Monday, July 18, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Summer strong 'Suits'
COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes. Saying Ayo. Gotta let go."
'Bosses' far from horrible
By MACKENZIE METER
Daily Arts Writer
One of the most fun things to do
on a hot, boring day is to go to the
movies. Especially now that we're
at this point in
the summer - all *
of the quintes-
sentially funny, Hofrible
hyped-up, long-
awaited mov- BosseS
ies are finally At Quality 16
hitting the sil- and Showcase
ver screen after
months of teas- Warner Bros.
ers and trailers.
This movie-going
experience is even better when the
film, "Horrible Bosses" in this case,
is delightfully funny, original and
entertaining to the last pre-credits
bloopers footage.
Chronicling the story of three
men, Nick (Jason Bateman, "Cou-
ples Retreat"), Dale (Charlie Day,
"It's Always Sunny in Philadel-
phia") and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis,
"Saturday Night Live") and their
unfortunate work situations, "Hor-
rible Bosses" makes movie magic'
with a storyline that could have
easily failed. Where the film suc-
ceeds is in the impeccable cast-
ing and the fresh lines - however
annoying Day's characteristically
high-pitched voice is at times.
What could have been a bland, pre-
dictable story actually turns out to
be intriguing and unexpected.
When their superiors finally -
and hilariously - cross the line
for the last time, the three leading
men decide that enough is enough.
Seeking out the help of Dean
"Motherfucker" Jones, a thug-
wannabe played by Jamie Foxx,
the men try to settle on a method to
achieve their ultimate goal: quiet,
permanent disposal of their hor-
rible bosses. The ensuing action is
" refreshing and definitely not in the
style of standard fart joke comedy.
With a multitude of original
lines nearly rivaling those found in
other funny-guy movies like "The
Hangover," the characters involved
take this refreshing script and run
with it. The script itself is certainly
well thought-out - there are none
of the standard plot holes or any of
the usual unanswered questions
along the lines of "wait, why didn't
they just ... " Coupled with strong
leading male and female roles, the
script and storyline are strong.
Jennifer Aniston ("Just Go With
It") plays a dentist with a hilarious
sexual fixation on her assistant,
Dale. Between her riotously inap-
propriate in-office remarks and her
desire to take advantage of Dale
before his impending marriage,
Aniston occupies the skin of a char-
acter she has little experience with,
but manages to rock.
More than just
fart jokes.
Kevin Spacey ("The Men Who
Stare at Goats"), on the other hand,
plays a character who embodies
pure evil in a suit. He is manipula-
tive, greedy and horrible to his wife
and employees. He is deliciously
detestable, but viewers will cer-
tainly appreciate his believability
compared to Colin Farrell's ("Crazy
Heart") performance as Bobby
Pellitt. Maddeningly ignorant,
Farrell's cokehead character is off-
the-charts ridiculous, yet wildly
entertaining.
"Horrible Bosses" is one of those
.perfect summer movie experienc-
es. It's refreshing, entertaining and
smart. The actors are great, the plot
is funny and the whole film is filled
with hidden gems of quotable lines
and amusing situations.
By JAMIE BLOCK
Daily Arts Writer
New summer series rarely result
in any Emmy-caliber series, and
this summer has been no excep-
tion. It's a season
for fun, enter- *
taining new
television that
doesn't require
too much Thursdays
thought. Some- at10 p.m.
times - perhaps MWseason
even often - this USA
leads to series
that are just
plain dumb. But once in a while a
new summer show comes along
that manages to be lighthearted,
fun and easy to understand while
still being pretty smart. Enter
"Suits," on USA.
"Suits" tells the story of lawyers
Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht,
"Love and Other Drugs") and Mike
Ross (a true breakout role for actor
Patrick J. Adams). Specter is a vet-
eran in his Harvard-exclusive firm,
and has a bad boy reputation which
he works very hard to uphold. Ross
is some kid who's really good at
remembering everything he reads.
He didn't go to Harvard Law and
he doesn't really know what he's
doing, but he's eager and incredibly
intelligent. He might have made
something of himself had he not
gotten mixed up with his rich-via-
pot-des
was cli
drug b
toned d
the wl
hilario
The
well,
expert.
ages to
and tr
becomi
an eas,
has the
care bu
though
him pL
bit too4
aling best friend. (The show handle similar situations that
early written with a harder highlight the strength of their
eing dealt, but had to get individual characters as well as
down for USA, which makes their chemistry as a duo.
hole thing unintentionally It is also refreshing that the
us.) series'villainlurkswithinthe firm.
two leads carry the show Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman, "Saman-
delivering their banter tha Who?") is a junior partner who
ly. Adams especially man- oversees the new associates, of
make Ross always eager which Ross is the emerging shin-
ies to impress without it ing star. Litt's character is without
ing annoying, which is not a doubt ridiculous. He goes beyond
y feat. Meanwhile, Macht being a villain caricature straight
e whole "I act like I don't to being cartoon-like with his
it I really do" shtick down, facial expressions and body lan-
the show's scripts have guage. Yet somehow this actually
aying that card perhaps a works all the better. With such an
often. over-the-top hero in Specter, with
his nonchalant gallivanting and his
general cool, you need a nemesis
p rpark for him on the exact opposite end
9eer, E of the spectrum - paranoid, elitist
u cand bitter without cause.
iur car in our Through strong writing that
arvard yard. manifests itself in clever banter
and unexpected legal turns, paired
with acting that makes the most
out of every line and character,
"Suits" manages to break from the
series' structure itself is summer lull in a big way. Are there
appealing as well. There too many jokes about the quality
entially two "cases" each of the suits the characters wear?
one for -Ross and one for Certainly yes. Do the characters
r. Sometimes these mani- sometimes make plot-swerving
emselves as truly separate mistakes that men of their intellect
or sometimes they are dif- probably wouldn't make? Also yes.
facets of the same case. But these flaws are not enough to
here are strong, obvious bring down a show that's usually so
ls between how the leads undeniably, shamelessly smart.
S]
yo
H.
The
greatly
are ess
week:s
Specter
fest th
cases,c
ferent
Still, t
paralle
POTTER
From Page 9
some of the toughest economic
times this country has known. It's
agenerationthat mustgrowup and
face reality just as Harry and his
friends are forced to do. They've
grown-up together, bonding over
teen angst in a dark world. As a
result, the fear of Lord Voldemort
and the somber, muted colors of
the movie strike a chord.
But above all, "Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" pro-
vides an escape - a chance to sit
in wonderment of a world where
the word "lumos" produces a light
at the end of a wand and heroes
emerge from unlikely places. In
particular, Neville Longbottom
(Matthew Lewis, "Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1")
emerges, not only more attrac-
tive, but as a stronger character
and a force to be reckoned with in
the movie. And of course, there's
Severus Snape (Alan Rickman,
"Alice in Wonderland"), the brav-
est of them all, fleshed out in all
his complexity with a truly won-
derful final performance.
With the movies, it's not the
plot that matters that draws its
sizeable audience, but the char-
acters who emerge on screen. The
actors and their characters have
grown alongside their fans. Plot
holes and missing scenes don't
matter in the wake of being swept
up by Potter-mania.
And now it's all over, time to
move on, time to return to the real
world, remembering that the halls
of Hogwarts are pure fantasy. But
perhaps those leaving the theater
with tear-stained faces should
consider Dumbledore's remarks
in Kings Cross Station: "Of course
it's happening in your head
Harry, but why on earth should
that mean it's not real?"
a
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