“The opinion of the reviewer is strictly his. If you don’t like my review, eat my ass.”
Keep that in mind while reading.
“Fun With Dick and Jane”2005
**1/2 of ****
Director: Dean Parisot
Cast: Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin
A remake of a 1977 film, “Fun With Dick and Jane” was released in 2005. This was around the time I started to really get into movies, you know, as more that just entertainment. I refer to it now as my “Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey Era”. Those two being my favorite actors at the time (and still to this day), these were the days where I would sit at home and watch my favorites over and over again on DVD. My “usuals”? “Liar Liar”... “Bruce Almighty”... “Cast Away”... and lest us not forget the famous “Forrest Gump”.
Well, when I saw the commercial for this on TV, I thought it looked pretty funny. But that fact that my boy Jim Carrey was in it sold it for me. I went to see it opening weekend. And I actually liked it. In a rather hilarious plot, Dick Harper (Carrey) loses everything: his job, his car, his money, all the way down to his front lawn, when his company, Globodyne, crashes. So, he and his wife Jane (Leoni), after trying numerous things to make money, must resort to stealing to get what they want. Everything they lost: their money... car... TV... they stole it all back. They continue to live their lives this way, stealing what they need, until they see their friends, also ex-Globodyne employees who lost everything, get arrested for holding up a bank. They finally realize that they cannot keep living their lives the way they are.
In the meantime, ex-CEO of Globodyne, Jack McAllister (Baldwin) is living it large. The crash of Globodyne didn’t affect him at all. In fact, he has 400 million dollars put away in a bank while all his ex-employees are either on the streets or in jail. So instead of stealing the money, they devise a scheme to get McAllister to unknowingly wire-transfer 400 million dollars to them.
This movie is an absolute riot. On top of the naturally funny plot, the little things that happen in between make the movie so enjoyable. Jane takes an experimental drug as part of a clinical study and her face blows up like a balloon. She can barely talk and looks like a chipmunk. Dick ends up getting arrested by immigration officials, when of course, he is an American non-immigrant. The two of them go in to stick up a coffee shop, but instead of stealing money rip off a muffin and two cappichinos! The fact that they are two average, normal individuals trying to carry out a criminal lifestyle is funny, because they are so amateurish. The fact that they stick places up with a water gun is hilarious. The whole concept of it if just plain, out and out funny.
This is still a favorite of mine to this day. I always laugh when I watch it, and never mind seeing it over and over again. 2 and ½ stars for me. I recommend it to those with a good sense of humor and like to laugh.
“Mr. Woodcock”2007
*** out of ****
Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon
“Mr. Woodcock”. Many of you may remember the title. It wasn’t all that long ago... about a year now. I remember seeing a trailer for it for the first time, and if I recall correctly, almost pissing myself. It looked funny from the beginning, however, I didn’t get to see it in theaters.
And then I forgot about it for awhile. Actually... for a LONG while. I hadn’t even REMEMBERED the film “Mr. Woodcock” until I was browsing through WOW Video last week. So I read the back of the case, laughed again, and took it out.
And boy do I regret missing this one on the big screen. This is probably one of the funniest films I have seen since Clerks 2. John Farley (Scott) grew up the fat kid. He was always pushed by his gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Thornton) to succeed. However, Woodcock wasn’t the friendliest gym coach. When I say “push”, I mean it in the literal sense. Woodcock pushed kids to their limits. Some kids considered it torture, and Farley was convinced that Woodcock had ruined his life.
Well, years later, Farley is a successful author of his book “Letting Go”, which is about his childhood struggles, and how he worked to get past all of it. A major part of the novel was inspired by Woodcock himself. Well, it turns out that when he comes home to visit mommy, Woodcock is engaged to her. Talk about a conflict? After that, the rest of the film is about Woodcock and Farley competing and butting heads.
A very funny film. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. It seems that, years later, Farley is trying to get his revenge, and do now, what he couldn’t do then: To beat Woodcock. They make each other’s lives hell, and Woodcock hasn’t changed one bit. Farley goes to the ends of the earth to prove that Woodcock is a bad guy. He accuses him of cheating on his mom, killing a cat, and killing one of his childhood friends. Woodcock beats John with a bat, “mistakenly” thinking he was an intruder, even though John had identified himself.
The settler: They wrestle, in one of the funniest scenes I have even seen in a movie. If you at all get bored with this, skip to the wrestling scene. I can guarantee some laughs from it.
I loved Mr. Woodcock, and as of now it is now under the title of “Randy’s Favorites”. 3 out of 4 stars for me. I really enjoyed it, and since last week have watched it 3 times. Everyone I have watched it with has also enjoyed it. Excellent writing and dialogue make this film a complete success.
Well, that’s gonna do it for this edition of Diggin’ Into the DVD Archive. I hope you’ve enjoyed my reviews. I’m not entirely sure what’s in store for the next edition, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to comment this article and let me know. Suggestions are always welcome, and if I can, I will review it for a future installment. Well, that’s all for now. Until next time, happy reviewing!
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