Marry Me is a strong return to form of the romantic comedy genre!

Pop superstar Kat Valdez is about to get married before an audience of her loyal fans. However, seconds before the ceremony, she learns about her fiance’s cheating ways and has a meltdown on stage. In a moment of inspired insanity, Kat locks eyes with a total stranger in the crowd and marries him on the spot. As forces conspire to separate the unlikely newlyweds, they must soon decide if two people from such different worlds can find true love together.

Marry Me was very nice surprise, it’s a romantic comedy that is genuinely really sweet and is actually quite funny as well! The chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson absolutely works here, there’s something that just feels really heartwarming and really raw about it. The acting is really solid here as well, Wilson and Lopez give really sweet performances that make you care about their characters, the writing has some genuinely great humor that worked well here. While yes Marry Me isn’t really anything new it’s a very nice return to form for the genre, plus I don’t really mind a film not doing anything new as long as it’s well made, well acted, well written and so on. Which that is what Marry Me is, a genuinely well made movie that really does a fantastic job of being a romantic comedy. Marry Me heavily reminds me of the romantic comedies back from the early 2000s in a very good way, between the characters, the soundtrack (which is fantastic) and the writing it feels like a trip down memory lane. Overall Marry Me is the biggest surprise so far of 2022, if you are a fan of romantic comedies or just looking for something to watch on Valentine’s Day give this one a shot!

Marry Me is in theaters and on Peacock!

7/10 B

Sundance Review: Cha Cha Real Smooth is a tribute to everyday life.

A man who works as a bar mitzvah party host strikes up a unique friendship with a young woman and her teenage daughter.

There is something truly special about Cha Cha Real Smooth, it’s a film that is absolutely relatable in every single way possible and truly captures what it’s like at that point of your life. The performances here are absolutely phenomenal Cooper Raiff who also directed and wrote this film, does such a fantastic job of bringing so many different types of emotions to the film. Heartbreak, laughter, happiness it’s truly beautiful and leads to so many moments where you can’t help but smile. Dakota Johnson gives one of the best performances of her career, she continues to show that she is an incredible actress that truly delivers. She gives such a genuine performance that feels incredibly grounded, she brings so much emotion to the role plus the amount of quiet scenes for her character development adds so much. Newcomer Vanessa Burghardt who plays Lola an autistic daughter of Domino (Dakota Johnson) Burghardt is actually autistic making her performance more grounded, she does such a fantastic job here as well. Which I feel like is the main theme Cha Cha Real Smooth “grounded” everything about this film is like watching someone’s day, it keeps things as grounded as possible and there’s just a sense of beauty to it. It’s a film that truly captures everyday life, these characters feel like actual people you would meet or hangout with it’s truly a fascinating film that definitely made me cry a bit. Cha Cha Real Smooth is a film that I absolutely can not wait to watch again, be sure to put this one on your radar!

Cha Cha Real Smooth currently has no release date but will be released on Apple TV+ later this year!

10/10 A+

Jackass Forever a masterpiece of stunts and gags!

Celebrate the joy of a perfectly executed shot to the groin as Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and the rest of the gang return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd and often dangerous displays of stunts and comedy.

A major part of film that I always absolutely love to see is people enjoying making their work, whether it’s by themself or with friends it’s always so inspiring to see. That’s how I feel about Johnny Knoxville and his group, each and every time they are on screen whether it was the TV series or the films they always seem like they are having so much fun. That’s especially the case here with Jackass Forever, this film ups the ante with the gags and stunts to make this an absolute blast of a film. Right from the beginning that parodies Kaiju monster movies you can easily tell how much love and fun went into making this film. I can’t think of a moment in this film where I didn’t stop laughing, each and every stunt had it’s own personality, fun factor, amusement and so on. Even the quick ones were genuinely incredible mostly due to them being just that quick gags that didn’t over stay their welcome. That’s something Knoxville and his group have always been a master at comedic timing, they know when to keep a certain stunt around, how long or short It should be and what can be added to it to make things fresh and interesting. Seeing them bring in new faces was also quite touching as well, it feels like meeting new friends plus they fit right in there as well. What’s quite amazing about Jackass is that it’s strangely wholesome and heartwarming, when you really come down to it Jackass is a group of friends doing insane stunts and gags because they love doing it. They not only entertain the audience but entertain themselves, Jackass also heavily reminds me of the love I have for my friends and I’m sure many fans have felt the same way. And that’s displayed in Jackass Forever extremely well these guys have been doing this for a very long time it’s been 20 years since the first Jackass film and they have come such a long way. Overall Jackass Forever is an incredible film that I absolutely recommend, gather your friends and go see this one!

