God Bless America (2012)

"I know it's not normal to want to kill, but I also know that I am no longer normal." Frank (Murray) has almost had it. He is tired of reality TV, he gets fired from his job for looking up a co-workers address and just found out he has terminal cancer. He decides to end it all but right before he does he sees something on the TV that changes his mind. I must start by saying I loved this movie, but it is not for everyone. Bobcat is getting better and better as a director and writer. I have really like "Sleeping Dogs Lie" and "World's Greatest Dad" but I think that this is his best one yet. I can best describe this by calling it an extreme version of "Falling Down". Without sounding too un-PC or getting the FBI after me Frank in this movie does things some of us want to. Especially those who hate reality TV and are sick of the people on it. I am not advocating what is done in this but I did get a sense of relief knowing I'm not the only one. The acting is good but the writing is great. I highly recommend this but you must not be the type that offends easy. If you are and watch this...you were warned. Overall, Bobcat's best movie yet and one of the year's best comedy's. I give it an A.

Yes, it's preachy, but also tremendously intelligent and meaningful. Among a sea of shallowness, G.B.A actually has something to say. "Let's be more civil" is the theme here, and it's presented in the most graphic and blunt way possible. It does have some structural problems, but if it lacks cohesion, I believe it's because it ultimately succeeds in being one-hundred percent honest. Also, Joel and Tara should appear in way more movies. They are great actors (especially Joel) and so unsung...

It's great, but not for everyone, and Bobcat doesn't care. That's commendable in this day and age. He wants to insult Glee and Diablo Cody (I hated "Juno" for the same reason he does)? He does. He can't be bothered to care if someone won't like it or aiming for universal appeal thus stripping the movie out of all pottentialy controversial opinions or moments. And, boy, does this have them...

I loved it from minute one, but, I can't stress this enough, YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS PIECE DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU AGREE IDEOLOGICALLY WITH IT'S CREATOR.

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Are you one of those people who feel ill when exposed to reality televison? Did you watch the moive Idiocracy and think, "This isn't just a movie, it's a prophecy." Do you let idiots win arguments because it just isn't worth it to waste the oxygen? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then I highly recommend that you watch God Bless America.

God Bless America has to be one smartest films I've seen in years. This isn't some generic garbage that Hollywood poops out, with the intention of pleasing everyone...it's the exact opposite. This movie has a target audience, and you'll be 100% sure if you're that target audience, if you can make it past the first five minutes of the movie. If you can't make it past the first five minutes of this movie, I would suggest you go and enjoy some Jersey Shore reruns.

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"God Bless America" is good, but for a reason many people will either find strange or disagree with entirely: It's a movie that needs to be there.

As some other reviewers have noted, "God Bless America" is more of a rant than a movie, but the ranting is the reason for the movie to exist. It's a statement embedded in good acting and pretty cinematography.

It features a plotline that is by no means wholly believeable (that never stopped anyone from making an episode of The Mentalist) and it is nothing *like* entirely pleasant (that never stopped anyone from watching an episode of The Mentalist) in which two alienated loners, a divorced middle-aged man and a too-clever teenaged girl, find one another and go on a killing spree that features representations from a rogue's gallery of American incivlity and mental degeneration; one that includes, among others, a Glenn Beck clone, a "God-hates-gays" preacher and a large sampling of the superficial, the cruel, the entitled and the merely rude.

It is a rant wrapped in a thin layer of movie that displays a very linnear, paint-by-the-numbers plot, the point of which makes the movie almost like something Brecht might have written were he alive today. Goldthwaite's story and how he tells it, like Brecht's, pushes the viewer back far enough to see the point: that we are so bombarded by multimillionaire media personalities vomiting nonsense, dwarf-tossers, infinitely entitled celebrities and the people who have given us the worst of YouTube, that our world is riddled by a media-fueled cancer of noise in which each tumor of diseased culture is replaced by the next one so quickly that horrible events driven by horrible people have become our norm and we cease to notice the presence of the disease, that things were ever otherwise, or to imagine that anything else is possible.

"God Bless America" is a black comedy that at times is not entirely funny, but that is nevertheless worth watching for its point.

If it *was* entirely funny, it would be part of the problem.

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Thank You Mr.Goldthwait. Very funny and sadly true. I recomnd this movie to anyone who is not a complete idiot and can't think for themselves. Enjoy

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One Touch of Venus (1948)

After being married to Jennifer Jones (who is/was my particular 1940's screen love goddess), Robert Walker stars opposite a very erotic Ava Gardner, described by film critics in "The Naked Contessa" (1954) as, "...the most beautiful woman in the world", so she was aptly cast to play Venus, the goddess of love, in this 1948 production.

Robert Walker plays Eddie Hatch a lowly paid window dresser at the store owned by Whitfield Savory II (played by Tom Conway a relative of the suave George Sanders).Eddie is instructed to ensure that the curtain will not snag at the forthcoming unveiling ceremony of the recently acquired statue of Venus.When finished, he impulsively (he's finished the boss' drink) kisses the statue which promptly comes to life!! Eddie is to marry Gloria (Olga San Juan), who rather irritatingly, keeps reminding him they are to marry each other.They have drifted into their relationship and marriage just seems the next logical move but who said love is logical!! However, Eddie's friend Joe, (Dick Haymes), is secretly in love with Gloria himself but he doesn't know it.Whitfield Savory II is likewise ignorant of his subconcious love for his efficient secretary, Molly Stewart, played by Eve Arden in one of her typical wise-cracking, comic roles; (see her as Mildred Pierce's efficient manager in the Oscar winning film of the same name (1945) opposite Joan Crawford.

I was mesmerized by Ava Gardner as she spreads her instinctive love to bring all these true lovers together, while working her magic on Eddie himself who is soon in love with her.She seems reluctant to return to Mount Olympus as she is having so much fun here on Earth.She loves helping people but when her task is over, Jupiter, the head of The Gods, (who communicates by thunderflashes), summons her back to Mount Olympus.Reluctantly her effigy returns as a statue at the store, much to the relief of the Whitfield Savory II who thought Eddie had stolen the statue whilst she is in her live alter-ego on Earth.This sub-plot gives rise to some comic Keystone Cops type chases especially when Venus comically turns one of the "gumshoes" into an owl, albeit temporarily as she loves everyone really!.Molly believes Eddie is innocent good for her I say!

Watch out for Sara Algood who plays Eddie's landlady, (see her in previous roles as Mrs Beth Morgan in "How Green Was My Valley (1941) and as Mrs Maile in "Cluny Brown" (1946).The lovely song "Speak Low" is sung by Dick Haymes miming to his own recording while Ava effectivly mimes to another well matched singer's voice.Another song about men, sung in the ladies dressing room as a trio, featuring Ava, Olga & Eve.

The audience feels strong sympathy for Eddie and he is finally given his divine award (including a modest pay rise) when a very beautiful new store recruit called "Venus Jones" (Ava),appears in normal human form to him there.We have to assume this will eventually become another love match engineered by Mount Olympus!

