Prime Time: Over Your Dead Body (2026)

I was hoping to make time for this after finally watching the film that it was based on (The Trip, directed by Tommy Wirkola), but sometimes things aren't meant to be. Which means I saw this was now on Amazon Prime and it seemed like the best way to spend some of my time this past weekend.

Dan (Jason Segel) and Lisa (Samara Weaving) are a married couple who don't love each other any more. Maybe a weekend break will help them. It will certainly help Dan once he's drugged and killed Lisa, then disposed of her body in the nearby lake. Dan isn't too smart though, which allows Lisa to soon cotton on to what he's planning. And she has her own plan. Both of them may try to kill one another, but they might also both be shown exactly how they should do things by three dangerous fugitives (played by Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, and Keith Jardine).

Written by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, working from the screenplay co-written by Wirkola, Nick Ball, and John Niven, Over Your Dead Body is the kind of film best described as a deliciously dark comedy. It's just a shame that all of the real deliciousness and darkness appears in the third act, and doesn't quite do enough to make up for the disappointments elsewhere in the runtime.

Segel and Weaving are both great performers, but neither of them are doing their best work here. It would have been nice to have more scenes letting them be more vicious to each other, but we instead just get standard griping and poor communication underlining where they both are in their marriage (the end, they're both at the end of it). Everything picks up when a strange trio gatecrash the planned violence, thanks mainly to a typically brilliant turn from Olyphant, although he's almost matched by a lovestruck Lewis. Jardine has to play a strong idiot, which he does fine, but his character is the least interesting of the core selection. The other person to mention is Paul Guilfoyle, playing a grumpy and critical father who believes that a war would be the best thing for his son. Guilfoyle is casually dismissive and careless without seeming loathsome, and he gets a couple of great moments when he comes back into the picture after his earliest scenes.

I've enjoyed some other work from director Jorma Taccone (especially the brilliant Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), but I believe he works better with light and silly fare. Whether it's the source material or the very wobbly tonal tightrope here, he's not able to do as well here. Mind you, I am not sure many people would be able to spin gold from a sequence in which someone is threatened with anal rape if they don't promise to hand over enough money to help some desperate criminals finalise their escape plan.

If you like the stars then you'll get something from this, and there are some fantastic gore gags in the last 15-20 minutes, but it's just a shame that there wasn't more energy running through this. From the dialogue to the score, nothing really works in the first hour that helps it to get anywhere close to being as entertaining as the finale. I'll be interested to see if the original does it any better. 

4/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Prime Time: Bad Teacher (2011)

Bad Teacher doesn't entirely work, mainly because it doesn't really spend enough time wallowing in the right kind of bad teacher behaviour, but I am surprised that it received the generally negative reaction that it did when first released. While not great, it IS good, and it IS funny.

Cameron Diaz stars as Elizabeth, a lazy teacher who is looking forward to marrying her rich fiancé and leaving working life behind her. Except that doesn't happen. So she's back at school for the next year, looking for ways to earn enough to pay for the boob job that she hopes will help her land another rich guy and allow her to live the comfortable, kept lifestyle that she years for. Her lessons consist of showing pupils films (Stand And Deliver, Lean On Me, Dangerous Minds) and she is happy to do even less than the bare minimum, until she hears about a cash prize for the teacher of the class with the best test results.

Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (who previously worked together on Year One and the American version of The Office), this is most enjoyable when it is showing a character pushing things much further than any adult in a position of authority should. It's just a shame that they don't ever really risk pushing things towards darker, and potentially funnier, territory. This is a film that tries to be fun and edgy without ever being really becoming transgressive, which is understandable from a sales point of view but disappointing nonetheless.

Director Jake Kasdan does solid work, moving between a few of the bigger set-pieces (a car wash moment, a scheme to steal a test paper, the grand finale) briskly enough to ensure that the film doesn't overstay its welcome. It's a simple 90 minutes (give or take) of bawdy humour that does enough by the third act to have you rooting for the main character, despite her selfish and manipulative ways.

