Let's Be Cops

Expectations:
New Girl is one of the funniest shows on television. In fact, the second season of the Zooey Deschanel comedy topped my list of the best television from the 2012-2013 season (here is that list). Unfortunately, so many potential male viewers are turned off by the poorly constructed title of the show, because it has the world "girl" in it. Fortunately, the show features four hilarious male characters that are guaranteed to make you laugh, regardless of your gender! Two of those characters (Nick and Coach) are played by the stars of Let's Be Cops, Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. Now, I'd like to be able to say that the trailer for Let's Be Cops was hilarious and engaging, but, to be honest, the only reason I went to watch this film was to see Nick and Coach in movie form. So, needless to say, my expectations were quite low...

Plot:
With comedies of the caliber of Let's Be Cops, you don't expect much from a plot-perspective! As expected, Let's Be Cops was quite shallow and lifeless, with pretty much nothing to accent its jokes. Thankfully, the jokes weren't all that bad. In fact, I laughed at the stupid humor, throughout, but I will say that many of those laughs were brought on by my familiarity with the actors. I think most of you would agree that, if you like a comedic actor or actress, you are likely to enjoy the majority of their work, regardless of its depth or success. That said, Let's Be Cops had very little to offer anyone who doesn't enjoy the humor of Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr.

Characters:
However one-dimensional lead characters Ryan and Justin turned out to be, I still liked them. If only the filmmakers hadn't added the emotional, best-friend moments to this goofy, stupid film, it would have been alright. Why do comedic filmmakers feel the need to add dull emotion to films that are engulfed in fart and sex jokes?!? It's so dang frustrating!

Negatives:
It was quite evident that this film was intended to be THE film that turned Nina Dobrev into an ADULT movie star (like grown-up... not pornography), and she totally bombed. Sure, the character (Josie) was absolutely horrible, but the only part of Nina that did any actual acting in this film were her legs. Additionally, Natasha Leggero's Annie was an awkward addition to Let's Be Cops, with her crack-head mentality. Ryan's attraction to her was quite unreal, leaving me baffled.

Positives:
As I've already said, the humor of Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. just connects with me, particularly that of Johnson. As for Wayans, I actually enjoyed his Let's Be Cops character more than his character on New Girl. Johnson played his typical couch-potato, but Wayans played the nerd, contrasting his character on New Girl, who is an actual "Coach." However, the best performance of the entire film was given by Keegan-Michael Key, who played some sort of Hispanic(?) drug-mover named Pupa. The character was entirely over-the-top, but I laughed in spite of those issues.

Conclusion:
Let's Be Cops was about as bad as expected, but it could have been much worse! Hopefully, for the sake of Johnson and Wayans' careers, the film will be a monetary success, but I'm not counting on that, either. Unless you watch New Girl, like me, I would suggest steering clear of Let's Be Cops. Instead, take those couple of hours to watch a few episodes of New Girl. You will love it! Even if you are a dude! Also, check out Jake Johnson in the Aubrey Plaza-led Safety Not Guaranteed. It was definitely one of my favorite films from 2012, and I think you will enjoy it as well! I give Let's Be Cops 1.55 out of 5 stars.

Summer Recap 2012

For those of us in South Mississippi, the summer temperatures are far from gone and anything that we might have written in the sand has been blown away by Hurricane Isaac. My wallet is going to enjoy the fact that the summer movie season has come and gone, but my heart will be yearning for more. This feeling is not an uncommon one, considering this has been my 21st summer on this rock. However, someone like me, who loves going to the movies, can never get enough. While the next two months are going to be a bit slow, the Christmas movie season is looking stronger this year than it has in a long, long time. So, folks, before we jump toward Christmas, let's take a look at some memorable movie moments from the summer of 2012...


Movie That I Just Didn't Get:
Moonrise Kingdom


Funniest Moment:
Hulk smash Loki


Closest to Tears:
When Timothy Green made his exit.


Movie That I Felt Bad for Liking:
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter


The First Ever Musical with GOOD Music:
Rock of Ages


Least Twisty Plot Twist:
Blake is Robin!


Movie That Made Me Feel Good About Life:
Safety Not Guaranteed


Most Surprisingly Good Movie:
Men in Black III


Best Scene:
The C-section in Prometheus


Best Look Ahead to Summer 2013:
The Man of Steel


Movie That I Just Wanted to End:
Snow White and the Huntsman


Movie That I Watched More Than Any Other:
The Dark Knight Rises


Re-boot That Seemed Exactly Like the Original:
The Amazing Spiderman

Safety Not Guaranteed

Expectations:
Let me start by thanking The Grand Theater in Hattiesburg, MS for bringing a few indie films to us over the summer. I've had the pleasure of watching both Moonrise Kingdom and Safety Not Guaranteed, and I didn't expect to have that pleasure. While many of you have probably heard of Moonrise Kingdom, I doubt that many of you are familiar with Safety Not Guaranteed. If you have not seen a trailer for this film, here is one for you to check out: Click this!!!. As for my expectations of this film, I am not exactly sure what they were. The story, revolving around a time-travelling loon, was semi-intriguing, but I needed more than that to want to go see it. That's where the actors come in. Although I'm not a huge Parks and Rec fan, I do like Aubrey Plaza, and I'm a huge, huge fan of New Girl, so I'm also a huge fan of Jake M. Johnson. On top of these things, the movie just looked like it had a good vibe, so I figured what the heck...

Plot:
While the plot wasn't extremely deep or surprising, it was absolutely fantastic. There are two aspects that this film hit right on the head. 1) Character Development. They really did a good job of making you feel for the characters at hand, and each character had a good amount of depth for an hour and a half long movie. 2) Perfect balance of drama and comedy. I absolutely love movies that can successfully make you laugh and feel. That's exactly why 50/50 was my favorite movie of 2011. Witty humor mixed with emotion isn't an easy thing to create, but Safety Not Guaranteed did a great job of balancing the two, just like 50/50.

Characters:
As I said, the character development in this film was absolutely fantastic. It was obvious that Aubrey Plaza's Darius was going to have a certain amount of depth. The surprising thing was the depth of every other character. Every one of them had some huge revelation. I may not always be a sucker for deep characters (I did LOVE The Avengers), but, when done right, it makes me love a film so, so much more.

Negatives:
There were very few characters in Safety Not Guaranteed, and, honestly, I can't think of one that disappointed.

Positives:
Everybody! Darius (played by Aubrey Plaza) was a terrific leading character with great depth. Next of importance, Mark Duplass gave a great performance as the time-travelling Kenneth. The two really did a good job in their scenes together. On top of these two, there were also two great performances from Jake M. Johnson (as Jeff) and Karan Soni (as Arnau). Johnson was very similar to his character on New Girl, which is terrific, and I will predict that Soni has a very bright future in the world of nerd comedy. Great performances across the board!

Conclusion:
From The Dark Knight Rises to this... A big change! But I must say that the second half of the summer of 2012 may just be saving the summer itself. Safety Not Guaranteed is probably the most surprisingly great film that I have seen all year long. However, the year is still young. Although it has left the theater already, I would certainly encourage everyone to check it out when it comes out on DVD. Also, do not be discouraged by the R-rating. It is nothing that I wouldn't show my mama. Kudos to The Grand Theatre. Kudos to the second half of 2012. And Kudos to Safety Not Guaranteed! I give it 4.12 out of 5 stars.