Comedy & Humor

As movies go, Something Borrowed stays remarkably faithful to Emily Giffin's breakout best-seller, the movie's inspiration. Darcy, engaged to Dex, whose despicable behaviour must be forgiven in deference to the plot, throws a thirtieth birthday party for her very-very best friend Rachel. At party's end, perpetual good-girl Rachel ends-up in bed with Dex; and to no one's surprise except her own, Rachel subsequently finds herself constitutionally incapable of lettingh it go as a one-night stand. Give props to Ginnifer Goodwin as Rachel and Kate Hudson as Darcy, who hold their positions in the movie's unsteady love triangle with painstaking attention to the poignancy and precariousness of their situation as both best friends and bitter rivals."Of course, as her affair with Dex continues, Rachel finds herself torn between devotion to her still-engaged, still-oblivious best friend and her genuine affection for her pet philanderer. While Giffin's book rode the top of the charts, critics wrote, "Something Borrowed… will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend." Plan for the same reaction to the movie.

Think of Prom as High School Musical with heavy doses of teen-aged angst. Summarizing Prom in frighteningly reductive terms, Disney says, "A group of teenagers get ready for their high school prom," and the producers list it simultaneously as "comedy" and "drama." If you read only that description, you easily could conclude Prom dramatizes debutantes' struggles with mascara and up-dos. To her everlasting credit, Aimee Teegarden, veteran of heavy high school drama in "Friday Night Lights," goes a long way toward redeeming Prom from its awkward identity crisis. With a properly delicate and ironic touch, Ms. Teegarden effectively captures every sophisticated senior's inchoate recognition that "valedictory" means farewell and "commencement" is a synonym for "see ya." "Nova, Ms. Teegarden's allegorically named character, recognizes her pet antagonist probably is the ideal prom date, heavy on the fun factor and devoted to keeping rented tuxedos and poofy dresses in perspective. The unlikely pair contrasts sharply with Mei and Tyler, swept-away sweethearts, who wrestle with conscience and logistics as they work to wring every last micro-gram of meaning and romance from "the biggest night of their lives.""Set for release the last weekend of April, 2011, Prom may or may not set the tone for the Class of 2011's dining and dancing extravaganzas, but it surely will provide invaluable fashion and etiquette tips.

The Hangover numbers among those very few movies that can lay legitimate claim to the title "instant classic." As contrived, convoluted, twisted, silly, and slapstick as something woven from the three stooges meeting the Marx brothers, "The Hangover" nevertheless maintained its sincerity and inspired audiences' sympathy for the poor slobs they were watching screw-up at every available opportunity. We call that "comic genius.""Can The Hangover Part II possibly reprise the genius and do justice to the original? As the movie went into post-production, Hangover star Bradley Cooper shared his worries, telling The Los Angeles Times, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't trepidatious." The el dos, the original characters travel to Bangkok, which Cooper characterized as "Las Vegas on steroids." Stu once again is scheduled for nuptials, and he has pre-empted a bachelor party rerun by scheduling a proper, safe, conservative pre-wedding brunch. Of course, the words "yeah, right" come to mind. The studio says, "What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can't even be imagined.""Cooper assuages his own and the audience's trepidations, claiming, ": "The script was better than the first one. The scope is larger. [Shooting it] went smoother than it did the first time in terms of letting spontaneous moments happen." Devoted fans have their fingers tightly crossed.

Led by Natalie Portman, who recently complained to Vogue, "Women…are generally not allowed to be beautiful and funny, and certainly not vulgar," makers of films for women and women film-makers have launched an intensely iconoclastic initiative toward genuinely funny feminine films. Bridesmaids has potential to become a landmark in that initiative, primarily because it is genuinely funny—as in genuinely, authentically, undeniably, unequivocally, unashamedly, and unabashedly laugh-out-loud funny."Led by Kristen Wiig of "SNL" fame and featuring "a veritable herd of hilarious women," Bridesmaids bravely ventures into an admittedly over-worked premise, marking the latest reprise of the whole high-end wedding and frustrated bridesmaid fiasco; but it comes out with something genuinely fresh.  Instead of thinking Bridemaids is a little weak on plot, think of it as "episodic" and focused on its principal theme—shenanigans. With co-conspirators Ellie Kemper, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, and Rose Byrne fuelling the funny, the movie-makers refuse to go sappy rom-com. Instead, Bridemaids delivers all the guy-stuff staples redone for girls, including an unruly bunch of puppies, a car chase, a tennis ball to a delicate body-spot, and a party-planning summit gone terribly wrong.

Sure, the agonizing choice between love and money is a staple in the rom-com genre. After all, what sustains Jane Austen's perennial popularity more than her poignant, insightful portrayals of sweet young things torn between desire for love and need for thousands-a-month? We do not, however, often see men in the same dilemma, so Arthur strongly suggests that some bois may have hearts after all. Well, underneath the profligacy and playboy stuff, bois may have hearts. In Arthur, the title character must decide between preserving his inheritance by acquiescing in an arranged marriage or protecting his heart by staying with the woman he truly loves. Naturally, no spoilers required. "Yes, this year's Arthur is a remake of the Dudley Moore classic; you may compare and contrast at your leisure. With Russell Brand and Jennifer Garner filling the screen, the old story has a whole new look, feel, and flavour. And with Helen Mirren playing Hobson, the adult supervision, aka Arthur's devoted caretaker and confidante, we get just the right measure of gravitas to keep the funny and ironic parts truly funny and ironic.

For the legions of loyal Easter Bunny fans who have been long convinced the dentists' best springtime friend has not enjoyed nearly enough big-screen face-time, a tragic victim of the movie industry's pro-Santa preference, Hop brings a welcome measure of relief…maybe. Hugh Laurie does the voice of Easter Bunny, Sr., in this CG/real-life mash-up; Russell Brand lends his vocal talents to "E.B.," the Big Rabbit's prodigal son, who has run-off to Hollywood in hot pursuit of his career as a drummer, and clearly in the game for more than hard-boiled eggs. "In fact, Hop enjoys one distinct advantage over the truckload of CG/real-life hybrids currently headed your way: it has a decent plot and a well-crafted script. E.B. was supposed to take-over the family business when he split; and when Hollywood turns-out less than rewarding, he fakes injury from a car accident, imposing his own slacking self on another L.A. slacker, whom E.B. entrusts with the business of saving Easter. James Marsden plays Fred, unrepentant slacker and reluctant host. Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Perkins, and Chelsea Handler add depth, style, and spice to Hop.

Sequel time – Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules and entertains.The first time around Diary of a Wimpy Kid was not only amusing but a huge hit at the box offices around the globe. Called a "realistic fiction novel", both Wimpy Kid one and two are about two brothers with one, Greg Heffley, narrating from a diary written by his sibling. Greg joins the swim team during summer but finds he hates swimming in the icy cold pool water. His father believes in him and considers a bright future as a great swimmer. Rodrick, who is always running thirty minutes late, has a band, called Loaded Diaper, with high hopes of becoming famous. He comes to pick Greg up after swim practice but Greg decides to walk home rather than be crammed in with his brother's band instruments. Now Greg is freezing cold and stuck with a long walk. Most of the time Greg prefers to stay in the school bathroom rather than attend swim meets and we find he tries to keep warm by wrapping up in toilet paper to keep warm. "Much of the same silliness prevails in Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rule that was so popular in the first movie. "