The Film:

At family gatherings everyone notices they have that one strange family member. Whether it’s the creepy uncle, the over-talkative father or OUR IDIOT BROTHER. In his newest film, Paul Rudd is that idiot brother. Rudd plays Ned, a hippy who runs a farmer’s market with his dog Willie Nelson. One day he sells marijuana to a cop and is sent to jail. Upon his release, he goes home where he is kicked out by his girlfriend (now ex), Janet (Kathryn Hahn). He also has to leave behind Willie Nelson, who he loves very much and Janet can’t stand. It’s her way of getting back at Ned.

Having nowhere to go, he moves back to his Long Island home with his mother, Ilene (longtime actress Shirley Knight). He doesn’t like it there, so he moves in with one of his 3 sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer, CITY ISLAND) her husband, Dylan (Steve Coogan, THE OTHER GUYS) and their children. Dylan reluctantly hires Ned to help on his documentary of a Russian ballet dancer, Tatiana. Ned becomes very close with their son, River, who instead of learning to play his obscure woodwind instrument to get into a prestigious elementary school, would rather play hide and seek and watch YouTube videos of Karate. Because of this, River is not excepted to the school. Ned is then forced to move out.

Ned then moves in with his second sister, Miranda (Elizabeth Banks, SLITHER), but things don’t go well there either. Miranda is trying to work her way up to being a reporter for Vanity Fair, but Ned screws that up. He also screws up a potential relationship that Miranda might have with a neighbor, Jeremy (Adam Scott, PIRANHA 3D). Miranda kicks Ned out, so he moves on to his third sister, Natalie (Zooey Deschanel, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER), who lives with her girlfriend Cindy (Rashida Jones,PARKS AND RECREATIONS) and about 20 of their friends. Cindy is a lawyer, and is trying to help Ned get Willie Nelson back by dog napping him. While on this journey, Ned lets slip something that Natalie didn’t want Cindy to know. They get into an argument and he’s kicked out and has to move back in with his mother.

While working on Dylan’s documentary, Ned finds out that Dylan is sleeping with Tatiana. He let that slip to Miranda before they have their falling out. Ned is arrested again for telling his parole officer that he broke down and smoked weed with his neighbor.

All this sounds like a lot, and it is, especially for a 90 minute movie. The cast assembled is a fantastic one, but that’s not where the movie’s problems lie. The movie has a lot of heart and a good message, but it’s getting to that message that’s a chore. The flow of the movie is not a good one, many of the jokes fall flat and the decisions by some of the characters are really not the best. Cindy, being a lawyer, encourages Ned to steal his dog instead of taking his ex to court. Miranda telling Ned to keep his mouth shut and then forcing him to tell her editors about a story that would help get ahead. Ned telling Natalie to be truthful to her girlfriend about a mistake she made, only for her to lie to him about telling said truth.

For 80 minutes, Ned makes mistakes and ruins his relationships with his sisters, for them to realize that he’s a great person in the final 5 minutes (with 5 minutes left for the credits). Former Lemonheads bassist, Jesse Peretz directed and co-wrote this movie specifically for Rudd, whom he worked previously with on The Château. Rudd is great playing against type. Normally we see Rudd playing the straight character like in I LOVE YOU, MAN and ROLE MODELS. Here he is the screw up, but not really. The mistakes he make are out of love for his family, so he’s really not even an idiot like the title would make you think. This is one movie where adding another 15 minutes to flesh out storylines would have helped a lot. The movie ultimately feels rushed and performances are wasted. Rashida Jones seems horribly miscast here as she supposed to be playing a frumpy lesbian, but all they do is put her in oversized clothes and huge glasses. Elizabeth Banks does a great job channeling Parker Posey as the part seemed more written for her than Banks. Having a self proclaimed man-crush on Paul Rudd since his big screen debut in CLUELESS (up for debate, since some say HALLOWEEN 6 as both were released in 1995), it’s hard for me to recommend this movie.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video

The audio sounded fantastic and the video transfer looked absolutely stunning.

Special Features

Commentary: Director Jesse Peretz offers up a thoughtful account of the film’s conception.

The Making of Our Idiot Brother: The cast and crew talk about making the film. It’s a fun feature, but doesn’t offer up anything especially interesting.

