Weekend Movies: An Awkward Threesome

There are really only three movies that you need to know about this weekend. Two must be brought to your attention specifically so that you don’t make the mistake of accidentally seeing them, but the third is so good that you need to go out of your way to see it.

I’ll bet you can’t tell which of the bad two are worse. To me, they’re both equally awful in completely different ways, the only shared problem being a major lack of plot. With ‘Rock of Ages‘, more emphasis was placed on cramming in as many ’80s butt rock classics as possible than providing a solid plot or story. Contrived elements are added to give the movie conflict, but they’re so sparse and fleeting that none of them carries any weight. There’s an unbelievably lame love story, a company so deep in back taxes that they risk going under, a crazy diva rock star and a church/political group trying to enforce strict religious codes. There are too many stories with too many characters. Enter this blend of ‘Footloose‘ and ‘Burlesque‘ at your own risk.

The other major opener this weekend is Adam Sandler’s unsuccessful return to R-rated comedy, ‘That’s My Boy‘. Sandler teams up with fellow ‘SNL’ goofball Andy Samberg for an unlikely father-son duo. Samberg plays the illegitimate love child that Sandler had as a teenager with his high school teacher. When Sandler faces going to prison, he selfishly seeks to fix the estranged relationship with his successful son so that he can mooch enough money to pay his back-taxes. The raunchy humor that Sandler ditched long ago for a family-film career has returned, but it doesn’t mix very well with his recent style of unfunny gags. You’ve been warned.

The lack of limited releases only leaves one movie worth mentioning. Considering that fellow Bonus View blogger Aaron Peck and I both loved it when we saw it back at Sundance (he’s actually the one who convinced me that it was worth ditching the awards ceremony for), ‘Your Sister’s Sister‘ is the movie to see this weekend. Mark Duplass plays the lead in this situational dramatic comedy. Sulking in the wake of his brother’s death, Duplass is urged by his late brother’s ex-girlfriend (Emily Blunt) to spend some alone time clearing his head in her family’s vacant rural cabin. When he arrives, he learns that the cabin is not as empty as he thought; Blunt’s lesbian sister (Rosemarie DeWitt) is also there clearing her own head. What ensues is comedic, dramatic, heartfelt and extremely likeable. If ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ is playing near you, I highly recommend that you check it out.

6 comments

    • Luke Hickman
      Author

      Jane, I don’t recall ever hiding an excessive lesbian scene from my wife. After all, she’s the one who watched Black Swan with me and loved it.

      Having said that, there’s no lesbian sex in Your Sister’s Sister.

      • JM

        ‘Young and Wild’ is what Aaron was uncomfortable watching with his wife.

        ‘Your Sister’s Sister‘ is the Emily Blunt improvised movie.

        I don’t know how I got those two confused.

        I’m also still anticipating ‘The Surrogate.’

        And ‘The Raid’ hits blu-ray this August!

        It feels like Sundance ’12 is finally coming home.

  1. Heading to Rock of Ages, I really liked Burlesque and I love other musicals like Phantom and Hairspray, going with my wife probably and I think it looks fantastic, so 😛 to you 🙂

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