- YOU DON'T KNOW JACK (DVD MOVIE)
After being cut from the usa softball team and feeling a bit past her prime lisa finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current baseball-playing beau. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 03/22/2011 Starring: Reese Witherspoon Owen Wilson Run time: 121 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: James L. BrooksCompared to previous James L. Brooks dramedies, like
As Good As It Gets,
How Do You Know feels slight, but it still marks an improvement over the ill-conceived
Spanglish. The setup begins with a newly minted couple and a brand-new single. Lisa (Reese Witherspoon), a pro softball player, dates Matty (Owen Wilson), a major-league pitcher, who lives in the same Washington, D.C., high rise as financial exec Charles (Jack Nicholson, looking ill at ease), whose ! son and employee, George (Paul Rudd), gets the boot from his girlfriend after he loses his job. When George meets Lisa, who didn't make the team, sparks fly, but she's unavailable, so they get on with their lives. Hardly the brightest bulb, Matty raises Lisa's spirits with his goofy antics, so she moves in with him. Then George finds out he faces charges for tax fraud, even though he broke no laws. While his pregnant assistant, Annie (
Crossing Jordan's Kathryn Hahn), supports him through the crisis, he can't stop thinking about the blonde from the elevator, so he tries to get to know Lisa better. Throughout the rest of this glossy entertainment, their friendship verges on romance, but Lisa stays with Matty, until Annie helps her to see George clearly for the first time. As love triangles go, Brooks isn't reinventing the wheel, making this underwritten affair one of his less inspired creations, but Witherspoon, Rudd, and Wilson are good company--even if the latter is ! essentially reprising his vacuous
Zoolander character (! just sub stitute baseball for modeling).
--Kathleen C. FennessyFrom legendary director/writer James L. Brooks comes a humorous and romantic look at the “How Do You Know†question. When everything she’s ever known is suddenly taken from her, Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) begins a fling with Matty (Owen Wilson), a major league baseball player and self-centered ladies man. Before their relationship takes off, Lisa meets up with George (Paul Rudd) a straight-arrow businessman facing his own serious issues, both with his father (Jack Nicholson) and the law. Just when everything seems to be falling apart it doesn't.Compared to previous James L. Brooks dramedies, like
As Good As It Gets,
How Do You Know feels slight, but it still marks an improvement over the ill-conceived
Spanglish. The setup begins with a newly minted couple and a brand-new single. Lisa (Reese Witherspoon), a pro softball player, dates Matty (Owen Wilson), a major-league pitcher, who lives in ! the same Washington, D.C., high rise as financial exec Charles (Jack Nicholson, looking ill at ease), whose son and employee, George (Paul Rudd), gets the boot from his girlfriend after he loses his job. When George meets Lisa, who didn't make the team, sparks fly, but she's unavailable, so they get on with their lives. Hardly the brightest bulb, Matty raises Lisa's spirits with his goofy antics, so she moves in with him. Then George finds out he faces charges for tax fraud, even though he broke no laws. While his pregnant assistant, Annie (
Crossing Jordan's Kathryn Hahn), supports him through the crisis, he can't stop thinking about the blonde from the elevator, so he tries to get to know Lisa better. Throughout the rest of this glossy entertainment, their friendship verges on romance, but Lisa stays with Matty, until Annie helps her to see George clearly for the first time. As love triangles go, Brooks isn't reinventing the wheel, making this underwritten affair on! e of his less inspired creations, but Witherspoon, Rudd, and W! ilson ar e good company--even if the latter is essentially reprising his vacuous
Zoolander character (just substitute baseball for modeling).