Deleted Scenes: Standard issue deleted scenes. Worth checking out once.

The Film Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Having nowhere to go, he moves back to his Long Island home with his mother, Ilene (longtime actress Shirley Knight). He doesn’t like it there, so he moves in with one of his 3 sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer, CITY ISLAND) her husband, Dylan (Steve Coogan, THE OTHER GUYS) and their children. Dylan reluctantly hires Ned to help on his documentary of a Russian ballet dancer, Tatiana. Ned becomes very close with their son, River, who instead of learning to play his obscure woodwind instrument to get into a prestigious elementary school, would rather play hide and seek and watch YouTube videos of Karate. Because of this, River is not excepted to the school. Ned is then forced to move out.

Ned then moves in with his second sister, Miranda (Elizabeth Banks, SLITHER), but things don’t go well there either. Miranda is trying to work her way up to being a reporter for Vanity Fair, but Ned screws that up. He also screws up a potential relationship that Miranda might have with a neighbor, Jeremy (Adam Scott, PIRANHA 3D). Miranda kicks Ned out, so he moves on to his third sister, Natalie (Zooey Deschanel, 500 DAYS OF SUMMER), who lives with her girlfriend Cindy (Rashida Jones, PARKS AND RECREATIONS) and about 20 of their friends. Cindy is a lawyer, and is trying to help Ned get Willie Nelson back by dog napping him. While on this journey, Ned lets slip something that Natalie didn’t want Cindy to know. They get into an argument and he’s kicked out and has to move back in with his mother.

While working on Dylan’s documentary, Ned finds out that Dylan is sleeping with Tatiana. He let that slip to Miranda before they have their falling out. Ned is arrested again for telling his parole officer that he broke down and smoked weed with his neighbor.

All this sounds like a lot, and it is, especially for a 90 minute movie. The cast assembled is a fantastic one, but that’s not where the movie’s problems lie. The movie has a lot of heart and a good message, but it’s getting to that message that’s a chore. The flow of the movie is not a good one, many of the jokes fall flat and the decisions by some of the characters are really not the best. Cindy, being a lawyer, encourages Ned to steal his dog instead of taking his ex to court. Miranda telling Ned to keep his mouth shut and then forcing him to tell her editors about a story that would help get ahead. Ned telling Natalie to be truthful to her girlfriend about a mistake she made, only for her to lie to him about telling said truth.

For 80 minutes, Ned makes mistakes and ruins his relationships with his sisters, for them to realize that he’s a great person in the final 5 minutes (with 5 minutes left for the credits). Former Lemonheads bassist, Jesse Peretz directed and co-wrote this movie specifically for Rudd, whom he worked previously with on The Château. Rudd is great playing against type. Normally we see Rudd playing the straight character like in I LOVE YOU, MAN and ROLE MODELS. Here he is the screw up, but not really. The mistakes he make are out of love for his family, so he’s really not even an idiot like the title would make you think. This is one movie where adding another 15 minutes to flesh out storylines would have helped a lot. The movie ultimately feels rushed and performances are wasted. Rashida Jones seems horribly miscast here as she supposed to be playing a frumpy lesbian, but all they do is put her in oversized clothes and huge glasses. Elizabeth Banks does a great job channeling Parker Posey as the part seemed more written for her than Banks. Having a self proclaimed man-crush on Paul Rudd since his big screen debut in CLUELESS (up for debate, since some say HALLOWEEN 6 as both were released in 1995), it’s hard for me to recommend this movie.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Set in a fantastical medieval world, Your Highness tells of two royal brothers – Fabious (James Franco), the brave hero next in line to be king, and Thadeous, his worthless, slacker brother (Danny McBride). When Fabious’ virgin bride Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) is kidnapped by an evil wizard, the duo must embark on a perilous quest in order to save her. Along the way, they team up with a tough warrior named Isabel (Natalie Portman) who is hell-bent on vengeance against the very same evil wizard.

