Controversial Comedic Movies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:30:41 PDT

Some of the best comedy provocatively pushes the envelope, and when done well, it can allow us to not take life too seriously. But sometimes it can go really wrong, and feel less like a keen observation and more just mean-spirited. There is a thin line that certain comedic movies walk between hilarious and offensive. As Tropic Thunder, with all its controversies, hits the theaters, I was reminded of other comedies in recent years that were met with some protest. Controversy doesn't always affect ticket sales, though sometimes over-the-line comedy seems to influence the way a movie is received. To see some examples, just hit "Start."

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Separated at Birth: The Chucks of Entertainment

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:30:00 PDT

Here's a tip for getting a movie or TV show made in Hollywood these days: Name a main character Chuck. Two movies and a series have "Chuck" in their title; three more have Chucks in key roles. Can't tell Chuck Bartowski from Chuck Bass? Check out this guide:

Box Office: Simpsons Rake In Lots of D'Oh

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:30:00 PDT

Looks like Bart, Homer, Marge and the gang aren't just small-screen superstars anymore. The Simpsons Movie pulled in an estimated $71.8 million - the third-highest opening ever for an animated movie, behind only the two latest installments of the Shrek series - to run away with the weekend box office title. According to the Hollywood Reporter, that's well above the industry's highest expectations. Springfield must be so proud.

The cartoon family bumped I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry down to the No. 2 spot with about $19 million in sales. Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix stayed strong at No. 3 with $17 million and is now on pace to become the highest-grossing film franchise in worldwide box office history, topping Star Wars and the James Bond movies. Hairspray, meanwhile, grabbed another $15.5 million to capture the No. 4 spot.

Pleasant surprise No Reservations edged out Transformers for No. 5 with about $11.7 million (Transformers brought in $11.5 million). The weekend's other much-discussed new release, the Lindsay Lohan film I Know Who Killed Me, sneaked into the top 10, bringing in $3.4 million to finish at No. 9.

The Simpsons might not want to get too comfy on that couch atop the box office rankings, though. Next weekend, a man named Jason Bourne is coming to town.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Sugar Bits - Tammy Faye Messner Passes Away

PopSugar — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:31:37 PDT

Tammy Faye Messner passed away on Saturday after a long battle with cancer. Our thoughts are with her friends and family. - Reuters
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry came out of nowhere to steal the #1 spot at the box office away from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Obviously Potter fans couldn't tear themselves away from record-breaking book! - BuzzSugar
Country singer Mindy McCready was arrested for battery this weekend in Florida. Maybe she can get some inspiration for lyrics out of the scandal - TMZ
It was a big weekend for weddings - Full House alum Jodie Sweetin tied the knot in Vegas, while Leila Ali wed NFL star Curtis Conway in L.A. Congrats to the happy couples! - People
Rappers Ja Rule and Lil Wayne were both arrested for possession of a weapon after Lil Wayne's concert last night in NYC. On an ironic note, Ja Rule has a new song called "uh oh." - AP

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Chuck & Larry Somehow Take No. 1 Spot at Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:34:51 PDT

Wow. In my poll last Friday I wondered if the No. 1 movie at the box office this weekend would be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Hairspray, and here we are on Monday with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry smiling at us from the top of the list. The movie was critically panned (and even annoyed Molly), but apparently Adam Sandler has enough fans to float a pretty mediocre-sounding movie. Or maybe all the Harry Potter fans were just home reading the newest book!

The top three movies were close in sales, however, with Chuck and Larry and Harry Potter only about $2 million apart. In third place was Hairspray with $27.8 million, the most any musical movie has ever grossed in its opening weekend. At No. 4 was Transformers, staying strong with a cool $20 million, followed by Ratatouille at No. 5, raking in $11 million in its third weekend.

As for this weekend, I'm extremely excited to see The Simpsons Movie, so check out my review this Friday. For now, watch the trailer again and then see if you can get "Spider-Pig" out of your head.

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Jessica Has Hopes For Monster-Like Movies

PopSugar — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 06:28:25 PDT

Jessica Biel has had a busy week making the rounds to promote I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. She even found time to sneak around with Justin. Thursday she looked bright and summery in white as she was spotted leaving GMA. We've heard a lot about Jessica's sex appeal, but she's ready for a new role where she isn't sitting pretty. Here's more:

"I want to do everything," she confessed. "I always want to try something completely different from what I just did. I would definitely love to take on something that is physically totally different from what I look like and what I'm used to doing, do something like a 'Monster.' It's a dream," she continued. "I have to push myself and try something I've never tried before, put myself out there, be vulnerable and really take a huge risk."

Jessica does tend to always play similar characters in her roles so far, it would be nice to see her do something else. Besides, it's a trend for pretty actresses to get ugly in order to score Oscar gold.

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I Now Pronounce You Unfunny & Misguided

Molly — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:30:30 PDT

Note: My buddy Molly wrote this review because I was unable to attend the screening for the movie. Thanks, Molly!

I understand what I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was getting at. I understand that the movie uses things like stereotypes and homophobic language for the purpose of pointing out that this sort of behavior is bad, but it just doesn’t work. The movie can't decide whether it wants to play up these caricatures for laughs or legitimately try to have a message. In the end, it succeeds at neither.

The premise of the movie is simple (just suspend logic): Chuck and Larry are NYC firefighters. Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) is the ladies man while Larry (Kevin James) is the devoted father with the deceased wife. Not wanting to deal with his wife's passing, Larry avoids filling out his pension paperwork for too long, thereby missing the window during which he can make his kids, rather than his wife, his next of kin. Obviously, to get around the system, he decides to “marry” Chuck so that if something happened to Larry, Chuck would be the one in charge of making sure the money got to the kids. At no point does it occur to Larry that he and Chuck are literally side-by-side in all the fires, so if something horrible happened to one there's a good chance it would affect both. Just saying.

Chuck and Larry have no intention of ever living together or pretending to be a couple more than on paper, but when city officials become suspicious about their set up, they have to put on a show - very much against their will. Jessica Biel is Alex McDonough, the lawyer Chuck and Larry hire to help them make sure they prove to the officials that they are a legitimate gay couple. Naturally Adam Sandler falls in love with her, complicating things. But you can gather all that from the preview. To hear what I thought about the film just

The movie may be trying to point out homophobic behavior as evil, but there’s still not a single straight male in the movie who doesn’t find it repulsive. In fact, just the suggestion of a homosexual kiss is apparently so sickening that it must result in a manly display of violence. It's both scary and irresponsible to perpetuate the notion that homosexuality needs to be counteracted with violence. Not only that, but there are no homosexual characters who aren't exactly like every other mainstream portrayal of gay men. If having to make all gay characters easy to digest because they're so over the top is the best we can do in terms of fighting homophobia, how far have we come?

After all of those gripes, there are moments that are sweet and moments that are funny. Adam Sandler, misguided as he may have been in this movie, is endearing. However, the fact that one of the main tenants of the movie is that Adam Sandler is this insane ladies man is a bit ridiculous. Adam can play the boyishly handsome heartthrob, but the hunk? That’s a bit of a stretch. Meanwhile, Kevin James has perfected his performance of the lovably inept buffoon. Jessica Biel, though playing a painfully naive character, is mostly harmless. I just wish her character were something more than just a hot body. Dan Akroyd is one of the best - and most underused - characters in the movie, while Rob Schneider, playing the Asian officiant at their wedding is unnecessary and embarrassing to watch. Of course, most of what Schneider does comes off that way, but this is particularly bad.

I would love to say that I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry perfectly towed the line between hilarious and heartwarming. I would love to say that the message spoke loud and clear. I would love to say this, because I truly like all the actors (Schneider notwithstanding). Unfortunately, this movie just left me feeling sad, and not even for the reasons I originally thought. I was sad because even when the filmmakers thought they were conveying a message about homophobia and prejudices, it was glaringly obvious how far we still are from getting it right.

More Fun With Chuck and Larry

PopSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:37:27 PDT

Before Jessica Biel slipped away to rendezvous with JT, she walked the red carpet with Adam and Kevin at the NYC premiere of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Obviously Jessica has had no shortage of male company lately, and she's the object of desire for what we can only assume to be thousands of others. When asked about her sex symbol status, Jessica said, "It's extremely flattering. It's nice to be wanted and desired . . . you think, 'I'm being accepted as a woman now.' That's kind of cool."

Lots more pics of the Chuck and Larry cast plus Chris Rock, so just

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Do You Think I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Seems Offensive?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:14:16 PDT

This Friday, Adam Sandler's latest movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry opens nationwide, and I have to say that when I first saw the trailer I had my reservations. It seems like a lot of the laughs in this movie are based in gay stereotypes and in generally making a mockery of homosexuality. Yet the filmmakers claim they did their best to be sensitive to that. We won't know for sure until we see the film, but based on the trailer, what do you think?

Do You Think I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Seems Offensive?

Yes

Undecided

Jessica Makes Funny Look Sexy

PopSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:40:00 PDT

Jessica Biel may have kept it simple while leaving the TRL studios yesterday, but we're liking this look on her way better than the other dresses she's been choosing lately. Jessica agrees that she's more of the casual type of girl, which is part of the reason she loved the comedic aspect of her role in I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry. She told Parade Magazine,

Funny sexy is way more fun and definitely easier because you can be ridiculous. The point is to sort of look silly and to make fun of yourself and to not take yourself so seriously. Sexy sexy can be sort of boring.

Sounds like Jessica isn't ready to let go of that Sexiest Woman Alive status anytime soon. Be sure to check out Buzz later this week for Molly's review of the movie and whether or not Jessica can pull off the "funny sexy" role.

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Splash News Online


Name	Chuck Charles	Chuck Levine	Chuck Bartowski	Chuck Darling	Chuck Logan	Chuck Bass
Affiliation	"Pushing Daisies"	I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry	"Chuck"	"Back to You"	Good Luck Chuck	"Gossip Girl"
Played by	Anna Friel	Adam Sandler	Zachary Levi	Kelsey Grammer	Dane Cook	Ed Westwick
Identifying feature	Is brought back to life by show's main character	Tries to "marry" his firefighting partner for pension purposes	Has spy secrets downloaded into his brain	Fell from grace after cuss-filled tirade on TV	Is the guy girls sleep with before meeting their true love	Is a womanizer who tries to take advantage of drunk girls