Thursday, June 23, 2016

Be Kind, Please Rewind

He’s Strictly Business Casual. He’s the…

Vidiot

Week of June 24, 2016

Weekends in the summer should just be called weddings. First up…

 

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Nowadays, when you attend a Greek wedding instead of a gift you are encouraged to give an austerity package.

Luckily, the couple in this comedy isn’t tying the knot near the Eurozone.

Toula (Nia Vardalos) not only has to cope with her daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) moving away to college, but also her husband (John Corbett) feeling neglected when her parents (Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine) decide to get re-married, and expect her to do all the hard work.

Meanwhile, Paris’ grandparents pressure her to land a Greek boyfriend for the event.

With a script that lacks a point and jokes that don’t work in today’s culturally sensitive world, this unnecessary sequel to the 2002 sleeper hit pales in comparison to the charming original, and reeks of desperation on the part of its creator/writer, Vardalos.

Incidentally, Greece could be relevant again if only it was reimagined as a philosophical theme park.  Red Light

 

The Brothers Grimsby

Young men in England only have two career options: the dole or football hooligan.

The Renaissance man in this action-comedy, however, is successfully pursuing both vocations.

Strapped with a wife (Rebel Wilson) and 11 kids, haphazard Nobby (Sacha Baron Cohen) dreams of the day he’ll reunite with his long-lost brother Sebastian (Mark Strong).

But when that day comes, Sebastian is working for MI6 and Nobby fumbles an assassination attempt on a notable humanitarian (Penélope Cruz), making it appear Sebastian’s gone rogue

Now Nobby must clear his brother’s name and prevent a biological weapon from detonating at a football match.

While Baron Cohen has a history of delivering lowbrow laughs, Grimsby does so in spades. Excessively crude and intentionally mean spirited, the few laughs it has are beyond infantile, while the action simply feels out of place.

Besides, the real MI6 kills all your living relatives before they let you join.  Red Light

***That’s Not a Wife. This is A Wife***


Muriel's Wedding
  
The best thing about wedding season in Australian is that it’s winter so your summers aren’t completely ruined.

Desperate to escape her overbearing parents (Bill Hunter, Jeanie Drynan), hopeless romantic and ABBA super-fan Muriel (Toni Collette) steals money from them and goes on a tropical vacation.

She returns home a new woman and gets a flat and roommate (Rachel Griffiths). But these lifestyle changes don’t keep her life from falling apart. And as her parents split, her friend gets ill and she drowns in debt, Muriel must grow up in order to stay afloat.

More depressing drama than laugh-out-loud comedy, this 1994 sleeper hit from Down Under deals with the harsh realities of becoming an adult, but manages to soften their edges with dark-humor and an up-tempo soundtrack dominated by the aforementioned Swedish pop group.

Incidentally, always seat your Australian wedding guests as far from the gift table as possible.

He’s a Burnt Toastmaster. He’s the…

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