The Oh! in Ohio: Movie Review

(2006, directed by: Billy Kent, written by: Adam Wierzbianski, Billy Kent and Sarah Bird, starring: Paul Rudd and Parker Posey)
(Available now on DVD)

A dramatic sex comedy just doesn't work.

I would have assumed that "The Oh! in Ohio" was trying to be the Judd Apatow sex comedies for females, but this was released in 2006 just before the Apatow craze began. So now I'm not sure what they were trying to go for.

It's marketed as a comedy but it's more of a drama. The plot line is that Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) and her husband (Paul Rudd) are in an unhappy marriage because she isn't able to climax. Along with "50 million other women who suffer from orgasmic dysfunction" as the film tells us.

The film moves forward with Posey trying to have an orgasm. I'm assuming these scenes were supposed to provide us laughs but they weren't very funny. The other half of the movie is Rudd living his depressed life as a biology teacher. Finally the film industry has figured out that occasionally there are teachers for subjects other than English, but unfortunately it's in this movie just so we can have him spout the names of some sex organ muscles. Paul Rudd is one of my favourite actors, but the story for his character is extremely poorly done. The humour is so low-key, that I view it more as a drama, so there is no pay-off for his poor character. I might even have to blame this film for Rudd being relegated to buddy comedies now.

There is a lot to not like in this film, but Posey does shine, and some of the "50 million women who suffer from orgasmic dysfunction" might enjoy "The Oh! in Ohio" but probably not many other people will.

TiMER: Movie Review

A cheerfully original rom-com.

Finally our clocks have counted down and we have Jac Schaeffer's TiMER in our lives; a fantastic romantic comedy has been brought into the world. Sure, all romantic comedies follow the same trend, cute girl wants to meet her soul mate. The poor ones do it with horrible main characters and ridiculously unfunny contrived situations. The better ones add comedy and likable characters. And now, here comes TiMER - smart, well-written, romantic and funny.		2009 Directed by: Jac Schaeffer Screenplay by: Jac Schaeffer Starring: Emma Caulfield, Scott Holroyd

The Good Guy: Movie Review

"The Good Guy" surprises with its drama.

The Good Guy is a relationship drama. You would be forgiven if you assumed it was yet another twenty-something girl trying to sort out her love life and career in a romantic comedy. You would be forgiven for thinking that, but you would also be wrong. It's actually better than that. The film is driven by three characters, all of them completely fleshed-out and three-dimensional. Not one of them is central, but all of them individually and triangularly.		2009 Directed by: Julio DePietro Screenplay by: Julio DePietro Starring: Alexis Bledel, Bryan Greenberg and Scott Porter

Kissing Jessica Stein: Movie Review

 

"Kissing Jessica Stein" is the best kind of romantic comedy.

At the beginning of "Kissing Jessica Stein" we meet Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) sitting in synagogue between her mother and grandmother discussing the lack of Jessica's love life. Jessica interrupts and says "Shut up mother, I'm atoning." This sums up and sets the tone for the greatness of this film - Jessica is authentic and very funny.		2001 Directed by: Charles Herman-Wurmfeld Screenplay by: Heather Juergensen, Jessica Westfeldt Starring: Jessica Westfeldt

Serious Moonlight: Movie Review

Like a romantic comedy, except completely different.

"Serious Moonlight" deserves to be seen for a number of reasons. First, it is written by the late Adrienne Shelly (best known for "Waitress" (2007)). After her death, her husband set up the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to help women pursue their film-making dreams. Money earned from her films goes towards this foundation.		2009 Directed by: Cheryl Hines Screenplay by: Adrienne Shelly Starring: Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell and Justin Long

Wake: Movie Review

Criss-crosses genres but shines with originality.

Wake is a weird type of movie, completely unique and original, and because it's so off-kilter, you're left thinking about it after it ends. It is marketed as a quirky romantic comedy, but it should be made clear that it isn’t, even if it parades around that direction occasionally. Bijou Phillips stars as Carys Reitman, an emotionally-stunted pretty girl who is searching for a life connection. Not a guy, but emotion , to be able to feel the same way inside as others do.		2009 Directed by: Ellie Kanner Screenplay by: Lennox Wisely Starring: Bijou Phillips, Ian Somerhalder