Murder Mystery (2019)

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) probably being the only exception — I haven't seen his entire filmography —, Adam Sandler movies are usually downright terrible. It's pretty much the same when it comes to Jennifer Aniston; there are some exceptions here and there but most of her films are just not that good. Because of this, it didn't seem like a particularly good idea to spend my free Friday morning to watch Netflix's latest original, Murder Mystery, which stars both. Surprisingly, the film exceeded my expectations as it is a quite enjoyable combination of comedy, mystery and romance. 

Dumplin' (2018)

With a few exceptions —Annihilation and Apostle are the only I can think of right now— Netflix originals have been quite disappointing this year —Outlaw King, in particular— so I wasn't sure whether to give Dumplin' a chance or not, especially since there's Jennifer Aniston. But then some other blogger, I don't recall who, said it was fun so I gave it a try. 

The film follows Willowdean (Danielle MacDonald), the plus-size daughter of a former beauty queen, Rosie (Jennifer Aniston) who was raised by her Aunt Lucy (Hillary Begley). After an argument with her mother —Will accuses Rosie of being resentful of her for her looks, and Rosie insinuates that Lucy would still be alive if she had taken better care of herself— Will signs up for the Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant, preseeded by her mother, as a protest which escalates when other misfits, Millie (Maddie Baillio) and Hannah (Bex Taylor-Klaus), follow her footsteps and sing up for the pageant. 

The Switch (2010)

I wanted to watch The Switch about a month ago but somehow —I blame Patrick Wilson and the short title—I ended up watching The Ledge instead, which was quite the opposite of the light romantic comedy I was expecting to see. I double-checked this time and I was finally able to watch it. 

The film revolves around Wally (Jason Bateman), a neurotic man who has a hard time finding his soulmate, and his best friend Kassie (Jennifer Aniston), who decides to get artificially inseminated. Wally doesn't like the idea, mainly because he's in love with her though he hasn't realised it yet. At Kassie's insemination party, he gets drunk, he accidentally dumps the donor's (Patrick Wilson) sperm in the sink and decides to replace it with his own. He forgets completely about it, and Kassie leaves New York as she doesn't feel like it's the right place to raise a child. Seven years later, she comes back with her son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) and Wally starts to notice striking resemblances between the boy and himself. In the meantime, Kassie becomes intimate with Roland, the sperm donor. 

Office Christmas Party (2016)

I have a soft spot for Jason Bateman so I don't care about how bad a movie sounds or how low it's rated, I'm gonna watch it anyway. I did pass Office Christmas Party though and kept putting it off for the past two years because I'm not much of a Christmas person and I had read some negative reviews and I was not in the mood for another crappy Christmas comedy. 

In this one, Clay Vanstone (T.J. Miller), the Chicago branch manager of IT sales company Zenotek, his Chief Technical of Technical Advancement, Josh Parker (Jason Bateman), and Tracey Hughes (Olivia Munn), his Chief of R&D, throw a big office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client (Courtney B. Vance) so that they can save the branch and all of their employers and co-workers' jobs. 

Friends with Money (2006)

Just like yesterday's film, Friends with Money too was mentioned by Steven from Surrender to the Void earlier this year for the meltdowns week of the Thursday Movie Picks series. And just like yesterday's film, it sounded interesting, specifically because of Frances McDormand's meltdown scene, and I decided to check it out. 

The film follows a group of four girlfriends: three of them, Franny (Joan Cusack), Christine (Catherine Keener) and Jane (Frances McDormand) are wealthy and married; the fourth, Olivia (Jennifer Aniston), is a single former teacher who now works as a maid. While Franny, Christine and Jane find themselves in various stages of marriage —Franny is very happy with her husband Matt (Greg Germann), Christine keeps fighting with her husband David (Jason Isaacs) over the silliest things and Jane is constantly angry as she's afraid her husband Aaron (Simon McBurney) may be gay—, Olivia struggles to find a good man. 

We're the Millers (2013)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Rawson Marshall Thurber

Country

United States

Cast

Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, Tomer Sisley, Matthew Willig, Luis Guzmán, Thomas Lennon, Mark L. Young, Ken Marino, Laura-Leigh

Plot

Forced to smuggle marijuana from Mexico, David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a low-level drug dealer, he hires a stripper named Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a runaway and petty thief named Casey (Emma Roberts), and his 18-year-old neighbour Kenny (Will Poulter) to pose as a family: the Millers. 

Opinion

Nowadays, most American comedies are fuelled by sex or money. Well, this film has both. 

We're the Millers is a vulgar road movie, that at first mocks family movies, but then ends up doing an advertisement about family and its importance.

The cast is mostly awful: Jennifer Aniston still can't act, Jason Sudeikis is annoying as usual and Will Poulter is awkward in his role. Good choice Emma Roberts: avoiding attempts at comedy was brilliant. 

Quotes

No quotes

Rating

6.0/10