Ed's Review Dot Com

Sneak Preview Entertaiment,  Fox Searchlight Pictures

Forrest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Regina King, Lance Gross, Diana Maria Riva, Lupe Ontiveros

This movie was not what I expected going in.   I expected a lame, one joke disaster, sort of a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” for Mexicans.  Well, as the preview led us to believe, the crux of the movie IS a black guy and and a Latina girl who are both afraid to tell their parents that they’re about to get married.   But there is much, much more to the story.

America Fererra did a fabulous job as Lucia, the girl who loves, but is afraid of her father.  Is it fear, or respect, or a desire to make him proud that drives her to exclude him from what’s happening in her life?  There is a scene where he sits on the porch and tells her what his “dream” of her wedding would be.  Fathers do this sort of thing, but rarely admit these kinds of feeling.  It’s very poignant.   She needed to learn a lot about independence, making up her own mind, and at the same time, what traditions and family history is important and should be preserved or blended into her new life.  Forest Whitaker was an interesting choice to play Brad,  Lucia’s father to be.   He’s not typically a comedic actor, and many reviewers thought he was awful in this role, but I think he did fine with it.  He’s the typical cool single Dad who shows up to dinner with a girl who went to school with his daughter-in-law to be.  Oops.   He’s lost and looking to find some meaning in his life too.  As he says,  “I’m the last person you want to ask about marriage advice”.  He’s got a lot to learn too.

But the main event is the two Dad’s and how they relate to all the events that happen.  It’s a little “Father of the Bride” thrown in for good measure.   The natural dislike for Carlos’ and Forest’s character make for a lot of the humor of the film, but there is a lot more besides that.

America’s sister has things to learn, as does Mrs. Ramirez (Sonia) who has lost herself in the role of wife and mother.   Each person has a lot to work thorough, and it’s an interesting hour and a half watching them do it.

A great comedic effort from Lupe Ontiveros, (who you’ll remember as the lady who shot Jennifer Lopez in Selena!) as Momma Cecilia.  She has some very funny scenes.  And it’s really funny sometimes when she starts speaking in Spanish and the other family members  “translate” what she says, but very loosely.  🙂    She is really funny.

Basically I was pleasantly surprised by this film, and I thought it was a lot better than I expected it to be.  It was very warm and funny, and well worth the watch.

Northern, Universal Pictures

Martin Short, Annette O’Toole, Paul Reiser

Cross My Heart is an old film, but was finally released on DVD.  I watched it because it was new on DVD this week.  I was moderately amused by this romantic comedy.   Martin Short was in his prime at this point, and Annette O’Toole is really pretty.  The two of them are about to go out on that magic 3rd date and both are worried that the other will find out the truth about them.   David, (Martin Short) is quickly convinced that after losing his job and living in a dump, that it’s a good idea to borrow his friend’s car and use his friend’s apartment for the soon to be “big night”.    Kathy (Annette O’Toole) has had a bad run of guys who took off as soon as they found out about her 7 year old daughter.   So both start out on what is sure to be a fantastic evening where everything that can go wrong, does.

Like The Out of Towners (if you can remember back to Neil Simon’s funny play made into a movie with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis) it is a riot of laughs as everything goes wrong.  Gag after gag and one liner after one liner, it’s a decent laugh.  It does show it’s age a bit, although the nudity must have been a little bit more obvious in 1987,  it still is a titilating comedy romp through someone else’s bedroom.   Of course the truth must come out, and we have the conflict and the distrust.

Paul Reiser’s character is a good friend though, and he doesn’t try TOO hard to get them back together to be that obvious, but he does his part. 

The acting is good.  It’s nice to see old friends, and it’s surprising this movie never came out on DVD before this.  But I’m glad it’s here now, and I did enjoy the humor of it all.  It’s a familiar story that’s been told before, but there is nothing new.  This is, at least, worth a good time and a lot of laughs.  Martin Short has not been this funny in quite a while.

