A Tale of Two Movies

This weekend saw me shell out $20 at the downtown movie theatre to see two films, only one of which I would have had any interest in seeing on my own, but which itself was not necessarily the kind of flick you need to see on the big screen. In the interests of full disclosure, I present to you my take on two very different new releases:

Love Happens
More like "Shit Happens." I saw this movie as a selfless act of chivalry on a double-date, and was one of approximately five males in the whole theatre. Expecting a typically bland romantic comedy, what I actually got was a depressing romantic drama that, despite the best efforts of leads Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston, failed to save itself from a cliché-ridden script.

Eckhart plays self-help guru Burke Ryan, who has attracted millions of converts with his book A-Okay!, written in the wake of his wife's death. It turns out, however, that Burke has not been entirely honest with either his readers or himself, and has yet to properly deal with the circumstances surrounding his wife's demise. Ultimately, Aniston's character Eloise is secondary to the plot, which was fine by me, since she seemed to again be playing an unlucky-in-love single woman whose philandering ex-boyfriend will no doubt remind many viewers of Aniston's neverending tabloid adventures. Eckhart gives a strong performance as Burke, and special praise is due to John Carroll Lynch as Walter, a man palpably griefstruck over his son's death, whom Burke attempts to help.

Ultimately, however, the film is just too bland and too reliant on ancient genre conventions (such as Burke and Eloise meeting when they accidentally bump into each other - GROAN), making it easy to dismiss this as a strictly-for-chicks weepie. Nevertheless, I must add one more complaint - the film's crass commercialism and way-too-obvious product placement. Aside from Burke's iPod and a major on-screen role for Qwest, Walter's grand, character-defining moment of redemption occurs when he goes shopping at a Home Depot. Yes, the filmmakers seem to say, happiness is only a $3000 shopping spree away, complete with loving shots of a hammer and a DeWaal power drill. Pass.

Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day
I'm actually somewhat late to the Trailer Park Boys phenomenon. Although my friends have loved it for years, it took me a long time to embrace the show, even after seeing Randy and Mr. Lahey live at the Alehouse (a show consisting entirely of them getting wasted onstage). It was only in the past few months that I finally "got" the show, growing to love its unique characters and off-the-wall sensibilities. Having devoured as many episodes as possible and seen part of the first movie, I approached the debut of this second and, it appears, final Trailer Park Boys epic as a must-see event. That said, it took me about a week after release to actually get my ass into a movie theatre.

So was it worth the $10? Well, it's like this: if you like the Trailer Park Boys already, you'll certainly get your money's worth. It's essentially an extended episode of the TV show, and I wouldn't expect anything less in this venture. Suffice it to say, our favourite characters are all there, and they develop in interesting new directions. Jim Lahey may be my favourite, and I've never seen him as drunk and messed-up as he is in this film, shortly after going back on the liquor and hitting rock bottom. We see Bubbles get lucky in love with a girl who works at the animal shelter, J-Roc and Tyrone facing creative disagreements (I enjoyed the title of J-Roc's hit single, "Can't Not Be Feelin' Dis"), Randy getting a tough new haircut, Julian attempting to start a legitimate business, and an explosive climax featuring the most piss-drenched car chase I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

BONUS - Clerks II
Saw a version of this on the internet as a post-screening antidote to Love Happens, and all I can say is, Kevin Smith is the MAN. After seeing this and the classic Mallrats, I definitely need to delve back into his ouevre. While I'm sure the original Clerks is far superior, the pop-cultural references alone make its sequel a worthy way to spend a couple hours. And I'm glad they acknowledged the fact that Dante, while a great character, is probably way too schlubby to have two hot chicks fighting over him in each movie.