You again…not again

By Katarzyna Barnak

In the movie You Again! Hollywood reached inside its magic hat and instead of giving us something a bit more original, produced another generic white bunny about overcoming a high school bully.

The movie starts off with Marni Olivia Olsen (M.O.O.), a geeky social outcast (played by Kristen Bell), tormented by the head cheerleader, Joanna (Odette Yustman). After graduation, Marni becomes a successful, beautiful woman who climbs to the top of her public relations job. She comes back home for her brother Will’s wedding, only to learn that her future sister-in-law is her archenemy from high school. Marni goes to great measures to show her family who the real Joanna is. This is followed by a sequence of dance offs, races, and food fights between the two girls.

While Marni’s mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) is trying to tell Marni to put her past behind her, new trouble walks in – Joanna’s Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) who was Gail’s nemesis. These two are actually entertaining to watch, especially in the pool scene where the ladies are in identical red dresses, trying to drown each other. Touchstone Studio outdid themselves in the trailer, however. They made it seem like there was constant action, but there wasn’t. In the trailer Ramona has devil horns and a goatee drawn-in in Gail’s photo album; but in the actual movie it was missing.

The one thing the movie deserves a shout out for is the casting. Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver are magnificent in their parts. Weaver has a sort of regal presence and elegance (not to mention she speaks fluent French in the movie as well as in real life) that made her the perfect pick for the wealthy Aunt Ramona –the luxurious hotel tycoon. Curtis, on the other hand, carries warmth, spunk, and comicality that make her suitable for the role of Gail – the spontaneous mother who used to be the most popular girl in school. Bell also did a fine job as Marni, especially with her continual metamorphosis. (She changes her hair four times in the movie). Yustman who up until now played in thrillers and horror movies, was a little mediocre in the comedy department, but made up for it by acing her part as the oppressive cheerleader.

Nonetheless, a great cast does not erase a poor script and storyline. Whoever wrote the screenplay should have been more innovative and used fewer cliches. Aside from the unbearably cheesy display of affection between Will and Joanna (calling each other “Hunsies,” trading Eskimo kisses, and arguing over who loves who more), the movie fails to deliver consistent humor. I went to this comedy expecting to giggle more than once or twice. The only time I actually laughed was when the 80-year-old Grandma Bunny (played by the charming Betty White) responds flirtingly to Tim (Joanna’s old suitor) who is asking for Joanna’s number, “It’s 555-0172. I’m also on Facebook… and the Twitter.” I can see why many people want this lovable old lady to host the Oscars.

One thing is for sure, You Again! will not be in the running for an Academy Award. It is fun and cheesy, and the only place I see for it in the future is the Five Dollar or Less section at Jewel.

Not such a funny story afterall

By Ben Palmer

It’s Kind of a Funny Story isn’t as much a funny story as it is an awkward dark comedy that can hit close to home for some over-stressed high schoolers, while still providing laughs.

The film starts at the end, or rather, what could have been the end, of the life of its stress-vomiting teenage protagonist Craig (Keir Gilchrist).

After calling a suicide hotline, he proceeds to check himself into a mental hospital where he is given a tour by fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis).

Galifianakis is best known for his character in The Hangover, the hilariously odd Alan. I was slightly disappointed that Galifianakis’s distinct comedic style of inappropriate timing didn’t shine through the suicidal mentor Bobby, but the strong cast of “crazies” was enough to redeem most of that disappointment.

Among my favorite patients were Solomon, the acid-addicted Hasidic Jew; the Patriot-act paranoid phone-debugger; and Craig’s roommate, the bed-bound Egyptian who finally leaves his room to dance to the music of his people.

But through the comedy there must be romance, and Craig slowly falls for a fellow teen patient, Noelle (Emma Roberts). Noelle’s self mutilation scars combine with Roberts’s ability to convincingly act outside the limelight of her star-studded lineage (aunt Julia Roberts)

and yield a viable, albeit unpredictable love story.

So, you have love, suicidal teenagers, schizophrenics, and Zach Galifianakis. Sounds like the formula for wacky psychiatric antics, right? Well, I was surprised to find the film far darker than expected. Although there was no bloodshed or flat out violence, seeing the usually comedic Galifianakis have a mental breakdown in a rec room was eerie to say the least.

The entire movie, while mostly funny, was as bitter as it was sweet. It was chock full of life lessons and less-funny themes that may confuse audiences expecting an escape from work-related stress. After all, it was the stress of school that nearly led our hero to suicide.

Of the comedy in the movie, only a few moments were actually “laugh-out-loud” for me. The largest of these, and probably the most expensive scene in the film, was a fantasy sequence in which a music-therapy session becomes a rock concert. On lead vocals singing Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” is Craig, backed up by Bobby and the rest of the patients. The scene was ridiculous, but entertaining none the less.

Among the gems of the film are one-liners from the psychopathic

supporting cast, the odd yet enchanting “mind-maps” drawn by Craig, and the connection that he maintains to the outside world.

Craig calls home to speak to his family and receives visits from them everyday. Lauren Graham as Craig’s fragile mother is a nice treat for Gilmore Girls fans, although her speech is much slower and less witty.

His best-friend’s girlfriend (and object of his own unrequited love), Nia, eventually pays Craig a visit and the two have their own array of awkward scenes. The best of these is when the two are embracing in the bed of his roommate, who was in the bathroom all the while.

After being vomited on by Craig and yelled at by his roommate (“SEX IN MY BED!”), Nia finally takes her leave. This makes room for Noelle to enter the romantic fray. The sappy romance that Gilchrist and Roberts portray may be sappy enough to bore some, but was unconventional enough to capture my attention.

Ultimately, the film’s greatest attribute was not its comedy, but its message, which seemed to be: “don’t be afraid to make a drasticchange to your life if you don’t like the path you’re on.” Sure, that’s a Lifetime Original Movie message, but Lifetime hasn’t snagged the Mental-Hospital Comedy of the Year award yet.

The relationships built by the primary players felt genuine enough to move me in an emotional way, but not a comical way. If you’re looking for a light-hearted comedy, don’t look this way. Maybe not the best date movie, but a good film never the less.