Nearly April, and hopefully, the end of another dry spell. I have seen many things, really, but none that have impelled me to write. Not until this week.
They Came Together
If the title sounds vaguely like an innuendo to you, you might be the right audience for this weird little number. Brought to you by the team behind Wet Hot American Summer (and most of the cast), They Came Together is both a meta-mockery and an ode to the Hollywood Romantic Comedy. Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd are the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks of the film, playing out so many scenes that we know and love from films like You've Got Mail, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Runaway Bride. That isn't merely a metaphor, it's direct parallel. It's not likely that this latest film will develop the kind of fan base that Wet Hot American Summer did, but it's a nice antidote to the usual trope.
Friendly faces: Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Ken Marino, Christopher Meloni, Bill Heder, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms, Melanie Lynskey, Cobie Smulders, Jack McBrayer, Kenan Thompson, Adam Scott, John Stamos, Norah Jones, Lynn Cohen, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Michael Shannon
Digging for Fire
It's not difficult to find films about finding yourself, or about couples in trouble, or how your relationship changes once you have a child. But this film has something which few others do. A great cast of unexpected and underrated performers, including perennial favorite of mine Rosemarie DeWitt, and optimism. New Girl's Jake Johnson plays Tim, husband to Lee (DeWitt), spending a weekend at the luxurious home of one of Lee's wealthy clients (she's a yoga instructor). Shortly after their arrival, Tim finds a gun and a bone in the hill next to the house. Tim and Lee's very different reactions to the find cause them to part for the weekend, each to look for the meaning of their own life.
Friendly Faces: Mike Birbiglia, Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Judith Light, Sam Elliott, Melanie Lynskey, Ron Livingston, Orlando Bloom
Notes:
- They Came Together co-stars Melanie Lynskey (whom I always recognize as the nice sister from Ever After, no matter how many of her other projects I see) who is in Digging for Fire.
- Paul Rudd's brother in They Came Together is played by Max Greenfield, who co-stars on New Girl with Jake Johnson.
- They Came Together star Amy Poehler helmed Parks and Recreation, which featured recurring characters played by Sam Elliott (hippie park director Ron) and Jenny Slate (whose Marcel the Shell I love, but whose Parks and Rec character Mona-Lisa is the worst)... Both Elliott and Slate appear in Digging for Fire.
- Both Rosemarie DeWitt and Jake Johnson have appeared in films with Mark Duplass: Your Sister's Sister and Safety Not Guaranteed.
- Jake Johnson worked with members of Parks and Rec on the films Jurassic World (Chris Pratt) and Safety Not Guaranteed (Aubrey Plaza).
- What I'm saying is, I only need to be friends with one of these people to get to be friends with ALL OF THEM.
