Evelyn

Evelyn (2002)
PG
Running Time: 95 minutes
UK

For those of you who managed to nail your eyelids open long enough to watch the newly released Mama Mia!, Evelyn may interest you too. Actually, all that the two films share in common is Pierce Brosnan singing. But, if James Bond singing ABBA songs to Meryl Streep doesn't deter you, then James Bond singing Irish Pub songs can only be that much more enticing. Supposedly this film is based on actual events. Desmond is the father of three children. His wife leaves him, and he subsequently looses his children because he drinks. The children are sent to a Catholic orphanage. James is poor and he is an alcoholic. He gives up the drink, teams up with some lawyers and they try to overthrow the Irish system of family law. The law can be interesting, sometimes, and this film does an fairly good job of exploring the social and political aspects of any good lawsuit, but so far as movies about the law are concerned, this one is pretty typical.

This film has good nuns and one bad nun, bad lawyers and a few good lawyers, cute little kids, and a grip of Irish people hanging out in pubs. But, there is only one lay Irish folk singer, and though he doesn't quite measure up to The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, or Flogging Molly, he most certainly outdoes his performance in Mama Mia! (Trust me, that film was so bad that I didn't even see it.) The best part of this film is Evelyn's (Sophie Vavasseur) testimony.

This film is a 3 out of 5. It is mediocre, inspirational, and moderately paced. (Want to see a really good portrayal of politics and law? See the recent John Adams mini-series, episode 1.)

Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express
R
Running Time: 111 minutes
USA

Why do I do this to myself?

Let me clarify before your thought processes get off track. There is a certain skill in overcoming what I'd like to officially label as "Christmas Syndrome™" or "CS™". This malady involves seeing an ad for any given product and completely allowing it to define your perception of said item, whether that be a toy, piece of clothing or even a film. Sadly, I fell prey to my own made up disease with this film and would like to hopefully shed some light as to why.

Judd Apatow is an incredible filmmaker. He uses horrible language, extremely crude humor and somewhat gimmicky sight gags...but the skilled part is, he makes you care about characters who are complete and total losers. That's not easy to do...and Mr. Apatow seems to have the capacity to pull it off with regularity. HOWEVER, that only seems to be the case when he directs his movies. When the Apatow name appears only as a producer, the film seems to suffer some...

Which brings me to tonight's word...I mean, review (please don't sue me Mr. Colbert). Plot? Don't bother...it's hardly relevant. A good stoner movie (which, admittedly, this is) cares not for such things. Comedic value? I laughed hysterically for the first half of the movie...almost on par with Superbad...and then it was like watching a firecracker whose fuse reaches the flash point, fizzles and then slowly tips over. It left me wanting. Not a good feeling. It's like the girl that winks seductively, gets your attention and then runs screaming in the other direction (admit it..it's happened to you, too). And this is where CS™ set in. I just kept thinking "Why?! Why did you build this up into another 40 Year Old Virgin when you know that's an incredibly high bench mark to reach?" But then I remind myself...Seth Rogen is good in everything he's been in (I even liked his minuscule role in Donnie Darko), it's at least an Apatow production and James Franco as a stoner looked hysterical. Therefore, after reflecting back on what I just viewed, I can conclude that, based on previous experience with Apatow films and with Seth Rogen, I contracted a slight case of CS™ which most likely affected my overall satisfaction with the film (not to mention the poor casting of Rosie Perez and the fact that the gore at the end almost seemed to be an inside joke between cast and crew). This happened to me somewhat with Superbad...and I'm happy to say that several viewings later I have come to enjoy it thoroughly. Not sure if that will be the case with this latest installment...but we shall see.

If you like stoner flicks, or if you're an Apatow/Rogen fan, check it out. Just lower your expectations a bit, the sure way to cure any lingering CS™.

ADDENDUM: I just remembered something that bothered me, too. Not sure if I was just making things up or not but I could have sworn that there were about 10 plugs for AT&T's "My Moment" ad campaign. If that's true, it bothered me somethin' fierce. Not that I disagree with product placement in films...but if you're gonna do it, do it subtlety!! If anyone else noticed it please let me know so that I don't think I'm crazy...