Porn and Food

Yes, trust me - I know that the Breaking Bad finale was last night - fear not, thoughts on that are coming for
"Walter White Wednesday," but this is "Movie Monday," so tune back in Wednesday for thoughts on "Felina," which closed out Mr. White's Wild Ride.

This weekend, I took in two new releases - Don Jon (which explains the first part of this post's title) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which explains the second part).  It would be hard to find two more disparate movies, but that's part of what I do here.

I have a friend whose taste in movies often mirrors mine, but we disagree on Don Jon.  I'm not sure, but I suspect this might be one of those male/female divisions.  For me, this movie wanted to explore some interesting ideas and it started down that rabbit hole, but the film gets tripped up.  The premise is intriguing - a muscle-headed Jersey Shore type (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who also wrote and directed) likes sex, but prefers the unattainable perfection of porn.  (And there's a LOT of porn imagery in this movie - be prepared for a conversation if you take a younger teen to this one.  The language is profane, yet repetitive and attitudes towards women - well, the central character is essentially addicted to pornography [the original title was "Don Jon's Addiction"], so there you go)  He meets a hot girl (Scarlett Johansson) who has her own unrealistic ideas of what should happen in a relationship - in her case, that's been formed by a steady diet of Hollywood rom-coms.

As I said, intriguing.  My problem is that the characters are two-dimensional - to the point that, if I were Italian-American, I'd probably be a little peeved.  Jon's family is stereotypical enough to make me ask two questions - How did Jon pick up his "I like to clean" habits in that house where his mama does everything for his papa and what's the point in having a sister if she only gets one line, regardless of how insightful that line might be?  Johansson's character is manipulative and basically unlikable.  Julianne Moore shines in her role and I maintain that Gordon-Levitt is an actor/director to watch, but this played more like an extremely well-polished student film than anything more.  Other reviewers disagree with me on this one, but I say give it a pass.

The second film this weekend was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.  As I've said before, sequels can be tricky.  The first movie was released in 2009 and was a success.  The film was fresh, creative, and had some good things to say to both its child and adult audiences.  Among them were some lovely messages about how news is an industry, how women are perceived within that industry, and the barriers that are often between us and our families.  (Plus, Neil Patrick Harris as a monkey.)

I wasn't sure about a sequel and, while I believe the first movie to be stronger, I have to say, this was just fun.  Then again, I have a weakness for puns and Cloudy 2 is loaded with them.  If the kids in the theater when I saw Cloudy 2 are any indication, kids will love the "foodimals" and adults will enjoy the serious jabs that are lobbed at Steve Jobs and a gorgeous nod to, of all people, Tom Waits.  (The original had a nod to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," so . . .  (Plus, Neil Patrick Harris as a monkey.)  In both cases, Mark Mothersbaugh of long-ago Devo fame worked on the music.  Overall, a rental rather than a big-screen must-see, but fun.