Agent Dale Cooper's Horrific Version Of The Odyssey: How David Lynch Thrilled And Disappointed Twin Peaks Fans!

The Good: Most of the acting, A lot of good direction, Moments of engaging plot, Basic concept
The Bad: The end (seriously, way to piss on your legacy, David Lynch!), Drifts and tangents that go nowhere, More information undermines the strong concept . . .
The Basics: Twin Peaks returns for a long-awaited third season to bore, confuse, delight and ultimately infuriate the fans of the beloved, surreal series.


I admire an ambitious concept. I truly do. And it is hard to argue anything other than the idea that David Lynch is one of the reigning masters of ambitious concepts. David Lynch has a long history of making television shows and movies that demand attentive, engaged viewers. So, when David Lynch publicly confirmed that Twin Peaks would be returning to television for a third season - after being off the air for more than twenty-five years, the reactions of the die-hard fans was more of an indifferent, "we know; you told us it would be back around this time in the last episode!" than the enthusiasm some might have anticipated.

The third season of Twin Peaks, somewhat commonly known as Twin Peaks: The Return because all of the episodes were called "The Return Part X," was an ambitious concept and David Lynch met a number of serious challenges in executing the season that he had more than twenty years to conceive and tinker with. At its core, Lynch described the new season of Twin Peaks as The Odyssey for Agent Dale Cooper and it was widely reported before even the first episode aired that Lynch wrote the entire series as one massive script and then broke the story up into the episodes. That is an ambitious idea . . . and it shows in the execution of Twin Peaks Season Three. In fact, the episodes themselves often hold up much poorer as individual episodes than the season holds up; the sheer volume of detail and callbacks throughout the eighteen-episode third season of Twin Peaks virtually begs for a single binge viewing by an audience that is alert, engaged, and able to handle a lot of screaming.

Conceptually, David Lynch had a Herculean task in creating a third season of Twin Peaks. Since the very end of the original Twin Peaks (reviewed here!), viewers who invested in the concept of the show had plenty of time to accept the sad reality of the show's protagonist. Agent Dale Cooper was trapped within the ethereal abode of evil known as The Black Lodge, while a doppelganger of him - possessed by the ultimate evil entity Bob - was free on Earth. Within (what used to be) the series finale, Agent Dale Cooper was told that he would be trapped in the Black Lodge for twenty-five years. The thing is, for all of its faults, the second season of Twin Peaks was constructed pretty solidly in terms of its lore about the Black Lodge and some of the concepts pertaining to it. The Black Lodge was not, in the original Twin Peaks simply a place; it was a place that existed in physical reality only in specific times. So, right off the bat, David Lynch was somewhat hamstrung by his own concept; given all of the established information of the original Twin Peaks, saving F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper should have been a matter of his doppelganger being returned to the right place and time to push him back into the Black Lodge and Agent Cooper escaping at that time.

There is, alas, not much of a television show in that. So, David Lynch threw out his own book; in the new rendition of Twin Peaks portals are all over the fucking place. In fact, from the moment Agent Dale Cooper manages to escape the Black Lodge through one of the many, many other exits that manifest, the attentive viewer has to ask, "Why the hell did Dale Cooper wait twenty-five years to leave through one of these other exits?!"

Twin Peaks Season Three picks up with Agent Dale Cooper right where Season Two left off. Dale Cooper is in the Black Lodge and the twenty-five years have passed and he has aged. He encounters Phillip Gerard (the one armed man) and The Arm, who encourage him to take an alternate route out of the Black Lodge, noting that Dale Cooper's doppelganger did not return to the Black Lodge. Bob, still in Cooper, has become a crime lord who is doing everything he can to avoid returning to the Black Lodge and he has managed to avoid his old friends from the F.B.I. by using a laptop from a long-missing agent. When Agent Cooper manages to make it to our plane of existence, Cooper is in a car accident and incarcerated, which puts him on the radar of F.B.I. Deputy Director Gordon Cole, Agent Albert Rosenfield and their protege, Agent Tammy Preston.

Dale Cooper, however, has not managed to simply return to our plane of existence. He is insensate in the body of Dougie Jones, who has a wife, son, prostitute and gambling problem. In Jones's body, Cooper is deposited at a casino in Las Vegas where he wins a lot of money by following stimuli from the Black Lodge. While Dougie's wife, Jane, strong-arms Doug's debtors, Dougie is sent back to work at an insurance company where Dale Cooper manages to point out insurance irregularities to his boss and get on surprisingly good terms with the mobsters who run the casino. While Dougie is hunted by assassins hired by Cooper, Cooper manages to get released from prison, survive one of his compatriots attempting to assassinate him and avoid other attempts to get dragged back into the Black Lodge using technology from that place and ethereal beings who heal him whenever he is mortally wounded.

While Agent Cooper slowly asserts himself and Cooper cuts a swath of carnage across the U.S., Rosenfield and Cole enlist Diane to help them figure out just who Cooper is. And in Twin Peaks, Margaret (the Log Lady) sets Deputy Chief Hawk on a search that clues him into the idea that there are two Coopers and that the case of the long-missing F.B.I. agent is soon to be resolved!

The third season of Twin Peaks has its highs and lows, but for the most part it does tell one long, somewhat absurd, story with a bunch of nostalgia-driven tangents thrown in. One of the greatest limitations of the third season of Twin Peaks was that David Lynch had to tailor the story around the actors who were still alive, still acting, and still interested in participating. To his credit, Lynch got actor Everett McGill to come out of retirement to play Big Ed Hurley again. It's nice, it's very Twin Peaks and, sadly, it is entirely unnecessary.

Unfortunately, Michael Ontkean could not be persuaded to return to Twin Peaks for the revival. Within the narrative of the third season of Twin Peaks, Ontkean's absence as Sheriff Harry Truman is explained and not prohibitively conspicuous (there is a lot going on in the season!), but for fans of Twin Peaks, Lynch pushing the project along without his participation becomes a tonal unforgivable sin. One need not rewatch much of the original Twin Peaks at all to see that the lifeblood relationship of the series was the one between Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman. They had a relationship built on mutual respect, professionalism and a shared desire for the truth that made them bond quickly. Twin Peaks had tons of relationships that were, essentially, soap operatic connections between the characters, but Truman and Cooper had a bromance long before the term was ever coined!

Within the third season of Twin Peaks Sheriff Harry S. Truman's absence is glossed over with medical excuses delivered by his brother, Sheriff Frank Truman, who has taken over the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department. Frank Truman is played quite well by Robert Forster, who manages to be the least-obtrusive new addition to the Twin Peaks cast (for those keeping score, Chrysta Bell breaks out in Twin Peaks Season 3 as Agent Tammy Preston, but David Lynch uses her frequently for window dressing and there are several scenes where Bell seems to be trying desperately not to look like she is a supermodel playing an F.B.I. Agent . . .).

The third season of Twin Peaks is fundamentally two narrative streams - the story of Agent Dale Cooper, Cooper (Bob) and the law enforcement officers that are figuring out the long-cold case of the missing F.B.I. agent (Chief Hawk and Agent Cooper's former F.B.I. colleagues) and a series of nostalgia-driven scenes that pertain to Twin Peaks. Indeed, most of Cooper and Agent Cooper's narrative occurs well outside the Washington state town of Twin Peaks . . . and much of the drama within Twin Peaks has absolutely nothing to do with the dual-Coopers' narrative.

