Poop Talk is an Aaron N. Feldman-written/directed documentary that features funny people talking about poop.
The list of funny people includes Kumail Nanjiani, Eric Stonestreet, Aisha Tyler and Rob Corddry – to name just a few.
I’m intrigued about what comedians have to say on the subject. I also find myself fine with listening to them talk about poop, because they’ll likely make it funny.
What I find myself disgusted by, however, is the ‘clever’ brown poop smear overlay that appears with each speaker’s name in this trailer. Clearly, talk is one thing, but seeing is something else entirely.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a feature-length movie about an interracial relationship between a caucasian female and a Pakistani male before, but I really like the way the struggles that come with the resultant culture clash, and other challenging life events are captured with humour in The Big Sick.
What the lead actors Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazandid, acting-wise, as the couple in the interracial relationship has resulted in afunny, romantic and definitely dramatic movie; a film that does a good job of delivering laughs and a certain realism to the events that take place.
Some of the realism is likely helped by the fact that The Big Sick is based on the actual lives of the film’s writers – Nanjiani and wife wife, Emily V. Gordon. But really, director Michael Showalter and the other actors involved, including Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Adeel Akhtar, all deliver well-balanced performances.
I for one have zero complaints about the The Big Sick. Certainly not in regards to the pace of the story. You’ll likely shed a tear or two, especially if you’re not, how you say…? ‘completely dead inside.’
Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), Zac Efron, Adam DeVine
During Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates, it didn’t take long before I found myself thinking ‘Oh great, this is one of those types of comedies.’
This above unfortunate thought entered my mind within the first ten minutes during the intervention scene. A scene where the immature, co-dependent brothers played by Zac Efron and Adam DeVine respond to their family’s accusation that they ‘rile each other up’. The joke here contained gratuitous use of expletives and was unfortunately over-stretched to the point where I wanted to shout ‘CUT!
I promise that I generally do enjoy the effective and creative use of colourful language – just not when it’s over-used to the point where it removes rather than adds to the desired effect, comic or otherwise. There were additional disappointing moments where I thought, ‘Really? That’s how that would happen?’ But I persevered nonetheless.
In terms of the good things about director Jake Szymanski’s movie, one of the funniest and most refreshing moments is the dialogue between DeVine and Aubrey Plaza in the scene where they whisper to each other outside their Hawaii hotel rooms. There’s also the rather well-executed massage sequence, thanks to an impressive performance by Sugar Lyn Beard and Kumail Nanjiani.
Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016), Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza
Overall, instead of Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates being the ‘comedy of the summer’ it could have been, what we seem to have is a series of comedy sketches in what ought to have been an improvisation class setting because a lot the jokes/story needed sharpening and editing down.
Last words from me: Seek out the great scenes highlighted above. Otherwise just do whatever makes you happy. For me, Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates is one more reminder that a truly good comedy is so very hard to make. Why not try Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) instead or again. It’s very special indeed.
The Movie My Life 