Review: How to Be Single (2016)

There’s something a little ironic about going to see How to Be Single when you’re getting married in 3 months time, accompanied by one of your bridesmaids who is getting married herself in 6 months time, and her other bridesmaid who also isn’t single. In our defence, we actually wanted to see Fifty Shades of Black, but found out the release date got pushed back, and well, we’d already seen Deadpool!  We had a similar situation where we just rocked up at the cinema and this was all that was on, I did want to see it though so it's not all bad!

How to Be Single (2016) is set in New York City and follows the lives of 6 singles living there, looking for love. Alice (Dakota Johnson) has never been single so tells her boyfriend she wants a break so she can find herself. Robin (Rebel Wilson) is single and loving it, so takes Alice under her wing to show her the ropes. Meg (Leslie Mann), Alice’s sister works too many hours as a nurse to be in a relationship, but wants to have a baby. Tom (Anders Holm) runs a bar and has tinkered with his apartment to make it the perfect bachelor’s pad. Lucy (Alison Brie) spends all her time online using the Wifi in Tom’s bar seeking her ideal partner. Finally, David (Damon Wayans Jr.) is a struggling single parent who finds it difficult opening up.

Phew, that was exhausting. I think I’ve nailed one of the problems with this movie. Too many main characters! The posters make it look like a movie about 4 single girls coming together to either help each other find love, or to simply support each other. Instead, the main story arc revolves around Alice, her sister Meg and her new friend Robin, none of whom ever actually meet Lucy in the movie, which just seemed odd. It’s like her character was just thrown in for the sake of it. On the plus side, with such a great cast, there’s bound to be a reason here for anyone to give the movie a chance!  I think they may have been going for a Love Actually/Valentines Day type thing, an ensemble cast where everyone is connected in weird ways!  However, they kind of missed the mark with forgetting to include Lucy in anything and then having characters thrown in for the hell of it....I'm talking about you Damon Wayans Jr!

This movie has been heavily marketed in the UK, and I can safely say that I’ve seen the ‘tit punch’ scene enough times to just not find it funny anymore (I laughed, a lot!). I loved the ‘dicksand’ joke but Rebel Wilson already explained it all on the Graham Norton show! Thankfully, there were still plenty of surprise funny moments, largely thanks to Rebel Wilson herself who is on top form here. Leslie Mann was also hilarious, and the scene with her talking to the baby early on was equally sweet and silly.  I thought (and I said this countless times throughout) that Wilson actually saved this movie, I'm not sure I could have say through it if i wasn't waiting for her next clanger, she was on top form.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for anyone else or the film in general.

I think the main problem with How to Be Single is it doesn’t know what it wants to be. There weren’t enough funny moments for me to really rate it in my favourite comedies, but there were also lots of serious and heart warming moments that were wonderful, but just a bit out of place. One scene with Damon Wayans Jr. in particular had me sobbing quietly into my jumper sleeve!  The heartwarming stuff was painful to watch, completely random and I don't think added any value whatsoever, I'm feeling a bit ranty about this, can you tell?!

I’m still not 100% sure how I feel about it. The ending was good, I won’t spoil it but I started to worry it would end with everyone finding the loves of their lives, which would ruin the whole point, and it didn’t. I just think there are going to be more rom coms out this year that will be a lot better.

I think it was utterly predictable all the way through, somewhere around the half way mark they indicated that they weren't going to be predictable therefore letting the audience know they were going to do the exact opposite of what you initially expected.  predictable!! Thank god for Rebel Wilson is all I can say!

Review: Vacation (2015)

Just when you thought I couldn’t talk anymore about Vacation on this blog, bam! Sequel/remake time. I’m in my prime right now. On a serious note though, the original Vacation was my whole childhood, and since the very recent passing of my Granny I’ve felt even more of a connection to it. Every Bank Holiday as a child would be spent at my grandparents with a KFC, and National Lampoon’s Vacation would be played.  I only watched the original Vacation once as a child so I don't have the same connection to it as Allie but I did enjoy it (even if I don't like Chevy Chase - Sorry Allie!!)

