New Release: The Fitzgerald Family Christmas (VOD)

Just in time for the holidays, Edward Burns is giving us a return to the Irish-American family at Christmas.  I got to see this at TIFF, with a question and answer period with the director, Mr. Burns.  That's how I even knew to look for this On-Demand or for rent on itunes.  Burns said that the budget that goes into marketing a film for wide release can kill the ability to make these really small budget films, so he's been going the digital route for a few films now (Newlyweds).  The nice thing is that he's been in the business long enough that he can call on friends and put together a pretty convincing cast from all his films, spin a story, and poof - a solid, creative, funny, relate-able, holiday flick.

Gerry Fitzgerald (Burns) owns a bar in a little town outside New York City.  He has lots of grown up brothers and sisters, all raised by his mom, Rosie, (Anita Gillette) after Big Jim (Ed Lauter) left them.  The kids range in age such that the youngest two have no memory of Dad being dad.   The older ones, including Gerry have fond memories of their father.  So when he asks to spend Christmas with the whole family one last time, after 20 years with a new family, there is discord in the family, particularly with the youngest and Rosie.  We get to see glimpses into each child's life, just enough that you feel you actually could be part of such a big family.  As a member of a large Irish-Catholic family, keeping up with all the gossip and discussion made me feel right at home.   If that isn't your upbringing (or you feel family members should mind their own business), this might be a bit gossipy for you.  But I'm sure you'd still find something in these characters to relate to by the end.  And if all you want is a holiday love story, that's there too when Gerry meets Nora (Connie Britton) working for a neighbor.

There were a lot of tiny things I really liked about this movie - the small touches like overly decorated houses with every Christmas knick-knack/towel/garland/etc. you can imagine.  The tight corners and spaces of the houses really showed the family dynamic - constantly being on top of each other can bring a family pretty close.  And as a movie geek it amazed me how they could possibly get the angles to shoot.  The movie falls into the previously voted sweet spot for length (99 minutes) and there's nothing wasted.  The Christmas carols used as the soundtrack are really well done and give the movie character.  Unlike a lot of movies that contain Christmas, this one is really based on family holidays and figuring out how to celebrate when life is more complicated than that.  The family dynamic is really well done, the sisters band together, there are things you're always learning about each other in a big family, and there's always ONE person who annoys everybody (Gerry) and another who does whatever he wants, (Quinn - Michael McGlone), and the babies who must be pampered to a fault (Cyril - Tom Guiry).

VOD Review: Arbitrage

Films about troubled hedge fund magnates don't normally get my attention. I'm still not entirely sure what a hedge fund even is. But Arbitrage had just enough positive feedback to get me interested. And with its solid cast paired with my lack of knowledge of the actual plot, my icky feelings on money talk were quickly brushed aside.

Richard Gere plays said hedge fund magnate, Robert Miller, who's on the verge of selling his multi-million dollar corporation. Unfortunately, a bad international investment left him half a million short on the books, money which he borrows to cover up the error so the sale will pass during an audit. Not only does he have money issues, but while driving late one night, he falls asleep at the wheel, causing an accident that kills his mistress (Laetitia Costa) in the passenger seat. An accident from which he runs so as not to get caught with his pants down.

Had the film been about merely one indiscretion or the other, it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining. But Miller is under attack from all sides. His daughter (Brit Marling) is the CFO of his company and begins to question him about the company's cooked books, while a determined detective (Tim Roth) is convinced Miller was behind the wheel when his mistress died. And he can't talk to his loving and devoted wife (Susan Sarandon) about his problems, as she seems to scheming on her own. So we watch as one man on top of the world very quickly spirals downward, teetering on the edge of losing absolutely everything, with a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

And yet we don't hate him. Gere plays the film's anti-hero so that no matter the outcome, the results wouldn't be terribly upsetting. He's sympathetic enough that should he get away with it all, it almost feels as though he's suffered enough under the pressure of hiding the truth and cleaning up his mess. Yet he's just arrogant enough that getting caught would feel like absolute justice. A very gray area, indeed.

But Arbitrage does have its slow, confusing moments, at least when the financial talk gets heavy. And though the mixing of Miller's issues makes for good entertainment, the thriller aspect of the film feels a bit too common in the end. Thankfully the cast gives could enough performances to mask it, and it's more about watching Miller chase his own tail than finding out whether or not he'll ever actually catch it.

