37 weeks in, I hope people are out there reading these and enjoying some if not all.
Week 37 brings us to 1997. This was a tough year for Disney movie choices.
There was:
Hercules..I think that comes across as aSaturday morning cartoon so..no
Then there were a bunch of family comedys that I was mildly interested in:
That Darn Cat
Jungle 2 Jungle
Air Bud
George Of The Jungle
Mr Magoo
It seems Disney flooded the Cineplexes with these family movies that year. I think I have seen everyone of them at sometime. I think I would rank George the best of the bunch.
I decided not to revist them and go over to Touchstone and go with a movie that has picked up a pretty big cult following:
Romy And Michele's High School Reunion.
I have seen this movie before and it left no impression on me. I cannot remember what year I
watched it or any parts of the plot. So I come in with fresh eyes.
Romy and Michele comes across as a female not so dumb and not so dumber film, a little sweeter.
Romy and Michele had a hard time while being harrassed by the popular crowd while in high school. Now,the time has come for their 10 year reunion. They come to realize their lives aren't as impressive as they'd like them to be. Instead of staying home they go to the reunion with business outfits, a cell phone, a convertable, and bogus stories about their lives.
The script for this movie is very good (Robin Schiff). The writing is probably why this movie has such a big following. It really touches on many stages of life. Like recent movies, Juno and Mean Girls, it is spot on describing high school life. Pack mentality rules. Ten years later, do your dreams get in the way of the now. Not seeing how blessed you are at this particular time. Then going to the reunion, and seeing that most (note I said most) of the time, people do not change much. Good people are still good people and mean people are still mean (and most of the time insecure).
As for the actors. Mira Sorvino as Romy and Lisa Kudrow (pretty much playing another version of Phoebe on Friends) as Michele. They do a nice job. The humor in the movie is not laugh out loud funny, it is almost cringe worthy humor. They are not the brightest girls, but they are so nice and they mean well. You cringe when awkward moments come up like, wearing heels on the treadmil; or the Post-It scene. You want to laugh, but you also want to hug them and help them. In that respect, I think that is what they want from the viewers, so I guess a tip of the hat to them.
Real quick, a couple of small roles that get a big thumbs up, as they help push the movie along:
Janeane Garofalo as Heather (inventor of the quick burning cigarettes)
Camryn Manheim as Toby (we all knew a Toby)
Alan as Sandy ( has he ever given a bad performance) he gives us a great dance scene, again, cringe worthy, awkwardly funny.
Well fun and not so fun facts:
The red dress that Lisa Kudrow wears into the Versace store is the same red dress Courtney wore at the end of Scream.
This move is based on a stage play called "Ladies Room".
A prequel to this movie was made in 1995 for ABC Family, critics called it unwatchable.
That is Justin Theroux, as the cowboy. Yes that Justin Theroux fiance of Jennifer Aniston.
Romy and Michele is an awkwardly funny movie (how many time have I said awkwardly in this review?). That is the best way to explain it. It is not great, but I do agree there is something about it that makes it better than good. Maybe people see a lot of Romy and Michele in themselves, and love to watch them come out on top just by being nice. I think it is worth one viewing if you have not seen it. I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 Mickeys.
As for Nemo in 3D. First have to note. I know we all have are favorite PIXAR movies. You make your list and it changes like mine I am sure. Nemo, Toy Story and Up seem to be in my top all the time.
I love Nemo, the story, the wonderful characters Marlin and Nemo meet.
Now as for my trip yesterday to see Nemo in 3D. Major, Major, Major (did I say major) disapointment! When the film was originally released, PIXAR did a wonderful job showing the depth of the water (like the whale and the shark you see from a distance, or coral reefs in the background). What I am saying, the 3D adds nothing. Maybe bubbles floating out a bit. The depth was already there. Now for a person who loves Nemo (I am a 6'3 guy I still teared up when Nemo hugged his dad and said I love you at the end), at least I was excited to see it on the big screen again. However even that is ruined by 3D, the bright colors of the reef and the ocean are now faded by the 3D. Just bad. The movie always gets 5 Mickeys from me. The 3d version I saw yesterday gets 1 Mickey. Save your money. The funny thing is I probably would have paid to see the original version on the big screen again ( I just paid to see Casablanca on the big screen last week, wonderful by the way), not 3D.
Well this was a long one, next week is a tough decision between two very good animated movies.
Well a tip of the hat to Art Fry the inventor of Post-Its.
