BAD MOMS

Okay, so they're really not that bad.  Bad Moms is a light, predictable, profanity-filled comedy where overworked, overstressed mothers get to be "bad" by taking a break from duties and responsibilities.

Amy (Mike Kunis) seems like she has it all: a husband and two young kids, a part-time job, and an active role in her kids' PTA.  But it doesn't take much to see that she's full of stress: Her husband hangs around the house, making her feel like she's a third kid.  She does everything for her kids -- doing her son's projects, scheduling her daughter's soccer -- and they "thank" her by being embarrassed by her.  Her young boss at work keeps dumping more work on her without making her full time.  And the PTA is ruled by Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate), who rules with an iron fist and is always followed around by her supporters Stacy (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo).  When Amy kicks her husband after discovering his online affair, she's now handling all the family chores and activities (including her dog's vertigo) -- leading her to tell off Gwnedolyn at a PTA meeting and saying she's tired of working so hard to be a perfect mom.

Amy's outburst earns her the attention of two new friends: Kiki (Kristen Bell), a shy and awkward mother of four desperate for any sort of friendship; and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), a single mom who's hypersexual and outspoken.  Together they decide to be "bad moms" by doing things like partying in a supermarket, getting drunk, and being more relaxed with their kids.  Since the movie needs conflict to move the plot along, Amy decides to run against Gwendolyn for the position of PTA president.  And you don't have to be psychic to know what'll happen with the handsome widower-single dad.

Bad Moms isn't as wild as the title suggests (except for the near-continual cursing), but it is fun fluff.   While the movie is predictable and ends with a everyone-is-happy-and-friends sentimentality, it does have plenty of funny moments: Numerous slow-motion shots of the three friends partying, the catharsis its target audience would feel about cutting loose and partying, and one scene where Kiki is used to demonstrate how to handle an uncircumcised penis.  While the cast is good, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn stand out as polar opposite personality types who somehow become close friends.  Bad Moms is another decent, very straightforward summer comedy.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

The Wizard of Oz was a groundbreaking movie in its time, from the visuals to the psychological elements.  Its prequel Oz the Great and Powerful feels much more traditional and familiar -- but it's still entertaining.

Like its predecessor, Oz the Great and Powerful begins in a black-and-white Kansas.  Oz (James Franco) is a circus magician with a flair for the theatric, an incredible cheapness, harsh treatment of his assistant Frank (Zach Braff), and a clear womanizer.  Oz dreams of greatness, and he seems to get the chance when an escape in a hot air balloon leads him to a twister -- and the magical, colorful, fanciful world of Oz.

Upon arriving, Oz is greeted by Theodora (Mila Kunis), who believes that Oz is the great and powerful wizard prophesized to free the kindgom  from the Wicked Witch.  Oz knows he's not a wizard, but the prospect of the massive fortune in the Emerald City tempts him too much, and he's soon promoting himself as the wizard who was foretold.  Royal advisor Evanora (Rachel Weisz) has her doubts about Oz's truthfulness, Theodora seems to have fallen for the rogue's romantic charms, and Glinda (Michelle Williams) knows Oz's flaws but still believes he can save the kingdom.  Oz also has traveling companions in his quest to steal the Wicked Witch's wand: Finley (Braff again), a winged monkey pledged to serve Oz; and China Girl (Joey King), a small-but-spunky child made of fragile China.

Oz the Great and Powerful has a mix of strengths and weaknesses.  The visuals are stunning, from the magical landscape to the unusual creatures (not to mention the new-but-familiar versions of the elements from the first film).  There are also some surprises in store, such as the identity of the Wicked Witch?  At the same time, there's a pretty one-dimensional side to the characters, and while they're all decent in their roles, there's also no real depth to any characters.

Still, Oz the Great and Powerful may not be a classic but it is an enjoyable (if slight) fantasy.  This is a movie that's easy to enjoy, if easy to forget afterwards.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

TED

Seth MacFarlane conquered the television world with Family Guy, a fairly common animated family sitcom whose politically incorrect humor and constant pop culture references made it a massive hit (and gave MacFarlane several other shows). With his new movie Ted, MacFarlane writes, directs, and voices his own story of a childhood fairy tale gone in a very grown-up direction.

The movie begins in 1985, when lonely Boston boy John Bennett wishes that the teddy bear he got for Christmas was alive. The wish comes true -- Ted lives! Over the years, Ted becomes a celebrity for a time, before being forgotten. And in the present, John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane; at least the movie has the self-awareness to point out how much Ted sounds like Peter Griffin) are still "thunder buddies," best friends who like to drink, get high, swear (a lot), and throw parties.

But John also has a girlfriend. Lori (Mila Kunis) and John have been dating for four years, and she thinks Ted has been keeping John from growing up and moving on with his career (at a rental car place) and his life. So Ted moves out, getting a job as a cashier (and oddly doing better the more he insults his boss) and dating the white-trash Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). But John and Ted keep hanging out, to Lori's exasperation. Then there's Rex (Joe McHale), Lori's boss who keeps hitting on her; and the creepy Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) with his fat son Robert (Aedin Minks), who want to buy Ted away from John.

Ted really, really feels like a slightly more cohesive version of Family Guy. While the movie doesn't have any random flashbacks, it does have wildly inappropriate humor (covering everything from obesity to Lou Gehrig's disease to 9/11), plenty of cursing, a musical number of sorts, and potshots at whatever celebrities MacFarlane feels like mocking. (A few of these celebrities show up in the movie, poking fun at themselves.) The cast (quite a few of whom are regulars on MacFarlane's carious shows) is good (though Kunis, as the most responsible person in the movie, gets the most respect and least laughs), and there are quite a few laughs to be found here. Overall, though, Ted feels far too much like a MacFarlane show (something not helped by the large number of actors from his shows) to feel original, and the initial setup of a children's story (narrated by Patrick Stewart) is abandoned to see a teddy bear cursing, using a bong, and humping everyone he can. Ted is often funny, but it's more of a long, uncensored sitcom episode than a really funny movie.

