Change Your Image
youneverknewme
Reviews
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Real and real funny
Right from the moment you spot the poster for this film, you know it's going to be funny. The unspoiled bright-eyed photo of Steve Carell says it all: this is the kind of movie that he was born to star in.
If you can accept that the character of Andy Stitzer exists, the events that transpire throughout the course of the movie are at least believable if not seemingly honest. Andy's actions are understandably naïve but not so over the top absurd that you can no longer sympathize with his character. This grounding in reality gives the film a day-in-the-life feel that might be unexpected given the sophomoric overtones of the title.
Overall, the character development makes the film. The relationship dynamics between Andy and the other characters maximizes the impact of the story and, more importantly, the jokes. This movie operates on all cylinders, delivering humor on many levels beyond the straight up bawdy sexual humor that's naturally expected.
There are a few significant lapses in reality, most notably when a love interest is inexplicably sparked, and when the usually bumbling Andy suddenly begins spouting sarcasm. These lapses can be easily forgiven given the fact that they would have likely gone unnoticed in a lesser comedy, and, in the case of the latter, add to the overall entertainment value of the film.
This film isn't everything to everyone, but it is funny. Really funny. Also, make sure you watch till the end.
Big Money Hustlas (2000)
A movie made by ICP? The results may surprise you.
Over-rated white hip hop outfit with cult following makes low budget film. Doesn't exactly sounds like a great achievement in modern cinema, does it? While it clearly fails at anything resembling conventional success, this movie does achieve a bizarre sort of diamond-in-the-rough eminence that you don't necessarily have to be a Faygo-loving Detroit native to appreciate. As someone who holds great disdain for the campy music and image of Insane Clown Posse, I obviously saw this movie with exceedingly low expectations. In the end, I came away seeing a movie with surprising cinematography, a plot that rises above the sheer inanity you're expecting, and far more than its fair share of both cheap and earned laughs.
The plot basically amounts to ruthless drug lord versus smooth renegade cop, an obvious parody of the blaxploitation cliché. The execution is certainly quite a bit more ambitious than what you'd expect from a movie made by musicians, especially considering the band's only two members don't appear on screen together until the last quarter of the movie. Since both the villain and the protagonist both wear face paint during all scenes of the picture, you can expect a great deal of heavy-handed silliness. However, when the plot turns serious, you care about the characters without things becoming corny or over done. There are still obvious complaints, arising primarily from poor acting, which isn't surprising. On the other hand, the underlying quality of this film is surprising, and makes it worth a view when you're in the mood for a cult film that is strangely entertaining.