Divergent

 

Expectations:
Trends among teenagers obviously have a lot of pull in the entertainment industry, and films like Divergent would not exist without precursors, such as The Hunger Games. Sure, The Hunger Games has made for two pretty good films, thus far, but do we really need 20 other movies that feature 22 year old teenagers killing the government!?! I mean, do we really need a story to help us understand that teenagers are rebellious? Personally, I don't get it. The vampire trend I got. The zombie trend I got. I just can't say the same for the teenage rebellion trend. Needless to say, my expectations were not particularly high. However, I didn't expect it to be much worse or better than The Hunger Games or Catching Fire.

Plot:
So, my Hunger Games-esque expectations pretty much hit the nail on the head. Don't get me wrong... I was entertained. At the same time, I didn't really care what happened to the characters, which is not a good thing, in case you were wondering. My biggest issue was with the large number of character plotlines that just didn't make much sense, such as Tori, Jeanine, and Al, who I will talk about more in the character section. However, I liked that there was no love-triangle! A love story is good, but I HATE love-triangles, mostly because they are so darn predictable. I mean, did anyone actually think that Bella was going to end up with Jacob?... The answer is NO! Additionally, the willingness of Divergent's author to kill pretty much anybody that she saw fit was quite enjoyable. I know my opinion is not popular, but I love when people die in dramatic movies or TV shows, because it adds so much edge to the story. I've said these things before, but Divergent was downright ruthless, so it's worth noting.

Characters:
Well, Oscar season is long gone, and it's time to transition from great characters and low-grossing films to mediocre characters and big blockbusters, which is exactly what Divergent offered. Of course, the talented Shailene Woodley did an adequate job of portraying Tris that is sure to please teenage girls all over the world. Honestly, she was no better or worse than Jennifer Lawrence was in the first two Hunger Games films. These roles just aren't meant to blow people away, and they don't.

Negatives:
The consistently bad guy who was always there to be mean to Tris, Eric (played by Macklemore... I mean Jai Courtney), made Kate Winslet's Jeanine completely unnecessary. Her character is not actually in the book, and it was quite easy to tell. However, how do you say no to Kate freakin Winslet??? I'm conflicted about this one. I have been told that she is actually in the book, which makes the fact that she was worthless a lot, lot, lot worse, but oh well... The one character that I am not conflicted about is Tori, played by Maggie Q, who was the strangest filler character that may have ever appeared in a movie. Tori was basically the queen of multi-tasking, as she served as a nurse, a tattoo artist, and a political activist, all within the realm of two hours. Considering the fact that the entire film was about the government dictating what ONE job you would be doing for the rest of your life, I found it extremely ironic that this important character had like twelve different jobs.

Positives:
Having seen The Spectacular Now, 21 and Over, and Project X, I've been nothing but underwhelmed by Miles Teller. Fortunately, as Peter, he redeemed himself in what was the absolute perfect role for his repertoire. Hopefully, Teller will continue along this path, starting with his Sundance hit, Whiplash, which I can't wait to see.

Conclusion:
While I didn't really hate Divergent, it was quite underwhelming, and the flaws in the storyline were just blatant. Honestly, I'm surprised that this series of books became so popular, considering how poorly written the story seemed to be. Will I go watch the sequel?... Probably so. As I said, I was entertained by what happened during the film. I just didn't really care what would happen. Hopefully, the holes in the plot will be sewn up in the sequel, but I'm not really counting on it. For now, I would suggest sticking with The Hunger Games. At least you get Stanley Tucci! I give Divergent 2.45 out of 5 stars.

21 and Over

Expectations:
Honestly, I was not particularly excited to see 21 and Over this past weekend, but I really wanted to see a movie. After a tough week of studying for an awful test, I deserved to get what I wanted. Seriously. Anyway, the movie was sold as an over-the-top, sexed-up drinking fest with a focus on laughing at over-the-top, sexed-up, drunk things. So, obviously, that's what I was expecting as I headed into the theater. After The Hangover became such a huge hit, R-rated comedies took over the comedic film world and have held their reign to this point. These films tend to compete on the basis of "who can be the most immoral," so that is what we have come to expect. I remember back in high school, when I would get so excited over a PG-13 comedy, but, honestly, I can't think of the last PG-13 comedy I enjoyed, mostly because they are so rare nowadays. Thankfully, films like 21 and Over come along to entertain with immorality. Or so I thought...

Plot:
We all know that one guy or girl that only lives life on the wild side because it is what everyone else is doing. Regardless of their true self, they want to fit in with the party crowd. 21 and Over is that guy! The previews may have been selling an R-rated, over-the-top comedy, but the film itself was a PG-13 movie trying to fit in with the R-rated party crowd. I'm not saying that being a PG-13 film is always a bad thing. I'm just saying that it wasn't what I expected from a film that wanted to compare itself to The Hangover. The plot was extremely stupid and unrealistic, and, really, the story would have lasted only about twenty minutes, if the 21st century college students would have had a cellphone! Sure, there were plenty of laughs along the way, but very few that were shockingly hilarious, as we've come to expect with recent R-rated films. Not to be overly critical of the film as a whole, but I'm pretty sure that I could have written a story at least ten times better than the one they were dealing with here.

Characters:
While the plot was complete crap, I actually enjoyed the main characters much more than I had expected. Although the characters were not at all flawless, they were actually relatable, most likely because of my similar place in life. They were a bit overly emotional, but, with absolutely zero stars in the film, the character success came as a surprise to me.

Negatives:
Nicole, played by Sarah Wright, was the useless and awkward love interest of Skylar Astin's Casey. Every moment that she was on screen, I felt like the storyline became more and more dull. I don't know why a film about one drunken night needed an overnight love story. However, the worst performance/villain was Francois Chau, as the father of Jeff Chang (Chinese Doug). Chau, who I have a special LOST connection to, was not at all scary, funny, or much of anything that he was supposed to be, and I found that quite disappointing. Finally, Randy, played by Jonathan Kultz, just wasn't as funny as he could have been. The character had great potential for hilarity, but Kultz just couldn't pull it off.

Positives:
While the three main characters weren't the greatest of all time, they each had some great funny moments, and, as I said, they were quite relatable. Miles Teller, Skylar Astin, and Justin Chon were perfect for their roles as Miller, Casey, and Jeff Chang. Just the sheer fact that they ALWAYS called him his full name, "Jeff Chang" was probably the funniest aspect of the entire film. On top of the comedic antics, the interaction among the three characters was really nice and made me realize just how my relationship with my high school friends has changed since graduating. Oddly enough, they made me self-reflective, something you rarely expect from an R-rated comedy.

Conclusion
As the first 2013 comedy that I have seen, 21 and Over was not extremely satisfying or disappointing. I am quite hopeful that many funnier movies will come along this year, but this film met my expectations, for the most part. On the comedic side, it was funnier than I had expected, yet the comedy lacked in extremity. The story was absolutely illogical and not really that exciting, but the characters were funny and had way more depth than you would have ever expected. I would not encourage you to watch 21 and Over, unless, like me, you enjoy almost every R-rated comedy, just because you like to laugh. Nevertheless, I give 21 and Over 2.23 out of 5 stars.