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thedon1977
Reviews
Yes, Dear (2000)
just sort of there
I work for a local TV station, which airs this show in syndication. Two times a day, actually. Needless to say, I've seen just about every episode of this sitcom, most of them 3 or more times. When you say that you're confused as to why this show has remained in a primetime slot for 6 years running, well, I'm right there with you. There's just practically nothing in this show that hasn't been done somewhere before, with better actors. Think about it in this sense. We all knew it was Courtney Cox's name on the bank account at home, but she convinced us she was "Monica." Do you watch "24" and think "Looks like David from 'the Lost Boys' is gonna save the day!" No. Why? Because Kiefer Sutherland is able to convince his audience that he is, indeed, "Federal Agent: Jack Baur." I could go on forever here. Ted Danson as "Sam Malone." Michael Richards as "Kramer"
heck, even the Cosby kids were convincing.
The cast of "Yes, Dear" are just that... cast members reading cue-cards. And boy, can you tell. Next time you watch it, take note of the fact that (unless it's a guest like Tim Conway) the actor is almost never looking at the person they're speaking to. Nope. They're looking down at their shoes. Especially Anthony Clark. But a lot of it has to do with the writing. In a lot of cases, the lines are just too darn long. I mean, you can actually hear the actors get winded as they struggle to push out these 40-word sentences hoping that the audience will get this incredibly unoriginal joke that could have been funnier and easier to get out if the writers had taken the time to sit down and edit a few needless words out of a line that's so excessively long that you've forgotten just what in the heck I was talking about anyway. Another post mentioned that the children are poorly coached as well. You got it. A 3 year old may struggle a bit, but these kids are like 8 years old now. I know they're just kids, but after they look at the camera 3 or 4 times during a single line, I lose my patience. They're just plain awful.
I will say that the show is good at laughing at itself, in other words, it doesn't take itself very seriously. So it's pretty hard to hate it. But it's just a generally boring show, with tired comedy and uninteresting characters. And why are they uninteresting? Because unlike the Friends, the Cheers gang, the Huxtables and others
these characters don't evolve whatsoever. Their lives don't really change. I mean, say I watch some random episode of "Friends," for instance. Even if I'm only kinda familiar with the show, I'll have an idea what season I'm in, based on what's happening to any given character. If I see Monica and Chandler sharing a bed, for instance, I know I'm 5 or so seasons into the plot. If I see that Theo still lives in his room upstairs, I know I'm in the early seasons of Cosby. But with Yes, Dear, it doesn't seem to matter. Again, nothing really happens to any of these people. And no, adding another kid to the mix doesn't change anything. It's just another 4 year old reading a cue-card. Sometimes that worked in sitcoms, but not here. There's PLENTY of rugrats in this show, and they all may as well be wearing bags over their heads, because they're all the same uninteresting kid. Again, just like the other entries, I'm amazed this show hasn't been given the axe yet.
Date Movie (2006)
exactly what I expected...
To start off, I knew exactly what I was getting into by choosing this film. My girlfriend and I saw this about 2 weeks ago. We'd been dating for awhile, and realized that we had yet to see a movie together. We come from a fairly uneventful town known as Knoxville, TN, which is severely lacking in things to do (unless you're into "frat-boy" type clubs). But about a year ago, they built this HUGE theater with 20 or so screens. So it's not so much that "Date Movie" was a bad film, but rather, in a list of roughly 20 films, it was the only thing we found that looked remotely enjoyable. How sad is that? Anyway
As far as the film goes, it breaks down like this. For every laugh (and to be fair, there are some), you have to sit through roughly 15-20 minutes of nothing in between. While I'm sure I'm in the minority here, I thought the stuff with the puppet cat was pretty funny. Unoriginal? Sure. But what can I say? Call me a moron, but I got some laughs out of it. But I found myself wishing I was watching a whole movie about this cat, because unoriginal as it may be, it was a VERY convincing puppet. Think about it. Coming this summer
"Jinxers!" This cat could go on an adventure with other animal friends, kinda like a "Milo and Otis" parody or something.
The rest of the movie, however, was worse than when the SNL cast is in the middle of a skit, no one is laughing, and they still have 12 minutes to fill before a commercial break. I totally agree with one of the previous reviews, in that the jokes are uninspired, and just flat out make no sense whatsoever. I mean, I could whip out my camcorder, run around my house farting and burping, post the AVI on the internet, and I'd get about the same reaction. Again, pretty sad, no? It should also be noted that sitting in front of us was a group of kids (about 5 or 6 of them, the oldest of which couldn't have been more than 13), and they weren't laughing AT ALL. Maybe because they're more amused by the jokes they tell to each other in their grammar school cafeteria. So they've either got the next Chris Farley sitting at their table during lunch, or this movie just sucks that bad.
Stay home.
Elf (2003)
Possibly the worst attempt at comedy I've ever seen.
I've read most of the other comments on this movie, and I guess I'm just missing something not only about the movie, but about Will Ferrel in general. I guess this movie is alright for fans of his, but from "Elf" to "Old School" to "Roxbury" to SNL, it seems to me that Ferrel's comedic talent is viewed as WAY more original and hysterical than it really is. I've just never seen the guy do anything that hasn't been done somewhere before, and better. As far as the film, I think it's a stretch to say that it's a "star-studded cast." I mean, James Caan is awesome, but can you name anything he's done in the last ten years? Bob Newhart? I'm sure his phone is just ringing off the hook. It's just sad that this is what SNL comedians do after their run on the show is over. Look at the SNL stars of the past that went on to bigger and better things. Dan Akroyd, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, etc. Just seems that all the SNL stars of the past ten years just end up doing crap like "Elf" or "The Ladies Man" every other year, and a few cartoon voices on the side. Sorry, I just don't think Ferrel is ever going to be a bigger star than he is now.
Scary Movie 2 (2001)
would've found it hilarious if I was a 5 year old
While I was disappointed in this film, I must say that I wasn't surprised either. The original "Scary Movie" was quite hilarious in the theater, but had no re-watch value at all. As far as "Scary Movie 2", I rented it because I absolutely HATED "What Lies Beneath." So any movie that poked fun at it was worth my time indeed. Boy, was I wrong. Plus (sorry to say, but...) Marlon Wayans is a moron. Just look at the scene where he rips out a page of a textbook and rolls a joint with it....and need I say more?