Who's FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL?

Judd Apatow knows men and knows what makes men laugh: penis jokes, gratuitous swearing, crotch shots, "High" humour, and anything else that would make your average teenage male roll in the streets. Apatow has brought to the forefront juvenile male humour the likes Hollywood fears. The likes that used to be reserved in the smoke-filled THC encrusted college dorm rooms of men. Except it's these very same men he focuses on who grow older and a little softer yet never truly ever grow up.

Where last year's KNOCKED UP explored man's fear of childbirth, where 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN re-introduced the world to men's honest view of sex, where SUPERBAD took us back in time to when these same men were teens, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is an exploration of men's perspectives on the ups and downs of love. This is a Male Chick Flick.

Jason Segel from "How I Met Your Mother" is the latest to graduate from Apatow's circle of comic Everymen and star in his own movie. He follows in the footsteps of Seth Rogan, Steve Carell, and Jonah Hill to creating an imperfect character into something inherently lovable.

The movie follows a distraught Peter (Segel) as he tries to get over his famous ex-girlfriend Sarah (Kirsten Bell) and escapes to Hawaii to get away and start over. He is supported by his good friend Brian (hilarious Bill Hader from SNL), Brian's nosy wife (Liz Cackowski), and island cutie Rachel (Mila Kunis) to help him pick up the pieces. Things go a little awry, as these comedies do, when Peter finds that Sarah has decided to go to Hawaii with her new rockstar hearthrob (brilliantly played by relative unknown Russell Brand). Things get strained and awkward at best after that...and how Judd Apatow handles these situations is what's pure gold.

There are no stand out shots that make you realize you'll remember this scene forever (Like KNOCKED UP's "birthing" scene). But there's enough one liners to make you roll in the aisles like this tid-bit: "When life gives you lemons, just say 'Fuck the lemons,' and bail."

And if Kunu, the Surfing Instructor, doesn't have you laughing at everything he says...well, then you're probably not high enough.

Crude, rude, and breaming with full frontal comedy, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL will shock and awe you into laughing fits even after the credits roll. Don't miss it!

8.5 Dracula Musicals out of 10

DAN IN REAL LIFE by Adam in Real Life

Dan is a writer.
Adam is a writer.
Dan is a father in an all female family.
Adam is a father in an all female family.
Dan has loving siblings and parents.
Adam has loving siblings and parents.
Dan's wife died and is trying his best to relate to his three daughters while falling for his brother's girlfriend during a family reunion.
Adam's car is falling apart.
All similarities aside, Dan (played with comic subtlety by Steve Carell) has much tougher issues to work through. Mine can be solved with a bunch of cash and a tune up. Dan's needs a little more elbow grease.
I was introduced to DAN IN REAL LIFE purely by accident while perusing through IMDB (the Internet Movie DataBase) one day. As a self-professed Carell-ophyte, I wanted to find anything and everything he's done. This movie got very little promotion outside of independent movie circles but did get rave reviews by those who were in the know when it was released last October.
I wrote in a previous review for EASTERN PROMISES how much I love Focus Features releases. They make poignant movies about snapshots of real life taken with a slight "Duck-Out-Of-Water" slant.
DAN IN REAL LIFE is nothing revolutionary. You've probably seen this story before about a guy and a girl wanting to be with each other but can't (see Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) but most likely not told so honestly and with so much humility. There are moments of embarrassment that make you cringe because you really feel for Dan and what he's coping with (I used to call these "Wonder Years" moments).

A charming movie with small town family values and a selection of perfectly cast actors. Just like how it is in my real life...except I need a good mechanic friend for my car.

8 pancakes out of 10.

(OFFICIAL RANKATRON NOTE: This is not on the list because it was released almost 6 months ago. But to make it up to you, I'm going to be reviewing three (maybe four) movies over the next week that ARE on the list: 88 Minutes, The Forbidden Kingdom, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Iron Man...it's going to be a busy week!)

SMART PEOPLE with Reel Babies

As a new father, you discover new and wonderful things about the world that you've either forgotten or never knew existed. Things like how toes can be the funniest things in the world, or how your kid licking Velcro will cause her to have the most quizzical look (can't remember the last time I licked Velcro) , or that there's a whole sub-culture of baby-related events in this city (Halifax, NS) frequented by "at-home" Moms or Dads looking for some normalcy.
My resourceful wife introduced me to this sub-culture by inviting me to a special showing of SMART PEOPLE for anyone with young children (AKA "Reel Babies"). I went to the theatre weary as to what to expect...and what I expected was almost right with some small caveats: this theatre was jam-packed with Mommies and Babies (there was a grand total of 3 fathers there including me...I counted) all cradling or rocking or feeding or soothing their lil' ones. The front of the theatre had strollers (both collapsible and not) lined up like cars on a ferry. A change table large enough for three babies was set up to one side (often there was a line-up for this). A toy play area was set up for some of the older kids if they got bored. And EVEN a microwave should you need to nuke your baby bottles. These were the necessities of survival for this world all provided by the movie theatre. And I tell ya...you've never fully experienced a movie until you try to listen to one through the swell of baby coos and cries...and it wasn't so bad.
The lights dim (not so much so you can still get around to change baby if needed)...and the screen comes up...and the sound is a little lower than normal...but it's loud enough to be heard over the rampant babiness.
On to SMART PEOPLE, or as I'd title it, "How pompous people act if they think they're so smart that every one else has to live up to THEIR expectations". For the sake of this review and conciseness, I'll refer to it under it's original title.
SMART PEOPLE stars Dennis Quaid (socially awkward Professor Lawrence Wetherhold), Sarah Jessica Parker (pleasant and "straight-shootin'" Doctor Janet Hartigan), Thomas Haden-Church (sophomoronic brother of the professor, Chuck Wetherhold), and Ellen Page (stiff, smart, and un-Juno daughter of the professor, Vanessa Wetherhold).
Previews make out this movie to be similar to the brilliant and hilarious JUNO but on the conservative slant. SMART PEOPLE is conservative but the snappy repartee between characters never lives up to that billing.
Ellen Page does a watered down Juno here for her role as a Young Republican daughter looking for fatherly acceptance.
Dennis Quaid pulls in a strong effort trying to hide angst and sorrow behind pompous intelligence.
Sarah-Jessica Parker was all vanilla. She fell into the background and didn't shine even though she was the main love interest. I kept expecting her to talk about Mr. Big. She'll forever by typecast as the sensible dating girl.
Thomas Haden-Church shines brightest of all bringing college humour when the smart dialogue fails.
If you take away one thing from this review, SMART PEOPLE is not JUNO. If you go down expecting that, you'll be disappointed. SMART PEOPLE isn't a bad movie either. It's riddled with nice interactions and funny lines over a half-decent plot.
If you take two things from this review: for all those Moms whose whole day is taking care of their children and crying out to be normal once and awhile, show them some love, people! They deserve it!

7 Crying Babies out of 10