UP IN THE AIR (2009) - Jason Reitman

We live in times which are rich for satire. It’s easy to poke fun at the state of the world, but sometimes satire can wander into the territory of cliché. Yet Jason Reitman’s latest film, Up In The Air manages to be satirical without ever being patronising. It’s a film that is perfectly timed for the world today. A world of unemployment, foreclosures and a society struggling for identity and direction.

Ryan Bingham has possibly the worst job in the world. He is the person companies hire in order to fire their employees. All he sees every day is people on the verge of nervous and emotional breakdown. And yet, he loves his life. He is constantly moving, working out of a suitcase. He travels the US, lives in hotels and counts air miles as achievements. And yet, he is alone. He barely talks to his two sisters, and has few friends. But his life is on course for a change. His company are introducing video conferencing, which would allow it’s employees to fire people from one central location. This threatens Bingham’s lifestyle. So he takes his company’s wunderkind, the developer of the video program, Natalie Keener, on the road to see what exactly it’s like to fire a person.



As I’ve mentioned, Up In The Air is the perfect film for these times. It deals with themes that many people can relate to right now. Unemployment is rife, companies are closing, and people just feel a sense of constant loss. It’s to Reitman’s credit that he uses real people to depict the people being laid-off by Bingham. Apart from a few actors who depict more plot-central characters, everybody Bingham fires are people who recently lost their jobs. Reitman instructed these people to tell the camera what they would have liked to have told their former employers, and the emotion really carries over. It adds gravitas to the film and makes the emotional impact more palpable.

George Clooney has found the role he was born to play. Ryan Bingham is suave and charming. Yet he seems detached from proceedings. It’s isolation he’s chosen, and perhaps, being a movie star and not interacting with ‘normal’ people like the rest of us, Clooney brings some of himself to the role. It’s a great performance from him, and indeed, the rest of the cast. Newcomer, Anna Kendrick plays Bingham’s charge, Natalie Keener. Keener is straight out of college and has something to prove, and yet is incredibly vulnerable when it comes to personal issues. She breaks Bingham’s isolationism down as he shows her that people aren’t just statistics. They’re perfectly cast against each other and lend real credibility to the film.



Jason Reitman’s career has taken off very well. His first three features, Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Up In The Air are commercial and critical successes that deal with issues people can relate to. Up In The Air is probably the best film he’s made so far. It manages to capture the mood of the average person, while managing to tell a well-rounded personal story. It’s a very very good film, and worthy of the nominations it has received.


9/10

TROPIC THUNDER (2008) - Ben Stiller

These days, it seems like there are two types of comedy film. Films produced or directed by Judd Apatow, and films staring Will Ferrel. So it’s nice to see that Ben Stiller’s new film, the comedy Tropic Thunder has little to no link to either of these guys. Things are getting a little bit repetitive, so comedy needs something else. Parody is a staple of comedy. And war films are ripe for parody. Yet few films tackle this. Stiller does, and manages to create something genuinely funny.

Tugg Speedman is a Hollywood superstar. However, his career is on a bit of a decline, especially after the spectacular failure of his attempt at serious acting, the film Simple Jack. Attempting to reignite his career, Speedman takes the lead in ‘the most expensive war movie ever made,’ Tropic Thunder. He is joined by obnoxious fart comedian, Jeff Portnoy and five time Oscar winner, Kirk Lazarus. However, once filming begins, it immediately spirals out of control as the actors’ egos clash and director, Damien Cockburn loses control of the production. In a final attempt to get the best out of his actors, Cockburn drops his cast into the middle of the jungle. However, things get worse when it becomes clear that the cast are unknowingly in the proximity of a heavily armed drugs gang.



In Tropic Thunder, co-writer and director Stiller has created quite an attack on the film industry. Actors, agents, directors, everyone comes under fire. He launched a similar attack on the model industry in 2001 with Zoolander. But the film isn’t cynical or cutting. Instead, it’s more like a cartoon version of the industry, albeit with gore and gratuitous bad language. The film received a bit of flack over the Kirk Lazarus character who has skin pigment alteration in order to play the platoon sergeant, Lincoln Osiris. But it’s a parody. It’s not serious. It pokes fun at itself and the type of actor who immerses him or herself a little too much into their role. So these complaints are ridiculous. And besides, it’s a comedy. And a damn funny one at that.

