Delhi Belly (2011) ***

The thing about this movie is that, as dumb as it is, it represents Indian Cinema becoming more westernized.  Just the fact that the characters don’t break into song every five minutes is a departure (There are only a couple of musical numbers in the film.)  The film also pushes conservative, Indian, entertainment mores with some fairly explicit sexual content, although I don’t recall any actual nudity.  Beyond that, “Delhi Belly” is a pretty silly, predictable, action, gross-out comedy - basically an Indian “The Hangover.”
Tashi, Arup, and Nitin are underemployed, immature, twenty-something guys living like complete slobs in a shared apartment.   Tashi is engaged to Sonia, a sexy, Indian flight attendant who isn’t very bright.  When she helps out a friend by picking up a package from a nervous Russian at the airport, everybody’s lives start to get interesting.
Watching a movie like “Delhi Belly” is like watching a rabbit run from a hound.  Despite all the twists and turns, you know it is headed for that briar patch.  In “Delhi Belly,” all the major plot points are broadcast in advance, because we have seen them in American movies before.  Still, you have to give the directors credit for making a pretty capable movie within a genre that is not standard Indian fare, that genre being foul-mouthed, risqué, action farces.  There are any number of silly, American comedies that are better done than this, but if you are in the mood for something bizarrely exotic, I would say give “Delhi Belly” a chance.

3 stars out of 5

Wanderlust (2012) ****½

      What a laugh riot!  I can’t believe this movie slipped by me in theaters, but I’m glad we put it on our Netflix queue.  “Wanderlust” brings together some of my favorite people in comedy.  Written and directed by alums of the MTV comedy show “The State” (David Wain and Ken Marino), the movie features several of the old “The State” actors as well as Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston.  On top of all that, Judd Apatow produces.  With a pedigree like that, you may expect something hilarious, and you would be right!
Rudd and Aniston play George and Linda, an attractive pair of New Yorkers who have just purchased a tiny, expensive West Village apartment when their economic world collapses.  Unemployed and facing homelessness, they head to Georgia so George can work for his hilariously boorish brother (Ken Marino).  Along the way they accidentally spend the night at a hippie commune and find the experience surprisingly liberating.  Working and living with George’s brother turns out to be so unbearable that the pair flee back to the commune to give “intentional community” a try.
Someone needs to come up with some kind of facial yoga I can do before watching a movie like this, because “Wanderlust” made me smile and laugh until my face hurt.  From the very first scene, Rudd and Aniston knock the ball right out of the park, and every new character who walks across the screen lights it up.  Everyone is so good that I really can’t mention all the great comedic performances, although Justin Theroux does deserve mention for his over-the-top portrayal of hippie alpha-male Seth.  They also brought in Alan Alda to play the senile commune founder and add a touch of class.  I suppose if I had any criticism it would be that most of the hippie jokes are pretty well-worn.  The movie is fairly predictable, but big deal, they are all predictable once you’ve seen enough of them.  When the story is this funny and told this joyously, it doesn’t matter.
Just. Watch. It!

4.5 stars out of 5

Me Without You (2001) ****

If you want to understand why Michelle Williams is a big deal, you need look no further than this, one of her earliest films.  Her portrayal of Holly, the longsuffering best friend of beautiful, capricious mess Marina, is heartbreaking.
“Me Without You” is a story about the good, the  bad, and the ugly sides of friendship.  We see the inseparable Holly and Marina (Anna Friel) grow up together from little girls playing in the yard, to teens experimenting with drugs and sex, to college students, and finally adults.  From the time they are girls, it’s clear that Holly is the smart one and Marina is the pretty one, and the adults in their lives, particularly their mothers, constantly remind them of those roles, lest they should ever try to change.
We’ve all had a friend like Marina, someone who keeps us close, but frequently undermines us and tries to prevent us from growing.  Like most of these clinging, suffocating friends, Marina is driven by abandonment issues and lives in fear of Holly growing into a person who won’t need or want her anymore.  Of course, her fear is well-founded; we do outgrow our childhood friends for the most part.  Even if we always remain friends on some level, we move apart, find spouses, and end up not spending every day together anymore.  Over the years, Holly chafes more and more against the constricting bonds of Marina’s friendship, trying to find her own identity.
This may sound like grim stuff, but it isn’t.  “Me Without You” has plenty of humor, and the performances of the two actresses, not to mention Oliver Milburn as Marina’s brother, make it impossible to stop watching.  A warning though: The movie may make you look at your own best friend in a new light.

