Dane Cook Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Yesterday, Jeff Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere put up the poster for the new comedy My Best Friend's Girl, starring Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs and Alec Baldwin. The poster (which premiered online earlier this summer) is boring in the extreme, making the film look like your typical snoozerific rom-com, and the digital altering on the photo makes everyone involved look rather ... freakish.

My first reaction on seeing the poster was, "Boy, somebody's screwing up the marketing on this film," quickly followed by "Hey, I don't remember Dane Cook's complexion looking quite so dewy-fresh ... "

I've seen the red-band trailer, which is actually pretty funny, if you can overlook the more misogynistic elements (or at least, in my own case, overcome the feminist tendency to be immediately annoyed by blow-job jokes) , and the film being marketed in that trailer and the film being promoted on this poster are not the same film. Not that it looks like something I'd choose to see over a good indie flick, but if I wanted a lightweight comedy film, and I'd already seen Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express, and couldn't find anything else to do here in Seattle on a nice day, I'd maybe see this.

The trailer for My Best Friend's Girl (originally known as "Bachelor No. 2"), starring Kate Hudson and Dane Cook, is now online, and the only word that comes to mind is "monstrosity". Why don't you take a look at it up top. Go ahead, I'll wait here.

Are you as horrified as I am? Normally I prefer not to inflict my negativity about upcoming releases on you; if all I have to contribute is whining, I try to leave the blogging to someone else. But I couldn't pass this up. What we seem to have here is: a) the ten-millionth iteration of the plot where X starts a relationship with Y on a bet or a job but ends up falling in love; b) starring Kate Hudson, the reigning queen of the nondescript rom-com (at least Matthew McConaughey is nowhere to be found); c) co-starring Dane Cook, whose very presence is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, as a professional a**hole, and Jason Biggs as an awkward nice guy; and d) directed by Howard Deutch, who is responsible for some of the worst comedies of the last ten years. Oh, and it's named after a song. Despite not being dead, the Cars are spinning in their graves.

On one hand, I'd love to be proven wrong about My Best Friend's Girl; on the other hand, I really, really don't want to subject myself to it. Would it be a dereliction of duty to skip the thing?

Ah, Dane Cook. He's the guy many have been loving to hate recently -- or just love, I guess, if Waiting..., Employee of the Month, and Good Luck Chuck are your cup of tea. He's also taken stabs at playing Roman Polanski, and more recently, co-starring in the crime drama Mr. Brooks. Now he's taking the big step into the territory that many men have boldly gone before him. Dane Cook wants to be an action star.

During a recent interview with MTV, Cook said that he's getting ready to fight crime in Dead Already -- a buddy cop movie "in the vein of Lethal Weapon." Wait... Is Cook the next Mel Gibson? Will we get a collection of huge, mainstream flicks before Dane jumps behind the camera for some heavy, religious, and controversial fare? According to the comedian, this flick has a "really interesting take-off" from the usual buddy cop flicks: "This definitely had an element that was like, 'Wow, I've never seen that before.'" He doesn't explain how it's different, and instead goes on to say that the film has "crazy stunts" and action along with comedy.

As for the flick's ties to Lethal Weapon, Cook seems really interested in bringing a mixture of "being really funny and silly to really tragic" to the big screen, Lethal-style: "I forgot how many scenes in this movie are dealing with suicide and all kinds of insane, heavy topics. Then, all of a sudden, he's being wacky and doing Three Stooges. I haven't seen anything like that in an action movie since. I'd love to see, or be part of, a movie that pulls that off again."

But that's not all, action fans. Cook says this is one of several action flicks he's looking at, since action is on "the game plan next." Are you all ready for Dane Cook: Action Hero?

