Inadvertent Double Feature

We streamed two movies back-to-back, and they both improbably happened to feature Kevin Corrigan in the same role of video-store clerk. We last ran across Corrigan in "Supporting Characters":

WALKING AND TALKING (1996) (B+) - Nicole Holofcener's debut is awkward at times, like a colt finding its footing or a filmmaker finding her voice. But it's a winning take on the friendship of two women (Catherine Keener and Anne Heche) as they navigate their various romantic relationships while struggling to keep their own together.

This is the beta version of Holofcener's world of privileged but guilt-ridden middle-class white women (here, in a world of land-lines and answering machines as plot devices) struggling to find fulfillment in a satisfying career and with a spouse who can keep up. Keener looks so young; her eyes sparkle, and that quirky behavior and offbeat delivery are in full flower. Their supporting men, including Corrigan and Liev Schreiber, bring a fresh perspective and some dimension to the romantic-comedy genre.

You might wince a few times at the self-indulgence (there's a very sick cat, and not a little wallowing by Keener's character), but Holofcener builds nicely to a satisfying conclusion.

Here's our recent review of Holofcener's latest, "Enough Said."

THE FUNERAL KINGS (B) - I thought it would get tiring to watch 14-year-olds swearing like sailors and playing with guns, but I was charmed by this coming-of-age saga of Catholic school boys trying to run with the older crowd. It helps that brothers Kevin and Mathew McManus wrap this up in a tidy 85 minutes.

This played like a riff on "Stand by Me" by way of John Hughes or John Powers. Nonetheless, this umpteenth version of growing up Irish Catholic has a steady charm, and the McManus boys know how to pace a story. Youngsters Dylan Hartigan and Alex Maizus hold their own as suburban adolescent gangsta-wannabes, and Jordan Puzzo is a fine counterweight as the more reserved blond-haired cute kid they drag along into their escapades, which spin off from the free passes they are granted in order to serve as altar boys at funerals.

There's a bit of a nostalgic "Peanuts" quality here, because the boys' parents are mostly unseen. The pivoting story of one of the boys' brothers feels undercooked. But the foul-mouthed little bastards make up for any deficiencies with their determination to out-Moe-Howard each other.