[Review] Neighbors
[This review was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Neighbors' theatrical release.]
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Neighbors
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Rating: R
Release Date: March 8, 2014 (SXSW)
Nicholas Stoller has been making a name for himself in the comedy scene for years, writing and directing some decent comedies (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement). Neighbors, his most recent feature, takes some of the best parts of any Judd Apatow-related film, but adds in Stoller's own style that makes it one of 2014's best comedies of the year thus far.
Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are two young parents that move into a brand new neighborhood after putting their life savings into a house. Everything seems well and idyllic until a fraternity moves into the building right next door. Wanting to get on their good side, Mac and Kelly introduce themselves to the fraternity's two leads, Teddy (Zac Efron) and Pete (Dave Franco). After hitting things off well, the relationship between them quickly sours after Mac and Kelly call in a noise complaint. Feeling betrayed, the fraternity declare a war of pranks and shenanigans on the couple, creating chaos in an already chaotic life. With no real options left to them, Mac and Kelly must fight fire with fire to ensure they aren't displaced from their own neighborhood.
Neighbors takes a simple premise and runs with it to great comedic effect. What could have been nothing but a raunchy, lightweight comedy ended up being one of the year's early comedy hits. Considering the nature of the premise (fraternity vs. developmentally-arrested young parents), the raunch level was always going to be present. However, it's used in good taste and contextually well within the frameworks of the film. For example, most college-themed films like to include as many topless girls as possible to give off the "college" feeling. Neighbors, however, keeps the breasts to a bare minimum, only turning to them when appropriate or for a well-placed joke, essentially empowering the importance of bare breasts to great effect.
One major slight against Neighbors is a pacing problem. While the film starts off with some great jokes and keeps the momentum going, there's a noticeable section of the film where the jokes and setups are halted for an extended period of time. Within the context of the film, this was all meant to lead into the otherwise hilarious third act, which is understandable, but unfortunately too much of a lapse to easily brush aside. When the jokes are on, though, they're on, whether it's extended "Who's the real Batman?" exchange, dildo molding, or a long breast milk gag.
Everybody in the cast brought their A-game to Neighbors. Zac Efron's been on this high trajectory, and I was happy to see him get the chance to work alongside both Stoller and Rogen. Franco, too, needs more roles like his in Neighbors, not only because of his comedic prowess, but to also show what he can offer outside of older brother James' shadow. Of course, Byrne stole the show with her jokes. It just be the accent, but Byrne was on it for Neighbors, perhaps building off of the great chemistry she and Rogen shared.
Neighbors won't be out in domestic theaters until May 9th, and indeed, the SXSW cut of the film still was an unfinished one, needing some extra polish, sound mixing, and overall post-editing. Hopefully, the edits they make can help the aforementioned lull in pacing towards the end of the film, plus cutting a few jokes or two wouldn't be a bad idea (including a gruesomely unnecessary Obama joke that didn't land at all). However, despite the extra work that'll be made on the film, I still stand my ground by labeling Neighbors one of 2014's best comedy offerings.
[Review] Chef
[This review was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Chef's theatrical release.]
Chef
Director: Jon Favreau
Rating: N/A
Release Date: March 7, 2014 (SXSW)
Over the past few years, director Jon Favreau has been known for his big budget sci-fi films (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Cowboys & Aliens). However, his career began with earnest in low budget indie darling films, most notably Swingers alongside Vince Vaughn. Since then, Favreau's trajectory has skyrocketed, culminating with the aforementioned Iron Man films, which themselves helped establish Marvel's dominance in the film industry. However, wanting to create something personal on a smaller scale, Favreau brought Chef to this year's SXSW in which he directed, wrote, and starred. Would all of the years spent working on big budget Hollywood films affect his ability to create films that were driven more by personal stories than grandiose concepts? Read on and find out.
