Tag Archives: Vanessa Bayer

Comedy, Drama, No Spoiler Reviews

CARRIE PILBY (2016): I Had Hoped For More…

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Carrie Pilby (2016), Bel Powley
Carrie Pilby (2016), Bel Powley

‘So, this is what uptight and highly strung looks like – up close.’

‘Why am I not warming to her?’ Ah yes, it’s because she’s annoying.’

‘I feel bad because I understand now why she irritates me. It’s not quite her fault, poor lass.’

‘This romantic element, I don’t care for it. It feels forced.’

Just a selection of some of the unfortunate thoughts that went through my head as I watched Carrie Pilby, a comedy / drama about a person of high intelligence who struggles to make sense of the world as it relates to morality, relationships, sex and leaving her apartment.

It’s  definitely telling that some days after watching Carrie Pilby, I remember how annoying the main character was but recall not a single moment that was particularly amusing or memorable.

I suppose it doesn’t help that when I think of a comedy where a person of high intelligence is struggling to make sense of the world, the first character that pops into my head is the well imagined and very funny Sheldon Cooper of CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. Tough act to follow, clearly. Still, I’m not sure how much difference it would have made If I’d never heard of The Big Bang Theory before watching this movie.

Happy Film Loving

G

Comedy, Drama

CARRIE PILBY (2017): New Trailer Starring Bel Powley, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Bayer…

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Carrie Pilby (2016), Bel Powley
Carrie Pilby (2016), Bel Powley

Carrie Pilby is a comedy / drama about a person of high intelligence who’s struggling to make sense of the world as it relates to morality, relationships, sex and leaving her apartment. 

Directed by Susan Johnson; based on the novel by Caren Lissner and starring Bel Powley (Pilby), Vanessa Bayer, Gabriel Byrne to name just a few, I’m expecting good things.

Of course I couldn’t watch this trailer without Sheldon Cooper of  CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory coming to mind.

Whereas the sitcom primarily focuses on the lives of boy geniuses, I’m looking  forward to the story and life of a girl genius.

Also, I want to assume that Carrie Pilby’s accent is supposed to be a mixture of English and American, instead of one or the other. Otherwise…

Carrie Pilby Release Dates: April 4th, 2017 (US)…

Happy Film Loving

G

Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

TRAINWRECK (2015): The Good Things…

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Trainwreck (2015), Amy Schumer, Bill Hader
Trainwreck (2015), Amy Schumer, Bill Hader

Trainwreck stars Amy Schumer, the comedienne behind one of my favourite shows on Comedy Central, Inside Amy Schumer. 

Written by Schumer and directed by someone I like to refer to as ‘comedy film king’, Judd Apatow, Trainwreck was a romantic comedy I had high hopes for.

Overall, the film isn’t bad. The scenes I enjoyed most are in the middle of the film and they include the conversations between the characters played by Bill Hader, LeBron James and/ or Amy Schumer. Ezra Miller’s Donald is also particularly memorable.

Trainwreck (2015), LeBron James, Bill Hader
Trainwreck (2015), LeBron James, Bill Hader

Some scenes in the first twenty minutes unfortunately felt quite long and the ending left me craving creative disruption of the romantic comedy genre, probably more than I ever have.

I often find that whenever comics star in their own comedy films, the narrative moves too slowly for my liking. It probably has something to do with me being used to the sketch show / standup comedy format where the point is rarely ever dragged out unnecessarily; at least not by the good comics.

Part of the problem with Trainwreck is that I already enjoyed a good number of the funniest moments in the trailer. So, once once again, I may have liked the trailer more than I did the film. Those who are not already quite familiar with Schumer’s comedy will likely love the movie more because of the general newness. The rest of us might end up doing more smiling than laughing.

Happy Film Loving 🙂

G