The second narrative track includes scenes with Norma Jennings (who is franchising the RR Diner), Shelly (who is still working at the RR Diner and has a troubled daughter), (former) Dr. Jacoby doing a podcast, Nadine Hurley listening to that podcast, and (eventually) Audrey Horne popping up to indicate that she suffered a psychotic break. There is a high nostalgia aspect to the Twin Peaks scenes involving the cast from the original - Norma Jennings has an opportunity, she changes her mind, she and Big Ed get a delightful happy ending, it's cute to see and it offers some minor catharsis for two characters who did not spend a lot of time at the narrative forefront of the original Twin Peaks. Similarly cute is the lone appearance of Andy and Lucy's son, who was named after the bird who witnessed Laura Palmer's murder and provided the sheriff's clues. The scene with Wally is dull as hell, but hardcore fans will find it cute that Lucy and Andy named their kid after the bird. Ironically, Jerry Horne being lost in the woods plays into the main narrative more directly than almost all of the other tangent storylines.

And the nostalgia storylines are not all thrilling or happy. Shelly and Bobby had a relationship, it burnt out, and they now have a cocaine-abusing daughter who shoots up a door. Shelly and Bobby's daughter is a distant tangent storyline that gets dropped mid-season as it appears part of Cooper's agenda is keeping drugs flowing into Twin Peaks High School, but that fizzles out after Cooper is captured in South Dakota. Those who love Audrey Horne will be excited when she eventually pops up in the narrative . . . until they follow the clues back and realize that after leaving the Black Lodge, Cooper raped Audrey while she was in a coma following the bank explosion and the ass hole hellion who has been running around killing people and beating up others, Richard Horne, is her son and she likely went crazy as a result of that abuse.

To the credit of David Lynch, Twin Peaks Season Three contains some explanations for the evil in the woods in the form of nightmarish, surreal divergent scenes that show how the entities from another place interacted with the Earth, seeding both Bob and Laura Palmer into the mix. Also to Lynch's credit, if he was going to break his own wheel, his cheats were pretty clever. Phillip Gerard prepared for the battle between Dale Cooper and Cooper, seeding manufactured people like Doug Jones (and another, far more spoilerific one) onto Earth to be a part of Agent Cooper's escape hatch. The second doppelganger gets explained, but the Doug Jones storyline is initially irritating, especially given that Jane Jones does not seem to stop to notice what the audience immediately observes; that Doug is simply repeating the last thing said to him. Lynch even insinuates that there is another person attempting to leave one of the alternate realities the same way that Agent Cooper is (i.e. by using a back door from The Other Place and replacing a manufactured doppelganger already on Earth), in the form of a prisoner at the Twin Peaks jail who exhibits the same repeating trait as Doug Jones. But, like so very many plots in the third season of Twin Peaks, that is not actually resolved and is unceremoniously dropped before the end of the series.

The third season of Twin Peaks is an investment for fans of Twin Peaks. So little of the third season occurs within Twin Peaks that viewers have to watch a lot of the season and take on faith that the show is going somewhere. Twin Peaks Season Three meanders, but it does return to Agent Cooper and his struggle to return to Earth after twenty-five years sitting on his ass in another dimension. The faith viewers place in David Lynch is justified in the seventeenth episode of the season . . .

. . . and then utterly shat upon in the season finale. Without any spoilers, Twin Peaks Season Three climaxes an episode before its end. The final episode of the series proves in the first few moments what most viewers will easily suspect coming out of the prior episode and then it turns the entire series upside down. And not in a good way. David Lynch had an audacious storyline for the third season of Twin Peaks, but its resolution is one of the most insanely conceived, poorly-executed finales that one immediately suspects will be one of the episodes fans of Twin Peaks watch the least. Seriously, watch up to the end of the seventeenth episode and you'll be happy. If you have a hankering to watch the final episode, go back and watch the second season episode of Twin Peaks with the "Miss Twin Peaks" Pageant. You might say, geh! This is terrible; whatever is in the eighteenth episode of the third season of Twin Peaks cannot possibly be this bad. You would be wrong. It's like David Lynch said to himself, "I hate every one of my fans and I want to not just undermine my classic Twin Peaks, I want people to think of how I end this season and make it hard for them to ever want to watch any part of the series again." Yeah, the end of the third season of Twin Peaks was enough to drag the entire season rating down by at least a point. Why? Because a season review is about how the whole story holds together and what it does and says. With one episode, David Lynch makes the viewer forget about the annoying, surreal tangents, the mysticism, the pointless added characters, the beloved classic characters, the essential struggle between good and evil, the delightful quirks of Twin Peaks and just get a sour taste in the mouth and a headache that cannot be cured by coffee and cherry pie.

All that said, Kyle MacLachlan is amazing in the third season of Twin Peaks. Straddling three roles with an effortless quality, MacLachlan makes viewers care about Agent Cooper once again and feel genuine emotions for him. When MacLachlan plays Dougie needing to go to the bathroom (having forgotten such basic things), it is painful to watch - expertly performed by the actor. Similarly, MacLachlan manages to make Cooper a stone-cold villain that raises the level of tension every time he appears on screen.

The supporting cast of Twin Peaks Season Three is good, but the highest praise should be reserved for the late Miguel Ferrer. Ferrer plays Albert Rosenfield and the magic of his performance is that Albert has mellowed considerably over the twenty-five years, but Ferrer plays him in a way that the viewer never once doubts they are watching Albert at work. Given that an acerbic quality and angry deliveries were the hallmark of Albert in the original Twin Peaks, it is no small feat to reinvent the portrayal of the character and make him feel like the same old guy!

Fans of Twin Peaks who were waiting for the event to be complete and for a final analysis before watching will want the bottom line. It is this: Binge watch the third season of Twin Peaks. Find one day you can devote to it, watch episodes one through seventeen and stop there. The event is worth it . . . up to a point and David Lynch rather politely gave a clear point where the season stops being worth watching.

For a better idea of exactly what this season entails, please check out my reviews of the specific episodes at:
"The Return Part 1"
"The Return Part 2"
"The Return Part 3"
"The Return Part 4"
"The Return Part 5"
"The Return Part 6"
"The Return Part 7"
"The Return Part 8"
"The Return Part 9"
"The Return Part 10"
"The Return Part 11"
"The Return Part 12"
"The Return Part 13"
"The Return Part 14"
"The Return Part 15"
"The Return Part 16"
"The Return Part 17"
"The Return Part 18"

6/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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"The Return Part 4" Bears The Burden Of Making Twin Peaks Comprehensible!

The Good: Decent performances, Plot starts to develop, Moments of realism, Hints of character development
The Bad: Irksome new characters, Ridiculous, pointless, monologue from Michael Cera
The Basics: Twin Peaks actually starts to put into focus the various Dale Coopers in "The Return Part 4."


Weird is good. Weird is weird and it can be great, but when it comes to art, weird for the sake of weird has a very short shelf-life. In media, weird works where the purpose is simply to create something that is surreal as opposed to sensible - mood pieces, deliberately obscure, or mysteries where the writers have no idea how they intend to resolve the set-up (I'm looking at you J.J. Abrams!) - have low replayability. Indeed, many at some point forego the mood and the mystery to attempt to deliver concrete answers that both continue to intrigue and reward the viewers for their investment. As the original Twin Peaks (reviewed here!), went on, David Lynch had to pay off the various threads he had woven early on with answering the fundamental mystery of the show: "Who killed Laura Palmer?" After that answer was revealed, the narrative threads that were left for the second season of the show were hardly as compelling or intriguing as the original characterizations and plots suggested and the show meandered. Fortunately, it came back for a big finish as the focus turned to the epic struggle between F.B.I. Agent Dale Cooper and the villainous Windham Earl as they both hunted for the mysterious Black Lodge.