Overall grade: B-

Reviewed by James Lynch

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

Many movies that set out to mock or analyze cliches in their genre fall prey to using those same cliches eventually. This is the fate of Friends with Benefits, a romantic comedy about two buddies who decide that romance-free sex is the way to go (not to be confused with No Strings Attached, in which two buddies decide that romance-free sex is the way to go).

Friends with Benefits starts with a meet-cute, as professional headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis) winds up on an airport conveyor belt dodging luggage while waiting for Dylan (Justin Timberlake), a successful blogger from California being recruited for GQ Magazine. After Jamie gives Dylan a New York tour that has everything from famous landmarks to a flash mob, Dylan takes the job and moves here. The two become buddies and, with nothing going on in their love lives, decide that everything will be fine if they have sex once (which turns into a lot of times) with no emotional commitment or personal attachments. Of course, things get complicated (which Dylan should know, as he mentions watching Seinfeld and they've used this plot in an episode).

To round out the action, we get: Jamie's mother Lorna (Patricia Clarkson), a free spirit who's often drinking and fooling around; Dylan's colleague Tommy (Woody Harrelson), a sports writer who's very gay and very actively looking for a hook-up; and, for a serious dramatic turn, Dylan's California family, including his father (played by Richard Jenkins) who is struggling with Alzheimer's. Friends with Benefits also has too-brief cameos at the opening by Andy Samberg and Emma Stone as two people dumping the film's main characters.

Dylan and Jamie may watch and make fun of a romantic tearjerker, but Friends with Benefits winds up almost the same as that which they ridicule. Mila Kunis has a nice sense of both the acerbic and romantic as the spunky Jamie, and Justin Timberlake is far better here as a regular guy than as his nice-guy parody in Bad Teacher, but Friends with Benefits offers little new in terms of either sex or relationships (or the mixing and separation of the two). There are lots of cute moments but very few funny ones -- which is a pity for a comedy. (I do have to give props to Harrelson for his never-let-up performance.) Friends with Benefits winds up as a very typical romantic comedy.

Overall grade: C

Reviewed by James Lynch

BLACK SWAN

Professional ballet entails a lot of competitiveness -- but madness too? This is the theme of Black Swan, a none-too-subtle melodrama about sanity and Swan Lake.

Nina (Natalie Portman) is a shy member of a New York City ballet company. When its artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) retires the company star Beth (Winona Ryder), he decides the next performance will be a radical version of Swan Lake, with the lead dancer playing both the innocent, doomed White Swan and the evil, sexual Black Swan. And the lead goes to Nina.

Unfortunately, Nina has more issues than a magazine stand. She lives with her supportive-yet-smothering mother Erica (Barbare Hershey), a former dancer. Thomas tells Nina that she is technically perfect but needs more passion; he tries to bring this out through sexual comments -- and actions. New company member Lily (Mila Kunis) seems to be the opposite of Lily: less technically sound, but more passionate. And Nina may or may not be scratching and cutting herself. Then there are those pesky hallucinations...


Nina, like her new role, has multiple sides. If this isn't made clear through the dialogue, the near-omnipresent mirrors reflecting Nina's image will drive that point home. So will the jarring blasts of music and quick chords that go along with every surprise, fear, or vision that Nina has: being chased, plucking feathers out of her back, sexual encounters, etc.

Natalie Portman is a fine actor, but here the situations and dialogue seem so blown up that Black Swan is more silly than suspenseful. Since there's no real mystery or building-up of the hallucinations, there's not a crescendo of madness as much as a continuation. The dancing is beautiful, and Mila Kunis is a nice, relaxed foil to the neurotic performance of Portman, but Black Swan has too much hysterical drama to be taken seriously.

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch

EXTRACT

Mike Judge has a good comic ear for types, be they the workplace (Office Space), down-to-earth conservatives (King of the Hill) or just plain morons (Beavis and Butt-Head). Unfortunately, in his new film Extract, written and directed by Judge, the humor and insight are almost missing.

Extract centers on Joel (Jason Bateman), the founder and owner of Reynold's Extract, a soda-type product. Joel works in the office, smoothing over the various problems and worker complaints. Things are good for Joel: General Mills is considering buying out the company, and when Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) suffers a, er, mid-body injury he's willing to settle for an insurance payout. On the downside, Joel hasn't slept with his wife Suzie (Kristen Wiig) in three months; for her, the sweatpants are the same as a chastity belt. And Joel's bartender buddy Dean (Ben Affleck) is a fountain of bad advice, most of it revolving around drugs.

Enter Cindy (Mila Kunis), a young woman very willing to use her good looks to help her scam and steal whatever she can. She gets Step thinking of suing for as much as she gan get, and her flirtations with Joel make him consider Dean's advice to hire good-looking moron Brad (Dustin Milligan) to seduce Suzie so Joel can then go after Cindy without any guilt.

Unlike Judge's other work, Extract doesn't provide sympathy or interest for his characters. Instead of having comedy come from the characters, there are "funny situations" that aren't funny (like Joel coughing up massive amounts of marijuana smoke) and one-dimensional characters, from an annoying neighbor who never stops talking to Gene Simmons as a greedy lawyer. The cast is fantastic -- I've loved Bateman, Kunis, and J.K. Simmons in other work, and Wiig shows a nice timing that her SNL work must have delevoped -- but the characters aren't interesting. Extract has a few laughs here and there, but it's surprisingly disappointing.

Overall grade: D
Reviewed by James Lynch