Early in his career, chef Carl Casper (Favreau) was named one of the most exciting chefs in the restaurant business. After establishing a residency at a Los Angeles restaurant for many years, Casper's creativity began to suffer. In an attempt to reinvigorate both himself and his cooking staff, he set out to create a special menu to accommodate LA's most notorious food critic. However, the owner of the restaurant (Dustin Hoffman) prevents Casper from deviating from the established menu, resulting in a domino effect of events that lead to a scathing review of Casper's talents and his own ouster from the restaurant. With his future prospects out the window, Casper sets out to Miami to start a food truck business with his best friend and former line cook (John Leguizamo). Also along for the ride is Casper's son, Percy (Emjay Anthony) who had been inadvertently ignored due to Casper's busy schedule and the divorce between he and his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara).
Chef is split by its two halves. The first half of the film focuses on Casper and his professional fall and rise. The conflict is driven not just by the obvious man vs. man conflict, but also man vs. self as Casper has to re-adapt his life and find what's been missing inn his personal and professional careers. The second half focuses more on Percy and his reconnection with Casper. The transition from the light comedy/drama of the first half to the road trip/buddy film in the second half was a bit rough, but welcome at the same time.
In a way, Chef is simple, and that's okay. Much like Favreau's Casper went on a journey to find the spark he once lost, Chef could be Favreau's proverbial food truck. It won't be for everybody, and some might expect more from the writer/director/actor, especially with the film being his first feature since the Hollywood film predecessors. The drama's light and nothing too expository, but the true heart of the film is in the comedy. Favreau's writing is pointed and direct in its nature, relative to both the restaurant industry and the Latino flavor of the film. Complementing the Latin tone of the film is the spectacular soundtrack that features covers of notable songs from Merengue to Salsa to Bachata and everything in between.
Chef is a light, good-hearted film that definitely benefited from being SXSW's opening film. It's charming, has jokes that are actually funny, and is supported by a great cast. If you're looking for a laid-back night out, Chef will be the perfect complement to a nice, candlelit dinner.
[Interview] Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors)
[This interview was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Neighbors' theatrical release.]
Despite being an early, unfinished cut specifically for SXSW, Neighbors is one of the early comedy successes of 2014. Granted, we’re just a quarter of the way in, and the film technically doesn’t come to theaters until May, so it’s a bit unfair for me to proclaim its high graces. Nevertheless, heed my SXSW review of the film as early warning to you comedy fans: Neighbors is absolutely hilarious.
During SXSW 2014, I sat with Neighbors actor Ike Barinholtz to discuss not just his role in the film, but his Chicago roots, working on The Mindy Project, and I even got him to pitch us a movie idea. Ruby Hornet has already put a copyright on the idea, so you better think twice about stealing it from us. Check out the full interview over the next few pages, and remember: Neighbors will be in theaters on May 9th.
[Interview] Jerrod Carmichael (Neighbors)
[This interview was originally published as part of our SXSW 2014 coverage. It is being re-posted to coincide with Neighbors' theatrical release.]
Despite being an early, unfinished cut specifically for SXSW, Neighbors is one of the early comedy successes of 2014. Granted, we're just a quarter of the way in, and the film technically doesn't come to theaters until May, so it's a bit unfair for me to proclaim its high graces. Nevertheless, heed my SXSW review of the film as early warning to you comedy fans: Neighbors is absolutely hilarious.
During the aforementioned SXSW, I had a chance to sit down with Neighbors' Jerrod Carmichael to discuss his role in the film, his experience working with such comedic minds as Seth Rogen and Nick Stoller, his stand-up career, and even his involvement with Odd Future's TV series, Loiter Squad. Check out the full interview over the next couple of pages, and be sure to catch Neighbors when it hits theaters on May 9th.
[SXSW 2014] South by Southwest 2014 Retrospective
[Ruby Hornet will be covering SXSW from March 7th to March 16th. Follow along as we bring you exclusive film reviews, photos, daily features, and interviews with filmmakers, actors, and musicians!]
