"Marry Me" Review: A Dull Film That Leaves Profound Questions
Jennifer Lopez has plenty of good rom-coms under her belt. There’s something about her charm that as far as Jenny has been removed from the block, she still feels like Jenny from the block. Marry Me is not going to be one of the hits that goes in the collection. Perhaps the concept would work with better casting but this formulaic, supposed feel-good romantic film lacks heart and left me asking questions about screenwriting, ageism, and the biases film culture has created.
For context, let’s talk about the film so we can get to the meat and potatoes. Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) is a singer/songwriter superstar. She plans to marry her fiancé Bastian (Columbian music star Maluma) after performing their huge hit, Marry Me. Right before she steps on stage for the big event a scandal strikes with video evidence of Bastian cheating. So what would any rational person do? She goes on stage and decides to marry a random guy in the audience instead.
Enter Charlie (Owen Wilson), standing in the crowd with a “marry me” sign beside his tween-age daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman), a major Kat Stan! Kat makes a split second decision based on sight. Let’s pause here for a second. Glances, physical appearance and how the camera captures it is a part of romantic comedies. The way the camera frames its subject, with help from lights and gels, are a part of the fantasy or romance that we get hooked into in the storytelling. Since the Golden Age of Hollywood, these cinematic techniques have helped us fall in love with stars on screen. So, for nearly 100 years, at least five generations in families, we’ve been taught what is beautiful and how to gaze at a subject by the big screen. So Kat locks eyes with Charlie and makes a big decision. She doesn’t learn until later that he’s a mild-mannered single dad and math teacher (all the things that make him a down to Earth guy). Stay with me.
From there we get a reverse Can’t Buy Me Love set up in which Kat and Charlie proceed with the on stage marriage. They decide to keep the stunt going as Kat’s adoring fans can’t get enough of this fairytale, unbelievable story. Charlie is fine with this new adjustment in his life, but is fervent about continuing life as a teacher and all around drama-free guy. As the two get to know each other, we quickly see how opposites attract. Charlie’s normal and simple life contrasts against Kat’s busy, notorious and calculated life. Charlie has his funny best friend, Parker (Sarah Silverman) and Kat has her funny best friend Melissa (Michelle Buteau) who talk in their ear along the journey. It’s the tried and true set up of a film of this type. Will they end up together? It’s the question we want to know the answer to and this movie blandly tells it.
Wilson is a robot, barely opening his mouth wide enough to get his lines out. Charlie’s body is stiff in most scenes in contrast to Kat’s movement; she’s literally dancing and moving in pretty good song and dance numbers throughout the film. While Lopez gives us charm and age-defying looks, it’s hard to get past the unequal weight of her counterpart bringing the film down. So suddenly, it becomes evident that we’re dealing with a real life global super star on the screen. Kat as a character isn’t a stretch for Lopez because she can identify with the life. This is what pulled me out of the film. Even if we take J Lo’s real age off the table, it’s evident she’s not twenty something. In fact, late thirties could be the least we’ll give her. So why does a woman who isn’t a spring chicken just getting into the music business in this film, making a split second decision to marry a stranger? Why does she not know how to call for transportation? Why does she not know to put the cap on a blender before starting it? For the film it may be cute, but when you think critically it isn’t.
Still with me? So in my head I started thinking, she’s too old for this film from a wisdom perspective. Kat should be smarter than this! However, if she doesn’t have the knowledge and wisdom at this age, why wouldn’t writers John Rogers, Tami Sagher, and Harper Dill do the work to give us Kat’s arrested development backstory? Instead, it’s simplified to the fact that people do these things for her. This was an opportunity to make a mature love story. It’s one in which making impetuous decisions due to trauma or baggage can hit anyone at any age. It would fill in the plot holes, give character development and evolve the genre. Instead, I kept thinking they should have casted Ariana Grande and another young male star for the role because they’re too old to be acting like this. Charlie could still be a math teacher but taking care of his dead brother’s daughter making him even more loveable. Perfect.
Thus, this question of ageism kept pushing its way in my mind. Why did I feel this way? Why am I judging Owen Wilson’s looks, movements and why I felt he was so old visually in comparison to J Lo? Can only young people make silly decisions? Do we look at youth and excuse their lack of wisdom due to age but expect more from older people while overlooking the baggage that we all carry that may stunt their growth in certain areas? These thoughts on a micro level made me think about the macro and how we’ve arrived at this point in cinema.
Marry Me is a below average romantic comedy, but the questions it leaves, in my opinion, are profound. I Want You Back is out this weekend, and in it we get a more grounded film of the same genre with characters who are older but their impetuousness is explained. It’s funnier and the chemistry is there! It’s an example of how we can take what we’ve seen over the past hundred years and show growth in storytelling and what beauty is on screen. A part of beauty is getting older, imperfections, overcoming mistakes, being flawed, and so much more. Hopefully, we can see that in films and redefine what it looks like while not being afraid to make popcorn fun too!
Rating: D+
"Ralph Breaks The Internet" Review
When Wreck-It Ralph was first released in 2012, it quickly became one of my favorite animated Disney films to come out within the last few years. It was innovative, the video game references I grew up with were fun, and it was a perfect starring vehicle to utilize the talents of John C. Reilly. When Disney announced that a second one was coming, it was one of the films I was looking forward to watch this year. After watching the film, even though there are some bumps on the road, I’m happy to report that Ralph Breaks the Internet is a solid sequel.