I found this film hugely enjoyable as I love classic 1940's films having made them something of a speciality.It has fewer of the songs than in the original Broadway musical but this seems to fit the plot.It is a difficult title to find on video.I obtained mine by winning an e-Bay auction after searching on Robert Walker.

This 1948 comedy was adapted from a Broadway musical that starred Mary Martin and featured a score by Kurt Weill. Sadly, the music, except for three songs, has been cut from the movie.

The film, directed by William A. Seiter, is reminiscent of TOPPER, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN and other like fantasy-comedies that were popular with movie audiences during the 1930s and 40s.

[During the 1960s, TV shows like BEWITCHED and I DREAM OF JEANNIE filled this void.]

Robert Walker stars as a shy window dresser for a big department store, who impulsively kisses the store's invaluable statue of the Greek goddess, Venus. A moment later, the statue, played by Ava Gardner, has come to life and Walker faints on the spot.

Upon awakening, poor Robert discovers that he's in very big trouble. He's being pursued by the cops for stealing the statute and, if that isn't bad enough, it appears that Venus won't return to her pedestal because she has fallen in love with him. Even worse, his jealous girl friend (Olga San Juan) is convinced that he's been unfaithful.

Dick Haymes, Eve Arden and Tom Conway co-star in what is still a clever, if somewhat silly, romp that should entertain the entire family.

© Michael B. Druxman

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I'm not as well spoken as the previous reviewers, still, I grew up with this movie and watched it every time I saw it listed on TV. In fact, I'm always looking for a black and white copy I can afford to buy. It is just one of my favorite all time movies. I love the characters and most of the actors Eve Arden being my favorite by far and Ava looking so gorgeous, as well as Walker looking so vulnerable, confused and frustrated. It's a fun time 90 minutes or so of losing yourself in a far out comedic love story. I enjoyed the music and I'm one who tires of musicals after awhile this one did not bore me. Dick Haymes' singing is a joy. I recommend it highly to anyone even the more serious curmudgeons who feel they might not like it.

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This adaptation by director William A Seiter of the musical with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by S J Perelman and Ogden Nash is generally considered a bowlderisation, with songs cut and Mary Martin's stage performance lost in favour of the usual Broadway to Hollywood compromises. However there can be no doubt that casting beautiful Ava Gardner as Venus, the goddess of love, is apt. Here Gardner is more playful than usual, and even making her chase a reluctant Robert Walker can be forgiven. Although it is thought that great beauties are all the more desirable when passive rather than active, Walker not realising Gardner's worth is true to the slapstick comedy tone. The idea of Gardner as a marble statue on display in the art gallery of a department store, brought to life by window dresser Walker's drunken kiss at midnight during a lightning storm, introduces the unrealistic romantic narrative, with songs that appear without the musical genre strictly being adhered to. If I am happy to not have I'm a Stranger Here Myself from the stage show, it's because I don't like the song anyway, and even when Speak Low is presented unsatisfactorily and that Gardner is dubbed whilst singing it, cannot detract from it being one of the loveliest melodies Kurt Weill ever composed. I like how it is used as a siren song, where Seiter intercuts between Gardner and Walker, and Dick Haymes and Olga San Juan, with Gardner and Haymes both singing to departed lovers in a duet. As the only one of the cast who appears able to sing, Haymes also gets the bulk of My Foolish Heart, even if given new lyrics and a generally unappealing romantic partner in San Juan. The other song to survive is That's Him, where Eve Arden gets to join in as Gardner is dressed. Arden talks most of her lyrics but still it's nice to see her in this context, in addition to the barbs she delivers as comic relief otherwise, thanks to the screenplay by Frank Tashlin and Harry Kurnitz. I also liked Walker's line re San Juan "She's so terribly one track minded. Even when we have dinner together she eats rice", and there is a lowbrow moment when James Flavin as a detective is turned into a human owl by Gardner. If the others running around tend to become tiresome, there is still Gardner, looking ravishing in black late in the proceedings, and given a gorgeous closeup. And Seiter adds a sweet conclusion.

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ONE TOUCH OF VENUS is a musical comedy/fantasy about a window dresser named Eddie who kisses a statue of the goddess that then comes to life in the exquisite form of Ava Gardner. Venus falls in love with him; matters are further complicated when Eddie's boss is smitten by her loveliness.

The 1951 version of SHOW BOAT is another stage-to-screen musical that features Miss Gardner.

Parenthetical number prior to title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film research website.

(6.5) One Touch of Venus (1948) Robert Walker/Ava Gardner/Dick Haymes/Eve Arden/Olga San Juan/Tom Conway (uncredited: Arthur O'Connell)

"ONE TOUCH" TRIVIA--

Mary Martin was Venus on Broadway. Elia Kazan directed this S.J. Perelman play.

Mary Pickford bought the screen rights, intending to bring the original cast to the screen. Later plans included Miss Martin, Frank Sinatra, Clifton Webb and Bert Lahr, but when Mary became pregnant, Pickford sold the rights to UNIVERSAL and the movie was entirely recast. Plans to shoot in Technicolor were also abandoned.

The Venus statue of Ava Gardner originally depicted her in the nude; the studio demanded (and got) a more modest version.

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Piranha 3DD (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (2012)

The recent remake of Piranha was nearly pitch-perfect. Gleefully hapless characters (portrayed with excellent B-movie abandon by the likes of Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, and even Richard Dreyfus) trotted through the cliche-riddled story and provided both laughs and inventive, over-the-top gore. It wasn't out to win any awards, but what it WAS out to do -amuse and disturb -it did quite well. So, of course, they had to make a sequel.

Unfortunately, they neglected to include half of the original formula. Truly excessive T&A? Check. Obvious character archetypes doing/saying obvious things? Check. Humor, either hokey, offensive, or smart? Check. Scares and grind-em-up deaths?

Not so much.

The problem here lies right in the set-up: an unapologetically awful man (played by David Koechner) opens a water park (with an adults only section) and contrives to fill it for free from a nearby lake. Three guesses how that plays out.

Yes. The piranhas infest the water park, and therein lies the problem. I don't know if you've ever been to a water park, but every one I've ever visited appeared to have been planned and designed by a blind man with permanent vertigo. This is usually in keeping with the looping, curving, twisting paths of the various water slides and lazy rivers, and it means it's not that hard to get turned around if the park is big. The point being: filming in one must be hell.

There is never any real sense of place to the film, and the park is never given a wide enough shot to really show the scale of the disaster. At the same time, the very fact that people are inches away from simply hopping out of the water reduces both the scale, spectacle, and believability of any of the chaos. There's a ten or fifteen minute scene of people thrashing about in water that is two feet wide and three feet deep. Gone is even any attempt at terror or (failing that) anything close to the stomach-churning destruction found in the first film.

The movie tries to make up for this in other ways. There are a couple of piranha attacks outside of the park, one of which is so over-the-top ludicrous that it is almost annoying. I won't give away any details, but I will say that it's one step away from characters shooting live piranhas out of shotguns like some kind of Itchy and Scratchy cartoon. But that's probably the point. While the first film was an aggressive and ham-fisted satire of Swarm Horror, this movie seeks only to be a cartoon of it. It's not really the same thing, and so this film -if you'll pardon the pun -very much lacks the bite that made the first one such a success.

