I want to like this movie. Considered as entertaining brain candy, I do like it. But my appreciation of the cast’s talent, hilarious script and physical comedy is tempered by a couple of things.
I get that the opening and closing scenes can be viewed as visual spoofs, but really? Did the film need this degree of explicit body bumping to be successful? The answer is no. Any number of alternatives might have earned the movie an unqualified yes rather than a mildly disappointed one. And do we need another movie scripted on clichéd versions of female characters? (Melissa McCarthy, from television’s “Mike and Molly,” is a welcome exception.)
Yes, the movie is funny. There are memorable scenes I’d like to see again and a movie generating laugh-out-loud, tears-streaming-down- your-face, hold-your-belly laughter has merit. Still, I’d like to see a film about women as comedically successful as this one that goes beyond formulaic. Now that would be a breakthrough.
Posts
