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Movie Preview: Affleck, Bateman in Extract

BuzzSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:30:50 -0700

Jason Bateman. Ben Affleck. Director Mike Judge (Office Space). If you like any one of these things, you may want to take a look at the new teaser trailer for Extract, another comedy from Mike Judge that follows an average guy in an average job who's dissatisfied with both his work and his home life. Bateman plays the central character, Joel, the owner of a flower-extract factory whose marital problems with his wife (Kristen Wiig) bum him out - but he perks right up when a pretty new temp (Mila Kunis) joins the company. Affleck (sporting a beard and some long, scraggly hair) plays Joel's lawyer friend.

Extract opens Sept. 4. Check out the trailer after the jump and tell me: Does this look funny to you? Or a bit of the same old, same old? To watch, read more.

New in Town: Lovin' in the Cold

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:30:40 -0800

New in Town is packed with a lot of bad, wrong-headed moves including small-town stereotypes, predictability, conventionality, and in one bizarre scene, hard nipples. Despite a talented and likable cast with wonderful character actors like J.K. Simmons and Frances Conroy, this romantic comedy was probably doomed from the start due to a script that can't decide if it wants to be Fargo, Norma Ray, or Working Girl.

That said, there is something in this movie that no script can write in and that's some honest-to-goodness chemistry between the two leads. Maybe I'm a sucker for Harry Connick Jr., maybe it's rare to witness some genuine onscreen sparks, or maybe I've been suffering too long from generic rom-com fatigue. Whatever the reason, I couldn't help but get a moderate case of the warm fuzzies after watching it.

To see some more of my thoughts on New in Town, read more.

Renée Zellweger plays Lucy Hill, a tough Miami executive at some kind of food-making corporation who storms around in sky-high heels as if they were running shoes. We see Lucy at a meeting full of suits and jogging on the shore, but beyond that we don't really get any more insight into her character, which is one of the problems with this script. It makes it difficult later on to sympathize with her or even to understand why she does some of the things she does when she has to take over a processing plant located in the frozen tundra of New Ulm, Minnesota.

Lucy is sent to lay off a bunch of employees, but the longer she's in town the more she sees how devastating her actions would be to the people of New Ulm who have been so gosh darn nice to her. The plight of the town folks is given voice through the local union rep, Ted (Harry Connick Jr.), who has lots of initial contempt for the new lady in town and sees Lucy as a corporate stooge. Until, of course . . . he doesn't.

There are lots of tiresome homespun-isms by the sweet, down-to-earth townspeople, as well as much scrap-booking and tapioca-making, stuff like that. And at first Zellweger plays Lucy as a stiff "ice queen" (another extreme stereotype this movie can claim: that of the callous, powerful working woman). But once things heat up between her and Ted, she warms up and the performance takes on a more natural, playful tone. If fact, it's right in the middle that the characters emerge as more than caricatures and things get charming. Lucy is especially fun to root for midway through because she's smart and determined and also hilariously out of place on dates with Ted. The bottom line is that there is plenty to roll your eyes at, including an ending that's silly and syrupy, but I'll admit it: I laughed and I wanted these two opposite lovebirds to be together forever.

Photos courtesy of Lionsgate

Movie Preview: I Love You, Man

BuzzSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:32:21 -0800

In theory, I think the premise for I Love You, Man is funny and cute: A guy (Paul Rudd) gets engaged to his lady (Rashida Jones - yay for her having more movie roles!) but he doesn't have a best guy friend so he basically goes on a manfriend-hunt to lock down a best man for the wedding.

The trailer features some funny folks (Jason Segel, Andy Samberg, Thomas Lennon) and people I just love seeing pretty much anytime (JK Simmons), and yet, it doesn't really make me laugh. Also (and I'm assuming this is explained in the movie), why doesn't he just ask his brother (Samberg) to be his best man, instead of asking his brother for tips on going on man dates to find some guy he barely knows to be his best man? Time will tell, I suppose. I do appreciate the use of the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" in the trailer, anyway.

I Love You, Man opens March 20. To check out the trailer, read more.

Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons Join Jennifer's Body

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:33:49 -0700

Former O.C. nerd-hunk Adam Brody and Juno's dad J.K. Simmons have joined the cast of Diablo Cody's horror-comedy Jennifer's Body. They round out a cast that already included Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. The Hollywood Reporter has more:

Cody's script centers on Jennifer (Fox), a cheerleader possessed by a demon who starts feeding off the boys in a Minnesota farming town. Her bookish best friend (Seyfried) must take drastic measures to protect the town.

Brody will play Nikolai, a hot lead singer of an up-and-coming rock band with a penchant for evil. Simmons will play Mr. Wroblewski, a high school science teacher.

Nice - I hope this means we get to watch Brody rock out onstage. I bet he'd be good at that. I'm so curious to see how Cody's follow-up project to Juno shapes up.

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