Fever Pitch

 Fever Pitch (2005)

Starring Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, James Sikking, and JoBeth Williams

Directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly

Written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Going the Distance

Going the Distance (2010)

Starring Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Christina Applegate

Directed by Nanette Burstein

I genuinely want someone to explain to me why Drew Barrymore is popular.  Yes, her popularity has certainly (thankfully) been waning in recent years, but she's a well-known actress.  Is is simply because she overcame her addictions?  If that's the case, are we in for decades of shitty Lindsay Lohan movies in years to come?  Really...why do girls like Drew Barrymore so much?  The fascination is beyond me and even with an explanation I'll probably never understand it.  Still, despite this Hollywood conundrum, I subjected myself to a Drew Barrymore film this evening and Going the Distance (as expected) did nothing to validate her stardom.

Truth be told, it isn't Barrymore's fault that Going the Distance doesn't work.  In fact, this "rom com" (as the hipsters would call it) features a romance between the two leads that is surprisingly believable.  Between Barrymore and her co-star Justin Long, there was some palpable chemistry evident.  However, the film is just so flat and boring, never creating any type of story arcs for either lead as it attempts to fill the story void by adding some comedic unrealistic "buddy" characters who simply padded the film's running time.  Nothing against Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Christina Applegate (who all provided their own moments of humor), but their characters were pointless.  

As the couple tries to make the most of a long distance relationship (hence the cleverness of the title), the film just stays inert and feels so incredibly generic.  And generic is, I think, my problem with Ms. Barrymore.  I think that Barrymore is probably a nice person -- in fact, I think she plays that nice person onscreen in every single role.  I don't really think she's acting (Zack Galifianakis -- beware because this rant is coming your way next).  And therein lies my problem with her.  When all of your characters are the same, I simply can't really care about what you're doing.  But, really, there's no need to discuss this in this review because the fault of the film doesn't lie with her...and I'm sure there will be another film somewhere down the line where it will be her fault, so I'll withhold those feelings until then.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Everybody's Fine

Everybody's Fine (2009)

Starring Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, and Melissa Leo 

Directed by Kirk Jones

Everybody's Fine was a big failure at the box office last holiday season, but after watching I can't understand why.  Sure, it's overly dramatic, but it's a lovely little film featuring some nice performances from all of the lead actors, particularly Robert DeNiro who has certainly slummed his way through movies in the last decade or so.

It's been a few months since Frank Goode's (DeNiro) wife has passed away and he is eagerly looking forward to a get-together with all of his grown adult children.  However, when they all bail on him, Frank decides to travel around the country and visit each one, hoping to reconnect with them and become a greater part of their lives.  

That's the story in a nutshell.  It's simple and it's kind of sweet and it surprisingly works.  Director and screenwriter Kirk Jones has crafted a really lovely film in both appearance and substance.  While he admittedly gets a tad heavy-handed towards the end, it never felt too sugary or overly sentimental.

The reason for that, in part, is the pleasant and understated performance from Mr. DeNiro.  In recent years, DeNiro has veered way over-the-top whether that be in the godawful Fockers movies, Analyze That, or pretty much anything else in his recent oeuvre.  Here, DeNiro throws aside the caricature of his former actorly self that he's been playing for the last decade and instead is simply an aging, hard-working father who misses his wife and wants to form a better relationship with his kids.  It was actually a surprising departure for DeNiro and a track I'd like to see him continue on in years to come. 

DeNiro is joined by the lovely Kate Beckinsale as his eldest daughter and Sam Rockwell as his eldest son and both of them make the most of the roles.  Beckinsale, in particular, surprised me.  Not that I've even seen the Underworld series of films, but that's what I associate her most with.  I keep forgetting that she gave a bravura performance in 2008's Nothing But the Truth (rent it...trust me), and while her performance in this flick didn't blow me away, it certainly made me remember that the lady can actually act.  [And, although the less said the better, even Drew Barrymore didn't annoy me in this as much as she usually can, although she is playing the same exact character she plays in every other movie...seriously, how is she still popular?]

I honestly watched this because it was the holiday season and I remember there being a tree on the poster...don't be fooled into thinking this is a holiday movie, however.  It's not in the slightest.  Nevertheless, despite that misleading advertising, Everybody's Fine is a flick that surpassed my middling expectations and actually won me over quite a bit with its charm.

The RyMickey Rating: B

Movie Review - Scream (1996)

Scream
Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, and Drew Barrymore
Directed by Wes Craven

It had been a long time since I had seen Scream and it was one of those movies that I really enjoyed as a teenager but felt that there was absolutely no way it would hold up today. Fortunately, I was wrong. It's just as funny, clever, and tense as I remember it, and it moves along at such a brisk pace that its nearly two hour running time feels much less than that.

Sidney Prescott's (Campbell) mother was brutally raped and murdered a year ago and testimony from Sidney put the supposed killer in jail. However, a brutal slaying of two teens makes some believe that Sidney may have convicted the wrong man and the killer is back again.

