Weekend With Steve: Reviews of Dinner for Schmucks and Despicable Me

My girlfriend and I were trying to decide whether to see The Other Guys or Dinner for Schmucks this past Friday night.  I shot Joey a text to ask his opinion.  His response, “Do you like Carell or Ferrell more?”  Being huge fans of The Office we both replied Carell and Joey told us our decision was made.

Things that would have been more worth our time:

 Watching Steve Carell in The Office reruns.
 Watching Steve Carell in Date Night after we rented it from the store.
Watching Steve Carell sleep.

Seriously.  If you remember my Date Night review, you know that I was not overly impressed.  Let me assure you that it was markedly better than Carell’s latest big screen endeavor. The humor in this film is derived mainly from misunderstandings that arise from the idiocy of Carell’s character, Barry.  Paul Rudd’s character, Tim, meets Barry and henceforth nothing that he does goes according to plan.  The two continue to find themselves tangled in awkward situations that cause problems for Tim.  It may sound similar to the premise of the Meet the Parents franchise but they are world’s apart.  Even if you disregard the terribly shallow characters (Larry Wilmore’s character is literally one of the worst I have ever seen) and plot, you are still left with situations that are based solely upon entirely unbelievable characters.
Some of Barry’s quirks (such as the fact that he creates scenes with taxidermic mice) are plausible and funny, but the go overboard in many occasions and make his character a total dolt.  Many of his actions do not mesh with the rest of what we know about his character and he is taken from tremendously socially awkward to complete and utter idiot, which seemingly contradicts itself.

Furthermore, the writer appeared to be torn on whether one should feel sorry for Barry and empathize with him or just find him totally laughable.  The dynamic between the two does not work well and makes for a feel good ending that leaves you with a confused and dumbfounded feeling.  This is one of the worst comedies I have seen in recent memory and certainly the worst work I have seen from Carell.  As he transitions away from The Office, hopefully this is not a sign of things to come from Steve Carell’s live action movie projects.


.5 stars out of 5



The reason I say live action projects is because Saturday brought a new day, and I decided to give Steve another chance as I went to see the new Dreamworks animated blockbuster Despicable Me.  When you come out with an animated film weeks after the largest grossing animated film to date (Toy Story 3 if you live under a rock and haven’t read this), your expectations have to be tempered.  The same must be true when going to watch such a film.  If you do, you will be pleasantly amused with Despicable Me.  The film’s plot is fairly original as super-villain Gru (voiced by Carell) learns to father three young girls that he has adopted in order to use for his dastardly plan to become the greatest thief of all time.  The story is entertaining for both young and old.  Children will enjoy the gentle humor and goofy minions while adults will sympathize with some of Gru’s lot and will appreciate some of the jokes intended for a more mature audience (including a jab at the company formerly known as Lehman Brothers).
The difference between this film and Carell’s other recent ones is that it is not based solely upon his character.  Gru is in no way similar to Michael Scott and so Carell can successfully create a character that has no ties to what made him big.

Despicable Me is a fun movie that does not try to do too much, but lets Carell break away from what seems to be a patterned typecast.  Its humor is driven by good writing, and I’ll say it again, good stories make good movies.

3 stars out of 5



Moral of the story, Joey cannot be trusted.  Just kidding.  If you haven’t been able to tell by now the two of us have slightly different movie tastes.  Hope you are still enjoying the blog, and please feel free to share this link on Facebook or post it on your Twitter.  We would greatly appreciate it.  Speaking of Twitter be sure to follow @clawtomicbaum for the latest from the minds of two geniuses.  And don’t forget to send us requests!!!!


-Nuss

Pixar's Latest Blockbuster: Toy Story Thrice

The last few weeks have been extremely busy for me.  I was graduating from college, moving out of my house (that’s a generous word for it), trying to find a job (still trying), and going on a family vacation to the most wonderful place on earth.  But in the midst of it all I managed to wrangle my family into seeing the midnight showing of the highly anticipated Toy Story 3.  After a great graduation dinner, my family and I watched a movie that was more relevant than I could have ever imagined.


Toy Story 3 is a continuation of the most profitable franchise in Disney history.  In many ways, the first in the trilogy saved a somewhat old-fashioned Disney company.  Disney continues to capitalize on the franchise, as WDW has two rides dedicated to it, and an entire meet and greet area for characters at Hollywood Studios’ Pixar Place.  This third film will only continue to bolster the already superb series’ popularity and loveability.
The whole crew is back (Woody, Buzz, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, etc.) and maybe more importantly, all of their celebrity voices have returned (don’t forget how I felt about Maggie Gylenhall in The Dark Knight).  The continuation of the first two stories is at the very core of the entire movie as well it should be.  Andy is now going off to college and trying to figure out what to do with all of his old things.  The toys band together to figure out how they will fit into the picture and discover a lot about themselves and friendship along the way.
As always, the Disney Digital 3D was pristine.  The depth that it adds to the film gives it literally and figuratively a whole new dimension, and I would highly encourage that you experience this one at least once in theaters for that very reason.  Pixar always produces stunning visuals and this is no exception.  When paired again with the brilliant work of singer-songwriter Randy Newman, who composed much of the soundtrack, you have a great experience, regardless of what actually takes place.


But as I always harp on, story is everything.  Not only is the plot in this one relatable, but it also has a feel-good theme.  As a college kid that just spent a graduation vacation in WDW, I can relate to the opening of the film.  Andy, going away to college, still wants to hang on to some of his childhood, namely his favorite toys.  While this is only a small part of the kickoff, I feel that it is very important in the overall plot, including its conclusion.  Without giving away too much, the toys figure out away to leave everyone happy in the end and give the audience a heartfelt “others before self” resolution.


I don’t think that the story is quite as engaging as the first two, but it is still up to typical Disney standards.  While I felt that Up!  was a step back in the right direction after I was severely disappointed with WALL-E, this is a leap in that same direction.  If I had to choose an area that the movie could have improved, it would have been the inclusion of more well-known toys (although Michael Keaton’s Ken doll performance is very good), and the addition of some more wit in the comedy.  Toy Story 3 was successful in that it continued the Pixar legacy and re-emphasized the connection to Disney.  It is still in recent memory that Pixar and Disney were considered to be going their separate ways.  While Toy Story redefined what Disney animation would look like in the future, Toy Story 3 reinforces that the Disney-Pixar team is the best in the business.  This film is great for everyone from kids to those still holding onto their childhoods.


4.5 Stars out of 5