It’s rare that I wish a movie had more hijinks, but “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” (2018) is a lot of work. Most movies whose plots revolve around the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step model are. This one’s a grind. (Plus, Joaquin Phoenix has a unique ability to make ambivalent protagonists even less likeable than they should be.) But there are a couple of payoffs. One is watching the ongoing evolution of Jonah Hill as a character actor. The other is staring you in the face the whole movie and director Gus Van Sant neatly and satisfyingly resolves it.
Archives for posts with tag: Jack Black
I finally sold my guitar on Craigslist the same day I finally saw “School of Rock” (2003). I don’t know if that’s ironic or just a coincidence. I also don’t know if “School of Rock” is good because of, or in spite of, Jack Black. His spazzy histrionics are a tiring distraction. However, his background as an actual musician provided authenticity in a way that a Chris Farley couldn’t have been able to 10 years earlier or a Zach Galifianakis wouldn’t be able to 10 years later. It’s the starring role Black was born to play. Probably the only one.
I was watching the idiotic “Bio-Dome” (1996), and I was worried. Idiot Pauly Shore’s idiot girlfriend was being played by an idiot Renee Zellweger. Or so it appeared. I tried to do the math. “Jerry Maguire” came out around the same time. Could she have filmed “Bio-Dome” when she was a nobody, and it was just released later? Soon, the credits rolled. It turns out idiot girlfriend was played by Joey Lauren Adams, who is merely Renee Zellweger’s idiot twin. Meanwhile, the movie, which involves science-related hijinks and idiot Stephen Baldwin, also stars the famed “dickless” from “Ghostbusters.” So there’s that.
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