Author: Don Malvasi

Dude never stayed at a hotel before, never flew in a plane. Sleeps with and goes needy on his twice-his-age gradeschool teacher (Sigourney Weaver). Sells insurance. In a small town in Wisconsin where vice is shunned. Headed for a work convention. To The City: Cedar Rapids.

There, Ed Helms (The Office, The Daily Show) meets raunchy, wildly funny provocateur, John C. Reilly, who, in trying to convert innocently dippy Helms into a real live human, steals this movie bigtime. I knew Reilly could act when I saw him and Philip Seymour Hoffman switch roles in subsequent Broadway stagings of Sam Shepard’s demanding True West, playing brothers as opposite each other as Charlie Sheen and the Dalai Lama. But now he’s on another level. He takes the standard Apatow vulgar oaf and turns him on his head. Here there’s an underlying niceness and sincerity that permits some of the wackiest, all-get-out, politically incorrect barrage on Helms’ small town square without losing the viewer or the rest of the cast.

Instead a camaraderie develops at the convention between corny Helms, daft Reilly, and an intriguing Ann Heche, who can toss down shots with the boys while lending just enough curiosity and eventual concern over Helms’ dimwitted yet earnest social skills.

Romantic misadventures and fallout on religious hypocrisy ensue. Multiple characters end up in compromising positions in a hotel pool. Midwestern values win the day. And Reilly nonstop chatters about sexual references one more ill-mannered than the next while still staying a friendly pussycat.

8 Butterscotch’s out of 10

What do talented cast members Natalie Portman, Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Olivia Thirlby (Juno) and Ludacris have in common?…An utter inabilty to save No Strings Attached from strutting itself into January oblivion. Something about a freaking hook-up-without-any-relationship-trappings romance or, emotion-free non-romance that turns romantic, while all the while Kevin Kline as Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity father, keeps stealing his son’s ex-girlfriends.

Multiple ex-girlfriends but not our dear Portman, who remains chaste in her “sex-only, Ashton, I’m-a-busy-medical-resident” stance and sees through Kline in a flash…. Question is, what’s Portman doing in this movie? Is her post-traumatic Black Swan-stress disorder this acute that she lost all perspective in what constitutes an acceptable dumb movie? Did Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis knock all sense out of the Harvard grad?

Director Ivan Reitman, who actually produced the outstanding Up In The Air last year, here Loses! All! Perspective! Perhaps we needed Kutcher’s real-life wife Demi Moore to play a jilted ex-lover of Kline who comes after him to avenge his inconsideration for son Ashton’s feelings. Then we’d be in the turf of intentional camp humor. In this film the camp is unintentional and not a little pathetic.

2 “stars” out of 10

What do talented cast members Natalie Portman, Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Olivia Thirlby (Juno) and Ludacris have in common?…An utter inabilty to save No Strings Attached from strutting itself into January oblivion. Something about a freaking hook-up-without-any-relationship-trappings romance or, emotion-free non-romance that turns romantic, while all the while Kevin Kline as Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity father, keeps stealing his son’s ex-girlfriends.

Multiple ex-girlfriends but not our dear Portman, who remains chaste in her “sex-only, Ashton, I’m-a-busy-medical-resident” stance and sees through Kline in a flash…. Question is, what’s Portman doing in this movie? Is her post-traumatic Black Swan-stress disorder this acute that she lost all perspective in what constitutes an acceptable dumb movie? Did Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis knock all sense out of the Harvard grad?

Director Ivan Reitman, who actually produced the outstanding Up In The Air last year, here Loses! All! Perspective! Perhaps we needed Kutcher’s real-life wife Demi Moore to play a jilted ex-lover of Kline who comes after him to avenge his inconsideration for son Ashton’s feelings. Then we’d be in the turf of intentional camp humor. In this film the camp is unintentional and not a little pathetic.