I’ve been waiting for this film for about 2 years now since it was announced. In fact, Jenna and I still worked together when it was announced! I think I had a celebratory Subway for lunch that day. I do however realise that sequels are very rarely as good as their originals, and by the time I bought my cinema ticket I was mainly just hoping it wouldn’t suck.

Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) is all grown up now and with his family life stuck in a bit of a rut, he remembers the fun he had as a child on his family road trip and vacation to Walley World. Clearly he didn’t remember it very well, as it was a disaster, but nonetheless he decides to take his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate), and two sons James (Skyler Gisondo) and Kevin (Steele Stebbins) on the same road trip. As James wisely points out, he’s never even heard of the original vacation, but that’s okay, Rusty says it will stand on its own.  This was a great scene where they basically explained that you didn't need to see the original to enjoy this one...very clever!!

Whilst Vacation is never going to win any real awards, can I just award it an honourary ‘best opening credits ever’ award? Seriously, I was in stitches! Before I let this post turn into gushing praise though, I do accept that it’s not the best comedy in the world. No, it’s not better than the original and there are jokes that fall flat. Kevin was really irritating, and a lot of his bad language was just unnecessary.   I don't even remember the opening credits - is that bad?!  I don't think at any point I laughed hysterically, all the jokes were set up so you could see what was going to happen, which limited the surprise laughs to be had!

Other jokes though are making me laugh while I type this just thinking about it. The rocket button on the car’s key fob? I don’t even know what it was about that scene that made me laugh so hard, but my sides hurt after it! The Korean sat-nav joke never got old either, and completely caught me off guard every time. Even if you aren’t a fan of the film itself, this has got to be fun just to spot all the cameos! I didn’t even know half of them, but my friends did and we all know how fun it is to spot one of our favourite actors or actresses when we weren’t expecting them to turn up.  Thanks Allie for the reminder, I did laugh out loud a few times and they were all related to that car/key fob.  Although the fob joke was set up really early, I never had any idea what was going to happen to the car when they pressed any of the buttons so that did keep me entertained!

Hmmm...what was I saying again?

For fans of the original, there are plenty homages to spot. I think I confused everyone around me when I chuckled as the Griswold’s drove over that bridge. The biggest throwback for me though is the Holiday Road song that was played multiple times. It doesn’t matter where I am or what mood I’m in, that song will make me smile.  I think I missed most of the homages, as it has been a looooooong time since I saw the original - Allie we'll have to watch this together and you'll have to enlighten me!

I accept I may be alone in my praise of Vacation, but that’s okay. 

In this particular post, yes you are alone....

You don't understand!!

Looking Forward to Seeing in the Cinema: August 2015

This time its my turn to get in there first :-)  especially as there doesn't seem to be that much out in August - sorry Allie! I'm absolutely fine with this...there's only one thing I'm looking forward to this month! Of course, completely forgot about that one....

I was initially disappointed when I heard they were remaking Fantastic Four, the original was my first experience if a superhero/comic book movie and it started an obsession that would stay with me for a long time to come.  Unfortunately, I think I am the only one who thought much of that film so eventually the remake was inevitable.

I was also a bit disappointed to find out it was the same bad guy again but then I saw the trailer......... consider me converted.  It looks amazing and the advancements in CGI are evident plus it is another fix for my recent obsession with Miles Teller.

Fantastic Four is released in UK cinemas on 6th August 2015.

Allow me to re-name this post briefly to 'Looking forward to and absolutely terrified to be seeing in the cinema' for my half. It seems all summer I've been talking about National Lampoon's Vacation and Christmas Vacation too. This year we get a remake, named simply, 'Vacation'.

You lucky folks across the sea have already had the chance to see it, and by the time this post publishes on our blog I'll have probably already read the onslaught of one-star reviews, but as this is released on my birthday weekend in the UK, I'll be one of the first to see it over here, still holding out hope for a decent film.

Vacation will be released in UK cinemas on 21st August 2015.