Because I Said Do

 Because I Said So (2007)

Starring Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, and Stephen Collins

Directed by Michael Lehmann

Written by Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: F

The First Wives Club

The First Wives Club (1996)

Starring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Bronson Pinchot, Marcia Gay Harden, Stephen Collins, Elizabeth Berkley, Eileen Heckart, Victor Garber, and Stockard Channing

Directed by Hugh Wilson

Written by Robert Harling

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:

Poms

Poms (2019)

Starring Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Pam Grier, Celia Weston, Alisha Boe, Phylis Somerville, Charlie Tahan, Bruce McGill, and Rhea Perlman 

Directed by Zara Hayes

Written by Shane Atkinson

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C

Baby Boom

Baby Boom (1987)

Starring Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis, Sam Wanamaker, and James Spader 

Directed by Charles Shyer

Written by Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review - 5 Flights Up

5 Flights Up (2015)

Starring Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton, and Cynthia Nixon

Directed by Richard Loncraine

***This film is currently available on HBO Now***

I've always liked Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton (despite the fact that the latter has played nothing but interchangeable characters in the last twenty years) so I figured why not give 5 Flights Up a shot.  Sure, it's a little comedy that made not a blip on anyone's cinematic radar last year, but the two leads are always watchable, so I gave it a go.

Well, it's a big ole bust.  Freeman and Keaton are charming as Alex and Ruth Carver, an older married couple who, after forty years of marriage, decide it may be time to move out of their fifth floor NYC apartment for the simple reason that they may be getting too weak to climb up the stairs.  Once you move past that charming aspect, though, everything else falters.  Burdened with stories of a dog with a slipped disc, a possible Muslim terrorist running rampant through their neighborhood (despite the obviousness from the get go that this isn't really the case), and Ruth's talkative niece/real estate agent (Cynthia Nixon), 5 Flights Up lacks any modicum of focus.  The two leads can't save the lack of a cohesive story and this whole thing falls terribly flat.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - And So It Goes

And So It Goes (2014)

Starring Michael Douglas, Diane Keaton, Sterling Jerins, Annie Parisse, and Austin Lysy

Directed by Rob Reiner

I fully went into And So It Goes expecting the two elderly leads to find some decades-old pot and smoke it for comedic effect.  That didn't happen so Rob Reiner's film doesn't immediately lose points for that old people hippie-druggie comedy bit that is one of my biggest movie pet peeves.  However, if there was such a scene at least it would've elicited a reaction from me of some kind -- something that And So It Goes failed at doing.  While the two leads are amiable -- I always find Diane Keaton immensely charming (even though she plays the same characters over and over again) and Michael Douglas is underrated when it comes to light-hearted fare -- the story feels old, tired, and worn-out.

Douglas is Oren Little, a pompous realtor who is selling his longtime home in preparation for doing the typical "old person" thing of moving to warmer weather.  During a showing, his estranged son (Austin Lysy) shows up with his ten year-old daughter Sarah (Sterling Jerins), asking Oren to watch over his heretofore unknown granddaughter while he has to spend a year in prison.  Oren reluctantly agrees, but has no idea how to deal with this, so he turns to Leah (Keaton) who lives in and runs a rental property of Oren's.  With Oren's curmudgeonly attitude, Leah's optimism, and Sarah's innocence, the trio make an unlikely triangle -- one that follows the same paths we've seen many times before.

And So It Goes isn't offensive in any way, but it's mind-numbingly dull and that's often a bigger kiss of death than simply being bad.  But, hey...at least the leads don't smoke pot!

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Manhattan

Manhattan (1979)

Starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy, and Meryl Streep

Directed by Woody Allen
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

What a nice, pleasant surprise after a recent disappointing string of Woody Allen flicks that I've watched.  Go figure that Manhattan is apparently one of Allen's least favorite films he has directed.  I actually found this to be a wonderful visual love letter to New York that mixed in just enough of the staple Allen-isms (neurotic main character fascinated by the foolishness of the human race who pals around with literate chums, smart female roles, a classy score) to make me realize it's a Woody Allen film, but not hate it for those very same reasons.