With the revival of Twin Peaks, it is hard not to get a few episodes in and feel like it is time for some put up or shut up storytelling from David Lynch and Mark Frost. The third episode of the season (reviewed here!) was annoyingly convoluted; after a long surreal opening, Agent Cooper may have managed to escape the Black Lodge, despite the fact that Cooper (his Bob-infected doppelganger for the past twenty-five years) is still in the world. Did Agent Cooper actually escape the Black Lodge and is now walking around South Dakota winning at casino slot machines without any memories? Is the new Cooper a construct of some sort? Will the police at Twin Peaks figure out that "something is missing" could mean "you're missing something?" Or will one of them figure out that Lucy only fessed up to eating one piece of chocolate, which means someone else ate the other two in the package? Will viewers keep caring long enough to get actual answers?!

That is where viewers come into "The Return Part 4." "The Return Part 4" opens with the promise that F.B.I. Agent Rosenfeld and Deputy Director Cole might actually learn about Cooper, the doppelganger, for the first time in twenty-five years and begin to piece together that something happened to Agent Cooper twenty-five years prior in Twin Peaks.

Fortunately, viewers get some answers - pretty fast - in "The Return Part 4." Almost immediately, the version of Cooper who was returned to the world is identified by other people as Dougie Jones, which suggests that Jones was someone before Agent Cooper basically possessed him by his unorthodox exodus from the Black Lodge. That idea is reinforced by Jones seeing Phillip Gerard within the Black Lodge and the one-armed man telling him that one of the Coopers must die.

Opening at the Silver Mustang Casino, Dale Cooper haplessly wins twenty-nine jackpots, much to the chagrin of the casino's owner. He is recognized by Bill and Candy Shaker as Dougie Jones and he is given his winnings by the casino owner before being sent home. Arriving home, he is accosted by his wife, Jane. Gordon visits F.B.I. Chief Of Staff Denise Bryson to get Agent Preston approved to his team to investigate the Cooper lead in South Dakota.

In Twin Peaks, Sheriff Frank Truman arrives at the Sheriff's Department where he puts Lucy in shock by using his cell phone. Truman is briefed on a drug overdose at Twin Peaks High. The personnel converge in the conference room where Deputy Briggs is visibly shaken by seeing Laura Palmer's picture on the table. Andy and Lucy's son, Wally, arrives at the station much to the delight of his parents (and the confusion of Sheriff Truman). When Dougie wakes up the next morning, his son helps him through his morning routine (while Jane just yells at him). The F.B.I. team arrives in South Dakota, where the lead homicide detective is surprised that the prints of the dead man at the apartment yeild a hit, but the identity is blocked by the military. The police in Buckhorn show the F.B.I. team what was found in Cooper's car - cocaine, a machine gun and a dog's leg - before Deputy Director Cole begins interrogating Cooper. Cooper insists he was working undercover, but he does not appear to recognize Albert and his speech pattern is erratic. Rosenfeld confesses to Cole afterward that he gave information to F.B.I. Agent Philip Jeffries that was passed on to Cooper, information that led to the death of a Colombian drug lord. Both Rosenfeld and Cole both recognize that something is very wrong with Cooper.

Fans of Twin Peaks are likely to be delighted by Bobby Briggs resurfacing in the new season. Briggs was a troubled youth back in the day and there is a delicious irony in the fact that he is now working in law enforcement.

"The Return Part 4" does a good job with getting some truly realistic aspects of supporting characters right. Candy Shaker is legitimately concerned by how Dougie Jones is acting; Bill tries to correct him when he simply repeats back words. The limo driver who takes Jones home has trouble seeing the color of doors at night and is impatient with waiting for Dougie to move toward his door.

Sadly, that realism is inconsistently executed. Michael Cera arrives in Twin Peaks as Wally and delivers a ridiculous monologue. Cera's scene in "The Return Part 4" is the Twin Peaks equivalent of the podracing scene in The Phantom Menace; "there's five minutes of my life I'll never get back." Similarly, Jane does not seem to have any idea what to do with Dougie. She talks over him and does not notice that he is only repeating words, does not even know how to dress himself or sit on his own or even know how to go to the bathroom until he is shown. While that helps to characterize Jane some, her inattentiveness is frustrating to watch and her failure to observe that he is not actually talking the night before their son picks up that Doug is out of it is infuriating.

"The Return Part 4" finally effectively blends the classic Twin Peaks characters and actors with the new recurring cast members and characters. While Michael Cera does not quite fit in, Robert Forster steps into the role of Sheriff Frank Truman well. Naomi Watts might play an oblivious character in Mrs. Jones, but she plays the part well. David Lynch, Miguel Ferrer, Michael Horse, Harry Goaz, Dana Ashbrook, and Kimmy Robertson all step with an apparent effortless quality back into their distinctive Twin Peaks roles. Even David Duchovny's cameo is not nearly as distracting or pointless as Cera's appearance.

Kyle MacLachlan once again dominates in "The Return Part 4." MacLachlan plays the dual roles of Cooper and Dougie and the two parts are so different that it is refreshing after seeing him walk around in a robotic fashion for almost the entire episode to see him deliver exposition during the interrogation scene - just to prove he has the range. MacLachlan manages to insinuate well that Dougie Jones is slowly learning and adapting to life back on our mortal plane, while Cooper is presented as far less villainous than he was in the prior three episodes.

Ultimately, "The Return Part 4" is the first episode that effectively focuses the mystery of the new season of Twin Peaks on the nature of Cooper and the (potentially) returned Cooper. The episode more effectively uses surrealism and weirdness, while telling an actual story, which is enough to remind viewers what they have been missing from Twin Peaks.

For other works with Sarah Paxton, please visit my reviews of:
Cheap Thrills
The Last House On The Left
Aquamarine

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Twin Peaks - The Complete Third Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the temporally displaced season of the surreal show here!
Thanks!]

7.5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Fun Apocalypse Theater Continues With This Is The End!

The Good: Largely funny, Decent direction, Good enough acting and character development, Surprisingly good special effects.
The Bad: Some of the humor does not land, Mortgages some of the real acting talent for cheap jokes.
The Basics: A surprisingly smarter comedy than one might expect going in, This Is The End satirizes the Apocalypse as a buddy comedy with some of today’s most talented young comedy actors.


When it comes to movies, more often than not it seems these days that you get what you pay for. If you’re going to see the latest Transformers movie and you expect Casablanca, you will be disappointed. So, when This Is The End made its debut during Summer Blockbuster Season, it was hard to go into it expecting greatness. And, given that the cast was made up of stoner movie staple actors like James Franco, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and Jonah Hill, it was hard to imagine that This Is The End would be substantive or more than just mildly amusing. Fortunately, This Is The End is more than just a series of dick and fart jokes which one might expect from this type movie. For sure, there are a number of cum and weed jokes, but This Is The End gets away from that with remarkable speed to become something somewhat more clever and one of the better independent comedies of the summer.

In fact, there is a lot to celebrate in This Is The End, which is very much a “guy’s movie” packed with guys as they rather stupidly try to survive the apocalypse in James Franco’s house. This is basically a buddy comedy with Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel surrounded by their contemporaries. And while it is very much not appropriate for impressionable children who can’t take jokes about just how much coke Michael Cera could do (we’re talking well beyond lethal levels here!), it makes some decent jokes and points on how the younger generation acts. It is smart enough to be satirical in places and dumb enough to be blandly entertaining to the young audience that will shell out for a summer popcorn flick. And for a movie that is a summer comedy, This Is The End has surprisingly good special effects, making it worth seeing at least once on the big screen.

Jay Baruchel returns to Los Angeles to hang out with Seth Rogen. The two have drifted apart over the years, so Jay is giving their friendship one last chance. Arriving at Seth’s apartment, the two smoke a lot of weed and Jay reluctantly accompanies Seth to James Franco’s housewarming party. There, Jay feels uncomfortable seeing a ton of celebrities, including peers who are not his favorite Hollywood people, most notably Jonah Hill. When Jay tires of the party, he convinces Seth to come with him to the local gas station to get some cigarettes. While there, there is an earthquake and Jay watches in horror as some people nearby are caught in blue beams of light and pulled up into the sky. Running back to the party, Seth denies seeing the people pulled skyward, but soon it is clear that there is something more going on other than a simple earthquake.

When a fiery sinkhole opens up in front of James Franco’s house, the party guests flee (most are killed outright, including Michael Cera who dies pretty horrifically and hilariously at the hands of a light post) leaving only Baruchel, Franco, Hill, Rogen, and Craig Robinson alive in Franco’s house. Waking up the next morning, the guys discover that Danny McBride (who crashed the party the night before) is also alive in the house and has cooked up at least half the house’s food. What follows are a series of short excursions out of and incursions into the house broken up by ridiculous postulating on what exactly is happening in the world at large. Jay asserts that it is the Revalations-style rapture and apocalypse while others guess it might be zombies. Broken up by hilarious moments like Emma Watson making it back to the house and leaving on her own volition, the group pushing Danny out and Jonah Hill getting violated by a demon and possessed, Jan and Seth try to repair their friendship and survive long enough to get raptured themselves.

This Is The End has its moments and once one accepts that everyone in the film is playing fictionalized versions of themselves (unless Michael Cera’s good kid acting career is covering a legendary coke addiction) and buys the premise of the film, it is actually quite enjoyable. This Is The End is funny, though most of the humor is over-the-top gross-out humor. For example, Danny McBride going on at length about all the places in the house he has masturbated and left his semen is initially quite vile. However, the joke is taken to such a length and is such obvious hyperbole that it becomes incredibly funny.

There is nothing funny about rape. Period. There is no “but” after that sentence; rape jokes are universally in bad taste and, as an example, have contributed with constant incest jokes to the destruction of the once cutting-edge and hilarious Family Guy. To its credit, This Is The End avoids making any rape jokes (even the rape of Jonah Hill by a demon is treated with the appropriate horror and obvious distress). Upending the expectations when the film seems to be nearing the bad taste of rape humor, it takes a turn for the clever. When Emma Watson arrives in the house, Jay tries to raise the issue of how the guys will keep themselves in check (in terms of libido), which Watson overhears and misinterprets as a conversation of who will be allowed to rape her first. Never making a rape joke, This Is The End turns to a miscommunication joke about someone protecting a woman from the potential of rape being accused of plotting the very same. It’s very funny and well-delivered by all involved.

On the character front, This Is The End actually has a significant and decent character thread. Jay Baruchel is a friend estranged from one of his oldest friends and Seth Rogen is experiencing the familiar push-pull between his old friends and his new ones (James Franco’s prized artwork in the film is the Seth Rogen hanging in his living room). Amid all of the external conflicts from demons, cannibals, hunger and firepits, This Is The End plays beats that are easy to empathize with by grounding the scenes in Jay and Seth working on their relationship.

On the acting front, This Is The End is good but utterly unchallenging for the performers. All of the celebrities are playing fictionalized versions of themselves and they seem entirely comfortable with that. What stood out was that directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made This Is The End look fabulous. For such a low-budget film, This Is The End never feels low-budget or even remotely cheap.

Entertaining and worthwhile, This Is The End is worth watching for anyone who enjoys humor, even when it pushes the envelope and pokes at the pretenses of the Evangelical Christians.

For other apocalypse films, please check out my reviews of:
Rapture-Palooza
2012
Left Behind: The Movie

6/10

For more film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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It’s Back! But Season Four Of Arrested Development Is Hardly Great.

The Good: Wonderful character development/progression, Great in-jokes
The Bad: Very different tone (to start out with).
The Basics: With fifteen episodes, Netflix returns Arrested Development with the entire original cast but short on the charm that made the first three seasons a classic.


When it was announced that Arrested Development (reviewed here!) was being given a fourth season, I was working at a blogging job for a small computer company. In the days that followed the announcement, Netflix revealed that its subscriber base had abruptly increased. I recall writing about how it was incredible that the loyal fan base of Arrested Development would show support for the preproduction by subscribing years ahead of the programs actual release. Today, I find myself wondering what will happen tomorrow. With Season Four of Arrested Development dropping in a single fifteen episode block on Netflix (an event my wife and I enjoyed partaking of beginning at 3 A.M. this morning), I wonder how long that fan base will stick with Netflix. It seemed to me like a tactical miscalculation to release the entire season all at once instead of drawing the season out in order to actually keep those subscribers.

My musings on the relationship between Netflix and Arrested Development is a valid one, but it is also a delaying tactic. The delay comes from not wanting to (inevitably) lose the readers who stop reading after they see the line, “it’s enjoyable, but it lacks the spark that Arrested Development had originally.” Because Season Four has to figure out where all the characters have been since the previous season’s finale, it spends a great deal of time re-establishing characters and filling in the plot and character developments from the past few years and telling new viewers what the loyal fans already know (“Stan Sitwell suffered from alopecia . . .”).

That is not to say that season four is without charm. Mary Lynn Rajskub joins George Sr.’s storyline as a silent character named Heart Fire, who is subtitled hilariously and there is quite a bit of humor pertaining to the housing market collapse in the late 2000’s. The appearance of the cast of Comedy Central’s Workaholics (season 1 reviewed here!) as airport personnel, the watermarks on the screen for all footage from the prior three seasons (“Showstealer Pro Trial Version“), and in-jokes to the original series (like Lindsay wearing the blouse from the first episode) are all cute, but there is nothing in this season as distinctive as “There’s always money in the banana stand” or “No touching!” In other words, it has moments where it is good, but the new version of the show is hardly as distinctive or fresh as it originally was (though “Three does sound bigger” came close). The refreshing aspect of Season Four of Arrested Development is that, after a clunky start, it does get better so that by the longer episode “Red Hairing” the show is actually funny and fun again.

Flashing back to the final episode of Season Three, the fourth season of Arrested Development is built around how none of the members of the Bluth family showed up for Lucille’s hearing in maritime court. The episodes then work up to all of the characters converging on the Quatro De Mayo harbor celebration!

After indebting himself to Lucille Austero and missing his mother’s hearing in maritime court, Michael Bluth finishes the Sudden Valley housing development and when it goes bust, he moves in with George Michael in his son’s college dorm room before fleeing to Pheonix. George Sr. flees to the Mexican border after buying property there to try to sell to the U.S. government to use to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants. After Lindsay goes to India on a spiritual retreat, she and Tobias buy a mini-mansion in 2006 and end up at a Methadone Clinic (Tobias thinks it’s “Method One Clinic”) where Lindsay meets Mark Bark, the son of Johnny Bark, the guy she once spent time with in a tree. Tobias ends up as methadone addict and actor while Michael goes to work for Imagine Entertainment. G.O.B. pops up, having started an unsuccessful Christian magic act before George Sr. asks Michael to give him a job. The episodes build up to the hearing and then deals with the aftermath, building up to the Quatro de Cinco and the aftermath of the collapse of Herbert Love’s campaign.

