MORE CHEEK TO BEAR

This review was published in The West Australian dated Jul 1, 2015.

MOVIE

Ted 2
Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried

Review Ray Chan

I loved Seth Macfarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, even though many critics and viewers didn't. But judging by the guffaws at the preview of Ted 2, it seems the creator's gutter, sophomoric humour conveys itself better through animated characters such as his Family Guy line-up, or via the lips of a cuddly teddy bear come to life.

    Certainly, there's an abundance of the trademark gross-out sight gags and scatological jokes in this sequel to the surprise 2012 hit about the profane, pot-smoking sentient doll. But perhaps its's the odd mix of innocence and vulgarity that makes the growing Ted franchise weirdly enjoyable, even by those who don't wish to admit it. But hey, in the dark, no-one can see you laugh.

    The movie kicks off with the marriage of Ted to childhood sweetheart Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), before evolving into a splendid Busby Berkeley routine that captivates the audience's attention from the start. But there's trouble a-brewing (or even a-bruin) in paradise, with the couple embroiled in so many quarrels that they figure only having children will help restore domestic bliss.

    Towards this end, Ted's deficiency is obvious, so they choose to adopt a child, which immediately raises a red flag with the Government about the bear's rights as a person. Together with thunder buddy John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Sam L Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), Ted takes the case to court, where he rules proceedings with his mix of well-meaning but crass commentaries.

    There are many choice moments along the way, such as a Disney-esque song scene in the middle of a deserted farm, Morgan Freeman playing the sort of suave, sensitive soul he has often been stereotyped as, and a visit to a comedy improvisation club where Ted and company shout inappropriate suggestions, both cringeworthy and hilarious at the same time.

    Perhaps the only unnecessary element was the return of Giovanni Ribisi's unlikeable character from the first movie, with the villain intent on capturing Ted and making copies of him, including one of his very own to keep. But it does allow Macfarlane the opportunity to unleash his inner geek and shoot scenes at the New York Comic Con, where ultimately various cosplay characters end up fighting each other as the film moves to its climax.

    With the movie premiering in the same week as Perth's SuperNova comic convention, the timing could not have been better for it to gain some valuable word-of-mouth promotion. Certainly, more than a few convention enthusiasts would have left the theatres with broad grins on their faces.

    The film is precisely what viewers familiar with the original would expect, no less and certainly no more. Yet while it is among the funniest movies to be released this year, its place in the galaxy of cinematic comedies will barely register a cosmic ripple. Macfarlane may have tapped his formulaic seam of pop culture-influenced, off-colour buffoonery to its fullest, and it will be interesting to see if he brings anything new to his next project.

MORE LIVE ROUNDS THAN BLANKS

 

