Reviews

"Better Off Ted" chronicles the title character's business in Veridian Industries, a corporation that has a group of scientists come up with various ideas and creations to test and sell to the public. Some of these ideas include business chairs that has fabric employees find uncomfortable, yet they improve productivity because employees won't be able to daydream.

This show has gotten off at a good start. The characters are likable, and the jokes are pretty funny. Even the ideas, like when they freeze one employee just for the heck of it, are crazy and random.

A nice touch of the show is its use of stock music. It's not an original idea ("Ren & Stimpy" and "Spongebob" did it before), but like those two cartoons, the music helps the comedy, bringing more laughs.

One thing I hope for "Better Off Ted" is that it will last. Usually, hilarious shows without laugh tracks or studio audiences struggle to survive on network TV, probably because TV watchers don't seem to know what's funny unless they hear a laugh. The show's creator, Victor Fresco, also created "Andy Richter Controls the Universe", a really good comedy that was unfortunately canceled due to low ratings. Hopefully, more people will tune in to this show, along with its side-partner, the very funny "Scrubs". It's entertaining, and it has potential.

Out of curiosity, I saw "Disaster Movie" online. Man, curiosity can be a bad thing at times.

I'm going to say it right off the bat: this movie is awful. It really amazed me at how little effort was put into this mess.

Instead of actually parodying actual disaster movies, writers/directors Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer made the insipid decision to instead make references (not jokes) to nearly every movie that was released that summer. It's easy to see that "Disaster Movie" was a rushed production, because most of the movies they supposedly riff on weren't even released when they were shooting! This means that F&S just saw the trailers to "Juno", "Alvin & The Chipmunks", "Kung Fu Panda", "High School Musical", "Hancock", "Love Guru", "Speed Racer", "Wanted", "You Don't Mess With the Zohan", "Indiana Jones", "Superbad", "Narnia", "Dark Knight", "The Incredible Hulk", "Iron Man", and "Sex & The City", then decided to craft gags around them. Smart, isn't it? It's from this tactic that shows how much F&S care about the moviegoer's intelligence. This is insulting. The only movie they use that's actually a disaster movie is "Twister" (complete with a horrible CGI created tornado).

I didn't have high expectations for "Disaster Movie", thankfully. I do enjoy spoofs, and I am a proud fan of offbeat/slapstick comedy. That being said, the movie failed to even do slapstick right. The only scenes that made me laugh was the Chipmunks segment and when the Jumper landed on Caspian's sword. Also, Nicole Parker as Giselle got some chuckles from me.

And...that's it. A few moments out of 70 minutes. Now, correct me if I'm wrong: isn't a spoof, and a comedy in general, supposed to have a medium-to-high level of funny scenes and jokes? I plan on becoming a filmmaker soon, creating my own comedies. For me and any other person who wants to make comedies, this movie is the perfect example of how NOT to make a spoof or a comedy. The fact that LionsGate thought this was fit for theatrical release boggles the mind. Even a baby would think it's terrible.

"Disaster Movie" is an unfunny, desperate, lame excuse to cash in on the parody scene. Friedberg and Seltzer should be ashamed of themselves. The script is terrible, and the directing and editing has no sense of timing. I feel bad for the cast; they might not get better work because of this on their resumes.

For those who are curious to see this movie, don't. Just... no. In fact, see Airplane!, a spoof that makes fun of ACTUAL DISASTER MOVIES and knows what it's doing.

This is quite possibly the worst comedy I've seen. Unspeakably bad.

I saw this episode about 4 times after it aired, and also downloaded the episode on my SanDisk.

This episode was hilarious. Ted was a crack-up, the Stacy flashbacks were laugh out loud funny, especially Turk's. The subplot with the Janitor and the fish is classic surreal comedy. When the fish talked and hit the high note, I lost it. Along with Turk's super fart and JDs out-loud thought after-wards.

It also seems like when they get a veteran "Scrubs" director back to direct, things get back on track. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the few who have enjoyed this season so far. Chris Koch (the "My Screw Up" and "My Female Trouble" episodes) did a great job with directing, especially the Janitor/Roger scenes. He gives them a great feel of weirdness that sells it (the angles, extreme close-ups and low shots of the Janitor) and makes it funnier than what it could have been. All in all, along with "My Musical", it's one of the best episodes of the season.

