Bad Moms

First Hit:  Although it was quite crass at times, there were more than a few laughs, which made this film worth watching.

The story follows Amy (Mila Kunis) as she is taken advantage of by her young, uninformed, boy boss because she shows up each day although she only works their part time.

She has this demanding job, is a mom doing all the mom type running round, tries to stay active with the PTA, and wants to be a good wife. Her primary focus is to help her kids, including doing their school work, so her kids get good grades. After dropping the kids off at school, she shows up to work and is the only grown up in the company.

Her husband casually works, and Amy catches him, one day, having skype sex with a woman he’s never met. This online relationship has been going on for 10 months. She kicks him out.

The pressure to be a good mom and be active in the PTA, led by Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) is fierce. Amy meets and bonds with Carla (Kathryn Hahn) and Kiki (Kristen Bell), two other moms who struggle with the pressures of motherhood.

Carla is divorced and is man hungry. This is where most of the film’s crassness comes from. Carla is foul mouth and man hungry. This is the largest detriment to the film. It might have been better if this character was either cut or the role toned down somewhat.

Kiki, on the other hand becomes empowered through the film and this is nice to see. The three of them are fed up with the power that PTA President Gwendolyn and her henchwomen Stacy (Jada Pinkette Smith) and Vicky (Annie Mumolo) exude with prissiness and entitlement based on money and what they think is right for everyone.

The PTA is the battle ground and Amy decides to challenge Gwendolyn for the presidency of the organization. The film has lots of scenes that show the PTA in all its glory. It shows women deciding to take their lives into their own hands while juggling their children, and their lives outside of school.

I did think the crassness of Carla was overdone and had me wanting to cut her lines. I thought Amy’s relationship with her kids Jane and Dylan (Oona Laurence and Emjay Anthony respectively) was a strong part of the film. The most touching part of the film were the credits, as the actresses and their moms were revealingly interviewed.

Kunis was very good and her ability to carry multiple looks (mom, party girl, and responsible workmate) were strong. Hahn was good and I disliked the script for her. The man and sex hungry woman with a foul mouth didn’t work for me. It never works for me male or female. Bell was wonderful. She brings an engagement to her roles that is always watchable. Applegate was very good and she clearly knew this role. Laurence, for me, was the star of the film. It was a minor role, yet what she brought to it how she engaged each scene was wonderful. Anthony was good as the son trying to figure out his path now that dad was gone. Smith was strong as a henchwoman. Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, together, wrote and directed this film and outside of the overt crassness, it captured some of the life of moms.

Overall:  For the most part my experience was positive, but it wasn’t a great film.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

First Hit:  You’ve read it from me before and again here – I’ve got to stop seeing stupid inane Will Ferrell films.

This film is not only inane; it is not funny except in very few places. What’s worse is that not one character is interesting, nor is any one believable with a partial exception of Christina Applegate (as Ron Burgundy’s wife Veronica).

The depth of this film is about as deep as tissue paper.

The premise is that Burgundy (Ferrell) is fired from his news job, kicks around with different stuff but gets a chance to become part of a 24 hours news network. To make his program popular he reports car chases and the like.

At the end of the film, he admits that what he was reporting wasn’t really news and the same statement bodes for this film – what he is doing here isn't a film – it is a mess.

Ferrell is Ferrell there is no acting just him acting stupidly. Applegate was the only person on the screen that was remotely believable. Steve Carell (as Brick Tamland) is one of Burgundy’s news team is occasionally funny (owner of the most laughs in this film) but I don’t understand why he would take a role like this. Paul Rudd (as Brian Fantana) as another one of Burgundy’s team, is wasted. David Koechner (as Champ Kind) as the last of Burgundy’s team is also a wasted role. Kristen Wiig in a small role as Tamland’s newly found girlfriend was OK and engaging. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay wrote this sophomoric script and McKay directed this mess, messily.

Overall:  I need to stay home and not see Ferrell films as they ARE a waste of my time.

Hall Pass

First Hit: A better than average comedy.

The premise of Hall Pass is that two married men, who like to fondly remember they college days as ladies men, get a free week away from their marriage.

The wives think that by giving the men Hall Passes they will realize they have it best with their current wives. Rick (played by Owen Wilson) and Fred (played by Jason Sudeikis) are the husbands married to Maggie (played by Jenna Fischer) and Grace (played by Christina Applegate) respectively. When they receive their Hall Pass they spend their time with their friends (who want to watch them get laid), at odd places like Applebee’s to try to pick up women.

The film is mostly about their haphazard attempts to find women to sleep with. The scenes are out-loud funny with a ring of truth running through it all. The women also discover that by granting a Hall Pass to their husbands that they’ve also given themselves a Hall Pass. What happens to Maggie and Grace is with more intent and more calculating than the men.

Wilson is in one of his better roles here. He just isn't a smart-alecky guy. Here he is more controlled and through this control he is actually funnier. Sudeikis is, at times, the over the top guy. The scene of him masturbating in his car is pretty off the wall and funny. Fischer is very good as Wilson’s wife who has to rediscover her love. Applegate is wonderful as Sudeikis’ wife. She is sexy, smart and is an excellent casting choice. Nicky Whelan plays a coffee shop girl that Wilson is infatuated with and she does a good job of being that woman. Richard Jenkins is really funny as a character named Coakley who is the Wilson's and Sudeikis' sex and woman mentor. Pete Jones and Peter Farrelly wrote this very tight and funny script. Bobby and Peter Farrelly co-directed this film very tightly and with a real bent to bring out the real funny aspects of married men.

Overall: This was an unexpected joy because it kept its reins in enough to make it both funny and with a point.

Going the Distance

First Hit: Drew Barrymore and Justin Long make this film work in many ways.

Barrymore plays Erin, who is a writing graduate student at Stanford University doing a summer internship at a New York City newspaper called The Sentinel. While there, she happens upon Garrett (played by Justin Long) who is sitting and moping to his friends about the girl who just walked out on him.

His friends, Dan and Box (played by Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis respectively) listen to his bemoaning all the time because he never really commits to a girl and they often end up in a bar having some beer lamenting his misfortune.

He and Erin find they have things in common and end up having a few drinks, then spend the night together. She tells him the next day she only has 6 weeks left in town and therefore doesn’t want to do anything serious. She also explains that she has already once followed a man around the US only to lose sight of her life and she won’t do this again.

As you would expect, they fall in love, have a long distance relationship and spend the rest of the film finding out a way to be together.

What worked about this film was the dialogue. It was crisp, open and very much built on today’s ideas and ideals. I also thought that, as a couple, they were well matched and seemed to fit both physically and emotionally.

The other characters, Dan, Box, and Erin’s sister Corrine (played by Christina Applegate) were extremely useful to the plot, dialogue and movement of the film.

Barrymore was great, open, fully charged and engaging as Erin. She seems to gaining more maturity and strength personally which results in deeper characters. Long was in one of his better roles. He usually is the calm, cool and collected guy, who is clearly in-charge of his feelings, but here there is a movement to expose himself more and with Barrymore there was a connection which he didn’t hide. Day and Sudeikis were perfect amusing foils to Long and gave the film some of its funniest moments while also making sure there was some truth to the whole story. Applegate was a joy to see as the Barrymore’s older sister. She was vulnerable, possessive, controlling and supportive at all the right times. Geoff LaTulippe wrote a strong script while Nanette Burstein did a great job with both the story and the characters.

Overall: This was a well done romantic funny film and even though we all know the ending long before it arrives, it was a fun ride.