MOVIE 
Naked Gun (2025)
Director Akiva Schaffer
Review Ray Chan

In many ways, the manic movies of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker were products of their time.
    Side-splitting offerings like Kentucky Fried Movie, Top Secret, and the Flying High and Naked Gun series offered a fresh take on parody, and were guaranteed crowd-pullers.
    Mixing straight-faced performances with sight gags and ditzy double entendres, the productions managed to reach out to a wide-ranging section of the community because of the cultural ubiquity of the genres they mocked.
    Now fast forward more than 30 years to current times, in a woke environment when comedic restrictions are far less loose. Modern filmmakers trying to recreate that formula of in-your-face ridiculousness face a tougher task because the art of farce has evolved, audiences are more fragmented, and boundaries are tighter.
    But if anybody could manage to capture that lightning in a bottle again, you’d be hard-pressed to think of anyone more suitable than Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, whose successes with Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West briefly hoisted him as the saviour of big screen comedy.
    However, it took so long to put the puzzle pieces together that MacFarlane himself stepped back to merely produce, with new director Akiva Schaffer brought in to create this brave follow-up to the adventures of the klutzy Frank Drebin (who Leslie Nielsen portrayed with deadpan dash) … or in this case, Frank’s son Frank Jr, played by Liam Neeson.
    Indeed, this familial nod-of-the-hat is used as a running gag in the movie … with the sons of former Naked Gun members Ed Hocking (played by Paul Walter Hauser, hot off Fantastic Four) and Nordberg also working in Drebins’ squad.
    The original genre certainly worked a treat, because most of the jokes and pratfalls came thick, fast, and in pretty much every form available, from subtle to silly.
    I’m pleased to report that The Naked Gun (2025) captures that essence well, and it’s a tribute to the writers — Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand — that they so successfully captured the formula.
    The opening sequence is smart and well worthy of the introductions to the previous Naked Gun episodes, but it’s a pity that some of the impact has been lost because the punchline has been revealed in one of the film’s promotional trailers.
    Nevertheless, it’s a valiant attempt at reviving that comedic sweet spot. Neeson captures the essence of Nielsen perfectly, delivering absurd lines with absolute sincerity.
    Some jokes work better than others, but if you sit back with no misconceptions of whether the movie will fit with modern expectations, you’ll find this gets the laughs it goes for - and this gun shoots for a damn lot.
    Perhaps the best performer in the ensemble, somewhat surprisingly, is Pamela Anderson, looking absolutely stunning for her 58 years. Stealing the show with razor-sharp timing, her portrayal of  Beth Davenport is a memorable high point, reemphasising her status not only as a veritable icon, but as a skilled comedic performer with a modern flair.
    There is also a clear chemistry between her and Neeson, an affection that has seemingly progressed both on and off the screen.
    The credits are a tribute to the Police Squad TV series that spawned the whole Zucker-Abrahams line of motion picture madness, embedded with the odd quips and wisecracks for those hardy enough to go through every word. And the payoff right at the end features a character who would certainly not feel out of place in any sequel to this particular film.
    Naked Gun (2025) is proof that old-school, cheesy humour still works. You’ll certainly go home in a happier mood than if you watched any of the modern milk-soppish comedies trying too hard to be clever with their in-jokes and pretentious narratives.

#nakedgun #nakedgunmovie #paramountau

CLAP FOR THE WOLFMAN

MOVIE
Werewolf by Night
Director Michael Giacchino
Review Ray Chan

Streaming services currently offer a whole new world of entertainment, enjoyed in the comfort of the home, and certainly that seems to be the direction increasingly taken by many studios.
   One of the best employers of this technology is Disney, leveraging it to best advantage, showcasing many series that would be deemed too unconventional and ultimately box-office risks for the big screen.
   Examples include the delightful She-Hulk and Captain Marvel, the grim Moon Knight, the Star Wars offshoots and practically everything with Kevin Feige’s stamp on it.
   The latest offering, Werewolf By Night, isn’t exactly episodic though, but a standalone film that doesn’t really fit into the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe.
   Written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron, and directed by composer Michael Giacchino — who also provides the music, naturally — Werewolf focuses solely on the world of this one character, in this one story: a self-contained adventure that deliberately riffs on the production values of a bygone era. 
   Shot in glorious retro black and white – with odd glimpses of colour to highlight various scenes – the movie reins in various characters from Marvel’s horror comics: Ulysses and Elsa Bloodstone, the Man-Thing, and the titular character, whose origin isn’t revealed. It’s a given assumption that the amusingly and fittingly named Jack Russell turns into a werewolf when the moon is up.
   Gael Garcia Bernal stars as the lycanthrope protagonist, a hunter of so-called monsters with more than 100 kills to his name. He is gathering with the crème de la crème of his peers to fight for the Bloodstone, an artifact that helps hunters in their quest to rid the world of the creatures. The irony of course is that Jack is one himself.
   He shows up in a dandy outfit with white paint on his face, a nod to his ancestors, he says to his cabal of hunters.
   Suave and stylish, he's not as obviously bloodthirsty as the others, who all have  a similar fashion nous, from a Kraven the Hunter facsimile with a Scottish accent to a Bowie-esque thin white duke. 
   But running for just 52 minutes, Werewolf doesn’t take the time to flesh out the assemblage, except for Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly), who, despite being the rightful heiress to the gem, must fight for it like everyone because she was estranged from her father, the legendary monster hunter Ulysses, at the time of his death.
   And you know she means business, because unlike the other foppish fighters, she just wears a designer leather jacket and boots, a literal long cool woman in a black dress.
   Everything about Werewolf is a deliberate homage to the early days of Hollywood, from the aforementioned monochromatic cinematography and technicolor flourishes, to the prevalence of practical effects, irises and old-fashioned visual trickery, such as flashing flickers for the gory scenes to Jack’s hirsute transformation depicted in shadow form.
   Even Elsa’s mother Verussa carries off a Bride of Frankenstein vibe with white streaks through her hair. One could be forgiven for expecting to see a Marty Feldman-esque manservant, reprising a role from another horror parody, Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.
   The appearance of Man-Thing will certainly delight Marvel comic aficionados. Originally created as a large, slow-moving, empathic, humanoid swamp critter living in the Florida Everglades, it bears the Bloodstone everyone wants and so becomes the target of the hunters.
   It’s a credit to the movie makers that they chose not to veer away from how the mossy mammoth appeared in the comics, with its lumbering vegetation-encrusted form, and branches and trunks on the face.
   They even refer to it simply as Ted, a reference to Theodore Sallis, the name of the scientist who became the floral freak after ingesting a serum.
   Jack and Elsa end up working together and prove tremendously enjoyable in their respective roles. Bernal plays Jack with a weariness that suggests his dual nature isn’t eroding his humanity so much as it is eroding his faith in it. And Donnelly’s Elsa shows that while she is hardened, she is not invulnerable, convincingly portraying the state of her fragile relationship with her father.
   The Disney+ stream offers the perfect place for Marvel to experiment a little with films like this, giving filmmakers like Giacchino, at the start of his directorial career, space to play with fun characters in weird narrative corners that don’t have to support larger stories. 
   Werewolf By Night is a refreshing combination of the silly and the strange into the MCU. A follow-up would definitely raise the thumbs from this reviewer, and it would be just fittingly off-kilter if Howard the Duck – a resident of the Man-Thing’s other-dimension home – were to make a cameo.

