More Quick (Belated) Reviews: Bob's Burgers Movie, Senior Year, etc...
Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 12:00PM by Nathaniel R
THE BOB’S BURGERS MOVIE
I was perplexed about how to talk about this movie as a longtime passionate fan of Bob's Burgers. On the one hand it was as enjoyable as any episode of the show and it was great to spend time with the Belcher family again. On the other, when I went to write a proper review of it a few days after the screening, I couldn't remember any of the specific jokes beyond the perpetual tease about whether Louise might lose her bunny ears...
Why was this a full movie instead of, say, a two part episode? Curiously, though I enjoy Tina, Bob and Louise (in that order) most among the characters on the actual show, Gene, Teddy, and the Fischoeders were best in (movie) show. Perhaps my disatisfaction mostly stems from its musical comedy shortcomings. Making songs funny, memorable, and story-driving all at once in full length form is an ultra specific artform and they didn't hire a musical composer but a regular composer for the task. In short, if you're a Bob's Burgers fan you should see it, but it feels unlikely to convert any non-fans. [Theaters. Streaming on Hulu/HBOMax on July 12th] B-
CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH
The general consensus online appears to be that writer/director/producer Cooper Raiff is annoying as an onscreen presence. Giving himself four jobs on this movie -- a sort of Peter Pan coming-of-age drama mixed with lopsided romantic comedy -- may have been overkill. While it is true that perhaps a boyish funny actor with true movie star appeal might have made this a grander rom-com experience that would have been a completely different film. Being annoying is half of his characters Andrew's shtick! In short, I fully bought him as this adult still embedded in a children's world (he's a bar mitzah party host) who hasn't yet grown up or found direction in life, in that I couldn't decide from scene to scene / moment to moment if his face was punchable or kissable. Eurocheese did not like Cha Cha Real Smooth at all in his Sundance review but its been a crowd pleasure, winning the Audience Award at Sundance. It's a fun if inessential watch but bonus points for that sly stronger-than-it-has-to-be Dakota Johnson turn as Andrew's slightly older married object of affection. [Streaming on Apple TV] B
MORBIUS
Morbius was recently rereleased in theaters (for dumbfounded ‘well, if a meme is popular!’ reasons) and landed with a thud again. It’s hard to say where exactly this picture went “wrong” since it’s hard to see anything “right” that it sprung from originally. Even with the very narrow and specific levels of either the vampire or superhero genres it comes up empty. Both of those genres have been prolific, occasionally producing incredible art, but Morbius has nothing to offer to either. There are no interesting characters, no clearly defined rules or powers, no exciting action setpieces, no eye-widening visual spectacle, and none of the sense of danger, addiction, or damnation you might assume would give something like this a spark. Apart from Matt Smith doing a little dance while enjoying his new powers – a spark of amoral fun that’s over in mere seconds – it’s lifeless and not in an unsettling “undead” way. To add insult to injury the final takeaway is the most cringe-inducing corporate mandated stinger we've ever seen in a movie theater. You know a movie is terrible when you even feel bad for Jared Leto. He just gives up and abandons his previous characterization altogether as the 'next movie' dialogue tease plays out. [Not currently available. We assume streaming in August?] F
SENIOR YEAR
Every time Netflix boasts how many “minutes” a movie has been watched, it becomes more clear that we’re living in a cinematic dystopia. It makes rating movies by a binary thumbs up or down (problematic) or measuring their worth with box office results (gross!) feel sane by comparison. It also requires actual math to correlate minutes with views. Even that won’t line up correctly because not everyone finishes a movie they start and some people watch in groups. Netflix briefly boasted about the performance of Senior Year, but who can know if anyone finished it or liked it. In this comedy a cheerleader wakes up from a coma in her 30s and goes immediately back to high school to finish out her senior year. If people shut it off early, one cannot blame them since it opens with a very long and completely unnecessary prologue, that a sharper film would have dispensed with over, say, a clever opening credits sequence. Comedies are meant to be zippy!
That gripe aside, Senior Year has fun moments, usually courtesy of lame but game jokes about how much teen culture has changed from the early Aughts until now. The story is super predictable but most of the ensemble cast is giving contagious energetic and sometimes adorable performances. Sadly, Rebel Wilson, once such a hilarious scene stealer, is a charisma vacuum at the center and misses multiple opportunities for laughs. The telltale sign comes early when she barely goes for an audience chuckle after seeing her 30something face and body for the first time when expecting a teenager to greet her in the mirror. It’s impossible not to flash back to Jamie Lee Curtis's unimprovable comic star turn in Freaky Friday in a similar scene (“I’m like the crypt-keeper!”) and wonder what could have been if both the filmmakers and the lead star had lived up to this ripe and enjoyably silly premise. [Streaming on Netflix] C
Reader Comments (6)
Is there any other film aside from this and Heaven's Gate that flopped twice in their theatrical releases?
Hearing some dissent for Cha Cha Real Smooth makes me feel less like a grinch. What drove me crazy was reading reviews calling him a total charmer throughout - not in my book! The fact that he was trusted with kids so often in the movie when he was such a mess himself completely stressed me out. There is some writing talent there (and Johnson was great), but it wasn't for me.
As far as punchable or kissable, he's definitely hot, so why not both?
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I tend to watch every Marvel film/series (I avoided "Elektra", though, given my dislike for Ben Affleck's "Daredevil", and this being a critically bashed spin off, of an already bad film), and the abysmal reviews of "Morbius" have led me to avoid it completely... it doesn't even seem a "so bad it's good" kind of enjoyable film, even. So I may catch it at some streaming service, but can't wait for Sony to give up their Marvel characters and return the rights to Disney... Outside the Spiderman MCU films, the only one that I enjoyed was Venom: Let there be Carnage, and it was mostly merit of Hardy and Harrelson's performances...
I am impressed with Morbius for its ability to take a popular meme and deliver a thoroughly lackluster movie experience, leaving much to be desired in terms of storytelling, fnf character development, and overall quality.