As a live action cartoon, though, it's not bad. David Hasselhoff does a great job of making fun of himself AND the film. ("Stupid ginger boy," he complains when he hears the screams of a kid who's getting eaten. "Why did you get back in the water?") He's one of the better parts of the film, although he is also overused. Ving Rhames, Paul Scheer, and Christopher Lloyd, on the other hand, are woefully underused. They brighten up their brief blips in the film, but all of them feel like they were added to the script at the last minute. There are some puns and gags that work, and some that don't.

It feels half done, is the point, and this is even evident in the run time. IMDB will tell you it's 83 minutes long, but that's counting the very slow credits crawl at the end. Perhaps knowing the deficit in their film, the makers put outtakes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel over half of these end credits. It's kind of like a nice, advanced special features addition, and I enjoyed it for what it was, but I also saw it for what it was meant to be: a quick, easy distraction from the fact that the film was more entertaining behind the scenes than in front of it.

Fun for what it is, but not as fun as it wants to be or should live up to. You might enjoy yourself if you have low expectations, or you might just have more fun watching Skinemax and putting some fish in a blender.

This movie cracked me up! If you've seen and enjoyed the first one, then you know exactly what you're getting with 3DD! It's a throw back to all the old exploitation films. Is it going to win an Oscar? Nope! Is there plenty of attractive, naked women, laughs and lots of blood? You bet! And isn't that why you're watching this movie in the first place?

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You will have to know before you watch this movie that this movie is far from being serious. I actually watched this movie because the first one made me laugh more then cringe. I was amused but overall not as good as the first. If you are into just naked women with big you know whats you will get entertained. Thats why I was, but to expect an actual cool storyline then you will be let down.

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Try as I might, I couldn't find a 3DD showing of this film, but did find it locally in just plain old 3D (which by the way, stinks). The movie is a sequel to the fun Piranha 3D from 2010 which I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn't Oscar worthy but it was acted well, had some scary moments, plenty of over-the-toplessness and was pretty funny. Not to be confused with filet mignon, it was still a darn good cheeseburger.

3DD opens with grad student Maddy (Danielle Panabaker, "The Crazies") arguing with her now widowed step-father (David Koechner, who seemingly tries to play his role dramatically) about the future of their inherited water park. Mandy, a 49% owner wants it to continue to be family friendly. Chet (Koechner) has the great idea to make it an adult strip club located within the water park. Chet wins the battle.

The film is set in the progressive state of Arizona so we are easily convinced that it was no problem getting approval for families with young kids to come in the same gates as horny voyeurs. Not to worry however as there is a fence that apparently separates the family friendly environment from full frontal nudity and pole dancing. The 48" rule applies. That's how tall you must be to see over the fence and the pre-adolescent boys take advantage. Those boys also have an advantage over the audience however as director John Gulager only lingers a couple nano-seconds when it comes to bare skin before moving on to the next shot. Hey, the movie's only 82 minutes. Gotta hurry.

But, this is a movie about deadly fish right? This particular water park would seem to be isolated from the now abandon lake nearby where all the piranha did their dirty work. Thanks to good old Chet who had sunk a deep water well near the park (where's that regulation Arizona?), the still viable fish eggs have their chance to hatch...and of course they do (thanks to Gary Busey). The well gives the quick growing meat eaters direct entry to the fresh water pools.

Piranha 3DD also teaches us a lesson about anatomy. I didn't know that a small fish could enter a woman's naughty parts (in this case, nubile virgin Katrina Bowden), then grow a bit with nothing more than the woman having a stomach ache. But wait. Shelby the virgin (Bowden) decides that it must be time for her to abandon her "V" status with her boyfriend. He of course is game but gets a climax he wasn't expecting! I know this all sounds fun but it actually is very boring and uneven. 3DD is missing all those things its predecessor had going for it.

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I dont think people understand that movies such as this are made to be bad and cheezy which is what makes it so good. I MEAN THEY BROUGHT THE HOFF INTO IT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! AT A WATERPARK! TO BE A LIFE GAURD! I know a lot of people are being so critical because they want to be a critic or whatever. But just know what the people who created the movie were shooting for as an overall product before criticizing. It is a great movie for what they were looking to accomplish. With all that being said, if your looking for a movie that is serious with great acting and an awesome plot and likely to win an academy award, this movie is not for you. If you are someone looking for a good laugh, like movies intentionally made to be cheezy, its a goldmine. All the "Critics" are just too opinionated.

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The Producers (Collector's Edition) (1968)

This is it! The source, THE PRODUCERS, the 1968 release with screenplay and direction by Mel Brooks, juicy parts by Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars and others, and a well-deserved reputation as one of the funniest movie comedies ever. Filmed on a pittance (less than $1 million, cheap even by Sixties standards), THE PRODUCERS almost died unrecognized until it became a cult hit in New York, L.A., Chicago and then, everywhere.

SPOILER GRAF: The plot is brilliantly diabolical: a corrupt Broadway producer (Zero Mostel) and his nebbishy accountant assistant (Gene Wilder) deliberately oversell a play with the design to create a flop and keep the proceeds. They hire the worst possible playwright, director, and choreographer and deliberately insult the drama critics. But the play is so hilariously awful it becomes awfully hilarious. The essence of 1960s camp: It's good because it's so bad.

It's hard to overstate just how good Mel Brooks' first movie is. The low budget forced a lot of outside shooting in New York City, and as a result the movie looks fresh, not cosmetized. The premise of a play about "Adolf and Eva in a gay romp at Berchtesgaden" was, if anything, more offensive just 23 years after the end of the Second World War than it is today. A big gamble on Brooks' part, but it played.

This edition is well worth the extra couple of dollars over the "movie only" version. It includes a second CD, apparently put together about the time of the 2001 Broadway musical, and contains stills, bios, and an engaging documentary about the film's making and reception. The last is especially fun since all the principals involved (except the late Zero Mostel) are alive and active and possessed of strong memories of that "kooky" classic-in-the-making.

The 2005 movie with Broadway vets Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick is proving a disappointment to those who remember the original movie or the 2001 Broadway smash. The new movie took the Broadway book and set it in an imagined-and expensive--"indeterminate past" full of late 1950s cars and fashions. Unfortunately, what works on the stage doesn't always translate on film, and despite all the talent and money involved, the new movie comes across as stagey, self-absorbed and at times a bit labored. And LONG: half again as long as this original, which clocks in right at an hour and a half.

The verdict: All versions of THE PRODUCERS are funny, but the 1968 movie is the one to start with. Enjoy it now at a great price.

