Negromancer News Bits and Bites from Oct 13th to 19th, 2024 - UPDATE #12

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Variety:  The HBO documentary, "Money Electric," tries to answer the questions, "Who invited Bitcoin?"

AMAZON - From Deadline:  The roles of John and Jane Smith will be recast in Season 2 of Amazon Prime's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."  Rumors have Oscar-and Grammy-winner Billie Eilish in the running to play "Jane Smith."  Donald Glover and Maya Erskine played the couple in Season 1.

MOVIES - From Variety:  In his new autobiography, "Sonny Boy," Al Pacino admits that he starred in movies he didn't relate to for the money.  The Oscar-winner apparently lost 50 million because of his corrupt accountant.

OSCARS - From Deadline:  The search for someone to hosts the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on ABC in 2025.  Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, the stars of Disney/Marvel's "Deadpool & Wolverine," are in the mix.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 10/11 to 10/13/2024 weekend box office is Cineverse's "Terrifier 3" with an estimated take of 18.3 million dollars.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are set to star in the film, "Song Sung Blue," about a couple who form a Neil Diamond tribute band.  Craig Brewer is set to direct.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Two-time Oscar-winner, Anthony Hopkins, will next star in “Maserati: The Brothers,” an English-language biopic directed by Bobby Moresco about the family behind the "Maserati" brand of high-performance automobile.  Hopkins will play an Italian financier who bankrolls the Maserati brothers.  Italy is known for high-performance automobiles like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati.

MOVIES - From Variety:  "I, Robot" director, Alex Proyas, believes that Elon Musk copied designs from his film for an array of Tesla-brand vehicles, including the "Cybertruck" and "Robovan."

POLITICS - From RSN:  Grammy-winning recording artist, Neil Young, offers "Why I Love Kamala Harris" at the "Neil Young Archives."

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ bets big on a daily drama, "Return to Las Sabinas," that it originally commissioned for Disney+ Spain.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Coming off his Western epic, "Horizon," Kevin Costner will produce, co-write, and star in the thriller, "Headhunters."  Steven Holleran will direct.

MOVIES - From THR:  Henry Cavill has been cast in the live-action "Voltron" movie.  Director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Netflix's "Red Notice") will direct, and the film will begin shooting in Australia this fall.

MOVIES - From KLFY:  The third oldest movie theater in Louisiana, the "Queen Cinema" in Eunice, has new ownership.  Local siblings, the Jordans, have saved this local historic landmark.

#28DaysofBlack Review: Heroes Abound in "MARSHALL"

[The year after he first played Marvel Comics superhero, Black Panther, the late Chadwick Boseman played real-life hero, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, early in his career when he was a defense attorney defending oppressed African-Americans.  There is something about playing both Thurgood Marshall and the Black Panther that makes an actor special.  That is why some of us both mourn Boseman's passing and celebrate his work.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 of 2021 (No. 1753) by Leroy Douresseaux

Marshall (2017)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hours, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexuality, violence and some strong language
DIRECTOR:  Reginald Hudlin
WRITERS:  Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff
PRODUCERS:  Reginald Hudlin, Jonathan Sanger, and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Newton Thomas Sigel (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Tom McArdle
COMPOSER:  Marcus Miller
Academy Award nominee

BIOPIC/DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER

Starring:  Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown, Keesha Sharp, John Magaro, Roger Guenveur Smith, Ahna O'Reilly, Jeremy Bobb, Derrick Baskin, Jeffrey DeMunn, Andra Day, Sophia Bush, Jussie Smollett, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas

Marshall is a 2017 biographical film, period drama, and legal thriller directed by Reginald Hudlin.  The film's lead character is Thurgood Marshall (1908 to 1993), the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Marshall the film focuses on one of the first cases of his career, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, which concerns an African-American chauffeur accused of raping a white woman in 1940.

