Girls Trip (2017)

The very basic premise of Girls Trip is a group of four friends getting back together to enjoy some leisure time that will include drinking, dancing, rekindling their sex drive, and a few arguments as they grow apart before maybe coming closer together. It's nothing we haven't seen before. The main twist here is that one of the group (Ryan Pierce, played by Regina Hall) is successful and famous, which makes the waters a lot trickier to navigate when her friends - played by Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish - start to suspect there may be a bit of trouble in her seemingly perfect marriage (to Stewart, played by Mike Colter).

Despite one or two very enjoyable moments, including an absolutely hilarious sequence in which the girls try to act normally while under the influence of hallucination-inducing substances aka tripping balls, Girls Trip is quite disappointing as a comedy. The script, by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, could have easily trimmed down one or two characters, and one more set-piece to rival the hallucinatory sequence would have been enough to push this above average. A few decent lines here and there don't do enough to make this consistently amusing.

Director Malcolm D. Lee doesn't add anything of note. His work is capable enough, following the predictable script almost to the letter (it would seem), and he tends to just have faith in his leading ladies. Which would be a wise choice if they were all on the same level.

I like Regina Hall. A lot. I always have, and think I always will. I have also been a big fan of every performance I have seen from Queen Latifah. So I enjoyed both of them in this film. And it was a bonus that Hall is actually given a few excellent, and unexpected, moments to show just how good she can act, especially in the second half of the film. Smith and Haddish, on the other hand, just don't work as well. It's not that they're terrible, and the earlier scenes with Haddish arranging her leave from work are actually very funny, but they're just nowhere near as watchable or charismatic as the other two. Colter does well in the bad man role, Larenz Tate doesn't get that much screentime as a nice guy, and Kate Walsh does a lot with her small role, playing a white woman who tries to act and speak like the rest of the group, despite other people explaining that it's not something she can really make work.

Far from terrible, it's just a shame that Girls Trip rarely has enough laughs throughout. Which is always a mark against something being sold as a comedy.

5/10

You can buy Girls Trip here.
Americans can pick it up here.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, adapting his own novel, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a good film with moments of greatness, helped enormously by a winning central performance from Logan Lerman as the main character. The fact that it ends up not as good as it could be stems from some tired cliches of quirkiness being trotted out, and also from one or two complete mis-steps (like having the cool kids who love cool music not be able to recognise the song "Heroes" by David Bowie - watch the film and you'll probably have the same expression of puzzlement and disdain that I had during that moment).

Lerman plays Charlie, a sensitive young man who doesn't really fit in with those around him at school. He enjoys reading and writing, and quickly finds out that he'll at least really enjoy listening to his new English teacher (Paul Rudd). He's also had some mental health problems, but whatever caused them is obviously going to be held back for viewers to discover as the movie builds to its finale. Anyway, Charlie starts to enjoy life a LOT more when he befriends Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson). That also leads to him becoming friends with a few of their friends, and it soon gets easier for Charlie to keep the good days outnumbering the bad days. But the situation probably can't stay so stable, especially when Charlie has such strong feelings for Sam.

Chbosky does fine with the structuring and feel of the movie. There are details teased out as things build up to the climax, and there's fine line between the comedy and the dark tension always running underneath it. He's helped by a good cast, but few of the supporting actors are as good as Lerman. Watson tries hard, and I suppose does a pretty good job, but I just can't accept her as the sexy, cool, free spirit that she's portraying here because, well, I've never found her sexy or cool. She may be both of those things, and I know that she's certainly the former to some people, but she doesn't ever seem that way to me, therefore her character is bearable but unconvincing. Miller does a lot better, but his character is another cliche, alongside Watson's quirky object of desire. Miller is the exuberant gay male, spreading around enough love for everyone while hiding a lot of his personal pain deep inside. Mae Whitman is great for almost every moment that she's onscreen, Johnny Simmons adds another good turn to his CV, and Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh play Charlie's parents, the two may not have much screentime but still do well with what they're given. And horror fans will be delighted by the small role that Tom Savini has in the movie.


There's nothing new here, and that may be the biggest problem that The Perks Of Being A Wallflower has, but a lot of what IS here is done well, and I can't praise that central turn from Lerman enough. But, honestly, the other big problem is . . . . . . . . . what kind of cool kids don't recognise a great David Bowie song when they hear one?

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Perks-Being-Wallflower-Blu-ray/dp/B008OQ037W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1391897925&sr=8-4&keywords=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower