a plan to kill their respective bosses and, unfortunately, that's where the movie falls apart.  Ultimately, the scheme to do aware with their uncouth supervisors isn't all that funny.  In the first third of the film, when the focus is on the devious bosses, the humor comes across rather easily -- Jennifer Aniston, in particular, is riotously hilarious at moments in a role that is unlike anything she's ever done before.  However, the characters portrayed by Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day simply aren't interesting enough to have a movie crafted around them.  Jason Bateman, in particular, is incredibly bland here, giving his character zero personality.  Jason Sudeikis feels like he's rehashing the same character we saw in the better Hall Pass earlier this year.  Charlie Day is the only one of the trio to provide some truly funny moments, but I still couldn't help but think he was playing the same guy he plays on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  And the less said about Jamie Foxx's role as a hired hit man the better.  Completely humorless, his scenes grind the film to a screeching halt.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Just Go With It

Just Go With It (2011)

Starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Dave Matthews, and Nicole Kidman 

Directed by Dennis Dugan

Perhaps it's a sign of the apocalypse, but I just finished watching an Adam Sandler movie that I legitimately liked it and found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions.  Granted, Sandler isn't doing anything vastly different from his usual schtick in Just Go With It, but for some strange reason that probably had more to do with the people surrounding him than Sandler himself, I couldn't help but have a smile on my face while watching this one.

Sandler is Danny Maccabee, a successful plastic surgeon who seems like a genuinely nice guy.  Over twenty years ago, he found out some disturbing news about his fiancée on his wedding day and called the wedding off.  However, he discovered that pretending like he was still in the midst of an unhappy marriage was an ideal way to pick up women.  One night, he meets the lovely (and much younger) Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) and they hit it off right away.  However, unbeknown to Danny, he had taken his ring off prior to meeting her so when Palmer discovers it the morning after their first tryst, she is immediately upset.  Danny tells her that his marriage is through, but Palmer, not wanting to break up a marriage, insists on meeting his soon-to-be ex-wife to hear it from her.

This throws Danny into a tizzy and his thoughts immediately shift to having his office supervisor Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) play the role of his ex-wife.  Katherine reluctantly agrees, but soon their lies begin to take on a life of their own, and Danny, Katherine, Katherine's two kids (Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck), and Palmer end up heading to Hawaii to celebrate some family time together.

I honestly can't believe that this whole thing works, but it does.  Adam Sandler actually has some pretty solid chemistry with both Brooklyn Decker and Jennifer Aniston (oops, did I spoil something by suggesting that there's chemistry there between Sandler and Aniston?), and Sandler definitely tones back his usual immature humor here.  Decker (a newcomer to me) is certainly beautiful and, while not given a whole lot to work with, manages to come off as a bit more than just a pretty face.

It's a pleasure to report that Ms. Aniston is pretty good here.  Granted, I can't help but think she couldn't have pulled off this role in her sleep (it's Rachel from Friends with more grown-up kids), but she plays the romantic comedy lead pretty darn well...and I certainly have no qualms with watching her onscreen.

With some surprisingly funny turns from Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck as Katherine's kids and a nice cameo from Nicole Kidman as an old college enemy of Katherine, the cast certainly helps raise this up several notches even when the humor runs a tad thin at times.

I've got to say that I found myself laughing much more than I thought I would.  Sure, it's not high-brow and there are more than enough jokes that fall completely flat (pretty much anything involving Danny's "Austrian sheep selling" cousin played by Nick Swardson), but Just Go With It is absolutely a solid romantic comedy.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Switch

The Switch (2010)

Starring Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Thomas Robinson, Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis, and Jeff Goldblum

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

If I were to tell you that the synopsis of a movie was that a woman decides to artificially inseminate herself only to have the sperm from the supposed dreamboat donor be replaced by her pessimistic male best friend, you'd assume that the film was a wacky comedy perhaps in the vein of a Farrelly Brothers flick.  Oddly enough, The Switch has that exact premise, and, while it has its humorous moments, it's surprisingly touching and sweet -- something I wasn't expecting in the slightest.

Worried about the aging process, Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) is determined to have a child before it's too late.  Not finding the man of her dreams on the dating circuit, Kassie eventually meets the married and handsome Roland (Patrick Wilson), a nice guy college professor who agrees to donate his sperm to Kassie since he and his wife have hit hard financial times.  This whole process greatly upsets Kassie's best friend Wally (Jason Bateman) who has always harbored a crush for Kassie.  Nevertheless, Kassie throws a party at which Roland will leave his donation, followed by Kassie hopefully impregnating herself.  A drunk Wally comes across Roland's sperm in the bathroom and accidentally drops the "deposit" down the sink.  Not wanting to ruin Kassie's night, in an intoxicated haze, Wally decides to replace Roland's sperm with his own.  Needless to say, Kassie gets pregnant (by what she believes to be Roland's sperm) and moves out of New York City to be closer to her parents in the Midwest.

