RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JUNE 26, 2015.
Richard’s CP24 reviews for talking teddy bear comedy “Ted 2” and the hero dog movie “Max.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Posts Tagged ‘Lauren Graham’
RICHARD’S “CANADA AM” REVIEWS FOR JUNE 19 WITH Jeff Hutcheson.
Richard’s “Canada AM” reviews for talking teddy bear comedy “Ted 2,” the hero dog movie “Max” and “The Overnight” with host Jeff Hutcheson.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
MAX: 1 STAR. “feels like direct-to-DVD movie that escaped the pound.”
The facts are thus: Dogs have served in the military since World War I and over three thousand dogs have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also a sad but true fact that “Max,” a new film starring Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham and Carlos as best friend, hero and Marine, Max puts the hole in wholesome.
The family friendly action starts in Iraq where Kyle Wincott (Robbie Amell) is a young, brave Marine, fighting alongside his best friend Tyler (Luke Kleintank) and their beloved bomb sniffing dog Max (Carlos the Dog). Stateside Kyle’s family—Mom (Graham), Dad (Church) and bratty little brother Justin (Josh Wiggins)—stay in touch via Skype and pray for his safe return. When Kyle is killed in action Max and Tyler return. Tyler tries to fit into civilian life but Max has a hard time. Suffering from PTSD—having bonded so closely with Kyle the dog is now at loose ends—and snarls and growls at everyone… except Justin. The Wincotts take the dog in—“This family looks after it’s own,” says Mom.—and Justin, with the help of his dog lover friends tries to rehabilitate Max.
There’s more—teenage romance, betrayal, a gun cartel, bootlegged video games and some good old action adventure—but for the most part “Max” is little more than an episode of “The Littlest Hobo” with slightly higher production value. In fact this may be the “Citizen Kane” of “Littlest Hobo” shows, but make no mistake, the Canadian series about a helpful, ownerless dog did it first and did it better than anything in “Max.” The bungled action scenes and cardboard characters will have you longing for the halcyon days of “Lassie” and “Rin Tin Tin.”
The dog, it must be said, is a pretty actor. Perhaps it’s his large, expressive Bette Davis eyes, or perhaps it’s the general level of incompetence around him, but he comes off well.
“Max” feels like a direct-to-DVD movie that somehow escaped the pound and made it’s way to theatres.
BECAUSE I SAID SO: – 2 STARS
Movies this bad don’t get released… they escape. The story, which picks the bones of everything from Something’s Gotta Give (sans Jack Nicholson) to Fiddler on the Roof, never met a cliché it didn’t love or a situation too hackneyed to be inserted into the mix.
Diane Keaton plays a single mother who raised three beautiful daughters. Her oldest, Maggie (The Gilmour Girls’ Lauren Graham) and middle child Mae (Maggie Mae, get it?) played by Piper “Coyote Ugly” Perabo lead perfect romantic comedy lives—they have great jobs, handsome husbands and seem set to happily ride off into the sunset. That leaves the third daughter, the Cinderella of the bunch, Milly, the quirky daughter who can’t seem to find a man. Mom, fearful that her youngest won’t ever find happiness decides to act as a pimp… er… I mean set her daughter up with a man. Romantic entanglements ensue as Mom chooses a wealthy but emotionally detached architect and Milly falls for a penniless but warm-hearted musician. Who do you think she’ll end up with?
It’s a fairly standard romantic comedy set-up, although, just as The Holiday did last year, has at its core the notion that women cannot be fulfilled unless they have a man in their lives. The idea is that Diane Keaton is a cranky old maid who has given up on any hope of love in her life and she is trying to steer her children away from her fate. It’s an intrinsically misogynist concept that seems to be the basis for more and more romantic comedies these days.
The gender politics of the piece notwithstanding, there isn’t much to like about this movie. The comedy, which often veers into slapstick, falls flat, the story is predictable, the characters right out of central casting. Diane Keaton—it should be noted has been nominated for Best Actress four times and won in 1978 for a truly the great rom com Annie Hall—delivers the worst performance of her long career. Perhaps she stands out so much because the other actors are barely given characters to work with, and thusly blend into the scenery, but her over-the-top shrieky performance brought to mind bad sitcom acting. She makes Bozo the Clown look subtle and nuanced.
Why shouldn’t you go see this movie? I’ll use a running gag from the movie as my answer: “Because I Said So…”
