The Five-Year Engagement: Love Has Only One Boundary - Michigan

The Five-Year Engagement

Directed By: Nicholas Stoller

Written By: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller

Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Christ Pratt, Alison Brie, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, Kevin Hart, Rhys Ifans, Dakota Johnston, Mindy Kailing, Randall Park, Chris Parnell, and Brian Posehn.

Director of Photography: Javier Aguirresarobe, Editor: , Production Designer: , Original Music:

            The opening sequence of The Five-Year Engagement, a romantic comedy with surprising warmth and maturity, sets the stage for our couple destined to be. Tom (Jason Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt) are driving to her sister’s home when Tom starts talking about some receipts he forgot and must run back to the restaurant he works at. Violet looks at him strangely, as Tom becomes more and more panicked about what seems like a miniscule problem. Finally, he stops the car and slaps an engagement ring on the dashboard. Violet is more than excited, despite Tom’s despondence over failing to create a surprise. But Violet loves him too much, and Violet insists on going trough with the charade, even though the outcome is inevitable. And it is still romantic, and still funny, and still made my heart swell.

            Despite its labeling as the latest bro-comedy from the Judd Apatow machine, Nicholas Stoller’s The Five Year Engagement breaks and bends the mold to really explore what exactly relationships and commitment really mean. Written by Stoller and star Jason Segel (last seen collaborating on The Muppets), it’s the most ambitious of the brand of romantic comedy from Apatow’s brand, and the duo knock it out of the park. The film isn’t just for laughs, or to teach one sided a lesson. This is a film about two people who we know are right from the start learning to accept that challenge, and not let “life” get in the way. And by filling their narrative with some of the most comedic talents one could ever ask for, Stoller and Segel have stapled themselves as a worthy successor to Woody Allen with this gem of a film.

The Muppets: The Rainbow Connection to the Past

The Muppets

Directed By: James Bobin

Written By: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, based on the characters created by Jim Henson

Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Rashida Jones, Chris Cooper, and the Muppets

Director of Photography: Don Burgess, Editor: James Thomas, Production Designer: Steve Saklad, Original Music: Christopher Beck, Original Songs: Bret McKenzie

Rated: PG for Muppet related humor.

            Gonzo. When I was a kid, my hero was Gonzo the Great. I was weird, and a bit crazy, and identified with the big, blue-nosed lunatic that always dreamed of become a great daredevil, though always failing. How could you not love such a dreamer?

            Heck, how can anyone not love the Muppets? The fantastic puppet creations by Jim Henson started with their SNL-like sketch show in the early 1970s, going on the inspire countless movies (three considered canon, the rest with their moments of comic genius but most forgettable). Since Mr. Henson’s death in 1990, many thought the Muppets have become the great comics of a past generation, relics of a forgotten era. But one only needs to pull up Youtube videos of Fozzie’s stand-up, Animal’s drumming, or Honeydew’s lab for proof that their comedy is timeless.

            In an age where our comedy has become much more cynical, could the Muppets find a place? That’s the hope of the latest film, simply titled The Muppets. The film is the brainchild of Forgetting Sarah Marshall duo Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, who you may remember ended that film with a puppet musical of Dracula. It’s obvious from the first moments of their latest film that Mr. Segel (who stars along with the delightful Amy Adams) and Mr. Stoller are Muppet devotees, and their great nostalgia shows along every frame of this film. In fact, few films are more nostalgia whoring than The Muppets, which means fans of those guys will go bonkers for this latest iteration, which I sure as hell did.

Bad Teacher: Every Child Left Behind

Bad Teacher

Directed By: Jake Kasdan

Written By: Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Phyllis Smith, and John Michael Higgins

Director of Photography: Alar Kivilo, Editor: Tara Timpone, Production Designer: Jefferson Sage, Original Music: Michael Andrews

Rated: R for sex humor, sex, language, drugs, and well, at least there’s no violence.

            Cameron Diaz is the type of actress who will get down and dirty for anything. When we first discovered her in There’s Something About Mary, she played ball with the raunchiest of humor, showing there was no low she wouldn’t go. Then she became a sweetheart, a title that never fit her. Flop after flop, such as the Charlie’s Angels reboot or Knight and Day tried to cast her as the pretty girl, and more serious pictures like Gangs of New York tried to place her as an Oscar contender. But Ms. Diaz has always been best at being crass, rude, and low, a talent that too few actresses have, or are too afraid to do (unless it also involves Nazis).

            That is why watching Ms. Diaz smash through the Gates of Hell in Bad Teacher is so appealing. The film is more or less summed up by its title—Ms. Diaz plays a very, very bad person, who is shaping America’s youth in the worse way possible. Under the direction of Jake Kasdan, known for his cult hit Orange County and the very ridiculous and funny Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Bad Teacher is a bit of a narrative mess, dropping scenes and subplots like a blind WWII bomber. But Ms. Diaz, as well as her fellow co-stars, sell this ridiculous and very funny movie.