2 “stars” out of 10

You ain’t gonna catch traces of Waylon Jennings or Townes VanZant in the brand of songs young whippersnappers Leighton Meester or Garrett Hedlund serve up like confetti in Country Strong, a semi-strong vehicle for the acting prowess of Gwyneth Paltrow. The film scatters verbal references to these and other country icons–Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn (Paltrow’s character, country superstar Kelly Canter names her pet infant bird after Lynn–a young chirper stolen out from under it’s Mom after Kelly “waited 20 minutes” for her to show up). Problem is, the only talent in the film who’d be capable of approximating these name-dropped legends, Tim McGraw (here playing Kelly’s manager/husband) doesn’t utter a single song!

While McGraw has acted before and Paltrow has sung on film (“Duets”), here it’s over-ambitious casting. Though adequate within their characters’ limited emotional range and capable of cutesy tete-a-tetes, Hedlund (“Tron: Legacy”) and Meester (“Gossip Girl”) hardly evoke the country hall-of-fame. And Paltrow, despite a nuanced performance, is so saddled with such hyperbolic over-production on her musical numbers, I swear I heard her pet bird cringe. So it’s actors-as-musicians and musician-as-actor, mixing it up in a film that stirs but; doesn’t blend the elements of concert film and addiction-going-to-rot showbiz biopic. Had the film done more work in building and explaining characters and events, we might have something more than a climax sadly unworthy of our empathy.And you can bet your Waylon and Merle and Townes, they’d all die laughing at what’s-all-this gritty-as-jello honky tonk.

Four out of 10 (and I’d hate to think what number it would be without Paltrow.)

You ain’t gonna catch traces of Waylon Jennings or Townes VanZant in the brand of songs young whippersnappers Leighton Meester or Garrett Hedlund serve up like confetti in Country Strong, a semi-strong vehicle for the acting prowess of Gwyneth Paltrow. The film scatters verbal references to these and other country icons–Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn (Paltrow’s character, country superstar Kelly Canter names her pet infant bird after Lynn–a young chirper stolen out from under it’s Mom after Kelly “waited 20 minutes” for her to show up). Problem is, the only talent in the film who’d be capable of approximating these name-dropped legends, Tim McGraw (here playing Kelly’s manager/husband) doesn’t utter a single song!

While McGraw has acted before and Paltrow has sung on film (“Duets”), here it’s over-ambitious casting. Though adequate within their characters’ limited emotional range and capable of cutesy tete-a-tetes, Hedlund (“Tron: Legacy”) and Meester (“Gossip Girl”) hardly evoke the country hall-of-fame. And Paltrow, despite a nuanced performance, is so saddled with such hyperbolic over-production on her musical numbers, I swear I heard her pet bird cringe. So it’s actors-as-musicians and musician-as-actor, mixing it up in a film that stirs but; doesn’t blend the elements of concert film and addiction-going-to-rot showbiz biopic. Had the film done more work in building and explaining characters and events, we might have something more than a climax sadly unworthy of our empathy.And you can bet your Waylon and Merle and Townes, they’d all die laughing at what’s-all-this gritty-as-jello honky tonk.

Four out of 10 (and I’d hate to think what number it would be without Paltrow.)

Not since Lynn Redgrave graced the lead role inthe 1966 British film Georgy Girl,” has a bonafide “ugly duckling” connected so well with critical audiences as Sally Hawkins did in the 2008 “Happy Go Lucky.” Two years and a Golden Globe award later, Sally is back with sass. Proving her role in the previous Mike Leigh film was not a one-off, Hawkins soars in this historical ode to the power of feminine determination in the face of long odds.

Playing a composite character in a historical benchmark that led to equal pay for women workers in 1960s England, Hawkins dominates a film that swerves mostly authentically between pathos and comedy and slice-of-life familial and class tensions. Abetted by the always outstanding Bob Hoskins as a prodding shop steward type and a fine Miranda Richarson as a sympathetic Labor Minister, Hawkins sacrifices, asserts, and networks her way into eventual victory after an initial almost accidental drafting into the role as the movement’s leader. She’s equally able to soothe her husband’s vulnerability in the face of day-to-day sacrifices made on behalf of the womans’ strike as she is to face down a government minister. And she’s as believable to the core because in all essence she’s the ultra-talented personification of waxen, gorgeous normalcy.