CAUTION: MAJOR SPOILERS CONTAINED HEREIN...I have been a big fan of the original theatrical cut (circa 1968) for nearly 40 years. My biggest disappointment is that there is no video format that has ever kept that original vision intact. This classic comedy had been hacked up on network TV long before commercial video formats ever existed. By the time it was released to laserdisc, two terrific scenes were edited down or out (probably for reasons of pacing and flow). My personal feeling is THOSE SCENES WORKED BETTER left as originally conceived. The "INTERMISSION" sequence actually sets up the original ending for the film. Max buys the drunk at the bar his drink, makes a toast "TO TOAST", then ambles over to the jukebox. Max then invites Leo and the Drunk to sing-along

to "By The Light of the Silvery Moon". The truncated (video) version shows them already in the middle of the tune when the "Springtime" theater patrons rush in. Secondly, in the original version Franz stomps out "THE QUICK FUSE!" before the theater blows up. Perhaps Mel thought the scene played out funnier having the playhouse blow-up after their terrified screams. To me it doesn't. It is way too obvious and cliche. The original vision has Franz wiring the dynamite to the plunger box whereon the drunk from the bar completes the circuit, mistaking it for a shoe shine box. "OKAY BOYS", he declares. "SHINE 'EM UP"...KABOOM!!! This was unexpected and very very funny. I was hoping this new two disc release would restore the original vision of the film. Sadly it does not. I understand there is a deleted scene in this package. But the deleted scene was not deleted from the movie...it has been deleted from the video presentation. I agree with those individuals who balk at FORCED commercials, products or trailers on DVD. This is reprehensible. It ranks right up there with FORCED commercials in multiplex theaters. Last note: "THE PRODUCERS" is truly one of the funniest comedies ever made. If you have not seen it, rent or buy whichever release you can get. I hope the original theatrical presentation will be made available at some point in time for purists who hysterically (and quite literally) fell out of their seats back in 1968.

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"The Producers", which has gained newfound fame due to the Musical Comedy that Mel Brooks created based on this, his first movie, is also the best thing Brooks has ever done. "Blazing Saddles" was a gag-a-minute take on the Western, and "Young Frankenstein" was Brooks' spoof on horror, but in "The Producers", Brooks' made something that was entirely his own: a madcap, hilarious, perfectly cast satire of life on the seedier side of Broadway.

The late, great Zero Mostel stars as Max Bilalystock, a former big-time Broadway producer who has been reduced to seducing old ladies for checks to fund flops. Into his sad life comes accountant Leo Bloom(Gene Wilder in the first of several Brooks' collaborations). Bloom is a nebbishly high-strung auditor who offhandedly mentions to Max that a producer could make more money from a flop than a hit. This launches one of the most hilarious movies ever made, as Bloom and Bialystock scheme to find the worst sript, worst director, and worst actors to make the most tasteless and awful play ever.

The humor here is some of Brooks' finest. He expertley skewers Broadway egos, Nazis's, and greed as he tells the tale of the production of "Springtime for Hitler", written by an ex-Nazi who still holds onto the idea that Hitler was a great man. What keeps it from becoming an offensive movie is that the play is so hopelessly miscast and directed that it is just a big joke, and the fact that the audience knows that the Nazi is being taken advantage of steers the film away from the dark aspects of that ideology and makes fun of everything Hitler was trying to create. Wilder shines as Bloom, in his first major role, as he moves from loser to producer to desperate criminal, and Mostel shows his fine gift for broad comedy in his portrayal of the morally bankrupt producer who prizes money above all else. The film's funniest scenes involve bizzare breakdowns from Wilder, the hilarious alegiance to the defunct Third Reich by the playright, played with utter conviction by Kenneth Mars, and of course the play itself. The opening musical number is a sight to behold, and manages to spoof every over the top broadway production ever in the sense that everyone involved in the production, save Wilder and Mostel, take it so damn seriously.

The Producers has finally gotten the DVD release it deserves, and should delight anyone who loves Mel Brooks, and perhaps win a few converts who only know him from his latter day flops(Men in Tights, I'm looking at you). Brooks had 10 great years of moviemaking in him, and he starts it out with a bang in this film.

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"The Producers" was a very bold movie for first time director Mel Brooks to tackle. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder were not nationally known movie stars, and the subject matter was very controversial. To his credit, Mel stuck to his guns and made the movie exactly the way he envisioned it. The only concession he made was changing the original title "Springtime For Hitler," because no movie studio would promote a film and theater owners wouldn't show a movie with Hitler in the title. The first part of the movie is hysterical, especially watching Gene Wilder getting so agitated that he appears to actually be having a nervous breakdown! The scene at Lincoln Center is one of the most effective scenes ever filmed. Zero finally persuades Gene to go along with his crazy scheme, and Gene yells "I'll do it!" Just then, the water in the fountain majestically rises up. Gene giddily dances around the fountain as Zero smiles approvingly.

The opening dance number of the play "Springtime For Hitler" is outrageously over the top, with the dancers wearing Nazi uniforms and goose-stepping across the stage. Especially offensive to some is when the overhead view shows the dancers below in the form of a swastika. As Mel said in his interview, if you've gone that far out, you might as well go all the way. The cult status of the film has grown over the years. Life imitated art when "The Producers" was turned into a real Broadway musical. The staggering success of the play led to the film finally being released on DVD. As a great man once wrote, you can't keep a good movie down!

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"The Producers" and "The Wizard of Oz" are the two films that I have seen the most amount of times in my life---> 15 times each!! :) I totally agree with Leonard Maltin that it is "one of those rare films that gets funnier with each viewing." It really does, and I always find something new in it that makes me laugh.

Not only is "The Producers" Mel Brooks's first film, and one of his best, but it is quite simply STILL one of the greatest comedies ever made. Why? It's not just the plot, which itself is funny-no, it is the performances of the late great Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock (what a name!), Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom (whose name was derived from James Joyce's "Ulysses" whose stage version starred Zero Mostel), Kenneth Mars as "Springtime For Hitler" author Franz Liebkin, Christopher Hewitt (Mr. Belvedere himself!) as flamboyantly gay, and cross-dressing, Roger DeBris (another great name!), the late great Dick Shawn as "L.S.D.", and so on...and the interaction between all of them is just hilarious! Even all of the smaller roles get filled with with memorable characters. (Like the "CONCI-OIGE!") For the most part, they just don't make comedies like this anymore.

Now, they've just re-made "The Producers" for Broadway (as Franz Liebkin would say, "Broadvay...oh, joy of joys! Oh, dream of dreams!! I MUST TELL THE BIRDS!!!") I sure can't wait to see this version, even if it takes me a couple of years to do it. I've heard that it's been sold out for the next 2 years. It's just a testament to this film's timelessness...and the fact that it's REALLY funny!! If anyone reading this STILL hasn't seen it, well then what are you waiting for? Buy it, see it with your friends or family, and have a good time laughing. :)

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My Babysitter's a Vampire (2011)

My daughter loves this show and LOVES the movie. She stays up every night to watch the sows and if she misses them she watches them on youtube. She loves the movie and i hope that i can get it for her.

When I first heard a movie like this was being released under Disney Channel I, along with many others, thought "Oh now Disney Channel is going to help skewer the fascinting world of vampires...as if Summit Entertainment didn't do it enough."

I was pleasantly suprised, I have to say. This movie can appeal to almost anyone that watches it, that is if they are older than probably ten. Believe it or not, some of these action scenes have a lot of violence and blood and it could be a little scary to young kids.

