Did you start drinking again?

Playing for Keeps



About halfway through Playing for Keeps, I realized not much has gone on. It’s not a bad film, it just has very little substance. You can see scenes come from a mile away. It’s like eating Whip Cream. Very sweet with little filling. I find Gerard Butler and pretty good actor attempting many different kinds of characters in his films. Bravo. In Playing For Keeps, he was a soccer star with everything at his feet and he blows it all including losing his wife and child. Jessica Biel is a down to earth woman that had enough. 8 years or so later, Butler is trying to get back on track with some kind of life and through fate has an opportunity to coach his son’s soccer team.

All this is played out very sweetly. We like everybody including all the cheating wives and husbands. I think the biggest standout is Dennis Quad as a loud boisterous get on your last nerve character. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I’m pretty sure you can see the end coming. Try not to roll your eyes.

A simple light weight drama, that I’m sure you will forget moments after you turn it off.

This is 40



I saw This Is 40 in the theaters. It was a rare day of nothing to do and figured I’d spend some time watching a comedy… of all things in a theater. I now remember the theater was pretty empty and I remember the 4 women sitting in front of me, only because there are many moments that are truly embarrassing for men and women. Funny moments.

So this time I sat down with my wife to watch This is 40 and probably laughed harder and longer next to her. Laughter is contagious. Despite whether you are 40 or not, married or not, man or woman, I believe you will find something to relate to in this comedic gem. Paul Rudd consistently makes me laugh regardless if the movie sucks or not. But he plays his character to its full potential. Judd Apatow’s wife, Leslie Man, plays Debbie, the 40 38 year old wife. Apatow’s kids play the kids and they do a fine job of adding realism to the family conflicts. A little perverse trivia, there is a scene where Debbie wants to give Pete a BJ then and there. The scene involves the kids coming knocking on the door during this moment. Apatow only told his kids to go ballistic on knocking on the door, but he did not tell them why the door was locked. In hindsight, that must have been weird… but it’s very, very funny.

This movie has a great cast with Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, even Megan Fox is tolerable.
Finally Melissa McCarthy gives a balls out rant that had me laughing so hard, I had tears. Be sure to watch credits.
Also the extra’s with the gag reel and the ‘lines’ portion.

Great movie.  Worth a revisit, for sure.  Makes me miss Sean Connery, that's for sure.

Thinking of him, my local Redbox has Dragonheart advertises on it and it's never there, and I've never seen it.  I definitely want at least to draw the dragon with a word balloon saying "you're the man now, dog!"

More proof that I watch movies for different reasons.