Superintelligence (2020)

A comedy vehicle for Melissa McCarthy that is once again directed by her husband, Ben Falcone, Superintelligence has a soft, sweet, centre to it that may gain it some goodwill from the right viewer. It's certainly not the usual mix of swearing and pratfalls that people assume is part of every Melissa McCarthy movie.

McCarthy plays Carol Peters, a woman deemed by a number of people to be one of the most average humans alive. Which is why an artificial intelligence system enters her life, erasing her debt and upgrading everything around her, in order to study Carol and learn about humanity. Over the course of a few days it will decide the best way to deal with the human race. Yes, that means that things could go very bad. Carol is also given a chance to make up with her ex-partner, George (Bobby Cannavale), a man about to leave the country in just a few days.

That's all you need to know about Superintelligence. Oh, and the AI is voiced by James Corden, because that was deemed the voice that Carol would respond to best, having been a massive fan of his for many years.

I've said many times that I like McCarthy, more than most people seem to, and I once again like her here, despite the fact that the comedy is often left to many of the supporting players (such as Brian Tyree Henry, a man who becomes flustered when in the same room of the President - Jean Smart - that he greatly admires, or the much smaller turns from the likes of Karan Soni, Usman Ally and Jenna Perusich, and Damon Jones). Carol Peters is supposed to be unremarkable, but she has a good heart, and hopes to one day be able to change the direction of the human race on to a better path.

Falcone directs well enough, and also gives himself a fun supporting role as an agent, alongside Sam Richardson, and he doesn’t seem to warp or strangle the light script from Steve Mallory. There are a number of fun pop culture references (WarGames being an excellent one), the tech side of things is kept simple, it’s easy to show how powerful the AI can be with so much gadgetry around, and the focus keeps returning to the potential rekindling of love at the heart of the story.

While McCarthy is very good in her role, she’s ably supported by everyone around her. I have already mentioned some of the highlights in the supporting cast, but Cannavale also deserves some praise, especially when his role could so easily be seen as the thankless love interest role that women usually get landed with. Kept largely offscreen, aside from one or two moments of visualisation, Corden has fun portraying a version of himself in audio form. And Henry, playing Carol’s friend, and a computer expert, provides a good number of laughs every time he appears.

It’s difficult to think who will enjoy this most though. Those who dislike McCarthy won’t be won over. Those who dislike Corden could be put off. Anyone after a rom-com might hate the tech thriller plot strand, and vice versa. That doesn’t make it a bad film though, not necessarily, but it easily stops it from being a very good one.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Thunder Force (2021)

I really like Melissa McCarthy. I am fed up of saying that to people who think that she does nothing more than fall over and swear. It gets more depressing when she then goes on to appear in a movie in which she seems to do little more than fall over and swear. Although he's done some good work with his wife onscreen, writer-director Ben Falcone is one person who misunderstands the best way to use McCarthy comedically. In her best roles, and two of those were starring in Paul Feig films, she is smart and competent, but with an ability to swear enough to make a sailor blush while everyone arounds her underestimates her.

Thunder Force is set in a world in which some people have suddenly received superpowers, leading them to a life of super-villainy. After losing her parents at a young age, Emily Stanton is determined to devote her time to creating a superhero worthy of taking on the villains. Unfortunately, after decades of working on this main goal, Emily has her work potentially ruined when her old childhood friend, Lydia Berman visits her place of work. Lydia ends up being given super-strength, while Emily continues a treatment schedule that should give her the ability to become invisible. Perhaps they can still protect people, but do it as a team. The Thunder Force. Or perhaps they won't agree on the best way to do things. Emily has always been very cautious, after all, while Lydia is the kind to act first and think later.

I am sure it's already obvious to you, but McCarthy plays the Berman character here. Stanton is played by Octavia Spencer, who has spent the past couple of years in movies that focus on delivering some fun (yes, that includes Ma). Neither lead is given good enough material, leaving both of them desperately trying to create some additional chemistry that, I'm sorry to say, doesn't ever appear. Taylor Mosby helps, playing Tracy (the daughter of Emily), she's a lively presence, but the rest of the fun here really comes from the other supporting players. Melissa Leo is Allie, a strait-laced head of operations, and is the butt of one or two good gags, Bobby Cannavale is The King, a candidate for mayor who has a plan involving the super-villains, Pom Klementieff is Laser, having a blast as she tries to blast people, and Jason Bateman is a highlight as The Crab, someone with crab appendages where his arms would be. 

I am sure that Falcone and McCarthy make each other laugh loudly many times each day, and I'm sure that happened while making this movie, but the former really needs to take a step back, or sideways, to remind himself of just how much better he could do behind the camera, in both the writing and direction, instead of resting so much of the film on his wife's shoulders.

It's not as terrible as many people will tell you it is, but Thunder Force doesn't do anything to make it truly worth your time. There are too few laughs sprinkled throughout, the superhero side of things is all too silly (although an exchange between the head villain and a henchman that he may have killed is very amusing), and it feels like everyone may have had so much fun behind the scenes that they forgot to capture any of it on camera.

4/10

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Life Of The Party (2018)

The pizza had arrived, I was settling into the position I wanted to stay in for the evening, and I browsed the many selections available to me for my next viewing choice. And that's when I saw Life Of The Party, a film that I wasn't sure I would like but was sure I would at least be moderately amused by, at least occasionally. It turns out that this was much better than I expected it to be.

I am continually surprised by the constant dismissal of Melissa McCarthy, who has the starring role here. People seem to want to label her as a comic actor who does no more than "act fat and loud". I don't/won't take the time and space to make my full argument against that accusation, and I may have mentioned it in a previous review (and may well mention it in a future review), but it's just rubbish. She has shown more range in her comedic roles than many of her male peers, and that doesn't mean that I dislike them either (I still enjoy comedies starring Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, and even Adam Sandler, despite everyone telling me I am wrong for doing so).

In this movie, McCarthy plays Deanna, a doting mother who drops her daughter (Maddie, played by Molly Gordon) at university for her final year. As she heads away with her husband (Dan, played by Matt Walsh), he drops the bombshell that he wants a divorce. He has started a relationship with a new woman. This upheaval leads to Deanna returning to university to complete the degree she sacrificed many years ago. She immediately bonds with some of her daughter's friends, learns to relax and party, and even lands herself an attentive younger lover (Jack, played by Luke Benward).

What I thought I was going to get with Life Of The Party was a comedy in which McCarthy would spend a lot of time embarrassing her daugher, a number of scenes in which she got carried away reclaiming her lost youth, and then a finale that would see lessons learned and bonds reformed. What I got was something much better than that. Yes, there are a few moments in the early scenes that show a young woman being embarrassed by her mother, and McCarthy takes things too far once or twice, but it's a much more balanced, a much sweeter, film than it could have been.

Ben Falcone (AKA Mr McCarthy) directs, and he and McCarthy also co-wrote the script together. There's nothing here to single out as a stunning achievement in cinema, and nothing that will prove too surprising once the film settles in to exactly what it wants to be, but it's a very enjoyable time that provides a lot of little chuckles in between some big laughs. Okay, the third act may feel like it blends together a number of '80s teen movie moments . . . so what?

McCarthy is warm and witty in her role, transforming believably as she becomes more and more confident in the new path she is taking through life. Gordon is very good as her understanding daughter, and there's a lot of fun to be had with Gillian Jacobs, Adria Arjona, and Jessie Ennis as the main friends. Benward is likeable as a smitten young man, Heidi Gardner is a roommate who rarely seems to leave her room, and Chris Parnell is a pun-loving teacher. Oh, and Maya Rudolph is a comedy goddess . . . I mean . . . she is hilarious as the long-time friend who enjoys living vicariously through the exploits of McCarthy. You also get great little turns from Walsh, Julie Bowen, Jacki Weaver, and Stephen Root, among others, as well as a cheesy celebrity cameo to enjoy.

I doubt this will convert anyone who doesn't enjoy the screen presence of McCarthy. Everyone else can relax and allow themselves to be entertained for 100 minutes (approximately).

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy the movie here.

Prime Time: The Nines (2007)

It's really hard to consider how to even begin writing a review of The Nines, a film that is quite often overlooked in the filmography of Ryan Reynolds. It was only brought to my attention just over a week ago, in the midst of an online conversation about Reynolds, and I'm very glad that it was.

Reynolds plays a number of characters, I think it is safe to say that. And all of those characters seem to be going through a bit of a tough time. He keeps meeting incarnations of Melissa McCarthy and Hope Davis, among others, and tries to piece his mind together, while viewers try to figure out just how, if any, of this makes sense. There IS an explanation, and it's probably not one you would see coming.

Written and directed by John August, there's plenty here to mull over as you start to wander deeper and deeper into a story that is either about deteriorating mental health or something less easy to explain. In fact, despite the end of the movie seeming quite clear, I would argue that you could view the whole film as a look at a deluded individual, someone seeing patterns that aren't necessarily there while creating a wild theory to explain everything.

Reynolds is superb in his multiple roles, even better than he was in The Voices (a film that many seemed to love, but I just liked), and he's matched by his co-stars. Davis does well, but it's McCarthy who almost steals the show, mainly thanks to a large portion of the film that sees her playing a version of herself for the purposes of the plot. Elle Fanning, David Denman, and Ben Falcone also do solid work in smaller roles.

August has a varied and interesting filmography, from his short film God to Go and on to the Charlie's Angels movies. This is much more in line with the former than the latter, and allows him to tell his own tale in his own way, rather than take part in the blockbuster machine. The fact that he found some quality names to go along for the ride, and it is a wild ride indeed, is a major bonus.

The technical side of things is a-okay, utilising a few special effects moments here and there when showing cracks in the reality around the main characters but mostly keeping everything grounded by the effectiveness of the script and performances. The dialogue is always lively, with one or two lines that brilliantly punctuate scenes at vital moments, and it's a film that will continue to entertain on rewatch, even if it doesn't become any easier to fully untangle.

Not quite a 9 but . . . 8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can pick it up here.