South by Southwest has always held a special candle in my heart. Were it not for my inaugural trip to Austin in 2012, I wouldn't be where I'm at right now, both personally and professionally. Going into SXSW every year, I always find myself filled with a level of excitement I never get when covering other festivals, whether they're film or music-related, and this year was no different. With SXSW 2014 being my first year covering for Ruby Hornet, I opted to handle the film festival differently than I have in the past, focusing more on interviews rather than reviews, which I hope you've all seen by now, because they've been great. On the music side, Jake made his own spin on covering SXSW, writing personal daily journals that detailed his experience in Austin surrounded by a lot of rising artists and musicians, as well as doing his thing with some amazing interviews. In the photography realm, both Virgil and Kristen Wrzesniewski held it down for us, covering the film and music sides of the festival, respectively. In case you missed our coverage sprinkled throughout the past month, everything SXSW-related can be found below, neatly indexed and set in order in chronological order. I hope you all enjoyed our SXSW 2014 coverage!
[SXSW] 10 Films You Should See at SXSW 2014
[SXSW Review] The Infinite Man
[SXSW Review] Chef
[SXSW Review] Neighbors
[SXSW Review] Premature
[SXSW Review] Manny
[SXSW Review] Space Station 76
[SXSW Video Interview] Kim Shaw, David Dastmalchian, and Collin Schiffli (ANIMALS)
[SXSW Review] ANIMALS
[SXSW Review] Cesar Chavez
[SXSW Interview] Jerrod Carmichael (Neighbors)
[SXSW Interview] Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors)
[SXSW Interview] Hannah Marshall and Hugh Sullivan (The Infinite Man)
[SXSW Video Interview] Emmy Rossum and Fatima Ptacek (Before I Disappear)
[SXSW Interview] Adam Riegler and Alan Tudyk (Premature)
[SXSW Interview] John Karna and Dan Beers (Premature)
[SXSW Video Interview] Lenny Mesina (Manny)
[SXSW Video Interview] Ryan Moore (Manny)
[SXSW Interview] Shawn Christensen and Paul Wesley (Before I Disappear)
[SXSW Journal] Day 1
[SXSW Journal] Day 2
[SXSW Journal] Day 3
[SXSW Journal] Day 4
[SXSW] Music Festival 2014 Recap
[SXSW Interview] The Radkey Brothers Are Bringing Punk Back
[SXSW Interview] Bishop Nehru Embodies 'The Twenty Year Loop'
[SXSW Interview] The Tontons, Well on Their Way
[SXSW Interview] Cheers Elephant, SXSW Veterans
[SXSW Photos] Robert Rodriguez Museum
[SXSW Photos] From Dusk till Dawn: The Series After Party
[SXSW Photos] Film Festival 2014
[SXSW Photos] Music Festival 2014
[SXSW Interview] Shawn Christensen and Paul Wesley (Before I Disappear)
[Ruby Hornet will be covering SXSW from March 7th to March 16th. Follow along as we bring you exclusive film reviews, photos, daily features, and interviews with filmmakers, actors, and musicians!]
Before I Disappear was a huge hit at SXSW 2014, winning the SXSW Film 2014 Audience Award in the Narrative Feature Competition category. This doesn't come as a huge surprise, considering the film is based on the short film Curfew, which itself won the Academy Award for Best Short Film - Live Action in 2013.
In our interview with triple threat Shawn Christensen (director/writer/actor) and Paul Wesley (producer/actor), we discuss what it was like adapting the aforementioned Curfew into the full-length feature, Before I Disappear, including story elements that had to be expanded upon and altered, working with returning actress Fatima Ptacek, the feeling of success over winning an Oscar for Curfew and any worries about making Before I Disappear because of it, and much more.
You can watch the full interview with Shawn Christensen and Paul Wesley below. Also, be sure to check out our previous Before I Disappear interview with Emmy Rossum and Fatima Ptacek.