The film pays homage to the fantasy genre, with dragons, wizards, witches, unicorns, and more. The concept and look of the movie is just right. However, when it comes to the jokes, the script bombs. Like Pineapple Express, there is too much emphasis on stoner humor. Aside from the fact that this alienates non-smokers, it is simply not funny. The taboo nature of marijuana seems to make it funny to certain people. But just as with alcohol or any other intoxicating substance, the drug is only as funny as the situation it creates. What characters do when high/drunk/whatever can be funny, but simply throwing out pot references alone is not amusing.

A similar problem the script has is an over-reliance on curse words in lieu of real jokes. The writers seem to believe that having medieval characters use the F-word and other modern slang is hilarious. News flash – it’s not. The script is quite a let-down, especially considering it was written by Danny McBride and Ben Best, who have previously collaborated on The Foot Fist Way and Eastbound and Down. Their writing is typically based on crudeness and dark, violent humor, but it has never been as childish and lazy as this.

Your Highness does not fail entirely, as it does occasionally inspire a laugh. There is nothing subtle or intelligent about them, but a few of the sexual jokes are worth a titter. Sometimes you will find yourself laughing at the sheer audacity of the film pushing its R rating. The great cast also helps, even if some of the actors are wasted. Franco in particular is not used to his potential, instead playing another straight guy. The film’s humor relies heavily on McBride, who provides most of the laughs. His comedic chemistry with Rasmus Hardiker (as the minstrel Courtney) produces some of the film’s funniest moments.

As the wizard Leezar, Justin Theroux is not as funny as usual, but he has his moments. Portman and Deschanel are not so much funny as nice to look at. The cast is rounded out by some interesting casting choices such as Toby Jones, Damien Lewis, and the great Charles Dance (who is sadly wasted as the king). With so much talent involved, this film really should have been better.

Your Highness strives to be like The Princess Bride or Monty Python and the Holy Grail but it fails in both cases because it has neither the charm nor brains to live up. It does not even achieve the silly humor of Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which was probably the last good film in this sub-genre of medieval-fantasy films. Rather than join the ranks of those comedy classics, Your Highness just makes you want to run home and re-visit all those better, funnier films.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

“Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world–Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancee before their kingdom is destroyed.”

It was reported that Sony would be looking to cast an even younger version of Peter Parker (here) to be used in flashback sequences. What’s Playing now gets word that Sony is looking for slightly older actors, and will “no longer be testing anyone under the age of 6 for that part”. It’s uncertain if the kids tested didn’t match fit with Sony or if it was decided an older kid would be more appropriate for the scenes. There’s speculation the scenes involved will feature Peter’s birth parents, and how he ended up with his Aunt and Uncle. Given this reboot will be different from Raimi’s trilogy, there’s a good possibility.

With Sony continuing to look for their actor to replace J.K Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson (here), Showbiz Spygets word that Zooey Deschanel (500 Day of Summer, Yes Man) as Jameson’s secretary, Betty Brant. Like Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson (who’s not in the movie, here), Brant eventually became a love interest of Peter Parker. Although, it’s very doubtful she’ll play that kind of role in the movie. Production on the film is scheduled to begin next month, so expect these roles to cast soon enough.

Spider-Man 3D is scheduled to open in July of 2012.

Banks is a career-driven single about to get her big break in journalism after spending years writing about accessories at a fashion magazine; Deschanel is a bisexual whose flakiness and lies are getting in the way of moving forward with her caring, responsible girlfriend (Jones); and Mortimer plays a Park Slope mom too worried about having the perfect life and children to notice that her marriage is falling apart (THR).

Jesse Peretz is directing My Idiot Brother off of the script written by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall. Principal photography is set to start this July in New York with a 2011 release date to be reached. Deschanel will pop onto the big screen next year in David Gordon Green’s Your Highness. Rashida Jones recently appeared in Cop Out and will grace the big screen once more in David Fincher’s The Social Network on October 15th.

Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world–Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed.

Your Highness has a huge array of cast members including Natalie Portman, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Justin Theroux and Toby Jones. The Danny McBride and Ben Best written film is ready to saddle up, galloping into theaters on April 8th, 2011 from Universal Pictures.:

As previously stated in an earlier report, the Countess (Lovelace, played by Deschanel) was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. Her notes on the engine include what is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine; as such she is often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.