Tonight, I saw "Freddy Got Fingered" on YouTube. After viewing the film, I realized how on-the-money these critics are about it. It's a mostly bad comedy, probably only fully enjoyable to die-hard fans of Tom Green, who can be funny, but only in small parts. He is mostly unfunny and annoying here.

However, there were some moments that made me laugh, mostly those that were in the commercials, such as "the backwards dance", "the sausage song", the "cheese helmet", the opening (that is, until Tom out of nowhere plays with a horse's penis) and a random cameo by Shaq.

But these are overshadowed by gross gags that are just not funny and completely unnecessary. Was there really a need for scenes of cutting open a deer, licking a open wound, swinging a baby by its umbilical cord (which by the way, Green cuts with his teeth), a laugh-less running gag about a little boy being injured, and shooting his maniac father (Rip Torn) with elephant semen? I don't think so. The film's title, by the way, concerns Green's character Gord framing his father for molesting his brother, Freddy, during a therapy section. Could someone tell me how is this funny? If anything, these scenes reveal how mentally whacked Green is.

What amazes me, like the many other critics, is that "Fingered" was greenlighted by Fox, with nationwide ad campaigns and in many theaters while a funny silly comedy like "Kung Pow" was treated like dirt.

"Freddy Got Fingered" could have been a hilarious dumb comedy, but it ends up being just DUMB, and not in a good way. I'm a fan of blissfully silly comedies, but this movie had the opportunity to be funny, and it blew it.

Too bad.

I thought "The Pink Panther" was funny throughout, despite what the critics say (is there some kind of law for critics to hate comedies and family films?) I saw the original movie before seeing this one, and it was a well-done introduction to the series. However, the wacky slapstick is only in small doses. I'm a slapstick fan, so it was a bit disappointing. The new prequel, however, is crammed with slapstick, so I enjoyed this movie more than the original (yes, I said it!) Steve Martin pulled off a wacky performance as Jaques Clouseau, a former gendarme (police officer) who is promoted to Inspector by Chief Dreyfus (Kevin Kline), who plans to take full credit of the case of the missing Pink Panther diamond to win the Medal of Honor. Clouseau takes the case, teamed up with assistant Ponton (Jean Reno), who is sent by Dreyfus.

The movie is a fine addition to the series, and a good tribute. Martin is hilarious, and his cartooning French accent and physical comedy never fails to get a laugh. Shawn Levy, who previously teamed up with Martin in "Cheaper by the Dozen", doesn't top Blake Edwards in comic directing, but he can still set up good gags, even some you didn't see coming (the chandelier, globe, and an exploding food stand comes to mind). The slapstick is done well, too. Beyonce's performance is not as bad as everyone says, but it's not perfect.

If you want to enjoy good comedy, see "The Pink Panther". If you want to follow what the critics said, well, you're missing out.

This installment of the "Pink Panther" series was a good romp.

Italian comic Roberto Benigni is Jaques Gambrelli, the son of Inspector Clouseau, who has to save a princess from being taken by criminals. Gambrelli, however, carries a lot of traits from Clouseau, including giving Chief Inspector Dreyfus a hard time.

"Son" doesn't quite measure up with the other films: Series director Blake Edwards seems to lose some of his talent of choreographing slapstick, and the story has nothing to do with the diamond. However, there are still enough funny moments, and Benigni gives a good performance. The opening credits are funny too, presenting Bobby McFerrin's strange scat version of Henry Mancini's theme song, while the animated Pink Panther and Gambrelli chase each other. The movie is not a disaster like most say, and it isn't brilliant, but it will still make you laugh. That accomplishment is good enough.

Futurama is the best show since the yellow family down at 742 Evergreen Terrance! It's funny and contains hidden jokes. FOX moved this show and other comedies around the schedule like a chessboard thus causing viewers to miss it every single week. 7PM?? Why did they want this show to die? It was worth seeing for Fry's discovery of the future, Leela battling something or avoiding Zapp, Bender doing hilarious things, Zoidberg being a loser, and the Professor saying "Good news everyone!" Well, at least, we would always have DVDs and Adult Swim to look forward too despite no new episodes unless a Family Guy-like miracle happens. Season Four was sort of a bust compared to the others since FOX was canceling it and the writers was rushing story lines so the show could end happily. If you don't believe me, try to watch those "emotional episodes" such as Jurassic Bark and the series? finale. At least those "episodes" beat the recent episodes of The Simpsons. Why don't they just cancel that now and focus on bringing this show back? When you have the chance, watch Futurama, Family Guy, and the Aqua Teen Hunger Force every Monday to Wednesday from 11pm to 12:30am on Adult Swim!