VOD Review: Butter

Another week, another Video-on-Demand rental of a smaller comedy loaded with pretty big names. Such is Butter.

In a small Iowa town, butter sculpting is king. When Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell), the fifteen-year reigning champ is asked to step down and give someone else a chance, his power hungry wife Laura (Jennifer Garner) decides to step up and take his place. Meanwhile young Destiny (Yara Shahidi) also decides butter sculpting may be her new passion, entering the county competition as Laura's main threat, with the support of her new foster parents (Rob Corddry and Alicia Silverstone).

Butter tries to be a quirky little comedy that feels rather standard. As outlandish as butter carving might seem, it all still comes down to an underdog facing unfair odds in a competition. But there are some extremely funny, if sometimes over-the-top, performances. Garner's normal sweet charm is darkened by her desire to run the town and win the competition by any means necessary. Olivia Wilde is hilariously raunchy as a stripper determined to make the Picklers suffer. Yet on the flip side Corddry downplays his usual comedy chops as he sweetly encourages Destiny in her buttery dreams. Even Hugh Jackman pops in briefly as greasy, used car salesman. And when the jokes don't always work, it's these oddball performances that keep Butter intriguing.

Butter may not make great strides in mocking the heartland of the US, but it does provide some decent humor and sheds new a light on some old talents. And if for nothing else, you get to see some truly awesome artery-clogging art.

VOD Review: Bachelorette

When Bridesmaids hit theaters last year, it was poorly dubbed "The Hangover for women." But it wasn't. Though I cannot be counted as a huge fan of the film, I'll gladly admit it had a lot more heart than The Hangover and to compare the two was very misleading and a bit sexist. However, if someone said Bachelorette was "The Hangover with (not for) women" they wouldn't be far off...except Bachelorette simply isn't funny and has even less heart.

The film focuses on three of the bridesmaids of Becky (Rebel Wilson), who is considered the traditionally less physically desirable of the former high school quartet. After the stripper at the bachelorette party makes a crude reference to Becky's weight, Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher) are left to their own devices as the upset bride-to-be calls it a night. Unfortunately the three friends are the most dysfunctional trio of "adults" possible, and the night proceeds to get worse and worse as they accidentally rip the bride's dress and try all night to (unsuccessfully) get it fixed. All while snorting coke and hooking up with the groomsmen (Adam Scott, James Marsden, and Kyle Bornheimer).

The lacking plot and the shallow cast of characters partner perfectly to make one truly despicable film. From the beginning, it is a large leap of faith that Regan, Gena and Katie would have been in a tight clique with the likes of Becky in high school. It's a mean statement, but it's true. But whatever contrived backstory writer/director Leslye Headland dreamed to make it believable (a backstory that is quite paper thin) it's ten times more implausible that they would have remained Becky's friend, or even kept up any contact, over a decade after graduation. So to see these threed flit about over Becky's wedding immediately sets up Bachelorette to fail.

Helping it fail further are the main trio. They are pitiful caricatures of women. They can be simply summed up with bitchy, slutty and stupid. But what makes Regan, Gena and Katie even worse is that Dunst, Caplan and Fisher are not completely talentless twits. In fact, it's sad that remnants of former appreciated performances of all three can easily be seen in their respective bridesmaids. Unfortunately, these characters have been taken down to the lowest common denominator so that they possess nothing other than what's on the screen.

Yet to add further insult to injury is lack of the titular bachelorette. Rebel Wilson is on screen for maybe fifteen minutes. Though she played it a bit over-the-top in Bridesmaids as Annie's dumb and creepy roommate, she was given just enough that it wasn't too much silliness. Here, Becky is much more grounded and relatable, but sadly she's no where to be found for 80% of the movie. And it's a shame, because in her few shining moments, Wilson is able to bring all the happiness and anxiety of what being a blushing bride is to the screen. It's actually quite touching when she confesses to Regan that she knows her rich, handsome groom is "too good" for her. But instead of more honest moments like this one, we're treated to endless references of lame 90's pop culture that add nothing to the film.

It's not terribly surprising that Bachelorette is such a mess. It's Headland's maiden voyage writing and directing a feature film. What is surprising are all the recognizable names attached trying to make heads or tails of the mess. Not only is most of the major cast somewhat known, but the film was also produced by comedy heavyweights Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. And unfortunately, it's the inexplicable association of all these names that's getting Bachelorette a lot more attention than it deserves, myself included.