Weekly Review -- In sickness and in health and in laughter

Bridesmaids (2011) -- I take quite the tough love approach with my humor. I pre-judge, I overthink, and I am choosy about the comedies I watch, simply because I like sophisticated, laugh-out-loud, witty jokes, those zingers that I find not many works can provide. Therefore, I was not sure what to make of Bridesmaids when I first saw it advertised.

Like many others, I had heard a whole lot of praise about this Paul Feig film. I did not believe the hype and I did not have high hopes. I saw the trailer, but I was not too impressed, since nothing suggested this was something that could actually make me smile, let alone laugh. I do not appreciate crude humor and I am not a fan of too many recent comedies. To sum it up, I was not keen on seeing what I thought might be an overrated production about a bunch of loud gal pals overdosing on fraternity-style gags.

Boy, was I wrong. Capital W wrong.

I will say it again. I was wrong. This is one of the funniest and most intelligent films you will have enjoyed this year. It is one of those cinematic delights where the characters, jokes and chemistry come together to create a truly entertaining experience, borne of life's ups and downs and seen through an occasionally whimsical and always sardonic lens.

Annie (co-writer Kristen Wiig) is an unemployed pastry chef, who is also down on her luck with love. Being involved with Ted (Jon Hamm), a friend with benefits that makes one yearn for enemies, she does not care to date, since she likes the uncomplicated arrangement they share. When her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces her upcoming wedding, Annie finds a rival in Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian's new acquaintance and newly appointed maid of honor. As the two squabble over the wedding preparations and as Annie gets to know the other bridesmaids, she starts realizing that her entire life and outlook needs to shift dramatically...

The writing is what makes the film tick. Without Wiig and Annie Mumolo's sensitive yet brawny script, the piece would have fallen apart within the first five minutes. Not only does the film satirize the insanity of the vain and commercialized wedding industry, it also fleshes out characters of substance, those rare creatures that the audience relates to and roots for. The principal and supporting characters alike add to the madness, every one of them a flash of comedic brilliance. Fictional though they are, they each take a little bit from our own reality to shine, dealing with friendships, unemployment, love, sex, you name it. Feig recognizes the parallels, and one gets the impression that improvisation was encouraged throughout the shoot, a concept that enriches the proceedings. The deceptively light story shows human beings living and laughing together while reeling through the circus of over-the-top conventions, only to realize at the end that their bond is now stronger than ever.

The cast is, for lack of a better word, perfect. Wiig is a bumbling star as Annie, her appeal alternating from charm to sarcasm in mere moments. I had first noticed Wiig in Knocked Up, where her deadpan delivery made her stand out immediately, and here the trait contributes to every line coming from a place of pure ingenuity. Rose Byrne is a revelation as the uptight Helen, and I hope that she continues to explore the genre over the course of her career. Melissa McCarthy is terrific as Megan, a woman who might be rough around the edges, but whose vulnerability shows whenever someone else needs rescuing. Wendi McLendon-Covey is the epitome of crass kookiness as the discontent Rita, and Rudolph is great as the self-obsessed Lillian. Chris O'Dowd is a lovable teddy bear as the sweet police officer Annie accidentally meets, while Hamm impresses as the biggest dolt this side of Jesse James. Seriously, give this man more roles. Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson also deserve special mention as Gil and Brynn, Annie's roommates from hell. Finally, Jill Clayburgh is poignancy personified as Annie's mother Judy, in her last screen role. Truthfully, I could not find one weak performance among the cast. Every portrayal left me either wondering why I was not more familiar with that particular actor or wishing to see much more of them in the future.

In lesser hands, a film with this kind of topic might have ended up leaning toward tiresome schlock or exploitative lewdness. Thankfully, Bridesmaids is a rare gem that does not fall prey to such clichés. Smart, sexy and hilarious, it overturns expectations and makes you want to call up your best friends for a heart-to-heart chat, showing that the film's greatest asset is the comforting sound of its loudly thumping heart.

10/10

Weekly Review -- The sword of Damocles

The Ledge (2011) -- A dramatic piece with honor at its core is a one in a million find. A conscientious story that does not preach is an even scarcer commodity. Matthew Chapman's The Ledge is an epitome of both, keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat while offering up a thoughtful message, but often losing track of its details.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS**

The story is told in flashbacks, as detective Hollis Lucetti (Terrence Howard) tries to talk a young man named Gavin Nichols (Charlie Hunnam) off of a high rise ledge. Gavin tells him about his affair with a new employee, student Shana Harris (Liv Tyler), and his eventual clash with her religious zealot husband Joe (Patrick Wilson), a dispute that has led to Gavin being faced with a horrible dilemma. As Hollis struggles with his own demons and as more facts come to light, Gavin only has minutes to think...