Allen plays Isaac who is essentially the same character Woody Allen plays in every other movie.  Twice divorced and with his second wife (Meryl Streep) writing an exposé on their marriage, Isaac is currently in a relationship with seventeen year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway).  He loves her and she loves him, but Isaac realizes that there's probably no future for them.  [Oddly and uncomfortably enough, this May-December relationship (a premonition of sorts for Allen's real-life romance with Soon-Yi) is never looked upon with any scorn or disgust...it's simply set up as normal and okay.]  When out one night with his buddy Yale (Michael Murphy) and his wife, Yale tells Isaac that he is having an affair with a rather snooty writer Mary (Diane Keaton).  Although Isaac initially can't stand Mary, he eventually begins to fall in love with her causing confusion in his already frazzled brain.

To me, what makes this film stand out from other Woody Allen films are some of his directorial choices.  Moreso than in other movies, I felt like he allowed his camera to linger in scenes, allowing a very natural "you are there" feeling to many moments.  I also absolutely adored the interspersed big-city interstitial shots between scenes.  This also felt very un-Allen-esque who oftentimes doesn't tend to look at the "big picture."  Here, though, New York City is almost like another character and it's refreshing.  Plus, the film moves at a brisk pace, filled with nice comedic and dramatic moments and pretty great performances from Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, and Allen himself.

Although I haven't seen Annie Hall (Allen's supposed masterpiece) in ages, I might say that I liked Manhattan better than that one.  This is definitely one of Allen's better efforts and one that I'd imagine I'd watch again in the future.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Morning Glory

Morning Glory (2010)

Starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, and Jeff Goldblum

Directed by Roger Michell

I can't deny that the simple presence of Rachel McAdams onscreen makes me kind of giddy.  She's effervescent and completely natural...and so goshdarn cute.  Ms. McAdams alone makes the romantic comedy Morning Glory a lot better than it deserves to be.  Yes, there were some (I'd even go so far as to say several) laugh-out-loud moments, but as a whole, the story just falls into that "been there, seen that before" category which ultimately holds the film back from being an all-out success.

McAdams is Becky Fuller, an executive producer on a New Jersey local morning news show.  When she is let go because of budget cuts, she manages to land a job in New York City and the exec producer of broadcast net IBS's national morning show Daybreak.  Wallowing in last place, Becky has big plans to shake things the show up.  While she likes bubbly host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), Becky feels that Colleen needs a nice partner to bounce things off of.  Becky discovers that revered news anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) is contracted with IBS, but since he was forced out of the anchor position a few years ago, he has simply been earning a paycheck not doing a thing.  Becky manages to convince Mike to join Daybreak, but the curmudgeonly Mike doesn't quite fit the bill wanting to tell hard news stories rather than do the fluff pieces often seen in morning news shows' second hours.  As these stories often go, Becky must convince Mike to lighten up...and it's not a real surprise as to whether she succeeds or not.

What lifts this film up is the performance of the winning Rachel McAdams and the droll Diane Keaton.  Whenever either of these two ladies are onscreen, the film shines.  McAdams, in particular, is someone I want to be the Next Big Movie Star.  While it doesn't seem like it's going to happen (why aren't her flicks ever really successful?), she's a complete joy to watch (and not too bad to ogle over either).

The film falters a bit when it focuses on the men.  Harrison Ford plays the grouchy Mike adequately, but it all felt very cookie cutter, one-note, and caricaturish to me.  Along the same lines, Patrick Wilson plays Rachel McAdams' new beau with zippo charisma and energy.  Granted, his role is written so poorly that he's given nothing to do, but I didn't buy their relationship one bit and the problem lies moreso with Wilson than McAdams.

And its that underwritten boyfriend role that epitomizes what's wrong with Morning Glory.  There's just not much of anything there.  Yes, the ladies of the cast cull what they can out of the lack of story, but in the end, this film brings nothing new to the table at all, feeling like a retread of other generic romantic comedies we've seen before.  It also doesn't help that director Roger Michell (who directed the rather enjoyable Notting Hill) films everything so incredibly generically, too, peppered with moments of odd zooms that stood out to me like a sore thumb.

Despite these qualms, I laughed...quite a lot actually.  There are moments in the film that work really well and that is due to both McAdams and Keaton.  Together they elevate this movie to a bit more than the average rating it deserves.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+