Marshall opens in 1941.  Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) is an attorney for the “NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,” which he founded.  Marshall travels the country defending people who are accused of crimes solely because of their race.  Upon his return to his New York office, Marshall finds more work waiting for him.  Walter Francis White (Roger Guenveur Smith), Executive Secretary of the NAACP, sends Marshall to Bridgeport, Connecticut.  There, he will defend Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), a chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), in a case that has gripped the newspapers.

In Bridgeport, insurance lawyer, Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), is assigned by his brother, Irwin Friedman (John Magaro), to get Marshall admitted to the local bar, against Sam's will.  At the hearing for Spell, Judge Carl Foster (James Cromwell), a friend of the father of prosecutor Lorin Willis (Dan Stevens), agrees to admit Marshall, but forbids Marshall from speaking during the trial, forcing Friedman to be Spell's lead counsel.  Now, Marshall must guide Friedman through the trial via notes, but is this case a lost cause when Thurgood and Sam discover that it is rife with lies – on both sides.

Marshall is technically a biographical film, focusing on a specific period in the life and career of future Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.  Early in the film, however, it is obvious that director Reginald Hudlin has his mind on making Marshall a film that resembles a 1940s film noir with elements of a legal drama and a crime thriller.  The audience can hear that in Marcus Miller's lovely film score and in the way Hudlin stages the action, uses space, and places the actors.

In one of the film's early moments, when Marshall has his back to the camera and is ironing a shirt, I immediately thought of my favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart, and one of his most famous roles, that of Sam Space in director John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941).  From that point, there is hardly a setting in which Marshall's life does not seem to be in danger.  Hudlin races his audience through a movie that seems to be shorter than its almost two hours of run time.  Is Marshall a courtroom drama?  Yes, and it is also a courtroom thriller with a mystery at its center.

I do wish the father-son screenwriting team of Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff had given the script  more depth, as the narrative is mostly style and genre.  There is also a lack of depth in the  characterization, and the characters are a bit shallow.  As hard as actor Sterling K. Brown tries, he can't seem to really draw anything from the well of defendant Joseph Spell's soul.  Spell comes across as more of a stand-in than an actual portrait of a man whose life is on the line.

The very talented Josh Gad is able to give a lot of color to Sam Friedman, playing as a subtly wily man who is able to navigate his way between conflicting sides.  Kate Hudson, mostly known for romantic comedies, shows some serious dramatic chops as the trapped suburban wife and alleged victim, Eleanor Strubing.  As usual, Roger Guenveur Smith is spry, this time as the real-life Walter Francis Wright.

Of course, in the wake of his 2020 death to complications of colon cancer, Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall will be the center of attention in the film, Marshall, going forward.  Despite a lack of characterization in the film's script, Boseman turns Marshall into a relentless paladin, traveling the countryside fighting the forces of white bigotry and racism.  His field of battle is the courtroom, and black men falsely accused because they are black are the people he defends.  Boseman makes me believe that he is a stubborn attorney and hero in an old-fashioned courtroom drama.  He also makes me believe that he is a superhero, almost a year before he became the beloved Black Panther of Disney/Marvel Studios' Oscar-winning film, Black Panther.

Marshall convinces me that Thurgood Marshall was both a heroic lawyer and a superhero.  The film also convinces me that Boseman was the best at bringing the most famous African-American men to life on the big screen.  Plus, Marshall is a really good movie.

8 of 10
A

Monday, February 15, 2021


NOTES:
2018 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Song” (Common and Diane Warren for song “Stand Up for Something”)

2018 Black Reel Awards:  7 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Jonathan Sanger, Paula Wagner, and Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Victoria Thomas-Casting Director), “Outstanding Score” (Marcus Miller-Composer), “Outstanding Original Song” (Andra Day-Performer, Common-Performer, Writer, and Diane Warren-Writer for the song “Stand Up for Something”), and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (Sterling K. Brown)

2018 Image Awards (NAACP):  5 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Sterling K. Brown), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Keesha Sharp), “and  “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin)

The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 17th to 23rd, 2016 - Update #52

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From Variety:  The release date for the first of New Line's two-film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, "It," is September 18, 2017.

