This Is Where I Leave You

Expectations:
The last time that I went an entire month without going to the movie theater was probably sometime in 2010, before I was even blogging. That said, I could not wait to get to the theater! Honestly, I would have paid to watch Liam Neeson have one of his dramatic phone conversations. But, thankfully, I didn't have to, all because of This Is Where I Leave You. If you know my taste in movies, you know that I love a good dramedy, and this film was sure to become the new definition of dramedy. Featuring an awesome cast and a promising storyline, I had very high hopes for This Is Where I Leave You, regardless of its low score on the Tomatometer.

Plot:
This story has been done before. Dan in Real Life and The Family Stone are both great examples of almost identical stories that have been done in the past ten years or so. Considering how lacking I am in creativity, let's call this type of film "The Big Chill: Family Edition." And, for those of you who harp on the fact that originality is lacking, be sure to check yourself before you go watch Captain America 37 in 2019. As much as the film was lacking in originality, it made up for it by being a dramatic comedy, which is basically an easy sell to Tanner Jones. Do I like all dramedies?... No. But, the odds are ever in their favor! My judgement on this type of film is partial, but I absolutely love them. Add my love for the genre to a great cast, and you can guess the outcome...

Characters:
With such a large cast, I will not have time to pick apart each and every character, but I will say that I was pleased with the cast, for the most part. Typically, when dealing with such a large cast, there are at least one or two blatantly poor characters, but This Is Where I Leave You was able to avoid such fate.

Negatives:
I'm not sure if the performance or the direction is to blame, but Rose Byrne's Penny Moore was one of the most inconsistent characters that I have ever seen. She was peppy at times. She was serious at times. She was ditsy at times. She was logical at times. Unfortunately, she was so inconsistent! It just frustrated the crap out of me, because I wanted to like her character. Connie Britton's Tracy Sullivan was much more consistent, but I didn't like her presence in the film. In my opinion, she was completely unnecessary. And, to complete my destruction of the poor women of this film, Tina Fey's Wendy was the least interesting sibling of the Altman crew, which really disappointed me. Fey's humor usually works for me, but I just didn't connect.

Positives:
After hating on most of the female cast, I shall now take a moment to praise the lovely Jane Fonda, whose role as mother of the house, Hillary Altman, was the first hilarious female performance that I have witnessed all year long. In my opinion, her character was not only one of the funniest of the film but easily the most interesting. The absolute funniest character was Phillip Altman, played brilliantly by the always hilarious Adam Driver. Last year, I was introduced to Driver in both Frances Ha and Inside Llewyn Davis, and I do believe that he has an extremely bright future ahead of him, in either drama or comedy. While Driver and Fonda were able to steal the show, I must show some love for Jason Bateman, who was quite perfect for the role of Judd Altman. As I've said before, Bateman is not the funniest man in the world, but he does a great job of picking roles that fit his one dimensional humor.

Conclusion:
With a great cast and a storyline that I could watch 1,000 times, This Is Where I Leave You was pleasantly enjoyable. After my long movie drought, it was good to come back to my happy place and discover the fun that was waiting for me. Oscar season is fast-approaching, and I can't wait to continually write about (hopefully) great films! The fun part about being so well-versed in the film world is being able to recognize films that I will love and hate. Sometimes my thoughts and predictions hit the nail on the head, which was the case with This Is Where I Leave You. If you like films like The Big Chill, Dan in Real Life, or The Family Stone, this film is just for you! I give This Is Where I Leave You 3.23 out of 5 stars.

Casting Re-Call: The To Do List

Last month, I wrote a post where I completely re-cast The Fault in Our Stars to better fit who I thought should have played each character in the film version of John Green's fantastic novel (in a perfect world). You can check out that post, here. Not only did that post get a good number of hits, but I really had a blast writing it. So, although it hasn't been very long since I wrote that Casting Re-Call, I decided to do another during the slow movie-month of July.

Although it flew well under the radar of most moviegoers, The To Do List was one of my favorite comedies of 2013. In fact, the film ended up taking third place in the Best Comedy category of my 2013 Above Average Awards, which is my list of the best in film from each year. If you have yet to see The To Do List, I would definitely encourage you to check it out! However, there is a good amount of perverse humor, so just be aware...