This has been said many times before, but the thing that makes this movie work is the simple fact that it knows it's a horror movie. It doesn't try to push the clichés aside, but instead it milks them for all they're worth. It pokes fun at the genre, while at the same time, treating it with utmost respect. The twelve-minute opening sequence with Drew Barrymore is a perfect example. That's a genius bit of filmmaking there. It's so tense and so taut that even though I knew what was going to happen this time around, I was still on the edge of my seat. It's really a brilliant horror movie scene.

Similarly, the film's climactic set piece of the aftermath of a house party (which I would say goes on for a surprisingly long time) doesn't wear out its welcome. The twists keep coming and they're supported by both clever writing and some surprisingly good acting. I never would've thought I could write that Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy were any good in anything, but they really show that given the right lines, they can really deliver. Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich are fine, but a little too mopey for my tastes. Fortunately, they're balanced out by the quirky David Arquette as a small-town sheriff's deputy and Courtney Cox (not yet an Arquette) as hard-ass reporter Gale Weathers.

If memory serves me right, Screams 2 and 3 don't work nearly as well, but perhaps I'll give them another shot in the near future. If you haven't seen this one in a while, it's worth a glance again.

Side Note: Finally...a movie streaming on Netflix that was actually recommendable!

The RyMickey Rating: B+

Movie Review - He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Justin Long

Directed by Ken Kwapis

Wow. Women are nuts. If this movie is an accurate portrayal of the way the fairer sex thinks, then I don't think I'll ever understand the gender. I mean, how hard is the concept of "If he's not calling you, he doesn't like you?" I don't think it's all that difficult, yet it apparently cannot be grasped.

There's a bunch of interweaving storylines here...Gigi (Gennifer Goodwin) is single and crazy -- completlely unintelligent in the ways of love. Half-stalkerish, half-sweet, but 100% nuts. Gigi is friends with Janine (Jennifer Connelly) who's married to Ben (Bradley Cooper) who's cheating on his wife with the younger Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna is friends with Mary (Drew Barrymore), but I'll be completely honest...I don't know why Drew Barrymore's in this movie because her character is completely and utterly pointless and could've been left on the cutting room floor. Anyway, Anna used to sleep with Conor (Kevin Connelly) who is friends with Alex (Justin Long) who offers relationship advice to Gigi [see...we've gone full circle.] There's also a storyline involving Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck concerning Affleck not wanting to marry Aniston even though they've been together for seven years, but it also could've been totally removed from the plot as it doesn't really relate to anything else.

Most of the actors here are fine. Bradley Cooper continues his string of good roles in crappy movies (The Hangover, All About Steve, New York, I Love You). I'd watch Jennifer Aniston in anything. Justin Long continues to show promise. Scarlett Johannson is fine (I can't believe I typed that). Even Ginnifer Goodwin whose character is godawful is able to at least make me not want to pull out my hair every time her nutcase Gigi is onscreen.

Still, the film is a failure. And it's not because of the actors. Or even the direction (it's nothing special ,but it's certainly adequate). It's just that it's way too long. Not a single storyline works. Every female character is completely unrelateable to the male writing this review. And Drew Barrymore is one of the worst actresses ever onscreen (Drew, just because you produce or direct something doesn't mean you have to be in it).

If you want a good movie with interweaving storylines about love, rent Love, Actually. Leave this one on the shelf.

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - Whip It (2009)

Starring Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristin Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Alia Shawkat, Eve, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Stern
Directed by Drew Barrymore

Sure, roller derby isn't something you see often in film, but that's the only thing that's remotely original in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. We get the same old movie clichés we've seen seemingly hundreds of times before (although this time it's a double whammy because we get sports movie and teenage movie angst clichés...two for one!).

Ellen Page is Bliss, an edgy gal (we know she's edgy because she likes boots and wears cool 80s band t-shirts) whose mom (Marcia Gay Harden) makes her compete in local town beauty pageants. [Side Note: why are southern/midwest towns always depicted as being caught in the past? It always seems like they're stuck in a time warp.] One night, Bliss decides to head to a roller derby and falls in love with the sport. She manages to join one of the roller derby teams and continues to sneak off for the matches. Do you think that there's gonna be some conflict between the roller derby and her home life? Do you think there's gonna be a big "final match?" Do you think everything will be hunky-dory in the end? Have you seen any movie before ever in your life? If the answer to that last question is yes, then you know the answer to the previous three questions.

It's not that the film itself is bad, it's just that there's nothing really new or interesting here. Barrymore proves to be an adequate director and it's an acceptable debut, but she brings nothing new to the table here. The derby scenes were very repetitive and Barrymore, at times, went for some really odd shots (the last shot of the movie is a perfect example of this). The worst thing about Barrymore is that she gave herself a role in the film...she was pretty awful acting-wise here.

Ellen Page is fine...a little too "soft" and "quiet" to ever really be believable as an edgy derby gal. Kristin Wiig should have been given more to do (I'd watch her in anything). The two shining stars were Alia Shawkat (of Arrested Development fame) as Bliss's best friend Pash and Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, a roller derby competitor. If the movie was about these gals, it would've been infinitely better...they really brought some life to the screen whenever they became the focus.

It's not that Whip It is a bad movie, it's just that it's a movie that has been seen before.

The RyMickey Rating: C