In Theaters:
EUROPEAN GIRLS ARE EASYU
GIVE YOUR BRAIN A LITTLE VACATION
Eurotrip (2004)
In the "Road Trip" spin-off "Eurotrip," Scotty and his friends travel across Europe to seek out Scotty's typically pretty Internet romance. The resulting "comedic situations" is a movie that is misogynistic, homophobic and euro-racist. If I was still 15, I would have loved it.
It took "Eurotrip" no less than 10 minutes to get to its first pair of naked breasts. The entire film goes on to be populated with said female features and their further south male equivalents. Glamorized alcohol consumption runs rampant almost as often as the sexual encounters. All consequences of the irreprehensible behavior are either nonexistent or treated as humorous. Like I said, if I was still 15, I would have loved this.
To be fair, the actors in the film seem to have fun and they come off as generally likeable. The movie itself comes off as generally likeable when it tries to be clever instead of trying to be funny. Admittedly, the Matt Damon cameo had me laughing out loud.
If you're simple-minded or want your typical Ball State behavior validated, go ahead and give Dreamworks your money. Or, perhaps, you'd prefer your brain to be mildly stimulated.
On DVD:
AWW...ISN'T HE CUTE?!
A MONSTER MOVIE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Finally getting a special edition DVD release, Gremlins is a classic comedy, the kind "they just don't make anymore." For starters, the movie's Gremlin puppets are far more charismatic and believable than any CGI creation seen in modern movies. The creature effects were probably never trumped.
What really makes the movie worth watching time and time again is the cleverness of the script. Chris Columbus' humor is just dark enough for adults while being whimsical enough for everyone. The actors play the humor straight; anything else would have gone the way of camp.
"Gremlins" may be old, but it holds up just as well 10 years after its original release. Definitely a movie worth owning.
BACK IN BLACK
KIDS WITH INSTRUMENTS + JACK BLACK = LAME
An unlikely, out of place instructor touches the minds of children from a different culture and teaches them the meaning of life through music. Nope, it isn't "Sister Act 2." It's "School of Rock," the mainstreaming of funny man Jack Black."School of Rock" uses an old formula but still squeezes out a few great bits. Nonetheless, the movie is short on funny-per-minute and has a tendency to drag on. The film seems edited to pieces, and it still manages to have at least three redundant scenes.
The Jack Black formula doesn't quite work in the movie, either. Seeing Black condescend John Cusack or Kyle Gass is funny. Seeing him talking down to little kids is kind of pathetic. A sadness came over me when I realized that Black was really just performing by himself. Only the die-hard Jack Black fans need apply.
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