--Kathleen C. FennessyHolly (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, all they have is common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Judging career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find common ground while living under the same roof. Josh Lucas, Christina Hendricks, Hayes MacArthur and Jean Smart co-star in this tart and tender romantic comedy directed by Greg Berlanti (TV’s
Brothers & Sisters and
Everwood). In
Life as We Know It, Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel discover that their closest friends have appointed them guardians of thei! r child in the unlikely event of their joint death--an unlikely event that has just happened. Make no mistake: There's no reason this movie should have been any good. The premise is the worst kind of formulaic Hollywood claptrap; the pleasant but cautious Heigl (
Knocked Up) is playing yet another uptight fussbudget; since a promising movie debut in the underrated
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Duhamel has largely coasted on his looks in tripe like the
Transformers movies--yet
Life as We Know It is surprisingly likable. After the movie gets through the basic exposition--and navigates some radical shifts in tone with unexpected deftness--the script somehow manages to make its clichés into something resembling real human situations. The colorful supporting characters are all entertainingly written and well played by a solid cast. And both Heigl and Duhamel give understated, engaging performances that manage to make the inevitable conclusion seem al! most not inevitable. Director Greg Berlanti (
The Broken Hea! rts Club ) deserves kudos for skillfully balancing humor and pathos and turning this unpromising material into a sincere and enjoyable movie.
--Bret FetzerWHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?! is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin, finds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality. She is literally plunged into a swirl of chaotic occurrences, while the characters she encounters on this odyssey reveal the deeper, hidden knowledge she doesn?t even realize she has asked for. Like every hero, Amanda is thrown into crisis, questioning the fundamental premises of her life ? that the reality she has believed in about how men are, how relationships with others should be, and h! ow her emotions are affecting her work isn?t reality at all!The unlikeliest cult hit of 2004 was
What the (Bleep) Do We Know?, a lecture on mysticism and science mixed into a sort-of narrative. Marlee Matlin stars in the dramatic thread, about a sourpuss photographer who begins to question her perceptions. Interviews with quantum physics experts and New Age authors are cut into this story, offering a vaguely convincing (and certainly mind-provoking) theory about... well, actually, it sounds a lot like the Power of Positive Thinking, when you get down to it. Talking heads (not identified until film's end) include JZ Knight, who appears in the movie channeling Ramtha, the ancient sage she claims communicates through her (other speakers are also associated with Knight's organization). What she says actually makes pretty good common sense--Ramtha's wiggier notions are not included--and would be easy to accept were it not being credited to a 35,000-year-old mystic from A! tlantis.
--Robert HortonJennifer Aniston stars alongsid! e Jason Bateman in this offbeat comedy as Kassie, a smart, fun-loving single woman who, despite her neurotic best friend Wally’s (Bateman) objections, decides it’s time to have a baby â€" even if it means doing it herself…with a little help from a charming sperm donor (Patrick Wilson). But, unbeknownst to her, Kassie’s plans go awry because of a last-minute switch that isn’t discovered until seven years later…when Wally gets acquainted with Kassie’s cute â€" though slightly neurotic â€" son. From the people behind
Little Miss Sunshine and
Juno comes
The Switch.Jennifer Aniston continues her breezy success as queen of the contemporary romantic comedy in the offbeat
The Switch, which brings together elements of
When Harry Met Sally… and even episodes of
Friends. Aniston is charming and capable as Kassie, an accomplished New York career gal who decides it's time to have a baby--husband or no husband. But in
The Switch it'! s the men around Kassie who become truly memorable, and for which
The Switch becomes a must-see. Kassie's best friend is Wally (the wryly and neurotically hilarious Jason Bateman), who may have deeper feelings for his good friend than he's willing to admit. Kassie's recruited sperm donor is Roland, the handsome Nordic hunk with a sweet heart, played with finesse by Broadway star Patrick Wilson. And the fruit of the insemination is Kassie's son, Sebastian, acted with gravitas and thoughtfulness by the young Thomas Robinson, who's so talented he should grow up to be a huge star. Special mention goes to Jeff Goldblum, who takes his own befuddled persona stereotype to new heights as Wally's concerned friend Leonard. All Aniston really has to do is not overdo the "cute" as she dances among these talented actors, and she accomplishes far more than that. "The switch" of the title involves a snafu during the process of Kassie's insemination--and the results of that plot twis! t shape the rest of the movie. Though audiences can see much m! ore quic kly whom Kassie belongs with, before Kassie or her guys do, the ride is thoroughly believable, human, and gently entertaining. The humor in