Diaz is a lot of fun in the lead role, whether she's trying to look wide-eyed and innocent or showing her true colours in amusing exchanges that leave others shocked. Lucy Punch is the other teacher who suspects that things are going very wrong in the classroom across the hall from her, John Michael Higgins is the Principal, and Phyllis Smith is a rather timid teacher who is also a friend, and unable to see the real badness of Diaz. All of them are great fun, as are Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake, two very different men who work at the school. The former is interested in Diaz while she, in turn, is looking to bag the latter (because his family has money). Thomas Lennon is as hilarious, as he so often is, in a small role, and all of the main child actors do well.

There are a number of mainstream comedies from the past few years that you could pick if you want more laughs, I can't deny that, but Bad Teacher is still good enough to pass some time and keep you amused. It's not ace . . . but it still makes the grade.

6/10

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

Netflix And Chill: The Five-Year Engagement (2012)

Another offbeat rom-com from Nicholas Stoller (director and co-writer) and Jason Segel (star and co-writer), The Five-Year Engagement is a lot more fun, and a lot sweeter, than I expected it to be (considering the mixed opinions I had heard on it). The biggest problem it has, like so many other comedies from recent years, is a lengthy runtime. Having said that, I am not sure what I would cut out of it to slim it down. I just know that I was waiting for a suitable final act about thirty minutes before it was due to be delivered.

Segel and Emily Blunt play Tom and Violet, a couple who are very much in love, and so get engaged. As the title may suggest, things keep cropping up that extend their engagement again and again. They end up living in Michigan, which Tom resents, while others start to race forward with their own life plans (mainly Violet's sister, Suzie, and Tom's best friend, Alex). Nothing seems to get easier, which puts more and more strain on their relationship. Can they get through this problematic stage, or does such a lengthy engagement mean that it's just not meant to be?

The middle section of The Five-Year Engagement is the weakest part, as the film seems to relish piling on the misery for the two main characters and becoming far too sour for a rom-com (even for an anti-rom-com, which this seems to be for a while, before making amends in the final stages). There are still a lot of funny lines and moments, but everything is tinged with sadness, doubly so for viewers who like both of the leads (and I do).

Stoller directs capably enough. You get plenty of obvious, amusing, transitions, the soundtrack has some jangly guitar tunes on there, and he allows the cast to interact with one another in a way that feels natural without feeling like the extended improvisations you would get in a Judd Apatow film. But that's definitely the biggest problem here, the Apatow effect. There's just no need for a film like this to be over two hours long.

It's a good job that the cast are so enjoyable, making it easier to accept the inflated runtime. Segel and Blunt are fantastic in the lead roles, and you really root for them to stay together, and a lot of laughs come from Alison Brie and Chris Pratt, playing Suzie and Tom. Rhys Ifans is also good fun, playing a professor who supports Violet in a way that may creep beyond professional interest, and others joining in with the fun include Brian Posehn, Dakota Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Randall Park, Kevin Hart, Jacki Weaver, and more.

This is a fun film. It has enough laughs to be a good comedy. It has enough sweetness to be a good romance. It's a fantastic ninety minutes. Stretched to over two hours.

7/10

Pick it up here.
Americans can go buy it here.

Bonus Review: Sex Tape (2014)

Sex Tape is mildly amusing. The main stars, Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, pretty much guarantee that, thanks to their willingness to help each other look stupid, and a supporting cast, including Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper and Rob Lowe, also helps to at least supply a few chuckles. Unfortunately, the risque plot and set-pieces provide more groans than chuckles, especially when you realise that this is the kid of comedy that thinks it's being fun AND rude, yet seems designed to provoke titters and/or blushes purely from the middle-aged and middle-class. If you have any doubt about that, please pay careful attention whenever you see a clip from the sex tape of the title.

That's the whole plot, by the way. Segel and Diaz decide to spice up their sex life with a bit of recording shenanigans, which proves disastrous when Segel synchs their escapade with a number of iPads that he's giving away as gifts. Yes, these people give away iPads as gifts, even throwing one to the mailman. Segel doesn't realise his major mistake until he receives a cryptic text, and then it's a race to retrieve the iPads and wipe the video from them all. They enlist the help of their friends - Corddry and Kemper - and head off into a long, dark night of the soul.

