Friends With Benefits Review

Friends with Benefits is afflicted by the same problem suffered by films such as Armageddonand Deep Impact, Megamind and Despicable Me,Dante’s Peak and Volcano or A Bug’s Life andAntz (any other suggestions?). It has been released mere weeks after a similar film with the same ideas, in this instance the Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher film, No Strings Attached. In preparation for this review, I watched that film. This may have been something of a mistake as I’m now struggling to differentiate the two in my mind (to add to the confusion, it turns out that No Strings Attached was originally also called Friends with Benefits in its first draft). Needless to say then, despite the minor superiority of Friends with Benefits, if you’ve seen No Strings Attached, you probably won’t enjoy the sensation of déjà vu you’ll get when seeing this new feature.

Justin Timberlake plays Dylan, whose head is hunted by headhunter Jamie (Kunis) to come and work for GQ in New York. After he accepts and moves over from the West Coast, the two develop a strong friendship and, after some poor previous relationships, arrange to have casual sex with each other. All seems to be going well until circumstances get complicated. As the excellent Peter Bradshaw said of No Strings Attached, “you don’t need a PhD in romcomology from the University of Predictable Nonsense, formerly Predictable Nonsense Polytechnic, to guess what happens next.”

This is a shame really, as the film could have been so much better. The fact that No Strings with Benefits even ridicules predictable rom-coms (via an excellent spoof film the couple watch featuring a cameo from Jason Segel) makes it all the more annoying that the couple do in fact get together in the end (oh come on, is that really a spoiler?). You could either say the film doesn’t have the strength of its own convictions or that it’s trying to have its cake and eat it, but either way it’s frustrating. There’s even a scene, about twenty to fifteen minutes before the end, that, had the film finished there would actually have been quite poignant and affecting, but alas, there are a few more twists and turns to before the inevitable saccharine conclusion.

The reason this is so very annoying, rather than just inciting indifference is because Friends with Strings is actually quite a funny and entertaining film. It has more bite and snark than the Portman-Kutcher vehicle (though there’s nothing in it quite so brilliantly distasteful as the ‘period mix’ CD in that film) and Timberlake and Kunis are fairly convincing and likable. You get the impression that they could almost be a real couple, rather than simply rich, beautiful people repeating words they memorised off bits of paper (‘actors’ in the common parlance, I believe). Woody Harrelson also manages to steal a few scenes with as Timberlake’s brusque gay colleague. The film also goes somewhat serious – and not in a bad way – when we meet Timberlake’s dad, who is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Richard Jenkins gives a strong performance and the condition is tastefully handled with heart.

All told then, if you go in without expecting Friends with No Strings Attached to their Benefitsto break the rom-com mould (despite its threat that it might), you should enjoy it for the zippy comedy that it is. If you caught Portman and Kutcher knocking boots earlier in the year though, you may want to skip a repeat episode.

Bad Teacher Review

For those of you seeking another opinion afterthis fine review by my colleague Jez Sands, allow me to step in. Whilst Mr Sands raised very some very good and very pertinent points, I came away with a slightly different outlook on the film.

For those of you who missed Jez’s review, Bad Teacher sees Cameron Diaz star as a, um, bad teacher; a reprehensible, morally backward custodian of young minds, who after being rightfully jilted by her moneyed fiancée, sets about scamming the school where she works for as much money as possible in order to fund a boob job she believes she needs to attract another wealthy sucker (a plot so simple and politically incorrect, it’s a thing of genuine class). There are of course a would-be love interests in the form of Justin Timberlake’s clueless middle-class substitute teacher and Jason Segel’s amiable gym coach and a rival in Lucy Punch’s goody two-shoes teacher.

Cameron Diaz is hard not to like in the film. Sure, she’s playing a pretty nasty piece of work – she (hilariously) sneaks drinks at the desk, manipulates anyone within arm’s reach and could not remember her pupil’s names to save her life – but the woman’s charisma will win you over. Essential to her character’s unlikely likability is the fact that while she may be unpleasant, she is far from an idiot; in the hands of a lesser comedic talent than Diaz’s (whose abilities as a comedienne are sadly underrated), our lead character would not maintain the audience’s sympathies for much further beyond the first act.

It is these more off-beat comedies that Diaz excels in – films like her debut, The Mask, There’s Something About Mary and Being John Malkovich (if you can call that a comedy) – rather than the fluff such as Charlie’s Angels and My Sister’s Keeper that she sometimes goes for. Sooner or later, I’m sure she’ll star in some pseudo-highbrow prestige piece for which she’ll attempt for and probably win an Academy Award when her time comes around, but personally and in the long term, I reckon she’ll be more fondly remembered for these knockabout comedies.

Let’s not overlook Bad Teacher’s bad bits though – it takes way too long to start packing in the truly funny jokes, and more often than not I found myself smirking rather than belly laughing. It also drags somewhat, even for ninety minutes, with a whole load of extraneous stuff that goes on long after a fairly natural feeling end point has passed. It also feels as if there are too many pointless subplots going on that distract from us snorting at Diaz’s bad behaviour. There’s also a criminal shortage of Jason Segel, who improves every scene he’s in by a considerable factor.