If you want, you can check out my review of The To Do List, here. Now, let's move on.

I'm sure you are asking yourself "Why would he want to re-cast one of his favorite films of 2013?" which is quite a valid question. The answer lies in the fact that not every good film is a perfect film, and, certainly, not every good film is perfectly cast. And, when it came down to it, many critics disliked The To Do List for just one reason... the casting! So, in an effort to appease the naysayers and also improve my own assessment of the film, I went back and watched The To Do List, picking the cast apart and coming up with a new cast that would have made a good movie even better...

First, let's take a look at the decisions that the filmmakers got right:

Character: Cameron
Actor Chosen: Johnny Simmons
Why?: Johnny Simmons was the only actor from The To Do List to make my Above Average list last year, and he was certainly deserving of my praise, even after watching the film a second time. Not only was Simmons hilarious, but he did a great job of hitting the goofy, emotional moments as well. Hopefully, Simmons will stick to comedy, because he could certainly have a promising future!

Character: Judge Klark
Actor Chosen: Clark Gregg
Why?: Today, Clark Gregg is known solely for his role as Agent Coulson from Disney's Marvel Universe, but people should really check out his other work, because this dude can bring on the laughter. This innocent father character was absolutely perfect for Gregg in The To Do List. Watch it! You'll love him!






Now, for the not so positive casting decisions:

Character: Brandy Klark
Actor Chosen: Aubrey Plaza
Ideal Actor: Analeigh Tipton
Why?: Personally, I think Aubrey Plaza is hilarious, and, because I find her funny, I quite enjoyed her performance in The To Do List. However, there is no denying that the casting decision was not perfect. In my opinion, Analeigh Tipton would be able to pull of the awkward, cocky-nerd school-girl a little bit better than Plaza. Tipton's comedic range is much larger than that of Plaza, who is good at dry and rude and not much else. As the focal point of the film, Brandy Klark shifts her attitude and personality a bit throughout the film, which is something that Plaza struggled with a bit. I'd be interested in hearing other candidates, but I think Tipton is quite funny and would be a great option, in my opinion.

Character: Mrs. Klark
Actor Chosen: Connie Britton
Ideal Actor: Michaela Watkins
Why?: Connie Britton is great! Connie Britton is NOT funny! On the other hand, Michaela Watkins might be the funniest person to ever walk the face of this earth. The free-spirit that Mrs. Klark turns out to be would be perfectly represented by Watkins, even if she did have to tone her usual stupidity a bit. If you've never seen Michaela Watkins, check out Wanderlust and, of course, Trophy Wife, which was recently axed by ABC (stupid ABC!).

Character: Rusty Waters
Actor Chosen: Scott Porter
Ideal Actor: Any guy who has taken steroids and isn't supposed to be the paralyzed former quarterback of the Dillon Panthers
Why?: Jason Street is a likable guy, and, although I've not yet finished all of Friday Night Lights, I can't look at Scott Porter without thinking that he is supposed to be QB1. Unfortunately, the character of Rusty Waters is a jock/jerk, which was just a bit awkward for me. Really, anyone with a big, buff body could have played Rusty, and Scott Porter wasn't a poor decision. To me, however, he is supposed to be a good guy, and it just didn't quite fit.

Character: Willy
Actor Chosen: Bill Hader
Ideal Actor: Jake Johnson
Why?: I don't know if there is another person who can make me laugh as easily as Bill Hader. In fact, I cannot remember a time when I watched Bill Hader do something without making me laugh! Unfortunately, the role of Willy (the pool manager) just didn't allow Hader to be his normal, funny self, and I believe that Jake Johnson is better suited to play a laid-back pool manager. The options were plentiful, as I considered Sam Rockwell and Dax Shepard, but I settled on Jake Johnson, because he's just a fun guy!

Character: Van
Actor Chosen: Andy Samberg
Ideal Actor: James Franco
Why?: Andy Samberg is a funny guy... at times. But, his short cameo in The To Do List was not one of those times. Also, if you're going to have someone do a cameo, go all out! In my opinion, James Franco would have fit the role and the opportunity much better. I'm sure they would have had a hard time getting Franco to show up (it's not his group of guys), but one can dream...