Crudup will next be appearing in Eat Pray Love this August 13th, co-starring alongside Julia Roberts, James Franco and Javier Bardem. Toby Jones is set to be in the upcoming comedy Your Highness with Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco. The David Gordon Green picture is slated to come out in theaters on October 1rst.

Principal photography is slated to start in the fall, with no particular release date set for the production. Deschanel recently wrapped up filming her role in the upcoming David Gordon Green comedy Your Highness, which also stars James Franco, Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and Justin Theroux. The Universal Pictures feature comes out in theaters everywhere on October 1rst.

Point Break is a movie about agent Johnny Utah, an FBI agent, going undercover to find suspected bank robbery gang The Ex-Presidents in a surf group. Stellar stuff for a movie.

So, by Reno 911!, I guess they really meant creative team Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant,  responsible for both Night at the Museums. Aziz Ansari and Rob Huebel of the troupe Human Giant are, as usual, generally unfunny in this little bit. Now, maybe because I’m not a huge fan of Point Break to begin with, but this Cinemash didn’t really capture the best qualities of either the actors mashing the scene, or the movie itself. In comparison to the other two Cinemash clips that are out, this is by far the weakest. I mean, they do a great job of capturing how terribly Keanu Reeves acts, but the humor in it is very lacking.

Considering how great the Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt cinemash of Sid and Nancy and the Cheech and Chong cinemash of Tron were, the third installment of Cinemash was suprisingly underwhelming. But next week brings Channing Tatum and Charlyne Yi breaking into Dirty Dancing.

Source: MSN

* – Reno 911! is a derivative of the notorious The State troupe.

“This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know up front this is not a love story.”

The above statement quoted from the Roscoe Lee Browne-like narrator in the opening moments of Marc Webb’s directorial debut tells the audience right away that this is not the typical fluffy romantic comedy that they are expecting or have been accustomed to. In fact, the film should not even be classified as an entry in the sappy sub-genre as it is not a film about romance. It is a film about the consequences of the deluded fantasies one conjures up when romance is simply not there.

This post modern “anti love” story sets viewers up with the classic and archetypal “boy meets girl” scenario.  A greeting card writer named Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes instantly smitten with his boss’ assistant named Summer (Zooey Deschanel) after she expresses the same adoration for The Smiths on an awkward elevator ride. Unfortunately, this is enough reasoning for Tom to think he can build a strong relationship with Summer despite the fact that she is quite vocal about keeping their connection very casual. As one could suspect, it doesn’t end well and through non-linear sequences, viewers take a journey with a heart-broken Tom as he reflects on what went wrong in the relationship.

Considering the fact that this summer has disappointed fans with catastrophic comic book spin offs and lacklustre blockbuster sequels, it comes as  a pleasant surprise to admit that 500 Days of Summer proves to be the best film to see this season. In this Chasing Amy meets Shopgirl tale, screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber dissect Tom’s realistic trajectory of the breakup so effortlessly that it’s clear to see that their real-life tales of woe brought this film to life.  (Jenny Beckman wouldn’t contest to that!) Although, it is through Webb’s innovative and quirky direction that makes this film truly stand out from the crowd. From the film’s hilariously off-putting post coitus musical dance routine featuring Hall and Oates “You Make My Dreams,” to the heart-rendering yet imaginative split screen sequence simultaneously   showing Tom’s reality and his larger than life expectations at a chance encounter with his ex, only forebodes many homages of Webb’s directing style for years to come.

However, much praise has to go out to Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel who play the dumb struck lovers. Lesser actors would have made the characters as unlikable as they are written down in the script, but Tom’s unyielding desperation and Summer’s utter lack of empathy both come across as equally endearing traits and it’s because of that why scenes of the two playing the “penis” game are hard to look away  from instead of being just cringe-worthy.  Finally, Zooey Deschanel’s kooky behaviour serves a purpose in this film and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is finally able to show mainstream audiences unfamiliar with his turns in Mysterious Skin and Brick that he can be a leading man.  The chemistry between these two actors is through the roof, which is impressive to convey considering the film is ironically about the lack of chemistry between the characters.

