Review No.185: That's My Boy

Plot: In 1984, 13 year old Donny Burger has an affair with his teacher which results in her getting arrested and also later having a child. The affair makes Donny a minor celebrity however his relationship with his son, who he names Han Solo, deteriorates over the years and the pair loose contact. In the present day Donny owes loads of money in back taxes and he is advised that the only way to get a large amount of money is to reunite his son with the mother he hasn't seen for years. Donny's son is now calling himself Todd Peterson and is doing well as an accountant while he is about to be married to the beautiful Jamie even though she treats him badly. Donny turns up on the weekend of Todd's wedding, posing as his oldest friend, and soon becomes his Best Man even though Todd realises that with his father around things will get out of control. Inevitably the pair bond over the weekend however with the reunion special looming will Donny tell Todd why he's really there or will he forgo getting the money in order to repair the relationship with his son.

Positives: There are two great cameos in the film with James Caan playing an incredibly violent Irish priest and Susan Sarandon as the older version of Todd's mother. I have to say I also found Vanilla Ice, who is now Donny's best friend, particularly amusing despite the fact he really can't act.

Negatives: This film is just distasteful from beginning to end starting as it does with statutory rape and ending with a couple of incest 'gags' David Caspe's script is truly terrible. Talking of truly terrible Adam Sandler once again portrays an over-the-top comic character by 'doing a voice' and hoping that will be enough to make him funny which it really isn't. I feel that Sandler, certainly when he plays these comedy roles, has now lost the humour he once had in Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer so should probably stick to more straight roles such as the one he played in Funny People. Sandler seemingly drags everyone down to his level namely Andy Samberg who as Todd has to play the straight man who is a complete wimp and another character that I failed to care for. Considering this is a comedy film there are very few actual laughs and this was probably the main problem with the film.

Verdict: Unfunny, distasteful with some really bad central performance I would recommend everyone steer clear of That's My Boy however I will at least award Caan and Sarandon for trying to raise the bar and give this 2/10

Review No.101: Jeff, Who Lives at Home

After the last few days of dull or dire epics I felt the need to lighten the mood with two films that are both comedies of sort starting with Jeff, Who Lives at Home. The film stars two of my favourite US sitcom stars How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segal and The Office's Ed Helms as brothers Jeff and Pat who are both a strain on their mother Sharon who is played by Susan Sarandon. As the title suggests Jeff lives in his mother's basement and is obsessed with the movie Signs so has started connected mundane events together such as when someone calls his house looking for Kevin it starts him on an odyssey which means he forgets to buy superglue for his mother's cabinet. Pat meanwhile is stuck in some sort of middle management position married to Judy Greer's Linda and constantly upsetting her with his decisions such as his one to buy a new car. The two brothers randomly meet up throughout what is their mother's birthday due to Pat's belief that Linda is having an affair and Jeff's quest to find the elusive Kevin. The third part of the film follows Sharon who works in a dull office bemoaning her lot in life however throughout the film she starts to receive mystery messages from someone claiming to be a secret admirer. As you would imagine the film ends with a big set piece bringing these trio of stories together in what I personally considered to be a fairly surprising ending.

At the start of Jay and Mark Duplass' film I felt I knew what I was getting, I mean after all these were the directors who last bought us the ultra-indie Cyrus, however what I found was a sweet-natured comedy about small incidents creating life-changing moments. Though at first both of the brothers annoyed me the talent of Segal and Helms created two wonderfully rounded characters who had both dealt with the death of their father in different ways Jeff by regressing into a childlike state while at the same time being obsessed with finding the meaning in things and Pat by frivolously spending money that he doesn't have. It is Sarandon though who is magnificent here as Sharon giving one of her best performances in year as a cubicle-dwelling woman who has long given up on finding love again and has even fallen out of love with her two sons. The film's ending really surprised me and put a tear in my eye as an event changes everything for everyone and for me it changed my opinion of this film. Sure it may be a little twee and quirky for some while some will also find Michael Andrews' score a tad annoying but overall this was a sweet little comedy film that shows how a loss can affect us in different ways.

Verdict: Though a time a little too indie for its own good this film is sweet-natured and well-acted with a surprising conclusion so for those reasons it gets 7/10