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Directed by Gary Winick Starring Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenburg, Chris Pratt, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnson. Romantic Comedy Synopsis: Two women who have been best friends since childhood have always dreamed of having their weddings at the Plaza in Manhattan and, when they both get engaged, schedule them at different times in June but a clerical error schedules both on the same day.

This is one that will really appeal to some film buffs, not so much to others, which I guess is something that could technically be said about almost any film. The premise is two best friends since childhood who have always dreamed of getting married at the Plaza in NYC and, in their young adult lives, this dream seems to be about to become a reality as, luckily, both of their boyfriends pop the big question at about the same time and things look hunk-dory for them to have their weddings at the desired location on different weekends so that they can be each others maid of honor.

So, BFF gal pals Liv (Kate Hudson You, Me, & Dupree) and Emma (Anne Hathaway Hoodwinked) are off to really make the most of the big day, enlisting the help of the best wedding planner in the whole of NYC (Candice Bergen) and things seem to be off to the right start until, due to a clerical error, both weddings are booked on the same day. Well, someone is just going to have to move her wedding and, though neither of the grooms seem to care, the ladies grow more and more impatient with each other over who is going to move until the gauntlet is thrown down and Emma refuses to change her date as does Liz. Now, we have a full scale war.

The heart of the film is the shenanigans both undertake to tweak the other, growing in scale as we progress. What started small enough with one sending the other chocoloates under the name of her finacee to "fatten her up a little" escalates into spreading pregnancy rumors, crashing a bachelorette party, sabatoging tanning beds and hair salons so orange skin and blue hair result, and just all types of things you wouldn't think best girl friends would do. (Unless, of course, you've been around women getting ready for marriage)

The Liv versus Emma war is funny, Hudson and Hathaway do very well with the comedy and Bergen chips in with the funny ice queen type of character. Also, Emma's co-worker, Deb (Kristen Johnston Music & Lyrics) is going to split a few sides as the one who just can't seems to understand the foolishness of all this wedding stuff and isn't shy about sharing her views.

The male characters are solidly secondary characters, primarily there to serve as straight men for the women. To the extent that this is a romance, the true love is really between Emma and Liv more than anything. (Strictly platonic for those of you who might want to read into that some L Word meaning...for all the wrong reasons)     The ending is fairly predictable, but that's o.k., this flick doesn't pretend to be a suspense or psychological thriller. To me, this is the epitome of a "chick flick", which doesn't mean those of you who aren't chicks can't enjoy it, I just think its less likely.

Don't take it too seriously-I don't think the filmmaker ever intended for you to do that-and, if you're familiar at all with the emphasis some young women put on the pomp and circumstance of nuptials, you can have a few laughs. 

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Starring: Matt Dillon, Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Michael Douglas, Seth Rogen. Comedy/Romance. Synopsis: A newly married businessman deals with his new marriage, disapproving father in law who is also his boss at the same time he invites his immature lifelong buddy into his home.

You just look the cast for this one and know it should be good. Good actors, funny actors, and a story line with plots and subplots that almost anyone can identify with...if we haven't been there ourselves, we probably know someone who has.

The setup for the story line is fairly simple but brilliant in the way its used for our story. Owen Wilson and Matt Dillon (Crash) are life long best friends who know each other about as well as they know themselves. But, they are not two peas in a pod. No, sir. Matt Dillon's character is driven, serious, and moderately successful in his career. Most importantly, he is about to be married to the love of his life, Molly( Kate Hudson, The Skeleton Key) And, it just so happens that his boss (Michael Douglass) is her father.

Owen Wilson (Dupree, as you might guess) is a thirty-something going on 16 who places nothing above having a good time. After making his belated appearance in Hawaii for the wedding as his friend's best man, we soon find out that Dupree has been a little down on his luck. "Down on his luck" to the tune of being homeless, unemployed, and having no money. Not that this seems to worry him as much it would-say, me or you-but it is a slight issue for him.

Well, his best friend gets wind of this and tells his slightly surprised new wife that Dupree will be staying with them...just for a while. Well, as you might guess, the idea of a guy so dedicated to the bachelor lifestyle moving in with his best friend and his new bride gives us plenty of opportunity for laughs. The good thing is that, even though we have seen some of this and/or no what's coming, its still plays as funny and fresh and does not lapse into comedy cliche.

There is another layer in the film, too, and that is the growing tension between Matt Dillon and his father-in-law, Michael Douglass. Douglass is hilarious, one of those actors who can be very funny in his "straight" roles without overtly trying to be (see Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds). He is the super successful, wealthy businessman who just does not want to completely let go of his little girl....especially when he is not too particular about her choice of a man. In fact, it kind of seems that, believe it or not, he actually kind of likes Dupree (whose stay, as you knew from the minute he moved in, lasts more than a few days) a lot better.

And, of course, Dupree's lovable shenanigans coupled with his friend's growing paranoia lead to a kind of role reversal towards the end of the story. Nice touch. For a film like this to work, there needs to be a connection between the two best friends, and Dillon and Wilson do it well. You really like and empathize with both of them, because we all have a best friend. And, for us guys anyway, its likely that we have had at least one friend like Dupree...you know, the kind of buddy your mom or girlfriend or wife wasn't to happy to have around. Not because she didn't like him, but because he always has a way of dragging you into something.

