Godmothered

 Godmothered (2020)

Starring Isla Fisher, Jillian Bell, Jane Curtain, Santiago Cabrera, and June Squibb

Directed by Sharon Maguire

Written by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Movie Review - Nocturnal Animals

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Ellie Bamber, Armie Hammer, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Sheen, and Laura Linney

Directed by Tom Ford

There's a line in Nocturnal Animals in which a character mentions that a book was disappointing because she found her mind drifting elsewhere whilst reading it.  The same could be said for the movie Nocturnal Animals, a film that tells a story within a story with neither tale being quite compelling enough to stand on its own and neither tale meshing together in a way that proves to be an all-around satisfying whole.  In his second film, writer-director Tom Ford (a fashion designer in his other line of work) continues to prove that he's got an eye for the visuals, but that he still hasn't quite grasped the storytelling aspect of cinema.

We're first introduced to Susan Morrow (Amy Adams), an art gallery owner in Los Angeles, as she morosely mopes around her huge house dealing with an obviously unhappy marriage to her husband (Armie Hammer) who himself is facing some financial troubles.  Soon after, Susan receives a manuscript for a new novel from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) and she escapes into the book which features a main character who seems an awful lot like her.  As Susan reads, the novel plays out onscreen -- Tony Hastings (Jake Gyllenhaal) is driving along a deserted Texas roadway with his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and daughter India (Ellie Bamber).  A group of frightening men headed by the skeezy Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) run the Hastings off the road and then kidnap the family.  Tony manages to escape but is unaware of where his wife and daughter are being kept so he finds a small-town cop (Michael Shannon) to set out and try to find his family and enact revenge those who committed this crime.

I'm sure that somewhere in the midst of the two tales there are solid connections -- either via visual similarities or storytelling allusions -- but things never came cohesively together for me.  Plus, the Amy Adams side of things is oddly uncompelling in any way.  It doesn't help that Adams shows nary an emotion throughout, presenting an ice queen persona that doesn't allow the viewer to feel sympathy for her despite her mundane life.  The "novel" storyline fares a little better with Gyllenhaal giving a nice performance as the beleaguered father.  Michael Sheen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe respectively for their roles here (and Taylor-Johnson even won), but their characters seemed a bit too one-note to garner any real attention for me.  Frankly, the same could be said for the film itself -- it doesn't really deserve to garner any real attention.  I continue to think that Tom Ford has the potential to be something great, but his two films thus far haven't landed him there.  Maybe sticking to lensing things as opposed to writing them is his road to a better directorial future.

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 - Now You See Me

Now You See Me (2013)

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Common, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine

Directed by Louis Leterrier

I've always had a problem with Robin Hood stories.  Maybe it's the Republican in me shining through (a trait that I always have to suppress when it comes to the entertainment industry), but someone who robs the rich (simply because they have money) to give to the poor strikes me as an unspoken tenet of liberalism.  So perhaps in the deep recesses of my mind, Now You See Me -- a flick that revolves around a group of magicians who perform a series of heists to give money to their "deserving" audiences -- was destined to disappoint.  However, even if you take the repressed political aspect out of the equation, you're met with a film that had some modicum of potential except for the fact that it's saddled with a main plot that leaves too many gaping holes and an ending that feels like a cheat rather than magic.

I'm all for movies that have you root for the bad guys -- just look at my favorite movie of all time for proof of that.  However, when a movie presents a group of people as saintly good guys when they're absolutely doing things that are tremendously and justly illegal, I have a tough time buying into the premise as a whole.  If you set the quartet of magicians up as nasty guys, I'd have bought into the concept a little more willingly, but the characters portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco are supposed to be good folks.  To me, good folks wouldn't be doing what this movie tasks these characters to do and this fundamental difference between what the movie wants me to believe and what I actually believe created quite a schism that it couldn't overcome.

That isn't to say that Now You See Me isn't slickly directed.  Louis Leterrier keeps the whole thing moving and it never lags for a second.  In addition, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson in particular are certainly engaging.  (The less said about Isla Fisher and Dave Franco the better, and I'll avoid all discussions about Mark Ruffalo except to say that this actor whom I once liked has grown increasingly more obnoxious to watch over the recent years.)  Still, the positives aren't enough to overcome a final act that terribly disappoints.  I'm not quite sure the last time I've been so let down and upset by a third act twist that still has me aggravated a week after watching it.

