Movies in Which People Look and Act Like People

Movies: In a World, Enough Said


When seeing a movie, some people prefer that transparent glass wall Hollywood puts over so many films. They like their stars preternaturally beautiful, with impeccable wardrobes. They like slick action scenes and softly-lit love scenes. They like when the bad guys and the good guys are easy to tell apart. I'm not judging here, since I consume a certain amount of "basic" entertainment as well--I've been known to enjoy a certain multiple-camera sitcom that centers around a group of "nerdy" males in California and certain genres of literature that are, shall we say, formulaic?

However, when it comes to movies, I prefer my viewing choices to be realistic. I like movies where the bad guy gets away in the end. Or better yet, when there are no bad guys--just flawed humans. I like love stories with sad or ambiguous endings. The ending of Sideways, where Paul Giamatti knocks on Virginia Madsen's door...and we never find out if she opens it, or even lives there anymore? Perfect ending. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the most romantic movies to me because it's about accepting love KNOWING it probably will go sour in the end.

I like movies that reflect reality because it makes me feel understood. And it makes me less afraid of the ambiguity we so often encounter in our lives.

Two wonderful movies I saw recently capture reality in a way that is positive, life-affirming, and just fucking flat-out delightful. In a World... takes place inside the world of professional voice-overs. You know that booming male voice that narrates movie trailers? Someone gets paid big money to do that. And they're usually men.

Lake Bell (who also wrote and directed) stars as Carol, a freelance voice coach and daughter of Sam Soto--a well-respected professional voice-over person who is at the pinnacle of his career...and is pretty much a total misogynist. Carol dreams of becoming the voice of movie trailers, but her dad constantly belittles her dream and tells her that people just don't want to hear a female voice narrate movie previews. However, when Carol gets a shot at narrating the preview for a much hyped "quadrilogy" that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, entitled "The Amazon Games" (har har), she has the chance of proving her father and the whole voice-over industry wrong.

One thing that struck me about In a World... is how *real* the actors look. With strong features, a wardrobe that looks thrifted (and not in a cute way), and messy, unevenly dyed hair, Bell does not look like a typical leading lady. She looks like your best friend. Likewise, her sister (Michaela Watkins), brother-in-law (Rob Corddry), potential boyfriend (Demetri Martin), and professional rival (Ken Marino) are all recognizable actors who also happen to look like real human beings. It makes the movie so much more fun because you feel like you could actually hang out with the characters at a party and not feel completely alienated by them.

Also, the movie is just...different. And unique. It's blatantly feminist, with a woman trying to break into a male-dominated profession, but unlike so many similar-ish rom-coms (i.e. The Proposal) that attempt to be pseudo-feminist, Carol's love interest, Louis, has her back the entire time. Louis likes Carol and is nice to her and supports her professionally. He isn't her rival-turned-boyfriend. Isn't that fucking mind-blowing? Well, it is to me.

In a World... is just a delightful little film. It's funny, it's quirky (but not in an annoying Zach Braff type way), and it's very female-friendly. I recommend it to humans of all genders.

The other movie I saw was Enough Said, which is so bittersweet given that it was one of James Gandolfini's last movie roles before his untimely death. He's also absolutely adorable in it. Enough Said centers on Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, not surprisingly awesome and hilarious here, as she is in everything), a middle-aged, divorced massage therapist with a daughter about to go away to college. She meets Albert (Gandolfini) at a party and the two bond because he's also divorced with a daughter about to go to college. Even though she's not initially attracted to him, Eva goes out with Albert and they have a great time. They eventually get much closer and see the possibility of a full-blown romance.

But. One of Eva's new clients is the beautiful Marianne (Catherine Keener), who constantly bitches about her ex-husband to Eva during her massages. This ex was immature, overweight, clumsy in bed, etc. One guess who the ex turns out to be.

