A Heavenly Christmas

 A Heavenly Christmas (2016)

Starring Kristin Davis, Eric McCormack, and Shirley MacLaine

Directed by Paul Shapiro

Written by Gregg McBride

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

The Apartment

The Apartment (1960)

Starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen, Ray Walston, and Edie Adams

Directed by Billy Wilder

Written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: A

Noelle

Noelle (2019)

Starring Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty, and Shirley MacLaine

Directed by Marc Lawrence

Written by Marc Lawrence

 Click here for my Letterbox review

The RyMickey Rating:  C

The Last Word

The Last Word (2017)

Starring Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, Thomas Sadoski, Tom Everett Scott, AnnJewel Lee Dixon, and Anne Heche

Directed by Mark Pellington

Written by Stuart Ross Fink

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), an aging curmudgeonly woman, enlists the help of the young obituary writer of the small local paper, Anne (Amanda Seyfried), to help write her obit while she's still alive.  Along the way, the two different clashing personalities realize that they need one another in order to live their best lives.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C+

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 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Shirley MacLaine, and Sean Penn

Directed by Ben Stiller

There's a lot to admire about Ben Stiller's directorial effort The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in which the daydreaming title character -- a photography manager at Life magazine -- ponders all kinds of fantastical adventures that showcase his imaginative romantic and heroic sides.  However, once the unique direction and pleasant acting are pushed aside, you're left with a film that admittedly has a lot of heart, but very little story and substance.  While the technical achievements and unique execution of the film are stellar, I found myself wishing that the film was about twenty minutes shorter which would've certainly condensed the simplistic story down to a length that would've been more successful.

At the film's outset, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) has just discovered that Life magazine is shutting down its print edition and many of its employees will be given the pink slip by incoming transitional manager Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott).  When Life's premiere photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn) sends Walter a new set of photos, he also includes a letter (which he also forwards to Life's bosses) stating that Picture #25 exemplifies the "Quintessence of Life" (or perhaps the "Quintessence of Life") and should be given prominent placement on the cover of the magazine's final print issue.  The problem -- Walter never actually received Picture #25 or, if he did, he seems to have misplaced it.  Obviously, with his job on the line, he can't reveal this to Ted who wants to see the picture ASAP.  So, with the help of his crush Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), Walter sets out to find where exactly the elusive Sean O'Connell is located in order to try and track down Picture #25.

As previously mentioned, Walter is a huge daydreamer and prior to heading out on his mission to find Sean, his simplistic and lackadaisical life is only ever brightened by the vivid imaginative creations in his mind.  These fantasies are cleverly realized by director Stiller although they begin to wear thin prior to Walter setting out on his trek.  Once on his journey, Walter's daydreams nearly become realities as he's forced to find bravery in himself that he never knew he possessed.  While that message came through loud and clear -- and I found it refreshingly simplistic yet surprisingly grown-up for a PG-rated film -- the outrageousness of certain aspects of the plot dragged down Walter's tale.  His journey to become more courageous, outspoken, and self-assured didn't resonate as much as I would have liked.

As an actor, Stiller is fine (although I think part of the aforementioned lack of resonance does stem a little bit from the fact that he makes his character's emotional journey seem a little too obvious), but the real star is Kristen Wiig who is utterly charming as Walter's crush Cheryl.  Anytime she was on the screen, I found myself smiling and truly rooting for Walter to succeed.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Bernie

Bernie (2012)

Starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey

Directed by Richard Linklater

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

Bernie Tiede is perhaps the nicest guy in the small town of Carthage, Texas.  Loved by all, as the assistant funeral director at the local mortuary Bernie is quiet, kind, gentle, and a seemingly genuinely sweet man.  Shortly after the chairman of the local bank dies, Bernie (played brilliantly by Jack Black in by far the best role of his career) pays a visit to his widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine) to check in to see how she's doing and a friendship is formed.  Despite Marjorie's reputation around town as being the bitchiest and meanest woman for miles, Bernie refuses to listen to the naysayers.  For Marjorie, the relationship gives her an emotional connection with someone since her attitude has turned many (including all her family members) away from her.  For Bernie, while he also enjoys the friendship (which is only vaguely, if at all, sexual), he finds himself able to live a bit beyond his means thanks to Marjorie's bank account.  However, rather than spending the money on himself, he often doles it out to needy townsfolk, endearing him to all those in Carthage.  Unfortunately, after several years, Marjorie becomes more and more possessive, creating a rift in her relationship with Bernie and forcing the town's saintly gentleman to go to extreme means to cut ties with her.

Bernie is rather surprisingly and unexpectedly one of the best films of 2012 thanks in huge part to Jack Black's great performance.  Admittedly, I've been avoiding watching this movie on Netflix simply because of Black's starring role, but this was certainly a different turn for the actor known for his comedic roles.  While certainly humorous, the character of Bernie so easily could've fallen into an SNL parody-type one-note role (reminiscent perhaps of the Al Franken Stuart Smalley character), but Black manages to create depth and layers in a type of character who often isn't given such opportunities.  That's likely due in part to the fact that Bernie is based on a true story -- so the title character is "real" as opposed to "created" -- but Black is certainly the conduit to bring the real person to believable life onscreen.

