Movie Review - Wild Oats

Wild Oats (2016)

Starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange, Billy Connelly, Howard Hesseman, Matt Walsh, and Demi Moore

Directed by Andy Tennant

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

There were a few moments at the beginning of Wild Oats when laughter was vocalized by this reviewer and I wondered why this film got such a limited release in theaters last year.  And then the last hour rolled around and the story fell utterly apart, throwing in a kitchen sink's worth of plot that ends up being laughable...and not in way comedies should be.

Shirley MacLaine is Eva, a recently widowed former school teacher who receives a $5,000,000 life insurance check for her husband rather than the $50,000 one she was supposed to receive.  With the help of her recently divorced best friend Maddie (Jessica Lange), the duo deposit the check and head off to the Canary Islands for a little fun before the insurance company comes knocking with a correction at which point they'll just "play dumb."  This vacation sets up a chaotic set of misadventures involving weird old men, attractive young guys, machine guns, gambling, backstabbing, and insurance fraud -- all of which elicit eye rolls of idiocy.

Awkwardly directed and very poorly written, Wild Oats languishes its two leading ladies in a miserable state of affairs.  Although MacLaine and Lange at least make this watchable, it's not enjoyable in the least.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Margin Call

Margin Call (2011)

Starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgely, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci

Directed by J.C. Chandor

Some movies no matter how well they're directed, acted, or written just don't work for the individual viewer because the subject matter simply doesn't resonate with him.  That's Margin Call for me.  The acting ensemble here is top notch. J.C. Chandor's directing and screenwriting debut is solidly tension-filled and quite impressive (although it does slip into a bit too much moralizing in the second half which diminished substantially the little enjoyment I was experiencing).  Still, the story about the start of the financial meltdown in the late 2000s and big corporate's involvement in forcing massive government bailouts just made me feel kind of dumb because it's something I really know nothing about.  Despite its admirable attempts at "dumbing down" the subject matter, I was still a bit lost at moments which is part of the reason why this flick garners its rating at the bottom of this review.

I'd love to tell you exactly what happened to cause the tension to build in Margin Call, but I'd just be making up what I think happened.  It has something to do with some big investment company wanting to sell off some stocks or something after they discover that if they were to hold onto them their company would go under.  Unfortunately for this company, the person that discovered this issue was just fired that morning, so as everyone attempts to get him back to unveil his findings, he's none to eager to help the bastards that let him go.

The whole thing looks good and feels smart, but I just don't know enough about stocks and mortgages and day trading to comprehend the goings-on here.  It also didn't help that towards the end, the film attempted to bring out the "moral police" by having its characters spout how morally wrong the company's actions were -- and, while that may be accurate, it felt much too preachy and "Occupy Wall Street" to appeal to this viewer.  Acting across the board was great and it was nice to see each actor have a scene or two to act with everyone in the cast in a one-on-one capacity.  But, in the end, this is a movie that I'll never want to watch again.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

Starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy

Directed by Dan Aykroyd

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

Right up front, I should say that I recognize Nothing But Trouble isn't very good (and my rating below will reflect that).  However, I can't help but enjoy it a tiny bit.  I haven't watched it in over a decade, but I remembered a certain fondness attached to it simply because it was like watching some weird funhouse/amusement park ride come to life when I viewed the flick on the local tv station on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  That fondness was still there, but it is now also tempered with the fact that the film itself simply isn't all that funny and, considering this is a comedy, that's a problem.

When financial advisor Chris Thorne (Chevy Chase) agrees to take his neighbor Diane (Demi Moore) to Atlantic City for her job, he does it only so he can attempt to form some type of romantic bond.  However, a slight detour forces the duo into the run-down New Jersey town of Valkenvania and when Chris runs a stop sign, he's picked up by the local sheriff (John Candy) and taken to the home of the incredibly elderly local judge, Alvin J.P. Valkenheiser (Dan Aykroyd).  Despite a simple traffic violation, the judge forces Chris and Diane to spend the night in his run-down, funhouse-type mansion.  Chris and Diane soon begin to discover the secret truth behind the judge and come to the realization that he will likely never allow them to leave the premises.

A mix of comedy and horror, the film doesn't contain too many laughs or any scary moments, but the actors themselves are what make this film more enjoyable than it should be.  Chevy Chase and Demi Moore aren't exactly striking it rich in the chemistry department, but they're pleasant enough and are actually the straight men to Dan Aykroyd who takes on the rather disgusting role of Alvin Valkenheiser with great gusto.  Despite coming from a fairly poor flick, it's a character that surprisingly came back to me immediately as soon as he came onscreen as if I'd just watched the film yesterday.

Still, anything positive is tempered by the fact that the movie isn't good.  Yes, I didn't mind watching Nothing But Trouble and being reminded of a childhood moviewatching experience, but it's not like I need to watch it once again in the near future.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Joneses

The Joneses (2010)

Starring David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, Gary Cole, and Lauren Hutton 

Directed by Derrick Borte

The expensive cars.  The latest electronics.  The hippest clothing.  It takes a lot of cash to keep up with the trendsetting Joneses.  And in first time writer-director Derrick Borte's satire on the popular catchphrase, he attempts to showcase the ridiculousness of our consumer-driven society.  Unfortunately, he doesn't quite succeed, but it's an admirable attempt that might have worked a little better if only it had gotten a little dirtier and grittier rather than playing things so light-heartedly. 

When the Joneses move into a ritzy suburban neighborhood, they're immediately fawned over by the neighbors.  Steve and Kate Jones (David Duchovny and Demi Moore) and their son and daughter (Ben Hollingsworth and Amber Heard) seem to be the perfect family.  They have it all and they're not afraid to flaunt it.  Little do the neighbors know that this foursome isn't a family at all -- they've been hired by a consumer products company to sell items to the unwitting neighbors.  As is to be expected, the best laid plans don't go so well for the Joneses and their scheme soon runs a risk of being uncovered.

The premise in The Joneses is quite promising.  It's an intriguing idea and one that actually (and surprisingly) doesn't seem too inconceivable when it appears onscreen.  The problem lies in everything else going on outside of the premise.  Side stories involving the sex lives of the two kids seem superfluous and completely unnecessary and certainly take away from the driving force of the satire.  A focus on the Joneses next-door neighbors, the Symonds (Gary Cole and Glenne Headley), seems too jokey and farcical, lacking any sense of realism.  These tangents that writer Borte takes certainly impede his true focus -- his taking on of our materialistic society -- and it really causes the film to seriously falter.

The film looks good which is certainly commendable seeing as how this is Borte's debut.  And he absolutely culls some decent performances from Duchovny and Moore.  However, the flaws mentioned above greatly outweigh the strengths.  I was, for the most part, very bored watching The Joneses and with as interesting a premise as it could have been, it is an unfortunate disappointment.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-