Reading the above, I can absolutely understand why no one would want to watch The Switch.  It just sounds stupidly godawful.  However, about thirty minutes in, the movie jumps ahead in time by seven years and finds Kassie returning to NYC with her six year-old son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), and it is at this point that the movie turns over a new leaf.  It becomes a rather heartfelt film about Wally trying to become a better man so that he can be a better example for his best friend's son (for, you see, at this point, even Wally can't remember what he did that fateful night).  Wally sees a lot of himself in Sebastian and despite his best efforts, Wally grows to love the kid.

I realize that now I'm just making the movie out to sound all mushy and sentimental -- and it is -- but, in the end, it's a much better film than its first act makes it out to be.  Bateman is actually quite good once he moves past his character's first act bitterness and Aniston is perfectly acceptable (although she could do this role in her sleep).  That said, part of the reason the film succeeds so well in its final hour is because of young Thomas Robinson who plays Sebastian as a perfectly believable neurotic miniature doppelganger of Bateman's Wally.  Once his character makes an appearance, the movie's tone changes into something that works really well, settling into a tale that's strong on the heart that its first act is decidedly lacking.

So when you look at the poster above, look less at the disgusted look Jason Bateman is giving at Patrick Wilson's Cup O' Sperm and instead look at the byline that tells you that this film is brought to you by the people behind Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.  In the end, it's more like those two flicks than any of the ads would have led you to believe.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter (2010)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, and Jason Sudeikis

Directed by Andy Tennant

There's a minute-long scene at the very beginning of The Bounty Hunter that had my hopes raised for the flick right from the start.  We see Milo (Gerard Butler) driving down a highway with a smirk on his face when suddenly smoke begins to billow out of the car's trunk.  He pulls over, opens the trunk, and out pops Nikki (Jennifer Aniston) with one of those emergency highway light sticks.  She starts to run, he chases after her, and the screen pauses.  Up pops some arrows pointing to the characters, cleverly explaining what's going on, telling us that these two folks were previously married and Milo, a bounty hunter, has picked up Nikki, a news reporter, who skipped a court date because she was hot on the trail of a story.  All this was actually rather amusing...

...Then the title card popped up and it all went downhill from there.  I don't think I laughed once during this flick's overly long 110 minutes.  Aniston (who I could watch for hours on end) and Butler (who is certainly engaging in these "comedic" roles) do the best they can with what they're given, but they aren't given much.  I was hoping that at the very least this movie wouldn't go down the stereotypical route that these two exes would end up together in the end, but, lo and behold, the final shot finds our two lovebirds making out.

There's nothing to recommend in this one.  Not a thing.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - Management (2009)

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, and Woody Harrelson
Directed by Stephen Belber

I'm mighty fond of Jennifer Aniston. Even in dreck like Love Happens, I'm a fan. In Management, the first shot we see of Aniston is of her posterior, and it's a mighty fine posterior. In one of the first scenes after this, her ass is the focus...and as you can see on the poster, Steve Zahn just can't keep his hands off of it. Lucky man.

Unfortunately, despite some admirable work from Aniston, this film just doesn't work after the first act.

I'll be honest, I wrote a longer review of this one, but for some reason it didn't save after the first two paragraphs and I don't feel like re-typing it simply because it really isn't worth my time.

The general idea of it was that the movie works for the first 30 minutes, but there's really no reason why Aniston would fall for the childlike Zahn who works as the night manager at his parent's motel. The final hour when Zahn's Mike follows Aniston's Sue to Washington state after she moves there to be with her ex-boyfriend (played by an over-the-top Woody Harrelson) just doesn't work at all. Mike meets a pothead Asian kid (Asian simply so that Mike can live in the kid's basement filled with soy sauce and rice because it's supposed to be "funny" and so we can hear the Asian kid's mother say "risitor" instead of "visitor") and the movie really just falls apart.

Anyway, the movie was a dud. Somebody give Aniston a good movie! (Then again, she produced this one, so I guess she's to blame).

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Justin Long

Directed by Ken Kwapis

Wow. Women are nuts. If this movie is an accurate portrayal of the way the fairer sex thinks, then I don't think I'll ever understand the gender. I mean, how hard is the concept of "If he's not calling you, he doesn't like you?" I don't think it's all that difficult, yet it apparently cannot be grasped.

There's a bunch of interweaving storylines here...Gigi (Gennifer Goodwin) is single and crazy -- completlely unintelligent in the ways of love. Half-stalkerish, half-sweet, but 100% nuts. Gigi is friends with Janine (Jennifer Connelly) who's married to Ben (Bradley Cooper) who's cheating on his wife with the younger Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna is friends with Mary (Drew Barrymore), but I'll be completely honest...I don't know why Drew Barrymore's in this movie because her character is completely and utterly pointless and could've been left on the cutting room floor. Anyway, Anna used to sleep with Conor (Kevin Connelly) who is friends with Alex (Justin Long) who offers relationship advice to Gigi [see...we've gone full circle.] There's also a storyline involving Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck concerning Affleck not wanting to marry Aniston even though they've been together for seven years, but it also could've been totally removed from the plot as it doesn't really relate to anything else.