Jackass Forever is now playing in theaters!

10/10 A+

Sundance Review: Emergency blends comedy and heavy subjects in a unique way.

Ready for a night of legendary partying, three college students must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an unexpected situation.

Emergency definitely surprised me, it’s from Carey Williams who had a movie at Sundance last year called R#J (which still has yet to get a release date) I thought it wasn’t a very good take on Romeo and Juliet and was a bit of a mess. However this is one hell of a improvement, The most successful thing about Emergency is the blend of comedy and serious moments or when the film tackles racism. One does not out do the other it’s such a perfect balance that really works for this film, as far as performances there’s a lot of great ones such as RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins, Sebastian Chacon and Sabrina Carpenter (who gives a much different performance than she usually does.) they all do such a good job of really capturing the atmosphere of the film and dive pretty deep into their performances, the movie does have a lot of Superbad elements to it which works quite well here. Carey Williams takes those elements and makes something new with them, speaking of which Williams’s direction is truly fantastic. He actually makes the film quite raw at times which really surprises the viewer, there’s a lot of great characters bits throughout the film and ends up being a very entertaining yet quite intense ride. The final act is quite fantastic both when talking about the film’s themes and build up! Overall Emergency is quite fantastic, this is definitely something I recommend checking out when it releases!

Emergency will release May 20th in theaters and May 27th on Amazon Prime Video!

9/10 A

Sundance Review: Am I Ok? Is a relatable and beautiful film!

Lucy and Jane have been best friends their entire lives. Only when Lucy embarks on a personal journey, will she face a test of her friendship, and her sense of self, on a path she may not be able to take.

One of the two films from Sundance Dakota Johnson was in, Am I Ok? Really hits close to home in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of scenes here that are intimate and invest the viewer in the chemistry between the characters particularly Dakota Johnson’s and Sonoya Mizuno’s character, there’s a huge amount of beautiful scenes that really capture the emotions this film is going for. The acting is really strong all around combined with the writing that is genuinely funny, it’s one of those rare romantic comedies that actually balance the humor and romance quite well. This is another film that I can definitely see a whole lot of people relate to, it’s a film about discovering who you are as a person and how friendships evolve as life goes on! Really strong film that I definitely recommend when it releases!

Am I Ok? Currently doesn’t have a release date but will be released on HBO Max later this year!

9/10 A

Home Team fails to score big.

Two years after NFL head coach Sean Payton is suspended, he goes back to his hometown and finds himself reconnecting with his 12-year-old son by coaching his Pop Warner football team.

You know those movies where after you watch them you feel absolutely nothing? That’s how I feel about Home Team, granted it’s not one of the absolute worst of Happy Madison Productions. However the real story behind Sean Payton and Bountygate is far more interesting than this movie, the movie focuses on Payton coaching his 12 year son’s football team after getting suspended from the NFL. So I feel this is a complete missed opportunity, what follows is terrible humor, terrible acting from pretty much everyone besides Kevin James who seems to just enjoy doing these roles at this point and surprisingly Taylor Lautner. I’m not saying he gave anything special at all but when you compare him to everyone else you notice a difference. There’s this one scene where they actually have CGI vomit which is definitely a choice. The movie’s main issue is the tone being for inconsistent, it wants to tell a sports drama type of story but immediately cracks so many unfunny jokes. There are a few heartfelt moments that actually work quite well, but a lot of the time your restricted to very unfunny jokes with terrible dialogue. Home Team is overall just a terrible sports comedy that really adds nothing new.

Home Team is available on Netflix

3/10 D-

Sundance Review: When You Finish Saving The World is a uneven directional debut from Jesse Eisenberg.

High school student Ziggy performs original folk-rock songs for an adoring online fan base. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn, who runs a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse.

When You Finish Saving The World was the first film I watched to kick off Sundance 2022 and it was a very weak start to really solid Festival (we will get to those films soon), I had no idea what to expect from this movie. It caught my attention due to Jesse Eisenberg both directing and writing the film. Unfortunately it was a movie that just did not come together in the end, Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore were both very solid in their roles but that’s where the movie ends for me. I get what the movie was trying to go for, it wanted to be this cringe humor type of family drama but the writing does not help in this case. A lot of the writing feels either very uneven or all over the place, one thing that is worth pointing out is although Jesse Eisenberg isn’t in the movie you can feel his spirit in some of the characters. Which in this case is not a good thing, it feels like he tires a little too hard with the writing and makes a lot of the characters act and feel like the same thing but just tweaked a bit. When You Finish Saving The World is really just a nothing special about it family drama, it will be interesting to see what comes next for Jesse Eisenberg’s directing career but this is definitely not a strong first impression.