#Disney+  #WerewolfbyNight

GUNFIGHT AT THE JOKEY CORRALL

MOVIE
A Million Ways To Die In The West
Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson
Director Seth MacFarlane
Review Ray Chan

Family Guy and Ted creator Seth MacFarlane gives us Blazing Saddles for Generation Y, a Western parody complete with all the trimmings of the director’s trademark digressions, pop culture references and low-brow humour.
    Laced with enough quips to make this movie outrageously R-rated, there are nevertheless enough laughs in it to ensure they don’t make for a bad one.
    The plot concerns MacFarlane’s sheep farmer Albert, dumped by girlfriend Louise (Seyfried) after he cowardly escaped a gunfight.
    Liam Neeson is a violent gangster searching for gold, and Charlize Theron’s gunslinger Anna turns up to teach Albert how to shoot just in time for the big showdown with arch nemesis Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), who has wooed Louise over.
    The best stuff is when McFarlane plays up the ridiculous aspects of the genre, emulating Mel Brooks at his sledgehammer best.
    At some points it’s like a big-budget comedy night set in the desert – the hilarious moustache barn dance is a delight – with MacFarlane’s delivery a cross between improv and stand-up comedy.
    Playing the straight man to a cavalcade of others, his liberal use of expletives in a Victorian setting is solidly funny.
    Seyfried and Theron aren’t given many knee-slappers, so the closest of the main cast to a full comic talent is Sarah Silverman as a prostitute who, despite entertaining others in the course of her profession, refuses to sleep with her boyfriend until they’re married.
    When you get right down to it though, most of the jokes don’t mesh with the visual and tonal aesthetic.
    MacFarlane is obviously being deliberately anachronistic, but a lot of the gags feel out of place or juvenile and unpleasant (laxatives and sheep appendages, for example).
    At two hours, the movie may be considered too long. Indeed, a dream sequence in the last 15 minutes seems included just for cheap laughs and feels totally out of place, and could easily have been edited out.
    Yet despite all of the obvious flaws, there are enough genuine chuckles and chortles to keep viewers entertained, but only if they’re not of a sensitive disposition.

#millionwaystodie