But even once Eva figures it out, she keeps Marianne as a client and purposefully milks information about Albert from her. Pretty soon, she begins to see Albert through Marianne's judgmental eyes.

Once again, we have a film where people look and act like people. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is, of course, very beautiful, but she plays a middle-aged mom realistically. She's into sex, but not a Cougar-ish sexpot. Gandolfini is not a typical leading man, looks-wise. He's heavy and balding. But damn, Galdolfini is hot in this movie. Why? Because he's funny, charming, confident, and real. Not slick. Beyond their looks, the characters also act like real people. Director Nicole Holofcener is pretty well known for her movies that appear plucked from real life. The script is funny, but not overly clever the way some Hollywood comedies can be. The characters' behavior is flawed--Albert really is a slob, and Eva behaves disingenuously after figuring out that Albert is Marianne's ex--just like real, imperfect people.

Enough Said can be a little stressful since you, the viewer, become invested in Albert and Eva's romance and don't want them to screw it up. But the film has a comfortable, lived-in feel to it, which is very nice. And its portrayal of romance is so anti-Hollywood. There are no pop-songs or montages to explain to the audience how they should feel. There's just a lot of talking and discussion among the two lovers, their friends, and their families.

If you're the type who prefers the glamorous sheen of big-budget mainstream movies, more power to you. Movie-going should be fun! But I highly recommend giving indie movies and slightly less glamorous movies a chance. You might be surprised. Enough Said and In a World... are two excellent films to start with--they're real, but they're not gritty or unpleasant. Give 'em a shot!

In a World... : 4 out of 5 stars

Enough Said : 4.5 out of 5 stars

I Am the Walrus

Movies: Tusk

Some movies you go into knowing exactly what you're going to get. Snakes on a Plane, for example. There is no one who went to that movie not understanding that they would be getting approximately 90 minutes of snakes causing havoc on a plane. Hot Tub Time Machine also lets it all hang out right there in the title. While Tusk doesn't give anything away by its title alone, read any basic two-line description of the film and you'll know exactly what you're in for: a man will be kidnapped and surgically turned into a walrus.

I heard about this movie for the first time on Wednesday and, as luck would have it, saw that the film was opening in my hometown this very weekend. I semi-dragged a semi-willing friend to see it and I can't say I was disappointed. At one point the villain asks the rhetorical question: "Is man really at heart a walrus?"

You might ask why I would want to see this movie. I ask: why wouldn't I? It stars hipster dreamboat Justin Long as the victim doomed to a life of blubber, Haley Joel Osment (aka the kid from The Sixth Sense, looking like an older, chubbier version of the kid from The Sixth Sense here), and a surprise cameo (although he's in a solid third of the movie, so it's more of a supporting role than a cameo) from a huge movie star as a private detective with a pretty offensive stereotypical French accent. It's also directed by Kevin Smith, who can be a surprising director (see my review of Red State). And did I mention that a dude gets surgically altered into a fucking walrus? It's like The Human Centipede but funnier and with less poop.

                   Poor Wallace. That hipster mustache will come in handy as whiskers soon. Image courtesy of indiewire.com


The first half of the film is actually pretty good by most standards. Justin Long plays Wallace Bryton, a guy who makes a living podcasting with his best friend Teddy (Osment). Their podcast is called "The Not-See Party" because it mostly involves Wallace showing weird/funny online videos to Teddy, who has not seen them yet. Wallace also travels around to interview the "stars" of these videos. He makes a trek to Canada to interview a kid who sliced his own leg off with a samurai sword, only to find that the young man has committed suicide with the very same sword. Wallace happens to find a handwritten note in a bar bathroom that evening from a man named Howard Howe promising wonderful stories from the his long life. Talented actor Michael Parks plays this old coot in such a way that elevates the character beyond what could have been a pretty weak "crazy old nut" role. But rest assured, the guy is insane. He woos Wallace with stories of meeting Hemingway during World War II before drugging the young man's drink and beginning the process of merging man...and mammal. Dun dun DUN!

