Three new wide
releases find their way to theaters this weekend, again continuing
the odd eclecticism of this February. Sure, there are two comedies
this week, but their goals and means are so highly different that
they feel completely different. There's also a family friendly
uplifting sports story, too, so lots of audiences can be satisfied by
at least the premises at the movies.
The DUFF
Director: Ari
Sandel
Writer: Josh A.
Cagan
Starring: Mae
Whitman, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell
Mae Whitman of
Arrested Development fame – Ann Veal! – has an extensive
résumé but has almost always been a side character. That
fortunately changes with The DUFF, short for “designated
ugly fat friend,” a designation that Whitman most certainly does
not fit. However, the movie is a satire of the insane body image
limits people put on themselves and others. It could go off the rails
with saccharine platitudes, but Whitman's interest in the project
alone, with her track record of focusing on jokes rather than vanity,
puts this in the “go see it” category. The trailer offers promise
of this being another entry in the line of great female-led high
school comedies like Mean Girls and Easy A, with a
similar bite.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Director: Steve
Pink
Writer: Josh Heald
Starring: Rob
Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott
I didn't see the
original Hot Tub Time Machine, and I am frightened to learn it
came out five years ago, and that I was well into college at that
time. And now I am old. And I have gray hairs sprouting everywhere.
And this preview is getting offtrack.
Adam Scott, one of television comedy's MVPs of the last decade, replaces John Cusack, playing Adam, Jr., who I assume to be the future son of Cusack's Adam from the original. Because they time travel in these movies. With a hot tub. You get it. The trailer made me laugh a few times, especially Craig Robinson's “original” songs. It'll probably be a little lewd, a little mean, and probably some fun. I doubt you'll need to have seen the original to get onboard with the sequel.
Adam Scott, one of television comedy's MVPs of the last decade, replaces John Cusack, playing Adam, Jr., who I assume to be the future son of Cusack's Adam from the original. Because they time travel in these movies. With a hot tub. You get it. The trailer made me laugh a few times, especially Craig Robinson's “original” songs. It'll probably be a little lewd, a little mean, and probably some fun. I doubt you'll need to have seen the original to get onboard with the sequel.
McFarland, U.S.A.
Director: Niki Caro
Writers:
Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois, Grant Thompson
Starring: Kevin
Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez
Turns out this is a
movie about cross country runners, not swimmers. Its poster,
depicting a bunch of young men charging into the ocean, is misleading
and it should be removed immediately because I cannot handle this.
However, continuing my “when I was in college” meltdown of this preview, the trailer for McFarland, U.S.A. features a song by Juanes, a man whose songs – especially “A Dios Le Pido,” the one here – I heard innumerable times in college Spanish classes. It was the Truman State University Spanish department's main quirk, in which every professor played that song so we could learn the lyrics for some reason. That guitar riff reverberates through my brain in my darkest times, making them darker/more annoying. I am less inclined to see McFarland, U.S.A. because of this insult.
However, continuing my “when I was in college” meltdown of this preview, the trailer for McFarland, U.S.A. features a song by Juanes, a man whose songs – especially “A Dios Le Pido,” the one here – I heard innumerable times in college Spanish classes. It was the Truman State University Spanish department's main quirk, in which every professor played that song so we could learn the lyrics for some reason. That guitar riff reverberates through my brain in my darkest times, making them darker/more annoying. I am less inclined to see McFarland, U.S.A. because of this insult.
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