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timbocool64
Reviews
Who's the Caboose? (1997)
Swingers: The Documentary
'Who's the Caboose?' is a daringly unvarnished look at the shark- infested waters of Hollywood's double-talk and ruthlessly superficial professional relationships formed during "Pilot Season," and the desperation boiling beneath the surface of the scene.
I appreciate that the mockumentary format serves the authenticity of the story but it's realism is earned at a great sacrifice; the film is not engaging, it successfully delivers a very authentic feeling story but the intentional blandness of 'real-life' negates any possible emotion we might be feeling for the characters.
The movie explores the uphill battle of actors breaking from underground comedy clubs to mainstream sitcom success but what struck me the most was how many fantastic comedians are criminally underutilized in their comedic capacity. Naturally mischievous Sarah Silverman portraying an irritable and neurotic bore, ludicrously funny David Cross barely gets a peek of screen time and H. John Benjamin whose wry voice you have heard in so many great cartoons playing an officious, effervescent lawyer. It's an arm-wrestle between miscast roles and an aggressively dry script.
It's okay, but if you sort-of liked what you saw, I recommend watching the far superior 'Swingers' which came out a year prior, similar fare but done with greater style and a more engaging emotional core.
The Heat (2013)
I wanted to like it so much more...
This is the latest in a fairly recent run of the buddy cop movie renaissance along with 2010's "The Other Guys," and 2012's "21 Jump Street" reboot, out of those 3 runners The Heat gets the bronze, here's why:
The genre is known for its formulaic structures and tried and tested trope of chalk & cheese partnerships but they feel especially lacklustre in this movie; in parts the script feels like the product of a buddy-cop mad-libs.
Melissa McCarthy has been rising in popularity rapidly but I've always found something about her to be fundamentally irritating. I was hoping this movie would be the combo breaker and show me what everyone else seems to see in her, but her performance lacks spark. Sandra Bullock, however, was as charismatic as always; Consistently enchanting and funny.
The laughs in the movie are largely down to Bullock's high-strung, restrained performance and her intelligently goofy delivery. The other, less successful attempts at humor are guilty of dropping lazy f-bombs and riding on slapstick courtesy of McCarthy.
It does pack some laughs but is dryly formulaic and lacks any of those unique and memorable gags found in 'The Other Guys'. It's well worth a look but might leave you feeling unsatisfied.