Semi-Pro (2008)

Better than I thought it would be. The film draws from a deep bench of supporting comedians to deliver the laughs. My favorite is the un-jealous husband, played by Rob Corddry. Will Arnett and Andy Daly as the sports commentators were excellent too. Farrell is consistently funny. 

Rating: C

Booksmart (2019)

Movie high schools never resemble anything like the high school I attended. It's almost as if they are trying to replicate the pretend high schools of cinema past.

Despite a completely unrealistic portrayal of teen education, the writing is quick, crude, and smart, so I still laughed.

Rating: C+

Downsizing (2017)

A very unique premise that was fun to explore through film. I thought this was going to be a comedy, but it turned out to be a drama. The story was not at all what I expected. Much more thoughtful and character driven.

Rating: B

Meet Bill (2007)

Watched with lowered expectations on my way back from Malaysia. It managed to keep me awake and entertained, so that's saying something. Enjoyed most of the cast and story. A bit cliché in parts.

Rating C

The Rocker (2008)

No real surprises, but enough laughs to hold your attention.

Rating: C

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Another unnecessary sequel. Some mildly amusing parts, but not enough to warrant getting the cast back together.

Rating: D+

Epic (2013)

Pretty good as far as animated kid’s movies go. An updated Fern Gully of sorts, with a decent amount of action and creativity. But honestly, if it wasn’t for Aziz Ansari as the slug, I would have rated this much lower.

Rating: C

Hall Pass (2011)

It’s a shame this was a Farrelly Brothers picture instead of an Apatow one. It would have been a lot funnier. Hall Pass felt tired, forced, a deflated. Much like the wives at the start of the film. Owen Wilson isn’t funny. There’s no getting around that. But I blame the writing here. It was weak.

The premise of the movie had a lot of potential for laughs—few of which were delivered here. Nobody was allowed to cut loose like they did in better films such as Superbad, Bridesmaids, or Old School. The funniest gag of the movie was the “sneeze scene”. And the 30 second flash-forward clip after the credits rolled was funnier than the entire movie. You can safely skip this one.

Rating: D

Horrible Bosses (2011)

Dark and funny. It’s a joy seeing Charlie Day do his thing outside of Sunny in Philadelphia. I actually really liked Jennifer Aniston playing the slutty dentist too. I forgot how funny she can be in the right role. This wasn’t one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in the last year—no huge belly laughs—but it was consistently funny.

Rating: C+

Going The Distance (2010)

I think the ship has sailed on Drew Barrymore playing swinging single roles. Just because you can't handle serious acting roles doesn't mean you have to perpetually pretend you're just out of college. This movie had one thing working for it: the supporting cast. Isn't that always the case with these types of movies? Whether it's Sarah Silverman or the chick from Flight of the Conchords, these movies rely on their supporting cast of funny people to do all the heavy lifting. I would have rather seen a film about Justin Long's best friends or the bartender.

Rating: D+