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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  See the mysterious "Jurassic World 2" teaser poster.

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MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Dwayne Johnson announces that he is in director Jake Kasdan's "Jumanji" remake.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Joaquin Phoenix is currently the leading contender to play Jesus in the film, "Mary Magdalene.

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MOVIES - From EW:  Woody Allen and Jesse Eisenberg go "Old Hollywood" in trailer for "Cafe Society."

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MOVIE - From TheWrap:  There will be a "Daddy's Home 2," with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

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COMICS - From YahooTV:  Marvel Studios pulls the "Inhumans" film again.

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SCIENCE - From BusinessInsider:  Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks there's a 'very high' chance the universe is just a simulation.

BOX OFFICE - From MoviesDotCom:  "Captain America: Civil War" is outselling all other Marvel movies in early sales.

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MUSIC - From RollingStone:   The legendary musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, filmmaker Prince has died at the age of 57.

From HuffingtonPost:  Yeah, this is already the saddest year in music history.

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From CinemaBlend:  Robert Downey, Jr. is talking about "Sherlock Holmes 3."

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From TheWrap:  Robert Downey, Jr. has signed a deal to appear in next year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming.

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ANIMATION - From TheTrackingBoard:  Two-time Oscar nominee, Jacki Weaver, will lend her voice to an upcoming DreamWorks project.

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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  Emilia Clarke, who played Sarah Connor, in "Terminator: Genisys" says that she will not return to the franchise.

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OBIT - From TheGuardian:  British comedian, Victoria Wood, died at the age of 62, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Another day, another remake - 1990s "Flatliners."

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MOVIES - From THR:  Opinions differ internationally about Scarlett Johansson being cast in "Ghost in the Shell."

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TELEVISION - From ThePlaylist:  Idris Elba and John Ridley (writer of "12 Years a Slave") will unit for a Showtime miniseries, "Guerrilla."

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MOVIES - From Variety: Danish bad boy director, Nicolas Winding Refn, will be the showrunner for a high profile Italian TV series.

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SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The former Syracuse college basketball star, Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, has died at the age of 52, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.  A New York City high school basketball legend, Washington was much admired for his exceptional skills and play.  He also had a brief NBA career.

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TELEVISION - From YahooMovies:  New Line is working on gaining the film rights to turn 1970s-80s iconic TV series, "Three's Company" in order to make a film.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  More cast members added to Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman's "Office Christmas Party."

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COMICS - From TheWrap:  Willem Dafoe joins "Justice League" movie.

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CRIME - From TheWeek:  How a 26-year-old white woman died a horrible death in an American jail.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  First look at Antoine Fuqua's "The Magnificent Seven" with Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  "Game of Thrones" reveals Jon Snow's fate.

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STAR WARS - From YahooMovies:  Prince William and Prince Harry visit the "Star Wars" set.

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STAGE - From BleedingCool:  See new wand designs for the play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Star Wars director J.J. Abrams and lead actress Daisy Ridley ("Rey") reunite for supernatural drama, "Kolma."

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Marvel/Netflix adds two more cast members to "Iron Fist."

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CLOWNS - From THR:  Pat Boone says criticism of the Ku Klux Klan is anti-Christian.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Max Landis explains the politics of casting "Ghost in the Shell."  Honestly, I don't have that big a problem with Scarlett Johansson as the lead.  It's not like they cast Miley Cyrus...

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Mel Gibson will co-write and direct the TV series, "The Barbary Coast."  Kate Hudson and Kurt Russell will star, with Gibson making some appearances on the show.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  The director of "Jurassic World 2" is Juan Antonio Bayona.

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STAGE - From THR:  Broadway sensation, "Hamilton," becomes only the ninth musical to win the "Pulitzer Price for Drama."

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OBIT - From THR:  The actress, Doris Roberts, has died at the age of 90 (Sunday, April 17, 2016).  Roberts was best known for playing "Marie Barone" on the CBS TV series, "Everybody Loves Raymond."  For playing the mother of the title character, "Raymond Barone" (Ray Romano), Roberts won 4 of the 5 Emmy Awards she received.  She won an Emmy for her stint on the NBC series, "St. Elsewhere."

