Romance

You know those films where the women are smart, sophisticated, beauttiful, and they’re married to idiots who don’t deserve them?  How about films where the guy keeps screwing up in comedic ways while the woman dates a string of losers that in real life she wouldn’t even give the time of day.  We’ve seen it before, and, trust me here, we’ve seen it done better.  Still Trust the Man has some likeable stars giving nice performances and a few genuinely funny moments.  Not great, not bad, it’s just kinda’ okay.

Trust the Man
2 & 1/2 Stars

Here’s everything you need to know about Trust the Man.  Every single moment in the film is done for a laugh, even the dramatic moments, and it’s not really a comedy.  We’ve got the man who’s afraid of commitment, the woman who dates all the wrong guys, the cheating husband, and the frigid wife.  What keeps the film from being an outright bore is the likeability of its stars, who do what they can with a pretty average script; they aren’t quite able to save it, but do provide some memorable moments.

Tom (David Duchovny) and Tobey (Billy Crudup) are best friends.  Tom is married to Tobey’s sister Rebecca (Julianne Moore) who is best friends with Tobey’s wife Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal).  The trouble is Tom and Tobey are typical Hollywood movie husbands who can’t help but disastrously screw up their relationship because the script tells them too.

Tom has an obsession with sex and needs more than Rebecca is willing to give.  Rather than sit down and examine the problem Tom wanders with the single mother (Dagmara Dominczyk) of his son’s classmate.  Tobey has an irrational fear of death (which is never adequately explored or explained) and a complete fear or marriage, commitment, and fathering a baby.  Well isn’t that the perfect man for Maggie to be with (Why is she with him again?).

It’s all the guys fault.  Neither of them are likable, much less lovable.  Even the supporting guys are shmucks, like Justin Bartha as a needy castmate in Rebecca’s play who keeps coming on to her.

There is no sense of continuity or real narrative to the script.  This may work in a madcap comedy, but in a not-that-light-hearted romantic dramedy, it comes of more than a little off-putting.  There are only two reasons why things happen in this film: because the script calls for them to and the writer thought it was funny.  Sadly he only bats about .500 for the film.

Other walking punch lines include Eva Mendes in a small role where she looks sexy and decides to make a play for the lifetime screw up Tobey instead of her perfectly chiseled husband… because the script calls for it.  Ellen Barkin shows up for a weird lesbian moment with Elaine because… the script calls for it.  Elaine dates an insipid folk singer (James LeGros) and ridiculous foreign man (Glenn Fitzgerald) because… the script calls for it.  Tobey and Tom cause a disruption at Rebecca’s play because… you guessed it.

The other oddity you’ll notice about writer/director Bart Freundlich is his obvious dislike and distrust of psychologists.  He gives us not one but too off-putting, unprofessional and poor examples of the profession (Garry Shandling and Bob Balaban.  Again, like so much in the film, these roles serve no real purpose except to provide attempts at awkward humor and laughs.

Not a great film; it certainly gets some nice performances out of its fine cast, but you just begin to wonder about all the little things.  With this talented a group why you aren’t viewing a much superior picture?  Why are these couples together?  Why are the two couples friends?  And perhaps most importantly, why should we care?  The film doesn’t answer any of these questions, but does deliver some humorous moments.  I can’t bring myself to recommend the film to you, but if you like this group of actors, and you keep your expectations low, you might have an enjoyable enough time. 

Yet another film about dancing.  Joy.  In this one, a thuggish young brute learns to love dance thanks to a beautiful girl.  How original!  I went into this film fully prepared to hate every frame, but despite it’s glaring errors (and it has more than a few) somehow I enjoyed myself enough to, marginally, recommend the film.  I think fans of this genre will be satisfied and enjoy themselves (and the dates they drag along may be able to enjoy themselves a little too).

Step Up
3 Stars

You’ve seen this before, we all have.  A girl falls for a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.  A classically trained dancer learns to use hip hop moves to create a new revolutionary routine that will get her into the big time.  Step Up is the latest dance film to recycle these themes.  There is little originality, and even fewer surprises, but the choreography and presence of the films leading lady make up for some, though certainly not all, of its flaws.

Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum, in a very accurate John Cena impersonation) is a thug who enjoys stealing cars, partying hard, destroying and vandalizing, and quitting anything that requires the smallest bit of effort, commitment, or time.  After breaking in and vandalizing a fine arts school with his friends, Tyler is sentenced to 200 hours of community service at the school.

