Many of you will no doubt go out and see 'Zoolander,' starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, this weekend. I'm going, I know that. But before seeing it, you might want to get a quick fix of Stiller or Wilson comedies to get in the mood. So here are a few suggestions.
This smash hit from last year pairs Stiller and Wilson together with acting god Robert DeNiro. Here, all give hilarious turns, and it's a riot to see Stiller playing off the other actors. It took a comedian like Stiller to bring about the most successful film of DeNiro's 30-odd-year career. If you haven't seen it yet, it's about time you did.
Here's one you might have missed. In this film, Stiller travels across the country accompanied by T??a Leoni and Patricia Arquette in order to find his birth parents and along the way comes across many an interesting character. Before 'There's Something About Mary' catapulted him to stardom, Stiller helped make 'Disaster' one of the funniest movies of 1996.
In this Jackie Chan vehicle, Wilson gets the chance to display his wise-ass humor as comic relief to the action that, as always, follows Chan wherever he goes. The two make a great duo, though regrettably there are always the comparisons of this duo to the phenomenally successful pairing of Chan and Chris Tucker. Wilson has a more subtle style of humor, and it makes up for what is lacking in the sometimes formulaic plot.
All right. That's it. What more do you need to know?
In the age of MTV, viewers' attention spans seem to have gotten shorter and shorter as time goes by. The time we, as diligent students, have to spend in front of the television decreases as midterms approach. So what is a movie lover to do?
Two movies, 'Four Rooms' and 'New York Stories,' offer an episodic approach to filmmaking. Each film consists of diverse short stories'30 minute independent segments, each by a different director'that offer both the brevity of a television show and the quality of a film.
'Four Rooms' follows Ted (Tim Roth), the eccentric bellhop of a California hotel. Over the course of the film, he is called to four different rooms to assist the guests with various tasks. 'The Missing Ingredient,' directed by Allison Anders, brings Ted to the room of a coven of witches (which includes Madonna and Ione Skye) who need Ted's sperm to complete their spell. In 'The Wrong Man,' a jealous, gun-wielding husband mistakes Ted for his wife's lover.
The last two stories are what make the movie shine. Robert Rodriguez ('From Dusk Till Dawn') directs 'The Misbehavers,' a bizarre tale that has Ted babysitting the obnoxious children of a slick Antonio Banderas. The final story, 'The Man From Hollywood,' is directed by and stars Quentin Tarantino. The weary bellhop is sent to the penthouse on his last run of the evening. Upon arrival, he discovers a group of drunken actors reenacting an Alfred Hitchcock episode in which the loser of a bet loses a finger.
While each story is a narrative in itself, Ted is always there to bring all the tales together. Tim Roth is hilarious in the role, and his performance alone makes 'Four Rooms' worth watching.
'New York Stories' takes a different approach to the short-story format. In this film, the only thing that connects the three tales is a New York City setting. What really makes the film stand out is the caliber of the directors.
Martin Scorsese directs 'Life Lessons,' a story of a womanizing artist's obsession with his assistant. Nick Nolte nails the frustration of a painter who cannot find inspiration unless he's in a tortured affair. The next short story, 'Life Without Zoe,' was written by Sofia Coppola and directed by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. The story focuses on a precocious preteen who is spoiled by her flighty, immature parents. This segment is by far the slowest of the trio. Finally, Woody Allen wraps up the film with 'Oedipus Wrecks,' in which he plays a neurotic lawyer whose mother is inescapably irritating.
Both of these films are great rentals for groups with differing tastes who can never agree on a single film to see. Each segment has a different style and flavor, and it's likely that everyone can find one to like in each film.