Not since Lynn Redgrave graced the lead role inthe 1966 British film Georgy Girl,” has a bonafide “ugly duckling” connected so well with critical audiences as Sally Hawkins did in the 2008 “Happy Go Lucky.” Two years and a Golden Globe award later, Sally is back with sass. Proving her role in the previous Mike Leigh film was not a one-off, Hawkins soars in this historical ode to the power of feminine determination in the face of long odds.

Playing a composite character in a historical benchmark that led to equal pay for women workers in 1960s England, Hawkins dominates a film that swerves mostly authentically between pathos and comedy and slice-of-life familial and class tensions. Abetted by the always outstanding Bob Hoskins as a prodding shop steward type and a fine Miranda Richarson as a sympathetic Labor Minister, Hawkins sacrifices, asserts, and networks her way into eventual victory after an initial almost accidental drafting into the role as the movement’s leader. She’s equally able to soothe her husband’s vulnerability in the face of day-to-day sacrifices made on behalf of the womans’ strike as she is to face down a government minister. And she’s as believable to the core because in all essence she’s the ultra-talented personification of waxen, gorgeous normalcy.

Maudlin is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t give me Rabbit Hole is SO SAD like it’s some kind of black mark when we’re talking about quintessential grief here. Can’t relate to the utterly futile feelings arising from losing a young son? Go lower your IQ at Yogi Bear. Only issue for me is, does it work? Here it works sensationally. Nicole Kidman, fully recovered from both Tom Cruise-itis and her subsequent rebound into the safe haven of country music, gives her best performance since Eyes Wide Shut. Equally pleasurable, the ever venerable Dianne Wiest deftly matches Kidman’s every move, portraying Nicole’s mom, who also lost a son along the way.

Rabbit Hole strikes home as a highly plausible parable about alternate (yet parallel) universes of recovery. The central conceit of Kidman’s brazen solution to her ennui, is matched by her husband’s (Aaron Eckhardt) own approach. While seemingly at opposite ends on how to deal with their tragedy, it’s increasingly evident that similarities outweigh differences in their approaches to coping.

Tis true you must reach rock bottom before picking up the pieces in any real way. The drama, for moviegoers, is in the process, depicted here by director John Cameron Mitchell as an adroit gamut of emotional nuances, leaving the viewer drained yet finally free to find hope. And quite the antidote to Mitchell’s prior Shortbus, an odd, voyeuristic, yet hilarious and highly recommended ditty that has absolutely nothing in common with Rabbit Hole.

9 Eyes Wide Shut out of 10

Maudlin is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t give me Rabbit Hole is SO SAD like it’s some kind of black mark when we’re talking about quintessential grief here. Can’t relate to the utterly futile feelings arising from losing a young son? Go lower your IQ at Yogi Bear. Only issue for me is, does it work? Here it works sensationally. Nicole Kidman, fully recovered from both Tom Cruise-itis and her subsequent rebound into the safe haven of country music, gives her best performance since Eyes Wide Shut. Equally pleasurable, the ever venerable Dianne Wiest deftly matches Kidman’s every move, portraying Nicole’s mom, who also lost a son along the way.

Rabbit Hole strikes home as a highly plausible parable about alternate (yet parallel) universes of recovery. The central conceit of Kidman’s brazen solution to her ennui, is matched by her husband’s (Aaron Eckhardt) own approach. While seemingly at opposite ends on how to deal with their tragedy, it’s increasingly evident that similarities outweigh differences in their approaches to coping.

Tis true you must reach rock bottom before picking up the pieces in any real way. The drama, for moviegoers, is in the process, depicted here by director John Cameron Mitchell as an adroit gamut of emotional nuances, leaving the viewer drained yet finally free to find hope. And quite the antidote to Mitchell’s prior Shortbus, an odd, voyeuristic, yet hilarious and highly recommended ditty that has absolutely nothing in common with Rabbit Hole.

9 Eyes Wide Shut out of 10