If you're one of the millions of kids who weren't able to snag (i.e. afford) tickets to see Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus in concert, you now have an opportunity to see the next best thing. For one week in early February, a film of one of the concerts will be shown at movie theaters nationwide. And to make it seem even more like you're attending the real thing, the film is in 3D! Compiled from three concerts in two cities from the "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds" tour, the Disney-produced film is directed by Bruce Hendricks (Ultimate X: The Movie) and was shot using 3D digital cameras rather than shot with regular digital cameras and rendered in the format later (meaning sorry, no 2D versions of this one), as has been the case with most digital 3D movies so far. By the way: the cinematographer in charge of those cameras is Transformers DP Mitchell Amundsen.

Not only is this a big deal for Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus fans, but also it's a huge deal for theater owners and their continued attempts to offer substantial alternative entertainment at their cinemas. I'm sure you all know this isn't the first concert to be shown in theaters. There have been Rolling Stones concerts, drumline concerts, Metropolitan Opera performances, Dane Cook stand-up concerts, and many other events. Some of them have even been broadcast live to theaters via satellite. Many of them, such as today's (Dec. 2) live presentation of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival, are one-day-only events.

As the end credits roll on Dan in Real Life, I imagine most people will have roughly the same reaction -- a smile and a shrug. You won't be angry at yourself for watching it, but you'll be hard pressed to remember the thing in two weeks. It's a relentlessly average movie, packed full of "nice" moments but lacking a single great one.

Steve Carell stars as Dan, a widowed advice columnist trying to be a good father to his three daughters, well played by Alison Pill, Marlene Lawston, and a very funny Brittany Robertson. A widowed man raising his three daughters is also the premise of the old sitcom Full House, and the comparison isn't far off. These daughters are fleshed out a bit more than the Olsen twins, but the relationship beats feel the same -- forced, cutesy, a little tired.

Dan and the girls go to visit their extended family in a lakeside Rhode Island cottage. Dan takes a trip to the local bookstore, and in a very Woody Allen-esque scene, he meets and develops a crush on a woman named Marie (Juliette Binoche). There's a "falling-for-each-other" montage that doesn't really convince, Dan gets her number, and heads home to brag about his new "hottie" and meet the girlfriend of his brother (Dane Cook). Surprise surprise -- his hottie and the girlfriend are one and the same -- Marie. Cue the laugh track.

The biggest story surrounding the midsummer release of the odd and messy but ultimately satisfying thriller Mr. Brooks centered around Kevin Costner's resurgence and willingness to play a killer (though personally I'm more impressed he's managed to resist playing another baseball player now for two years and counting). But Earl Brooks, the wealthy business owner and Portland "Man of the Year" honoree who dabbles in homicide on the side, isn't cut from the same cold-blooded vein as Patrick Bateman or Mickey or Mallory. He's constantly at odds with himself, and is largely let off the hook by the presence of his bloodthirsty alter-ego/invisible friend Marshall, who takes the shape of an aging William Hurt. The poor guy's got a devil on one shoulder but no angel on the other. To that effect, Mr. Brooks feels far less festive than American Psycho or Natural Born Killers, and is in some ways more surprising, even if Costner didn't do the film's suspense any favors when he spoke pre-release about making multiple Brooks movies (perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Brooks is next?). The film has plenty of other "lovable mess" qualities to it. It's overplotted: whereas Dane Cook's wannabe-slayer Mr. Smith is a necessity, a separate storyline involving an escaped convict is pure overkill. It's campy: Brooks has a secret lair, for one. And something about Demi Moore playing a multimillionaire who daylights as a cop screams bad Verhoeven. The film also inexplicably morphs into a John Woo movie for one bizarre action sequence. That all said, there's not a single dull moment to it.

Bonus Points: There's endless joy time for the serial killer enthusiast here: This disc comes with deleted scenes, commentary from director Bruce A. Evans his co-writer Raynold Gideon, and featurettes called The Birth of a Serial Killer: A Look at the Writing of Mr. Brooks, On the Set of Mr. Brooks, and Murder On Their Minds: Mr. Brooks, Marshall & Mr. Smith.

Other New DVD Releases This Week (Oct. 23)
Meet the Robinsons
Hostel: Part II
Fido
Home of the Brave
Into Great Silence
Nearing Grace
Saw III: Director's Cut
A Clockwork Orange: Special Edition
O Lucky Man: Special Edition
Hostel: Director's Cut
Wild Style: Anniversary Edition

Pictured Above: Cinematical's Erik Davis wakes up in Saw IV.

