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.
For today’s film, I have been wanting to check out Forgetting Sarah Marshall for the fact that everyone I know talks about it and it’s a Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin) film. Jason Segel (Freaks & Geeks) plays Peter Bretter, a wannabe musician who is a composer for a TV show that his girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) stars in. He feels as if he is on top of the world because everything seems to be going right for him. That is until Sarah pays him a visit to tell him that she is breaking up with him. To try and get away, he travels to Hawaii to help him heal, but then he discovers that Sarah has been cheating on him with rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Now, he’ll have to try and deal with that, but a special someone may make it easier for him.. The film also stars Mila Kunis (Ted) as Rachel, Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) as Chuck, Jonah Hill (Knocked Up) as Matthew The Waiter, Bill Hader (Superbad) as Brian Bretter, Maria Thayer (Hitch) as Wyoma, Jack McBrayer (Wreck-It Ralph) as Darald, Taylor Wily (Hawaii Five-O) as Kemo, and Kalani Robb (Blue Crush) as Helpful Hawaiian Waiter.
I have to say that at first the film started a little slow for me, but it eventually picked the pace up and it became a really good film. It just started off as a Jason Segel winefest before it actually got really good with Mila Kunis who looked beautiful as usual. I am very surprised being a Judd Apatow and Jason Segel fan that I never saw this film. Like a lot of films, this one seemed to slip through the cracks. Another highlight of the film for me was seeing Russell Brand play what seemed to be a very natural role for himself. That of an very sexual English rock star which may not have been a stretch, but do what you know. The film primarily takes place in Hawaii which was pretty cool cause they mixed in a little of the Hawaiian culture into the film especially with the dances, the cinematography, and so much more. The film mixes in the right amount of drama to go with the romance and comedy, but there is a couple of scenes I thought were awkward. If you’e not prepared for it, it will shock the hell out of you when you see Jason Segel’s junk on a couple of occasions. You get a full shot of it and there is nothing you can do about it, but either look or turn away. This was a really good film, but definitely not my favorite Apatow film from his catalog, but enjoyable to watch like I said. That is why I am going to give the film a grade somewhere in the A-/B+ range. One of my favorite scenes in the film is represented in the picture used for this paragraph, check it out for yourself.
Ever since I heard the announcement of a new Pee Wee Herman film, I have been waiting anxiously for it and Netflix has finally delivered. Paul Reuben (Mystery Men) once again plays Pee Wee Herman in the new film Pee Wee’s Big Holiday. In this film, Pee Wee has never left the small town of Fairfield, but that is all about to change when by chance he meets Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike). Joe and Pee Wee immediately hit it off and Joe invites Pee Wee to New York to come to Joe’s birthday party. Considering this is Pee Wee’s first holiday, the film follows Pee Wee’s journey from Fairfield to New York and the mishaps in between in this take of friendship, adventure, and destiny. The film also stars Jessica Pohly (Theme Song Rebel) as Pepper, Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Freckles, Alia Shawkat (Whip It) as Bella, Patrick Egan (Where’s Marlowe?) as Gordon The Travelling Salesman, Frank Collison (The Village) as Clay, Lynne Marie Stewart (Pee Wee’s Playhouse) as Jimmy, Hal Landon Jr. (Eraserhead) as Farmer Brown, Michelle Meredith (Black-ish) as Linda Brown, Brad William Henke (Fury) as Grizzly Bear Daniels, Dionne Gipson (Black Dynamite) as Brook, Diane Salinger (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) as Penny King, Charles Robinson (Night Court) as Police Captain, and the film was directed by John Lee (Wonder Showzen).
The question of the day is what did I think about this film? Was it worth the wait? Did Paul Reuben still have the magic to entertain? All very legitimate questions that I will now take the time to discuss. My thoughts on the film is that I actually enjoyed watching the film because it brought back so many great memories. Out of all three Pee Wee films, it’s definitely not the best one, but it was still enjoyable to watch even though Paul Reubens looks too old in HD to the boy Pee Wee Herman. For an hour and the half, it was fun to watch Paul Reuben play Pee Wee and if he decided to never do it again, I would be OK with it. This was a film that was made twenty years too late and while some of the gags and jokes were funny, there was a lot that was funnier back in the early 90’s/late 80’s. Again, I am not completely putting down the film because if you were a Pee Wee Herman fan like I was then it’s worth checking out. There’s a good cast with some cool cameos from various people who worked with Reubens at one time and even some actors I hadn’t seen in a while. There has always been some weird undertones where you think it’s just innocent and then other times you’re like wait a minute here. That is just how Pee Wee Herman roles and you can watch it on Netflix. I was surprised to see Judd Apatow’s name attached to this, but it made me excited to see it. I am going to give Pee Wee’s Big Holiday a B+ for a final grade.
Stand up comedian Amy Schumer was on the rise in 2015 from getting her own movie Trainwreck to a huge comedy special on HBO. As you can see I chose Trainwreck as the film for today it was directed by the amazing Judd Apatow (Knocked Up). Int he film Amy plays a woman who believes that Monogamy is just not realistic in life. So, it’s safe to say that she sleeps around a lot and she’s more focused on her career thanks to some advice from her dad (Colin Quinn). That is all about to change for Amy when she meets a good guy in the form of sports doctor Aaron (Bill Hader). Will Amy continue on her ways or will Aaron change her for the better? The film also stars Brie Larson (21 Jump Street) as Kim, Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin) as Diana, Lebron James as himself, John Cena (The Marine) as Steven, Dave Attell (Funny People) as Noah, Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin) as Donald, Randall Park (The Interview) as Bryson, Vanessa Bayer (Despicable Me 2) as Nikki, Jon Glaser (Assy McGee) as Schultz, and Evan Brinkman (The Owl) as Allister.
I want to start off by saying that this is quite the movie folks because it sort of matches her brand of comedy. It can be really funny and raunchy at the same time. One of my favorite scenes in the whole film is Amy’s time spent with John Cena. That is some of the funniest material and I have to give it to John Cena, the man is a natural. The film is this wild journey of discovery for Amy who believes that life is all about one thing, but when she meets something great it gets turned upside down. She begins to discover that Love is a possible thing that people can experience when met with the right ones. The film is two hours long, but there is enough going on to keep your attention going the whole time. One thing I also have to say is that I didn’t realize her boss was Tilda Swinton. Tilda did such an amazing job as this bitchy British stereotypical boss of a huge magazine. The movie has all your typical moods of a romantic comedy film where it’s funny, has plenty of drama, and has it’s happy ending where everything turns out OK. This was definitely one of my favorite comedies of the year and it’s actually up for an award on my other blog site which you can check out 
365moviesin365dayschallenge 