I can never get that catchy theme song out of my head, and I'm glad I can't. It's great...and so is the show! It's about a hapless dog walker who walks a talking dog for a rich couple, the catch is that HE only knows he can talk, although a scientist nearly did in an episode. Corneil is the dog, while Bernie's the dog walker. Usually, there curiosity gets both of them in trouble, like when Corneil thought a neighbor was Dracula, or how Bernie tries to be friend with cool kid Romeo. As you can guess, however, Bernie gets into the most trouble although Corneil always warns him with the memorable line "Bernie, watch my chops..." The animation is pretty bizarre, but we're not talking Yakkity Yak/Pelswick/Rocko bizarre, but bizarre. You can see the show for yourself if you have the Nicktoons channel: Its on weeknights at 8, 8:30, & 11pm before The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Grade: A-

During my trip in a youth leadership forum, I was channel surfing until I found "Tommy Boy" on TBS. Since I have never seen this film before, I wanted to check it out. My roommate, who have already seen this, told me, "This movie is a classic." After seeing the whole movie, I came to the conclusion that he was right.

"Tommy Boy" is constantly funny from beginning to end, thanks to the comedic duo of Chris Farley and David Spade. Farley is a riot as the title character, a spastic doofus who just sails through life as if it wasn't important. His slacker-esqe ways soon come to a halt when his father (Brian Dennehy), a wealthy "Break Pads King", dies of a heart attack on his wedding day. This leads Tommy, with the help of his sarcastic childhood friend Richard (David Spade), to hit the road to sell enough break pads to save the company.

The main reason "Tommy Boy" works are the funny performances from the lead cast. Farley is the funniest person in this movie, the second funniest person being Spade and the third being Rob Lowe as the film's villain who has bad luck. Another funny guy is Dan Aykroyd as Ray Zalinsky, a well-known auto parts extraordinare.

Another reason the movie works is the large amount of jokes. Chris Farley has hilarious slapstick moments, and David Spade has funny snide comments and one-liners. The gags in the movie (some which involves a deer and a airplane bathroom) are laugh-out-loud funny, thanks to director Peter Segal (Naked Gun 33 1/3), writers Bonnie & Terry Turner

(3rd Rock From the Sun, That 70s Show), and the cast.

"Tommy Boy" is a really funny movie, although for some unknown reason most film critics (including Roger Ebert) find it horrible and unfunny. (I wonder when their sense of humor died.) I recommend "Tommy Boy" for those who are great fans of comedy. Thank you very much, roommate.

Based on the Emmy-winning, yet unfortunately short-lived TV show, "Teacher's Pet" is a colorful, witty animated family comedy that would amuse even those who never heard of the series.

The story starts off at summer vacation (Which is weird, since this film was released in January), with super-perky mother/teacher Mrs. Helperman taking her son, Leonard, to Florida("Jersey with palm trees") when she is nominated for a N.E.A.T.O. (an award for teachers). When Spot is abandoned at home, he's sad, until he discovers a crazy scientist who thinks he can turn animals into people.

Disguising as his school alter-ego Scott Leadready II, Spot hitches a ride to Florida with Leonard and Mrs. Helperman and finds the scientist, Dr. Ivan Krank.

...And the fun continues.

"Teacher's Pet" is a really good film, filled with the wild and weird animation of popular artist Gary Baseman. There are also many tuneful songs and funny jokes and gags, including the "Pinocchio" parody in the film's opening. The voice cast, which includes Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammar, Mary Jo Rupp, and Jerry Stiller, does very good vocal talents here.

Unfortunately, Disney treated this film like trash; they didn't give it a big ad campaign nor a good film release, which led this film to flop at the box office. Despite this, "Teacher's Pet" is an enjoyable yet sadly underrated film.