Garry Marshall Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Whew! I've been worried that Avatar had sucked up all the special event box office money for the year. As James Cameron's sci-fi epic has galloped along, swallowing hundreds of millions of dollars, I keep hearing from friends who rarely see movies that they've seen Avatar. The biggest movie stars of the past 20 years challenged Avatar -- Denzel Washington, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson -- and all went down in flames, out-drawn by the attraction of tall blue people in 3-D on a faraway planet. It took romantic drama Dear John to finally topple Avatar among regular moviegoers.

But with double the gross of Dear John, an indicator that many occasional filmgoers made a special trip to see it, Valentine's Day comes along to restore my faith in the desire of people to see a movie that strikes them as special. As Shawn Levy of The Oregonian points out, critics have 'almost universally panned the thing in harsh terms.' (Our reviewer, Todd Gilchrist, says it has "plenty of wish fulfillment without managing to offer anything remotely fulfilling.") Levy suggests several reasons for the Valentine's victory, then observes: "Buying a movie ticket is a leap of faith."

And that's a reassuring thought. With all the justifiable concern about the economy, with all the entertainment options available nowadays, with all the snowy weather that kept millions home, with all the trailers that made it clear exactly what sort of movie Valentine's Day would be, millions of people took a leap of faith that the movie would scratch that romantic itch or perhaps tickle their funny bone. Obviously, people are hungry for cinematic entertainment. We just have to keep encouraging them to try something else, something perhaps they haven't heard of, after Valentine's Day.

As a male film critic, even one who considers himself a fan of the genre, I know to maintain reasonable expectations when I'm watching most mainstream romantic comedies. Generally speaking, they're usually about simplistic conflicts, one-dimensional characters and common-denominator wish-fulfillment, and there's nothing wrong with that. But even acknowledging this, I nevertheless hold them to a minimal standard – namely, that the behavior on display is the sort that actual people would exhibit in real life. And sadly, Valentine's Day violates this perfectly reasonable rule. Instead, Garry Marshall's romantic comedy delivers plenty of wish fulfillment without managing to offer anything remotely fulfilling.

Ashton Kutcher (What Happens In Vegas) plays Reed, an overzealous florist who proposes to his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) on Valentine's Day. It's his business, and his story, that forms the throughline for the other relationships in the film, each of which is lumbering towards its own mini- or mega-milestone: elementary-school teacher Julia (Jennifer Garner) discovers that the handsome doctor (Patrick Dempsey) she loves lives a second, secret life; after a night of passion, mailroom clerk Jason (Topher Grace) and personal assistant Liz (Anne Hathaway) struggle to tell each other how they feel; happily-married couple Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) try to help their grandson Edison (Bryce Robinson) deliver flowers to a V-Day crush.

Meanwhile, Grace (Emma Roberts) begins to discover that you can't manufacture magic moments after she decides to give away her virginity to her boyfriend Alex (Carter Jenkins); Kara (Jessica Biel) struggles to juggle an overstuffed calendar, a disappointing love life and a holiday that she hates; and Holden (Bradley Cooper) and Kate (Julia Roberts) share a long flight home en route to see their loved ones, sharing their own romantic secrets along the way.

"Schlemiel, schlimazel, hasenpfeffer incorporated!"

They're gonna do it, according to Jamie Foxx and Garry Marshall, and the wonderpair will be played by Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel. The actresses are friends in the upcoming romcom Valentine's Day, and have become quite the duo, appearing on the cover of the Marie Claire "Girlfriends" issue, talking about how they don't work with a lot of women in their films, and how they bonded even when most of their scenes were over the phone. Now there are two comments that are getting the rumor mill buzzing.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, co-star Foxx saw so much chemistry between the women on the set that it reminded him of Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams' banter on the show. "During the movie, they were doing stuff off-screen that reminded me of Laverne & Shirley. I think they're the new Laverne & Shirley. They had some energy, and I mentioned that to Garry Marshall." Perez Hilton, meanwhile, has some dish from the Valentine's Day premiere, where director Garry said that both actresses are game, and: "We're gonna work on that. My sister Penny and Cindy are gonna have a guest cameo. They're gonna walk 'schlemiel, schlimazel' -- or they're gonna get tired in the middle and sit down."