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  How Spider-Man's inclusion in "Captain America: Civil War" changed Black Panther's role in the film.

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DIGITAL - From YahooFinance:  Can Netflix remain undisputed king of original streaming content.

From ScreenDaily:  Amazon takes aim at Netflix.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/15 to 4/17/2016 weekend box office is Disney's live-action "Jungle Book," with an estimated take of $103.5 million.

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POLITICS - From the NYDailyNews:  Rosario Dawson was arrested during a protest.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From GuardianUK:  Yeah, Bill Clinton's signature on crime bills did destroy Black lives.

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POLITICS - From Deadline:  Hilary Clinton raised $15 million from two fundraisers that George Clooney and his wife hosted for her.

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From EW:  Disney is going to release the film, "The Queen of Katwe" this September.  The film is directed by Mira Nair, and stars Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo.

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From Truthout:  The enemy of the 99% is not the 1%, but the 0.1%.

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WEBCOMICS - From CBB:  New episode of "Johnny Bullet."

From CBB:  Johnny Bullet Episode 69 in French.

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COMICS - From USGamer:  Everything you need to know about DC Comics' "Rebirth."

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COMICS - From FlickeringMyth: "Spider-Man: Homecoming" adds two new cast members, including Tony Revolori of "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Samuel Jackson talks about the next time we might see Nick Fury in a Marvel movie.

COMICS - From FlickeringMyth:  Kevin Feige teases the future of Marvel Studios' films.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  New trailer for "The Magnificent Seven" remake.

From YouTube:  Red band trailer for "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates."

From YouTube:  New "Earth Day" trailer for "Independence Day: Resurgence."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of September 21st to September 27th, 2014 - Update #16

NEWS:

From YahooTV:  Information about some of the characters in the still-in-development Walking Dead spinoff.

From YahooCelebrity: George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin today, Saturday, September 27, 2014, in Italy.  The marriage will be made official in a civil ceremony on Monday.

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From YahooTV:  "Gilligan's Island" is 50-years-old today.

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From YahooScreen:  Apparently, there will be a third installment of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.  I don't like this movie, but strangely, I really loved Evan Dorkin's comic book adaptation of the film for Marvel Comics.

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From InsideMovies:  Famously (infamously) reclusive writer, Thomas Pynchon, may make a cameo in Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of his novel, Inherent Vice.

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From CinemaBlend:  "Taken 3" gets a new title, Tak3n... seriously.

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From CinemaBlend:  A story about Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" and "What Up With That?"

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From YahooNews:  Will Smith posts cute birthday pic of he and and wife, Jada.

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From UPI:  Oscar-nominated actress, Kate Hudson, claims that she and mother, Oscar-winning legend, Goldie Hawn, can see ghosts.

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From YahooCelebrity:  Emma Watson, of Harry Potter fame, delivers a stirring speech on gender equality before the United Nations on Saturday, September 20, 2014.

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From TheHollywoodReporter:  New release, The Maze Runner, wins the September 19th to 21st, 2014 weekend box office with an estimated take of $32.5 million.

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From the HuffingtonPost:  Idris Elba's tale of the vampire Nic Cage.


COMICS BOOKS - Books and Films:

From TheMotleyFool:  Five things you might not know about "Batman Vs. Superman."

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From Inquisitr:  "Batman vs. Superman" cast member, Henry Lennix, says that fans of Frank Miller's seminal Batman graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, will be pleased about the 2016 film.

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From Vulture:  Bryan Singer will direct "X-Men: Apocalypse" and an update on his legal trouble.

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From CinemaBlend:  If he is in "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice," what will Aquaman look like.

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From YahooTV:  TV Guide on what works and doesn't work in "Gotham" (FOX affiliates - 8 Eastern/7Central, but check your local listings).