That said though, I enjoyed Bad Teacher much more than I was expecting to. What I had assumed would be a fairly tame rom-com with perhaps a slight mean streak; I found a much bawdier and delightfully rude film, with much in common with the likes of Anchorman and Step Brothers. Juvenile and fairly delinquent it may be, but Bad Teacher knows how to have a good time.

The Open Road Review

Sometimes, the collective charisma of a film’s cast, or even just the star-power of one great actor can mean the difference between a boring cliché-fest and an enjoyable romp. The Open Road is a film lucky enough to boast an impressive enough cast to shrug off the drag factor of its not inconsiderable flaws.

Failing baseball player Carlton Garret is summoned to his mother’s bedside. She is suffering from a unspecified heart condition (one serious enough to be of major concern, yet mild enough for the doctors to wait several days before operating for the events of the movie to take place) and must soon undergo surgery. Katherine however, is refusing to sign her consent papers until she sees Carlton’s estranged father Kyle, a famous baseball ex-pro. Carlton flies from Texas to Ohio to track down his dad, dragging along his ex-girlfriend Lucy (who has the patience of a saint). Upon finding Kyle, the pair convinces him to fly to see Katherine; at the airport however, it becomes apparent that Kyle has ‘lost’ his ID and cannot fly. The only solution is that great cinematic stand-by: the road trip, which will also provide Kyle and Carlton with the opportunity to repair their fractured relationship.

You don’t need to be in possession of clairvoyant powers to correctly guess what will happen on the road. Will Kyle and Carlton learn to love each other again? Will Carlton and Lucy realise their mistake in breaking up? Will there be thrills, spills and a happy ending? What do you think?

Fortunately, the aforementioned charismatic cast save The Open Road from being a total wash-out and turns it into something really rather watchable. Justin Timberlake stars as Carlton, Kate Mara (127 Hours, Ironclad) as Lucy, the wonderful Mary Steenburgen (The Proposal, Step Brothers,Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Katherine and Jeff Bridges as Kyle, who frankly, you could watch in anything. Ted Danson even has a brief cameo.

Timberlake provides more evidence that he is in fact a rather capable actor, though he is less suited to his role than he was in The Social Network (in which he was about as perfectly cast as you can get) and his mid-film flip out is pretty unconvincing. Bridges brings his earthy appeal to his character and pulls off what might otherwise be some pretty stolid dialogue, had it come from the lips of a great many lesser actors. It is also interesting to note that alongside Tron Legacy, this is another film in which he plays an absent father; along with True Grit, in which he played a man who becomes a surrogate father figure, it seems these has been some thematic continuity in Bridge’s recent roles. Either that or all casting directors want him to be their dad. Mara has little to do other than be pretty, charming and longsuffering, but she does that well.

So while The Open Road will not set anyone’s world alight, it is a solid and enjoyable film, buoyed by its excellent cast. Writer-director Michael Meredith would do well to exercise a little more creativity and originality in his next project; however, as it is unlikely he’ll be able to assemble such a good combination of actors every time.

Yogi Bear Review

Before heading into the cinema to see the new Yogi Bearfilm, I am granted the privilege of meeting and greeting the various celebrities in attendance at this gala premiere. I am happy to report that Eamonn Holmes enjoyedMorning Glory and feels (in jest I assume) thatUnstoppable was overlooked by the Oscars, Chico would be most upset if Yogi Bear were to steal some chocolate from a hypothetical picnic basket and that Jackiey Budden, mother of Jade Goody, has her autobiography due out next month.

More importantly however, was the film. Yogi Bear, who made his first appearance in 1958 has been a perennial favourite in the Hanna-Barbera canon ever since. Starring in his first non-TV movie since 1964, Yogi is now voiced by Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd and his companion Boo-Boo is voiced by pop star and Social Network player, Justin Timberlake. Anna Faris co-stars, with Tom Cavanagh as the long-suffering Ranger Smith, who finds Jellystone Park threatened with closure, with Yogi’s antics poised either to save the day or ruin it.

The film was preluded by a brief and reasonably amusing Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote skit before we are treated to the live action, computer animated, 3D, Yogi Bear extravaganza. Despite my feelings of nostalgia for Yogi and Boo-Boo, I was initially slow to warm to the film, which lacks much of the charm of the original cartoons, much like the similar live action Scooby Doo films. After a while, however, the pitter patter of the banter between the characters begins to amuse and Andrew Daly’s smarmy mayor in particular raises several smiles. Aykroyd and Timberlake both seem reasonably well suited to their roles and Faris is also rather pleasant as a natural history documentary maker. The colour scheme of the film is also pleasingly cheerful and Jellystone Park looks good.

Beyond the inoffensive cast and occasional flashes of wit, however, the film suffers from a dull ‘save the forest’ eco plot and painfully average execution – you may argue that it is decent enough fare for children, but when such quality films as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Toy Story and last month’s Tangled are all competing for children’s attention, Yogi Bear doesn’t really hold a candle. And despite a healthy predisposition towards keeping the action old-school, there are several cringy moments wherein Yogi dances to Baby Got Back and the seemingly ubiquitous Don’t Stop Believin’, which feel uncomfortably modern for a bear that had his heyday in the 1960s.

So despite not being totally rubbish, Yogi Bear just isn’t quite good enough to stand out from the pack of quality kid’s cinema these days. Still, it’ll keep sprogs happy for eighty minutes and may even charm a few grownups who hold fond memories of this smarter-than-average bear.