After 31 one straight days of Horror films, I am definitely ready to catch up and watch some movies that I have missed out on. Netflix has been producing some great comedies as of late and there was one that I just couldn’t wait to see and that is the mockumentary film Mascots which comes from the mind of Christopher Guest (This Is Spinal Tap). Every year, there is a competition that looks at the unsung heroes of baseball games, football games, and various other sports in the Mascots. This mockumentary explores that world as it follows various mascots like Mike and Mindy Murray (Zach Woods and Sarah Baker), Owen Golly Jr. (Tom Bennett), Cindi Babineaux (Parker Posey), Tommy ‘Zook’ Zucarello (Chris O’Dowd), and Phil Mayhew (Christopher Moynihan) as they all fight for the award called the Golden Fluffy. The film also stars Kerry Godliman (Derek) as Sarah Golly, John Michael Higgins (Bad Teacher) as Upton French, Jim Piddock (Best In Show) as Owen Golly Sr., Susan Yeagley (The Lucky Ones) as Laci Babineaux, Ed Begley Jr. (Ghostbusters) as A.J. Blumquist, Jane Lynch (Glee) as Gabby Monkhouse, Don Lake (Zootopia) as Buddy Campbell, Fred Willard (WALL·E) as Greg Gammons, Jr, Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie) as Jolene Lumpkin, Bob Balaban (Ghost World) as Sol Lumpkin, and Michael Hitchcock (Glee) as Langston Aubrey.
I really loved this film because it’s everything you loved about mockumentaries like This Is Spinal Tap and it also helps that it was made by one of the stars of that film. He even makes a special appearance in the film as a guy named Corky and his chemistry with Parker Posey was incredible and hilarious. It also helped that the film featured so many funny people in one film that it was almost overload. This was a well written film with so many great subplots that helped drive the film forward as well as the main plot. One of my favorite parts of the film is when they finally get to the competition and you see all of the performances from the main guys and the hilarious reactions from the judges in the film. My favorite performance (if I was a judge) would go to the The Fist which was played by Chris O’Dowd probably because of the fact that he added an element of metal to his show. The other thing that I liked about the film is that they show you where all of the mascots are one year later. It definitely adds closure to some of the drama in the subplots that were presented to us. There was definitely some cliche comedy vices thrown in the film, but sometimes that is what makes them great. You have to give credit where credit is due to Netflix because they have produced some great stuff so far. If you have it, definitely give this film a shot if you haven’t already. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because it’s enjoyable to watch.
I have been watching so many dramas lately that I needed to watch a comedy to lighten up the mood a bit. One thing is for sure and that is that I am a huge fan of 80’s teen comedies like Screwballs and so I came across Brahman Naman which is a Netflix Original Film. Naman (Shashank Arora) is a very smart Brahman who knows everything there is to know in the world which gives him and his fellow teammates the advantage at quiz shows. The only problem is that Naman and his friends may be smart, but not when it comes to women. As they prepare to head on a trip to the quiz show championships, they swear to try and lose their virginity, but it might not be as simple for a brahman man. The film also stars Tanmay Dhanania (Sugar Baby) as Ajay, Chaitanya Varad as Ramu, Vaishwath Shankar (Black Sheep) as Randy, Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy as Ash, Subholina Sen (Buno Haansh) as Rita, Sid Mallya (The Hunt For Kingfisher Calendar Girl) as Ronnie, Denzil Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Bernie, Shataf Figar (89) as Brian D’ Costa, Kartik Iyer as Henry, and the film was directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee (Gandu).
I definitely wanted to go international for a change with the films and this was a decent choice. The film really did have it’s moments where it was brilliant, but as far as a homage to 80’s teen sex comedies? I am not so sure because this film should definitely have it’s own identity without that label. Usually in teen sex comedies, there is always sort of that happy ending where everyone gets what they want, but not in this film. Well, someone gets what they want and everyone else loses out. Seeing Subholina Sen in some nice outerwear was definitely a highlight of the film and I guess it did have some nudity which is a key in 80’s teen sex comedies, but the relationship between these team was a highlight. It seems like a natural friendship on screen that you believe that they are almost like a gang or like the Three Musketeers. It definitely made the film easier and enjoyable to watch. One cool thing about the film too is that they play the same two songs without which is Jethro Tull’s Locomotive Breath and a cover of The Door’s Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) which was an odd choice, but I wasn’t arguing with it. The latter was kind of like their battle cry which was cool. I wondered for the whole film what they meant when they called themselves Brahman and I looked it up. It apparently means this, “a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood.” Anyways, I enjoyed watching the film, it was a little different, but I have to be honest with you. The reason I chose the film was because of a Steel Panther song in the trailer. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
I have been wondering to myself if Netflix is going to be the it thing in the entertainment business (if they’re already not). They produce everything from original series, comedy specials, and films like today’s The Fundamentals Of Caring. The film stars Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) as Ben Benjamin, a former writer who is kind of down and out in life who decides to become a caregiver. He becomes the caregiver of Trevor (Craig Roberts), a teen with muscular dystrophy whose just cruising through life himself. Despite his mother Elsa’s (Jennifer Ehle)concerns, Ben takes Trevor on a road trip to see some of the United States roadside attractions. Together, the two will bond and they’ll discover themselves on this journey that changes their perspectives on life. The film also stars Selena Gomez (Spring Breakers) as Dot, Julia Denton (Devil’s Due) as Janet, Ashley White (The Conjuring) as Cute Travel Channel Girl, Megan Ferguson (Bad Moms) as Peaches, Samantha Huskey as Kaitlin, Bobby Cannavale (The Bone Collector) as Cash, Frederick Weller (The Business Of Strangers) as Bob, Bill Murphey (The Fat Boy Chronicles) as Mike, Matt Mercurio (Miracles From Heaven) as EMT, and the film was directed by Rob Burnett (Ed).
