Stephen Colbert

DreamWorks’ ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Has Great 3D Concept, But Falls Flat

BrianTT — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:09:18 -0600

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Hasn’t Pixar proven that animation can be more than just concept and celebrity voice work? The problem with “Monsters vs. Aliens” is that the team behind it clearly prioritized nearly every element of the film over actual storytelling. It looks good, has some talented people behind the mic, and is visually engaging, but there’s nothing memorable about the script at all. The 3D may pop, but the story is flat.

Rob Letterman (writer/director of “Shark Tale”) and Conrad Vernon (director of “Shrek 2”) direct a script that took five writers to bring to the big screen and feels like it was haphazardly constructed like kids playing the story game on a playground. One kid starts the story and then another picks it up and so on and so on.

B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) introduce themselves to their new monster roommate.
Photo credit: Monsters vs. Aliens & © 2009 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

“Monsters vs. Aliens” pushes its 3D gimmick from the very beginning, opening with an asteroid belt designed to provoke oohs and aahs and moving into a sky watcher bouncing a rubber ball into the audience. Kids will be impressed. Adults will remember that 3D is just a trick, not an actualy storytelling device.

Through that asteroid belt, a giant space rock hurtles toward the Earth. The debris is headed right for the wedding of Susan (Reese Witherspoon) and Derek (Paul Rudd) and the poor bride gets slammed to the ground, slowly turning into Ginormica, the film’s variatoin on the 50-Foot Woman.

Susan/Ginormica is captured and thrown in an underground vault with four other monsters - the giant Insectosaurus, the mad scientist in a bug’s body known as Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), the ego-driven Missing Link (Will Arnett), and the body and brain-less B.O.B.(Seth Rogen). The monsters seem doomed to a dull life in a mysterious underground bunker until…

It turns out that the giant space rock had an element being sought by a power-mad alien (Rainn Wilson). He sends a robot down to claim it, bringing the President (Stephen Colbert) out to great the new “very big wonder”. When things go very wrong in the meeting of the interstellar powers, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) suggests to the leader of the free world that the only way to stop the alien invasion is to unleash the monsters, promising them their freedom if they save our skins.

These Monsters—The Missing Link (Will Arnett), Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon), B.O.B.(Seth Rogen), Insectosaurus and Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie)—are defenders of the planet.
Photo credit: Monsters vs. Aliens & © 2009 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A few of the set pieces, especially those clearly authored with 3D in mind, look undeniably impressive. When Susan literally glows during her wedding, when the monsters use the Golden Gate Bridge as a weapon, and the final battle sequence - all of these set pieces have a visceral, action-driven fun, but even within them there’s no reason to care about anything that’s happening. Most video games have more character development than “Monsters vs. Aliens”.

The problem is that the writers WANT there to be a heartwarming story about being who you want to be. The idea being that even a monster can save the world. But it doesn’t work. If they had pumped up the references to old movie monsters and aliens and gone just for the thrill ride, that could have been effective but the attempts at character, like the fact that Derek doesn’t stand by Susan when she grows big enough to crush him, fall totally flat.

Worst of all, “Monsters vs. Aliens” just isn’t funny. There are two or three solid chuckles, but that’s it. The celebrities do a reasonably good job, especially Witherspoon and Rogen, but a shocking number of jokes hit the ground with a thud. It’s just not clever enough.

Without characters to care about or clever dialogue, all that’s left in “MvA” is the pretty pictures and, for some, that will be enough. The 3D looks good but the backgrounds aren’t nearly as richly developed as they should be. Visually, it’s not nearly as memorable as “Coraline”.

With the concept over storytelling and emphasis on the visuals, I often felt like “Monsters vs. Aliens” played like a preview for a longer, more rewarding experience. Then I realized it IS a preview. It’s a preview for the video games, toys, inevitable sequel, thrill rides, and so on and so on. When you can see previews online for free, why pay to see one in the theaters just because it’s in 3D?

‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ stars the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland, and Paul Rudd. It was written by Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger and directed by Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman. It opens on March 27th, 2009. It is rated PG.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Uproarious, Talent-Packed ‘The Love Guru’ a Script of Destiny From Funnyman Mike Myers

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 01:17:18 -0600

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Commendably co-written by Mike Myers (who also wrote characters for 2002’s “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and 1999’s “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”), you know lines like “sheket bevakasha” came directly from his bowels.

Granted, I was one of the few at my screening to understand this Hebrew line as “quiet, please” and laugh at its precision placement, but that’s OK.

Though always known as a hippie funnyman, the novel script for “The Love Guru” actually holds personal and grave emotional value for Myers. He has said the film is a “reflection of the spiritual journey” he traveled after the 1991 death of his father.

Jessica Alba as Jane Bullard in the comedy “The Love Guru”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

The Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison died on Nov. 29, 2001, which literally was the final day of filming for 2002’s “Austin Powers in Goldmember”. Upon opening a letter from Harrison, Myers told MTV on April 9, 2008 that he thought to himself: “OK, universe. I think I get it. This is the movie you want me to make.”

Yes, that’s actually Justin Timberlake as Jacques Grande in “The Love Guru”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

While Mike Myers proves he’s more than just Austin Powers through new plotlines taking him to new lands, he’s still the relatively same hilarious, hippie-loving beatnik no matter his purpose for being on screen.

Myers co-wrote this highly original script with rookie screenwriter Graham Gordy whose only other writing credit goes to a little-known film entitled “War Eagle, Arkansas”. Gordy also plays a small role in “The Love Guru,” which shot principal photography in Toronto, Ontario.

While for some “The Love Guru” may feel as though its gags were forced and unworthy as a script of pure hilarity, those same opponents will find themselves either secretly snickering or outright chortling in a seat-bouncing fashion.

So, yes, I’m bucking critical consensus and awarding overall funny credit for originality and guffaws that will deliver for you either clearly or furtively.

Part of me can’t believe I’m writing this, but for the first time, mega pop-singer Justin Timberlake is actually transformative as an actor. I went in vaguely remembering he’s featured in this film and then forgot about this nugget of information only for it to be mentioned again later.

On double take, I attempted asking my mental self which character he played.

Mike Myers stars as Guru Pitka in the comedy “The Love Guru”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

Having to look him up for a mental image associated with his name, I of course immediately recalled his seminal villain character as Jacques “La Coq” Grande: the hockey goalie trying to steal away the woman who Romany Malco as hockey phenom Darren Roanoke is rightfully married to.

This sets up the plot where Myers as Guru Pitka has a shot at millions in cash, the chance to appear on Chicago’s “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and ultimately the opportunity to best the world’s No. 1 guru – Deepak Chopra (a real-life Indian medical doctor and writer) – and launch himself forward from the No. 2 slot.

Jessica Alba (center) as Jane Bullard in the comedy “The Love Guru”.
Photo credit: George Kraychyk

Guru Pitka – who enjoys speaking into a prehistoric, voice-changing machine that hilariously transforms his voice into Morgan Freeman’s – has to love counsel Roanoke back with his wife to spur his confidence. This is all to assist the ailing Toronto Maple Leafs (owned by the fiery siren Jessica Alba) in “breaking their curse” (OK, that’s unoriginally stolen) and winning the Stanley Cup.

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While Alba again burns up the screen every moment she’s on it, her presence in “The Love Guru” is yet again felt as Hollywood eye candy without meaningful acting substance. Cameos by Jessica Simpson, Kanye West and Rob Blake (a Los Angeles Kings hockey player) are used sparingly and appropriately.

Verne Troyer – who is notably known by his dwarfism and stands at 2 feet 8 inches – plays a key role as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, Troyer returns to work with Myers again after playing the ever-memorable role as Mini-Me in “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” in 1999.

Stephen Colbert of the U.S. satirical television show “The Colbert Report” adds another acting credit to his list as Myers’ money-hungry agent and business partner Jay Kell.

The ever-brilliant Ben Kingsley – who played Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1982’s “Gandhi” – wonderfully disappears into the cross-eyed role of Myers’ guru trainer Guru Tugginmypudha.

“The Love Guru” opened everywhere on June 20, 2008.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com