STAR WARS:

From Inquisitr:  Episode 7 concept art reveals a light sabre duel in a snowy forest

From CinemaBlend:  Storm Troopers may have a new look in Episode 7.

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From IBTimes:  Five villains who may be in Episode 7.

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From /Film:  Roger Moore, James Bond and The Saint, talks about his Star Wars Episode 7 set visit.


INTERVIEWS and REVIEWS:

From The Hollywood Reporter via YahooMovies:  Richard Gere talks about playing a homeless man in "Time Out of Mind.

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From YahooTV:  A review of Episode 1 of Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 22

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From TheVillageVoice:  An interview of Terry Gilliam for the release of his new film, Zero Theorem.


TRAILERS:

From 20th Century Fox:  New trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service.

"The Skeleton Key" Unlocks Harmless, Eerie Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 136 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Skeleton Key (2005)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity, and thematic material
DIRECTOR: Iain Softley
WRITER: Ehren Kruger
PRODUCERS: Daniel Bobker, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, and Iain Softley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daniel Mindel
EDITOR: Joe Hutshing
COMPOSER: Edward Shearmur

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Ronald McCall, and Jeryl Prescott Sales

Set in the backwoods of Houma, Louisiana (in the same region as New Orleans) in Terreborne Parish (what La. calls its counties), The Skeleton Key is the story of Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a young hospice nurse hired to take care of an elderly woman named Violet Devereaux’s (Gena Rowlands) ailing husband, Ben (John Hurt). Ben supposedly had a stroke while poking through the attic of the Devereaux’s home, a foreboding and decrepit old plantation-style mansion in the Louisiana delta. Ben can’t speak because of the stroke, and Violet is certainly… eccentric. However, the enigmatic couple and their dark and rambling home intrigue her, so Caroline, armed with a skeleton key that unlocks every door in the house, Caroline begins to explore the home and discovers that the large attic actually hides a secret room.

The hidden room holds some darkly mysterious and terrifying secrets; according to Violet it was once the secret room of Papa Justify (Ronald McCall) and his wife, Mama Cecile (Jeryl Prescott Sales). Violet also tells Caroline that the couple practiced hoodoo, a mixture of African, European, and Native American conjuring or black magic (not related to voodoo), and that the couple was lynched and burned because they allegedly tried to teach their witchcraft to their white boss’ son and daughter. The written spells, potions, powders, etc. that they used in their dark arts remain in the secret room. Caroline believes that the method to curing Ben lies in that secret room, and that she must use psychology to convince Ben that the hoodoo only affects him because he believes in it. If she can prove to him that it’s all nonsense, he should be cured… or so Caroline believes as she slowly entangles herself in a dark trap that she’s apparently too stupid to recognize.

Universal Pictures’ advertising tried to sell The Skeleton Key as being a horror movie in the tradition of such late 60’s/late 70’s suspense thriller-type horror movies as Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, or modern atmospheric suspense flicks such as The Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes. Director Iain Softley (K-PAX) certainly makes use of the charmingly gothic and dread-inducing New Orleans area locations, and his cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Spy Game) and his crew add the final touches that make the film look both moody and morbid. Art directors Drew Boughton and Suttirat Anne Larlarb and set decorator Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb team up, however, to be The Skeleton Key’s true stars. The Devereaux’s creepy old mansion, the surrounding swamps, and dilapidated dwellings are like the drawings of Graham “Ghastly” Ingels, beloved creator of some of the best art ever to appear in legendary EC horror comic books. Ultimately, any legitimacy that The Skeleton Key has as a good horror movie rests in their creative vision; the film is as much theirs as it is Iain Softley’s.

The Skeleton Key, for all that it is sinister, is the kind of film that the less you think about it the more sense it makes. Dig deeply enough into Ehren Kruger’s (The Ring and The Ring Two) script and the film falls apart because its internal logic is full of holes that Kruger either didn’t notice or chose to ignore – likely that latter. Horror movies aren’t supposed to make sense (which is the belief of many fans and quite of few of its practitioners); the scary movie’s success lies in scaring people, and The Skeleton Key is certainly a delightfully spine-chilling affair… as long as you don’t take a hard look at it.