Oh, how I lurve Lionsgate. Not long ago, I woke up to a package arriving at my door which contained a pair of girl's underwear promoting the film Good Luck Chuck. The underwear were cute, and my wife wears them when we role-play, pretending to be Dane Cook (that's me) and Jessica Alba (that's her). What? Why are you looking at me like that? Anyway, this morning a different kind of package arrived at my door; this time Lionsgate was pimping out a certain horror sequel opening in theaters this weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't another pair of girl's underwear. Oh no, this time it was a large briefcase. As I removed the briefcase out of the ginormous box it came in, a million different scenarios ran through my head. Maybe they sent me Megan Fox? Could she fit in a briefcase? Perhaps?

No, it wasn't Megan Fox. It was a nifty Saw IV package, consisting of a t-shirt (seen above), a weird pig's mask (now I have a Halloween costume!), a key chain that speaks like Jigsaw when you push a button, a few Saw IV postcards and a bottle of vodka. Combine all of that together, and I can come up with one helluva freaky night for myself. I can only imagine how nutty this film is going to be, and if I drink enough of that vodka, perhaps I'll work up the courage to sit through it. You can check out all the Saw IV treats Lionsgate sent me in the gallery below; Saw IV finally arrives in theaters this Friday.

One of my fellow film critics breezed into Good Luck Chuck right before it began. "I don't even know what it's about," she noted as she sat. I, charitably, leaned forward with a synopsis: "Dane Cook plays a young man laboring under a curse where every woman he's involved with then goes on to find true love and marriage with the next man she dates. When he meets and falls for Jessica Alba, though, he wants to break the curse." I then added, half-hopingly and half-jokingly, "It may be a whimsical piece of magical realism."

I assure you wholeheartedly, it is not. The problem's not the pitch -- you could probably make a sweet, silly, movie from that premise -- but in the execution, which is so ham-fisted and blunt that you feel like you're being beaten about the head with clubs made out of artificial breasts, sexism, gross-out humor and Dane Cook's naked body. Another friend, after I dismissed Good Luck Chuck as unfunny trash, said "It'll probably be the top of the box office, then" and offered that I was "an elitist." Well, to paraphrase David Rees, if 'elitist' means 'not the dumbest person in the room,' then hell, yes, I'm an elitist. And Good Luck Chuck may make money; so does cocaine, but I don't feel like that alone is a reason to endorse either product.

During a teen game of spin-the-bottle, young Charles draws 'seven minutes in heaven' with a Goth girl who's secretly longed for him; spurning her advances, he brings down her wrath, and a curse. Leaping to the present day, Chuck (Dane Cook) has grown to be a dentist, and his 'lucky charm' status is something of an urban legend. Now, women hurl themselves at Chuck so that, after sleeping with him, they might then find true love. Chuck is willing to take advantage of this, but only up to a point: "What's sex without love?" His boorish plastic surgeon buddy Stu (Dan Fogler) howls an answer: "It's SEX! It's STILL SEX!"

No huge surprises in last weekend's box office returns. Jodie Foster's new thriller took the lead with slithery CGI serpents bringing up the rear at number five. Superbad is definitely getting some McLovin' after being in the top five for five weeks now. Here are the numbers from last weekend:

The Brave One: $13.4 million
3:10 to Yuma: $8.9 million
Mr. Woodcock: $8.7 million
Superbad: $5.1 million
Dragon Wars: $5 million

This weekend we've got three new releases, plus two more flicks going into wider release. Check it out:

Good Luck Chuck
What's It All About: Dane Cook plays a man cursed. Every woman he has ever slept with has found true love with the next person they meet after dumping him. Now that he's in love with a woman played by Jessica Alba he has to find a way to break the curse.
Why It Might Do Well: Judging from the trailer, Ms. Alba spends at least part of the film in her underwear. Not a bad thing.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The plot synopsis and all the pratfalls in the trailer remind me way too much of Three's Company.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $10 million

