Stan & Ollie is the Jon S. Baird directed biography of Laurel and Hardy, the world’s most famous comedy duo.
Starring John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan, the film follows the pair as they embark on a gruelling theatre tour of post-war Britain.
I recently watched a Wired interview on their YouTube channel where the question of whether John C. Reilly had won any awards came up. The answer was no. Fingers crossed that this movie is good enough to change that.
I’m in for the story of a great friendship and because I’ve been a Reilly fan ever since his great work in Magnolia (1999).
Stephanie Hyam, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston, Nina Arianda and Rufus Jones also star.
I never, ever thought I’d say this, but it’s official, the minion magic no longer works on me. The minions are not even in Despicable Me 3 that much but long gone is the version of myself that would literally squeal with delight at the mere sight of them. Now they’re more like a favourite song played over and over again that I can kind of no longer stand.
I actually found myself adequately bored in parts as I watched Despicable Me 3. The main reason being, my favourite moments in the movie were the ones I already saw in the teaser trailer with the Michael Jackson loving super villain, months earlier. One of the newest things in this instalment, namely the introduction of one of Gru’s relatives unfortunately felt a little too much like a desperate attempt to find any reason, any reason at all to keep the franchise going.
Just to be clear, I’m definitely not saying that Despicable Me 3 is terrible, generally speaking. I’m saying that I didn’t love it because it felt tired and I’m over all the characters; most surprisingly to myself, I’m tired of the minions.
Immediately below are just some of the thoughts that went through my mind as the credits rolled. In some ways, I really should have known.
‘What was I thinking?’
‘Why was I looking forward to this when I knew that I never really enjoyed the first two Despicable Me movies anyway?’
‘I simply must have forgotten that the minions were the ones I really loved (back then) – not super villain Gru and his children.’
If you’re super intrigued, watch it and see how you like Despicable Me 3.
Based on a novel by Herman Koch, The Dinner which stars Rebecca Hall, Richard Gere, Laura Linney and Steve Coogan is a mystery/ thriller about how far parents will go to protect their children when they do something unspeakable…
Directed by Oren Moverman and also starring Chloë Sevigny, I trust that this will be good. The main draw besides the interesting premise is Laura Linney. The lady always impresses. Always!
I love funny people so I knew I’d have a good time watching writer/ director Kevin Pollak’s documentary, Misery Loves Comedy. It’s a film that has a mixture of funny people from comedians to actors and filmmakers all answering the question: ‘Do you have to be miserable to be funny?’
I’ll start by saying that I had a good time overall but I did find some of the editing a tad odd, especially in the first two thirds. Secondly, maybe because I already know plenty about funny people and thats why I didn’t feel as enlightened by what most of the comics had to say. Thirdly, the number of people featured is a lot. Perhaps it would have been more interesting had the documentary been about a handful of celebrated funny people, therefore allowing for more in depth interviews and probably less jarring editing. Last but not least, as much as I love Steve Coogan, Richard Lewis, Amy Schumer, etc., it didn’t help that nearly none of my favourites comics made an appearance in this documentary; Louis C.K. to name just one.
Misery Loves Comedy (2015), Richard Lewis
The part I loved the most in Misery Loves Comedy is towards the end because that’s when the comics finally answer the question of whether one needs to be miserable to be funny. Another way to ask the question is ‘whether a person is born funny or if it’s something they develop.’ One of the best answers I’ve heard isn’t actually in this documentary, but in a Kjersti Flaa interview with Louis C.K. where C.K.’s response is…
‘I definitely don’t think you can be born funny. Funny happens to you. It’s like you can’t be taught how to be emotionally a wreck. Funny is a defence mechanism.’
Amen to that is what I say! Sometimes it’s a matter of whether you find a way to focus on the funny side or you wallow – and sometimes if you cant quite see the funny side, it’s wise to let yourfavourite funny person help you do that and/ or take your mind elsewhere.
Watch Misery Loves Comedy because you’re curious about funny people. It may not feature all your top favourite comics, but you’ll enjoy the entertaining company nonetheless.
The Movie My Life 