Posts Tagged ‘Fred Willard’

Dual Roles, one philosophy. Chris O’Dowd in “Movie Entertainment” Dec. 2013

Screen Shot 2013-11-19 at 1.07.09 PMThis Christmas season Irish actor Chris O’Dowd is on a search for identity.

In two separate projects airing in December on HBO Canada and the Movie Network the charming comedian plays a fish out of water; men whose lives have been turned upside down.

In the improvised series Family Tree he’s the thirty-something Tom Chadwick. Recovering from getting fired and being dumped, he inherits a mysterious box of “bits and bobs” from a dead great aunt. Among the old photos and clothing are hints to his genealogy. “It peaks his interest,” says O’Dowd, “and he has so much time on his hands he decides to explore his family tree.”

Directed by mockumentary master Christopher Guest, and co-starring a cast of comedy vets like Michael McKean, Ed Begley Jr. and Fred Willard, it’s a lighthearted look at Tom’s journey, from England to California, in pursuit of his roots and life’s meaning.

The movie The Sapphires sees O’Dowd on a different trip…

Pick up a copy of the magazine at a newsstand near you to read the whole thing!

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DATE MOVIE: ½ STAR

Who says there isn’t truth in advertising? The cover of the DVD case for Date Movie says, “from 2 of the 6 writers of Scary Movie.” If you surmised that the slogans means the movie is only one third as funny as any of the Scary Movies you’d be right. Date Movie pokes fun at romantic comedies, adding a gross-out twist to your favorite scenes from When Harry Met Sally, The Wedding Planner and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a formula that works well when the Scary Movie franchise sends up horror films but is less successful here.

Date Movie is likely to end up on many “worst of lists” come the end of the year, and with good reason. If you must rent this one over the weekend at least do yourself the favor of ignoring the full-length movie and checking out the extra on the disc called “The Quickie” which zips through the movie in just six minutes. You’ll never get those six minutes back, but at least it saves you from wasting 85 minutes of your life on this unfunny pap.