Snatched

First Hit:  The film never seemed to find its purpose and the pre-release hype of comedic fun was far more than the reality.

Emily (Amy Schumer) is an unhappy desperate woman. When she gets dumped by her up and coming rock and roller boyfriend Michael (Randall Park), she must find someone to go with her to Ecuador on a non-refundable vacation. None of her friends like her enough to go with her, so she asks her mom Linda (Goldie Hawn). Linda is very security oriented and is afraid of going but gets convinced to go.

One would think that two gifted comediennes together in a film could make the circumstances of being kidnapped funny, but they don’t. Yes, there are a few lighthearted and funny moments  and scenes, but mostly it is a poorly constructed action film with attempts to make it funny.

It just didn’t work and wasn’t believable in any way, shape or form. When they meet Ruth and Barb (Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack respectively) this film might have taken a more comedic turn, however the film only used them in the end.

The bits with Jeffery (Ike Barinholtz), who was Linda’s son, were supposed to be funny. But his house bound character was poorly constructed, not believable and insipid.

Schumer was not funny and certainly not very good as an action figure. Not sure if it was the script or direction but this film failed her, or she failed the film. Hawn was worse. I have watched Hawn from the mid 1960’s and I’ve never seen her more constrained and out of place. This was not the right role for her. Sykes was OK and did her best to bring some excitement and comedy to this film. Cusack was the best thing in the film. Barinholtz was very poor and did not make his role believable. Katie Dippold didn’t write a comedic film. It was a lost action film with comediennes in the lead roles. Jonathan Levine directed this mess and did it no favors by not driving this film to either action or comedy because this didn’t work this way.

Overall: This film is mostly a waste of time.

The Night Before

First Hit:  A few sparse funny scenes in this uninteresting poorly scripted film.

There are some out-loud funny scenes but I cannot recall any of them the day after – I just remember laughing, however, most of the time I spent wondering who thought up this stuff. Low grade attempts at humor mixed in with a few heart driven points.

One of the heart felt moments was when Chris Roberts' (Anthony Mackie) mother, Mrs. Roberts (Lorraine Toussaint), tells Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to seize the moment for love if it arises and to not be afraid.

The scenes I disliked the most were with Isaac (Seth Rogen) as I didn’t find him funny – mostly low brow high-school humor. The mushroom trip he was on was not effectively shared and was not accurate to a "shroom" experience. The wearing of a large black Star of David woven into his light-blue and white Christmas sweater – was poorly contrived. His running out of the church yelling “we didn’t kill Jesus” was stupid and no one in the theater thought it funny – as there were audible groans.

The film's premise was reasonable in that Ethan’s friends, Chris and Isaac, supported him through each holiday season because his parents died early, but the execution just didn’t seem well thought out. The best part of the film were the scenes with Mr. Green (Michael Shannon) the long time drug/pot dealer.

Gordon-Levitt was fair in this poorly constructed role. Mackie was one of the better parts of the film in that he was believable. Rogen wasn’t believable stoned or otherwise and his annoying laugh made it worse. Shannon was the best part of the film, scary, insightful and thoughtful all at the same time. Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, and Evan Goldberg wrote a non-cohesive, sophomoric, mostly unfunny script – it felt like it was developed and agreed upon by committee. Jonathan Levine did little to enhance the poor script although a few of the sets were well crafted.

Overall:  I went to this film because of the dearth of new films out this week – should of stayed home.

50/50

First Hit: A surprisingly good and well thought-out film.

I’ve stated this before that I’m not a Seth Rogan fan. Here he plays the same person, himself, but this time it fits.

Seth, as Kyle, is the best friend of Adam (played Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who discovers he has cancer. He is an obnoxious friend but he is also caring in all the ways Adam's girlfriend Rachel (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) cannot be. Rachel makes an attempt to move in with Adam and assist him with this battle, but as time goes by she learns that this isn’t within her wheelhouse.

Kyle dislikes Rachel and gladly catches her having an affair and tells Adam. Rachel gets appropriately kicked out of Adam’s house. Kyle does everything he knows how to do to assist Adam through this trying time, even reading books on how to be supportive of a dying friend. He drives him to and from doctor's appointments along with trying to get himself and Adam laid using cancer as the excuse/reason.

For additional support Adam gets assigned a therapist named Katherine (played by Anna Kendrick) who is very young therapist that tries to assist Adam with his denied emotional struggle. These are the major players in this film about what happens to relationships, families, and friends when someone gets this news.

Not all things are covered in this film, but the important ones are brought forth. There is the denial, fear, and acceptance which gets expressed for everyone at some level. The strength of this film is in Gordon-Levitt’s ability to be with this character.

This film doesn’t break any new ground on the subject, but it does bring a well told thoughtful story.

Gordon-Levitt was very good as the guy who always settled for second best learning how to accept life more fully. Rogan was really good as the obnoxious friend who has a heart and does what he knows how to do to be there for his friend. Howard is elusively perfect as the girl who wants to do good but has one foot out the door and is un-thoughtful towards Adam. Kendrick is a lot like her other major role in “Up In The Air” as a smart but lacking experience and street savvy person that does learn by the end of the film. Will Reiser wrote a strong script. Jonathan Levine did a credible job of directing this story.

Overall: This was a very watchable and thoughtful film.