Lightshow Entertainment

Leelee Sobieski, Kristen Johnson, Jamie Kennedy, Denise Richards, Matthew Davis

This is a porno movie.  OK, no it’s not, but it’s about a porno movie.  Leelee Sobieski is a grown woman now, and it’s been fun watching her develop into a real actress. I became a real fan after her performance in 2001’s “The Glass House“.  Her performance was excellent, and it was a terrifying movie of treachery and child abuse.  And does she look like Helen Hunt’s baby sister or what? 

Anyway,  Leelee’s character Jody, just graduated from film school with a statue proclaiming “Best Student Film”.  She’s on her way to Hollywood to break into the film business, but she just can’t make it.  She has a script, a sort of pathetic story of her own life experience, but everyone close to it who reads it tells her how great it is.  She needs to get it made, but no one with the financing will give her a chance.   Film director Garry Marshall, in a funny cameo,  presents her with her award at graduation, and Jody develops a close relationship calling Garry’s secretary who will NEVER put her through to him.  There’s a payoff for this joke later in the movie which is really funny.

Anyway, Jody mistakenly finds a job at an adult film studio “Grind” as a film editor.  This looks to her as a good opportunity to take advantage of the job to film her own movie.  Naturally all kinds of complications occur.  There is a huge collection of misfits.  Jamie Kennedy is a lovable goof named “Dick Harder”   There are some hilarious scenes where he just doesn’t get it.  He’s a big asset to this film and he does show the “naughty bits” if you’re interested.   🙂

This is definitely adult fare, and not for kids, but it tries to tastefully skirt around the adult film business.  All in all, the people are real nice folk, but there are some rather intense scenes not appropriate for the kids.  It deserves the R rating.  But on the other hand, for a small film like this, it’s truly funny.  There is a good heart, and these characters are really well developed.  There are a few surprises, and everyone of the actors is trying to do a great job with their character, and for the most part, they are right on. 

This started out as planned series for Showtime, but ended up being made into a feature film.  It hit theaters briefly, but is better than you might expect.  There are problems with the production, most of which could be helped by a larger budget, but somehow the amateur acting fits the mood of the movie anyway.  I mean, how many porn flicks have stellar acting performances?   This is a little film, but could be enjoyable if you don’t expect too much.  It is an interesting look at the values we bring to the table, and how the decisions me make can either help us to reach our dreams or lose them.   Jody’s parents are a hoot as well.  Small parts, again, but really add to the fun.

Makes a decent rental.

R. P. Productions, Summit Entertainment

Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, James Belushi, Timothy Hutton, Tom Wilkinson, Eli Wallach, Olivia Williams

I must say before I watched this, I didn’t realize this was a Roman Polanski film.  That may have affected my decision to watch it.  But I did.  I must say this is a really great political thriller.  Kudos to the writer of the book, Robert Harris, for a fascinating story.  He says he conceived the concept over 15 years ago, but he brought it up to date very well.  It’s the story of a ghost writer who is hired to complete the memoirs of a British Prime Minister who’s previous ghost writer suddenly died under mysterious circumstances.  Was it a suicide or a horrible accident? 

As  “The Ghost” (Ewan McGregor) digs into the task, things start to get really strange.  Then things go from bad to worse.  The more he finds out, the more in danger he is.   There is a great deal of double crossing, treachery, high speed chases, scares, thrills, and twists and turns as the plot develops.  Don’t let anyone tell you the ending, as it’s quite ironic.  It’s different from the book, and I think a lot better ending.

“The Ghost” ends up in a very awkward position, with no one he can trust.  The thrills are real, and it’s very up to date in the story, right out of today’s headlines.  And the suspense and mystery is very real.

I have to say I really enjoyed this very much, and in the end I am glad I saw it.

Movie Rentals Releasing on Tuesday August 10th, 2010

• Date Night (Blockbuster Exclusive, September on NetFlix)
• Death at a Funeral
• Letters to God
• The Joneses (Blockbuster Exclusive, September on NetFlix)
• Our Family Wedding (now on NetFlix)
• La Mission
• My Name is Khan (India)