Every time you sit down for a movie, whether it’s in the theater or your home, you have a preconception about what’s going to run on that screen for the next two hours. The previews certainly influence this. So do the cast and their filmography. Perhaps the writer has a trope that just won’t die. Or, a remake screams evidence of creative bankruptcy. The following five are films that were surprisingly solid. It doesn’t mean I thought they would be terrible. (Most often, if we think they’re going to be terrible, they will be.) Rather, these five are films that I went into with little or no expectations and left feeling like I got my money’s worth, saw a solid film, and would recommend it to others. Here ya go:
5. Ted: It’s not that I figured this movie would be bad, but I wasn’t sure if it would be vintage McFarlane, replete with random tangents that are more interested with eliciting brief laughter than contributing to any sort of cohesive narrative. To be fair, at times, Ted employs this strategy, but not nearly as much as I thought it would. Despite these moments, this 2012 movie about a foul-mouthed teddy bear is heartwarming, often hilarious, and quite intelligent.
4. 21 Jump Street: They remade a television show from the 80’s, so why wouldn’t I fear the worst. However, this adaptation is rather solid and surprisingly funny. The premise is similar: undercover officers are on assignment in a local high school to vet out drug dealers, but the tone is different. This 2012 rendition is a comedy, but not slapstick. It’s also satirical and culturally aware. It employs popular themes like the impacts of bullying, but it also looks at absentee, overachieving parents and their progeny. The villains in this movie are privileged and leading a life of loneliness, but not for the typical reasons found in 80’s cinema or television shows. There are no drunken fathers on benders or mothers hitting the pipe. 21 Jump Street profoundly hits the mark, one that includes a nod to the stars of the original series.
3. A Good Old Fashioned Orgy: The preview for this film prophesies its destiny as a box office failure, as does the word “orgy.” While it’s served to draw a number of hits to this site – most likely with horribly dejected teenage males sighing on the other end – it’s also a harbinger of doom in our overly squeamish culture. In other words, any movie blatantly centering on sex – much less group sex – is bound to be ignored simply on the grounds that telling someone you’re going to “A Good Old Fashion Orgy” could lead to a rather uncomfortable discussion. That aside, this movie is quite funny and sedate despite the title. Yes, the orgy happens, but it’s gently filmed and shown in spurts – or pieces rather. The characters are fairly round, though predominately stereotypical, and, like 21 Jump Street, the film looks at the lives of over privileged progeny – but not in a flattering way. If nothing else, this film points out the pathetic parts of our existences as well as the highlights.
2. Magic Mike: Again, I didn’t think this film would suck – it is helmed by Steven Soderbergh, so how bad can it be so long as it doesn’t star Sasha Gray – but I wasn’t sure what to expect. I avoided going at night as not to be surrounded by hundreds of women drooling and hooting over enviable abs. However, I made the mistake of going to a matinee showing in Times Square. There were a few people in trench coats that sat really close to the screen. I sat away from them. Far away. Regardless, before the film, I also wasn’t sold on Channing Tatum. He was funny in 21 Jump Street – which I saw after Magic Mike – but his turn in Soderbergh’s Haywire was pretty bad, though I enjoyed the movie. So the prospect of watching Tatum (with no vested interest in his abs) for two hours was daunting. However, the film – led by Matthew McConaughey’s performance – is much deeper than skin. It offers a nice parallel between what we find socially and sexually acceptable. It also looks at the culturally sublimated female interest in male sexuality. Overall, quite solid and certainly surprising.
1. The Grey: The preview suggests Liam Neeson and his badass self fighting wolves with makeshift-Wolverine claws taped to his hands. This is not what happens, nor is it what the movie is about. It’s subdued; it’s mostly silent save the howling wolves and breaking leaves; it’s desolate; it’s eerie. This is not Liam Neeson kicking ass. It’s not survivalist hokum. The Grey is about survival. The Grey is about determination. The Grey is about futility.