Also, "My Babysitter's A Vampire" has a perfect balance of both cheesy and clever humor, plus the necessary action sequences of any good vampire movie. There is both physical humor as well as the typical clever jokes. And then they are followed by a violent action sequence.

That makes this movie perfect for both younger teens to laugh at the hysterical humor, and for older teens to both laugh and marvel at the shockingly violent vampire fight scenes. ONE OF MY FAVORITE VAMPIRE MOVIES OF ALL TIME!

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I love the movie and season one so I can't wait until season two comes out! I would put 6 stars if I could!!!!!!

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I really enjoyed this movie. I saw it when Disney aired it and was so wanting the DVD, which they are releasing. Vanessa Morgan is so gorgeous. Will watch it tonight when Disney airs it again. I was hoping I got it for Christmas and since it came up in search I just might.

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41 Year Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall (2010)

For the love of God please let this be the last of the "Spoofing Other, Better Movies" Movies, because this is absolutely the bottom of the barrel. For starters, somehow the people that made this movie failed to see that if any of those other spoof movies were actually any good, it was because they were making fun of movies that weren't already funny i.e. satire. Making a comedy making fun of other comedies is just a stupid idea, and this movie is proof of that theory.

The acting is as bad as the writing crap, crap, and more crap.

For the sake of us all, don't buy this movie you'll only encourage them to make more and they aren't worth the plastic they're printed on.

Let me preface this by saying I love most of the source material, laugh until liver pain during most Apatow movies, and think the spoof genre is hilarious (Leslie Nielsen is a god among men). With that said, the title is the movie and it's completely underwhelming. Former MADtv contributor Bryan Callen is the protagonist of an excruciatingly long and lame movie that poorly attempts to lampoon comedies that are infinitely funnier than this "comedy."

The lineup of spoofed films is as follows (I admit I may have missed a few during my boredom coma):

-40 Year Old Virgin

-Knocked Up

-Forgetting Sarah Marshall

-Superbad (changing McLovin's name to McAnalovin is juvenile, but funny)

-Funny People

-Twilight

-Slumdog Millionaire

-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

There were only two parts of the movie I actually enjoyed. First is a remake of the Dos Equis commercial with "The Most Interesting Man in the World." Funny stuff. The second is during the credits when they take a shot at the Verizon "Can you hear me now" commercials, which caused me to laugh out loud...something that didn't happen much during the actual movie.

The supporting actors are actually the best part of this film. Callen gets completely overshadowed by Steven Sims, who may as well be a Jonah Hill surrogate, by Austin Michael Scott, who did his McLovin impersonation once before in Disaster Movie, and by a brilliant performance by Stephen Kramer Glickman, who absolutely nails the Seth Rogan impersonation. (Unrelated: Glickman got a big break by coming on stage during a Jeffrey Ross standup routine)

Among the many problems with this movie is the simple fact that it's not funny, and I'm nearly the exact target audience. It's not the material. It's the execution...to which I'll add, I'm in favor of it.

Jason Elin

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"The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall And Felt Superbad About It" was written and directed by Craig Moss. It stars Bryan Callen, formerly of MADtv as Andy who is a virgin and goes through elements of the plot lines from "40 Year Old Virgin", "Superbad", "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Knocked Up", and even a bit from "Funny People." Andy after being accosted by his friends and after a date falls through with a girl he connected with named Kim (Noureen DeWulf) repeatedly meets up with Sarah (Mircea Monroe) at a bar where she gets really drunk celebrating and comes home with him after much projectile vomit. Sarah comes back the next day pregnant, but it isn't Andy's baby. Also a Jonah Hill look-alike (Steven Sims) is running around and McAnalovin (Austin Michael Scott) is stuck with a couple of crazy cops.

Besides Judd Apatow flicks, some other movies alluded to in this spoof are "Slumdog Millionaire" (McAnalovin has to jump into poo and the film finishes up with a "She's a Ho" instead of "Jai Ho" dance number), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Verizon Wireless ("Can you hear me now?"), and the Most Interesting Man Beer commercials.

As far as spoof comedy goes, at least the story flows ok. Sometimes spoofs are just stories and sometimes they are just minor skits loosely stuck together and this one does blend both of those formats well to incorporate outside the genre jokes as well as this tribute to Judd Apatow's brand of romantic comedy. Everything about it is extreme and gross-out humor, swearing, and sexual humor abounds. Very silly, but better than some of the stretched out spoof films out there like "Date Movie" or any "Scary Movie" after the first one. Some of the humor is REALLY nasty, but there is an audience out there for it that would like it. It went a little too far for me at times, but overall I find a lot of it to be funny.

Bonus Features:

There is a fourteen minute long making of the movie where they talk about getting a choreographer for the Ballywood sequence and that the director's wife is one of the Krämer twins in the film among other tidbits of information.

Business of Gags talks about how certain props were found and made like Andy's dong and chastity belt. Also you'll get to see McAnalovin get pelted with Diet Coke from a hose and the hair waxing gag. You'll learn the recipe to practical puke versus puke from a cannon.

Being Jonah Hill is an interesting little clip about how they found Steven Sims on YouTube after having a lot of difficulty finding a lookalike in his short film about being mistaken for Jonah Hill. Bryan Callen: Internet Sex Diety is about Callen's career on MADtv where he wore a leopard thong as Pool Boy and generated a lot of fan mail from jails.

There is a featurette about getting the movie made where the guys attempted to just pitch the title without a script. Then they decided to film a trailer for it with their friends (still with no script) and brought that to the pitch hoping it would get picked up and that eventually worked and you can see the trailer on this DVD.

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I'm going to go ahead and give a completely uneducated review on this movie since it's just not worth spending too much time reviewing. It sucks. Bryan Callen is the only reason I watched the whole thing. Seriously, a parody is supposed to be funnier or at the very least as funny as the original. This is one of those movies that will be on Comedy Central every Saturday at two in the morning for a month or so and then fade into obscurity. The formula for comedy is ridiculous in this movie. They basically take a funny moment from an original Apatow movie and turn it into an extreme, over the top, ridiculous moment. It doesn't work. I sat down watching this movie thinking that it must have some shred of originality or else it would have never been made, right? Wrong. I want to write so much more and give a million examples of why this movie sucks, but like I said, it's not worth my effort. By the way, I don't want to discourage anybody from watching this. You can all learn the hard way like I did. It sucks.

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I thought this movie had some very funny moments, but others were gross and annoying. One part I loved was that it spoofed Twilight, because I can't stand Twilight. Bryan Callen stars as Andy, a 41 year old who really wants to lose his virginity. His friends from the movies Superbad, Knocked Up, and Benjamin Button try to help him along the way. He meets Sarah at a bar, and she thinks that Andy is her baby's daddy after a 1 night stand. Andy begins to fall in love with another woman named Kim. Who will he choose? If you like spoofs and silly comedy, you may enjoy THE 41 YEAR OLD VIRGIN WHO KNOCKED UP SARAH MARSHALL AND FELT SUPERBAD ABOUT IT!!!