Kate Hudson has the toughest job here. You know, the one staple character in any good comedy that is chock full of other zany and over the top characters while she seems to be the only one who has it all together. What makes this character tough is to do it and still add to the comedy and she does. Seth Rogen is a significant minor character, basically reprising a more economically viable version of his oversexed and hilarious character in the 40 Year Old Virgin. 

You, Me, & Dupree is one you won't want to miss if you are a fan of any of the four main actors or if you just want to laugh. So, I'd say give it a shot.

But that's your call. 

 

Directed by Iain Softley. Starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard, John Hurt, Joy Bryant. Drama/Thriller/Horror Synopsis: A suspense laden thriller about a young hospice care nurse who goes to work on a plantation in a rural Louisiana town, where she begins to think that the invalid man she is taking care of might be a victim of his eccentric wife.

Now, this is one that just kind of takes your breath away. Awesome story, well directed, beautifully shot, great soundtrack, and outstanding actors. Other than that, nothing much to write home about. The film starts with us being introduced to Caroline (Kate Hudson), an idealistic young hospice nurse who is disillusioned at the uncaring nature of her profession in the big city and answers an ad to become a live-in caregiver at a antebellum plantation home in a rural parrish.

The matron of the home, Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands Gloria) seems reluctant and somewhat cool to Caroline at first, but is persuaded because of Caroline's diligence and the recommendation of family lawyer Luke (Peter Sarsgaard) to give her the job. Caroline accepts, much to the surprise of her roommate and best friend Jill (Joy Bryant) and assumes the major responsibility for the care of Ben Devereaux (John Hurt The Elephant Man), an invalid who cannot speak.

Caroline senses immediately that things are a little out of the ordinary at the Devereaux home, what with their being no mirrors anywhere in the huge place and her increasing realization that Violet is a believer in the back waters superstitions associated with voodoo. And, to top it off, there is a room in the house that Caroline is told not to enter, it cannot even be opened with the skeleton key, which opens all other rooms. Well, Caroline, just like any of us, is curious about that room and the secrets it holds.

As she gets to know Ben, Caroline cannot help but feel that he is trying to communicate with her, and that what he is trying to communicate is a fear...and that fear is of his wife. Caroline initially attributes this to the fact that Ben, as violet obviously does, believes in the superstitions and that is the cause of his inexplicable inability to speak. We see her steep herself in voodoo lore and beliefs, in order to convince Ben that she can "rid" him of the demons that he believes spook him. Of course, she comes to the conclusion along the way that Violet really does mean Ben harm, and resolves to get him away from her. She shares her concerns with Luke, and we have a suspenseful drama that will keep you hooked to the very end and, I promise, surprise you with the outcome.

Now, readers of this blog will know that I never spoil a flick when I talk about it here (unless, of course, I just feel like it)  and I won't do that here. Lets just say that the great majority of folks-say, about 90%-won't figure this one out until it hits us in the face in the last five minutes of the movie. The great thing is, we are not even sure that it is a movie where we have to figure it out until the end. 

Suffice it to say, everyone in this movie, at the end, is not who they appeared to be. And, yes, the movie is consistent so when you go back to watch it again, the director and script played by the rules: no holes, you had the chance to see what was coming, the answer was there the whole time, no paradoxes. In other words, wonderful.  

The film is fast paced, with no wasted scenes or characters. It captures a flavor of New Orleans and Louisiana that any one who has been there will be able to appreciate. What makes this movie stand out, of course, like all movies that stand out, is the script and the acting. There are really only 5 main characters, and even within that, Joy Bryant's Jill is not onscreen very much, although she plays an important part in the story, particularly the ending. The minor characters, especially in the flashback scene to the lynching of the voodoo practicing servant couple that spawned the lengends, are spooky and supberb.

But, with any film that is so character driven, there is even more pressure on the leads and Hudson and Rowlands both deliver big time. We see almost the entire film through the eyes of Hudson's character, so it is vital that we like and empathize with her, and we do. Its apparent that she has prodigious talent. Gena Rowlands is one of those actors who everyone knows is good, and we wonder why we don't see more of her. (I know what some of you are saying: Hollywood doesn't have many good roles for females over 35. You're right, of course, but don't get me started)  She has a performance for the ages in this one, just as good-although a much different type of role-as the role she is most known for in Gloria. She is majestic, spooky, evil, conniving, vulenrable, and definitely attractive in middle age in this role. She puts it all together.

Not to short change the boys, Sarsgaard and Hurt are awesome as well, its just that the two female leads are the ones driving this train. Sarsgaard is starting to have the "Malcolm McDowell" effect on me. That is, whenever I see his name as a character in  a movie, I just know that his character, if not the whole flick, is going to be...different. And usually pretty good. You just know the whole time that there is something that just doesn't quite fit with this nice young lawyer who seems to just have one client...but, as I said earlier, its not what you think it might be. Or, if you're sharper than me (no great accomplishment) maybe it is what you think it is.

John Hurt deserves special mention, certainly no surprise given his body of work. It is amazing that an actor can have the effect and communicate the feelings of the character so well without speaking. I think some of you, after you watch the movie, will be amazed when you realize he has no dialogue. I mean, you will know he doesn't, it just won't feel that way because he does such a good job.

And, as if a good movie wasn't enough, there are awesome special features on the DVD. You will see behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, plus shorts with Hurt, Hudson, and Rowlands dealing with some aspect of voodoo, legend, history and one personal real life ghost story. Further, there are two very informative segments on voodoo and the plantation life in antebellum Louisiana. I love this kind of stuff and I bet you will, too.

Same goes for the movie.