It is clearly evident 500 Days of Summer is a well thought out and unbelievably clever film. Unfortunately its original concept proves to be far too clever for the curious mainstream audience its bound to attract and because of that, the film at times is forced to ironically fall into the conventions of the genre its giving the middle finger to in able to maintain the attention spans of viewers that get some empty sense of enjoyment from watching Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey “rom coms.”

Yes, despite the film’s painstakingly real emotions it’s able to evoke, it falls victim to the “glamorized reality” it has created for its audience.   Viewers will not be surprised to see two wise-cracking sidekicks, a sarcastic voice of reason, and a devastating twist to the film’s protagonist exaggerated for a full theatrical effect. Even the film’s finale screams of blissful hopefulness only witnessed in romantic comedies.  If 500 Days of Summer had focused more of its energy on the bleakness and pain of the breakup rather than pleasing its audience members that require a happy ending, it would have been a perfect dissection of a modern day relationship.

500 Days of Summer proves that not all anti “rom coms” have to reside in the Judd Apatow universe to be truly successful.  One doesn’t have to be a pompous film snob or into the Spoon Pixies to understand and enjoy this well made film. If you can recognize the power of “twenties angst” and how it can consume a relationship, then you can definitely appreciate this amusing and bittersweet drama.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ok, maybe it’s not a normal conversation, and it’s definitely not expected of the two – Well, unless you’re Kevin Smith – but it’s got Tron in it! Next week promises Reno 911! and Human Giant give the Cinemash treatment to Point Break.

This little project has gotten pretty neat. Hopefully the cats at Mean Magazine can keep this going for a little bit.

Source: MSN

This particular scene suggestion comes from the upcoming 500 Days of Summer, wherein Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt have a conversation comparing the two to the famous couple.

Hopefully these will keep coming and will continue to be awesome. Next week’s clip promises to be Cheech and Chong mashing a scene from Tron and in the future Milo Ventimiglia cinemashing Oldboy, so it looks pretty promising. Fox Searchlight brings  up-and-comer Marc Webb’s 500 Days of Summer to theaters everywhere starting on July 17th.

Source: FirstShowing.net

500 Day of Summer stars indie fav Joseph Gordon Levitt and the lovely Zooey Deschanel and opens in limited release July 24th.

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Source: Trailer Addict

One of the components of Yes Man that worked for me, that I didn’t talk about in my review (here) was the music in the film. The soundtrack is devoid of score, and is really a CD that features two bands. Using music to overlay on top of the film is a Catch-22 in my book. Some directors now how to use a song at the right time to create that perfect mood or convey a certain emotion from the scene. Then there’s sometimes when a song is placed in certain parts of the film to make it seem cool, hip, or to push the soundtrack. I’m sure you all can think of incidents that both of these work and don’t work.

For Yes Man, Peyton Reed, the film’s director, chose to have the band Eels score the film using songs from their catalog. No stranger to having their songs on soundtracks (Henry Poole is Here, Hellboy II, and American Beauty), I think here they work best. Having songs that are translatable to Jim Carrey’s character, while being not abrasive work well. “Man Up” is a new recording and is an upbeat song which features perfectly into the film. The bands lead singer, E as he likes to be called, sings in a mournful tone but at times even this sounds upbeat. Songs like “Bus Stop Boxer”, “Flyswatter” and “To Lick Your Boots” offer the unique mix of rock and some experimental sounds. After the nine songs here, the Eels will be a band you want to check out.

Perhaps just having the Eels on this soundtrack would be enough, but remember in my review for the film, I stated the ace up Yes Man‘s sleeve was Zooey Deschanel, well her fictional band, Munchausen by Proxy contributes four songs here and they are a blast. “Sweet Ballad” and “Uh-huh” are the standouts and feature Zooey’s wonderful voice but also her wit. In “Sweet Ballad” she confesses that maybe she was a guy’s late night booty call once, maybe twice, maybe three times, but no more than seven times is hilarious but also in tune with her character. “Uh-huh” was, in my opinion, vastly under-appreciated by the Academy in the Best Original Song category, but luckily we can enjoy it all here. Fans of Zooey’s band, She & Him, will also want to check this CD out, even though the music is more New Wave than folk. Sorry, Journey (they have a song in the film not on the CD), with Eels and Munchausen by Proxy, we have one of the better non-score soundtrack’s from 2008.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars