BEFORE: The Toronto International Film Festival is going on right now - damn, but it's been a long time since I went there, I think it was in 1997 that I drove up there with a crew, stayed in a hotel with my workmates and impressed them with my eating abilities. I met Trey Parker at a screening of "Orgazmo" and introduced him to my boss, and I think I also saw Michael Moore in person at a screening of "The Big One".
It's a festival that everybody looks to in order to get an idea about what films will be released during the upcoming fall "awards season", like November and December. I'm hearing there's something of a Hitler trend this year, with "Jojo Rabbit" and two other Nazi-centric films screening. I'm working on something of a Hitler chain myself for next April, so I'm going to be on the lookout for more material now. "Joker" is also screening at TIFF, I'm also hearing good things about "Marriage Story", "Knives Out", that Tom Hanks biopic about Mr. Rogers, that Renee Zellweger biopic about Judy Garland, and I guess I'll have to watch "The Goldfinch" at some point - peer pressure, don't you know. Whoops, I just found out that "The Goldfinch" tanked, as is already regarded as one of the biggest bombs of the year. I guess it will be on cable very soon, then.
Today's film also screened at the Toronto Film Festival, in the Special Presentations section in 2014. It doesn't really feel like a typical festival film, but I shouldn't pre-judge it, I suppose. Tracy Morgan carries over again from "The Clapper".
THE PLOT: A comedian trying to make it as a serious actor is interviewed while his reality television star fiancée talks him into broadcasting their wedding.
AFTER: I suppose this touches on some of the same elements that "The Clapper" did yesterday, regarding what it means to be famous in this age of reality TV and the internet. What's the upside of being famous again? Surely there must be an upside, and it can't just all be about being embarrassed in front of a hungry public. At least the lead character here has some money, which he earned from appearing in a series of action films as a bear named Hammy. Or is he supposed to be a guy in a bear suit? That's a bit unclear. I mean, I guess the film-within-a-film is a comedy and those don't have to make much sense, I think my viewing history lately has pretty much proven that point. ("I Feel Pretty", "Welcome to Me", "The Clapper", they're all pretty nonsensical.)
But even though Andre Allen started out as a stand-up comic, he wants to be taken seriously, so instead of making another film as a crime-fighting bear (again, WTF?) he starred in a biopic about Dutty Boukman, leader of a Haitian slave revolt (this was a real historical figure, but I had to check) and so far the critics have not been kind about Andre's move to dramatic work. And everywhere he goes, people want to know when he's going to make another "Hammy" movie. For some reason he agrees to let a reporter from the (failing) New York Times follow him around for a day, as he criss-crosses New York City in a limo appearing on various radio shows to promote the new film.
It helps that she's an attractive woman, and they end up bonding over their addiction/sobriety stories, so it's not to hard to imagine that this film might be setting them up romantically - however, she's got a boyfriend and he's engaged with a wedding just days away. Thankfully this is one of those movie-magic days, where a lot can happen, and does - probably 24 hours of stuff happens in this one never-ending day, they visit Andre's family, he has a bachelor party with several famous comedians guest-starring as themselves, and Andre freaks out in a grocery store and ends up in jail. Umm, I may not have the order of the events correct here, but a lot goes down. Finally they end the day at a comedy club, and Andre is encouraged to do a set, even though he hasn't done one in a while. But hey, if you've got Chris Rock as your lead, why not let Chris Rock be Chris Rock?
Everywhere they go, people are fond of listing their top five rappers, which I didn't even know was a common pastime. But come on, who gives a crap about this? Rap's a dead medium, isn't it? Biggie, Tupac, Sir Mix-a-Lot, who cares? And isn't it a bit racist to suggest that all black people care about is rap music? I mean, they're not exactly doing anything to dispel the stereotypes with this, there must be some African-American people who don't care for the genre. Jeez, even rapper DMX just wants to stop rapping and sing standards from the great American songbook.
Chris Rock also wrote and directed this, and sometimes he has a knack for predicting the future - like in "Head of State", where he played a black presidential candidate, and this was released 5 years before Obama got elected. Here there's a fake movie in the Tyler Perry franchise called "Boo! A Medea Halloween", and Tyler Perry liked the idea so much that he went and made a movie with that exact title, based on the fake one. That's weird.
I wish I could give this film an appropriate 5 rating, but it didn't quite get there for me. Some people have compared this to Woody Allen's film "Stardust Memories", but I didn't really pick up on that. Anyway, if you're going to rip off Woody, why not choose a better film to emulate?
Also starring Chris Rock (last seen in "The Last Laugh"), Rosario Dawson (last seen in "The Captive"), Gabrielle Union (last seen in "The Birth of a Nation"), Sherri Shepherd (last seen in "Quiet Riot: Well, Now You're Here, There's No Way Back"), J.B. Smoove (last seen in "Spider-Man: Far From Home"), Romany Malco (last seen in "Night School"), Hayley Marie Norman (last seen in "Hancock"), Anders Holm (last seen in "Game Over, Man!"), Cedric the Entertainer (last heard in "Planes: Fire & Rescue"), Leslie Jones (last seen in "Masterminds"), Michael Che, Jay Pharoah (last heard in "Sing"), Ben Vereen (last seen in "Time Out of Mind"), Karlie Redd, Rachel Feinstein (last seen in "I Feel Pretty"), Dan Naturman, Rick Shapiro (last seen in "Project X"), Greer Barnes, Brian Regan, Hassan Johnson, Doug Stanhope, Tichina Arnold, Julie Halston, Miriam Colon, Olga Merediz (last seen in "The Place Beyond the Pines"), Sherrod Small, with cameos from Whoopi Goldberg (last seen in "Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic"), Adam Sandler (last seen in "The Week Of"), Jerry Seinfeld (also last seen in "The Last Laugh"), Luis Guzman (last seen in "Sandy Wexler"), Kevin Hart (also last seen in "Night School"), Opie and Anthony, Taraji P. Henson (last seen in "Hidden Figures"), Gabourey Sidibe (last seen in "The Brothers Grimsby"), DMX, Charlie Rose (last seen in "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley"), Bruce Bruce, Jim Norton (last seen in "Special Correspondents"), Tom Papa, Rich Vos
RATING: 4 out of 10 bottles at the club
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