Child's Play

 Child's Play (2019)

Starring Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry, Tim Matheson, Beatrice Kitsos, and Ty Consiglio

And the vocal talent of Mark Hamill

Directed by Lars Klevberg

Written by Tyler Burton Smith

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Starring Zac Efron, Adam Devine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Stephen Root, Stephanie Faracy, Sugar Lyn Beard, and Sam Richardson

Directed by Jake Szymanski

***This film is currently available via HBO Now/GO***

I've been on a stupid comedy run as of late perhaps hoping that something will click and prove enjoyable.  Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates isn't that film.  Based partially on a true story, Zac Efron and Adam Devine are the title character brothers whose man-child boys-will-be-boys bachelor behavior at previous family functions has caused their parents (Stephen Root and Stephanie Faracy) to insist on them finding proper dates for the wedding of their only sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) with the hopes that a lady will tamper their erratic behavior.  The brothers become a viral sensation when they post for dates online, but the women applying for the "job" all seem a bit crazy until the seemingly normal Alice and Tatiana show up.  Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) is a teacher, Alice (Anna Kendrick) is a hedge fund manager, and both seem to be the perfect "sane" match to please Mike and Dave's parents.  The problem:  Alice and Tatiana are crazed party girls who are putting on a show to get a free trip to Hawaii where Jeanie's wedding is taking place.  Needless to say, upon the quartet's arrival in Hawaii, the true Alice and Tatiana begin to reveal themselves and it leads to some chaos.

Zac Efron and Anna Kedrick are both fine here, but the film certainly isn't asking them to do anything special.  Adam Devine and Aubrey Plaza, on the other hand, are playing the same comedic schtick we're used to seeing from them.  While neither have reached the levels of Rebel Wilson annoyance yet, they're walking that fine line of becoming nearly unwatchable with their repetitive attempts at laughs.  Plaza, in particular, with her deadpan, sarcastic, nonemotional delivery of every joke is starting to wear thin with this reviewer.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has its moments, but they're too few and far between.  In the end, it's just not funny enough to recommend.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Life After Beth

Life After Beth (2014)

Starring Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Anna Kendrick

Directed by Jeff Baena

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

Girlfriend dies.  Boyfriend is sad.  Girlfriend suddenly reappears...as a zombie.  Chaos ensues with a supposedly comedic purpose.  There's not much else to Life After Beth, a film whose premise shows some promise but fails to generate any laughs.  With a supporting cast of adult comedic actors whom I expected to buoy the younger set, the likes of John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, and Paul Reiser are given very little to do.  Their reactions to Dane DeHaan's Zach's comedic depression over his girlfriend's death and Aubrey Plaza's frenetic "teenage" zombie Beth are tired and worn, lacking any zip which is what the screenplay is lacking overall.  There's possibility here, but this flick is attempting to really play things for laughs (unlike the similarly themed Warm Bodies which played the romance angle a bit stronger) and it just doesn't deliver in the slightest.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Monsters University

Monsters University (2013)

Featuring the voice talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Muray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Tyler Labine, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, Bonnie Hunt, and John Krasinski

Directed by Dan Scanlon

I've avoided writing this review for over a month.  I have no excuse.  It's not like I've been avoiding it out of some Disney guilt because I didn't enjoy it.  In fact, Monsters University was much better than my initial low expectations which had me avoiding it in its first go around in theaters, only catching this one upon a re-release over Labor Day weekend.  I guess I figured I'd have some "Boo withdrawal" when it came to this, but I didn't miss that incredibly cute character from the original Monsters, Inc at all.

Instead, I fully enjoyed this prequel following Mike and Sulley (voiced once again with gusto by Billy Crystal and John Goodman) and their journey through college.  As they enter the hallowed halls of Monsters University, the two are as opposite as could be.  Mike has his eye (singular, naturally) always in a book studying up on how to perform the proper scare, whereas Sulley is all about having the crazy college experience joining the frat Roar Omega Roar immediately upon arrival.  However, when performing their final scare exam, Mike and Sulley have a horrible accident that angers the frightening Dean Hardscrabble (a spot-on Helen Mirren) who nearly expels the two, but instead removes them from the scare program.  This prompts Roar Omega Roar to cut their ties with Sulley and it puts Mike into a depression because all he's ever wanted is to scare.  As the college prepares for their annual fraternity and sorority Scare Games, Mike convinces Dean Hardscrabble to allow him back into the scare program if he wins the Scare Games.  She obliges, however, without a fraternity willing to accept him, Mike seems out of luck until Sulley steps up and helps Mike form their own frat Oozma Kappa.

With the formation of OK, we meet a bunch of new characters who more than make up for the loss of the adorably cute Boo.  The humor derived from these new cast members (voiced by Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, and Charlie Day) is fantastic and I laughed out loud much more than I expected.  While it's true that Monsters University doesn't have the heartwarming characteristics we've come to expect in most Pixar films (although it certainly has its moments of warmth), the flick stays true to its established characters and the enhancement of their backstory rounds them out more fully.

I'd like to write a bit more, but this quickly typed up review will have to suffice for now.  Needless to say, my reluctance to see Monsters University was totally unfounded, so if you're feeling that same way, you should definitely give this a chance.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Safety Not Guaranteed

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass, and Karan Soni

Directed by Colin Trevorrow

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

Remove the curse words and the character who's obsessed with hooking up with his high school flame from twenty years ago and Safety Not Guaranteed feels like a movie Jimmy Stewart and Katherine Hepburn could have starred in seventy years ago.  There's an innocence surrounding this film about Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a guy who posts a help wanted ad in a local newspaper where he says he's seeking out people who want to travel back in time with him (their "safety not guaranteed"), and Darius (Aubrey Plaza), the girl who interns at a local magazine that is doing a story about Kenneth who they all deem as cuckoo.  As Kenneth and Darius get to know each other better, it's inevitable that they're going to begin to fall in love for each other despite their best efforts not to wander down that path.

The problem with Safety Not Guaranteed is the same problem that faces many other indie comedies -- a good premise, but not enough plot to sustain itself.  Despite its under ninety-minute run time, there's just not enough here to make a full-fledged movie feel necessary.  The whole thing was quite cute and Aubrey Plaza's dry delivery is a perfect fit for the dialog she's given, but whenever the film left the world of Kenneth and Darius, it falls flat.  There are two subplots involving Darius's co-workers -- one dealing with head writer Jeff (Jake Johnson) and his mission to find his high school sweetheart and sleep with her again (which is the only reason he took on writing this article in the first place) and the other focused on Jeff's desire to get Arnau (Karan Soni), the mild-mannered Indian computer geek intern, laid for the first time -- neither of which add anything to the overarching storyline.  I can't even find an incidental thematic connection between them and the main plot.

Safety Not Guaranteed is fine.  I laughed enough to not make it a complete bust.  But it never quite comes together in a way that would make it something truly recommendable.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+