While the first paragraph of this review was meant to be humorous, there is certainly truth in it in terms of my opinion about the overall concept of the film.  Your mileage may certainly vary when it comes to Now You See Me simply because it had to overcome an already self-imposed bias on my part to succeed.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby (2013)

***viewed in 3D***
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgarton, Elizabeth Debicki, Jason Clarke, and Isla Fisher

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

The Great Gatsby is distinctly a Baz Luhrmann film and your initial like or dislike will largely hinge on your feelings towards the eclectic auteur.  I was a big fan of Romeo + Juliet upon its release in my junior year of high school, but a revisit in 2011 didn't sit so well with me.  Similarly, I was a huge admirer of Moulin Rouge upon its release simply for its unique take on the movie musical and I rewatched it last year certain that it would land in my Personal Canon, but that didn't come to fruition this time around.  (The less said about Australia the better.)  It's not that Lurhmann suddenly became an incompetent director in my eyes, it's simply that he is a bit of a one trick pony (similar to Quentin Tarantino in that respect).  He does what he does well, but when you already know what you're going to get with him, there aren't as many surprises around the corner.

This isn't to say that is take on The Great Gatsby doesn't provide a solid experience, but the quick cutting, bombastic music, and focus on "love" (all Luhrmann staples) overshadow the other aspects of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work.  And I say that as someone who finds Fitzgerald's so-called masterpiece a fine read, but nowhere near the perfection that others espouse it to be.  [I finished a re-read of the novel mere hours before I went to see the movie.]  To Luhrmann, Gatsby is nothing but a tragic love story between the title character (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his long lost love Daisy (Carey Mulligan), the Midwest gal he's been pining over for the decade since he headed off to war and had to leave her.  Any semblance of Fitzgerald's take on the decline of American morals is brushed aside solely to focus on a love story.  Granted, I will admit that upon reading Gatsby again, I was quite surprised how much the Gatsby/Daisy love story was made a focus in the novel, but Luhrmann trains his camera (and script) right in on it, failing to leave the confines of the lovers' embrace for an exceedingly long time in the film's middle act.

Much like the book, the film is told through the wide eyes of Nick Carraway, played here by Tobey Maguire in the same dorky, oddly reflective way Tobey Maguire plays every single role he's ever undertaken.  No one was more surprised than me to discover that Maguire is a perfect fit for the role.  I realize that may not be a universally accepted opinion -- in fact, I've heard much derision sent Maguire's way -- but having recently read the novel, Maguire totally embodied my vision of Carraway.  That isn't to say that the actor did anything overly ambitious or out of his comfort zone, but Carraway is a part the oftentimes dumbfounded-looking former Spiderman was made to play.

Joel Edgarton and Elizabeth Debicki also aptly personified my visions of, respectively, the womanizing Tom Buchanan and the cynical Jordan Baker.  In her first major film role, I found myself unable to take my eyes off of Ms. Debicki who captivated me despite her character's bitter edge.  Mr. Edgarton continues to be an actor to watch as of late.  I could see how some might find his portrayal of Tom as a bit of a caricature, but he perfectly exemplified the hypocritical arrogance and machismo that comes across in Fitzgerald's work.

If anything, the problem with The Great Gatsby is with Gatsby himself and his paramour Daisy.  DiCaprio plays Gatsby much more fey and weak than I expected.  Yes, I realize once he lays eyes on Daisy, he essentially becomes a child again, but even in moments where he is supposed to exude strength and charisma, I found him a bit empty.  In the novel, Gatsby was a character whom I found passionate about a great many things, but none of this vigor comes to the surface in the film.  There's part of me that wonders if Luhrmann pushed DiCaprio in this direction in order to make the title character more sympathetic and appealing to women -- but that probably just comes off sounding sexist.

Gatsby's counterpart, Daisy, has always been an enigma to me.  She spouts lines that don't make sense to me in the novel and don't make sense to me in the movie either.  I don't understand who this woman is and why Gatsby fell head over heels for her.  Carey Mulligan didn't help my confusion.  Her character's arc is one that doesn't feel fulfilling for me and the film does nothing to change that.

