THIS IS 40
As the poster says, it is the “sort of” sequel to Knocked Up. Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are back, and this time, since they were the best thing about Knocked Up, instead of supporting characters they are the main focus of the film.
Debbie is about to turn 40 and not very happy about it. Pete’s new business is struggling, and they have two daughters that need attention. In short, they are in a funk, and Apatow manages plenty of smart, funny (and fair warning: often crude) observations about what this stage of life is about.
You’ll laugh, hard and out loud in some spots, but the longer it drags on the more self-indulgent it gets, and the patches where you don’t laugh become a bit more frequent. 3 stars (out of 5)
JACK REACHER
If you’re not familiar with the “Jack Reacher” series of books, you may be surprised when this film turns out to be more of a high-octane Encyclopedia Brown than a Jason Bourne-type action fest.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some action scenes and Tom Cruise, as Reacher, does get to beat down a few baddies. But more than that, he’s busy uncovering clues that elude everyone else, as they all stand around and stare in wide-eyed wonderment at Reacher’s incredible brain power.
Reacher is an elusive drifter, a former military cop who turns up when a sniper suddenly shoots five random people dead. Side note: if you’re thinking maybe releasing this film now is a little insensitive, I’m with you. Anyway, the cops think they have the shooter in an open and shut case, until Reacher shows up and starts digging into the case.
It all gets overly dramatic, a bit contrived and certainly overlong, but the finale does deliver some long-awaited fireworks. 3 stars
THE GUILT TRIP
Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan starring as mother and son seems an inspired idea. They’re also listed as executive producers of this film, so the first question that comes to mind is “Why?”
There had to be other scripts more worthy of their talents. What’s even more surprising is the screenwriter, Dan Fogelman, is fresh from some mostly nice work on Crazy Stupid Love. I say “mostly” because there was the incredibly contrived scene at the boy’s graduation, and that’s the type of writing The Guilt Trip wallows in.
It starts right from the premise: road trip. Rogan is Andrew, an industrial chemist (yes, you read that right) who has invented a great organic cleaning product. He sets up a cross- country trip to meet with prospective retailers, and the trip starts in New York with a quick visit to see his mother Joyce (Streisand, looking pretty darn good at 70).
She decides to finally tell Andrew about the great love she had before his late father, so Andrew Googles the guy. Turns out he’s in San Francisco, so why not invite Mom along on the trip, and end up surprising her by looking up her old flame?
Along the way we get nothing but boring, unfunny ridiculousness, from Babs at a strip club to Babs in a Texas steak-eating contest. The film’s highlight, in all seriousness, is Nora Dunn in a dead-on sendup of a host on the Home Shopping Network.
A waste of talent. 1 star.