BEFORE: Even though it's Russell Crowe's birthday, and I've got his "Robin Hood" remake on the list, I'd like to get a thematic chain going instead. Paul Rudd carries over from last night (as do a couple of comedic actors in smaller roles), again playing the more straight-laced one in a pair of man-friends.
THE PLOT: Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program.
AFTER: This was more enjoyable than last night's film - mostly just cleaner, less gross fun. However, there were still a lot of jokes that weren't funny, mainly from characters who were trying too hard to be funny and failing, and I just don't find that amusing. (Ah, the IMDB pointed out that this movie was made during the writer's strike back in 2007)
From the irony of two energy-drink salesmen telling kids to "stay off drugs", to a man getting dumped after proposing, to the world of live-action Medieval role-playing, there were a great number of awkward, but original, circumstances. And it finished strong, with most of the major laughs coming in the last act.
I know a bit about role-playing, since I used to be part of a D&D group (back when it was all done with dice and paper, rather than foam swords and costumes) - and mostly it was good clean fun. But the movie also shows it getting cutthroat, and it can be that too.
Again tonight we've got men in their 30's (?) coming to terms with their adult-ness, but still also finding a way to cut loose and have a good time. I don't expect a whole lot of insights this week (a little too much self-examination in "I Love You, Man") but I'm willing to give a film a pass on that if it succeeds in being entertaining.
Also starring Seann William Scott (last heard in "Planet 51"), Elizabeth Banks (last seen in "Zach and Miri Make a Porno"), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (last seen in "Superbad"), Jane Lynch (last seen in "The Rocker"), Ken Jeong (last seen in "The Hangover"), and a fair number of cast members from "The State": Kerri Kenney, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, David Wain.
RATING: 6 out of 10 sleeping bags
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