I need good comedy these days. Something to make me laugh and escape the stress of life as it is at the moment. Three opening this weekend (3/16/12) — Casa de Mi Padre, 21 Jump Street and Jeff, Who Lives at Home — fit the bill in some way or the other. Sharing the clips so that you get a basic synopsis of each film.
Casa de Mi Padre: I walked into this thinking it could be great or terrible. I came out of it thinking it was pretty darn good. I laughed through much of the movie, which is all in Spanish with English subtitles and a total parody of telenovelas meshed with those terrible westerns. It's essentially the story of Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell), a simpleton who works on his father's ranch, stumbles upon a drug turf war and falls for his brother's fiance. It's complicated, as telenovelas typically are. And it's not going to appeal to everyone. As we were leaving another screening, we over heard some older men who didn't seem to like it. We immediately chalked it up to wrong target audience or an inability to see that it was a well-done parody. Rated R for bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use.
Your teen may want to see this, so this is what you will see/hear: Since it's in Spanish with English subtitles, all cursing is printed on screen; the sex scene features close-up butt shots morphing into a nude mannequin; drug use; bloody violence, including a severed hand and child shooting a character, and a character dragged from a vehicle; and a hallucination sequence.
My grade B.
Clip includes language which may be offensive to some:
21 Jump Street: This is the most juvenile of the three movies, and the one for which I had the lowest expectation. Yet, it wasn't that bad. It's definitely a boy movie, but being a fan of the original series with Johnny Depp, I had to see it. It's silly, and yes, I laughed out loud at very inappropriate jokes. It made fun of recycling old ideas and had a few interesting surprises. It's the story of two cops — one a jock in high school (Channing Tatum) and the other a nerd (Jonah Hill) — who can't make it as regular cops so they are assigned to a special undercover division, as if that makes sense. This division puts young-looking cops into schools to bust crime, in this case a drug ring. Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material, teen drinking and some violence.
It's not a kid movie, but some teens will be interested in seeing it. Things you'll see/hear: group sex scene, which flashes quickly; teens using drugs and alcohol, including some provided by undercover cops; a character has a private part shot at and he finds it on the street; lots of blood during a shoot out; a stabbing and lots of F words.
My overall grade: C-
Jeff, Who Lives at Home: It's not your typical comedy. It's quirky and feels a bit like a Mike Nichols movie (think of The Graduate). It's both a funny and sad slice-of-life film. The adventure starts with an angry wrong-number caller seeking Kevin. This leads Jeff (Jason Segel), a 30-year-old unemployed pot smoker who lives in his mom's basement, to think his destiny intersects with someone named Kevin. So on his way to get wood glue, he follows the signs — leading to a crazy adventure that crosses paths with his brother and mom. It's a story of destiny. Rated R for language, including sexual references, and some drug use (pot).
My grade: B
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