Comedy: Hot Rod

Hot Rod (2007)

SNLer Andy Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a manchild that believes being a stunt man is his birthright. Unfortunately, his stunt vehicle is a piece of shit moped, and his dead father wasn't actually a stunt man. Sissy Spacek actually plays the mother in this typical SNL-type slapstick comedy, with Ian McShane playing Samberg's abusive stepdad, Frank.

A good portion of the movie focuses on Rod's goal to raise money for a heart transplant for Frank. Rod despises Frank so much that he wants to save his life so Rod can finally kick Frank's ass! Fellow SNLers Bill Hader and Jorma Taccone costar as members of Rod's team. Hader's slacker grease-monkey persona definitely added humor to the movie, as did Danny R. McBride's character Rico, who is the muscle of the team.

After reading that the budget on this movie was around $25 million, and that the part of Rod was originally written for Will Ferrell, my opinion of this movie sank. It was just that typical quirky character based comedy coming out of the 30 Rockefeller crowd for the last couple of decades. Since I'm actually a fan of those types of comedies, and there are actually a few knee slapping scenes, I'll have to say

ahhhhh, it was okay

Comedy: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)

I could have sworn that there were some complaints about this movie being offensive, and some scenes taken out of context would certainly seem insensitive. However, I think this was necessary to get to the heart of the typical Sandler fan.

As we all know, every movie he has been in and/or produced recently has been a romantic comedy. This was no different, since there was a romantic connection between Sandler's character and the Jessica Biel character. However, this movie focuses way more on Chuck and Larry's "Bromance" than the love story between Sandler and Biel's characters. (btw, this movie is a must see for any Biel fans, she shows a lot of skin)

I liked this movie, but I like most Happy Madison movies. After watching it, I don't know if this was promoting gay marriage or domestic unions for straight people. Besides the typical Sandler humor, there's a funny backstory about Kevin James's son in the movie.

this was good

My Top Ten

Here are my top 10 favorite movies ever. These will likely change, as great movies are made often. Here's my list, from 10 counting down to 1:

10. The Commitments (1991)
An Irish music fan starts an American Soul cover band, in Northern Dublin. Hilarity, and amazing talent, does ensue. I couldn't find an English language trailer, so here's "da fookin short version":


9. Wedding Crashers (2005)
The comedic team of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, in conjunction with Isla Fisher's performance as the obsessed nymphomaniac, perfected this movie. And Rachel McAdams is WAAAY hotter as a brunette:


8. Easy Rider (1969)
Motorcycles, drugs, hippies, drugs, Jack Nicholson, drugs, and amazing motorcycle ride panoramics. Couldn't find a trailer for this one, but here's a great monologue by Jack:


7. The Last Starfighter (1984)
Can you imagine if you beat a video game, which just happened to be a training module utilized to find "gifted" starfighters? Imagine if you were then swept up to defend the galaxy.


6. Swingers (1996)
You're money, baby. No trailer available, so here's the Gretzky scene.


5. Grandma's Boy (2006)
A Happy Madison film without Sandler, starring Allen Covert, who everyone knows from all of the other Sandler films. People who've seen this know exactly what I'm talking about. Sandler can't be in it because marijuana smoking is extremely prominent in this movie. Here's the DDR challenge scene.


4. The Last Dragon (1985)
"Who's the baddest mofo lowdown 'round this town?" This movie made me want the glow.


3. Dazed and Confused (1993)
I was 1 year old in the year this movie was set, but I graduated from high school the summer this came out, hence my love of this movie.


2. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
Hair Pie! This movie is classic. And now the best part of the movie:


1. The World's Fastest Indian (2005)
I'm going to go 200 mph on a motorcycle because of this movie. This is a true story.

Comedy: The Specials

The Specials (2000)

James Gunn wrote and co-starred in this movie about a few days in the life of the "7th Best Superhero Team" in the world. James Gunn is probably most famous for being Jenna Fischer's soon to be ex-hubby. Ms. Beesley does make a brief appearance as a star struck buxom college girl, and has a pretty good line as well.

The movie itself wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. It was actually quite funny. The head of the group, played by Thomas Haden Church, sees his wife, Mrs. Indestructible, getting destructed by The Weevil in the back seat of his car. The rest of the movie takes the viewer through the night and days after The Strobe (Church), publicly disbands the group.

There's not that many special effects going on in this movie, since it's much more focused on the relationships the characters have with each other. Jamie Kennedy, Rob Lowe, and Judy Greer round out the "all-star cast," and there's alot of swearing going on. Don't watch it with your kids, but what the fuck do I know? I was raised by a mother fucking italian truck driver!

This movie did have it's moments, so I'll say:

it was okay

Click on the poster to see the trailer:

Black Comedy: Employee of the Month

Employee of the Month (2004)

This is NOT the movie with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson, but rather the black comedy from a couple years before starring Matt Dillon and Steve Zahn.

The movie starts with Matt Dillon sitting on a bus looking disheveled. A crazy homeless man tells the guy sitting next to Dillon "you're in my seat," convincing the guy to move. Right after taking the guy's seat, the hobo shits his pants. Dillon's character is narrating the whole time, explaining that just 24 hours ago, he was engaged, employed, and feeling great about life. The next scene shows him walking into what appears to be an office, and firing from the door into screams of horror. The writer then takes you through the last 24 hours, picking up with that scene towards the end of the movie. Guess what, the ending is not what you thought it was going to be!

All around, I liked this movie. I think the ending was a tad overambitious, since the plot changes like 5 times in the last few minutes. Keep watching through the end credits, they just couldn't stop!

Oh yeah, for you "The Office (US)" fans, Jenna Fischer stars as a "clean" hooker, and appears in one of the best scenes in the whole movie. Any of you that have had kitten-killing Pam Beesley fantasies will LOVE her dialog here. One of the best lines from this scene is near the end trailer below:

Dillon's character, after getting caught cheating on his fiance, asks Fischer's character, Whisper, "what would you do if (her boyfriend) was having sex with another girl?"

Whisper responds "umm, play with her tits?"

fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap

this was good!

Action: Six String Samurai

Six String Samurai (1998)

This movie was released in 1998 to help further the career of the star, Jeffrey Falcon. The rumor was he was the next Steven Seagal. Unfortunately for Falcon, this role was a bad choice, and Seagal would have been a much better in the lead role "Buddy."

I guess this movie was supposed to take place in "present day" post apocalyptic United States. It's made clear within the first few minutes that the US was nuked by the USSR in 1957. The last of civilization is focused in "Lost Vegas," where the recent king has currently died. That king is "The King," Elvis Presley, since he apparently wasn't hooked on prescription drugs when the bombs dropped. The plot follows Buddy's journey, where he intends to take his place as the next king of Lost Vegas. Along the way, the samurai/guitarist battles his way through other six string assassins, all of them intent on becoming the new king.

Call me a snob, but I didn't like this movie for a few reasons:
1. Falcon is clearly a practitioner of Chinese Kung Fu, and not Japanese Kendo or Aikido, which would be expected of a "samurai." Watching Buddy wave a samurai sword around like a chinese broad sword made me very angry.
2. Buddy's Gibson hollow-body is repeatedly used as a weapon without ever cracking or splintering.
3. The kid in the movie emits a very annoying "UNHH" sound at least 100 times throughout the film, almost causing me to show my TV exactly what a pissed of samurai would do.

Considering Falcon never became the new Jet Li:

this movie was fucking dumb