The sole problem with the film is that it frequently gets entangled in the labyrinth of its characters' issues. Every character is overloaded with attributes; Hollis and Gavin's roommate Chris (Christopher Gorham) are those that instantly come to mind. There is a surplus of traits presented within a limited time frame, some of which are merely mentioned and insufficiently explored. Consequently, a few of the dialogues are so bloated, they resemble political debates rather than scripted scenes, bursting at the seams of cinematic space with various hot potatoes. Having said that, The Ledge does manage to successfully show the danger that religion can become in the hands of the under-educated, vulnerable and, most of all, weak-willed individuals. To name an example, there is a brilliant line drawn between Chris' Kabbalah beliefs and Joe's ultra-Christian dogmatism. Whereas Chris has turned to Kabbalah as a tool to cope with personal crises and is not ruled by its principles -- indeed, his set of beliefs starts to crumble when a rabbi refuses to marry him and his boyfriend -- Joe equates his convictions with his existence. His religion is his very identity and vice versa; he has taken the tenets and turned them into weapons against whoever gets in the way of his "washed, sanctified and justified" duty. The scene in which Gavin and Joe contest their views of the world stands out as the strongest verbal depiction of the characters, each in their own element. It is an intellectually charged duel between atheist Gavin, who accepts the beauty of life without being a slave to doctrines, and extremist Joe, whose theocratic ideologies preclude him from actually seeing people, let alone comprehending or accepting anyone else's opinions as plausible.

The performances are excellent. Hunnam is fantastic as the curious and open-minded Gavin, who plays with fire throughout the proceedings, failing to understand just how menacing a fanatic can become and underestimating the potential of human evil. As Shana, Tyler is a deer in the headlights, caught between a strength she may possess and a life she wants to experience. Wilson gives a masterful performance as Joe, turning him into a wretched figure and making the audience loathe and pity him at the same time. The character's sadness and horror upon learning of the affair is disturbing to say the least, and Wilson manages to bring us into his psyche using merely gestures and body language. We know that the event represents the end of the life that Joe is familiar with. We know that, being in uncharted territory, he will do anything to either get it back or avenge his ruin, because he has nothing left to lose, and Wilson takes this doggedness and runs with it. Howard is good as the conflicted Hollis, who finds his own self during the negotiations with Gavin, and Christopher Gorham gives a touching supporting turn as Chris, one of the few voices of reason.

Minor imperfections aside, The Ledge is a work that dares to question what we hold sacred and that dares to provoke controversy with subject matter that other films might balk at. Examining multilayered themes and overturning audiences' expectations, Chapman displays courage not often found in cinema. The film takes the road less traveled, defiantly slamming its characters into the brick wall of fate and possibly choosing to put them back together only after their souls have been torn to pieces.

8/10

Weekly Review -- Sins of the camera

[Rec] 2 (2009) -- The found footage sub-genre has developed into quite the beast over the last decade. From the somber suspense of The Blair Witch Project to the monster terror of Cloverfield and all the way to the otherworldly scares of Paranormal Activity, horror fans are constantly finding themselves captivated by unrefined cinematic truths. There is just a certain je ne sais quoi about a disturbing piece of footage parading as reality that compels us to watch. What is it they say about train wrecks?

Continuing where 2007's [Rec] left off, [Rec] 2 follows a SWAT team as they set off for the quarantined apartment complex where a massacre had taken place earlier in the evening. Along for the ride is a Ministry of Health official (Jonathan D. Mellor), who seems to know more about the case than he is telling. As the team searches the building for help in containing the infection, the circumstances turn even bleaker when they realize that the situation is beyond their expertise, and are also saddled by three unexpected visitors...

As was the case with its predecessor, the dark appeal of [Rec] 2 lies in its willingness to take the viewers on a ride through Hell itself. Tensions are high, people are frightened out of their wits and cameras document the dire straits for posterity, all of which occurs in the context of almost guaranteed martyrdom. There is also gore aplenty, with the infection sequence pretty much being the most disgusting infestation sequence that I have ever seen. Once again, it is the human factor that makes the audience able to relate and that takes the proceedings to a level above the usual fright fest. [Rec] 2 keeps building upon the raw fear that the first film had claimed as the foundation of the story, thereby succeeding in making us question reality, perception and illusion in one fell swoop.

**SPOILERS (please highlight to read)**

I thought that the idea of the natural light blinding the demons was extraordinary. It was a great way to take the possession aspect in a completely new direction, without creating transparently convenient twists. I did not think that the whole "dumb teenager" element was necessary, since the main topic is potent enough, but the two tales do tie together nicely and there is no senseless whining to be witnessed. To name a prime example, the shootout is one of the scenes that show directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza's incredible feel for their characters within the film's concept of space, through innovative camerawork and superb sound editing.

**END OF SPOILERS**
The performances are good, particularly considering that it is up to the actors to bring the humanity of this kind of piece to the forefront. The standouts are Oscar Sánchez Zafra as Jefe, the tormented leader of the SWAT team, and another actor, who I will not name for spoiler reasons, but who is expertly channeling Linda Hamilton's Terminator 2 mettle. You will know it when you see it. Andrea Ros also gives an effective portrayal as Mire, the only teenager with a grain of common sense.

While [Rec] 2 does not exactly bring anything new to the horror buffet, it is the fearlessness with which the piece approaches its story and themes that should be the standard for the entire found footage sub-genre. The violent quasi-reality of the film corresponds to the global paranoia of urban living, but also our DNA-ingrained fear of isolation. [Rec] 2 does not merely show that no man is an island, but goes the distance to show that the island can be annihilated at any moment.

7/10