I say all this and I realize the review comes across a bit more bitter than I intended it to be.  For the most part, I enjoyed The Great Gatsby while I was watching it.  However, like Baz Luhrmann's previous films, it hasn't lingered as well in my mind as time passes.  There's something alluring and even invigorating when watching Gatsby (at least in the first and final acts...the less said about the love story-fueled lengthy middle act the better), but when you peel back the visual and aural cacophony, there sometimes isn't enough there.  Then again, there aren't many directors that do visual and aural cacophony with the punch and pizzazz Luhrmann brings to the table.  And for that, The Great Gatsby is worth a view.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Bachelorette

Bachelorette (2012)

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, Rebel Wilson, James Marsden, Kyle Bornheimer, and Adam Scott

Directed by Leslye Headland

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

The comparisons to 2010's hilarious Bridesmaids have to be expected when it comes to a movie like Bachelorette if only because the movie industry doesn't have too many female-centric comedies in the marketplace, and by having both films focus on a wedding further connects the two.  However, Bachelorette skews much darker in its comedy which creates quite a different tint on the whole affair, allowing writer-director Leslye Headland's play-turned-film to not play like a retread of the Oscar-nominated (and RyMickey Award Best Picture Top Ten finisher) Kristen Wiig film.

Whereas the characters in Bridesmaids were in their mid-thirties and genuinely excited about their best friend's wedding, the late twentysomethings in Bachelorette who were friends in high school look at the upcoming nuptials of Becky (Rebel Wilson) with disdain.    Becky was always the fourth wheel in the group known as "The B Faces," and it doesn't sit well that "the fat one" in the quartet is the first one to get married.  Regan (Kirsten Dunst), like Becky, lives in New York City and has kept in touch with the soon-to-be-bride more than the rest of the group, so she gets the role of Maid of Honor.  Outwardly showing enthusiasm, Regan's ice queen, bitchy demeanor comes out right away as she calls her fellow "B Faces" Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher) to tell them the news.  As the group convenes for the wedding weekend, they begin to realize that they haven't changed all that much since high school...and maybe that's not such a good thing.  Katie's still a crazy bed-hopping party girl, Gena's cocaine snorting is still a commonplace occurrence, and Regan's bulimic tendencies still rear their ugly head at times.  None of these girls are the epitome of perfection and there are moments where they're all incredibly nasty to one another, but they're still friends despite their sometimes warped view of what being "friends" actually means.  They have a shared history that continues to bring them close together and, as time has passed, they begin to wonder whether it's maybe time that they all begin to grow up a little bit.

This isn't to say that Bachelorette ends on a sensitive up-with-people note.  These characters aren't "changed" in miraculous ways by seeing their child-like mannerisms.  Instead, the movie concludes with them simply glimpsing the fact that it's likely time they try to turn into adults as they head into their third decade and maybe Becky's wedding is the impetus to getting that ball rolling.  Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan succeed the best at coming to this realization for their characters.  Both Dunst and Caplan are given nice arcs and they surprised me by making me give a damn about their rather loathsome characters by the end of the film.  I don't watch Girls on HBO, but I imagine that the reason it's buzzed about (I refuse to say successful because less than two million people watch it per episode and yet it's praised like it's a huge hit) is that it showcases twentysomething women in a light that typically isn't shone on them.  That's definitely the case here and Dunst and Caplan are able to imbue their characters with enough depth to make the film overall a success.

That isn't to say that Ms. Headland's script gives adequate dimensionality to all characters.  Isla Fisher's Katie is decidedly one-note in her party hard attitude and Rebel Wilson's Becky is simply like every other character Wilson has played before meaning she'll make fun of her weight and then act "funny-cute" followed by being "funny-tough."  (Seriously, I just do not get the fawning over her, although I will say Wilson comes off surprisingly good here, it's just that she isn't adding anything new to her repertoire.)  Each lady also has a guy that she hooks up with the night before the wedding and only Adam Scott's Clyde as Gena's high school boyfriend is given anything to work with, but the story isn't really about the men, so I feel like this isn't as much of a letdown.

