A Year of Film part 6- Cyrus

Viewed February... 7? Let's go with that.

"Cyrus," starring John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill marketed itself as an oedipal story about a middle-aged man who begins dating a woman with a 20-something year old son (Johan Hill). The son is fiercely protective of the relationship with his mother (The always-stunning Marisa Tomei) and will do anything to stop John (John C. Reilly) from pursuing the relationship.

The movie seems to think that it is telling a unique story about this relationship between the three people, wherein Cyrus begins to get passive-aggressive toward John and tries to sabotage the relationship. Unfortunately, despite the actors' best efforts, this movie doesn't do anything that new. In fact, there was a period of time when I was growing up in the early 90s when movies about new dads and preteen sons who didn't like them were commonplace and filled with people like Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Chevy Chase. In fact, except for the cursing and the sexual references, this movie is just a more adult version of 1995's "Man of the House."

Even the slogans indicate that this is almost the same exact movie. (And just for kicks, the scores on IMDB are Cyrus- 6.6, MotH- 4.4. This is the only time you'll hear me say that JTT got robbed.)

That doesn't really mean it's a bad movie. It's derivative, but it definitely had its moments. However, those moments are also derivative.

The plot of the movie is also both too fast and too slow. John meets Molly and follows her home the next day. It seemed by the third day he was already moving in. That's not hyperbole.
The crux of the movie is the battle for Molly between Cyrus and John, but that battle is such a slow burn that it hardly relevant to the plot, which is more focused on John's need for a relationship and Molly's striving for a balance between her new love and her old life. That is a movie in and of itself and it really doesn't need Cyrus at all to thrive.

The competition for Molly conveniently comes to a head at a wedding and Molly and John go through the requisite break-up-and-mopey-montage phase. Cyrus comes around and reunites the two. The movie is such a by-the-books story that it really puzzles me as to why people thought it was such a shocking film.

Overall, "Cyrus" doesn't prove itself to be anything new and its pacing needed some retooling in the editing department before shooting started. It toed the line between being a drama and a comedy and ended up being weak in both departments.

Seriously, Sundance? Why did this movie get such rave reviews when 15 years ago it was contrived kiddy fare crap? I guess it takes time to grow into contrived adult fare crap.

Are we big enough to warrant a podcast?

Aw, who cares? We started one anyway.


Hey everyone, I'm Thom and I'll be producing and co-hosting The Multipass. David and I will be bringing you general geek info-tainment once a week, or we'll try to at least. Check out our awesome podcast player on the right side of the blog over there (give it a second to load up after you press play) and please feel free to subscribe to the podcast with iTunes absolutely free of charge.

Or follow the podcast at:

http://themultipass.mypodcast.com/

And follow us on twitter @: http://www.twitter.com/themultipass

This week on The Multipass , David and I shoot the shit about cars lighting on fire and working at a strip joint (not what you think). We review Toy Story 3 and share our thoughts regarding all of the new shit presented at E3 this year. We wrap it up with tales of secret drinking, porno, and spooky films involving a thing and one Mr. Heston. Featuring music from Panthertronius Tron, JVNGL, Mas O Menos, and Paul the P Funk Fresh. All music is copywritten and used with permission from the artists.

Janice: The Unsung Hero of the Muppets

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Muppets. The original three movies (The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, and The Muppets Take Manhattan) are all fantastic films that rely on a childlike approach to the world but never panders to them. People seem to hail "Shrek" as some kind of revolutionary film that started this trend. Dreamworks eventually took this schtick and ran with it, eventually creating abortions like "Madagascar" but that's another rant for another time.
The Muppets were never afraid to shy away from a joke. They treated their characters like functional adults. This would never happen in movies now, but when the Muppet films were made (at least, the three above) there were sexual and alcohol references in all of the films. They were never forced, but seemed to arise from casual conversations and were natural dialogue in the films. For instance, both Rowlf and Fozzie allude to alcohol in different films. Rowlf says he likes to "have a couple of beers" and "take himself for a walk" before bed. There's a joke there for adults, who laugh at the felt dog drinking, and one for kids who laugh at the phrasing Rowlf uses about going for a walk. Rowlf is a bit jaded as a lounge singer and this dialogue makes sense. On the other side of the spectrum, Fozzie is childlike and comments that champagne would taste like ginger ale if he added some sugar. There's a reason you never think for a moment that these characters aren't real people when you're watching a movie. They behave like real people. They have emotions and they all behave in certain ways.
And despite what politicians might tell you, kids won't start drinking because of this. They know that some activities are for adults.

Perhaps the most subversive character in the Muppets is Janice, the lead guitar player for the house band, the Electric Mayhem. In the Muppet Show she sings "With a Little Help From My Friends" and the writers made no attempt to say that she "gets high with a little help from (her) friends." With her other bandmates including Animal and Zoot, I don't doubt it. This scene even takes place during a "human" sacrifice, as Kermit notes. Can you see that flying now? Of course not.

