Comedy Rated PG-13
“By the time Larry starts to wonder if his team has ‘mixed up our longitudes and our latitudes, our stalactites and our stalagmites,’ I think I could hear my brain cells screaming in agony.
Steve Zahn spends most of National Security with a seething expression of exasperation on his face. As a cop who gets stuck working a case with an annoying security guard (Martin Lawrence), he’s supposed to be in character, but watching Lawrence gyrate and yammer incessantly had to make this the easiest acting job Zahn’s ever
This limp comedy, about three friends whose fun gets disrupted when one of them falls for a demanding psychiatrist, lets a lame script dumb down a bright comedic cast. Steve Zahn and Jack Black play the goofballs while Jason Biggs and Amanda Peet portray the couple, but their occasional flashes of inspired humor cannot save
This would-be sports comedy, starring Keanu Reeves as the leader of a group of subpar athletes who get a shot at the big time during a players’ strike, is so predictably lame it repeatedly cuts to shots of cavorting cheerleaders just to keep your attention. By the time it’s over, you’ll feel as if you’ve
This dud – about a groom-to-be (Jason Lee) who wakes up after his bachelor party with a strange woman (Julia Stiles) in his bed – misfires on all levels: as a romance, a crude comedy and a quirky character study. The main culprits are stale gags and a cast that’s largely devoid of comedic talent.
Comedy Rated R
Another generous comedy from director Robert Altman, with Richard Gere as the main beneficiary. The usually smug star gives an unexpectedly gracious performance as a Dallas gynecologist awash in female trouble – both at his office and at home. Trust me, this isn’t as icky as it sounds. The supporting cast includes Helen Hunt, Farrah
This giant-spider flick just wants to be one big joke, which would be fine if it were funny. There are a few amusing bits, but the humor is mostly used as a form of self-defense: The filmmakers don’t want to make you laugh as much as they want to assure you that they’re not being
Forced gross-out gags and sports cliches are in ample supply in this skateboarding comedy, while occasional attempts at absurd humor fall flat. Some of the action scenes are exciting, but seeing this in the theater essentially cost moviegoers twice. They had to pay for their tickets, then pay again by sitting through the rest of
This excruciating would-be comedy, about a French knight (Jean Reno) from the 12th century who’s transported to modern-day Chicago, is so stale it actually featured a joke about the once-ubiquitous dance song “Macarena” long after the song had been thankfully forgotten. Just Visiting overstays its welcome about three minutes in.
“Hanks turns in his most spirited work in years.”
