Trailers of the Week 3

My pick this time around is the web-leaked preview of Oliver Stone's upcoming biopic "W." What is there to say? It's probably going to be really fun. I laughed out loud when I saw Karl Rove and Tony Blair.



And even though I know it's not technically a trailer, I also want to post this little doozy, which has changed my life. Enjoy:

Bleep It: The Problem With the R-Rated Comedy

In 2005, moviegoers like me were surprised to see a film, simplistically titled "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," surpass all expectations for what comedies had been up to that point. A new genre was born (or at least re-born), launched from the womb of Judd Apatow, who has become the patron saint of the R-Rated Comedies which are now moving into theaters like noisy, raunchy, but nonetheless endearing roommates nationwide.
The same summer as "Virgin," another film defied expectations - "Wedding Crashers," which could have been an easy PG-13 vehicle for Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, instead included plenty of breasts and cursing. And though it has no connection to Apatow, it is just as important to me in the founding of the current movement of vulgarity-filled comedic cinema.
For too long, it has been common knowledge that a PG-13 rating can act as a drain on creativity - in an attempt to appeal to a much larger audience, films lose their edge and a lot of what makes them special. But somehow Apatow and his peers have burst into popular culture with what some might describe as an assload of hits, most of them unabashed in their own crudeness.
"Knocked Up," "Superbad," "Walk Hard," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and currently "Step Brothers" and "Pineapple Express"; that's a lot of films in just two years, all emblazoned with an R-rating and Apatow's brand.
But it's hard not to notice a trend in these films which has started making me uneasy. It had been in the back of my mind since the gratuitous male nudity in "Walk Hard" and (from what I've heard) "Sarah Marshall," but it didn't strike me until viewing "Step Brothers" this weekend. The problem is this: the presence of an R rating for no reason... other than to have an R rating.
In "Virgin" and "Knocked Up" it made sense not to censor anything (even the latter's notorious "crowing" shot) - these were films which, despite their humorous plots, attempted to be no-holds-barred examinations of relationships, which are not PG-13.
The same holds true for "Superbad," I believe, because once again the film attempts to be unabashed in its presentation of realistic teenage interaction and a very real topic (underage drinking).
This logic does not apply as cleanly to "Walk Hard," however - the film apes biopics like "Ray" and "Walk the Line," but both of these films were PG-13. Why does the parody need to surpass that rating? For comedy effect, I suppose, but I would argue whether there was much true comedic value to mined from "Walk Hard."
I won't criticize "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" because I didn't see it. From what I've heard it is a truly average film, gaining notoriety only because of several penis shots and three syllables: Ap-a-tow.
This brings us up to "Pineapple Express" and "Step Brothers," the latest in the line of vulgar Apatow-fueled comedies. I'm using this term loosely because some inordinate violence in "Pineapple Express" pushes it a lot closer to an action film and "Step Brothers" just wasn't that funny.
Both films have their moments, but walking away from them I could distinctly feel that the public's honeymoon with Apatow-type films is reaching an end. Both films feel familiar, like re-hashing of plots we could have made up at home.
First, "Pineapple Express." Another buddy movie in the vein of "Superbad," it is surely enjoyable. I'll watch just about anything with Seth Rogen in it, and James Franco delivers a stoner role I have to admit I would never have expected him to pull off. "Express" has shocked audiences with its extreme depictions of violence, which dominate the third act of the film. The R-rating which I have been discussing sees proper and forgivable use here - it is a decidedly adult film.
Not so for "Step Brothers," which is altogether childish. Maybe that's why the R has never felt so forced as it does here. Characters, even those who are supposed to be mature, throw around "fuck" like it's going out of style. I knew a guy in high school who, whenever he cursed, sounded to me like he was trying to impress someone. That's the sense I got from "Step Brothers," which could delete every bit of vulgarity without losing many of its scant laughs. The cute idea which served as its impetus got lost amid all the bizarre and unnecessary obscenity - like a children's book trying to mate with an issue of Penthouse.
"Step Brothers" is, in a way, a combination of every bad aspect of both Ferrell and Apatow films.
There is no trace of the sympathetic protagonist that cemented "40-Year-Old-Virgin" and "Knocked Up" together. Instead, we get more thrashing and yelling from Will Ferrell, who I'm finally beginning to understand is just not that funny.
Cameos abound, but that does nothing to help the film achieve greatness (or even okayness) - they only act as reminders of other, superior films.
And as more and more films are these days, it just drags on and on. I don't need ninety-five more minutes of Will Ferrell acting like a mentally handicapped man-child. I've seen "Elf" (and, you know, just about every other film he's ever done). Ferrell is alright in small doses, but "Step Brothers" was like a keg stand of stupidity.
So please, Judd Apatow and Co., stick to what got you to where you are - smart, witty comedies targeted at adults.
Or, in words you might understand: Fucking stop making stupid goddamn motherfucking dumbass movies.