[Review] Cesar Chavez
[To commemorate the limited theatrical release of Cesar Chavez, we are re-posting this review of the film from this year's South by Southwest.]
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Cesar Chavez
Director: Diego Luna
Rating: N/A
Release Date: March 10, 2014 (SXSW)
Cesar Chavez was not only one of the largest and most influential icons in Latino culture, he was also one of the premier faces of the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Yet, director Diego Luna's portrayal of the labor leader's life is the first time Chavez's story has been put on the big screen. Why is that? I'm not entirely sure, but because of the gravity behind the film and how important Chavez was to many people, Cesar Chavez, the film, carries an added layer of spectacle. Because of this, it's a bit difficult to view Cesar Chavez from an objective perspective, yet its the subjectivity behind his story that will ultimately drive the film's success... or failure.
Much like all other biopics, Cesar Chavez is a fictional take on Cesar Chavez's (Michael Peña) life, spotlighting some of the major events Chavez went through, such as the formation of the United Farm Workers union, the Delano grape strike, the Modesto March, and one of Chavez's many fasts. By his side are his wife, Helen (America Ferrera), and Dolores Huerta (Rosario Dawson), another pivotal figure in the formation of the UFW. Within the context of the film, the main source of conflict for Chavez comes in the form of one grape farm owner (John Malkovich) who unites other farm owners to resist Chavez's demands for proper treatment of their contract workers. Another subplot involves the alienation between Chavez and his oldest son, creating a dichotomy between the love he received from the public, but the backlash he was receiving privately.
As I mentioned in my introduction, Cesar Chavez was one of the most important Latinos in American history... nay, one of the most influential cultural icons in history. Because of this, expectations will be high for audiences watching Cesar Chavez that may affect how the film is received. On the one hand, it's about time Chavez's life was immortalized on the silver screen. At the same time, I feel like the film will be more positively received because of who Chavez was rather than by the merits of the film itself. Cesar Chavez isn't a bad film. In fact, I think it highlights Michael Peña's true talents as an actor. However, a part of that could come from the very fact that he's portraying Cesar Chavez, yet it takes a certain ability to portray such an iconic figure. Do you sense the catch-22 I've been struggling with here?
Cesar Chavez isn't a bad film, but it doesn't necessarily stick out. Luna's depiction of Chavez's plight is great, fitting perfectly within the framework of a film, but like all biopics, reception is mostly based on the audience's familiarity with the figure. The conflict is resounding enough for audiences to be drawn to, and there are certainly going to be audiences cheering on with "Se se puede!" chants, but those will mostly come from the independent theaters. Cesar Chavez is one of the most important luminaries of the civil rights movement and Latino community, and while Cesar Chavez is a solid film that encapsulates a part of this amazing man's life, it'll unfortunately be overshadowed by the spectacle of the fact.
[SXSW Interview] John Karna and Dan Beers (Premature)
[Ruby Hornet will be covering SXSW from March 7th to March 16th. Follow along as we bring you exclusive film reviews, photos, daily features, and interviews with filmmakers, actors, and musicians!]
Dan Beers' (FCU: Fact Checkers Unit) feature-length directorial debut, Premature, put a spin on the typical raunchy high school sex comedy. Equal parts Groundhog Day and American Pie, the comedy was about a high school Senior having to re-live the most important day of his life until he ultimately gets it right. If a misstep is taken, all he needs to do to escape is a trigger in the form of physical stimulation... I think we all know what that means.
Following my interviews with Adam Riegler and Alan Tudyk, I had individual talks with Premature's lead actor John Karna and writer/director Dan Beers. John and I talked about the film being his first paid film role, being filmed in his underwear, and the intricacies of having an artificial wet spot applied to said underwear. Dan and I talked about some of his inspirations behind the film, working with the cast, and also the intricacies of having an artificial wet spot applied to John's underwear. As was the theme of the day, I also discussed Alan Tudyk's mustache with each of them. Enjoy!