Ten Statements About....THE TALL GUY (1989)

Stop razzing Michael Bailey about that haircut Superman
used to sport--as Jeff proves, there was a time when his
coif would be considered cool!

"What's you name?"

"Kate. Lemon. Its a horrid name."

"No. Not at all. It could've been worse. You could've been named Hitler or Tampon or something."

1) I've been told this was the first script written by Richard Curtis, who goes on to write such romcom crimes as Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones' Diary. I can only assume it is the fact that he was still learning screenplay writing that makes it avoid all the intolerable femmie crap that that makes those other films the bane of men everywhere.

And to fair, he also wrote last year's Doctor Who episode 'Vincent and The Doctor' as well, so this isn't as total an aberration as it seems.

2) One of the reason this film does work is the odd pairing of Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson as our romcom couple. These two do not look like they belong on the same planet, let alone in the same city...and yet there is a definite, quirky charm and chemistry when they're interacting together. The contrast of Goldblum's constrained manic energy to Thompson's very underplayed, dry delivery is totally compelling to watch.

3) And it's so to the film's credit that there is a balance to this relationship. It does seem like being together brings something out of both Jeff's Dexter and Emma's Kate--in Dexter, a confidence to blaze his own trails, and in Kate, a sense of humor and sensitivity she seems to have submerged to be a nurse.

4) And while we're on the subject of Goldblum and Thompson....these two are masters of the facial expression. There are a number of jokes that would not have been funny without these two actors reacting to them. Thompson, in particular, is glorious during the extended sequence where she has to sit through the opening performance of the musical Dexter is starring in, Elephant! (based on the life of John 'The Elephant Man' Merrick). The mock musical numbers don't really work, but Thompson's reactions--trying to show enthusiasm when she's really appalled--send the show thoroughly over the top.

Ahhh, the 80's...when this counted as formal wear...

5) Maybe because it does happen so early in Curtis' career, but there's something really charming at this point in setting an American-style romcom featuring a at-that-point name American actor (he still had some residual glow from The Fly) in London. Curtis does take full advantage of the city without giving it the usual 'landmark parade' quality other, lesser romcoms use. It lends the film a certain flavor it might not have had if it was set in and around Broadway.

6) Boy, Anna Massey--playing Dexter's agent--is only in this film a very, very short time, but she makes the most of her screen time and is genuinely hilarious. She's a pivotal character, transitioning the film from the relationship segment to the later one involving Elephant, and makes the sudden shift in gears easy to take.

7) Judging from the two sex scenes, which seem...violent (the main sex scene literally destroys a room), director Mel Smith has not had very healthy personal relationships.

Which is worse...that Goldblum's roommate is apparently
an 18th century scullery maid, or that he's wearing
Slyvester McCoy's old DOCTOR WHO Sweater?

8) Look, I get that this was made in 1989, the dawn of the age when every film--especially comedies--were required to have a music video break, but while the film sets up the use of said music video well (Dexter is established early on as a fan of the band Madness, lead singer Suggs makes a cameo...and when the song comes up, it's Madness' then-single from Keep Moving, 'It Must Be Love'), it's...well pretty awful. When you're reduced to having certain lines sung by a pair of soiled underpants, it's time to discard the sequence entirely.

9) Mel Lewis (who started life as a comedian, and was one of Atkinson's co-stars on Not The Nine O'Clock News) directed this. I'm not a fan, but I will applaud his choreography of the last set piece, a running conversation between Dexter and Kate through a overcrowded, busy hospital full of bus crash patients. Lewis makes great use of the set, and has the trust in Goldblum and Thompson to be able to physically traverse the area in a way that's plausible, charming and funny.

10) As preternaturally beautiful Kim Thomson is in playing Dexter's leading lady in Elephant, the whole plot line where they have a liason that leads to Kate breaking up with him seems...forced. It's as if Curtis felt there needed to be a complication in the middle of Act Three so there could be a big make-up scene. Yes, that final make-up scene works beautifully, but I have to wonder if that element could have been discarded for something better.

Overall...much better than it had a right to be, thanks primarily to the exceptional chemistry and physical comedy skills of Thompson and Goldblum. One of these films that fell through the cracks, and maybe undeservedly so.

Ten Statements About....FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008)

Wow...two of the hottest women ever, and I still find the guy
in white the most entertaining...

"Excuse me. No, I haven't had anything to drink today. Maybe the problem is that you broke my heart into a million pieces and so my cock doesn't want to be around you anymore! Okay?"

1) Before anyone thinks that the only reason I like the film is because it features The Beautiful One in various states of undress (including, in one scene, total undress)...this is the film that made me believe that Jason Segal is a true talent, both as an actor and as a writer. This is an incredibly clever script, and rewatching this now I'm struck by the number of subtle clues laid out in the first few minutes to major plot points down the line.

2) You wanna know how good a writer Segal is? He manages to make me like that miserable, evil little snot Russell Brand. In his hands, Aldous Snow is certainly the kind of self-centered, inconsiderate man-child that Brand seems to only be able to play (y'know, kinda like Adam Sandler, only without his depth)...but with a sense of obliviousness to his meanness and a genuine desire to be a good guy infused in it.

Yes, I'd enjoy watching Russell Brand suffer...but then
he went and married Katy Perry and I realized he's prolly
suffering enough....

3) At the risk of making this the 'Jason Segal Knows How To Write' edition of 10 Statements...look at how generous he is with all the characters in this film. A lesser writer (I'm looking at you, Danny McBride) would have made this into a vanity project, but Segal seems to delight in giving other actors the best lines, even extremely minor ones.

4) I find it interesting that this film utilizes its Hawaiian backdrop as a contrast to Segal's Peter personal angst, but also as a place for people to escape from their lives...the former to accentuate the humor of discomfort inherent in Peter's experience, the latter to accentuate the message the film is presenting of not allowing the past to inhibit your desires.

5) Wow...I never realized how many Muppet references Segal slides into this film. It certainly puts his decision to write a new Muppet movie in context, doesn't it?

6) This is the film that made me realize that Mila Kunis is a) wicked hot and b) has one of those rather cool screen presences that puts you at ease...yes, she's wicked hot, but she also seems very round-the-way and approachable.

7) Another genius thing about the script--there is no bad guy here. Even Sarah Marshall, who is arguably the worst person on display, has her moments--when she makes an excuse to talk to Kunis' Rachel to tell her how good a guy Peter is, for example. And when she gives her reasons for leaving Peter, her reasons not only make sense, but they're justifiable given what we saw of him before the break-up.

Scenes From My Worst Nightmares #268

8) Even though there are a lot of fun side characters here, my favorite bar none is Da'Vone MacDonald as Dwayne The Bartender. When he starts insisting that his life is so much better because he knows 200 kinds of fish...then proceeds to prove it, it cracks me up every time.

9) And there is a rather decent message about not letting your past inhibit your future. By moving past Sarah, Peter realizes his goal (after some difficulties, which results in a song called simply 'Psychiatrist' in the credits, and is another highlight) and finds success...and Rachel decides to pursue her own goals as well.

10) Okay, okay...I know what you want to know. Yes....Kristen Bell is yummy.

Happy, now?

Overall...one of my favorite recent rom-coms thanks to an extremely clever, sensitive and subtle scripts, a great setting and some excellent laugh lines. Plus Kristen Bell. And in my eyes, Kristen Bell is always good.