More Movie Reviews

Finally had the chance to watch two movies I bought during a shopping spree two weeks ago. I'd never seen either in their entirety, and if you haven't, either, you REALLY should.

DODGEBALL: I've come to the conclusion that Vince Vaughn is the master of the acceptable comedy. Between Fred Claus, Four Christmases, Wedding Crashers, and a ton of others, he rarely makes a bad one. This is probably the best one he starred in (I don't count Anchorman, as he wasn't one of the leads). Unlike a lot of comedies, the stereotypical two twenty-minute lulls don't exist, and the movie is generally 90 minutes of funny stuff from all angles, save for the tolerable introduction period where we meet everyone. The length is another plus, as nothing is dragged out to the point of "OK, move on," but we still get a good idea of what's going on before we head to the next scene. The secondary characters are developed well, and Ben Stiller is at his best as the owner of the town's rival gym.

If I had to pick a fault with the movie, it's that it almost tried too hard at times. The death of the team's coach, for instance, comes when a bar sign falls onto his head and crushes him. Yeah, the irony's amusing, but it just seemed like too much, and there were a few minor instances of that scattered around the movie. That said, though, this was a quality comedy, and I loved it. RATING: ****1/4

THREE AMIGOS: This is the ultimate "either you get it or you don't" movie, and with the mixed reviews online, it's easy to see why. Tough to argue with the cast, as Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short star as washed-up silent movie actors who get roped into an off-the-wall, impossible situation. There's a ton of slapstick here, which has its good and bad points, and it seemed like Chase mailed it in at times (yet again, he wasn't given many lines to work with). On the other hand, Steve Martin is in his mid-1980's groove, Martin Short steals the show in one of his earliest roles, and hearing Short yell "ARRIBA!" is worth the price of the DVD alone (and adds about a quarter-star to the final rating).

After seeing it and looking at other reviews, it's almost like people made up their minds to not like the movie when they first saw it. Yeah, you'll groan a bit, but you'll also laugh your butt off if you open yourself up to it. It's not the best comedy ever made, but Lorne Michaels and Steve Martin wrote a good one, and it's worth looking for in your local video store. RATING: ***3/4