I want to start off by wishing everyone a Happy and safe Thanksgiving. Some of us may be stuffing ourselves with food and we may start to think about dieting. What happens when a diet is forced upon you? Well that get’s answered with today’s film Heavy Weights. Gerry (Aaron Schwartz) just wants to have fun for his summer break from school, but that all changes when his parents force him to go to fat camp. The camp looks like it’s going to be fun until a new owner by the name of Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller) comes along. Tony wants to film an infomercial proving that he can make fat kids lose weight so he can make the major bucks. The problem for him is the campers get sick of him and decide to retaliate. The film also stars Tom McGowan (Bad Santa) as Pat, Cody Burger (National Lampoon’s Christmas Christmas Vacation) as Cody, Allen Covert (Big Daddy) as Kenny, Shaun Weiss (The Mighty Ducks) as Josh, Tom Hodges (Stigmata) as Lars, Leah Lail (Little Nicky) as Julie, Kenan Thompson (Kenan and Kel) as Roy, Paul Feig (Ghostbusters) as Tim, Jeffrey Tambor (The Hangover) as Maury Garner, Lauren Hill (The House Bunny) as Angelic Girl, and the film was directed by Steven Brill (Little Nicky). The film even features Judd Apatow who gets his first writing credit with the film.
I really honestly believe that if I had seen this back in the 90’s when it came out that I probably would have found this film funnier. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the film, but it’s just filled with 90’s esque kids comedy humor.Ben Stiller was absolutely amazing in the film and this was a time when he was still playing the jerk in films (like Happy Gilmore). He has some real memorable lines and moments in the film like when he escapes from his cage and he is trying to get back at Gerry and his dad. That whole sequence is classic Ben Stiller cause we’ve seen it in Dodgeball as well. There was also a Mighty Ducks Thing going on in this film with Keenan Thompson, Shaun Weiss, and Aaron Schwartz who all starred together in this film. We also see director Paul Feig act in this film which was crazy cause I didn’t realize that it was him. The cruel thing about this film is that some of the stereotypes are actually true when you are an 11 or 12 year old and you’re fat. There’s the scene where Tony invites an all girls camp to come to a dance with all the fat kids to try and prove a point to them that nobody wants them cause their fat. Other than that, the film has some funny moments to it and if you’re a fan of 90’s movies then this is one that should be on your list. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
When I first heard about the film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, I was excited to see it because of the acronym WTF. So it’s safe to say that I thought this would be a laugh out loud comedy considering it stars Tina Fey (Sisters). Fey stars as Kim Baker, a desk jockey at a news station that takes a job in Afghanistan to try and see if she can change her life or the better. What she doesn’t account for is all the difficult choices she’ll have to make when she is over there from dealing with relationships, the culture differences, and other war time journalists. The film also stars Margot Robbie (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Tanya Vanderpoel, Martin Freeman (Captain America: Civil War) as Iain MacKelpie, Alfred Molina (Raiders Of The Lost Arc) as Ali Massoud Sadiq, Christopher Abbott (A Most Violent Year) as Fahim Ahmadzai, Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa) as General Hollanek, Nicholas Braun (How To Be Single) as Tall Brian, Stephen Peacocke (Me Before You) as Nic, Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) as Specialist Coughlin, Josh Charles (Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitters Dead) as Chris, Sheila Vand (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) as Shakira Khar, and the film was directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
As I said above, I originally thought that the film was going to be a laugh out loud comedy, but what I didn’t expect from it was all the drama. It’s kind of a very serious movie especially for Tina Fey’s character who is on a journey of discovery. She feels as though that she has wasted too much time in her life and she feels that she should be able to do so much more. That is essentially why she takes the job in Afghanistan because otherwise you’d have to be crazy to do so. Margot Robbie who’ll be playing Harley Quinn this summer in Suicide Squad looked fantastic in the film and she actually does a good job with the role she was given. Martin Freeman was a very good addition to the film as he made the film more interesting. The cinematography was great in the film even though the story could have been a little bit better in my opinion. I get that the film had some elements of feminism in the film in the form of empowering women considering it takes place in a country that does not allow women to do much. You can’t really watch the film for anything else other than that. It’s a decent film that you can afford to watch once and call it a day. I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 