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Reviews
The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
'The Whole Ten Yards'
I think I'm the only one in the world who liked this better than its predecessor. I feel so honored.
'The Whole Ten Yards' starts a few years after Nine. You'd think that after marrying the girl of his dreams (how the hell did Oz get a girl like that?) and facing-off against one of the baddest mob men around, Oz'd get over that little twitchy thing. But he didn't. Oz's character progressed into that of an un-healthily frightened man, and I actually liked it. ('You're afraid of everything, Oz.' 'That is so not true.') Bruce Willis playing the protagonist, in a different fashion from the bad-ass in the first, as a girly-man is hilarious. I loved the rabbit slippers and scary-in-a-not-scary way personality.
My biggest complaint is that I hate the script. The actors did the best with what they were given, Peet still as innocent as she was in the first one, and still as funny, though Henstridge felt shoved aside and Pollack irked me. That's right, I said irked. Like I was saying, the script left a hell of a lot of unanswered questions and confused me, but I was laughing so hard I didn't even notice. I guess what I'm getting at is that this film is exactly what Perry and Willis promised it would be. They reunited, not solely because the first film was a humongous success, but because they liked each other. Pretty cool. 'You know when you laugh so hard that Coca-cola comes out of your nose...' 'That's right. We're not trying to cure cancer, just trying to make soda come out of your noise.' -Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry on 'The Whole Ten Yards' on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'.
6, for being so idiotic, I didn't even try to look for a deeper meaning.
Three to Tango (1999)
'Three to Tango'
I was bitterly disappointed with this film. I was expecting to get a deep, meaningful film that made everyone understand the homosexual community a bit more. What I got was a 'funny' film, with no real message. (A couple of positive notes include looking at Matt Perry's bum, as is always fun, and having a character share the same name as me, Amy.)
The film starts off as Oscar (Matthew Perry) and his designing partner, Peter (Oliver Platt) prepare to present their renovation design for this building to a big firm. The film gets right to the quick when the man they're being interviewed by, Charles Newman (Dylan McDermott) is placed under the misconception that Oscar is gay. Well, some random strangers I don't even know told me he's gay, so I'll believe them, and better yet, I'll have him trail my girlfriend because all gay guys are cool like that and are excellent at stealth!
Only,Oscar isn't. Not that I have a problem with Matt's, how do you say, selection of balanced-challenged characters, I'm just itching to see him stretch those real acting muscles of his (RC Story better be good..errr...). What I'm getting at is that Oscar clumsily saves Charles's girlfriend, Amy (Neve Campbell)'s art piece (that's right, she's a glass blower, but don't fall under the false impression that she'll be a lesbian and it'll just be another 'Chasing Amy'), and she immediately takes a liking to Oscar, as he does to her. Awwww...
I will admit that the chemistry between Neve and Matt was extremely enjoyable, as was the expression Matt's face when Charles told him that he knew that Oscar was 'gay'.
The whole film, Oscar pretends to be gay, just so that he can keep the big job with Charles, all the while falling in love with Amy, who loves him back. At the end, Oscar makes a speech about being who you really are, and not needing to 'hide in the closet', just summarizing what this film symbolized as I sure as hell didn't see that dark, hidden meaning (silly me! I thought it was just another romantic comedy! Now I feel dumb!). I'm sure that the 'being who you are' message didn't get to the other audience members, either.
What else could I possibly say? The two get together in the end. ('Let's get out of here.' 'I'd like that.' What? Hey! They tied that in from the beginning! How sweet!) It's a good film, and will definitely make you smile more than 'Sweet Home Alabama' (I've yet to shower that off me!).
Matt's orange hair is sexy, Oliver Platt steals the show (I hope he's not that flamboyant in real life) and Neve is the embodiment of adorable. And Dylan? I think he was played by a cardboard man half the time, actually... I should check on that.
4, because it was predictable and silly, with no real meaning, but I still smile every time I see a chicken. Rent it. It's cute, but it won't wake anyone from a coma.
Fools Rush In (1997)
'Fools Rush In'
'Fools Rush In' is probably my favorite Matthew Perry movie. It has the heart that 'The Whole Nine Yards' lacked, and the seriousness that I felt oh-so-deprived of in 'Three to Tango'. And, you know, it wasn't 'Serving Sara' at all (thank God).
This is your basic guy-meets-girl, she asks to go pee, they have a one night fling, she ends up pregnant, they get married by Elvis, you know...the whole shebang (and I promise I'll never say that again). But what I like about this film is that the characters aren't perfect. They aren't predictable, and they aren't wonderfully wholesome people.
Isabel (Salma Hayek) is blindly led by her faith and nearly lets her almost God-fearing beliefs lead her life. Basically, if this chick got a sign that she should kill you, I'd be running.
Alex (Matthew Perry) is almost the anti-Isabel, but not quite, for that would be clichéd, and this movie is anything but. Addicted to work, Alex cannot seem to comprehend that there might be something more to life.
Towards the end of this film, Isabel, the once guiding force in their relationship, has given up on it, and Alex, the work-a-holic, is willing to throw the order of his life aside for the feisty Latina. Despite coming from different cultures and leading different lives, these two characters are made for each other.
With some excellent dramatic acting from Perry (gasp) and Hayek, I think this film will leave you on edge, unless you've read this review, in which I tell you a very happy ending occurs.
7, for being complicated, without losing its simplicity (which is the simple message that love conquers all. Awwww...).
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988)
'A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon'
This is a film about a boy named Jimmy Reardon. He's at a turning point in his life, and he has no clue as to what path to take. Sound interesting? Not really.
This movie plays off a depth that is non-existent. It's hard to take the main character seriously, when I have no understanding of his view point. Jimmy is shallow and unlikable, and exactly the kind of character you don't want to portray.
I read somewhere that RP's mother strongly hinted that he take this role because he hadn't done a film for over two years. I understand that. And I know that River rose above this kind of film and was almost making works of art, before his sudden and tragic death.
All I can say about this movie is that it's trying to be intellectual, but don't by into it. Only small-minded individuals could find the sexual promiscuity of Jimmy the equivalent of 'art'.
2, just for being a RP film.