Qualms aside, however, Bachelorette is a really good film.  It's surprisingly funny, mining laughs from not only pop culture references that are perfect for my age bracket (ie. the age bracket depicted in the film), but also very naturally from the characters themselves.  Thanks to some nice performances from Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan and a solid (though not perfect) script, this one is absolutely one of the better comedies to come out of 2012...and it's streaming on Netflix...so watch it.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

***viewed in 3D***

Featuring the voice talents of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, and Jude Law

Directed by Peter Ramsey

There is certainly the potential for a great movie in Rise of the Guardians, but in the end something doesn't quite come together completely resulting in a surprisingly cold and icy film (no pun intended to the main character Jack Frost).  Despite some lovely animation and a villain whom I relished for his constantly sneering menace, the film's story just didn't work concluding with a disappointing climax that proves to be a bit of a letdown.

First off, it must be mentioned that this is not a Christmas movie.  Yes, Santa is in it (although the not-quite-so-jolly guy is known as "North"), but it's not his story and it's not Noel-centric at all.  In fact, the tale takes place three days before Easter and while we see North in his residence, this isn't a film about him or the December holiday.  I say that not as a criticism at all, but simply as a way of countering the expectations that you would likely have had going into this.  I will admit that it threw me a bit off balance at first.

Trouble is afoot for the Guardians, an Avengers-like group of childhood bigwigs -- Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the Sandman (a lovely Chaplin-esque voiceless character) -- who discover that the evil Pitch (AKA The Boogeyman voiced by Jude Law) is stealing the lovely dreams Sandman places into the minds of children and replacing them with nightmares.  Unable to defeat Pitch on their own, The Man in the Moon (who is essentially a faceless and voiceless omnipotent God) sends Jack Frost the guardians' way, hoping that he can help take down Pitch.  Jack (voiced by Chris Pine) doesn't necessarily want to join the exclusive club.  Unlike his Guardian counterparts, he's rather youthful and gets his kicks from making it snow which he realizes isn't exactly as exciting to a kid as Santa or the Easter Bunny.  However, before he can even walk away from the group, Jack and his fellow Guardians are forced to chase after Pitch who, having already stepped in on the Sandman's turf, has now ransacked the lair of the Tooth Fairy.  As children across the world begin to stop believing in the Guardians, their special powers start to weaken and they must join forces to defeat Pitch.

[Fairly obvious spoiler ahead if you've watched any kid movie ever...]

There's a great premise here based off of William Joyce's series of books, but while the film starts off plenty fine, it doesn't come to any form of satisfying conclusion.  There are some great moments when Pitch faces off against the Guardians during the middle of the film -- moments that were truly exciting and tense -- but the film ends with such a thud that it nearly negates all the build-up.  Ultimately, I simply couldn't buy in to the corny and hokey way Pitch is defeated in the end.  The notion that childhood fantasies and dreams could in some way save the day rang false and provided an incredibly disappointing finale.  Add to that an incredibly corny "find your center" chakra-esque mission for Jack Frost to "discover who he really is" and hokeyness was the name of the game.

[End Spoilers.]

Design-wise, the film looks great with an admittedly different look than we've come to expect from computer-animated films.  The lines are a little more sharp and the characters are a bit more anime-esque than we're used to seeing which is a positive (and this is coming from someone who cares not a bit for the anime style of animation).  Also, the film has a great villain in Pitch, voiced to perfection by Jude Law.  While it would have been nice to see a bit more malevolence from the character, he is far and away the best part of the movie...it's just a shame that his evil power grows a bit repetitive as the film progresses.

But, Rise of the Guardians just doesn't come together in the end, not quite managing to make the most of the most popular figures in childhood lore.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Rango

Rango (2011)

Featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Just because a western is animated doesn't mean it's going to change my opinion about the genre.  Westerns bore me immensely and they always seem like they contain some moralistic gruff hero tracking down some corrupt bad guy who wronged someone in a small town.  Rango's got the same vibe although the hero isn't gruff; rather the titular character is a literal and figurative chameleon, theatrically changing his characteristics to best suit his situation.  And while I may not dig the genre of Rango, it's a film that I very much admire for many reasons.

Reason 1:   Voice Acting -- I'm not one that gets won over when animated flicks pull in some big-name actor to voice a character.  If anything, that big star can be a detriment if I'm unable to disassociate their voice with their physical appearance.  In the title role, however, Johnny Depp is pretty fantastic.  Nowadays, bigger stars than Depp are hard to come by, but the actor's vocals are charmingly irreverent and  absolutely solid.  He embodies the character (or perhaps, vice-versa, the animators used his vocals to embody their character).  But it's not just Depp that's winning.  The British Isla Fisher tackles the quirky role of Beans, a spunky gal with an exaggerated Southern twang, with gusto.  Although Depp and Fisher are certainly the leads, the vocal talent is top notch across the board.  Together, the voices breathe life into the odd characters of the town of Dirt who are desperately trying to find out who stole the town's water supply.

