Nancy Botwin, Super Spy: Mary-Louise Parker and Bruce Willis in the action-comedy Red.
Red--Sometimes a film can assemble such an amazing cast that the plot is easily overshadowed by all the star-power. Well, actually, that's usually the case, but Red is too likable to be put down. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren are all retired ex-CIA agents being hunted by present employees and race to find out the plan behind these violent hits. Mary-Louise Parker is added to the fun as Willis' quirky love interest. Their chemistry is sweet and strong, but mostly hilarious--it's refreshing to see both actors have so much fun with such crisp comedic timing, especially Parker's humor translating so well to the big screen. All the other actors are in fine form, in addition to wonderful appearances by Ernest Borginine and Richard Dreyfuss. The problem with Red is that it comes off so slight--the performances try to overshadow what's going on but the plot is poorly constructed, begging the audience to ask what the point really is other than to see all these great actors on screen. Plot holes and implausibility run rampant, but the dialogue is too funny and the action scenes are too elaborate to induce boredom. Red, at its heart, may not be a great (or really, good) movie but we can't deny its wish to have fun--the actors are chuckling along, so why don't you? Just make sure to kick everything else under the rug, including logic.
Grade: B-
Pastoral Pain: Gemma Arterton is just one of the weaknesses of Tamara Drewe.
Tamara Drewe--Sometimes a film can assemble such an amazing cast that--well, adds nothing to the mundane experience being projected. Stephen Frears is an admirable director I've always enjoyed because of his willingness to jump between different genres (Dangerous Liasons, High Fidelity, The Grifters--all terrific), and he's trying to make a similar leap here but it only collapses. Based on the comic book, Tamara Drewe tells the story of the title character who returns to her native English village to sell her family house, but gets ends up getting caught in the intermingling romantic antics of her neighbors. Moira Buffini's screenplay is, at times, insightful with witty dialogue, but doesn't save the film. The overall movie acts as a character piece (where plot takes a step to the side), but the problem is that none of the characters are interesting, deep, or developed at all. Some performances are memorable and effective (Roger Allam and Tamsin Greig, for example), but the other actors are so wooden and their characters so cliched that Tamara Drewe just becomes a repetitive bore that achieves very little throughout. The message is evident in the first five minutes, though the film drags it through bland 'drama' and caricatures of people for nearly two hours. Frears is a talented director, but let's hope this misstep guides him to tackle other stories of more substance.
Grade: C-
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