Janice sings "With a Little Help From My Friends"

But it doesn't stop there.

Janice has two fantastic moments in "The Great Muppet Caper." The first comes relatively early in the film when Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo stop in at the Happiness Hotel for a room. Pops starts up the song and Janice gets the best and funniest lyric; "Still, the management is cheerful, though the whole joint's gone to Hell..."
Happiness Hotel
That's fine. Plenty of kid's shows from "Rocko's Modern Life" to "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" to "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" have mentioned Hell. It was much easier to get away with in the 80s and 90s. Can you see it happening on Nickelodeon or The Disney Channel now between advertisements for the new Hannah Montana album or "That's So Raven" (Is that even on anymore?)?
Her second bit is riskier and funnier. It strikes closer to the nanny state agenda we've cultivated in America; nudity.
The whole Muppet crew (in a group shot that no doubt took several dozen Muppeteers) yells over one another before Kermit can get them to shut up. When he does, Janice gets the final line that everyone hears because the room goes silent. If you've ever shouted something at a party as the music turns off you know this feeling.
Janice's life goals

The joke worked so well that in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" they turned it up a notch; "Look buddy, I don't take my clothes off for anyone. I don't care if it IS 'artistic.'"

Janice is hilarious. You may not have noticed her in the crowd of frogs and pigs and bears and... whatevers, but she's there. And she's awesome.
Disney has really dragged down the Muppet franchise. Did you see "Muppet Wizard of Oz"? I rest my case. When they started catering to kids, they dumbed it down and ruined its appeal. The Muppets weren't popular because they were by-the-books kids' characters. It was because they defied convention. Look at "Shrek" and "Shrek 3" to see what I mean. Hopefully Jason Segel, the Muppets fan he is, can rein then in and get them back on track with his new script.
And hopefully they won't be afraid to break some rules along the way. In the mean time, watch the old films. Count the jokes that would be impossible to do now, and enjoy the films as the great character interactions and hilarious slapstick showpieces that they are.

How I realized I wasn't cut out to be a Believer

I've been tiptoeing around how to get this blog started, so I figured I'll take the plunge and let you know a bit about me. I believed in God and Jesus and all that fun stuff well into my high school days. I can't pinpoint when I started the questioning which led me to where I am today, but looking back I can see a few telltale signs that it just wasn't going to work out.
I was an existential child. When I was very young--younger than nine, though I can't remember the specific age--I lay in my bed at night thinking. I still do this, and I know many of you do, too. You think about all the shitty stuff about life you push out of your head with busy work and video games and masturbation. Too young to realize the fun and glory of these activities, I lay there thinking about death. I come from a Catholic family. Everyone around me was Catholic, so there was no reason for me to think anything that might run counter to the invisible guardian in the sky theory. My first disappointment in God was when I prayed for him to transform my various dog toys into dalmatian figurines overnight. 101 Dalmatians had just been rereleased and I was in a phase, I guess. I thought it would be nothing more than a small paint job while I slept. Hell, if Santa could do it, it should be cake for God.
Of course I woke up to my various brown plastic dogs and not dalmatians, but oh well. I made the best of things. My Cruella De Vil toy would have to settle for a patchwork coat.
Anyway, I was thinking about death. In my mind, people went to heaven and just kind of... hung out all day. Nobody has said anything to me since then that would lead me to believe that Heaven is anything but that. I realized that I would get bored very quickly if I was just sitting around on my cloud all day. Sure, I'd have wings, but what about the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons? What about drawing? TVs and trees don't have souls, so that was out. I wanted conflict in my Heaven. Life without conflict is boring. Some perfect afterlife that would be, hanging out bored all the time. I had toys at home and I was still bored a lot. What kind of omnipotent being was this God?
Crushed by the overwhelming idea of boredom for eternity, I began to cry. Note that I was sure I would be going to Heaven. I often wonder where that self-assurance went now that I'm older. I climbed out of my bunk bed and went to my parents in the living room, bawling. They asked what was wrong and I said "I don't want to die!"
I don't know what they said to get me back in bed, but I eventually slept. They've never mentioned that night to me.
My second (or third if you count my dalmatians mishap) realization that God wasn't destined to be in my Myspace Top 8 was in Sunday school. We had to look through magazines and find who we thought our chosen Saint looked like. We all picked a Saint. All the kids in class picked their favorite, but I didn't know a damn thing about the Saints. I picked my namesake, Saint David. After flipping through magazines, I found an image of celebrity chef (at the time) Jeff Smith.
Later, of course, we found out he sexually assaulted men who worked with him. Some Saint.

Of course, these stories aren't WHY I stopped going to church or believing, but they are, I think, things that led me down the path to question the world around me. After all, if God can't live up to Santa, what is he good for?