Reason 2: Animation -- Richly detailed characters, a beautifully realized run-down setting, and wonderful effortless movements are three of the key reasons why Rango's animation is some of the best you'll see this side of Pixar.  Director Gore Verbinski (best known for his Pirates trilogy with Mr. Depp) cleverly filmed his voice actors working together (rather than the usual "animation separation" that occurs with voice actors recording separately in sound booths) while wearing makeshift costumes and utilizing flimsy props so that the animators could see various interactions and movements prior to animating.  This unique approach to animation showcased little mannerisms and facial expressions with astounding clarity and, for this animation buff, was a much appreciated aspect to the film.

Reason 3:  Aim for the Adults -- It's not that Rango is inappropriate for kids, but it doesn't aim for the young crowd at all.  The humor is based more from clever references to other films in both the western and crime genres with a nifty and rather hilarious "cameo appearance" (of sorts) from quite a famous actor.  However, because of this lofty goal of not stooping down to a "kid level" in terms of humor, the moments that did aim for the kiddies (including one too many fart jokes) made me cringe.

Despite these reasons to love Rango, in the end, it's a western and I just couldn't get completely enveloped by the story.  Yes, I fully realize that it's a bias in me, but I'm not sure I'll ever really fall head over heels for a western.  I will say that Rango's a flick that I'd like to watch again and perhaps upon second viewing, my rating will inch up a notch or two.  But still, as it stands now, this is one animated flick worthy of checking out.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Starring Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, and Kristin Scott Thomas
Written by Tracey Jackson and Tim Firth
Directed by P.J. Hogan

I'll never understand women and fashion. Does owning a pair of shoes really make you feel better about yourself? Does purchasing some shitty looking green scarf make you think other people will like you more? Put on some clothes and go out, for Christ's sakes.

Isla Fisher is Rebecca who is in complete denial of the fact that she can't stop shopping. She's maxed out all of her credit cards, is unable to pay the rent to her roommate, and is constantly hiding from debt collectors. It doesn't help that she's lost her job as a writer at a gardening magazine. Through a twist of fate, she ends up working at a money magazine. How she gets hired there, I don't know. It's one of those typical movie moves where the character gets a job via false pretenses, then the lie is revealed and the person who was fibbed to gets angry, but all ends up fine in the end because the liar is so darn cute and nice and the deceitfulness wasn't that bad to begin with, right? Ugh.

This comment isn't all that important, but it really bugged me -- The film was filled with incredibly weird musical interludes (for example, Rebecca's dad pulls some ugly-looking camper up to his house to the tune of some crappy dance song that stops immediately when he stops the camper...the music was not playing in the camper, either). How clever is it that when she gets sent to group therapy, Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" plays (and they do that joke twice!)? Who woulda thunk of that? And what chick flick would be complete without a dance scene? Ladies love dancing, so let's throw that in there, please! But make sure we have one of the characters say something along the lines of "I don't know how to dance" and then dance amazingly well or super funny or both!

I must admit that Isla Fisher, who I've only seen in Wedding Crashers, is quite charming. It's a shame that she's burdened with such a lousy character in this. While she makes the most of it, it's tough to rise above this character who really never learns her lesson and who is stuck with a typical film romance where there's no way two people would fall in love, but end up swooning over each other in the end. And the character that Rebecca falls in love with is your typical emotionless robotic automaton who we've seen in tons of rom-coms. Still, without Fisher in the role, the movie would've been nearly unwatchable, so there's something to be said for that.

There were two things that were incredibly aggravating to me (and spoiler alert here). Apparently, the "bad guy" in this movie is the debt collector. Since he's doing his job, I don't understand why he's set up as this evil man. Rebecca owes a ton of money, why shouldn't she be hounded by this guy instead of buying the pair of knee-high Prada boots? Secondly, Rebecca makes her money back by having a sale of all her clothing. She's essentially coddling others (who are banging down doors in order to get into this sale) into becoming shopaholics to cure her "disease." I didn't get it at all. It's okay for you to fall apart as long as I'm getting better.

The RyMickey Rating: D