Hi friends! i hope you are all doing well. I’ve been very busy covering Sundance and a million other things but I have watched a lot of non-Sundance movies as well, which means there is lots to update (some of these I watched for my upcoming 2024 romance ranking so look forward to that!)

YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED-

Most of my readers know I am always going to be pulling for the success of the romantic comedy. It is beyond depressing to see the genre be almost universally either forgotten or sent immediately to streaming or cable tv. This is why I took time out of my Sundance schedule on my birthday and went to the theater to watch You’re Cordially Invited. Unfortunately the movie did not reward my efforts with an enjoyable film.

The biggest problem with this movie is writer/director Nicholas Stoller (who has made some fun movies in the past) seems to have forgotten what makes a romantic comedy work. The biggest key factor is we have to like the lead characters at least a little bit and there has to be some degree of chemistry. Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon fail spectacularly on both these fronts in this film. It leaves the supporting cast to try and ring whatever humor they can out of the scenes. It seems like the movie wants us to judge Reese’s family but that’s hard to do when she’s the one being judgmental!

In the end the biggest problem is it’s just not funny. It might have worked if Stoller had kept Reese and Will as unlikable adversaries throughout the movie as a dark comedy but trying to sell them as a love match is completely ridiculous. He destroyed her sister’s wedding and then literally tried to kill her with an alligator. Give me a break! You’re Cordially Invited is unfortunately a movie to be uninvited from.

Frown Worthy

DOG MAN-

There perhaps is no studio more inconsistent than DreamWorks but when they hit they really hit ala The Wild Robot or Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Their latest Dog Man isn’t on that level but it is a fun zany story families will enjoy.

With such a bizarre premise (based on the novels by Dave Pilkey) it’s amazing the movie works as well as it does. Ostensibly it’s about a dog that is merged with a man to create a super dog man type character. They face off against the evil Petey who has an adorable clone mini-Pete to help him in his villainous plans.

The animation is by the same team that did the Captain Underpants movie (also from Pilkey) and there are even some CU easter eggs scattered throughout Dog Man. There are times that it goes too far and becomes too chaotic but those elements are countered by themes of friendship and kindness in the script.

Dog Man should be entertaining for kids and clever enough to entertain adults. Especially if you are a fan of the books you’ve got to see this in theaters.

Smile Worthy

HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON-

To prepare for my 2024 romance ranking I had to watch the unusual film Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person which is a charming horror comedy about a teenage vampire who hates killing people for food so she decides to find someone who is suicidal to be her ‘victim.’ This turns out to be a young man named Paul and the 2 have a relationship together.

If you like movies like Warm Bodies or Anna and the Apocalypse than you’d probably like this movie. Sara Montpetit is charming as Sasha and she has excellent chemistry with Félix-Antoine Bénard’s Paul. Your Monster is a similar movie that came out last year and I enjoyed both of them. It was a good year for romantic comedy horror!

Smile Worthy

LOVE HURTS-

When I go into a movie like Love Hurts I know I am stepping outside of my comfort zone. Super violent movies are usually not my favorite but when they are done well I can enjoy them. I enjoyed Strange Darling last year and had it as one of my favorite movies of the year and that had severed limbs and other violent scenes. Anyway, Love Hurts is admittedly not normally my thing but it did not win me over like other films have done.

I do appreciate the film is a lean 83 minutes and so it doesn’t feel bloated like so many action films today. That said, it still feels very repetitive with the action and the narrative is scattered all over the place making the connection with Ke Huy Quan’s character challenging and the action less compelling. I hate to say it but Ariana DeBose is awful in this film, and I’m beginning to wonder if she belongs more on the stage than screen (outside of West Side Story of course.) At the very least her team has not been picking good projects for her and her acting has been flat and uninspired in this and other films.

If you love gross over-the-top action you might enjoy Love Hurts more than I did but the script wasn’t there, making the whole film underwhelming.

Frown Worthy (We see Adam Hurtig as a homebuyer in a few scenes. I interviewed him here.)

LONELY PLANET

As part of my romance ranking I also caught up with Lonely Planet which premiered on Netflix last October. Even though I was late getting to this movie I was hopeful it would be a hidden gem because the stars Laura Dern and Liam Hemsworth are very likable and writer/director Susannah Grant has written some wonderful films like Ever After and Erin Brokovich. Unfortunately this film ends up on the long list of forgettable Netflix romances.

Part of the problem is Dern and Hemsworth have no chemistry together despite some steamy scenes. The spark just isn’t there but they aren’t given enough time to be unique and interesting characters. It’s just one bland scene after another with nothing to stand out or get invested in. I wish Lonely Planet was better but aside from Morocco looking nice there isn’t much here to recommend.

Frown Worthy

I’M STILL HERE-

When Oscar nominations came in one of the big surprises for me was I’m Still Here in for Best Picture as well as International Film and Best Actress. I had missed this one during awards screening season but finally got the chance to see it in the theaters this week and it turned out to be a film worthy of its nominations. I’m Still Here is a moving true story that is beautifully made and acted.

The film is based on a true story about a Brazilian woman named Eunice Paiva who in 1971 is devasted when her husband is arrested and subsequently disappears. Eunice not only has to lead her large family but becomes a lawyer so she can help fight the fascist regime and continue to look for her husband.

The cast for I’m Still Here is the its greatest asset. Fernanda Torres might win the Oscar and if she did it would be deserved. She’s incredible here as is her real life mother Fernanda Montenegro who plays the older version of Eunice. The whole family is very well cast and director Walter Salles creates a real sense of community and chemistry in every scene.  It really feels like this is a family and that helps us be invested in what is happening to them.

The pacing can be a bit laborious in this film but there are so many positive aspects I can forgive it being a slower-than-needed burn. I’m Still Here probably won’t be in theaters for long so take the chance you have now to see this wonderful family drama.

Smile Worthy

So there you have it. What have you been watching? I would love to hear.

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