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Father Goose (1964)

If you liked the original The Odd Couple slob and compulsive neatnik thrown together in the same apartment or Heaven Knows Mr. Allison tough guy WWII Marine marooned on an enemy-held South Pacific island with a pretty nun, then you should enjoy FATHER GOOSE starring Cary Grant, Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard. I saw it once again on the telly this past weekend while doing the ironing, and I'm fortunate to be old enough to have an appreciation of all three films.

Grant is Walter Eckland, an antisocial, unkempt escapee from "civilization" that spends his time bumming around the South Seas on an old yacht. At the start of WWII, he's coerced into service as a "coast watcher", an observer stationed on a remote island as a lookout for Japanese planes or ships, by the wily and dry-witted local Royal Australian Navy authority figure, Comdr. Houghton (Howard). Eckland is bribed with booze to perform in His Majesty's service. One of his first assignments is to boat over to another island and rescue a fellow coast watcher. But, on arriving, he finds only his colleague's grave and the Caron character, Catherine Freneau, the daughter of a French government official, who's been stranded with a bevy of underage schoolgirls of which she has charge. Walter naturally takes them back to his island and his hovel, where the differences between the two adults soon surface. To Eckland, Freneau becomes "Goody Two Shoes", while, to the latter, her knight in stained armor becomes the "Filthy Beast".

While admittedly silly entertainment, FATHER GOOSE is a delightful romantic comedy that doesn't, like some of the current Tinseltown offerings, rely for laughs on sensitive body parts being caught in zippers, bodily fluids masquerading as hair gel, or carnal knowledge of apple pies. This film has Class, chiefly due to the presence of Grant, who character demonstrates more suavity unshaven and without socks than any one of today's crop of male actors dressed up in a tux. (Perhaps only Sean Connery, Robert Redford and Paul Newman are close to being in the same league.) Caron's strong-willed and very feminine Freneau is more than a match for Eckland's obstinately boorish masculinity a pairing made in heaven, or at least Hollywood.

Perhaps my high esteem for this film is more a function of nostalgia. But there're a lot of other films from that same period of my youth that are eminently forgettable, so I have to think that FATHER GOOSE is a cut above.

Cary Grant is cast as Walter Eckland in this very funny classic comedy. His normal sexy leading man characteristics are downplayed to let his comedic genius shine through. He stars opposite Leslie Caron cast as Catherine Freneau. They are an accident waiting for a place to happen at their first meeting, and it just gets worse from there. Walter is bribed and threatened into service as a watcher in WWII. Catherine is a diplomat's daughter given the responsibility of escorting several school children into a safer area. When they are all stranded together, the hilarity, and battle of the sexes begins.

This is one of my favorite comedies, and one of Cary Grant's last movies. No one does it like he does. A great film that the entire family can enjoy together.

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One of the immortal Cary Grant's last films, this particular one is a romantic, witty little gem. Well-scripted, well-acted, and full of really weird humor, this is one to treasure.

Walter Eckland has no intention of getting himself involved in World War II -no intention, that is, until he is "drafted" into service to the Allies. Basically he needs to keep an eye open for the Japanese. He reluctantly obeys, but his mission suddenly takes a weird turn when he rescues a slew of civilians: the prim, devious schoolteacher Miss Freneau, and her seven little girl charges. Before Eckland knows what's happening, they've taken over his little house, his clothes, his food -and his whisky. (It's the last one that really makes him nuts) To his horror, they won't be picked up for at least three weeks.

An extended, very witty battle of the sexes takes place, as Miss Freneau dodges and weaves around Eckland, and Eckland tries to retain some mastery over his domain. But a series of crises (comical and serious) force Eckland and Freneau not only to deal with the Japanese, but also with each other.

Cary Grant shows more of his versatility in this film, since his comical talents are usually passed by in favor of his rugged sexiness. That sexiness is buried in this one, under the scraggliness of a beachcomber who is rebelling against the world with alcohol. Revelations about his past are somehow quite appropriate; as a character in another of Grant's movies said, "you have unexpected depth."

Leslie Caron, whom I had previously seen only in "Gigi," is also in rare form here. She makes Miss Freneau both sympathetic and mildly repressed, with a dry wit and a very devious mind. She also manages one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a movie, where Miss Freneau gets drunk after being bitten by a snake. Her acrobatics ("Ooooooh, is it getting hot in here?"), weird confessions ("I'm a picture straightener!") and the occasional lapse into insanity ("Tell me, I want to know, what did my blood taste like?") are too funny for words.

Other highlights include the chaplain and the accordian player, and the delightfully deadpan Trevor Howard as a Navy commander who's not afraid to play dirty. The writing is excellent; the mutual realizations by Freneau and Eckland may seem a little hasty and contrived, but that can be easily passed by.

This is fine to watch with the kiddies -there is virtually no profanity, no smut, a little non-bloody violence, and children will probably enjoy the antics of the seven little girls (such as the of-repeated whine "I wanna go home!"). There is one scene of drunkenness, however, and we are treated to sly indicators of more mature material ("he... he made a GESTURE, sir!" "Oooh, he called the captain a dirty name"). The little girls themselves are remarkably well-acted by believable child actors, except for the oldest one. One particular highlight is the little girl who keeps biting Eckland's hand.

Recommended especially for romantic comedy fans, and for fans of Caron and Grant. Or simply watch if you're in the mood for fun.

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"Father Goose" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Made in 1964, it's a warm, slightly off-beat romantic comedy, starring Cary Grant and Leslie Caron.

Walter Eckland (Grant) is an irascible, middle-aged, slightly besotted curmudgeon sailing the South Pacific during World War II in search of...well, something...anything! After getting caught "borrowing" some gasoline from the British Navy for his boat, he's blackmailed into serving as a plane spotter. Resentful after being stranded on a tiny island, he misses his liquid companionship, which the Navy has taken from him and hidden. So, Walter vows not to lift a finger to help the Navy. He relents, though, (after being promised some liquid refreshment) and motors on over to a neighboring island to rescue a fellow plane spotter in danger of capture by the Japanese.

Alas, the fellow plane spotter is dead. Walter instead finds Catherine Freneau, a very proper, teetotaling, but attractive French schoolteacher with seven young girls in her care. Stranded on the neighboring island, she asks Walter for help. He reluctantly agrees, and they all return to Walter's home base. And then...

Well, I won't give the story away. Needless to say, fireworks erupt between Catherine and Walter, and the classic battle of the sexes is on!

This is a very funny movie, although it's probably better for the guffaw and the bellylaugh, rather than the outright howl of laughter. Grant is superb in his role as the gruff but kind-hearted Walter (a refreshing departure from his usual role as a romantic "smoothie"), and Caron nearly steals the show with her comic portrayal of the equally warm-hearted schoolma'arm hiding behind a facade of old-fashioned primness.

If you like a good old-fashioned romantic comedy with great action, a superb plot, sparkling screenplay, lots of laughs, AND featuring your favorite stars...you'll love Father Goose!

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"Father Goose" is a lot of fun and is arguably Cary Grant's funniest and finest film. Yes, he was great in "Charade", "North by Northwest", "Notorious", etc -but here his honed skills and comedic timing pay off in this very funny film and makes it well worth seeing. You don't have to be a Cary Grant fan to enjoy this film -but after seeing it, you will be.

"Father Goose" was nominated for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) by the Golden Globe and won an Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen in 1965. The cast, production, direction, photography, story -all are top notch.

The film looks terrific on DVD with an aspect ratio of 1.85. The South Pacific cinematography adds greatly to the visual impact of this film. There are brief bios and filmographies of the priniciples. That's all. No further extras. This film is 16x9 enhanced.

Highly recommended!

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Gypsy (1962)

When Warner Bros purchased the rights to the 1959 musical hit GYPSY it was intended to make a purely dramatic film, with songs from the Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim Broadway score confined to the theatrical sequences. Rosalind Russell was chosen for the starring (but non-musical) role of Mama Rose along side Natalie Wood as Gypsy Rose Lee. However just as this version of GYPSY began filming, THE MUSIC MAN opened in theatres and scored a huge hit. It was then decided that GYPSY should be filmed as a musical follow-up to THE MUSIC MAN. The production closed down and was revamped as a musical. Rosalind Russell could sing but not in the style her role demanded (all of Mama Rose's songs in the Broadway production were written in the original Mama Rose, Ethel Merman's vocal style). It was decided to bring in singer Lisa Kirk to assist Russell with the vocals rather than re-cast the role. The end result fully justifies this decision because Rosalind Russell's Mama Rose is simply magnificent and the combination of Russell and Kirk in the songs is so perfect you never know (or care) who is doing the singing. No other actress, before or since (which includes such illustrious performers as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Bette Midler and Tyne Daly), even comes close to conveying the monster in mother's clothing that was Mama Rose the way Russell does while still allowing the humanity of the character to emerge now and then only to become subservient once again to her driving ambition.

Natalie Wood is also excellent as Gypsy Rose Lee, who succeeded beyond her mother's Dreams. Her mother and daughter showdown scene with Russell is riveting. A young, vibrant Ann Jillian gives equally great support as Dainty June, the focus of Mama Rose's machinations for most of the film, who also went on to become June Havoc, one of the most celebrated stage actresses of her time.

Besides great acting, the songs are performed with a bravura and brilliance that far outclasses all other versions of this musical. In fact the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra plays this music so magnificently it makes the more recent Bette Midler TV version sound anemic by comparison. The Dolby Digital 5:1 Discrete Surround envelopes you into the proceedings and the sharp, richly saturated Technicolor wide screen image (2:35-1) is fully equal to the superb audio.

But it is Rosalind Russell in one of the greatest screen performances ever committed to film that drives this version of GYPSY to the top of the heap and makes this DVD a "must own."

You want a good Sunday afternoon musical? That was when I discovered "Gypsy". I had never before known of Gypsy Rose Lee, and was interested when I was promised by John Burke of AMC that I would "love the movie". And love it I did! I am a big Rosalind Russell fan, and this makes for one heckuva showcase for her! She plays the role of Gypsy's Mama Rose with a vim and vigor unlike she shows in any other of her movies. She is A PRESCENCE. She plays the role with explosive power, but with the understanding and heart that (hopefully) the real Rose possessed. And Natalie Wood adds a glistening sparkle to this cast with class as the vibrant Gypsy Rose Lee, dazzling and beautiful. She plays against her child star image by lustily singing and grinding to a stripper beat and playfully tossing her clothes off. Karl Malden is excellent as Rose's fiancee Herbie. And the Sondheim/Styne songs are all incredible, each a production and thrill: the showpiece "Let Me Entertain You", the bouncy "Have An Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone", the charming "Small World", and the exciting final number, "Rose's Turn". WHAT A MOVIE! See this one and "you'll have a real good time, yes, sir!"

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Based on the hit Broadway play, Mervyn LeRoy directed this under-appreciated musical gem. Rosalind Russell is Mama Rose, the mother of all stage mothers, grooming her two young daughters for stardom on the vaudeville stage. She pays special attention to her youngest child, blond Baby June, while Louise is relegated to the background. As time goes on, the vaudeville craze fades with the coming of talkie films, and now her bubbly blond darling, Danity June (Ann Jilliann), is desperate to break free, deserting the family act. Rose is forced to start from scratch, with wallflower Louise (Natalie Wood, who was always in her sister's shadow), as the headliner in a new act, which basically goes nowhere. One day, Rose and her troop, now called Rose Louise and her Hollywood Blondes, wind up in a burlesque theater, and young Louise finds herself drawn into the the role of a stripper. She sheds her shy persona and becomes the world's most famous stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee.

Ethel Merman originated Rose on the stage, but Roz Russell does more than an adequate job, despite the fact that her singing voice was dubbed in some musical numbers. She is strong, overbearing, a little eccentric, but at the same time, she commands the audience's sympathy when she realizes that her ambition has just driven her daughters away, and she finds herself alone, with no one to live through anymore. Natalie Wood gives a touchingly vulnerable performance, her thin but endearing singing voice expressing Louise's pain and confusion in extraordinary volumes. Since she was groomed by an obsessive stage mother herself, Wood really had the the material to draw from; her lessons from the real Gypsy Rose Lee undoubtedly helped in her character's transformation from a shy girl to sophisticated stripper (the striptease numbers are fabulous). Who doesn't shed her a tear when she sings, "Little Lamb", or feels enthralled as she performs "Let Entertain You"? As she studies herself before a mirror prior to her first night on the burlesque stage, she sees her beauty for the first time "I'm pretty I'm a pretty girl, Mama!" When she makes her mark, she engages in an argument with her controlling mother, bringing both to a heartache, and later, an understanding. "You really could have been something, Mother," Louise informs Rose after catching a bit of her "performance" on the empty stage.

Having seen the 1993 version starring Bette Midler, I still prefer this one; no matter what anyone says, Roz is not miscast, and this film does not, in my opinion, have any "clumsy" moments; it is a vintage Hollywood musical. Karl Malden gives a comedic and committed performance as Rose's suitor Herbie, who wants her to marry him and who wants to provide a home for her kids. A young Morgan Brittney plays little Baby June; seeing her makes you think of her as the "Jon Benet" of the 1920s. It's finally on DVD, as it deserves to be; the letterbox enhances the film in a way that pan-and-scan videos never could.

Everything's coming up roses . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Some spend the winter hibernating. I spend it hibernating AND watching musicals. This past winter in the Northeast wasn't quite as severe as some we've seen, but it was LOOOONG. The winter that wouldn't die. So I needed a goodly supply of classic musicals on hand.

What a treat it was to re-watch GYPSY after lo these umpteen years. Rosalind Russell's Rose is a study in great force-of-nature type acting. As it happens, hers is the only Rose I've ever seen, so I cannot really get into the who-was-better argument with any real authority. But it's hard to imagine that Merman could have played this archetypical stage monster, uh, mother with more authority on the big screen. My guess is that those who maintain that Russell brings subtlety to the character that Merman could not have are right. Merman may have been great on stage, where bigger is better (voice, manner, gesture and all out pizzazz), but what works wonderfully on stage may be deadly on screen (and vice versa).