Opening with “Flight Of The Phoenix,” Michael Bluth finds himself in debt to Lucille Austero to the tune of $700,000. After debasing himself with her, he flees to the old model home he and G.O.B. uses a roofie on him. Six months prior that forgetful Quatro de Mayo, Michael was attending the University Of Phoenix while living in George Michael’s college dorm room at UC Irvine. George Michael, his new roommate and Maeby (posing as George Michael’s boyfriend) vote Michael out of the room and he flees to Phoenix, as he has long threatened to do.

“Borderline Personalities” picks up the story of George Sr. and his twin brother, Oscar where the pair is working on fleecing executives in a sweat lodge on the border of California and Mexico. The complicated scheme – whereby Oscar and George swap positions between a sweat lodge and an “inspirational classroom” type situation to get money out of the CEOs – is how George Sr. is avoiding of government questioning after stealing Stan Sitwell’s border wall contract out from under him!

A particularly humorless episode, “Indian Takers” tells the story of how Lindsay ended up in Shuturmurg, India on a mystical journey that ends up in a shopping trip. Returning to the U.S., she trades positive testimony at Lucille’s hearing for a house with Tobias and a fling with Mark Bark. She finds herself on an ostrich farm, missing Lucille’s hearing.

“The B. Team” returns to Michael’s story as he gets a producing credit in Beverly Hills as he goes to work for Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment. Loaded with in-jokes and the return of Kitty Sanchez, this episode follows Michael’s quest to get his father to sign his life rights to the project in order to make it happen. Along the way, he assembles a creative team with Warden Gentles, Carl Weathers, and Andy Richter in a pretty righteous lampooning of the Hollywood “creative process.” And he starts dating a mysterious woman who turns out to be the most obvious person possible given the set-up . . .

In “A New Start,” opens with Tobias getting entrapped on a local To Catch A Predator television show and is flashed back to how he went to India! After fracturing his skull in three places, Tobias ends up in City Of Hopelessness Hospital in India! Returning to the United States, Tobias recommits to being an actor and ends up working with Debrie where he tries to make money having his picture taken as the Thing while Debrie goes as the Invisible Woman and the two get repeatedly arrested and fined.

George Sr.’s story is picked up in “Double Crossers.” George Sr. works to aid Republican Herbert Love. After effectively bribing the politician, George discovers that Oscar’s land is not actually on the border. Oscar, posing as George convinces Lucille to send G.O.B. to work on the border. When that does not work out, G.O.B. comes to work for Michael trying to sell the units in Sudden Valley.

Gob’s story comes out in “Collony Collapse.” Before the Queen Mary sailed, George Michael attacks Gob when he finds out his uncle is dating Ann Veal. After deflowering Ann, Gob tries to break up with her (the funniest line of the season comes in this episode when Gob sees a print of Jesus), but ends up engaged to her. When he gets out of the engagement, he falls in with a youth entourage and he almost gets them all killed.

“Red Hairing” catches up with Lindsay in the desert working on the ostrich farm with Marky Bark and their ostrich. After Lindsay finds a check for a facelift from Lucille to Maeby, she goes with Marky to commit an act of nonviolent protest against Herbert Love. The disaster reunites Lindsay and Maeby. It also puts Lindsay in the position to be Herbert Love’s mistress.

Tobias returns to the forefront in “Smashed.” After a stint in prison, is registered as a sex offender (unjustly), and goes to work at Lucille 2’s Austerity rehab clinic. There, he is reunited with DeBrie and begins staging a Fantastic 4 musical. In order to advance that project, Tobias has to meet with Ron Howard and that leads to a catastrophe in the making.

At long last, Lucille gets an episode of her own in “Queen B.” Flashing back to fleeing the S.E.C., Lucille tries to use Buster for her alibi. When he does not come through, she is sentenced to three to five years at a very light security prison. There she joins a Chinese gang that is willing to finance the wall on the Mexican border and gets transferred to Austerity.

“A New Attitude” refocuses on Gob. Committed now to destroying Tony Wonder, he tries to get Michael and his son Steve Holt to help him ruin Tony Wonder. After signing his rights away for the movie, he has George Michael come with him to the Gothic Castle where he actually has a conversation with Tony Wonder and comes up with a new revenge scheme.

Maeby’s years are accounted for in “Senoritas.” After trying to get her parent’s attention, she flunks out of high school, briefly works for Imagine Entertainment, gets fired and goes through high school for five years. After a brief scare where she is worried she will be exposed by an undercover cop at high school, she pimps out her mother and helps George Michael start his own internet company.

“It Gets Better” fleshes out George-Michael’s five years. Right before his software company launches, he was in a band, becomes an exchange student and creates a software that is not what other people think it is.

At long last, the final Bluth gets his episode when Buster is the focus of “Off The Hook.” Flashing back to Buster getting cut off from Lucille, he goes a bit crazy and simulates having her around, but after a night of juice, he gets a juice hangover and misses Lucille’s hearing. After trying to make a go of his relationship with Lucille 2, he re-enlists in the Army as a drone pilot and after an injury is given a new (oversized) hand to replace his hook. He is given an anti-bullying badge and falls in with Herbert Love’s wife, Ophelia. On Cinco De Cuatro (sic), Lucille Austero reveals the truth of her manipulations of Buster to him.

The season finale is “Blockheads” and it opens with George-Michael and resolves the relationship he has with Rebel and has all of the main characters colliding at Herbert Love’s campaign event . . . with all of the self-serving characters focusing on their own stuff.

Like the series that preceded it, Arrested Development includes a wealth of guest stars. In addition to familiar recurring guest stars like Henry Winkler, Ed Begley Jr. and Judy Greer, the fourth season of Arrested Development has cameos by Alan Tudyk, Ben Stiller (he shows up for a shot in a print ad, several background shots and two decent exchanges in a later episode!), Mae Whitman, and Scott Baio. Isla Fisher has a decent recurring role as Rebel and Mary Lynn Rajskub’s Heart Fire steals the scenes she is in. John Slattery’s Doctor Norman also becomes a memorable supporting character. Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig open the new season exceptionally well as younger versions of George and Lucille.

The main cast is incredible. Given that all of the main performers return and they are great in returning to their familiar characters. Portia de Rossi looks unfortunately gaunt at the outset of the season and Mae Whitman fails to look as plain as Ann Veal originally did. But they perform their characters flawlessly and in a familiar way. Jessica Walter is given the best chance to show serious range when the show finally focuses on her. When Lucille has to illustrate complex human emotions, she sells it at least as much as she has previously sold her character’s loathsome indifference to everyone and everything. Will Arnett and David Cross get to perform opposite one another and their time together on The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret (season 1 is reviewed here!) clearly paid off as they are given more scenes together this season and they play off one another incredibly well. For most of this season, the performers look like they are having fun and they play their characters well.

The biggest danger of watching Arrested Development Season 4 as a fan is that one will spend the episodes gleefully pointing out connections between these episodes and the prior ones. By the time I recognized the waitress from a first season episode where Lucille did not understand her question, my wife began glaring at me (you can’t talk over the new episodes of Arrested Development!).

Arrested Development is a welcome show to get new episodes and the fourth season might start a little rockier than fans might want, but it builds up to the logical concluding point and it peaks in the middle well, making it well worth watching and getting Netflix for . . . even if for only this month. In fact, it is executed so well that it feels far more fresh than it actually is (the main plotline between Michael and George Michael was actually done in the first season), though it progresses the characters fans knew and loved. Season Four is more than enough to hold fans over until the movie is released and fans successfully get a fifth season.

For other continuations of once-cancelled shows, please visit my reviews of:
Family Guy - Volume Three
Serenity
Babylon 5: The Lost Tales

6.5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Movie And Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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DVD Extras Knock Juno Up Into Close-Enough-To-Perfect Territory!

