Godmothered (2020)

Crashing through from the fairytale world to the harsher realities of our own world is a seam that has been mined by Disney before, most notably with the very enjoyable Enchanted. And if you liked that movie then you should like this one. It's very similar.

Jillian Bell plays Eleanor, a fairy godmother in her training years. Unfortunately, by the time/if she ever qualifies, it may all be too late. People don't seem to need fairy godmothers any more. Nobody is getting their "happy ever after". Eleanor decides to change things by making things right for a young girl named Mackenzie, after finding her letter in the archives. That letter, however, was written some time ago, and Mackenzie (Isla Fisher) is now a stressed-out single mother, working for a news station that seems determined to gain ratings by focusing on negative stories and fear-mongering. Mackenzie seems to have accepted that she's not going to have a "happy ever after", but she may also be holding back her daughters, Mia (Willa Skye) and Jane (Jillian Shea Spaeder).

Your enjoyment of Godmothered will depend on a number of factors, not least of which is how much you warm to Jillian Bell in her main role. I tend to find Bell very hit and miss, depending on how irritating her character is supposed to be (and she tends to be given irritating characters in many of her films), but she's a lot of fun as the trainee with more enthusiasm than natural talent, doing her best to get results without the full skillset that some others have. You also have to accept the predictability of it all, the weak mix of characters, and the sweetness of the big main lesson. Having said that, you usually have to accept those things with most Disney movies, so it's no major inconvenience if you know the kind of film you're about to watch.

Although the script by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack doesn't take any chances, director Sharon Maguire keeps everything moving along nicely enough, and staves off boredom with some smaller-scale set-pieces (be it Mackenzie being inconvenienced by a huge ballgown that has magically appeared on her or a race-against-the-clock finale that relies on Eleanor finally perfecting one or two of the traditional spells).

Bell and Fisher have fun together, Spaeder and Skye are just fine, Santiago Cabrera is a prospective "prince", literally named Hugh Prince, and Utkarsh Ambudkar provides some laughs as the boss who thinks bad news = ratings. June Squibb is a delight as Agnes, the fairy godmother who narrates the tale, and Jane Curtin is the strict head of the fairy godmothers who ends up racing to stop Eleanor making what she assumes will be a big mess of things.

Light and enjoyable from start to finish, the biggest thing going against Godmothered is that, while it wanders through some very similar terrain, it isn't Enchanted. That's no reason to criticise this movie too harshly though. One Disney movie being very similar to another Disney movie is hardly anything new. It's often part of the appeal.

6/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Mubi Monday: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

Based on a true story as amusing as it is quite tragic, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the film that may finally convince those who go out of their way to avoid Melissa McCarthy movies to finally give her some of their time. Because, and I'm saying this as someone who has been a fan of her comedy work for a long time now, this is easily her best movie performance so far. I hope that it allows her to mix it up with the roles that she picks, but only time will tell.

McCarthy is Lee Israel, an author who isn't doing too well. Her cat is ill, she is behind on her rent payments, and her apartment has a fly problem (and smells pretty bad too). When she finds a letter by Fanny Brice, the subject of a biography that she is attempting to write, she makes a little bit of money by selling it on, but learns during the exchange that the price would have been considerably more if the content had been more exciting. That gives her the idea of creating exciting letters, claiming that they were recently discovered, and getting herself a great payday for each one. What could possibly go wrong?

This is only the second feature film from director Marielle Heller, working here from a script by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, but this puts her at two for two (I recommend checking out The Diary Of A Teenage Girl). The two central characters are great (the other lead performance coming from Richard E. Grant) and it clearly shows how Israel quickly put the pieces together when she realised that she had an opportunity to improve her life with what she probably viewed as a bit of a victimless crime. Indeed, it's something that Israel finds she has an actual talent for, a way with words while she is emulating others that supersedes her own writing style, and that is a silver lining that accompanies the crime-clouded majority of the movie.

I have already praised McCarthy at the very start of this review so won't repeat myself. She works very well alongside Grant, who gives the kind of brilliant performance that reminds you of just how good he can be, given the chance. There's a small, but absolutely hilarious, role for Jane Curtin (playing an agent who suffers whenever Israel wants to lash out in anger over her current situation) and Dolly Wells is very sweet in her role as the book dealer who inadvertently starts Israel off on her criminal endeavour. The fact that her character also clearly likes Israel for who she is ends up being another big plus for the movie.

Although this is a film about a peculiar, and particular, "crime spree", it's also simply a look at two people who have a chance to make themselves feel like human beings again, rather than nobodies either ignored by people or looked down upon. It manages to do that without ever becoming too downbeat and dreary, although a couple of moments come close, and without feeling as if it is glorifying the activities of Israel. Because, no matter how satisfying or well-crafted her forgeries were, she knew that her best moments as a writer were all thanks to celebrated writers of the past.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it replaces originality and individuality (obviously). So the title Can You Ever Forgive Me? may apply to those Israel ended up affecting with her crimes, but may equally apply to herself, a woman played by McCarthy as someone who lost her own voice and went too far when she found that she had a knack for emulating others.

8/10

You can buy the book here.
Americans can order the film here.

April Fools: The Heat (2013)

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are the odd couple thrown together in this standard buddy cop comedy that ends up providing a fair amount of chuckles, thanks to the talents of the cast and a consistently amusing, if not outright hilarious, script.

Bullock is Agent Ashburn, a Fed who takes great pride in her work. Well, it's basically all she has in her life. Except for her cat, which actually belongs to her neighbour. When a big case takes her to Boston it's not long until she bumps into the aggressive and unorthodox Mullins (McCarthy). Which means, of course, that the two of them have to work together to crack the case.

Director Paul Feig, who scored a huge hit with his previous movie, Bridesmaids, proves here that he has a knack of working well with talented comedic actresses. Or that he has a knack of working well with talented female writers, as it's Katie Dippold who wrote the script. Or maybe he just does well when paired up with McCarthy, who was one of many highlights in Bridesmaids, of course.

I've always been a fan of Bullock, and I think she's particularly good in comedic roles. The Heat reminds people of just how good she is with the right material. McCarthy gets most of the big laughs, of course, but Bullock does well as the uptight agent who might just learn to loosen up a little bit over the course of the movie. McCarthy really shines here, unlike her turn in the misjudged Identity Thief, and I hope she considers clearing her schedule for any future opportunities to work with Feig, who obviously knows how to get the best out of her.

While none of the other main characters are played by any BIG names, I must say that the supporting cast had a great selection of talent. Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr, Thomas F. Wilson, Jane Curtin and others all join in with the fun, and everyone seems to have a good time.

The script could have been sharper, the film could have been tightened up a bit (the runtime is just under two hours), and there's a fine line being walked between filling the movie with cliches and having fun with them, but there's plenty here to enjoy, especially for fans of the two leads.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Heat-Blu-ray-UV-Copy/dp/B00DHB410E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391201784&sr=8-2&keywords=the+heat