Written by Segel, Nicholas Stoller and Kate Angelo, Sex Tape could have been a great comedy. The premise is simple, yet effective, and the potential for the big laughs is easy to see. Yet it does nothing to get anywhere near that potential. Instead, it just meanders around, refusing to push things towards any area that may actually, god forbid, offend anyone. This is shocking stuff for those who, to use a musical equivalent, think the Scissor Sisters are the height of melodic anarchy.

Jake Kasdan is happy to direct in the same, safe manner. Everyone seems to be having a good time, or at least all seem pleased with themselves, and he doesn't do anything to interrupt that vibe. Do I sound like this is a pet peeve of mine? Well, that's because it is. Not because there's anything inherently wrong with the actual content here, but because it's all been tweaked and polished to remove it that touch too far from what it could have been, all the while allowing the stars to mug their way through the whole thing as if they're helping to veritably push at the boundaries of common decency and good taste.

Segel and Diaz are decent enough in the lead roles, although both have been better in at least a dozen movies I could think of, just off the top of my head. Corddry and Kemper do better, perhaps due to the fact that their scenes mean they don't really have to pretend to be involved in something edgy and sexy, and Rob Lowe is quite funny as a straight-laced guy who really likes to let his hair down when he can. Jack Black appears for a scene or two, and is enjoyable enough in a standard Jack Black turn, and a young man named Harrison Holzer gets to play an amusing irritant.

All in all, this has too few laughs, too few risque moments, and absolutely no surprises. And that's just not good enough for a film entitled Sex Tape.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Tape-Blu-ray-Jason-Segel/dp/B00LU7JB66/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415390153&sr=8-2&keywords=sex+tape

Ani-MAY-tion Month: Despicable Me (2010)

Steve Carell is the voice of Gru in this slick, enjoyable animated feature. Gru is a criminal mastermind. In fact, he likes to think of himself as the number one criminal mastermind in the whole world, despite the constant put-downs from his mother (Julie Andrews), but his status is threatened when he finds himself being overshadowed by young Vector (Jason Segel). Gru may have his minions, and a great scientist named Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), but he needs something more to get one over on his new nemesis. He needs . . . . . . . . . . children.

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, there's a lot to enjoy in Despicable Me, thanks to the fun premise. Featuring two main villains who revel in their villainy, and a whole host of minions to win over younger viewers (if you don't know what a minion looks by now then you haven't been near any kids in the past couple of years), this is something that will easily entertain most family members. The voice cast is good, with Kristen Wiig and Will Arnett joining in with the fun, and the animation is smooth and full of interesting design choices.

Having said that, the film falls into many of the same traps that almost every other animated movie falls into nowadays. There are one or two obligatory moments just to placate anyone who paid more to see it in 3D, there's a bit of music and dancing at the very end (did Shrek start that trend, or does it just feel like it?), and there is an extra sweetness to the second half that was refreshingly minimal in the first half. Okay, okay, the last part isn't that bad, especially as viewers root for the three little orphan girls that Gru takes into his home to help him with his latest nefarious scheme.

It's not the most sophisticated movie, with many of the characters (okay, mainly the minions) acting just like naughty children, but that's not the worst crime ever. The script by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio never quite hits its stride, but it gets some bonus points for the following reasons. One, the minions ARE funny, with their constant strange babblings and seeming inability to take anything seriously. Two, the scenes showing Gru adjusting to life as a parent are also very entertaining. Three, for anything that the movie lacks, it at least includes a Piranha Gun. YES!!! Sophistication be damned.

It's not the best from the many animated movies released in the last few years, but I think it's still a lot of fun. And it should certainly keep the kids happy, which is kinda the whole point.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Despicable-Me-Blu-ray-UV-Copy/dp/B00E9SUTHI/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1397284641&sr=1-2&keywords=despicable+me+box+set