Surprisingly, there's not a ton of gore in this film, and the gore you do see is so ridiculous that, frankly, I didn't find the film all that disturbing. Once you actually get to see Long all suited up in his walrus get-up, it's obviously meant to be hilarious. The big reveal was met with hysterical laughter in the theatre I was in. I mentioned The Human Centipede above, which I still have not seen. I was disturbed by hearing a friend simply describe the plot of Human Centipede, whereas I chortled my way through Tusk's supremely silly take on the "body horror" genre of film. Of course, standard caveats apply, your mileage may vary, you might find Tusk the freakiest movie this side of David Cronenberg, yada yada. But I saw this film as 40% horror and 60% comedy.

Once Michael Parks has fully transformed Wallace into "Mr. Tusk", the movie devolves very quickly into cringeworthy horror-parody. The second half of the film is significantly worse than the first half, although I did like the scenes with Teddy, Ally (Wallace's girlfriend), and Guy Lapointe, the beret-wearing, slider-devouring French detective. I can understand why others might not be as amused by Lapointe, but I thought he was funny.

Overall, Tusk is not a great--or even good--film. But I found it to be an entertaining curiosity of a movie. I'm going to give it a decent rating because it got some genuine laughs from me and didn't put on airs of being anything more than a movie about a dude who is forcibly turned into a walrus.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Bizarre Love

Movies: The One I Love


In this post, I will offer a spoiler-free review of the film The One I Love as well as a much longer review complete with spoilers. Just as with The Cabin in the Woods, which I reviewed back in April of 2012, The One I Love has multiple levels of spoilers, making for one crazy, trippy movie that's also really difficult to talk about. If you haven't seen The One I Love and would like a wholly innocent, pure experience, just don't read any of this and go see the movie. Come back and read my review when you've finished...


Well, okay, if you want to know a *little* about the movie...

The One I Love (spoiler-free!)

The One I Love is the first full-length film by Charlie McDowell. It stars Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and mumblecore veteran Mark Duplass. Moss and Duplass play Sophie and Ethan, a married couple who are trying to work through infidelity (Ethan cheated on Sophie). They see a therapist (Ted Danson), who recommends they squirrel away at a retreat to reconnect with one another. The retreat is pretty nice--basically, a big house, a pool, and guest house, complete with a photo-book of other happy couples who have emerged from the retreat more deeply in love than ever.

But then some weird shit goes down.

That's literally all I can say, or I'd give too much away. You want more info? See the movie or read the rest of my review.

I can safely say that I really, really enjoyed The One I Love. Duplass and Moss are great--they really nail the comfort and tension of two people who have been together for years and are going through a hard time, yet trying to forgive one another. They both juggle changing emotions--from annoyance to anger to lust to affection--with great skill. The One I Love has received mixed reviews from film critics, but I for one thought it was unique and really interesting. Go see it!

4.5 out of 5 stars

                                                                                   Photo courtesy of thedissolve.com


***

The One I Love (with spoilers!)

Alright, so here's the deal. The whole fucking plot of this movie IS the spoiler. About 15-20 minutes into the film, the two lovebirds check out the guest house at their little retreat, have some dinner and wine, and end up screwing on the couch. Sophie says she wants to sleep in the guest house, but she wants to get some clothes from the main house first, so she heads over...only to find Ethan sleeping on the couch of the main house. Understandably confused, she asks how he made it there before she did. He says he doesn't know what she's talking about and they have a fight. Later, Ethan walks over to the guest house to find empty wine bottles, a joint still smoking in an ash tray, etc. Sophie comes in, says "I'm sorry", and the two snuggle to sleep. Next morning, Ethan heads back to the main house and finds Sophie, who was cooking him breakfast in a cute nightie in the guest house not two minutes before, emerge in an oversize sweatshirt from the main house's bathroom.


