Ed's Review Dot Com

Maven Pictures, Anonymous Content, Ambush Entertainment,

Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss, Christopher Fitzgerald, June Diane Raphael, Natasha Lyonne, Bob Balaban

Imogene (Kristen Wiig) is a failed N.Y. Playwright who’s failed career and suicide attempt causes her to be forced to move back home with her wacky Mom, Zelda (Annette Benning) and her new far out boyfriend George (Matt Dillon) who claims to the “The Bousche” (George Boushce, get it?) from the CIA. To add further insult to her situation, she finds a strange man, Lee (Darren Criss) who sings in a Backstreet Boys Cover Band living in her old room. Her life goes from bad to worse as everyone believes she’s insane and a suicide risk, but everyone around is literally driving her crazy for real.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect much. I found it streaming on NetFlix and it sounded a little bit interesting, but I found it really entertaining. The biggest problem I had with it was that Kristin Wiig, although a great actress and comedienne, seemed much too old to play a character this young. Now perhaps the story was about a somewhat more mature lady, but the way she acted and behaved, she gave me the impression she was in her mid 20’s. That was really the only part that didn’t strike me as just right. But she did a good job, and carried the movie, although this is an ensemble cast for sure and there are some big names and great characters in this little film. Matt Dillon is actually hysterical in his role as Zelda’s boyfriend and does a great job. Darren Criss also plays his role well, and Annette Benning is stellar. All in all this is was a much, much funnier movie that I ever expected, and I really found myself interested in the story and how it was going to work out. I was very pleased with this film, and if you’re in the mood for some silly and lighthearted comedy, this is an unusual story that comes in from left field and wraps up nicely in the end. I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I invested the time to watch this.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Maven Pictures,

Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jacob Latimore, Mary J. Blige, Nas, Jennifer Hudson

Tyson (Tyrese Gibson) is a tough teen, growing up with a single Mom in Baltimore. When she loses her house, she sends Tyson to New York to live with his relatives. But they try to straighten him out and get him back on the right track so he heads back to the streets and learns the hard way about values and the meaning of life. This musical Christmas story is based on a stage play from 1961 by Langston Hughes.

I was not very impressed with this story. It wasn’t very original, nor was there much meat to the story. The music, I felt, took away from the film. Some of the songs come in awkward times that I felt took away from telling the story. In the end, it goes from total chaos to serendipity in a couple minutes and it really felt rushed. I have never been a fan of Jennifer Hudson, an though she screams pretty well, I never thought of her as a very good singer. In fact, when she comes off, I typically change the channel. That’s part of my problem I really enjoy Forest Whitaker, and he’s one of my favorites, and I felt he did a pretty good job in his role as the grandfather figure, a very religious man, and really concerned about his grandson. But he also is a bit flawed, and I felt he pulled that off really well too, and he was really good in this film. It was a Christmas movie, but it really didn’t feel much like it either. To sum it up, I felt let down with this film. I really wanted to catch it during the Christmas theater when it was out, but waited for DVD. I’ve been exited to see what it was all about, but I was sadly disappointed. It is a heartwarming story in the end, and has a place, I suppose, but I can’t widely recommend it because of my disappointment in the end.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog