83 - A Thousand Words

Connection To A.C.O.D. - Clark Duke

A Thousand Words was made in 2008 but didn't see a release in 2012, and even skipped cinemas over here in the U.K. altogether (though it got advertised at one point), I actually don't think quality was the reason is what kept it from release for so long but rather to do with studio separation and all that.

As a film I felt there was elements I actually liked of this movie and I think film most reminded me of was Click - high concept which starts as a comedy but then gradually becomes more of a drama in a lesson to get a man to change his ways for the better. A Thousand Words as a tree grow in Eddie Murphy's garden that leaves fall off every time Murphy speaks and he'll die once the last one has fallen...

Now I'm not holding up Click as a classic but I think that movie did it better then this did, you don't quite feel Eddie Murphy is selfish enough to be the one forced to go through this journey, sure he could spend more time with his wife (Kerry Washington) and kid and should listen more but the path he was heading down was not drawn clearer like in other films.

As the wife, Washington is mostly wasted just getting to stand there being annoyed or upset at Murphy, though there is a scene where she dresses sexy to try and rekindle their relationship, though some of his male co-stars such as Cliff Curtis and Clark Duke have more to do, Curtis particularly stands out to me from the bunch.

In the end though it's a weird choice to have Eddie Murphy where his voice is one of the key elements of his success forced to be quiet for big parts of the movie

Overall not bad, doesn't have anything in it though (I guess sans Washington dressing sexy) that I'd want to revisit, this is a watch once movie and that's it.

81 - Wet Hot American Summer

Connection To NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE - Samm Levine as an uncredited voice role here, confirmed by Levine himself if there was some doubt from IMDB.

It's been over 10 years since I first discovered Wet Hot American Summer, it was brought in a budget DVD pack with some other films, if I recall correctly it was one or two of the other comedies was my reason for buying as I had never heard of this film at all - I think that says a lot I can't remember what the other films where but this film as been brought multiple times and I even purchased the American DVD with extras (the British is bare-bones).

This is my 4th or 5th time watching WHAS and it's still as funny now as the first time I saw it, it has a weird tone to it which isn't a bad thing - it's not out and out parody but it's not in a world where everything is completely straight if that makes sense. This film is set in 1981 on the last day of a Jewish summer camp and is about the misadventures of the counselors, the romance of the camp director (Janeane Garofalo) and an astrophysics proffers (David Hyde Pierce) and we also spend some time with the kids.

The plot is basically just an excuse to string the funny moments together and the film features plenty of funny people, practically the entire cast of The State, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, early roles for Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks.

I don't want to write about too many of the scenes because it gives away the direction but one of the funniest scenes for me was when the camp director goes into town with the counselors just how it spirals out of control is so hilarious, I also like Christopher Meloni and his subplot as the cook and is also a shell-shocked Vietnam vet.

Overall I'd prefer somebody to go into this film without any expectations then you can be surprised like I did as I found this incredibly funny.

80 - Not Another Teen Movie

Connection To JOE DIRT - Jaime Pressly.

In time to come when all the spoof movie movies get lumped together as the scraping of the bottom of the barrel for parody, it will be a shame for the genuinely funny ones in the bunch, it to be fair is films that would pre-date Date Movie, films such as this teen spoof Not Another Teen Movie.

Not Another Teen Movie parodies unsurprisingly an whole bunch of teen movies particularly the comedies (so I guess it does fall into the trap of spoofing something already funny - but at times at least as a new joke to with it, also it parodies the more earnest scenes of these comedies)

Jake (Chris Evans - doing a better Freddie Prinze Jr. then Prinze Jr.) makes a bet with his friends to turn Janey (Chyler Leigh) into prom queen even though she has glasses, a ponytail and paint covered overalls, so yeah the basis is She's All That with scenes or characters mimicking among other teen movies such as American Pie, Can't Hardly Wait, Cruel Intentions, The Breakfast Club, 10 Things I Hate About You and Bring It On among others, yeah it's noticeable that most of the teen movies are from the 3 or 4 years before

The best characters for me are Mia Kirshner as Catherine, taking off Sarah Michelle Gellar's character in Cruel Intentions as Jake's sister (only by blood), she does still get to be sexy for the most part even when doing ridiculous things (the brother/sister incest thing is tiny bit ironic since Chyler Leigh kissed her real brother on film, since they played love interests in Kickboxing Academy), another enjoyable character was Sam Hungington as Ox (taking off Chris Klein's Oz from American Pie) I just love how he plays the performance

My favourite scenes including Ricky reading 10 Things I Love About Janey in class, the musical number (showing Disaster Movie how a musical number featuring the cast should go) and I like Jake trying to save Janey's brother from bullying.

The films worst scene for me, and is the scene that takes toilet humour literally as the three horny freshman characters spying on a girl on toilet who ends up getting discussing, this is not the worst part but the scene ends with the English teacher among others getting covered in shit, the scene goes on way too long for a pay off that is more disgusting and funny.

Overall, because plenty of the jokes hit the mark and everybody plays their characters so well, the film ends up being so damn enjoyable for me.

79 - Joe Dirt

Connection To THE MASTER OF DISGUISE - Both made by Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison.

This movie is an absolute classic...

Well not really, but compared to The Master Of Disguise it is, with a likable enough lead (surprising since he's played by David Spade), and Christopher Walken at one point dancing in it.

Most of Joe Dirt's story is told in flashback to a radio DJ (SNL alumni Dennis Miller) in California, where Joe now works as a custodian, the film is basically a story of random events, it's sort of like a white trash Forrest Gump (though it doesn't place him in any point in famous history), even a girl he loves Brandy (Brittany Daniel) that gets away. In recount the story of his journey to the DJ unbeknownst to him he as become an overnight sensation. Among his adventures include getting captured by Buffalo Bob (complete with putting lotion on it's skin) and working at a school as a janitor with a former mob boss (Walken) in the witness protection program.

I did like Spade here, it feels so rare playing somebody who isn't snarky (like 99% of his work), his character here is more good natured and self deprecating (he even jokes temporally that he slept with his sister), while I've said the female lead in some of the comedies with a bit of loser lead are always clearly too good for them I didn't actually feel it so much with Brandy, though my experience of Daniel was Sweet Valley High and a brief arc in Dawson's Creek so maybe I don't feel the same I did for her initially as some other actresses.

In the rest of the cast we have cool smaller role for Walken who is just fun when on screen and Jaime Pressly also pops up as the already mentioned sister, I should mention the cast also features Kid Rock as the films jerk, yeah he's not really much of an actor.

Overall, I'm not going to pretend it's a great film but it has it's moments and is better then Master Of Disguise by miles. Some of the enjoyment though might be on how much you think of Spade.

78 - The Master Of Disguise

Connection To I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER - Jennifer Esposito.

Thank God it was only 80 minutes... that is all I have to say, and while it doesn't plum the depths of Disaster Movie (there was less eye rolling here and I made it past 5 minutes without wanting to switch if off). The Master Of Disguise was mean't as a starring vehicle for Dana Carvey, and it's a shame it's a rancid turd of a movie because I think he's a talented bloke.

The movie was likely designed to show off Carvey's skill of impressions (and voices) - and you can't deny he's good at that though his Eddie Murphy doesn't particularly like Eddie Murphy then a plot was just thrown together to try and tie it up, and Carvey plays Pistachio Disguisey, who doesn't realize he from a family that are masters of disguise  until Brent Spiner kidnaps his parents and then he finds out his heritage then it's basically a series of scenes of him doing impressions of famous people/characters/others including Quint from Jaws, Tony Montana (I should mention this is mean't to be a kids movie), Shrek (was it a nod or accidental) and George W. Bush, while his dad James Brolin as a number of celebs play him when he's in disguise including Bo Derek (more on her in a bit) and Jesse Ventura.

The love interest here as in all Happy Madison movies (I should have mentioned here) is a girl who's too good looking and has too nice of personality to fall for the main hero, in this film's case it's Jennifer Esposito, who is a good looking woman in my opinion. Spiner, as the villain though gets to have flatulence as one of his main characteristics, so yeah not his proudest cinematic moment...

The worst scene for me is when Pistachio misunderstanding and taking what the exclusive Turtle Club's name literally and acts as some part human/turtle, the scene is just so cringe-worthy.

Back to Bo Derek for some reason she was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzies, this seems unfair she barely does anything (I am not a fan of that award ceremony anyway), so yeah I'm calling it out as crappy.

Overall, not funny, a series of scenes that if they had any humour would have just flown by but instead we're stuck with a crappy vehicle for somebody too talented for it.

77 - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

Connection To CAN'T HARDLY WAIT - Jennifer Love Hewitt.

I mentioned in the post Seventy Five Films, about a couple of films I desired to revisit which included Shanghai Knights and this movie - Josie and The Pussycats was the last movie I'd watched before then and decided to go Can't Hardly Wait for 76 which features Jennifer Love Hewitt, you would guess I did this on purpose to get the chain to go that way to get to this film, but no it didn't occur to me at all at first, I was close to putting on Not Another Teen Movie (which spoofs part of Can't Hardly Wait) before my memory came back on JLH in this movie.

I really don't know why I have a desire to revisit this movie, it's maybe because I've watched a few late 90's horrors this month (Halloween H20, The Faculty), and they've both had a Kevin Williamson connection which I guess goes to show the impact Scream and he had on horror of the late 90's, and of course the original I Know What You Did Last Summer was written by Kevin Williamson - which I like to think he'd written years before and put in a draw until the studios came knocking and he just dusted it off but anyway this is Williamson-less and without spoiling the outcome of the first movie as two returnees in Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr.

My memory told me it wasn't a particularly good movie but watching it now, honestly despite it's faults I actually enjoyed watching it and for this purpose of just this write up I'm just going to put a spoiler mention here then talk about it freely from now on.

Yeah, the all getting lured to the Bahamas doesn't really need to happen, since the guy whose revealed to be the son of Ben (the guy who they ran over in the first movie) as already integrated himself well enough into Julie's (Hewitt) life, but I guess it makes a nice change of scenery and an excuse to include a tropical storm in a slasher movie.

We have an whole bunch of hotel staff, to mostly acts as victims though Jeffrey Combs is fun as his usual creepy self and Jennfier Esposito to me is always easy on the eyes, we also have an uncredited Jack Black complete with dreadlocks and fake accent, which I know the first movie had extra kills (2 I can remember) this kills off at least 7 or 8 who had no idea what they really did last summer, speaking of one of the victims, a work colleague of Prinze Jr who initially doesn't go to the Bahamas is John Hawkes, who is enjoyable and gets killed off way too quick - Prinze Jr must have had a different schedule because really his scenes are only with the others at the beginning and end.

I probably have to say that Freddie Prinze Jr. might be one of the least interesting actors in modern cinema, I felt like I've yet to see him light up the screen, maybe somebody reading this as seen something I haven't seen is just bland here, however it's maybe because at the time I most associated her with Moesha (which I didn't like) but Brandy Norwood really grew on my on performance here and cuteness (was never really into her)

the makes knew Hewitt had some assets so she wears tight clothing couple of times,she even strips to her bikini for a sunbed (which the handle gets tied up and she is trapped - marking the second film I've watched for this blog with that happening - the other was Killer Workout)

Overall, better then I remember or I just prefer it more now, though it's often predictable it does it's job well enough as a post-Scream slasher.

76 - Can't Hardly Wait

Connection To JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS - where to start the directors/writers Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan as well as the actors Seth Green, Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison, I'll cheat a little bit and go for Elfont and Kaplan rather then any of the actors.

I'll always have a soft spot for teen comedies even though now it's been 12 years since I last could call myself a teen - though I'm probably close to the ages of some of the actors that tend to be cast for teen, maybe even younger in some cases (wasn't Stockard Channing like 60 when she made Grease - I like Stockard Channing I don't know why I am picking on her), every few years or so comes one that I end up really liking such as Clueless, Mean Girls or Easy-A (these are examples and not the complete list)

This is a preface I perhaps I could have put at the beginning of a teen movie I've already covered, but hey ho, and while I don't believe Can't Hardly Wait is a classic of the genre, the film deserves to better known then it is -

The film mostly takes place over 1 night at a party - a very PG-13 party... literally, scenes and characters where cut to to tone it down the characters include crying drunk girl (Jennifer Elise Cox) and Stoned Girl (Amber Benson), who both still can be glimpsed briefly in the final film.

The film is basically about a high school graduation party and it's various misadventures of the characters who attend it, we have Ethan Embry whose liked Jennifer Love Hewitt for years and plans to pour his heart (in a letter) at the party, her very recent ex-boyfriend Peter Facinelli is also at the party and is trying to convince his friends to dump their girlfriends, we have Lauren Ambrose's snarky friend who gets stuck in the bathroom with gangsta wannabe Seth Green (the two used to be friends) and we have geek Charlie Korsmo vowing to get revenge on Facinelli. These are the principal stories but there are lots and lots of characters seen many of them are familiar faces which I'll get to in a bit.

All these characters are enjoyable to see on the screen and particularly in two of the strands go exactly the way you expect but it's not a bad thing at all, among the other actors who pop include Jaime Pressly, Selma Blair, Jason Segel, Freddy Rodriguez, Erik Palladino, Sara Rue, Clea DuVall, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison, Jenna Elfman, Jerry O'Connell and Melissa Joan Hart, who I like a lot is stuck with one of the weaker minor-subplots of desperately trying to get her yearbook signed, there's also the other minor-subplot of the girls house who is trying to stop is getting wrecked that is also on the weak side.

It occured to me that with Green, Segel and Benson in the cast - that is all her 3 major TV love interests in one film (Kennedy didn't count), besides that Paige Moss appears who in Buffy was the the lead to Green/Hannigan spiting up (Channon Roe, Nicole Bilderback, Clea DuVall and Eric Balfour all have appeared in Buffy too)

Overall very cool teen movie, I actually prefer it to American Pie, which is the year after and ends with a graduation party so there's a link there and would sooner revisit this, I enjoyed many of the characters even those that make fleeting appearances, so I recommend the film.