4 stars out of 5

The Women on the 6th Floor (2010) ***

This little international dramedy, in French and Spanish (with subtitles of course), tells the story of a bourgeois French banker.  His family owns a floor in a fine, Parisian building in which all the maids are housed in dormitory-like quarters on the top floor.  Mr. Joubert (Fabrice Luchini) has spent his entire life in that very building, yet he has never paid any attention to all those women on the 6th floor.  This changes when his family hires a new, Spanish maid.  Maria (Natalia Verbeke) is beautiful and confident, and she knows how to boil an egg.  Mr. Joubert is so intrigued by her that he gets drawn into her life and the lives of the other maids.  All Spanish, they turn out to be a fun, lively group, and their friendship makes Mr. Joubert reappraise his way of life even as his attraction to Maria threatens his marriage.  Meanwhile, his friendship with the maids triggers something of an awakening in his wife, as well.
In a sense, the story is perhaps a bit sentimental, celebrating as it does the simple, life-affirming ethos of these working-class women over the bourgeois lifestyles of their employers.  Fortunately, the actors are charming enough to get away with such a cliché.  I had never heard of Fabrice Luchini before, but I get the feeling he is somebody special in France.  His looks are very ordinary, but he radiates a humanity and charisma that make him imminently watchable.  He reminds me a bit of Paul Giamatti or Argentinean actor Ricardo Darin.  Natalia Verbeke holds her own well opposite Luchini, and Sandrine Kiberlain manages to make Mrs. Joubert rather sympathetic.  “The Women on the 6th Floor” is not groundbreaking, but it is funny and quite enjoyable.

3 stars

Torremolinos 73 (2003) ****

         In this outrageously funny and sexy Spanish film by director Pablo Berger, a man and his wife receive an offer they can’t refuse.  Struggling encyclopedia salesman Alfredo Lopez (Javier Camara) and his wife Carmen (Candela Pena) are offered the opportunity to make “educational films” about Spanish sexual practices, to be sold in Scandinavian countries.  On the verge of bankruptcy, they agree, and take to it surprisingly well.  Alfredo discovers a hidden talent for filmmaking, and the formerly demur Carmen becomes quite the wanton under the gaze of the camera.  Their films are a smash, but eventually they are forced to reconcile their new profession with Carmen’s desire to have a child and Alfredo’s desire to make a legitimate film.

Despite this being a foreign film, I’m a bit surprised never to have heard of it.  It is incredibly entertaining.  The balance of humor and graphic sex is perfect, lending an innocence to this very carnal story.  With the 1970’s Franco-era setting, this black and white film is full of bleak grays, but the humor of the movie uplifts it and makes it lighthearted and fun.  Interestingly, the film is apparently loosely based on a true story.  According to writer and director Pablo Berger, the story was inspired by the life of porn/horror director Jesus Franco.   Whatever the truth behind the film, I highly recommend it for those who are into subtitles and nudity.

4 stars out of 5

Medianeras (“Sidewalls” 2011 ) ****

In an effort to learn Spanish, I’ve been watching a lot of Spanish-language movies, and not worrying too much about the quality.  It was nice, finally, to watch one that is quite well done.  This little Argentinean, romantic comedy is philosophical, charming, and visually beautiful.
Martin (Javier Drolas), an agoraphobic website designer and Mariana (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), an underemployed architect, live on the same street in Buenos Aires.  Both are depressed and lonely.  As both go through a series of futile dates, we come to see that they would be perfect for each other, but of course, the odds of the two of them meeting in such a huge city are not good.  The city has ways of putting up barriers between people, and the theme of the film is that successfully making a life in such a place requires physically and mentally breaking through those barriers.
Meanwhile, the camera lingers on the skyline and the individual buildings of Buenos Aires, gray and inhuman.  The variety of buildings is endless, and many have blank, windowless sidewalls, called medianeras.  These blank spaces are used for billboards, an ugly alternative to what could have been light-bringing windows, and many apartment- dwellers rebel by chipping through the concrete to place unauthorized windows.
Despite the urban philosophizing and beautiful cinematography, “Medianeras” does not demand to be taken too seriously.  It’s a fun, optimistic, romantic comedy which declares that, as one of the songs in the film puts it, “true love will find you in the end.”  Amen to that.

