Review: Manhattan Blues (Friends with Kids)

Child rearing has spawned countless numbers of get-help books, tutorial videos, counselors, and lord knows how many films. So the prospect of taking a time-old tradition and putting a modern spin on it seemed right in Jennifer Westfeldt's wheelhouse. Westfeldt has been known for making dramedies that put a fresh face on old issues: Kissing Jessica Stein took on dating and Ira & Abby took on marriage, so with Friend with Kids it seemed she was ready to reflect how society deals with children and loved ones.

Jason (Adam Scott) and Jules (Jennifer Westfeldt) have known each other since they were in college. They know everything there is to know about each other. They know each other's positions on religion, politics, favorite coffee maker, etc. They would be perfect for each other if they weren't, you know, completely unattracted to each other. But like every Manhattanite in her age range, Juls is quickly approaching an age where she may not meet Mr. Right in time to have kids. Jason, always up to help "Doll", proposes a modest situation: they have a child and each partner takes all of the responsibility half the time.

Like the audience, not all of Jason and Juls' friends are receptive to the idea. To them, it feels like a direct attack on their lifestyle. Why would they think that they, the two most flawed members of their group, would be able to raise a child without loving each other?

Just as Jason and Jules carry on their grand experiment of having children without having spouses or complicating relationships, the film turns right back around on dating and romance in Manhattan. The reliably funny Kristen Wiig, Jon Hamm, Chris O'Down and Maya Rudolph are reduced to bitter caricatures of messed up marriages that we have seen way too often before. The films is infinitely better when it stops painting these four parents as monsters as more as actual people. The film's two leads, Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt have chemistry, but they are being forced to fit genre conventions too often to really be given room to breathe.

As innovative as Friends with Kids tries to be, before you know it, the film devolves into a series of love triangles involving unaware interlopers that completely abandons the child Jules and Joe had, except as a reminder of how much the two care for each other. At that point, Friends with Kids is less a story about having kids then just another story about a man and woman who got along, didn't, and then got back together again.

**/****

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9) Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages, Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Ignore the Troll

Whether it is his glowing review of Norbit , his thrashing of Toy Story 3 , or just his general pompousness, you are aware of Armond White. His dismissal of Toy Story 3 came at a convenient time when the film was sitting pretty with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. "But Toy Story 3 is so besotted with brand names and product-placement that it stops being about the innocent pleasures of imagination—the usefulness of toys—and strictly celebrates consumerism." A claim that could have been taken at face value had he not followed it with this sentiment " Transformers 2 already explored the same plot to greater thrill and opulence." I am sure if one were inclined to interview Michael Bay at his most enlightened he would have never crafted an answer that insightful regarding hidden parables in his Transformers vehicle. White was at his most incensed when forced to sit down and type out his thoughts regarding Precious , but praised Norbit for its reflection o

Never Mind Pop Film

Search This Blog