Most of the actors here are fine. Bradley Cooper continues his string of good roles in crappy movies (The Hangover, All About Steve, New York, I Love You). I'd watch Jennifer Aniston in anything. Justin Long continues to show promise. Scarlett Johannson is fine (I can't believe I typed that). Even Ginnifer Goodwin whose character is godawful is able to at least make me not want to pull out my hair every time her nutcase Gigi is onscreen.

Still, the film is a failure. And it's not because of the actors. Or even the direction (it's nothing special ,but it's certainly adequate). It's just that it's way too long. Not a single storyline works. Every female character is completely unrelateable to the male writing this review. And Drew Barrymore is one of the worst actresses ever onscreen (Drew, just because you produce or direct something doesn't mean you have to be in it).

If you want a good movie with interweaving storylines about love, rent Love, Actually. Leave this one on the shelf.

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - Love Happens (2009)

Starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston
Directed by Brandon Camp

When I saw the poster, I was wondering why Jennifer Aniston got second billing after Aaron Eckhart. Maybe it's just my celebrity crush on the gal, but I couldn't help but think that Aniston was much more of a "name" than Eckhart. After watching the movie, though, I understand that Aniston is really just window dressing -- there to look pretty and somehow motivate the main character Eckhart. About halfway through the movie, Aniston went missing for about twenty minutes and when she came back onscreen, I literally said, "Oh, Aniston's in this! I forgot."

Eckhart (who was so good and absolutely undeservedly overlooked because of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight) is motivational speaker Burke who helps people cope with death, but, in true movie fashion, he is unable to deal with the pain he suffers due to his own wife's death a few years ago. He eventually meets Aniston's Eloise, a florist, and they eventually hit it off, with Eloise nudging Burke to face his own issues in order to better assist others in confronting theirs.

The problem here isn't in the actors because Aniston and Eckhart (along with Dan Fogler as Burke's right-hand man, Martin Sheen as Burke's dead wife's father, and Judy Greer as Eloise's assistant florist) are certainly serviceable and make the most of what they're given. However, what they're given is pretty dismal -- dialogue, while not silly, is just inconsequential. Entire scenes with Burke dealing with his followers could have been eliminated...and it felt like these scenes made up at least a third of the movie.

There's really not a whole lot here. The "love" that "happens" between Eckhart and Aniston was really nonexistent. Part of me actually interested in seeing this film because it appeared to be the first "adult" feeling film I've seen as a wide release in a while, but it's unfortunate that there wasn't really a whole lot here.

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review -- Marley and Me (2008)

starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson

directed by David Frankel
screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos

***WARNING -- THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A MODERATE SPOILER***

Let me first state that I am by no means a dog person...or a cat person...or an animal person, in general. It's not that I hate animals, but I never grew up with one in my house, so I never felt that connection with "man's best friend." So, I walked into Marley and Me expecting nothing, and walked out moderately impressed.

Based on a true story, there's no fancy storytelling here...it's a simple story about a man, his dog Marley, his family, and his newspaper job at which he writes about his normal life. That's it. It's two hours of a dog drinking out of a toilet, running rampant through a new house, and pooping in a yard. Yeah, nothing too exciting there. That being said, there was something here, in large part due to a winning lead performance by Owen Wilson. I've never been the biggest fan of the troubled actor, but Wilson was onscreen in nearly every scene and definitely held my interest. His chemistry with Aniston was surprisingly palpable...and his chemistry with Marley was even stronger. And that's what a movie like this needs in order to make it be watchable.


The movie isn't perfect by any means. Aniston struggles in her early scenes with her newborn children (she was still a joy to look at...see picture to the right for proof of that statement); as the kids grow they're played by cloying child actors; and Wilson's workplace scenes with co-star Eric Dane are completely and utterly pointless.

Yet, I can see why this movie's a big hit. It's perfectly acceptable middle-of-the-road fare that appeals to a broad population of dog-lovers. And even though I wasn't "ooh"ing and "aww"ing as Marley tore up the sofa and knocked down dog trainer Kathleen Turner (who is looking mighty scary, by the way), and even though I wasn't crying at the end (fair warning...this movie gives Old Yeller a run for it's money), and even though I sat through two hours of this movie and still can't tell you the breed of the titular character, Marley and Me was perfectly acceptable. While that's not a rousing endorsement, I'm certainly not "dogging" the movie either.

The RyMickey Rating: B-