Set six years after the events of the first film, Ralph (Reilly) and his best friend Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) find themselves traveling to the world of the Internet after Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) recently installs a WiFi connection in his arcade. When a mishap causes a player to accidentally break the controller to Sugar Rush, Ralph and Vanellope have just days to find the part and raise the money before Mr. Litwak pulls the plug on Sugar Rush for good. Along the way, Ralph and Vanellope come across a game called Slaughter Race, which sparks Vanellope’s interest and causes her to question if she wants more to life.
First off, the animation in this film is still absolutely gorgeous to look at. Returning director Rich Moore and co-director Phil Johnston (who co-wrote the first film) and their animators do a good job in separating the different worlds and characters apart to have each stand on their own. Conceptually, Moore and Johnson’s visualization of the Internet to make it a futuristic and Utopic view, works well. Initially, I was somewhat worried that the product placements in the film, since it takes place on the web, would be overbearing or just be paid advertisements for the various apps or websites featured, but for the most part, the filmmakers don’t shove it down your throat, or have the story be compromised with the apps or websites that agreed to be in this film.
Since this is a Disney release, luckily, they don’t overdo the synergy of their various franchises that are featured in this. You can believe the hype you’ve been hearing about Vanellope meeting the Disney Princesses. In an amazing act of genius they got all of the actresses to come back and the banter includes a fun joke at another animation company that Disney owns. The film really begins to hit its groove when Ralph and Vanellope need to find the funds to get the new piece, and some of the skewing of the material is absolutely spot-on and extremely funny at times.
When we view sequels, we tend to see the same song and dance, rinse and repeat again. I appreciate that the screenplay that Johnston and Pamela Ribon concocted in trying to tell something different. If the first film was about how someone who is perceived as bad can become good, this one is about how you grow up and realize that you and your friend sometimes don’t share the same dreams and aspirations as one another and you both come to that crossroad, which is something that I can relate to from time to time. With how they handle it, it’s a nice message and this film wears its heart on its sleeves. Even though we see the Internet these days use for hate and vitriol, this highlights how sometimes the Internet can bring people together for good. Voice wise, the chemistry between Reilly and Silverman is still strong as ever, and they bring some new dimensions to their respective roles that can be quite effective at times. All the other voice actors were good in this and don’t feel out of place, including an uncredited Bill Hader as J.P. Spamley, a figure that Ralph and Vanellope meet along the way, and Gal Gadot as Shank, a racer in Slaughter Race. The cameos in this are fun as well.
Ralph does take a bit to actually get going. Since it’s introducing so many things that at times, it tends to be a little clunky, which is especially evident in the first act. For the 112-minute runtime that this has, Ralph in hindsight, could have been trimmed down in some places as the pacing hits a snag. There are some story threads that the filmmakers introduce that they don’t follow through on, and some of the characters from the first are barely in this, like Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) and Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch).
Overall, I enjoyed what Ralph Breaks the Internet brought to the table and what it was trying to accomplish. Reilly and Silverman give it their all, and the filmmakers were smart in having the sequel focus more on them and their growth. With the beating heart that this sequel shows, if they continue making films in this series, I’ll surely be there every single time. If you’re looking for something to watch with your family during this holiday season, you can’t go wrong with this. When you do, I would suggest staying until the end of the credits for something special that will surely bring a smile to your face. On that note, I would recommend watching this in the theater!
Rating: B
"Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" Review
Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone are known for their comedy sketches and parody videos as a part of The Lonely Island. They came to prominence with their Saturday Night Live digital short “Lazy Sunday”. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is simply them coming together and fleshing out a feature length version of one of their videos. It’s a rock mockumentary for the popular culture of the 21st century, that’s actually funny.
Conner4real (Samberg) is a young singer/rapper at the top of his game. He started out in the hip hop group called The Style Boyz with his childhood friends, Owen (Taccone) and Lawrence (Schaffer). Stepping out from the group he catapulted himself to the top of the charts and hearts of his fans. After the huge success of his first album, we find Conner preparing for his latest, Connquest. To ensure the albums success, Conner wrote all of the songs and used 100 producers to create all of the beats.
With songs like “Equal Rights”, about marriage equality but stitched together with homophobic lines, and “Finest Girl” which makes references to killing Osama Bin Laden, Connquest tanks. The rest of the film is about Conner realizing he has a bunch of “yes men” around him and getting back to his roots.
While the set up is typical of a VH1 Behind the Music episode, that’s a part of what makes it wonderful. The film mocks pop culture, pop music, and hip hop in a way that’s right on the money by marrying the documentary style filmmaking with comedy. Popstar is written by Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone and there is a palpable sense that they wanted to mock the culture while hitting dramatic beats and actually telling a story rather than stringing together numerous sketches.
As the film unfolds, numerous celebrity cameos of popular artists and comedians are woven into the film. Some are brief, and other’s continue to come back, but most of them add to the humor of the film because of the irony of making fun of the business they helped create or are still a part of. There are a few TMZ or CMZ as it’s called in the film, scenes that are hilarious! They nail Harvey Levin and crew’s office sessions.
This film is a little funnier than the trailer, and I cracked up watching the trailer. So if you don’t find the trailer funny, than you probably won’t find the film funny either. But there’s no escaping the fact that this is clever satire that encapsulates this social media/reality TV/need to be liked generation in an affectionate, genuine, comedic film.
Rating: B