I'm at a loss for words, so I'm handing this over to you folks. What do you think of Biel and Garner slapping that "L" and "S" on their chests? And my god, if this comes to pass, who would play Lenny, Squiggy, and the rest of the crew?! I shudder to think...

New Line must be pretty happy with Valentine's Day, the new Garry Marshall rom-com that hits theaters this Friday. It hasn't even been released yet, and the studio is already prepping a follow-up. Variety reports that they're getting ready for a spin-off of the ensemble comedy, and they expect Marshall to come back and direct.

Titled New Year's Eve, the film will deal with a big Fourth of July celebration. No, I kid. Shooting late this year for release at the end of 2011, the film will tackle New Year's Eve celebrations, and it will include "some" of the characters from Valentine's Day. I'm assuming that "some" will be whomever is interested in continuing on the romance train. Katherine Fugate is returning to write the feature, and the producers are back; it's pretty much a repeat of the last film.

Since the first isn't out yet, it would be a wee bit hard to muse over what the follow-up will be like. However, I'm eager to see what happens with Eric Dane and Bradley Cooper. If you caught my post last week, their relationship has been well hidden by the film's marketing department, and as a reader who has seen the film commented, "they're still the only couple in the movie that never touch one another, let alone kiss." Maybe it's all riding on the sequel.

Finally! It's the trailer for He's Just Not That Into You. Wait ... sorry! This is the new 50-million notable faces jam-packed into one neat romantic comedy package movie -- Valentine's Day. No, not the Nia Vardalos romcom I Hate Valentine's Day. That movie: A. Came out in the summer rather than, you know, the day of romance. B. Had a stupendously bad showing at the box office. But something tells me this flick won't have the same problem.

No, not because it looks particularly good, but because it's got the formula. It's coming out on Valentine's Day, so it's already catering to the couples itching for romantic cinema. It's got all the recognizable goofs and jokes we've seen before. Even more importantly, it's jam-packed with notable names and faces -- Julia Roberts (re-teaming with Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall), Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Emma Roberts, Eric Dane, Jamie Foxx, Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Alba, Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Jennifer Garner, and Twilight heartthrob Taylor Lautner (amongst others, because why have a few recognizable faces when you can have 50?).

The trailer's got all the gals talking about their romantic lives, or lack thereof. Hathaway brags about her sexual prowess, Alba gets to travel with her dog, Roberts (Emma, not Julia) talking mom and dad or grams and gramps about how she plans to sleep with more than one person in her lifetime, and Biel gets the honor of praising her blackberry's vibration talents. Get tantalized after the jump.

Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane -- Is one Grey's Anatomy star all that different from another? In a strange news twist and ultimate bit of Grey's fandom, our classic movie trades are reporting that both of the hit show's leading hottie doctors are signing up for Garry Marshall's Valentine's Day. Variety reports that Eric Dane (who plays Dr. Mark Sloan) is joining the cast, while The Hollywood Reporter posts that Patrick Dempsey is. Neither mentions the other bit of casting. Is New Line spreading the casting news wealth?

Dane will play a quarterback wondering whether he should retire in the ensemble comedy, while Dempsey once again plays a doctor. But this time, he's no good doctor, but rather "a married obstetrician dating [Jennifer] Garner's character on the sly, with her unaware of his status." Bad Dempsey.

Valentine's Day is the super-packed romcom ensemble that Peter posted about back in May. Following on the He's Just Not That Into You bandwagon, the film boasts names that range from Julia Roberts to Jessica Biel as they work "their way through a tangle of circumstances in Los Angeles" -- presumably on Cupid's big day.

While I'd like to see this flick have a little more brains than the one it's following after, I bet the chances are slim to none. Marshall is the guy, after all, who followed up Pretty Woman and Frankie and Johnny with Exit to Eden. But for the undying fans of floofy romantic schlock, I bet this'll be downright irresistible.

