[REVIEW: In Theaters] GIRL MOST LIKELY (6/10)

Girl Most Likely (which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival as Imogene) is a near miss of a film – on one hand you get a hilariously neurotic performance by Kristen Wiig (hilarious neurotic could be her middle name) as the (former) title character Imogene – and Annette Bening as her mom with a gambling (and perhaps sex) addiction. By all means this should be a winning combo but something about it just doesn’t quite come together – comedy is made often in editing (as any film is, really), and here things seem structurally off.

Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (Pulcini is also the film’s editor), it’s slightly out of touch – Wiig plays a failed New York playwright who is granted admission into an exclusive uptown world via a playwriting grant (and she fails to produce work for it), when her life is turned upside down she resorts to suicide. An over crowding problem at the hospital forces Imogene into the care of Zelder (her mom), who lives down the shore outside of Atlantic City with a CIA operative known as George Bousche (Matt Dillon). Christopher Fitzgerald plays Ralph, the geeky brother (also living at home) – who builds a human replica of an exoskeleton.

The film captures two paces of life without the interest to really explore just how hard Imogene has fallen: it’s a shame, I think this is where the richness of this material can be found (and thus more humor can be unlocked). This isn’t to say Girl Most Likely is a dumb movie, but it suffers the same fate the last two theatrically released films from this duo have (The Nanny Diaries and The Extra Man) they are out of touch without being critical of those that are out of touch. Their first narrative (and doc hybrid) American Splendor was about life at ground level. Luckily this is more interesting and accessible than The Extra Man, but still A Girl Most Likely seems to lack the ambition to pull off what it really should.

With that said, the performances are fine (not their best, but fine), with a few laughs and surprises, it’s not without sequences that drag a little too much and inevitable plot points that you wish it would have the ambition to avoid (including Wiig’s new love interest, which I have said nothing about because its rather predicable). There are lots of better (and worse) films out right now at both your art house and multiplex. And despite the title no one in the film is transgendered.  

Screening: Regal Quaker Crossing, Dipson Amherst

[In Theaters: REVIEW] Despicable Me 2 (7/10)

Who doesn’t love Despicable Me? Certainly not I – the previous film was one of biggest delights of the summer of 2010 and Gru is back for 2013: no objections here. As with all sequels a little of the magic is lost, but in a classic Hollywood move Despicable Me 2 (and the upcoming feature spin off Minions) gives us more of what we liked, here we get more minions: and what weird and wonderful little worker bees they are. They do it all from tending to household matters around Gru’s house (including tending to Gru’s adopted daughters Margo, Edith and Agnes) to running his new legit business – jams. They also later surface in a complete act of subversion performing as The Village People.

Despicable Me 2, like the first one is a rare animated film that’s worth seeing in 3D (now if only that roller coaster ride from the first one was in DBox as well as 3D….although I have some issues with DBox, but those stem from the fact we at the Buffalo Movie Blog see lots of movies) – opening with a heist at the Arctic Circle, Gru (Steve Carell) is called upon by Agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) of the Anti-Villain League (and her boss – Agent Ramsbottom – a perfect Steve Coogan) to investigate a secret chemical that’s gone missing and has been located at a megamall. Gru is sent undercover as the owner of a sweets shop, Bake My Day.

The story progresses pretty much as you may imagine with some nice visual gags, but those damn minions are were the action is at. I almost wish kids movies would just continue with silly gags and forgo the plot (then again that’s all kinds of dangerous – ever see that TV show Family Guy?). Also delightful is Gru’s domestic life – including his stint as Gru-ella, a ferry princess at little Agnes’ birthday. Some of the best gags you’ve seen in the trailers, but there’s more where that came from: director’s Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, along with screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio keep the energy level up for the film’s whole running time right to the closing credits (which contain another great 3D gag like the first one did).

Despicable Me 2 works, even it takes a break from the fun for the plot- and even those moments have some nice visual gags and minions. Those little guys could do anything and I’d have a smile on my face.

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker Crossing, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, Regal Hollywood, Transit Drive In, Palace Hamburg