Bamf became bored trying to write a 27 Dresses review, since more pressing matters were on his mind. So he pushed two reviews together, and gave the better more space then the lesser.
UPDATE
If the time I put into writing a post about any movie does not interest you, then simply do not click the link. I appreciate the readership who have expressed opposite views to your welcome critique Old Otto.
I cover the film beat here, I see what I can, when I can, all out of pocket. If Komikazee were to limit its self to your standards, there would be no growth. Growth brings opportunities for all who contribute here, who will in turn be able to provide more content for you to enjoy, or take a pass on.
I should have included a /sarcasm to the end of my “love the next 2” statements, so that is my fault. It’s February, and the month is full of either hearts or talks for reparations. I chose hearts. That does not mean this is the only time you will see something like this from me. That is part and why I have created a new column heading. If this bit was labeled “Explosions, Metal, and Stripper Poles” and I gave you a review of Fool’s Gold, then sure, thats deception and I wouldn’t want any part of it either. This is clearly labeled as to what the content is.
For my Transformer review, I was called a TF poser, just another guy jumping on the bandwagon. And now for a breezy romance, I’m told I don’t belong here. So what to do? Easy answer for me, I will continue to write about what interests me in my own unique voice. If I only wrote about graphic novel film adapations, then you certainly wouldn’t see much here at all on the film side. I have a press screening next week for a film that has a decidedly different tone then these hearts and flowers reviews. I’ll make sure to disclose that I did not pay for that screening when the time comes for the review.
If the graphic novel industry limited it’s self to the standards you suggest, then we might never have gotten something as beautiful as the line I will leave on (or Scott Pilgrim??). As always, thank’s to everyone who read anything I post here.
“I don’t know who you are or whether you’re a man or woman. I may never see you. I will never hug you or cry with you or get drunk with you. But I love you. I hope that you escape this place. I hope that the world turns and that things get better, and that one day people have roses again. I wish I could kiss you. -Valerie” -V for Vendetta-
Bamf here rematerializing from the void..
I saw 27 Dresses a few weeks ago and what a disappointment that turned out to be. The lackluster Sex And The City screenplay didn’t deserve Katherine Heigl or a bamf favorite Judy Greer. I am ever more skeptical of Malin Akerman’s ability to pull off her role in the upcoming Watchmen. She is Snyder’s choice for the lynchpin character Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Specter II—ever more I feel she is just too vacant to give what that character demands*. After being somewhat charmed by P.S. I Love You, but left with a bitter taste in my mouth from 27 Dresses—it was with timid caution that I would see Definitely, Maybe.
I liked it, I mean I really liked Definitely, Maybe. The story starts out with Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) receiving good news at work, and bad news from home. He has been served with divorce papers. From there the film goes into its weakest moment being the opening title sequence as Will hits the pavement passing through the streets of New York to pick his daughter up from elementary school. The song use was vanilla, and the film’s stock was plummeting as fast as a tech business in 2000. Thankfully, it pulled out well.
Reynolds does a fine job in his role. He easily can go over the top with his quick style, but in this one he is quite natural. Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz were all smart casting for not only the story, but for their distinctive personalities that Reynolds can play off of. The big surprise is how awesome Abigail Breslin is in her role as Hayes’ daughter Maya. She is damn funny, cute, and as natural as can be with some weighty lines at times. If she fell flat, then this just wouldn’t work. Definitely, Maybe is a fairy tale of sorts, where the Princess gets to find out how she came to be. Maya wants to know how her Mother and Father met, with the hope that by making her Dad recount how he fell for her Mom, it might save their relationship. Will agrees to tell her the story, but since it involves three different women he will not tell her who her Mom is in the story, and leaves it for her to figure it out. The script has the structure, and to some extent the beats of The Princess Bride, gone urban.
Directed as well as written by Adam Brooks, color me pleased. The last thing I personally have seen by Brooks was French Kiss, another one of my ladies film favorites. To that connection, he gives us some great cynicism from Kevin Kline’s portrayal of a fast living Professor Hampton Roth, who’s book The Decline of Almost Everything if real, would be a must read in my library. Brooks knows how to write a lovely romantic comedy, and is even greater when he writes for Kline.
The story is just good fun, it lives in the 90’s but doesn’t try to be future aware. Will works for the Bill Clinton campaign in 1992 in New York, and when the first of many of Clinton’s sexcapades breaks in scandal it’s given a quite honest reaction by the characters who would rather believe in the man instead of the scandal**. But boy did Clinton rub that in our faces.
What I loved so much about this film, and why it will eventually sit paid for on my DVD shelf, is how Brooks is able to give his audience cake, and let them eat it too. There is a real swooning love story here, and it brings such gravity to the story by seeing the result of whatever happens between Will’s three loves in young Maya. There just are not many stories that take us beyond the sexy kiss in the rain. The story goes beyond that cliché and brings something fresh to the table. While others will disagree, I say seeing this is a definite, certainly not a maybe.
I give it full a full vibrator rating. Very stimulating.
*Please prove me wrong.
**Will Obama yield the same?