When You Finish Saving The World currently has no release date but is set for a 2022 release.

4/10 D+

Sundance Review: Babysitter is a confused mess.

Like with Tribeca I’m going to review the films I saw at Sundance from worst to best (27 films).

Cédric (42) loses his job after a sexist joke that goes viral. Encouraged by his brother — a well-meaning nerd — he embarks on a so-called therapy to free him from sexism and underlying misogyny. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Nadine, exasperated by his narcissistic introspection, is herself in need of dreaming and adrenaline. The hiring of a mysterious and liberated babysitter, Amy (22), will help her get some fresh air and shake up the family balance.

Babysitter is the worst of the bunch by far, if you remember Sundance 2021 you might recall a movie called “Mother Schmuckers” (that still has not been given a wide release) well Babysitter has a very identical style to that movie. But Babysitter at least has more to say, it tries to tackle misogyny and toxic masculinity but it honestly does not work here. Babysitter does it in this way that is incredibly painful and obnoxious, I’m all for filmmakers to be incredibly weird with their films, however this movie was weird for the sake of being weird. I completely understand what it’s trying to go for but between the style, the look of the movie looking like it’s something out of a bubblegum commercial and the acting that was incredibly obnoxious. It turns into a complete and total mess that completely loses the viewer, the only reason I would even consider recommending this to someone is if they want something that must be seen to be believed.

Babysitter currently has no release date.

1/10 F

Sex Appeal has it’s moments but is ultimately forgettable.

A teen tests her sex appeal on her oldest friend when her long-distance boyfriend wants to take their relationship to the next level.

I have to give Sex Appeal credit where credit is due, I do like that it tried to do a few things differently for the sex comedy genre that does start to repeat itself when you look at the library of movies. One of the two things being the sex scenes themselves, the movie cuts away and brings the viewer into Avery’s (played by Mika Abdalla) imagination, each of these scenes are colorful, well detailed and bizarre to where it gives the movie it’s own identity. Plus it puts her in different scenarios that are admittedly very clever. There’s also the ending which I have to say surprised me, from where the movie was going it seemed like it was going down a traditional route but luckily that’s not the case here. With that said what’s holding Sex Appeal back is mostly the writing, the jokes just don’t land at all it’s also another one of those cases where it tries to aim for this “#relatable!” type of feel but completely misses. The acting is fine enough Mika Abdalla is definitely the standout and gives some genuinely decent moments. With that said Sex Appeal is a very standard sex comedy, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just a bit frustrating that a lot of the movie didn’t come together in the end.

Sex Appeal is available on Hulu!

5/10 C

Red Rocket is a raw and human film from Sean Baker!

A washed-up porn star clashes with his estranged wife after returning to his hometown in Texas.

Red Rocket is one of the most interesting directors working today, Tangerine was quite great and I especially loved The Florida Project. Red Rocket might just be his best film to date, first things first I absolutely love how authentic the casting in this film really is. Simon Rex who plays an ex porn star was actually a porn star before his acting career, the cast is absolutely fantastic here. Simon Rex truly gives one of the best performances of 2021, he truly invests in his role plus he adds so many layers and depth to his character it’s truly fascinating. Suzanna Son is a huge highlight of the film, she brings so much energy, love, passion and overall massive talent into the role. Her performance feels incredibly raw and fully connects with the story, her singing *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” is truly one of the biggest moments during this film and truly shines. Speaking of which the film’s use of “Bye Bye Bye” is truly masterful it’s to the point where you will be thinking about the song in a completely different way after watching the movie in the best way possible. The filming like in Sean Baker’s other films is masterful it’s shot in 16mm with several different types of lenses, it combines many different colors plus themes such as bright pinks and high skies during the daytime. Plus dreamlike blues and greens at nigh, the film is truly like an incredible painting that immediately captures the attention of the viewer. The film also feels very human we learn so much about the characters, the community of the small town and how their relationships with one another. Overall Red Rocket is brilliant, it’s a wonderful film that captures so many different themes and styles that I love in film, be sure to check this one out!

Red Rocket is available on all VOD Platforms!

10/10 A+