4 stars out of 5

Moonrise Kingdom (2012) ***

The thing is, I like Wes Anderson, but I’m beginning to suspect that once you’ve seen a couple of his movies, you’ve seen them all.  The goofy shtick that makes up his adult fairy tales is so distinctive and repetitive that, like AC/DC albums, his films start to run together.  I think that you could watch “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” and call yourself an expert on Wes Anderson.  Nothing I have seen by him since those films has moved his vision forward or offered anything really new.
That’s not to say that Anderson’s latest, “Moonrise Kingdom,” isn’t pleasant enough.  It’s a story of young love, a commentary on being different, and a tale of how the daily grind of adult life can gradually lead to disappointment.  Hollywood newcomer Jared Gilman plays Sam, a 12-year-old “Khaki Scout” and social misfit who sneaks away from camp to meet up with Suzy (fellow newcomer Kara Hayward).  Suzy has her own problems fitting in, and the two share a tragic bond of awkwardness, made less tragic because it is shared.  The odyssey of their trek across a small, New England island draws in Suzy’s parents (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), the island’s lone policeman (Bruce Willis), and Sam’s scout troop, including his sympathetic, bumbling scoutmaster (Edward Norton).  Meanwhile, we learn that Suzy’s mom knows a little bit about forbidden love herself.  The tale is set in the 1960’s, and culminates with surrealist abandon during an historic New England hurricane.
I find myself wavering between liking “Moonrise Kingdom” and criticizing it for being the same old, Wes Anderson song-and-dance.  I think it’s fair to say the film deserves both.  On display are Anderson’s signature oddballs, with their stiff way of talking and their emotional wounds.  His recurring them is that families of all varieties are full of dysfunctional people and relationships, but they are all we’ve got.  I think he said it better in “The Royal Tenenbaums.”  Likewise his commentary about how difficult it is to grow up as a slightly odd kid is welcome, but it sparkled more in “Rushmore.”
Viewed on it’s own merits, “Moonrise Kingdom” deserves kudos for its child stars.  Gilman and Hayward adeptly lend their creepy, wounded characters the right balance of precociousness and innocence.  Their love story is sweet, and it provides a good backdrop for Suzy’s mom’s tragic love-life.  I liked the poignant juxtaposition of Suzy, who is free to pursue true, passionate love, but isn’t old enough, and her Mom, whose freedom to pursue that kind of love is shackled by the responsibilities that age brings.  I also enjoyed the sheer outdoorsiness of Sam and Suzy’s trek through nature.  For a weird kid, Sam is quite an expert on hiking, fishing, and camping.
Overall, I recommend “Moonrise Kingdom.”  It’s a fun, sweet story.  For Wes Anderson fans, this is more of what you love from him.  For those who don’t know Anderson’s work, I would strongly suggest watching “Rushmore” and the other films mentioned above.

3 stars out of 5

A Good, Old-Fashioned Orgy (2011) **½

 Everyone knows that folks in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s did some serious swinging, and from what you hear about young people today, you get the impression that they only stop slurping each other’s privates when they take a break to send each other naked pictures on their cell phones. So what happened to people like me, who came of age in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s? AIDS, that’s what. We grew up hearing that sex was a scary, dangerous thing that could kill you. It didn’t completely stop us from having sex, but it probably did cut down on the debauchery. “A Good, Old-Fashioned Orgy” is the story of a group of 30-somethings who set out to remedy that.

 Eric (Jason Sudeikis) and his group of high-school friends, which consists of several cute chicks and an assortment of dorky guys, have grown up partying at Eric’s dad’s beach house. When his dad puts the house up for sale, the friends see the end of not only their epic parties, but of the free, irresponsible chapter of their lives. (Which, given that they are about 30, they have stretched out pretty far, anyway.) Eric convinces the group to see the beach house off with one, last epic soire, a good, old-fashioned orgy between friends.

