THE IDES OF MARCH (2011) (C+) - In which George Clooney dumbs down American civics with an idiot plot for his Soccer Mom target audience. Requiring a suspension of belief that would daunt the Wendellas, Clooney stars as a former Ohio governor running for president but puts his wunderkind campaign strategist (Ryan Gosling, still finding his legs as an actor) in an awkward position.
Gosling's slick-talking Stephanopoulos wannabe gets caught between his own boss, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a rival campaign manager played by Paul Giamatti. Both Hoffman and Giamatti are woefully under-utilized. Enter Evan Rachel Wood (a wonderful child actor ("Thirteen") who has been drained of talent as an adult) as a 20-year-old campaign intern who is out to seduce Gosling's studly strategist.
Gosling's slick-talking Stephanopoulos wannabe gets caught between his own boss, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a rival campaign manager played by Paul Giamatti. Both Hoffman and Giamatti are woefully under-utilized. Enter Evan Rachel Wood (a wonderful child actor ("Thirteen") who has been drained of talent as an adult) as a 20-year-old campaign intern who is out to seduce Gosling's studly strategist.
The timing of events -- the Democratic primary is improbably hanging in the balance in mid-March, yet one local pol's delegates could seal the whole deal -- is laughable. The intrigue in barely intriguing. No one breaks out of their two-dimensional molds. Clooney and partner Grant Heslov scored in 2005 with "Good Night and Good Luck," but they have flailed ever since ("The Monuments Men" in 2014 and "Suburbicon" in 2017).
BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE (B) - Not really much of a movie but rather an extended version of Zach Galifianakis' droll spoof of talk-show spoofs. But if you can stand the stand-up's sit-down routine and the droll but scathing writing of his filmmaking partner Scott Aukerman, you'll find plenty to laugh about.
There's actually a plot stringing together the droll celebrity interviews. Zach and his crew take a road trip (the two ferns getting the front passenger seat, with the three staffers in the back). Lauren Lapkus (Pete's ex in HBO's "Crashing") is a standout as his loyal assistant Carol (who casually mentions the murder-suicide of her parents as a mere blip). The cameraman's name is Cameron Campbell, a good example of the laziness and silliness that still manage to get a laugh.
The barrage of celebrity cameos (Paul Rudd and Brie Larson are pretty good) makes for reliable diversions. And dare I say, that Will Ferrell (as the Funny or Die guru) and his shtick are wearing a bit thin?
BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE (B) - Not really much of a movie but rather an extended version of Zach Galifianakis' droll spoof of talk-show spoofs. But if you can stand the stand-up's sit-down routine and the droll but scathing writing of his filmmaking partner Scott Aukerman, you'll find plenty to laugh about.
There's actually a plot stringing together the droll celebrity interviews. Zach and his crew take a road trip (the two ferns getting the front passenger seat, with the three staffers in the back). Lauren Lapkus (Pete's ex in HBO's "Crashing") is a standout as his loyal assistant Carol (who casually mentions the murder-suicide of her parents as a mere blip). The cameraman's name is Cameron Campbell, a good example of the laziness and silliness that still manage to get a laugh.
The barrage of celebrity cameos (Paul Rudd and Brie Larson are pretty good) makes for reliable diversions. And dare I say, that Will Ferrell (as the Funny or Die guru) and his shtick are wearing a bit thin?
MUTE (D-minus) - Speaking of indulged celebrities (or their spawn) ... This was background streaming on Netflix that I was subjected to. Duncan Jones (who once made a good movie called "Moon," years ago) writes and directs this execrable sci-fi mess about a mute bartender (Alexander Skarsgaard, in a role he may never recover from) navigating a blandly dystopian future Berlin with the help of a couple of rogue surgeons (?), one played ludicrously by Paul Rudd, pretending to be a gum-snapping tough guy and face-planting hard on his cartoonish walrus mustache (!).
The misogyny here is off the charts. The violence is grim, as if Jones thought it was clever to steal from Terry Gilliam ("Brazil") but takes it way too seriously. This is offensive to the senses and the intellect, as well as wasting everyone's time and money. It doesn't work as a parody of "Blade Runner" or even as a winking wank. Ugh.
BONUS TRACK
A sampling of Galifianakis and Rudd (more in his milieu) in "Ferns":
The misogyny here is off the charts. The violence is grim, as if Jones thought it was clever to steal from Terry Gilliam ("Brazil") but takes it way too seriously. This is offensive to the senses and the intellect, as well as wasting everyone's time and money. It doesn't work as a parody of "Blade Runner" or even as a winking wank. Ugh.
BONUS TRACK
A sampling of Galifianakis and Rudd (more in his milieu) in "Ferns":
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