Stiller, who co-wrote the film with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen creates one of the most memorable comedy characters in Kirk Lazarus. Robert Downey Jnr.’s performance is spot on. His character is so lost in the role that he cant snap out of it when it’s clear things have gone absolutely pear shaped. It’s Downey Jnr., and a stunningly hilarious cameo by Tom Cruise of all people that are the outstanding things about Tropic Thunder. The dialogue is hilarious, and the parodies are subtle but handled brilliantly. Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, and a great many other films are lampooned but in a way that makes sense in the context of the film. It’s not like everything stops to go ‘hey, look! We’re poking fun at... (insert pop-culture reference here)’ It’s something that talentless hacks like Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg have no idea how to do.



The performances from everyone are very good. Steve Coogan is his usual brilliant self, but his role is unfortunately quite small. Playing the man who wrote the book the film Tropic Thunder (the film in the film) is based on is crazy Nick Nolte. Nolte is madness personified, and adds a great edge to proceedings. The trio of movie stars are also great parodies in themselves. Stiller doesn’t lose any points in playing Tugg Speedman. He’s not preoccupied with directing and is very funny in the role. And Jack Black had the drug-addled Jeff Portnoy nailed. But like I’ve said before, it’s Robert Downey Jnr. and Tom Cruise who steal the show. It’s just a shame we don’t get to see more comedy from Tom Cruise. His reputation as someone a little bit eccentric just adds to the role. Hell, the film even makes Matthew McConaughey look like a great actor.

Tropic Thunder does lose a little steam in the middle of the film. But the opening is relentlessly funny and the laugh count does drop, but things are still very amusing. Sure, Tropic Thunder won’t win awards. But it’s a brilliant parody and a very funny comedy. And it almost makes me forgive Stiller for the dreadful Night At The Museum.


8/10

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (2008) - David Gordon Green

Stoner movies are something of a rarity nowadays. They’re don’t exactly fit in with what the studios want to release. Drugs are bad, mmkay? Obviously, due to the very nature of marijuana, stoner movies are inevitabely comedies. But sometimes it helps to cross-pollinate a comedy with another genre and that’s exactly what’s at hand in Pineapple Express, a new film from the Judd Apatow factory. It follows some of formula what we’ve expect from these films, but is geared more towards older audiences.

Dale Denton is a process server. It’s a job that makes him few friends, but allows him to pursue his passion in life- smoking weed. It’s a firm advocate of the drug and spends his days getting stoned and delivering summons to unsuspecting people... and getting called asshole, dickhead and all manner of other names in the process. He gets his weed from Saul, a well-meaning and genuinely nice pot dealer. Albeit one who’s brain is somewhat mush due to his consumption of copious amounts of weed. While delivering a summons, Denton witness a murder. He in turn is spotted by the murderers. He takes off back to Saul’s but the joint he threw out his car window leads the murderers to Saul. So Denton and Saul take off with gangsters and a crooked cop baying for their blood.



Pineapple Express is a strange film. What’s immediately strange about it is that it’s directed by indie darling David Gordon Green. Green has directed some pretty heavy dramas such as George Washington and All The Real Girls. But Pineapple Express is a total departure for the director. It’s laughs and bullets, something Green fans will not be expecting from the director. But the script is written by star Seth Rogen, so by that, the film isn’t lost.

The other strange thing about the film is one of it’s weaknesses. At times, I didn’t feel like the filmmakers were sure what exactly type of film they were making. When it’s funny, it hits the mark quite well. However, when the action kicks is, and the bullets fly, things begin to fall apart. There are moments when the two parts gel, but these moments are few. The best thing about the film is James Franco’s turn as Saul Silver. There have been many screen stoners, but Franco’s manages to be hilarious and still be the heart of the film. He’s a lovable character, not just because of his idiotic ideas and comments, but also because he’s just a lonely guy looking for a friend. Seth Rogen has carved a niche as the loser with good intentions in these movies, so he’s not out of his depth.



There are other familiar faces on show. Gary Cole and Rosie Perez play the villains, weed dealer Ted Jones, and the crooked cop, Carol. Cole has played villains to a certain extent before. Most famously in Office Space where he played Bill Lumbergh. So he’s got the bad guy thing down. And Perez just seems to be caustic no matter what she plays. Other familiar faces such as Danny R. McBride, Bill Hader and Ed Begley Jnr. fill out the cast. But it’s Rogen and Franco who are the stars, and they make a great team. Though having started out together in Freaks And Geeks, that’s not unusual to see.

Pineapple Express works on some levels and falls flat on others. It’s a funny film, don’t get me wrong. But the best moments are reserved for when Franco’s on screen and you do miss Saul Silver when he’s not around. It’s a film that isn’t quite sure of itself. But at the same time, it’s got great moments. It’s one of those films destined to be a cult movie. And it’ll no doubt be another success for the Apatow factory.


7/10