The Good: Great acting, Wonderful story, Interesting characters, Good DVD extras, Fun, Funny, Soundtrack.
The Bad: A little underdeveloped on the love story.
The Basics: Juno impresses the viewer as a romantic dramedy about a pregnant sixteen year-old who is carrying her baby to term for another family and the struggles that entails.


I have absolutely no problem with admitting when I have seen an actor or actress who intrigues me. Sure, I've been known to look up the works of Anna Paquin and after Get Smart (reviewed here!), I'm pretty much bound to catch some more movies with Anne Hathaway. Since seeing X-Men 3: The Last Stand I have been looking forward to seeing Ellen Page in more films. So, when I finally was able to catch Juno on DVD, I was excited. I was eager to see Juno and not just because of a potential very little crush on Ellen Page, the film's star.

In fact, the only thing that kept me from seeing Juno when it was in theaters (other than being poor) was I had read numerous reviews that compared Juno to Napoleon Dynamite (reviewed here!). I was not a fan of Napoleon Dynamite and, if anything, I went into that movie biased in favor of it. So, with Juno, I wanted to go into it and be happy and excited, but I had trepidation based on other reviews. For those who might share the same trepidations, the only things Napoleon Dynamite and Juno have in common are titles based on the lead character's name, limited budgets, similar layouts of the movie poster and the way young people seemed to have latched onto the films. The truth is, Juno is funny, witty and wonderful in all of the ways that Napoleon Dynamite failed to be.

And on DVD, Juno is even better.

Juno MacGuff is a sixteen year old who makes love with her boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker and finds herself pregnant. Intimidated by the prospect of getting an abortion, Juno decides to carry the child to term and she finds a couple who are looking to adopt a baby. As Juno and Paulie become estranged from one another, Juno finds herself visiting Mark and Vanessa Loring more often with updates on the baby that will be theirs. While Juno's parents are remarkably supportive and her best friend Leah sticks by her, Paulie drifts away from her.

But soon, Mark and Juno's friendship opens Mark up to the memories of the life he wanted and his trepidations about being a father begin to override his marital vows. As Juno's pregnancy progresses, she experiences the solitary life of being a teenage girl carrying a baby and works to figure out who she is.

Juno works on so very many levels that it seems best for me to start with what doesn't work. Juno quickly becomes a movie that is a subtle love story. It's all about discovering love after the sex and it is clever and smart in that regard. The problem with Juno is only in that it does not devote nearly enough time to the relationship between Juno and Paulie. In other words, while the movie works exceptionally well at defining Juno and exploring the nature and struggles of being an unwed teenage mother-to-be, it falls down when it comes to developing the relationship between Paulie and Juno. Their relationship is strained but what genuinely brings them back together is not clear or well-defined in the film.

Fortunately, we have DVD. In the deleted scenes, there are more scenes wherein Juno describes her feelings for Paulie and that works exceptionally well. Lacking that, I have to admit Juno is not a perfect movie. On DVD, it is close enough. As an avid cinephile who watches an obscene amount of television and movies for edification and review, it has been such a long, long time since I even had the pleasure of debating whether or not a movie was perfect or a near miss. Juno makes that a damn good debate.

What makes Juno work so well is that it is smart and unsimple. The plot is one that has not been overdone for theatrical films. Young woman gets pregnant might be a common soap opera conceit, but it is not one that has been translated to cinema with any frequency. So, it is fresh in that regard. But perhaps as important, the fact that the surrogate family and the pregnant girl develop a relationship is - to my knowledge - unique in films of the new millennium.

The realism with which the circumstances are presented is enhanced by the vivid and unique characters that populate the Minnesota town where Juno lives. Juno is a disaffected teenager who is brash and quite happy to do her own thing. She fearlessly calls up a clinic "to schedule a hasty abortion" and while it generates an easy laugh, it cleverly defines a girl who - despite being in transition - has a strong sense of self. Indeed, one of the hallmark concepts of Juno is that the title character admits to not knowing just what kind of person she actually is. What she is, though, largely, is actualized enough to not worry about others' perceptions of her and instead focus on figuring herself out. While that might seem dry and only worthy of small, independent films like Juno, it actually works in a very cinematic way.

Director Jason Reitman, who also directed the satirical and clever Thank You For Smoking (reviewed here!), presents Juno as a fearless character who parts the sea of students at her high school in scenes that work for more than just the movie trailer. Moreover, Reitman has a great eye for directing Diablo Cody's ideas from the most simple - like driving a toy car over her enlarged abdomen - to the fast and complex dialogue. Scenes like Juno getting an ultrasound with her stepmother and best friend are instantly memorable, as is a very simple scene wherein Juno's father Mac tells her his notions of love. Juno looks good and has a sense of movement to it that tells the story in a simple, straightforward and refreshingly romantic way.

The relationship between Vanessa and Mark is as well-defined as it can be given how few scenes take the camera off Juno. The thing is, it becomes instantly clear that Vanessa is the driving force in the young couple's desire to have a child. Mark - from his first scene - seems much more lukewarm about the concept. The reality of the strain having a child puts on a relationship is beautifully and entertainingly transposed for the viewers.

Moreover, the budding relationship between Juno and Mark keeps a sense of tension to the movie, which might otherwise seem slower than many would like. Cody's script infuses a sense of tension between the two characters that is vivid and is effortlessly brought out by Reitman and the cast.

On that subject, Juno is an easy winner for viewers. This is a movie that not only has an exceptional cast, but it knows how to use it very well. For example, Allison Janney, who established her dramatic presence on television's The West Wing (reviewed here!) with a sense of consistency appears in Juno is a role that is very different. She is allowed to be much more expressive and that range that she illustrates from her opening moments will please those who are fans. It's always refreshing to see actors and actresses we know do things in a way that they have not before.

Conversely, it becomes clear from his opening scenes that Jason Bateman was cast based on his work from Arrested Development (reviewed here!). Bateman does not so much wow us with anything he has not done before, as he impresses viewers once again with the notion that he is a master of the deadpan and portraying irony. Bateman is a cool, sly performer and his performance in Juno makes Mark memorable for a man who misses being part of the cool crowd. It is Bateman who defines that undertone to the character and it works beautifully, especially playing off Page's Juno.

The other noteworthy performance - outside the star - comes from Jennifer Garner. Garner reminds the viewer that she has range. Just as in Catch And Release (reviewed here!), Garner plays a woman who is struggling with complex emotions and Garner's ability to act, even without saying a word, defines her character beautifully. As Vanessa, there are scenes where Garner does such simple things as look into a wine glass while Mark is talking to her and it speaks volumes. Garner is impressive and Juno adds to her repertoire of memorable performances.

But it is, in fact, Ellen Page who is forced to carry much of Juno and Page is brilliant. As a young actress, there is often a push to be active and more sensual than anything else. Page devotes her time on screen to emoting with her eyes, delivering her lines with genuine wit and convincing the viewer that she is actually pregnant. She does all of these things magnificently. She makes the comedic aspects funny and she keeps the dramatic moments real. Despite my problem with the love story between Juno and Paulie being underdeveloped, the scenes where Page interacts with Michael Cera's Paulie are completely convincing. When Page delivers lines about her character's feelings she is absolutely real and she deserves every nomination and award she won for her performance as Juno.

On DVD, Juno appears packed with extras. The commentary track featuring Reitman and Cody is insightful, funny and worth listening to more than once. The deleted scenes are entertaining and the commentary that accompanies them to tell the reasons for their exclusion are engaging and worthwhile. There are enough bonuses on the DVD that make the viewer want to celebrate the movie and be satisfied with it as a work worth owning and rewatching over and over again.