I have to be honest in saying that at first I thought the film was going to be bad i just the way it started. You see Paul Rudd’s name attache to it and you immediately think comedy, but the film starts off kind of slow and a little dark. He’s a guy that has absolutely nothing going for him because he wife wants a divorce, he no longer writes, and Trevor’s kind of a dick to him. That however is when things start to get good and it just gets better as the film goes along. Rudd and Roberts make a great team and you can see it as the film goes along and it gets better when Gomez joins the duo on the road. The film may have some moments of drama, but there is plenty of subtle comedy in the film. I will however say that the comedy in the film isn’t stupid comedy or slapstick comedy, but rather a little dark with some smart comedy thrown in there. I really have to say though that I really loved Selena Gomez and her character in the film which was mysterious yet bad ass. Some of my favorite moments in the film were the pranks they pulled on each other (well Trevor gets the best of him most of the time) cause those were the fun moments of the film. This is definitely a fun film to watch and if you’re a fan of Paul Rudd, then I say check it out. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
I was at one point a huge fan of Adam Sandler films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, etc. Then there was a period of time where I could care less, but today’s film, the Netflix Original Film, The Do-Over, had enough buzz that I had to watch. Charlie (David Spade) is a bank manager of a bank in a supermarket who sort of lives a crappy life with a wife who doesn’t care about him and her crappy kids. An old friend Max (Sandler) offers Charlie a do-over by faking their own deaths and assuming new identities. The only problem is that the identities they take over have problems of their own that Max and Charlie may not be able to handle on their own. What are the duo to do now that they are being targeted for death? The film also stars Paula Patton (Deja Vu) as Heather, Kathryn Hahn (We’re The Millers) as Becca, Nick Swardson (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) as Bob, Matt Walsh (The Hangover) as Shecky, Renée Taylor (The Nanny) as Mrs. Kessler, Luiz Guzman (Boogie Nights) as Jorge the shooter boy, Catherine Bell (Bruce Almighty) as Dawn, Torsten Voges (Funny People) as The Gymnast, and the film was directed by Steven Brill (Walk of Shame).
This honestly has to be one of the best Adam Sandler movies in a very long time even though I was a huge fan of That’s My Boy. At first, I was trying to figure out what kind of movie were they going to present to us because it could have gone any way. They could have given us an all out party fest of two guys enjoying their new identities, but I think they went the right way because it kind of kept you guessing. There were a couple of twists and turns that I thought were clever, but at the same time I should have seen them coming. Now, I am not taking anything away from the film by saying that because it was actually enjoyable to watch. David Spade acted like he never lost a step and Sandler added some machismo to his comedy in this film being the bad ass action Jackson type. This was film number two of six I believe for Adam Sandler and his Netflix deal and they get better by the film and you can only hope that it continues with the next. One of the funniest scenes in the film comes courtesy of Luiz Guzman and I won’t spoil it for you, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Seeing Luiz in this film was one of the smartest moves the casting director made because he is hilarious. There are some great shots of the island of Puerto Rico in the film as well as some other cool shots of Georgia. The film is available on Netflix of course and I think you should check it out. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade because it’s not the best Sandler film ever, but it’s up there.
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.
For today’s film, I decided to check out a film that you wouldn’t expect from Adam Sandler and that is a western movie by the name of The Ridiculous 6. The Ridiculous 6 can be considered one of the major Netflix Original releases due to it’s attachment to Sandler who wrote the film. The film also stars Sandler as Tommy a.k.a. White Knife, a boy that was adopted by an Apache chief after his mother was killed. One day, a man shows up claiming to be Sandler’s real dad in an outlaw named Fran Stockburn (Nick Nolte). Frank tells Tommy about some buried money, but when he does that an outlaw named Cicero (Danny Trejo) shows up and kidnaps him. Tommy vows to rescue his dad by getting 50,000 dollars, but he meets five other men who end up being related to him. Together, they will go on a journey to rescue their dad as they become dubbed The Ridiculous 6. The film also stars Terry Crews (The Longest Yard) as Chico, Jorge Garcia (Lost) as Herm, Taylor Lautner (Twilight) as Little Pete, Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo) as Ramon, Luke Wilson (Old School) as Danny, Will Forte (The Lego Movie) as Will Patch, Steve Zahn (National Security) as Clem, Harvey Keitel (From Dusk Till Dawn) as Smiley, Jon Lovitz (Big) as Ezekiel Grant, Whitney Cummings (Whitney) as Susannah, and the film was directed by Frank Coraci (The Waterboy).
The film features so many comedy greats that it was just too much to list in the above paragraph. I was a little skeptical about the film as to whether it would be a spoof film or a comedy. Do not be afraid of the fact that it says that it’s a western because this film is absolutely hilarious. It actually brings you to a time when Adam Sandler films were actually funny. A lot of his films are hot or miss, but this is a definite hit and it has a lot to do with his supporting cast. Taylor Lautner makes you forget that he starred in all of those awful Twilight movies because the man is absolutely hilarious as the idiot savant Little Pete. There is a lot of slapstick comedy to go along with some dirty humor and everything in between. One of my other favorite moments of the film always came with Rob Schneider and his donkey who has a bit of a problem known as extreme explosive diarrhea. I think as long as Sandler can write and produce films like this one, then he’ll be alright. I see Vanilla Ice is part of his crew and it’s always nice to see David Spade working. You should definitely check this film out on Netflix for yourselves as the film broke records for Netflix. Plus this is film one of four for Sandler who signed a four picture deal with Netflix. I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 