The Switch can be bawdy but it underscores the timeless quest for love and family. Kassie--and all the "men" in her life--deserve it, and watching them on that journey makes for a delightful experience. --
A.T. HurleyFor Becky (Rachel McAdams, "The Notebook"), running a TV show in New York City was the big break she dreamed of…until star co-anchors Mike (Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones) and Colleen (Diane Keaton, "Something’s Gotta Give") declare an all-out, on-air war. Making the show work with its cast of eccentric characters and outrageous story angles will take a major miracle, but Becky is ready to rise and outshine. From the writer of "The Devil Wears Prada" and "27 Dresses", "Morning Glory" is a “Tart, terrific comedy*†that critics rave is, “Smart! Fresh! Brilliant! Heartwarming! Morning Glory has it all!*†! *Peter Travers , Rolling Stone **Neil Rosen, NY1
Morning Glory showcases the comedic (and romantic) talents of two cute couples of different ages--Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton (never sparklier) and the adorable Rachel McAdams and Patrick Wilson. Love can bloom, no matter what time of life, or, as the setting of
Morning Glory underscores, no matter what time of day. McAdams is excellent and darling as an ambitious TV producer who vows to turn around a sinking morning TV news show by bringing in a heavyweight anchor (Ford) to pair with the lighthearted, deft Keaton. But Ford wants none of the "news lite" that morning shows need to surface, so sparks fly between the bickering co-anchors almost immediately. Happily, Ford is easier in his skin in
Morning Glory than he has been in some of his past romantic efforts (
Six Days Seven Nights), so he and Keaton play off each other easily and believably. In a parallel story, McAdams's Becky is pursued by Wi! lson's Adam, which takes Ms. Focused Career Girl (if not the v! iewer) b y surprise. The direction by Roger Michell (
Notting Hill) is crisp, although the script by Aline Brosh McKenna (
The Devil Wears Prada) isn't particularly funny. (Adam thinks Ford's character, Pomeroy, is the "third worst person in the world," after Kim Jong Il and… Angela Lansbury.) But the world of TV news portrayed in
Morning Glory is as immersive as it is in
Broadcast News, and the romantic subplots truly
are romantic. There's love in the air--and on the air--in
Morning Glory. --
A.T. HurleyAngel of mercy… or murderous “Doctor Death� Jack Kervorkian is one of the most polarizing figures in modern American history, a man whose passionate belief that people have the right to die has brought him both praise and vilification. Oscar®- and Emmy®-winning actor Al Pacino brings “Dr. Death†to life in an all-new HBO Films presentation:
You Don’t Know Jack, directed by Oscar®-winner Barry Levinson.Made for HBO! , Barry Levinson's sympathetic telefilm casts an affable eye on a serious subject: the mission of Jack Kevorkian (a thoroughly de-glamorized Al Pacino). In the opening sequence, Kevorkian tells his long-suffering sister, Margo (Brenda Vaccaro, excellent), how hard he found it to watch their mother die a long and agonizing death. Convinced that the terminally ill deserve the right to die with dignity, he shares his beliefs with Jack (James Urbaniak), a Detroit journalist; Janet (Susan Sarandon), a Hemlock Society leader; and Neal (John Goodman), a medical supply salesman (the scenes of Neal and Jack playing poker recall Levinson's
Diner). Before he's assisted a single patient, Kevorkian makes the national news, prompting Neal to quip, "You're not a local quack anymore. You're America's quack." Writer Adam Mazer profiles several of the 130 patients to take advantage of his "mercy machine," starting with Janet Adkins, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. For protectio! n, Jack acquires the services of attorney Geoffrey Fieger (Dan! ny Husto n), who supports him through evictions, lawsuits, jail time, and hunger strikes--until Kevorkian engineers his own downfall by defending himself. As with HBO's
Recount, Levinson adds archival footage at key points, such that Barbara Walters and others appear to play themselves. If he handles Jack's quirks with humor, he always treats the afflicted with respect, and if Pacino's accent skews more New York than Michigan, his pleasure in playing this strong-willed eccentric fuels Levinson's finest directorial effort in ages.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy
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