Who could ask for more?

For once, it's easy to say I'm satisfied.

For other works with Ellen Page, please visit my reviews of:
Super
Inception
Whip It
An American Crime
X-Men III: The Last Stand
Hard Candy

9.5/10

For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the movies I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Two People Find Their Self-Worth In Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist!

The Good: Interesting characters, Humor, Pacing
The Bad: Predictable plot, Obvious acting
The Basics: A fun movie featuring a very realistic view of young relationships, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is funny and has a decent theme.


Right up front, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is above average, but not by much. There is enough in the film - especially the way it left me feeling good, even after an hour after watching it - that I don't begrudge it the seven out of ten I am giving it. That said, there is enough in it that I was less impressed by that makes me think when the buzz (from the movie) wears off, I'll be wishing I had not let a coin decide the rating's fate.

That said, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is a fun romantic comedy in exactly the same way a Kevin Smith comedy is fun. Smith tends to disguise something meaningful as far as friendships and relationships under a usually placid facade and barrage of dick and fart jokes. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist does not have that as much as it uses some pretty juvenile gross-out humor (anyone who likes chewing gum will likely be unable to for at least a month after seeing this film). This movie is based upon a novel and this review is for the film only; I have never read the novel and thus I shall not compare or offer analysis on the quality (or lack thereof) of the adaptation.

Norah is a high school senior who has been introduced to Nick through the mix c.d.s he makes for his ex-girlfriend, Tris. Tris is an acquaintance of Norah's and so completely disregards Nick's attempts to reconcile with Tris that Norah is forced to rescue his mixes from the garbage can at school. One Friday night in New York City, one of Norah's favorite bands - Where's Fluffy? - is playing a secret show. This is the same night that Nick's band, the Jerk-offs, is playing in the City. Norah and her friend Caroline catch the Jerk-offs' show and when Tris shows up, Nick is shaken and when she spites Norah, Norah desperately grabs Nick and claims that she came with him.

Nick's gay bandmates offer to take the drunken Caroline home in order to try to get Nick and Norah together (with the aid of a push-up bra), mostly because they disapprove of Tris that much. While Nick and Norah begin to search New York City for clues as to where the secret show for Where's Fluffy? will be take place, they converse, flirt, fight and ultimately overcome obstacles and figure out who they want to be as opposed to who they have been.

Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is fun, but what works best is that for a film that is so utterly predictable - this is basically a road movie - it manages to keep the viewer guessing. In their first in-person meeting, Norah kisses Nick in order to establish the facade for Tris that they are dating. In that kiss, Norah begins to melt into Nick in a way that seems to indicate that this is going to be a love-at-first-kiss type movie. Fortunately, the film decides to go with a little more realism than that and both characters withdraw, gently feel out and run into a great many obstacles, most of which are within themselves.

That is perhaps the most clever aspect of Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist; both protagonists have serious issues and hang-ups that make a sudden change in their romantic lives difficult, if not completely unrealistic, for them. One kiss from Norah does not wake Nick up to the idea that there are other women out there; he remains largely hung up on Tris. People do tend toward the familiar and Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist captures that well.

The movie also captures well the sense and sensibilities of young love. In this regard, Tris is actually a remarkably realistic character. In addition to simply coveting what she does not have, the flirtatious way she tries to interest Nick is both very juvenile and very real. Her sense of exhibitionism and the idea that in her mindset that might make things right between her and Nick is very realistic for a young woman who is still figuring out relationships and sexuality. And it is easy to empathize with her when Nick leaves her stranded. She is not the most likable character, but she is not as monolithic as she initially appears.

Similarly, Norah is not monolithic either. Doors open for this young woman all night and it doesn't take much in the way of observation skills to catch this. The film smartly explains this and the payoff is worth not ruining in a review. In fact, the only truly monolithic character is Nick. Nick is a sensitive and pretty solidly "straight edge" guy who is comfortable enough with himself and his friends to be the only heterosexual in an otherwise gay band. But, he has a serious blindspot and that is that he is attached to Tris. The thing is, it is hard to argue that he grows in the course of the movie. Instead, he opens up to redirecting his heart and his love. The cynic and realist in me notes that there is nothing particularly more stable and beneficial illustrated in Norah than with Tris; she is just a different type of risk relationship (one who is unlikely to cheat on him, at least).

Because I have mentioned it a few time, it is worth noting that Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist presents a pretty positive view of homosexuals. Accompanying Nick, Norah and the drunken Caroline are three young, hot gay men who - it is refreshing to see in American cinema - are not used simply as the butt of jokes or mocked. In fact, they are in some ways the most actualized characters in the film and they work well for providing humor and a chorus to Nick and Norah's adventure.

As far as the acting, goes, Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is a tough sell for me. The movie is inarguably well cast. Kat Dennings, whom I was only familiar with from her performance in Charlie Bartlett, plays another quasi-outsider who has a depth and maturity to her for her age in Norah. Norah and Susan (her character from Charlie Bartlett) bear a number of similarities most notably they are infused with Dennings' confidence and smile. Note to writers and directors utilizing Kat Dennings in the future: Stop having her tell audiences that she's not attractive! Kat Dennings has been condemned to play characters who think that they aren't attractive and there is something patronizing about seeing a self-depricating Hollywood-beautiful young woman in pretty much the choicest demographic there is. Kat Dennings is stunning and part of that is the actress's confidence, so lay off the "I'm so ugly" b.s. That said, Dennings does have some quiet scenes where she masterfully plays wounded and unconfident in such a way that it actually makes the viewer question which way the film will ultimately go.

And while I can forgive any acting/typecasting issues with Kat Dennings (largely due to the fact that she has not appeared in much that I have yet seen!), Michael Cera's performance is all casting. Michael Cera is the perfect awkward, articulate, sensitive guy on film. He played that as Paulie in Juno, after a long string of other, similar performances. This is the one note that directors want Cera to play and at this point, he is not acting, he's just presenting different lines. I'll be impressed when I see Cera on screen playing an unsympathetic serial killer. Seriously, that is the extreme we need to see Cera go to to suggest that he can act now. The best that can be said of his performance in Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist is that he is certainly a master of his niche.

That said, anyone who likes a good romantic comedy about young love will find something to like in Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist. It is laugh-out-loud funny in places and it does have a strong and worthwhile theme. People younger than myself will probably like the soundtrack as well, but for me it was simply mood music that helped enhance the characters.

For other works with Jay Baruchel, please visit my reviews of:
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
How To Train Your Dragon
She's Out Of My League
Million Dollar Baby

7/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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A Very Short Season: Arrested Development Comes To An Abrupt End With Season Three!

The Good: Entirely funny, Good performances, Decent DVD bonus features
The Bad: SHORT, Replays less well.
The Basics: Funny, well-acted and with a strong, serialized story, Arrested Development Season Three is a hilarious conclusion to the neglected television comedy.


Recently, a friend of mine said Arrested Development was recommended to her and when she started watching it, she just did not get it. This did not, actually, surprise me. Arrested Development is one of the rare examples of an American sitcom which possesses wit. The humor is dry, the deliveries are often understated and the show does not usually spell out all of the jokes, so if one goes over your head, you're likely to be lost for some time. As well, Arrested Development is one of the rare serialized comedies, so the episodes build upon one another.

