Mimi Kennedy – Behind the Proscenium

The Five-Year Engagement

With Wit, Reviewed By Kimmo Mustonenen

First, cliché joke (I will not be the single sayer of this) – “The Five-Year Engagement” is also what seems to be the running time of the film.

It goes on.

And on.

And then on some more.

The butt hurts.

The movie doesn’t care.

The movie laughs at my discomfort.

But I don’t laugh at the movie.

Which is a comedy. Or an Apatow-medy.

So there are jokes on the dick.

The word “fuck” is used more than in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

That is a lot of fucks.

But when people get to the fucking, all the women-types leave their tops on. Not a boob to make me smile.

America is weird.

Plot? Sure!

The film tells the story of the couple Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt – like the blunt that was for the smoking before the film) and Tom Solomon (Jason Segel – he gets naked and is covered in moles – creepy), whose relationship becomes strained when they realize they have much longer engagement (like 5 years, duh).

For lack of time, the two delay marriage for next year and, moreover, Violet enrolls at the University of Michigan for the studying.

Then is promoted at work by her boss (asshole, with sick karate skillz), and this entails the need to move to another city.

I think.

Or the same one, but for more bad times.

When formalizing the relationship seems to move a background in the lives of two lovers, paradoxically, parents are beginning to put pressure on them to hasten the wedding.

In addition, some older relatives die and not get to see even more young people to the altar.

And die, and die, and die.

These deaths were funny.

More deaths would have been better.

Troubled situation, Violet and Tom must decide quickly what they want from life and to manage better time because, otherwise, things seem to spiral out of control.

No more spoilers.

Funny things happen. Stifler from “American Reunion” is cloned into another person named Alex (Chris Pratt) for this.

Cinema wants more of the Stiflers. An entire mouth-word exchange is done as Cookie Monster and Elmo.

Emily Blunt is too much damn cuteness. Things happen that are too easy.

And a taco truck. If only there was a taco truck outside of the screening place.

Man, munchies can give one the drool face…

So, two thumbs taking a nap on the sideways.

All movie inhabitants were the likable people, but the thing made two hours many more hours of feeling. In my butt. Until my butt went to sweet, sweet sleep. Only to wake up at the credits – angry and painful.

Wait for DVD when it is Netflixing time. The unrated cut will last four and a half hours – but seem like six.. Sweet Jesus!

Kimmo Mustonenen – (Kimmo On Kino) – Behind The Proscenium

P.S. “The Voice” is fun! Blake Shelton is drunk! Christina lost weight! Cee Lo is borderline homosexual! Adam Levine is a douch-nozzle! No more “American Idol” for me!

Midnight In Paris

With Wit, Reviewed By Kimmo Mustonenen

Gil and Ines, a young American couple on vacation in Paris.

Although their marriage is expected to fall, they are constantly disagreeing on everything – he thinking “it would be good living in the French capital to write novels”, as she swears by their future home in Malibu.

He likes to roam the streets and soaking up their history (like crusty bread), while she thinks only run wine tasting dinner parties (no blame here).

One evening when Ines decides to follow friends to go dancing, Gil tries to return to their hotel alone and lost his way. The stroke of midnight rang in the city, a strange car stops in front of him.

Absorbing!

The new Woody Allen film opens on a generic rather unusual, reviewing dozens of places in Paris like so many postcards – bucolic.

There, I said it.

But make no mistake: it is true that it shows the face of tourism in the French capital, Midnight in Paris is less a tribute to the city – a cry of love for art and artists that it was born in it. What?

Putting aside some of his recurrent obsessions, death, psychoanalysis, hypochondria – making them anecdotal, Woody Allen returns to the story and delivers an enchanting story about the magnificence of the past (although not the future, tense).

Gil (excellent Owen Wilson), uncomfortable in her present life, took refuge after the twelve strokes of midnight sounded in an era that has never known but it was nostalgic.

Drawing on the feeling quite mundane (who never dreamed of being born in another time? Lady Gaga?)

A spring fertile screenplay, Allen is fun and brings to life a fantasy totally impractical: the cross of his idols and dead girl (?!?) to blend in an ideal society where love and art would be kings and/or Prime Ministers – but probably kings.

Unafraid to play the card background contrasts between Paris the day (bling bling, superficial) and Paris by night (mysterious, intoxicating, wine), delivering a purely imaginary, Woody Allen creates the desire and inclination to follow Gil in its temporal incursions, which do meet, among other personalities, his literary idols.

He also leans on it for a casting weight, composed of both French and American stars (no Ginnifer Goodwin), including successive appearances are as many surprises as moments of pure delight (it is interesting to note the terms with Woody Allen chooses which his interpreters, who are both rising stars of American values and secure the French film, just to ride the wave [hang ten!] and attracting a wide audience).

Faced with so many fantasies (we had more cerebral Woody – get it?), one can not help thinking of the magic of The Purple Rose of Cairo or minor film but jubilant, the Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

For if the sauce is so good, it’s also because Woody Allen has not waived, for once, the ingredients sacred romance, tense and winks moviegoers, in that order.

Add to that some beautiful scenes where, once is not habit, the comedy situation exceeds that of the word (the scene of the “spoiler removed” is in that already mythical), and you obtain one of the films in greatness.

What?

Woody? The most charming of the last ten years!

Kimmo Mustonenen – Behind The Proscenium
Follow @KimmoMustonenen

Tag: Mimi Kennedy

The Five-Year Engagement [REVIEW]

Midnight In Paris [REVIEW]