 You see the title of this film, and you figure it will be a fun sex-romp, and eventually it is, but they do take their time getting there. This is a story about 30-year-olds belatedly coming of age, so first they have to set up the many characters and their first-world issues. This is less a story about an orgy, and more a story about people realizing that they can only stretch their adolescence out so far, and I wish the film had either done a better job exploring that theme or just focused on the sex. In any event, it’s a moderate amount of fun. Sudeikis plays a funny, charming ladies’ man, and Tyler Labine is pretty good as his fat, crude sidekick. There’s one really funny scene that makes the whole film, where the guys do some research in an underground sex club. Basically, much of the movie is a less good-looking, less funny version of “The Hangover.” Also, in keeping with the modern trend, there are more naked, male buttocks on screen than naked, female breasts, and my wife points out that the male buttocks aren’t all that great. “A Good, Old-Fashioned Orgy” is fairly fun and funny, but if you are looking for soft-porn you will do better with “A Game of Thrones.”

 2.5 stars out of 5

The Descendants (2011) **

“Friends on the mainland think that living in Hawaii must be like living in Paradise….Well Paradise can go fuck itself.”  These are the words of a guy who is having a really bad time in a really beautiful place.  Matt King (George Clooney) is a well-to-do lawyer whose wife is in a terminal coma after a boating accident.  Their daughters Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller) are both acting out, and then Matt receives the bombshell that prior to the accident his wife had been having an affair and had planned to ask for a divorce.  Meanwhile, Matt is the hereditary, legal trustee of a large, extremely valuable hunk of  Hawaiian beachfront.  He and his cousins are all heirs, but he has legal control of the property, and changes to the law have made it necessary for them to sell the place.

Watching Matt sort through all this should be more interesting than it is.  The setup of a failing marriage being interrupted by a coma provides rich emotional grist, and Clooney does an okay job portraying the complex emotions, but the script makes a mockery of the situation.  Matt winds up stalking the real-estate agent with whom his wife was cheating, even following the guy to a different island.  I’m not saying that no one would ever do that, but I don’t think that an intelligent, contained lawyer like Matt King would do something so stupid and useless.  Then the way they have Matt handle the land sale feels very perfunctory and arbitrary.  Finally, the goodbye scene between Matt and his comatose wife is pure dreck, mostly ruining the rest of the movie for me.

There are a couple of bright spots.  Shailene Woodley has gotten a lot of hype, and deservedly so.  She is a beautiful and talented actress and holds her own quite well against George Clooney.  Robert Forster is quite convincing as Matt’s asshole father-in-law.  His character is not really likeable, but the way he handles his grief is convincing.

“The Descendants” also has an important social message in its discussion of advanced medical directives.  These are legal papers that someone prepares detailing what their wishes would be should they ever be severely ill or in a coma, including the conditions under which they would want to be removed from life support.  The decision to withdraw care from Matt’s wife is made much easier for the family because she had an advanced directive.  This is a good message for people to hear.  I wish it could be presented in a better movie.

2 stars out of 5

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (2010) ****

I knew nothing about French musician Serge Gainsbourg before watching this biopic, and it’s possible I still may not really know much, since this is a highly stylized, fictionalized version of his life.  Still, the movie is a delightful and sexy ode to the man and his art.

The film starts with Gainsbourg’s childhood in Nazi-occupied France.  Despite being Jewish, Gainsbourg managed to get a good art education in painting and music.  He was also rather precocious with the ladies.  He eventually focused on the music and the women, and it’s hard to say which he is more famous for.  For him, the music and the seductions were practically inseparable.  He bedded and wrote songs for such famous beauties as Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin.  He eventually became an infamous drunkard and died at 62, leaving behind a rich, influential body of French pop music.

“Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life” focuses on Gainsbourg’s inner life, particularly through the use of an imaginary friend who follows him around his whole life.  The character, whom Gainsbourg refers to as “my ugly mug,” has a gigantic nose and represents Gainsbourg’s strongly Jewish features, which he must have been made very aware of growing up under Nazi occupation.  In the film, this “mug” represents the voice in Serge’s head driving him to be a better musician, but also tempting him to leave whomever his current woman is to seek freedom and new conquests.  There are periods when Gainsbourg is able to deny his worst tendencies for a while, but in the end his Mug always gets his way.

There are some books and movies that just perfectly capture what it is to be an artist, both the good and the bad.  “The Doors” does this for Jim Morrison, and Patti Smith’s book “Just Kids” does it for her and Robert Maplethorpe.  “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life” is one of these.  The film eloquently depicts the man’s triumphs and failures not just as formative events that made him a great artist, but as the natural consequence of his being an artist to the core.  For anyone who enjoys artsy films and experimental music and doesn’t mind reading subtitles (The movie is in French.), I highly recommend this one.

4 stars out of 5