Resident Evil: Extinction
What's It All About: Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, kicking zombie butt in the Nevada desert and taking on the evil Umbrella Corporation in this third installment of the video game-based franchise.
Why It Might Do Well: Halloween's success at the box office showed that people are up for a good scare, and for my money I'll take a zombie flick over a slasher movie any day of the week. I'm even willing to overlook my lukewarm feelings about Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The list of crappy movies based on video games is a long and sad one.
Number of Theaters: 2,700
Prediction: $22 million

Sydney White
What's It All About: Amanda Bynes stars in this modern take on Snow White, playing a college student who after being rejected by the sorority she hoped to join is taken in by seven dorks.
Why It Might Do Well: Bynes has a great sense of comedic timing. If you thought The Amanda Show was just for kids, you might be surprised at how intelligent the humor was.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's basically a teen comedy, and Superbad is a tough act to follow.
Number of Theaters: 1,900
Prediction: $7 million

And, although these next two opened last weekend, they're both spreading out into a greater number of theaters:

Across the Universe
What's It All About: A musical love story that takes place in the turbulent 1960s set to the music of The Beatles.
Why It MIght Do Well: It looks downright trippy, and it's got Beatles tunes. What's not to love?
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's not a huge release so this won't make the top five.
Number of Theaters: 400
Prediction: $2.5 million

Eastern Promises
What's It All About: David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, the director and star of A History of Violence, re-team for this thriller. Naomi Watts plays a London midwife who comes into possession of a diary that could be dangerous for Russian mobsters.
Why It MIght Do Well: After their last collaboration, I'm dying to see what Mortensen and Cronenberg come up with.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Oh, don't be so negative.
Number of Theaters: 1,325
Prediction: $8 million


Here's how I'm betting things will go this coming weekend:
1. Resident Evil: Extinction
2. Good Luck Chuck
3. The Brave One
4. Eastern Promises
5. Sydney White

And here's how our little competition went last week:
1. Josh: 13
2. Matt: 11
2. Anna07: 11
2. Porcalina: 11
3. Ness265: 9
3. drklrdbill: 9
4. Lee: 8
4. Max: 8
4. Brad: 8
5. Ray: 7
6. peter: 6
7. ABIRD0006: 4
7. MikeJM79: 4

Here's how the competition works:
Please post your prediction in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

First off, I love free movie products. I have no problem pimping a t-shirt or a hat or a pair of socks because, frankly, it saves me the money from having to go out and buy a wardrobe. Yup, I'm that cheap. And I get this stuff all the time -- in the mail, at junkets, at preview screenings -- wherever. And I smile. Because it's one less shirt I need to purchase for myself. So, this morning I get a package in the mail promoting Good Luck Chuck, that Dane Cook/Jessica Alba comedy opening up this weekend. I'm thinking it will be a hat or a t-shirt, but no -- it was a pair of girl's underwear. I'll say that again -- a pair of girl's underwear. Small. Like the kind Alba wears.

I immediately looked around my apartment to make sure no one was watching me hold up this pair of girl's underwear; I'm sure folks like Perverted Justice would have a field day snapping photos of this dude with a beard checking out his brand new pair of small girly underwear. Needless to say, an email went right out to my wife explaining why a pair of girl's underwear was on my desk. I can see that convo now: "Girl's underwear? And who the f*ck is Chuck? You're on the couch tonight!" I must say though, the underwear is rather cute -- it features a cartoon-ish penguin on the front, and the words 'Good Luck Chuck' on the back. Nice. If you're a girl. Which I'm not. And the folks who sent this to me know who I am -- which kind of freaks me out a little -- but then again, they're just trying to promote their film. Which I completely understand. Anyway, that's how my day started -- now I have to run into the city to start seeing New York Film Festival flicks. Traveling sucks, but more about that later this week. In the meantime, what's the strangest piece of movie merchandise you ever received?