RIFFTRAX LIVE: ANACONDA

SNAAAAAKE!  Ahem.  I've been fortunate enough not have seen Anaconda, a giant snake horror movie that somehow managed to star Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Owen Wilson.  That changed last night, thanks to the comic comments of the Rifftrax crew of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.  Rifftrax Live: Anaconda had lots of terrific comments on this terrible movie.

Before the feature, Rifftrax Live: Anaconda featured fake movie trivia and items, riffing on the Halloween short "Halloween Party," and a preview of the next Rifftrax takeover of the National Geographic channel.  After that, it was on to the wretched feature.  Most of the jokes centered on Jon Voight's inexplicable horrible accent and odd facial expression.  But there was plenty of other material to mock in the movie, from the cheap special effects of the snakes to the infamous "waterfall flowing up" to Ice Cube trying to sound and act tough in this movie.  The results were very good, as there were lots and lots of laugh-out-loud moments (not to mention frequent Owen Wilson impersonations).  Rifftrax Live: Anaconda shows that the Rifftrax trio can create so much fun with so much bad material.

Overall grade: A-
Reviewed by James Lynch

HALL PASS

Several years ago, a friend of mine complained that the British comedy Coupling was just men acting like jerks and the women barely tolerating them. Take that description, toss in some issues of extra-marital fidelity, and you have the comedy Hall Pass. If only it were funny or thoughtful...

Rick (Owen Wilson) and Maggie (Jenna Fischer) are a married couple with three kids and virtually no sex life. Fred (Jason Sudekis) and Grace (Christina Applegate) are another long-married couple, albeit with no kids. Rick and Fred love to ogle women and dream of their "glory days" of being single. When the wives have enough, they give the husbands the titular hall pass: The marriage is effectively on hold for a week, during which the women will take the kids and go up to Cape Cod for a week and the men can do anything (or, for them, anyone) without any consequences.

The guys think the hall pass is a dream come true (as do their friends, who follow them around to live vicariously through their week of guilt-free sex). The women think by removing the taboo of other women, it'll lessen the appeal of other women to men -- plus remind them that the wives aren't the sole thing standing between the guys and hot women.

This being a comedy, Rick and Fred are absolutely horrible at meeting women, let alone seducing them: There are poorly-delivered pick-up lines, unrelated run-ins with the police, some pot brownies, and going to Applebees to meet women. It's only when their buddy and true ladies' man Coakley (Richard Jenkins) shows up do the guys seem to have a chance at getting laid. Well, that and hot Australian coffee server Leigh (Nicky Whelan), who Rick keeps running into.

Meanwhile, the women seem to have more success attracting men without even trying, which makes them realize the hall pass works for them as well...

Hall Pass fails on so, so many levels. For a movie that's supposedly about open marriage and the effect of unfettered sex, its attitudes towards the genders are disappointingly old-fashioned: The men are all juvenile horndogs, while the women are always complaining and uptight. Most of the humor is, well, not funny; and for a movie written and directed by the Farrelly Brothers (who did, among other things, There's Something About Mary), there are far too few over-the-top gags. Remove the cursing and one brief bit of nudity, and Hall Pass could easily be a multi-part television sitcom.
I don't know if polygamy or open marriages can provide the material for humor, but they certainly don't in Hall Pass. This comedy has far too many cliches of the sexes, and far too little originality or laughs.

Overall grade: D-
Reviewed by James Lynch

I Spy (2002)

I Spy is a comedic look at the world of James Bond. It stars Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson, and much of it is set in Budapest (Where else could you have a spy movie but a former Eastern block country?). This film is based on a classic TV series.

Wilson plays Special Agent Alex Scott. He's had a rough start to his career, but he can get the job done even he's not exactly slick doing it. Murphy portrays Kelly Rob, an undefeated boxer who gets pressed into government service as a cover for the agent. Their mission is to recover an invisible plane that is being sold to the highest bidder in a secret weapon auction.

In order for a film such as I Spy to work, it has to be funny, as the plot is secondary, and really only is there to provide a framework for the humor. Thankfully it is. Fans of the Bond films will get a kick out of the opening scene when Wilson's character complains about other agents getting "all the cool stuff," and his gear his ten years out of date. The jokes mostly work also as Murphy coaches Wilson through a romantic interest Rachel, played by Famke Janssen. There are also plenty of good action sequences as the spies bumble through a getaway, and drive some Bimmers off of a car carrier.

At any rate, while I Spy should not be taken too seriously, as a film it mostly works. If you are looking for a James Bond parody of some sort, then check out I Spy.

Overall Grade: B

Reviewed by Jonas

Cars (2006)

Cars is a look at a rookie race car struggling on its climb to fame and fortune. It features the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, and Bonnie Hunt. It features an entire society of automobiles and other vehicles, but no humans.

The plot unfolds as the Piston Cup race ends in a truly photo finish resulting in a three way tie. The winner will be decided in a final race in California. Along the way our rookie racer, Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) falls off the flatbed, ends up in a Route 66 town, and learns a few things about himself, as well as racing. He is guided along the way, kind of like in an early Tom Cruise "formula film" by the old master, Doc Hudson, whose voice is supplied by none other than Paul Newman who is over 80 years old these days. The story mostly takes place in Radiator Springs, a Route 66 Western town that is as fascinating as any of the characters.

The really outstanding aspect of this movie is the computer animated graphics. While the story is a little trite and predictable, the awesome animation is what really held my interest throughout Cars with a level of realism that was never possible with traditional animation. As these race cars speed around the track, it looks quite realistic, and is quite a bit better than what was possible even a few short years ago.

If you want a very visually engaging film with a so-so plot, than Cars is for you, as well as the whole family.

Overall Grade: B

You, Me and Dupree (2006)

You, Me and Dupree is the most recent of the Owen Wilson films. This time he plays Dupree, a kind of "class clown" / "life of the party" that everyone loved having around growing up, but has outlived his jokes, and not aged gracefully. Dupree is the best man at the wedding who literally shows up on the post-honeymoon doorstep needing assistance. Step by step, he wears out his welcome, big time! Kate Hudson and Michael Douglas are consistently good in their supporting roles.

This movie relies heavily on physical comedy to generate its laughs. This works, for the most part, although like Dupree, starts to get a little wearing with time. There's a limit to how many disasters can occur: flood, fire, falls, broken bones- the whole gamut gets used, and then the cycle begins again. There is a story here, but the comedy takes over at multiple points. Still, I did find You, Me and Dupree an entertaining affair, just not one that I'd watch again too soon.

Overall Grade: B-

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