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Seems Like Old Times

 Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Charles Grodin star in Seems Like Old Times a 1980 comedy scripted by the legendary comic writer Neil Simon about an upper middle class couple in which the husband is about to be named California Attorney General while they are dealing with the fallout of the wife’s ex-husband forced involvement in a bank robbery.  Chase plays Nick, a carefree journalist and writer who used to be married to Goldie Hawn’s Glenda, who is a public defender.  Grodin is Ira, Glenda’s second husband whose political ambitions are threatened Nick’s situation and actions. Spoilers below: In the 1980s Chevy Chase was by far my favorite comic actor.  Chase’s ability to mold his face, deliver perfectly timed dry one liners, and perform slapstick could easily put me in stitches. I have tried to stick to his classics and really enjoyed the Vacation films, Fletch, Foul Play and thought he was the funniest element of lesser films like Three Amigos and Spies Like Us (th...
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The Idea of You

The Idea of You tells the story of a romance between a 40-year old art gallery owner and a 24-year old pop singer starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine and directed by Michael Showalter. The film is based on a book that I have yet not read where apparently the age gap was bigger.   Showalter has a comic background but the only other film of his that I watched most was his honest adaptation of Kumail Nanjiani’s true story The Big Sick, about the early days of Najiani’s relationship with his wife.  The film had a lot of comedic moments but was touching.  The Idea of You is a much bigger production with numerous concert scenes and it captures a sense of the crazed public life of a popular young singer. Spoilers below: I first saw the film when it was released on Prime Video and four things about it stuck out to me.  First, Solene (Hathaway) does not recognize Hayes (Galitzine) because her daughter had been the fan, not she.   Solene speaks to Hayes him norm...
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Naked Gun 2025

In 2023 I wrote blog post examining the Naked Gun films.  At the time a reboot starring Liam Neeson was in the works and in the post I hoped for the best but was a little concerned as I did not want to see a bad version of something I had really enjoyed.  Neeson is a fabulous actor and I’d always believed him completely in roles like the rebellious outlaw Rob Roy or as a man coping with a personal loss by bonding with his stepson in Love Actually along with his many tough guy roles in the wake of Taken.  In comedies I had only seen him spoof his own image in small roles like The Lego Movie or Ted 2.  Ed Helms had been mentioned as a new Drebin and that seemed a better fit given his broad comedic background.  Simon Pegg, a very inventive comedic actor (who has a good relationship with Paramount since he’s been in several Mission Impossible and Star Trek films) occurred to me.  Additionally no one from the original behind the scenes team (ie David Zucker) wer...
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Rob Reiner Films

Rob Reiner, an immensely talented director, producer and actor, recently died alongside his wife, Michele.  Reiner was 78 and still sharp and very active but unfortunately he and his wife were allegedly victims of a drug fueled assault by their own son.  I have always been horrified at the idea that drugs and alcohol could cause people to hurt those we love most but I want this brief post to focus a little on some of the work Reiner left us with.  I will not apply my usual star ratings since I have not seen these films in a long time. I have never seen This Is Spinal Tap (or any other concert film) but I will get to it and its sequel one day.  I was born in 1972 so was too young for All In The Family but I have seen several clips of it and know that it was an extremely impactful and funny program. Reiner as an actor in the films I have seen him in is fast talking and had sharp comedic skills as did his father, Carl Reiner.  I think Carl was probably funnier over...
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Bridget Jones Movies

 I remember when Cameron Crowe was casting the female lead for Jerry Maguire in early 1996 there were stories of a lot of famous actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Marisa Tomei, and Cameron Di being tested but Crowe was having a difficult time finding the perfect Dorothy.  Dorothy to some degree represents Crowe in the film and there is a character like her in all of his films.  Dorothy is strong but genuine and thoughtful and it is important that this character never loses this quality throughout the film.  When Rene Zellweger was casting I thought “who?”.  As I recall in the article that announced Zellweger’s casting Crowe said she was perfect and with Tom Cruise cast in the title role Crowe did not feel the need to cast a bigger name.   Crowe’s choice paid off perfectly.  Zellweger is the heart of Jerry Maguire and though her character gets put through the wringer and makes mistakes throughout the story she never loses her sense of self.  Zellw...
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There Will Be Blood

 One of my debits as a film fan is my big blind spot for Paul Thomas Anderson ’s work.  I admire how like Christopher Nolan , Anderson clearly has a lot of interests and his films cover different subjects.  I am reluctant to use the term “genre” to describe any of Anderson’s work because his films always tell stories about characters who are in a specific setting but they can take on any tone.  The trailers for Anderson’s films are often misleading and not too involving so I do not often rush to see one unless I hear enough about it that it grabs me.   The Anderson films I have seen are Magnolia (which I liked a lot), The Master (a worthy look at a Scientology like religion but I found it very difficult to understand a lot of the Joaquin Phoenix character’s actions), Phantom Thread (which had a intriguing character dynamic between a dressmaker and a young woman in England in the 1950s) and There Will Be Blood . I went to see this film on the big screen by mys...
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