Dumb And Dumber To (2014)

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels return to play Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne in this sequel to the 1994 comedy that showed Hollywood just how much money could be made from dumb.

As is the case in reality, the two main characters have seen 20 years go by since their last big adventure. It looks like their inactivity must come to an end, however, when Harry confesses that he needs a new kidney. That makes it the perfect time for him to track down the daughter that he has also just found out about. As Lloyd intimates, as soon as Harry bonds with his daughter then he should have a match for a potential kidney donor. And so the two head off on a road trip, one that brings up some familiar situations, including their lives being endangered as they unwittingly upset some bad people with criminal plans.

The Farrelly brothers (Peter and Bobby) are also back in the saddle for this trip down, or at least by, memory lane, and there are one or two fun cameo appearances by people who were given small roles in the first movie. There's also a great cameo from *[redacted to stay spoiler-free]* that ends up being more fun just because of the role, as opposed to the material that anyone is working with.

The supporting players include Laurie Holden, Rob Riggle and Steve Tom as the three main people who end up needing to keep tags on our two leading idiots, Rachel Melvin is the estranged daughter who has gone off on her own journey, and Kathleen Turner is the infamous Fraida Felcher, mother to the young girl and ex-girlfriend of Harry (and also, if you recall, possibly Lloyd). But, as was the case the first time around, this is a showcase for Carrey and Daniels to let loose and channel every dumb urge they've ever had, and they do one helluva job. Slipping back into the characters comfortably enough, the interplay between the two provides more fun than any of the one-liners or the weak set-pieces.

Remember when it was hilarious to watch Jeff Daniels go through some bowel-related torture before he was due to go out with a beautiful young woman? The biggest set-piece in Dumb & Dumber was also, arguably, the grossest. But it worked. It still does. I laugh long and hard every time I watch that sequence. And I'll return to it many times before ever wanting to revisit a scene in this movie that sees a character inadvertently pleasuring a bed-ridden old woman as he searches for something hidden under some bedsheets. Remember when it was hilarious to watch that dream sequence in which Carrey turned into a kung-fu killer? Yes, the sequel also revisits that moment, and pretty much sets it up in exactly the same way. These two examples highlight the main failing here, because when the film isn't trying to top, or even repeat, the gags from the first movie it doesn't do too badly.

I was laughing quite often at the smallest verbal gags, and enjoyed a lot of the dumb mispronounciations and misunderstandings a lot more than any of the material that placed Riggle alongside the two leads in moments far too reminiscent of the scenes that featured Mike Starr in the first movie. Sean Anders and John Morris are the main writers this time around, but I can imagine a fair bit of improvisation took place, and the Farrely brothers may have also had their own ideas on set, so I'm not going to place the blame entirely on their shoulders. A lot of the dialogue works. Most of the scatological humour doesn't. This may not have been so obvious if it wasn't always reminding you of how much better the first movie was, from the many joke callbacks (which, to be fair, often provided an extra little chuckle), to the pacing and beats of the road trip, to the soundtrack choices (I noticed at least a couple of tunes recycled from the soundtrack of the first movie).

I hope this is wraps everything up for Lloyd and Harry now. There are laughs to be had here, but I was left ultimately disappointed. And that's coming from someone who didn't actively hate Dumb And Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.

5/10

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Crimes Of Passion (1984)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, god bless the brilliant and bonkers Ken Russell. Crimes Of Passion is his usual mix of sex, death, and blasphemy. It's a good film, but it's lifted up further by a starring role for Kathleen Turner and a brilliantly off-kilter turn from Anthony Perkins.

Turner stars as Joanna Crane, a successful businesswoman who leads a double life. At night she likes to dress up, head out, and get her kicks as a prostitute named China Blue. Many of her clients, end up smitten with her, and it's not hard to see why. She knows just what everyone wants, and will enthusiastically work to please almost any fetishist. She risks losing her anonymity and security when a man (Bobby Grady, played by John Laughlin) is hired to shadow her, all because her daytime boss suspects her of theft. Bobby finds himself joining the long queue of smitten men, but China does her best to stop people getting too attached to her. Meanwhile, an unbalanced preacher (Anthony Perkins) becomes determined to save China's soul.

Written by Barry Sandler, Crimes Of Passion is blessed with a script that's profane, witty, lovably ludicrous, and consistently entertaining. The introduction of Turner as China Blue is a scene that no viewer will ever forget, and with good reason. Everything is, quite rightly, skewed towards adoring China and showing just how good she is at her job, and also how being naughty in all the right ways doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. The numerous men who want to save China from her situation fail to realise that she doesn't need saved. She will choose when and how she wants to change her life, and when she will return to a life of being Joanna Crane full-time.

Russell directs with a fearlessness that defined most of his movies. He revels in the material, even if it's somewhat lighter fare than some of his more acclaimed pictures, and doesn't do anything by halves. Russell may be an acquired taste, to put it mildly, but I feel sorry for anyone who can't relax and enjoy the exuberance and sheer cheek present here, and in the majority of his work.

Laughlin is decent enough, I guess, in his role, and Annie Potts is as solid as ever in the role of his unhappy wife (the marriage is not in good health), but all of the best moments revolve around either Perkins, or Turner, or both. Both are brilliant, happily going up to the very edge and then, in different ways, completely over it. Perkins almost seems to be foaming at the mouth during his every moment, while Turner effortlessly mixes comedy, confidence and sexiness in a lead performance that acts as the keystone for the entire film.

It's ridiculous, but it knows exactly what it's doing. Crimes Of Passion will keep you entertained throughout, and also have you laughing out loud at times, but you'll be laughing WITH the film, which may be the highest compliment I can give. Because, in lesser hands, it would have been so easy to laugh AT it.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Passion-UNCUT-China-Blue/dp/B006PM86JO/ref=sr_1_5?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1401637528&sr=1-5&keywords=crimes+of+passion

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

While it may not seem quite the stunning feat it was back in the late '80s, Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains a unique, and astonishingly good, piece of work. It's a bit of noir mixed in with fun for all the family that benefits immensely from the improved technology allowing actors to more realistically act alongside cartoons.

Bob Hoskins is the private detective, named Eddie Valiant, who ends up trying to find an answer to the title of the movie. Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer) seems to have been driven into a rage by revelations of his beautiful wife, Jessica (voiced by an uncredited Kathleen Turner), playing pat-a-cake with Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye). Roger insists that he's innocent, of course, and there's the very suspicious Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) making it easier for Valiant to believe that something stinks, but will it all be enough to get him to take the case seriously and do all he can. After all, Valiant hates toons, and has never been back to Toontown ever since his brother was killed there.

The big factor that made Who Framed Roger Rabbit such a big deal when it was released, and still a fairly big deal to this day, isn't actually the blending of live action work and animation, which is impressive, but the sheer variety and number of cartoon characters mingling onscreen. As well as Roger and Jessica (with the latter being one of the sexiest cartoons to be allowed in a family movie - look, all of us young boys thought it at the time, and we've all kept thinking it ever since so don't judge me), there are appearances from *deep breath* Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Dumbo, Betty Boop, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, cast members from Fantasia, Sylvester & Tweety Pie, Porky Pig, Goofy, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Michigan J. Frog and many others. It's a veritable who's who of animated stars, unlikely to ever happen again.

Thankfully, the few human stars also do good work, with Bob Hoskins in top form as Valiant, a private eye who has let himself go over the years and is now more comfortable cracking open a bottle of bourbon than cracking a case. Lloyd is enjoyably creepy as Judge Doom, and Joanna Cassidy is adorable as the tough woman who puts up with Valiant in the hope that he will find himself again.

Director Robert Zemeckis handles everything with ease, which is as viewers would expect from this man who does so love to play with any toys he can get his hands on, and the script, by Peter S. Seaman and Jeffrey Price (based on the book, "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" by Gary K. Wolf), is packed full of great lines, references and gags to both the world of noir and also, more obviously, the cartoons of the past and the present.

A real triumph for everyone involved, including composer Alan Silvestri, cinematographer Dean Cundey, and, last but by no means least, everyone in the art and special effects departments, this holds up as one of those rare joys - a movie full of special effects that actually uses the technology to complement the story, as opposed to using distracting graphics and gimmickry to fill in a lot of empty space.

8/10

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Body Heat (1981)

Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, with no small amount of debt owed to the classic Double Indemnity, Body Heat is a slick, sexy, sweaty thriller that benefits greatly from the central performances, not least that of Kathleen Turner making an astonishing big-screen debut.

William Hurt plays a lawyer, Ned Racine, who falls for the gorgeous Matty Walker (Turner) during a stiflingly hot Florida Summer. The two begin a steamy affair, which then leads them to start thinking about how to deal with the oft-absent Mr. Walker (Richard Crenna). It's not long until murder is mentioned, with Ned clearly making decisions based on his libido as opposed to common sense, and Matty starts to show her ingenuity as the plan is put into effect.

With decent, unfussy, direction and a fine script, Lawrence Kasdan certainly puts all of the pieces in place to make Body Heat an easy movie to enjoy, but his biggest coup was with the casting of the main roles. Hurt has always been a very good actor, and he's as good here as he's ever been, but none of the twists and turns would be believable if he wasn't jumping through hoops to be with Kathleen Turner. Because I can't think of many men who wouldn't jump through hoops to be with Kathleen Turner in the early '80s. The lady dominates the movie, even when she's not onscreen, but that doesn't stop viewers also getting great performances from Crenna, Ted Danson (in what remains one of his best roles), J. A. Preston and a youthful Mickey Rourke. There's also Kim Zimmer, who manages to make a good impression despite only being onscreen for about a minute.

It may not be quite as clever as it wants to be, and certainly stretches plausibility on numerous occasions, but there's always something going on in every scene to entertain and distract from the plot holes. While this isn't on a par with the very best classic or neo-noirs, it still deserves to be allotted a place near the top tier. And Matty Walker is a character who ranks as one of the most memorable, for a mixture of right and wrong reasons.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Heat-DVD-William-Hurt/dp/B00004CX84/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1383511052&sr=1-1&keywords=body+heat

The Man With Two Brains (1983)

When asked to choose my favourite Steve Martin movie, it's a tough choice. This movie, The Jerk, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Roxanne and so many others could be in the top spot. But people can be insistent when they ask such questions, and if they're insistent enough I usually cave in and tell them that The Man With Two Brains is my very favourite. Why? Well . . . . . . . . it just IS.

The demented storyline concerns the eminent brain surgeon, Dr. Hfuhruhurr (Martin), and the stroke of fate that puts him in the grasping claws of femme fatale, Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner). Dolores is a woman that we first see revelling in her evil ways, teasing an elderly husband until he can take no more. She wants him to die, she thinks that she is due to inherit everything, but things change. Just a few scenes later, Dolores is recovering in hospital and has the good doctor under her spell. But she's not the only woman to want him in her life. There is one other who appears on the scene, one with much nobler intentions and a sweeter personality. She just happens to be a brain floating in a jar in the laboratory of Dr. Alfred Necessiter (David Warner). Her name is Anne Uumellmahaye (voiced by Sissy Spaceck).

If that descriptive paragraph doesn't have enough lunacy in it for you then I feel that I should mention the subplot involving The Elevator Killer, a sobriety test that remains the best, and funniest, ever shown onscreen and a recitation of the classic poem entitled "Pointy Birds".

The madness of Steve Martin in his prime isn't for everyone, but it most certainly is for me. I've been a huge fan of the guy ever since I first saw his output from the early '80s (and I also used to own Steve Martin Live on VHS - a tape I nearly wore out because I watched it so often) and he continues to be, in my opinion, a giant of comedy. Oh, he may be far removed from the days when he could get away with the stuff on show here, but see him working a crowd, or even making people chuckle on Twitter, and you can easily be reminded of his power. Kathleen Turner had another potent kind of power, but it also shouldn't be forgotten just how great she is in this comedic role, one that uses both her sexual allure and a bravura willingness to go along with the madness. David Warner, Paul Benedict, Richard Brestoff and Randi Brooks all have their own memorable moments, while Sissy Spaceck may only be here in a vocal way but she's the sweetest brain in a jar that you could ever listen to. There's also fun to be had spotting Jeffrey Combs and James Cromwell in very small roles.

Director Carl Reiner, who helped to write the movie with Martin and George Gipe, knows how to make the most of every gag, as he would prove again and again over the years. His relationship with Martin would produce the best movies that either man would be involved in, with this being the pinnacle - two men who work brilliantly together being left to have a lot of fun at the height of their powers (comedically speaking).

It doesn't get much better than this, and if you disagree then you may be in need of some screw top, zip lock brain surgery.

10/10

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