With the third season of Arrested Development, the series found itself in the odd situation of being renewed, yet getting very little support from the Fox network, where it aired. In fact, one of the ironies about the series, illustrated in this DVD set, is that the show had its aired series finale ("S.O.B.s") before the network burned off the final four episodes on a single night over a month later! I remember seeing "S.O.B.s," but I had not even heard about the other four episodes, so the real treat of Arrested Development - Season Three on DVD was being able to see the rest of the series! Because the show is serialized, this set picks up right where Arrested Development Season 2 (reviewed here!) left off, with only minimal recapping. As a result, new viewers are likely to be a bit lost from the outset.

In the third season, Michael Bluth realizes that his father, George, is not in prison when the man he visits at the prison says "family comes first" and Michael realizes George's twin brother, Oscar, is serving George's term. While Michael tries to straighten that mess out, he tries to be a better father to George-Michael, who is avoiding his cousin, Maeby after they kissed in the prior season. When Michael finds George, he learns that all of the family's legal problems may be a setup as the British may have hired George to build homes in Iraq. With George under house arrest, Michael works to find the evidence to exonerate his father and his family.

In the process, Michael falls for Rita, a British woman who has a secret of her own. As the Bluth Company rebounds from its years of bad press, Gob deals with discovering he is a father and Lindsay and Tobias move closer to a divorce. To that end, Lindsay tries to seduce her new divorce lawyer, Bob Loblaw (say it fast and you'll get the joke) with mixed results. With Lucille wearing George out with her daily needs, George starts working on escape attempts as Buster works to avoid re-enlisting in the Army.

Arrested Development, truly, is one of those shows where describing the program seldom prepares viewers for the actual experience of watching the show. Instead, this is a comedy which is filmed as if it were a documentary - including voice-over narrations from Ron Howard - and the humor is quick, dry and not accompanied by an intrusive laugh track. So, for example, in the finale, as Michael plans the celebration of the stock moving up again, he puts Tobias in charge and Tobias realizes that because the party is happening on a boat, he might need to make some changes with the Hot Cops act that he hired. He says, ". . . something a little more nautical, Hot Sailors. Or better yet, Hot Sea. . ." at which point, Michael cuts him off with letting him know Hot Sailors is fine. Because the jokes are often language-oriented and fast without any acknowledgment of the fact that a joke has been delivered, frequently those not used to watching engaging television will be lost.

And Arrested Development is laugh-out-loud funny in its final season. The episode "S.O.B.s" pokes fun at both Fox for canceling Arrested Development and shameless pandering to test markets. As Michael tries to keep the family "relatable and likable," in advance of their "Save Our Bluths" fundraiser, the episode trots on a slew of guest stars, plays off the idea that one of the characters will die and even features the final few seconds "live" (it was live at the time, but not, obviously, on the DVD). The progression of cheap gimmicks is actually hilarious and it works because the show satirizes the establishments which were killing it.

As well, the show's humor works because it is so risque. George-Michael and Maeby are teenage cousins who are sharing a room and working to resist their growing attraction for one another, which is certainly not a common conceit in television comedies (all grossness with this long-running plotline is finally eliminated by the end of this season). Gob reveals that it is his habit to seduce the third place winners in beauty pageants because of their low self-esteem and when Ann - George-Michael's ex-girlfriend - comes in third in the "Inner Beauty" Pageant at the Church And State Fair, Gob sticks to his prior pattern. At the same fair, George gives a "startled straight" speech to the wrong tent of youth and basically graphically describes his prison experiences to a bunch of young homosexuals. The result is hilarious, but it is intended for adults. One of the funniest jokes is a simple cutaway to Tobias's new businesscard. When Tobias realizes has been both an analyst and a therapist, he tries to synergize the two and name he chooses is quite unfortunate ("It's pronounced 'ah-nall-rup-ist'"). And while the whole British spy parody plotline that occupies the early part of the season might not work for some, it is hard to argue with the humor of the Japanese disaster movie parody in "Mr. F."

Unfortunately, Arrested Development Season Three has only thirteen episodes, so many viewers are likely to feel cheated by the lack of content, especially compared to the prior two seasons which tend to be priced the same! On DVD, there are three episodes which feature decent commentary tracks and virtually every episode has deleted or extended scenes. There is also a blooper reel and a featurette about the last day of shooting the series (which insinuates the forthcoming film!).

To better understand the weird story of Arrested Development, it helps to know who the principle characters are. The Bluth family consists of:

Michael - The effective manager of the Bluth Company, he is the middle son of George and Lucille, left in charge when George was arrested. He has since been working to keep the family together. After selflessly working to hold together the various members of the family, he tries to prioritize George-Michael while still developing his own life. In this season, he falls in love with Rita, who may be a spy and he works to discover who Nellie Bluth - a heretofore unknown Bluth whose accounts seem to be holding most of George's embezzled money - is,

Gob - The eldest son, he discovers that he is Steve Holt's father. He also runs away from that both literally and through the use of his stash of roofies. He continues his slimy ways, though he makes far fewer attempts to work as an illusionist, including hitting on anyone he can as a form of revenge against Michael,

Buster - The youngest son, he is missing a hand as a result of an encounter with a seal. Tricked into re-enlisting, he becomes an unlikely hero when Gob is captured in Iraq,

Lindsay - Michael's twin sister, she is flirtatious and vain. When Barry Zuckercorn is fired as the family's lawyer, she begins to hit on the new lawyer, Bob Loblaw, and use him to try to get a free divorce and then set her up for a life without having to work. She is looking to be with virtually anyone but Tobias and one of the season's big secrets centers around her,

Tobias - Lindsay's husband, an out of work actor and therapist who is so deep in the closet only he seems to not know he is gay. He gets hair plugs, with disastrous results, which nearly cost him his life. He and Lindsay try to reconcile, but discover their mutual attraction for other men to be a stumbling block,

Maeby - Lindsay and Tobias's daughter, as proven by troublingly graphic photographs, she is a fifteen year-old who has swindled her way into working at a major studio as a script doctor, producer and director. After sharing a kiss with George-Michael, she freaks out and works to avoid him as best she can. In order to prove how the progressive beauty pageants still pander to traditional notions of beauty, she enters the Inner Beauty Pageant as her wheelchair-bound alter ego, Shirley,

George-Michael - The nervous son of Michael, he is attracted to Maeby and works to resist his attraction. Disappointed by Michael's lack of attention, he works to become a good worker and student, while slowly developing a backbone,

Lucille - The matriarch of the family, she is essentially a drunk who cares only for herself. With George under house arrest, she finally gets some with some regularity and neglects Buster as a result. She schemes constantly to keep the family fortune,

Oscar - George's twin brother, he is imprisoned in George's place, but is largely absent for the season,

and George - Under house arrest as the charges against him are investigated, he tires quickly of his wife's many advances and he makes regular escape attempts. He is a corrupt adulterer who has a strong survival instinct, which is engaged usually at the peril of his family.

Arrested Development's characters work so well because the cast is exceptional and they play off each other wonderfully. Jason Bateman holds the show together with his dry presentation of Michael Bluth. Bateman and Michael Cera (George-Michael) play off the absurdities of Tony Hale (Buster), Will Arnett (Gob) and David Cross (Tobias) to make the season hilarious. While Cross and Hale are used for physical comedy, Portia de Rossi does a ton of the show's sarcastic and more subtle humor. The ensemble plays to their strengths and by this season, they all have their parts down pat.

Arrested Development works out wonderfully on DVD, but because the season is so short, it does not replay as well as some of the others. As well, it holds up less well on its own because it is essentially the final act in a serialized story. Ideally, one should pick up all three seasons and under those circumstances, the third season is indispensable.

For other works with Jason Bateman, please check out my reviews of:
Couples Retreat
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Arrested Development - Season 1

5.5/10

For other television reviews, please click here to visit my index page on the subject!

© 2011, 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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