Pentuple Bill Mini Musings: 40s, Fields, Valleys, Bars, and Jurors...

This Is 40:
What's it about?
The 'sort of sequel' to Knocked Up, centred on previous side-characters Pete and Debbie, and their friends and family.
Who would I recognise in it?
Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, and more Apatow chums.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Apatow drifted into overlong and self-indulgent territory with Funny People, which was very funny very frequently, but which was decidedly too long and lacked a sense of propulsion. Similarly, This Is 40 is missing any real sense of narrative drive - it's more like a series of sketches featuring the same characters each time - and while, again, there's an awful lot of funny moments throughout, you can't help but feel that at 134 minutes, Apatow's been allowed to indulge himself simply because he makes money. He may be very successful, and very funny, but that's no excuse to throw away narrative purpose and on-point storytelling.

The real miss-step with the film, however, is the lifestyle of Pete & Debbie's family. They apparently have financial worries - Debbie's store is only breaking even, while Pete's indie record label is sinking fast - but they live in a vast house, drive two flash cars, can indulge themselves with personal fitness trainers, nights out, and even a weekend at a fancy hotel retreat (literally right after bemoaning their money problems) - and then there's all the expensive stuff they own. It's bizarre for them to then tighten their belts by taking their kids' iPods, iPads, and iMacs (already paid for) off of them, and limiting the WiFi use (again, already paid for).

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Fortunately, Rudd and Mann (thankfully far less shrew-like here, than how her character was written in Knocked Up), and their supporting ensemble, are charming enough to keep you on-board despite their lifestyle being totally out-of-touch with that of the average viewer of the film. There's a real family atmosphere to the wonderful performances (Albert Brooks is a particular joy to watch), and some laugh-out-loud moments of crude mid-life honesty that apply to all, regardless of money. Bloated, indulgent, and financially out-of-touch, This Is 40 is still very successful in extracting laughs-aplenty during it's laid back journey. Good.


A Field In England:
What's it about?
Brit filmmaker Ben Wheatley's ultra low budget English Civil War-set indie about soldiers getting high on mushrooms and looking for gold in a field.
Who would I recognise in it?
Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
There was a lot of talk about it's simultaneous cross-platform release (including an airing on TV, where I saw it), but really that's all rather inconsequential to the actual content of the film. It maintains Wheatley's reputation for combining stylish presentation with 'British weirdness' - in this case it's ley lines and shrooms - but even at a slender running time, you do get a bit sick of wandering around the same field with no real direction. The film is deliberately obtuse - nothing gets any real shred of explanation, not even a courtesy snifter to give the viewer an idea to help them discover the rest of the details for themselves - and as such, you constantly feel like you're kept at arm's reach. It's successfully weird throughout - particularly when the mushrooms take hold - the stark black and white digital aesthetic works wonders, and the performances are universally tip-top, but the bare bones production - and script - still shine through at times. It's certainly not terrible - far from it in fact - but beyond the memorably weird moments, the film leaves a little bit to be desired if you're not in a precise frame of mind for it. An interesting, experimental curio, but somewhat unwieldy. A mixed bag - sometimes great, sometimes good, sometimes only alright, but certainly quite memorable.


Valley Girl:
What's it about?
Over the Hollywood hills and not-so-far-away, lies the suburbs and shopping malls - the territory of the valley kids, like totally for sure.
Who would I recognise in it?
Nicolas Cage, Elizabeth Daily.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Decidedly 1980s - but in the good way - valley girl Julie (Deborah Foreman) falls in love with city-kid Randy, an outsider who inspires the ire of her suburban chums. It's a teen movie from a female perspective, and it still holds up. An enjoyable time capsule of a place and an era. Good.


Bare Behind Bars:
What's it about?
Women in Prison movie ... does what it says on the tin, really.
Who would I recognise in it?
Erm...
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
With barely a shred of plot, it's all an exploitation extravaganza excuse to show lots of naked female bodies - showering, fighting, shagging, and so on. There's two versions - softcore and hardcore - the former being the UK release (although a porn-rated R18 certificate was available to the distributors). It's essentially porn, but with a couple of half-arsed slivers of story scattered about (obsessed lesbian warden, Ether-addicted amateur nurse, rich bitch sex slave owner), and then a muddled third act featuring escape and capture clumsily draws events to a close. Sleazy to no end, but proficiently filmed, Bare Behind Bars is far from the best the sub-genre has to offer (for that, check out The Big Doll House, and The Big Bird Cage), but it's far from the worst too. Alright.


12 Angry Men:
What's it about?
Sidney Lumet's tense courtroom drama about a jury deliberating on the guilt - or innocence - of an immigrant youth accused of murdering his father.
Who would I recognise in it?
E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Almost entirely set within one room, this is an absolute masterclass in character-based drama. The script is efficient, yet filled with confrontation, tension, prejudice, cowardice, heroism, and new clues that slowly turn a near-sure-fire decision of guilt on its head. Superbly acted and directed, it's no wonder that 12 Angry Men is held up as a cinematic landmark - the truest definition of must-see cinema. Great.