Sophie and Ethan take turns checking out the guest house--alone--only to find a more idealized version of each other waiting for them there. Rather than freaking the fuck out and getting the hell out of dodge, Sophie convinces Ethan to stick around and explore what's going on in more depth. They make a few rules--they can't have sex with the doppelgangers in the guest house, they can't spy on each other when one is in the guest house, and they get 15 minutes at a time in the guest house. Well, Sophie immediately breaks that last rule, causing Ethan to break the 2nd rule by peeking in on her while she gets an awesome shoulder massage from Ethan 2.0 in the guest house. Some kinky shit, man.

You might think that this is as weird as the movie gets...but you'd be wrong! After a few nights of exploring the guest house (well, Sophie definitely does a lot of "exploring" with Ethan 2.0, whereas real Ethan barely wants to be around Sophie 2.0 because he's creeped out by her), the doppelgangers show up in the main house! Scary! The scenes where the doppelgangers confront the originals is pretty fun since it gives Mark Duplass a chance to play the more alpha male Ethan 2.0 alongside his suspicious beta male real Ethan character, and for Elisabeth Moss to have real Sophie compliment Sophie 2.0 and then have Sophie 2.0 act all bitchy to real Sophie when no one is looking. Seriously, this movie is a trip.

There are more secrets to be explored in the guest house, which Ethan does while the doppelgangers are occupied in the other house. He finds some shit that is way spookier than anticipated. The doppelgangers are not innocent creatures who just want to help Sophie and Ethan through their marital troubles, but usurpers who actually want to take their place out in the real world and trap Ethan and Sophie at the guest house retreat...unless they assume the identities of the next troubled couple to show up. Can real Ethan convince real Sophie to escape before it's too late? Or is real Sophie falling in love with Ethan 2.0?

What I like about this movie is that there's no in-depth explanation about how all of this is possible. There's no secret lab where we see a mad scientist creating the doppelgangers. You find out what's going on in stages throughout the movie, but there are some things the film just leaves as a mystery--like how a couple gets "trapped" in the guest house and then manages to actually take the form of the next couple. And really, that's a good thing because the whole film is pretty obviously an elaborate and layered metaphor for identity and relationships. I'd need to see the film again to come up with a more coherent explanation, but I liked the one provided by Moze Halperin on Flavorwire. Halperin argues that the film is a metaphor for modern day serial monogamy--how we are constantly looking for, getting into, and getting out of romantic and sexual relationships, and in doing so, reinventing our identities again and again. Sometimes in small, innocuous ways ("You love Vietnamese food? Oh my God, so do I!") and sometimes in more drastic, harmful ways ("She hurt my feelings, but I'll keep it inside since I don't want to lose her").

A simpler explanation is that The One I Love is a metaphor for how we idealize, well, the ones we love. How the gloss of a new relationship can slowly erode until we see imperfections that we somehow missed (but were always there) in the honeymoon stages--and how we sometimes try to force our loved ones to conform to this vision we have of them, and not let them be the imperfect vessels they actually are. The film asks the question, "if you could have a perfect version of your partner, would you want it?" Sophie responds with a resounding "Yes!" by getting turned on by Ethan 2.0, who stops wearing his glasses, does sit-ups, and massages Sophie's shoulders. Ethan responds with a heartfelt "Fuck, no!" by being thoroughly creeped out by Sophie 2.0 who is sweeter and cooks him bacon.

However you want to read The One I Love, I found the movie to be a surprisingly light-hearted take on the difficult topic of marital strife and imperfections in relationships (or, flat-out betrayal, as Ethan's cheating on Sophie is replicated by Sophie falling for Ethan 2.0). The film could have been melodramatic, but even during the creepy parts it managed to stay bubbly (at least for me). Think "The Twilight Zone" with a less heavy-handed message. The One I Love is a smart, fun, intriguing film.

4.5 out of 5 stars