While working as a janitor Tyler meets a young dance student, Nora (Jenna Dewan), in need of a partner for her showcase.  Discovering Tyler’s ability to dance the two partner up.  Nora begins to make Tyler believe more is possible, and as they work together…well, star crossed lovers from opposite sides of the tracks, you can guess where the film goes from here.

It is odd how every student in the film looks like a college graduate.  In fact the revelation that they are supposed to be high school students was shocking.  What, does high school in this area go up to the 27th grade?

Odd casting aside, the actors do their best with the roles.  Dewan is the stand-out, and based on her performance here I think we’ll be seeing much more of her in the future.

Tatum is fine as the ogre-like Tyler who spends half his time trying not to scrape his knuckles when he walks and the other half as a dance wiz.  Drew Sidora and Mario have a nice subplot (which is the only thing that feels teenage about the entire film).  And Rachel Griffiths adds some class as the stern but loving principal of the school.

The film marks the directing debut of Anne Fletcher who has worked as a dancer and choreographer in more than 30 Hollywood films.  The dance scenes are some of the best of the film.

It’s not a must see, but in terms of chick-flicks guys might be able to survive this summer, Step Up gives you more than you’d expect.  Hey, it’s got some good dancing, beautiful girls, and a good sense of humor about its subject.  The film does have some darker spots involving gangs, and violence.  These scenes don’t exactly mesh with the rest of the film but do help carry the storyline to its conclusion.  It’s Dewan’s spirit and personality, not to mention her tights-clad body in motion, that helps carry the film.  She reminds me a little of Susan Ward, and I’ll be interested in seeing where her career goes from here.

Terry Zwigoff is a small but colorful resume.  In Art School Confidential he once again adapts a Daniel Clowes comic to the screen (the also worked together on 2001’s Ghost World.  His quirky insight is definitley present here and even if the film has a few faults; if you or anyone you know has gone to art school you HAVE to see this film because the first half is priceless.  The film is out in limited release today and we’ve got the review.

Art School Confidential
3 & 1/2 Stars

Have you or anyone you’ve known gone to art school?  If the answer is yes than this deliciously on-the-nose look will have you chuckling from the get-go.  Not the funniest or most complete film of director Terry Zwigoff‘s career, but it has more than enough worth seeing to make me recommend it to you.

Jerome (Max Minghella) is the sensitive shy artist you knew in high school always sketching something on his pad.  Of course this means he got beat up quite a lot as the film aptly presents.  More than anything he wants to become a great artist. 

Jerome gets accepted into an art school and his love of art is met with the harsh realities he never saw in the brochure.  The nude model Audrey (Sophia Miles) in the brochure turns out to be smart, sexy clever and friendly but also more interested in Jonah (Matt Keeslar) who is built like a football star and creates pop culture paintings that make Jerome want to kill himself.

His professors (John Mallkovich, Jack Ong, and Angelica Huston) give him conflicting advice and his love of art is tested when classes seem to respect anything drawn or painted rather than actually examining it’s worth.  Through his new friend Bardo (Joel Moore) he learns to to notice and group his classmates into categories and also meets a crazed middle aged artist (Jim Broadbent) that gives him the frank truth about what art school really is (I dare you to defy his logic). 

Of course there are other items of interest like Jerome’s two roomates.  One (Ethan Suplee in a pretty obvious Kevin Smith parody) is obsessed with making a film on the recent serial killer who has been prowling the college and the other is so obviously gay to everyone but himself.  Oh yeah, did I mention there was a serial killer?

The first half or two-thirds of the film works really well as a comedy especially in the art school classes, students and teachers, and Jerome’s constant disappointment.  The small stabs and asides at the art world and at art schools in particular are very funny and provide all of the best moments of the film.  When the film is looking at this world it is at its best but when it starts to leave that world for the Jerome/Audrey/Jonah love triangle and the strangler storyline it starts to level off though there is some, if starkly dark, payoff with the whole thing at the end.

Although the film does eventually level off and eventually trainwrecks into an ending the movie still works because the beginning and middle are so strong.  While not as funny as Bad Santa Zwigoff does find infinite areas to joke, mock, and laugh about.  It’s not his best work but with the insights into art school and terrific supporting performances by the likes of Malkovich, Husten, and Steve Buscemi among many others are more than enough reason to see this picture.  Though not great art it’s still worth a cursory glance or two so get down to the art show when you get a chance.