Have a Romy and Michele week!
Week 37 brings us to 1997. This was a tough year for Disney movie choices.
There was:
Hercules..I think that comes across as aSaturday morning cartoon so..no
Then there were a bunch of family comedys that I was mildly interested in:
That Darn Cat
Jungle 2 Jungle
Air Bud
George Of The Jungle
Mr Magoo
It seems Disney flooded the Cineplexes with these family movies that year. I think I have seen everyone of them at sometime. I think I would rank George the best of the bunch.
I decided not to revist them and go over to Touchstone and go with a movie that has picked up a pretty big cult following:
Romy And Michele's High School Reunion.
I have seen this movie before and it left no impression on me. I cannot remember what year I
watched it or any parts of the plot. So I come in with fresh eyes.
Romy and Michele comes across as a female not so dumb and not so dumber film, a little sweeter.
Romy and Michele had a hard time while being harrassed by the popular crowd while in high school. Now,the time has come for their 10 year reunion. They come to realize their lives aren't as impressive as they'd like them to be. Instead of staying home they go to the reunion with business outfits, a cell phone, a convertable, and bogus stories about their lives.
The script for this movie is very good (Robin Schiff). The writing is probably why this movie has such a big following. It really touches on many stages of life. Like recent movies, Juno and Mean Girls, it is spot on describing high school life. Pack mentality rules. Ten years later, do your dreams get in the way of the now. Not seeing how blessed you are at this particular time. Then going to the reunion, and seeing that most (note I said most) of the time, people do not change much. Good people are still good people and mean people are still mean (and most of the time insecure).
As for the actors. Mira Sorvino as Romy and Lisa Kudrow (pretty much playing another version of Phoebe on Friends) as Michele. They do a nice job. The humor in the movie is not laugh out loud funny, it is almost cringe worthy humor. They are not the brightest girls, but they are so nice and they mean well. You cringe when awkward moments come up like, wearing heels on the treadmil; or the Post-It scene. You want to laugh, but you also want to hug them and help them. In that respect, I think that is what they want from the viewers, so I guess a tip of the hat to them.
Real quick, a couple of small roles that get a big thumbs up, as they help push the movie along:
Janeane Garofalo as Heather (inventor of the quick burning cigarettes)
Camryn Manheim as Toby (we all knew a Toby)
Alan as Sandy ( has he ever given a bad performance) he gives us a great dance scene, again, cringe worthy, awkwardly funny.
Well fun and not so fun facts:
The red dress that Lisa Kudrow wears into the Versace store is the same red dress Courtney wore at the end of Scream.
This move is based on a stage play called "Ladies Room".
A prequel to this movie was made in 1995 for ABC Family, critics called it unwatchable.
That is Justin Theroux, as the cowboy. Yes that Justin Theroux fiance of Jennifer Aniston.
Romy and Michele is an awkwardly funny movie (how many time have I said awkwardly in this review?). That is the best way to explain it. It is not great, but I do agree there is something about it that makes it better than good. Maybe people see a lot of Romy and Michele in themselves, and love to watch them come out on top just by being nice. I think it is worth one viewing if you have not seen it. I would give it 3 1/2 out of 5 Mickeys.
As for Nemo in 3D. First have to note. I know we all have are favorite PIXAR movies. You make your list and it changes like mine I am sure. Nemo, Toy Story and Up seem to be in my top all the time.
I love Nemo, the story, the wonderful characters Marlin and Nemo meet.
Now as for my trip yesterday to see Nemo in 3D. Major, Major, Major (did I say major) disapointment! When the film was originally released, PIXAR did a wonderful job showing the depth of the water (like the whale and the shark you see from a distance, or coral reefs in the background). What I am saying, the 3D adds nothing. Maybe bubbles floating out a bit. The depth was already there. Now for a person who loves Nemo (I am a 6'3 guy I still teared up when Nemo hugged his dad and said I love you at the end), at least I was excited to see it on the big screen again. However even that is ruined by 3D, the bright colors of the reef and the ocean are now faded by the 3D. Just bad. The movie always gets 5 Mickeys from me. The 3d version I saw yesterday gets 1 Mickey. Save your money. The funny thing is I probably would have paid to see the original version on the big screen again ( I just paid to see Casablanca on the big screen last week, wonderful by the way), not 3D.
Well this was a long one, next week is a tough decision between two very good animated movies.
Well a tip of the hat to Art Fry the inventor of Post-Its.
Have a Romy and Michele week!