There you go, folks! That's my ideal cast of The To Do List. Feel free to chime in with your comments, and, also, I would love suggestions for other movies to re-cast. These posts are a lot of fun!

Happy Summer!

 

The To Do List

 

Expectations:

Quirky, coming-of-age movies are undoubtedly my favorite of all of the many types of movies that exist in this world. Last year, The Perks of Being a Wallflower was my favorite film of the year, furthering my love for coming-of-age tales. Maybe it's because of my place in life? Maybe it's because of the brand of humor? Maybe it's because the movies are just so great? Who knows?!? Luckily for me, there are many coming-of-age films coming out in 2013, from The Kings of Summer to The Way, Way Back to The To Do List, and I can't wait to watch each of them. Of those three films, The To Do List was the one that I was least excited about, probably due to the fact that it is a female tale. Nevertheless, I was still quite excited, and, while the other two have yet to make it to my neck of the woods, The To Do List became the first coming-of-age tale for me to knock off of my watchlist in 2013. The biggest concern I had with the film was my own accepting of Aubrey Plaza as an 18 year old (she's really 29). However, I loved Plaza in 2012's Safety Not Guaranteed, so I was willing to attempt to overlook her age difference...

 

Plot:

While I knew that The To Do List was an R-rated comedy, I didn't realize that there would be SO MUCH comedy or SO MUCH R-ratedness, but there is no doubt that this was a true blue R-rated comedy. There were a few things that were a bit too much for Plaza's character, Brandy Klark, but the laughs kept me from being too analytical of the inconsistencies that came with Brandy's conversion from goody-goody to goody-whoremonger. Although I went for the story, I left pleased mostly with the humor. Because the film was totally comedic, it did not quite deliver on the high expectations that I had for a coming-of-age tale. Fortunately, the hilarity was well worth my misinterpretation of what the film would actually be. Just to warn you, The To Do List is quite a raunchy tale, so know what you're getting into!

 

Characters:

With a star-studded cast, I was scared that some of the stars might fall by the wayside and lose their significance. Thankfully, with Plaza's Brandy at the center of the entire film, it was ok for the others to lack much significance. The only problem I had with Brandy was her aforementioned inconsistencies that at times did not fit her awkward, nerdy, Sheldon Cooper-like personality. Sure, she was trying to explore her sexuality, but she didn't have to be so straightforward with it. It would have been funnier if she would have had more issues with her list. I'm trying to keep this post close to PG, so I apologize for the ambiguity.

 

Negatives:

The film was cast very well, so the negatives were few and far between, but they were there. Andy Samberg, who I usually love, was totally unnecessary and random as rock band member, Van. This character was the one place where the cameos went a tad overboard. Also, I did not care for Connie Britton as Mrs. Klark, Brandy's mom. I'm so used to seeing Britton play a responsible motherly figure in Friday Night Lights and American Horror Story, and I couldn't get over that, as her character was a bit of whoremonger herself...

 

Positives:

Johnny Simmons' Cameron provided the most laughs, by far, throughout the entire film. After seeing him play a more serious character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I wasn't sure how funny he would actually be, but he blew me away. Another actor that blew me away with unexpected hilarity was Clark Gregg, who played Brandy's dad, Judge Clark. That's right, folks! Agent Coulson can be funny! I promise that, if you watch this film, you will laugh at Agent Coulson.

 

Conclusion:

Although The To Do List was nothing like I expected, it was second only to This is The End as far as 2013 comedies are concerned. Kudos to The hilarious Aubrey Plaza and crew for making me laugh so hard at such a raunchy and uncomfortable film. Plaza's career is just getting going (ten years after her character's), and I can't wait to see what she does next. While I hope that The Kings of Summer and The Way, Way Back have a lot more drama, I'm glad that The To Do List surprised me. There is nothing like being pleasantly surprised by a film. It's actually better than really liking a movie that you expected to really like. If you have a chance and are willing to sacrifice your innocence for a couple of hours, go watch The To Do List. You will not be disappointed. I give The To Do List 4.16 out of 5 stars.