I've had enough. Ever since Fox first announced that Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett were teaming up to produce a reality show in which aspiring filmmakers competed against one another for $1 million and an "office" at Dreamworks, I was skeptical but interested. Burnett is one of the best in the business at what he does, and Spielberg is, well, Spielberg. Surely, combined, the two would shell out one of the most talked-about reality shows in history, right? Wrong. This thing is a disaster. They can't decide on a consistent format, the host is a babbling mess and we never actually get to watch these kids making films (which, in my opinion, is the most appealing part of the show). Nope, instead, they give us random celebrity judges (out promoting their new movie), half-assed short films (with no explanation as to when or how they were put together) and a slew of contestants who are forgettable five seconds after they walk off stage. How did this happen? How do they fix it? Here are seven suggestions that, if applied correctly, could save On the Lot from its imminent cancellation.

1) Screw the American Idol format and start giving these kids tasks

The show got off to a great start when they asked each kid to come up with an original pitch based on one of five different loglines. Not only did this allow the audience at home to brainstorm their own ideas on how they would pitch the concept, but it gave us something to anticipate. What they should've done from there is maintained this mini-task theme; throw the kids into groups and ask them to make a one-minute film without any dialogue. Have them come up with a two-minute short utilizing three random objects placed in a box that, somehow, would have to be incorporated into the story. Give them a writing challenge. Give them a blue screen challenge. Force them to choose three strangers off the street to use as actors in a completely improvised short. Make this show fun. Make it exciting to watch. While filmmaking is a creative medium, all On the Lot does is take a gigantic piss on creativity by blatantly ripping off other, more successful shows in an attempt to convince the viewer that what they're watching makes sense, when it doesn't.

OMG, did you watch On the Lot last night!? I'll try to refrain from telling you exactly what I think about the show (um, shouldn't Spielberg have been there for the pilot since, ya know -- this is his show?) since Scott will be recapping each episode for us, but I will say that those of us in the Davis household will be rooting for Jessica B. (or Jess) as we've met her before, know she's talented and, well, a girl deserves to win. There, I said it! For those that don't remember Jessica, she was the brunette who was screaming at the other team to move off their set. Go Jess! And don't even get me started on Brett Ratner -- part of me was hoping the dude would throw a stripper or two at the aspiring filmmakers while they were pitching their awesome ideas. "You see, it's a rat who becomes a mouse, and then they go to, uh, a lab ... can I go get my notes?"

Anyway, Variety tells us that Bug director William Friedkin has accepted an invite from Spielberg to serve as a jurist in the horror film section of On the Lot. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also believe Wes Craven will be there for that too.) It's a good time for Friedkin to be in the news; his latest flick, Bug (which our own Jette Kernion said "blends paranoia, trust and love into a riveting story, driven by intense characters"), arrives in theaters this weekend. And when you're putting together a horror jury, it can't hurt to have the guy who directed The Exorcist giving notes. The article also mentions the fact that Friedkin has just switched reps (from WMA to Paradigm) and, in doing so, he hopes to concentrate on low-budget films rather than "compete with the guys who are making these $500 million movies." Hey man, as long as you stay away from stuff like Blue Chips, I'm down. On the Lot returns this Thursday when our unique cast of misfits attempt to complete their short films and show them to Ratner, Princess Leia and Garry Marshall.

The drama Georgia Rule just plain doesn't work. At times, it feels like a Lifetime movie-of-the-week, but with a cast that far outclasses the genre. At times, you can see hints of an indie film-wanna-be style, but the characters and setting are too superficial, and the plot twists are too predictable and pat. Even the performances from an experienced cast don't add much life to the film -- in fact, if the performances had been worse, at least the film could have worked as a gloriously tacky melodrama. Instead, the film is a tedious yawn with only a few bright spots.

Wild-child Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is sent to live with her grandmother Georgia (Jane Fonda) for a few months before she heads off to Vassar, since her mother Lilly (Felicity Huffman) and stepdad Arnold (a sadly unrecognizable Cary Elwes) don't know what else to do with her. Georgia's iron-clad household rules (thus the title) cannot entirely thwart Rachel as she inflicts her brand of chaos on the small Idaho town, including the hot-but-devout-Mormon teen Harlan (Garrett Hedlund) and the older vet for which she ends up working, her mom's ex-boyfriend Simon (Dermot Mulroney). When Rachel confides something personal and devastating to Simon, all hell breaks loose and Lilly is forced to return to her estranged mother's house, where all three women have to learn to deal with one another. Or not.