Meewella | Critic

According to P

Tag: Kristen Bell

QuickView: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall quad poster

“Maybe it’s good we got hurt like that, you know? I don’t know about you but it makes me feel impervious to pain.”

Peter Bretter

A film from the Judd Apatow stable written by and starring Jason Segel, this is less a romcom than a post-breakup movie with hints of Swingers. Although there is raunchy comedy, the script can also be smart with poignant moments as Peter and Sarah both reach gradual realisations about themselves and their previous relationship. Russell Brand proves a surprisingly effective foil as Sarah’s sleazy new rock star boyfriend who is hateable and likeable in equal measures. There are also several suspiciously prescient nods to The Muppets — which Segel would subsequently write and star in — from a puppet musical number to a drunken piano rendition of the Muppets Tonight theme. Less consistently funny than its Apatow-directed predecessors, this is an enjoyable island romp with arguably greater emotional intelligence.

7/10

QuickView: Bad Moms (2016)

“I had my first kid when I was twenty years-old, and I’ve been running late ever since.”

Amy Mitchell

I had expected Bad Moms to follow the Bridesmaids blueprint of a female-fronted movie setting out to prove the women can be as gross as the men. In fact, it is an escapist romp with more in common with This is 40. A stressed, underappreciated working mother ditches her conventional responsibilities and discovers a more relaxed approach, whilst set for a collision with the controlling president of the PTA. The comedy is fine; the drama is underwhelming. Surprisingly, however, hidden within are some genuine messages about parenting. It does not aid the storytelling that fathers barely feature at all and the PTA meetings are a sea of female faces. Although it is a shame not to see that particular trend bucked, it would be disingenuous to complain when this was only ever intended to be a rarer film about motherhood.

7/10

"A film is a petrified fountain of thought."

(CC) BY-NC 2003-2023 Priyan Meewella

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