Anchorman - Still Funny But Slipping

When I first saw Will Ferrell's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy in the theaters back in 2004 when the film was first released, I thought it was one of the funniest movies ever. I put it up there in the Animal House pantheon. There are scenes (and lines) in the movie that are hysterically funny. "I'm kind of a big deal".

I watched the film again last night in preparation for the sequel Anchorman 2 set to come out before the end of the year. And while Anchorman still is fun to watch, I have to admit it has slipped over the years in my subsequent viewings. Uneven is probably a good word for it. While Ferrell and Christina Applegate really stand out in their roles, the supporting cast is pretty much hit or miss. Some of the gags work, some don't. 

I can still recommend Anchorman to someone looking for a funny movie to watch. I just don't have the enthusiasm for the movie I once did.

The Jewel That Is It Happened One Night

There a movies - nice, entertaining, fun, a diversion in the day to day activities that life puts upon us. And once in a while there are movies that are more - jewels, gems, treasures. It happened in 1934 with the movie It Happened One Night. Though the movie is described as the original "screwball comedy" it is so skillfully executed to perfection that the movie is so much more and one of the greatest films ever made even though its now about 80 years old. It swept the Academy Awards winning for Best Picture, Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Actress (Claudette Colbert), and Best Screenplay plus many others.

I got to see It Happened One Night last weekend. It was the first time I had seen it in about 20 years or so (when I was so impressed with it that I went out and bought a copy for my VHS collection). Though the movie does show some drastic changes in values and morals from a different generation, the story remains fresh and vibrant and moves along at a wonderfully entertaining pace under Wilder's direction. Again, it is one of those rare movies that has no flaws in the story telling from beginning to end. The movie doesn't waste a moment of your time.

If you want to see movie making at its best - you can't go wrong with It Happened One Night. It shows up on the classic movie stations quite often for good reason. 

The Real Jungle Cruise: The African Queen

Maybe one of the side benefits of having Mrs. DisneylandTraveler's father come live with us is my opportunity to catch up on some old classic movies - like The African Queen which we watched together a few days ago. The old guy likes his movies but most of his movie interest seems to focus on 40 or 50 years ago. I think over the years I may have seen bits and pieces of The African Queen but I can't ever recall sitting down to see the whole think beginning to end. And seeing the film, some 60 years after it was first made, was really quite enjoyable.

At first I was put off by Humphrey Bogart's curious attempts to smile. "This guy won an Academy Award for this?" "This guy is someone many claim to be the finest actor of all time?" Eventually the movie won me over if you put it into the context it was made. I always thought of the movie as a serious adventure dripping with danger. That wasn't case at all as those involved with the movie saw it more of an adventure comedy. Bogart was having fun playing a character that went against some of his serious tough guy roles. He had reason to smile. He was making a movie with people he truly liked with Katherine Hepburn and John Huston. Much of the film was shot in either Africa or England so he was on location, and at least for the African portion of the shoot, he was excusably getting plowed regularly which was a lifestyle he embraced. He was an actor's actor who was at the very top of his game and knew exactly what he was doing and what the character was all about. 

With all the attempts Hollywood has made trying to remake movies, The African Queen has been left to its own existence through the years. You can't mess with perfection.

Blazing Saddles, Bad Taste, and Big Laughs

I fist saw Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles when I was still in college. That kind of explains the humor of Blazing Saddles - pretty sophomoric. I picked the movie up on Blue Ray a few weeks ago for 8 bucks.. It remains incredibly funny and and monument to bad taste and political incorrectness. You will get 8 bucks worth of laughs out of Blazing Saddles and you might even feel a little bit guilty for laughing at things that are really pretty offensive. But the genious of Mel Brooks is to take what people consider offensive and put it in the context of the people being offensive are pretty much morons and idiots anyway so being offensive isn't a reach.

After seeing Blazing Saddles, some things you will never see the same way again, beans, sitting around a campfire, and a right cross to a horse's mouth. Actually, Blazing Saddles is more of a series of sketches than a coherent single movie. Some sketches are funnier than others but it all adds up to Mel Brooks brand of comic madness. 

Return of Gru, the Girls, & the Minions in Despicable Me 2

Of all the movies I have sat down to watch here at home over the last three years or so, I have watched Universal's Despicable Me more than any other movie I own. I first saw Despicable Me at the theaters back in 2010. I may have seen it twice. Here at home, I probably have seen the movie at 4 or 5 times. That's about a half dozen viewings at least. Why? The movie is that good. Incredibly creative, the movie is smart, funny, well written, and has heart in abundance. It's wall to wall entertainment. And it has Minions by the score.

The Minions are the probably greatest group ensemble of animated movie characters ever created. Basically, the a group of flunkies and lackeys meant to serve the bad guys but suffer from short attention spans that can't stop them from picking on each other and find new and creative ways to be totally non-productive. Everyone's workplace should be so fun,

Early Mrs. DisneylandTraveler and I waited to see Despicable Me 2 and finally got our chance on my birthday few weeks ago. Continuing the Gru, the adorable girls, and the Minion tale - is it as good as the first movie? Maybe not quite as good but it is awful, awful, close. Despicable Me is a wonderfully entertaining movie and the filmmakers - Illusion Entertainment - should be proud of their effort. No one will walk away unhappy from DM2 and now the count down is on for when it comes to video.

And seeing a good thing when they have it. The Minions Movie is set to be released in December 2014. From the business side, Illusion Entertainment runs a tight ship. Despicable Me 2 cost about $75 million dollars to make. To date, it has made a little of $750 million dollars at the box office.

Another interesting note, Illumination Entertainment is U.S. company based in Santa Monica housed a modest office building. All the animation is done in France.