OUR IDIOT BROTHER

Written by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz

Directed by Jesse Peretz

Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer

Ned: I like to think that if you put your trust out there, that if you really give people the benefit of the doubt, see their best intentions, people will rise to the occasion.

Paul Rudd is practically perfect as Ned, the title character in Jesse Peretz’s Sundance breakout, OUR IDIOT BROTHER. The ownership from the title belongs to a trio of sisters played by the lovely Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer. Talent abounds in this quaint, little comedy but the performances are almost lost in the midst of this meandering plot. Fresh from a brief stint in prison for selling pot to a police officer, Ned bounces from sister to sister to sister and teaches each of them a little something about themselves while they let him crash on their couches. Unfortunately, despite all the experience and expertise between them, Rudd and company were not able to teach Peretz anything about structure and timing.

The trouble with OUR IDIOT BROTHER is that it is pretty obvious, or at least it was to me anyway, that Ned is most certainly not an idiot. Peretz goes out of his way to make him look like one during his arrest at the opening of the film. I mean, you have to be pretty darn stupid to sell drugs to a uniformed cop but that isn’t what I took from that scene. I couldn’t figure out why this seemingly good natured, friendly police officer was so hellbent on entrapping this harmless produce vendor. Perhaps Ned is the town dealer but Peretz doesn’t bother contextualizing that at all. Nor does he bother giving us any history on the sisters that shape the film for him. The result is a lot of caricature - from a workaholic to an unhappy housewife to a promiscuous free spirit afraid to commit - and not as much character as a result. The cast easily elevates the material but there is nothing they can do to mask how it will all play out. The question as to who is the real idiot among them is a no brainer from the start.

On the one hand, I commend the filmmaker for not taking the obvious road with OUR IDIOT BROTHER. Peretz could have easily played his game in perfectly constructed episodic segments. Each would establish the appropriate archetype for each sister and Ned would come in and tear it to pieces before anyone has the time to realize it was all for the best. Instead, Peretz tries his hardest to keep things loose and fluid, having Ned constantly moving and always taking us on the scenic route. Given that we end up exactly where we expected to all along though, it seems to me there must have been a more efficient way to get there. Maybe I’m too smart for my own good though.

CARS 2

Written by Ben Queen

Directed by John Lasseter

Voices by Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Emily Mortimer

and Michael Caine

Luigi: No fight more important than firendship.

CARS 2 marks the first time where I could not care less about a Pixar release. I didn’t buy the world made up entirely of cars in the first instalment and thought the idea of a race-car learning to slow down in life to be pretty dull. Getting behind the wheel again was the last thing I wanted to do but I’m sure glad I did. CARS 2 is a ton more fun than its predecessor, as it follows the best thing about the first film, tow-truck, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), through a mistaken identity spy caper. It never reaches the true greatness that most Pixar pictures achieve but by speeding up the action, Pixar revs up for some much-needed excitement for these former clunkers.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is once again racing to prove something in CARS 2, in this case to prove his virility and quiet the taunts of another racer, Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro). In a bold move on Pixar’s part though, McQueen’s brilliantly animated race around the world is downgraded to a secondary plot for the sequel. This allows us to tag along with Mater as he joins forces with Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) to take down a bunch of lemon cars determined to dissuade the world from using new forms of fuel. The lemons are in possession of an untapped oil reserve so alternative energy is their nemesis. All the while, Mater and McQueen’s friendship is tested when McQueen is embarrassed by Mater’s naïve antics. This in turn forces Mater to pop his own hood and look inside so that he can learn to love his own make and model. Good thing too because nobody likes an insecure car.

In many ways, director, John Lasseter (who directed the first CARS and the first two TOY STORY films) has dumbed down the CARS 2 to make it even more accessible. It is completely ludicrous when you piece the plot together but its simplicity allows for a more enjoyable time that I’m certain will get little boys everywhere clamouring for more car toys, especially now that the cars come with guns and missiles attached to them. That said, this is a movie populated with talking machinery so I’m not sure whether ridiculousness should even be a consideration here. As gimmicky and forced as the spy adventure spin is, it adds some serious traction to this budding franchise that should surely carry it safely over the finish line in first place.