Director Richard Linklater has created an interesting film in Bernie.  Just as much as Bernie is a portrait of a flawed man, it's also a picture of small town Americana that someone could easily see as insulting, but I see as a tribute to that slowed-down, "old school" Bible-thumping lifestyle.  Linklater sets up much of the film as a faux-documentary using a mix of actors and real-life Carthage residents who knew Bernie Tiede first hand who comment on the much revered man.  Yes, I found myself laughing at the folks at times which is why I could see some taking this flick as a diatribe against this Southern culture, but I never found it condescending or demeaning in tone.

Still, Bernie is a film of many tones -- comedy, drama, courtroom saga -- all of which are nearly perfectly melded together into one of the most interesting and underseen films of 2012.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Hitchcock Month - The Trouble with Harry

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

Starring John Forsythe, Edmund Gwenn, Shirley MacLaine, Mildred Natwick, and Jerry Mathers

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix*** 

The Trouble with Harry is certainly a different film than we're used to seeing from Hitchcock.  It's reminiscent of some Disney live action films of the era like The Shaggy Dog or The Absent-Minded Professor in the sense that it's a very pure and simple ensemble piece, filled with humor that is fitting for all ages.  Yes, the whole film revolves around the death of a man named Harry and the trouble that his demise brings about, but the film isn't the least bit of a thriller.  I think Hitch was going for a comedy, but it never quite reaches the humorous levels that it wants to hit.

Taking place over the course of 24 hours, The Trouble with Harry deals with four quirky characters living in a small town in Vermont and their relationship to a dead man that is found in the forest by their homes.  Boat captain Albert (Edmund Gwenn) discovers Harry's body while hunting for rabbits.  He fears that a stray bullet of his killed the man, so he decides to bury and hide the body.  However, in the midst of hiding the body, Albert is interrupted by some kooky residents of the town, including Shirley MacLaine and Jerry Mathers (the Beaver from Leave It to Beaver!) as a mother and son, and John Forsythe as an artist who decides to help him bury the evidence.  Come to discover, Harry may not have been the nicest guy and it turns out that several of the townsfolk believe they may have killed the man due to some previous encounters with him earlier in the day.

There's no suspense here...not an ounce.  Hitch was certainly going for humor and while he succeeds at eliciting some mild chuckles, it doesn't work quite as well as I would have liked....especially considering the rather pleasant performances.  Shirley MacLaine makes her film debut in this and it's easy to see why she became a movie star.  Besides being cute as a button, she manages to have both an "every-woman" sensibility, while also channeling the quirky next-door neighbor that you've come to know and love.  John Forsythe is rather suave and charming, and it's evident why MacLaine's widowed mother falls for the guy.  The entire ensemble is winning...I just wish they were given more to work with.

The Trouble with Harry is a fine film, but there's not a thing that stands out that would make me really want to watch this again.  It's a nice diversion from typical Hitchcock (and it's probably his best comedy when comparing it to Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the soon-to-be reviewed Family Plot), but Hitch really should probably stick to the thrillers and mysteries for which he is well known.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Valentine's Day (2010)

Valentine's Day (2010)

Starring Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley Maclaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift

Directed by Garry Marshall 

It's not as if ensemble movies about love can't work.  One of my favorite movies of all time is Love, Actually, and that flick is all about an ensemble's quest for love.  However, with last year's He's Just Not That Into You and this year's Valentine's Day, the ensemble romantic comedy appears to be dead in the water.  While this 2010 flick fares a little better than its 2009 counterpart, one would think that with all the star power on display here, someone could craft a decent script.

I'm not even going to go into a summary here because (as is evidenced by the incredibly long "starring" list up above) there's just too many tangential stories to discuss.  And therein lies the problem.  Too many people with too many unnecessary tales.  Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner's high school romance -- I'd nix 'em since we've already got one youthful tale starring the charming Emma Roberts, but they're appealing to the youth.  Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper's meeting on a plane -- totally pointless, but Roberts is a huge star and Cooper's star wattage is on the rise.  Shirley Maclaine and Hector Elizondo's out-of-left-field reveal of a "bombshell secret" -- who gives a damn -- oh, that's right, we need to appeal to the grandparents.

That's the problem.  The movie just wants to hit every demographic and it fails because of that.   Any positive vibes that come from actors like Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Julia Roberts and her niece Emma, and (shockingly) Ashton Kutcher and George Lopez just get washed away by a horrible script.  Not that I'm necessarily one to criticize on this front, but screenwriters need to learn to edit.

And the awful script is shot so incredibly poorly by director Garry Marshall that I laughed out loud because of some of his choices.  Hey, let's put some nuns in that scene.  Throw a sign-language interpreter in there.  Let's have a girl with cerebral palsy point and yell at Ashton Kutcher because he doesn't have shoes on.  Yes, I realize that last sentence might seem callous, but these "attempts at realism" just come across as preposterous.  It honestly seemed like he had family members that he wanted to put into the movie somehow and he was going to do whatever it took to make it happen.

If you want a great romantic ensemble movie, just do yourself a favor and go with Love, Actually.  Skip this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-