Gary Wolcott's "Mr. Movie" column has appeared in the Tri-City Herald since 1992. The Tri-City native now lives in Portland, Ore., and watches about 250 movies each year. This member of Portland's association of movie critics, Far From Hollywood, believes movies are made to be seen on theater screens and should be seen there and not on television screens. Have a question for Mr. Movie? Click on "Add Comment" below. Mr. Movie has joined Twitter. Follow him here.
A better title for Couples Retreat Couples Retread.
Acts one and two has the plot line dangling dangerously in TV sitcom territory already well tromped by 1970s sitcoms Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and their clones. By act three, theyre there.
Four couples, all friends, go to Eden Island to improve their marriages.
They are greeted by Peter Serafinowicz and Jean Reno who combine in what tries to be a comic version of Ricardo Montalbans TV island host Mr. Roarke. In this case, Its the plain, boss, its the plain.
As in vanilla.
Two marriages are on the verge of collapse, one already collapsed and he brings his 20-year old girlfriend along. Until they get into Renos character's vision of New Age marriage enhancement, the other marriage is solid.
I feel no pity for Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau who co-wrote the piece. For their co-stars, Reno, Serafinowicz, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Krisin Davis and the others, we hope this career-killer is worth the paycheck.
To give Vaughn and Favreau some credit, some of the early bits are funny. Their observations about the trials faced by modern couples are sometimes profound. What the two authors and their co-writer Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas) forget is when focused comedy is one of historys great teachers and motivators. No motivation here. Just relief that it only runs 107 minutes.
While neither Vaughn or Favreau have done a lot of writing, Favreaus solo writing resume is decent.
Vaughns isnt. His shoot-from-the-hip, ad-libbing comedy style dominates the third act. By the time Couples Retreat gets there, you will desperately want a divorce of your own from this disastrous movie.
A P.S. Couples Retreat is directed by Vaughn and Favreaus buddy Peter Billingsley, whose claim to fame is starring as the kid wanting a BB gun for Christmas in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story.
Mr. Movie rating: 3 stars
Rated PG-13 for mature themes. It opens Friday, Oct. 9 at Regals Columbia Mall 8 and at the Fairchild Cinemas 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' not worth the trip
I think Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a sequel. It’s ill-defined but it appears to be the next step after 2008‘s Journey to the Center of the Earth . The tie is Josh Hutcherson’s character Sean Anderson. He and his dad — done by Brendan Frasier — went to the center of the Earth.
No word in the sequel about what happened to dad.
New to the cast is Dwayne Johnson — AKA the Rock. He’s Sean’s stepfather, Hank. They have no relationship. When Sean gets into trouble with the law, Hank steps in and learns that Alex is a Vernian. Those who think author Jules Verne’s books are more biographical than fiction.
Sometimes, producers make movies just for the accolades.
Here’s the formula. Grab a major talent and throw something together. Wait to release it until the end of the year. Do the release with lots of hype. The buzz sells everyone on the idea that the picture is the next best thing.
When you land a Meryl Streep to play a role in whatever you toss together, then the buzz gets an extra kick. Critics in Los Angeles and New York screen it first. They rave about her acting, and the extra kick gets an extra kick.
When a movie sits on a shelf for a year after the original release date is set it’s usually the kiss of death.
Plot flaws, bad acting, zero marketing budget and a host of other problems plague them.
This is not the case of the now-released The Debt or for last week’s Don’t be Afraid of the Dark . The official reason for the delay of both films is not plot problems or a marketing budget but the sale of distributor and art house fave Miramax.
'The Artist' authentic genius and one of 2011's best
The Artist breaks all the rules.
For one, it’s a silent movie. Big no-no. There isn’t much dialogue to read. You just get the basics. A sentence here, a paragraph there. White letters pasted on a black screen. Much of what happens is conveyed from facial expressions, the posture of the actors, or by action.
Jean Dujardin is George Valentin. He’s the world’s biggest silent film star at the dawn of the age of sound. When sound becomes all the rage in 1927, George is unwilling to change. It’s a mistake that quickly makes George the world’s newest has-been.
Yasmina Reza and writer/director Roman Polanski adapt her Tony Award-winning play God of Carnage for the screen and cast Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz as the four characters in the story.
-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.
Two couples get together after the teenage son of one hits the teenage son of the other with a big stick. It causes hundreds of dollars in damage to his teeth. They sit down to discuss who is at fault, why and what to do about the tiff.
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