Roz was the quintessential tough broad on screen. She projected warmth, as well as street smarts though--and that was the order of the day with the screen version of GYPSY. She's supported by a wonderful cast: Karl Malden, just great as always, as her big lug/softie of a suitor. And Natalie Wood, fetching as always, as the young, sweet vulnerable Louise.

GYPSY is as good a musical as you're going to find. Smart, touching, sassy. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Well, of course, they don't really make musicals much anymore, but you know what I mean.

I hope I won't leave Roz Russell fans crushed when I mention one thing, however. For years, I used to tout Russell's talk-singing as proof that a talented actor with even moderate vocal ability could always learn to put over a song. Now I learn from imdb.com that the vocals (some? all?) may have been supplied by actress Lisa Kirk. I am shocked--not appalled, but shocked. If those vocals aren't Roz's own, well, it's just about a perfect match. The songs are sung in as gritty a voice as Roz uses in delivering the lines. I have no doubt that Russell could have pulled it off herself, and it may have been the case that some suit at the studio chickened out and brought in Lisa.

Well, it could have been worse. At least they didn't go against type and drag in Marni Nixon.

PS--Ah yes, it only occurred to me to check a little further to see if there was a soundtrack album on CD to see what the real scoop on the Lisa/Roz business was. It's true that Lisa was brought in after Roz had already recorded her versions. Since Roz's outtakes are included on the CD, it's doubtless enlightening. The reviews (all customer reviews, in this case) are penned by fans in the know, and although no one can agree, they're well worth taking a look at if you're at all curious. Purchasing the CD may well be worth it if you're very curious.

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I loved this version of "Gypsy." I was a part of a school production of the musical, so I decided to see what the movie version was like. There are several differences, but this movie has the same flare that the stage production does. The DVD has the two songs that are missing from the movie (they are located in the bonus features area) which I enjoyed very much. I only wish that they had been in the movie in the first place!

Rosalind Russell is WONDERFUL as Rose, a mother who wants to make her children, mainly her youngest, June, a star. She travels, along with her other daughter Louise (played by the wonderful Natalie Wood) and Herbie (Carl Malden). All three characters gave great performances. I always get a lump in the back of my throat when Herbie leaves Rose after she refuses to set a date for their marriage and tries to make Louise the star.

After Louise discovers that she is very successful in her new profession--stripping, she changes her name to Gypsy Rose Lee and leaves her mother behind. Rose then goes on to sing the greatest song of the movie, 'Rose's Turn.' Rosalind Russell does a great job with the song, even if her voice is a little scratchy. Her acting was superb. I have always loved the ending (which I will not give away for those who have yet to see the movie). If you're a musical fan, rent this movie. You will not be disappointed!

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The Change-Up (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2011)

This movie, according to rotten tomatoes and other critics, is supposed to be lousy. In my opinion, this is far from it. It shows the sides of living the opposite lives; living a life of a busy/working man and the life of a down-to-earth/relaxing life. I personally found the movie to be eye-opening. Life's meaning is not to always work but it is also not to always have fun; just need to find the right balance. Great movie with funny moments and also serious and thought-provoking moments. The only negative thing is that they revealed too many of the funny moments in the trailer and left the audience with many predictable scenes. Nevertheless, I will buy the dvd in order to have a physical copy since it is a great movie.

I have no idea why this movie has bad review. It's REALLY hilarious and well-though. The writing is really strong unlike most movies out today. My friend suggested we see this and all 5 people watching this were cracking up. I would definitely rent it. :)

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THE CHANGE-UP is another film by the writers of HANGOVER AND HANGOVER II (Jon Lucas and Scott Moore) and the director of wedding crashers (David Dobkin): that should give a pretty solid clue as the what is in store in this film potty mouth and gross humor that is so very very popular today! The concept of the story (two disparate characters changing lives in a manner as magical as the fairy tale 'The Three Wishes') is not new and at times it becomes wearing, but the big difference here is that the characters are assigned to two really brilliant comic actors and so it works in the long run.

Two longtime friends are feeling distance in their relationship: Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) is a womanizing free-spirited life as an actor for commercials and 'lorn movies' (soft porn) who lives in a pigsty of an apartment, grabbing fast food where he can find it, while Dave (Jason Bateman) is a conscientious successful lawyer with a major la firm in Atlanta, and is married to a beautiful woman, and lives in a picture book house with three small children. The old concept of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence brings the men together for a drunken evening where while voiding in a public fountain voice that they wish they could change places. Thunder, darkness and boo, they wake up as the other guy. Mitch must carry on the functions of a learned lawyer while maintaining his own style and faces the duties of a parent of infants and a dissatisfied wife (Leslie Mann) while Dave attempts to adjust to the grungy Lothario existence as the lorn star, being pursued by the beautiful Sabrina (Olivia Wilde). Gradually each man in his new role discovers ore about life by walking in the others shoes and it is at this point that the film becomes an intelligent vantage of appreciating what we have by seeing it through the eyes of polar opposite friends.

Both Reynolds and Bateman have great comic timing and make us understand the conflicts of views and appreciation found in the change of lives. The women in the cast do well and there is a touching cameo by Alan Arkin as Mitch's father. This is a bawdy comedy with the emergence of a heart full of lessons in the end. Make it through the fist 30 minutes and you'll find a good movie. Grady Harp, November 11

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This is a movie that's been done before in films like "Big" and "The Parent Trap". However, I don't know if its been done between two grown men so maybe that might be where this is different. The film is entertaining mainly because of the performances by Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. The female supporting cast is top notch as well, Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde who is beyond stunning and no surprise she's going to be in a movie called "Welcome to People" playing Michelle Pfeiffer's daughter.

The male leads were fun to watch as they take over the other's persona. Ryan Reynolds is a pot smoking slacker who stays home all day having sex and has zero goals. Jason Bateman plays an unhappy married guy with a young kid and 2 babies. His life is his miserable lawyer job and his way of finding happiness is buying more cars and houses. Naturally both guys envy the other one's life. Jason's character dreaming of spending the day doing nothing like his pal. And Ryan's character envying that Jason's character has a family who looks forward to seeing him when he gets home to a place crammed with nice things.

Both of them get that opportunity to switch into the other's body one drunk night as they're urinating in a park fountain. Ordinarily they'd be slapped with a sexual predator ticket for doing that and done again in a mall in front of kids which was very strange that it was written that way, but obviously the movie pays no mind to those real life rules.

The movie is also crude, crass and plagued with never ending foul language. Maybe that'll be fun for a teenage boy, but for me it was wearing thin because it simply was not working each time. There were places where it was warranted and it was funny, but then its sprinkled throughout so you're thinking, 'o-kayyy, what does that have to do with anyone?' I've been known to curse like a sailor and sometimes no other word will do, but when it's forced in every line then it just comes off forced. Jason Bateman was top notch in this and really belted out a great performance.

Want The Change-Up (Blu-ray + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2011) Discount?

I really enjoyed watching this movie. I love Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. Yes it is the same old same old switching bodies movie. But it was a really funny comedy. If you like to laugh and can take a little crude humor, then this movie is for you.

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