Sure, it seems as if Kate Hudson is slumming for a paycheck; sometimes she doesn’t even bother to act. She stands or sits there with a stony, blank expression on her face, as if she’s wondering in which script hides another potential Oscar nod while a movie is being made around her. Luckily, the superb Gena Rowlands is there to tear it up; her Violet Devereaux is a combination of pointed wickedness, proud dishonesty, and dismissive sarcasm. Rarely has matronly evil looked so good; she’s Joan Collins/Dynasty mean. John Hurt is also great, taking his crippled Ben Devereaux and turning him into a totem of fear-drowned and cuckolded manhood.

While Ms. Hudson struggles to bat .300 in this film and although the villains are as comical and they are scary, The Skeleton Key is a solid, suspense filled horror hit. For all the holes in the concept, screenwriter Ehren Kruger is probably the best writer of scary movies this new century. Cast and crew have glossed over their missteps with enough hair-raising and spine-chilling tropes to make The Skeleton Key a must-go trip to the theatre, at least for true fans of the scary. Sit back, let the feelings and emotions take control, and submit to the will of a big screen full of eerie.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, August 27, 2005

You, Me and Dupree a Triple Threat of Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

You, Me and Dupree (2006)
Running time: 110 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity, crude humor, language, and a drug reference
DIRECTOR: Anthony & Joe Russo
WRITER: Michael Le Sieur
PRODUCERS: Owen Wilson, Scott Stuber, and Mary Parent
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Charles Minsky, ASC
EDITORS: Peter B. Ellis and Debra Neil-Fisher A.C.E.

COMEDY

Starring: Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Seth Rogen, and Michael Douglas

Carl Petersen (Matt Dillon) and Molly Thompson (Kate Hudson) are just married, and they already get stuck with a houseguest. Carl’s longtime friend, Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson), best known to everyone as simply “Dupree,” has lost both his job and home, and Carl offers to let Dupree stay with them for a little while, much to Molly’s chagrin. However, the newlyweds start to believe that Dupree, a free-spirited bachelor, has permanently attached himself to their couch., and the longer he’s living there, the more Carl begins to suspect that Dupree may be making a move on Molly. It doesn’t help that Molly’s father, Carl’s boss, Mr. Thompson (Michael Douglas), is also giving Carl grief.

The brotherly directing team of Anthony & Joe Russo directed several episodes of the critically-acclaimed, but low-rated FOX television series, Arrested Development. They even won an Emmy Award for directed the series’ pilot episode, but Arrested Development was an offbeat series with the appropriate script writing. The Russos’ recent film, You, Me and Dupree, is the first script by new writer Michael Le Sieur to be produced as a feature film.

Ostensibly a romantic comedy about a young couple besieged by a houseguest/pest, it lacks the appropriate writing that would make it funny. The script pretends to be one thing, and then, goes off on many tangents, so the Russo Bros. apparently couldn’t do much to make You, Me and Dupree work either as a comedy or a romance. There are some humorous moments throughout the film, but the romance is dead on arrival. Overall, You, Me and Dupree is just a clumsy effort at being a slapstick, romantic comedy built around the concept of “three is a crowd.”

Even the cast, which is fairly talented, can’t extract much from this, nor do they put forth much effort at doing so. Owen Wilson’s laid-back dude character is mostly listless, and Dupree’s clumsy attempts at beach bum philosophy is… well, clumsy. Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson have no screen chemistry and their pretend romance is… well, too lethargic to call pretend. No sparks start flying when they get together. Dillon phones in his typical vulnerable, tough guy façade, and Hudson barely registers; in fact, any actress struggling to make it could have delivered the same performance as this highly paid Hollywood star for a fraction of the salary.

Also, any movie that has a Hollywood legend like Michael Douglas could at least put the man to better use than having him deliver a desert-dry performance as the jealous father-in-law.

3 of 10
C-

Wednesday, January 31, 2007