When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you

Editor's note: this column was originally published as a part of a series of articles about The Social Network at The Junior Varsity.

The main character is tragic; at once both simplistic and infinitely complicated. He clearly wants to be recognized for his brilliance, but his grating manner of interpersonal communication ultimately separates him from those with whom we suspect he'd most like to connect.

Obviously, I am referring to New York Press film critic Armond White, renowned Rotten Tomato/Metacritic spoiler, and one of the isolated professional film reviewers to dismiss David Fincher's latest directorial effort, The Social Network.

What I, along with most professional critics and a modest majority of filmgoers, saw in The Social Network was an expertly told (albeit fictionalized) character study of real-life Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, as played by Jesse Eisenberg and scripted by Aaron Sorkin, is an antihero that alienates the few people close to him during his single-minded effort to create what would become the defining social digital phenomenon of the decade. It is beautifully encapsulated in the final shot; without spoiling it, a simple repeated act and well-chosen song beg the question of what our fictionalized Zuckerberg gained and lost in the creation of Facebook, but also, what all of us gain and lose by participating in any of the digital networks that have evolved in the past several years.

I enjoyed the film, as I have much of Fincher's work, specifically Zodiac, as it tells a story with an intelligence, grace, and sophistication rarely seen in major Hollywood releases. I wouldn't go so far as to call Social Network an instant classic, but I have no qualms saying it's among the best studio films of 2010 so far.

That is my opinion. I formed it after seeing the film, taking it all in, reflecting on what I've seen, and in part letting my own life experiences shape what I felt about what I saw on screen. I do have some previous biases towards Fincher and Eisenberg, but tried to judge The Social Network on its own merits, which I felt were numerous.

Armond White, however, would disagree.

He doesn't read The Social Network as a cautionary tale. He sees it as a celebration of calculated capitalism that glorifies a character otherwise universally interpreted as both tragic and unapologetic. White sees the fictionalized Zuckerberg as a justification for an online community that he (perhaps appropriately) dismisses as uninformed and vulgar. Following outcries over his negative reviews of The Dark Knight, Toy Story 3, and Inception, White went so far as to pen a column dismissing the ever-growing phenomenona of message boards and sarcastic blogs that mindlessly rally around tentpole pictures, and ratings sites that dilute film criticism down to a game of pure numbers and percentages.

I mostly agree with those general sentiments. Coming from Mr. White, however, they are... peculiar.

White's célébrité stems from his infamously contrarian reviews of popular cinema, often favoring smaller independent films over their big-budget counterparts. Preferring the art-house to the box office isn't new or noteworthy. What is, however, and what makes him truly infamous, is his inconsistency.

Last year, Roger Ebert came to White's defense following a negative review of District 9,stating that White's comments of empty symbolism were appropriate (sentiments I likewise stated in one of my early reviews on IHYFM). Ebert, though, was unfamiliar with White's overall body of critiquing work, and when directed to a list of films White dismissed as well as some clunkers he praised, Ebert was quick to state:

"I realized I had to withdraw my overall defense of White. I was not familiar enough with his work. It is baffling to me that a critic could praise Transformers 2 but notSynecdoche, NY. Or Death Race but not There Will be Blood. I am forced to conclude that White is, as charged, a troll. A smart and knowing one, but a troll."

I only became familiar with White recently, following his negative review of Toy Story 3 (and praise of Jonah Hex), which drew fire for not only missing the incredible humanity and bravery of its main characters, especially in the face of certain demise, but for incorrectly identifying Hamm as one of the villains of the franchise.

As I became more familiar with White's work, it became readily apparent those minor incorrect details were a hallmark of his reviews. His piece on The Social Network indicates the Winklevoss twins were played by two actors, Armie Hammer and Josh Pence, when the credit roll of the film credits Hammer as playing both twins and Pence as one, an obvious indicator that Pence was a body double. If that seems too subtle a miss on White's part, his review of Machete is more glaring. The review begins with this statement:

"Spoiled alert: That over-the-top image of Danny Trejo firing a machine-gun-mounted-motorcycle while being propelled by a fireball in the Grindhouse spoof-trailer forMachete never appears in the movie itself."

I saw the film. That image absolutely appears in the final reel of the movie. Obvious misses like those, along with frequent spelling, grammatic, and syntactic errors, parallel White often missing the bigger picture of films he reviews.

To go back to the work of Fincher, White's review of Zodiac criticizes a script that provides no definitive answers as to the identity of the real-life Zodiac killer. His error is two-fold — not only did the best real-life suspect die before he could be charged, but the film clearly makes its case for the probability of that suspect being the culprit during the final ten minutes of the film. He blasts Fincher for referencing Dirty Harry, oblivious to the historical context as well as lines of dialogue that explain Dirty Harry was a film made about Toschi and the Zodiac killer long before the case was close to being solved. Similarly, White described a rowing race in The Social Network as "egregious" and "affectless" without seeming to realize the metaphoric importance of the Winklevoss twins narrowly losing a race.

White clearly misses what seems obvious to many of us. However, and this is the really frustrating part of the White persona, sometimes he's right on the money.

Although not a wildly unpopular sentiment, he has blasted the Oscars as being ultimately meaningless. He acknowledged the manner in which The Hurt Locker operated outside of obvious war film conventions. He praised the indie comedy The Foot Fist Way for encapsulating everyman angst in a hilariously vulgar yet begrudgingly likable protagonist. He wrote one of my favorite sentences I've read regarding The Social Network, stating that Eisenberg's Zuckerberg was "the most obnoxious movie protagonist Noah Baumbach didn't write."

His knowledge of film history is impressive. On occasion, his insights are unparalleled. However, his insistence on the veracity of his opinions, which often unfairly compare films (Blade Runner shouldn't have been made because Metropolis did it better, for example), or drift so far off base as to not even resemble film criticism (most of his review of Life As We Know It criticizes The Social Network, David Fincher and his Kubrickian aesthetic, and tacitly blames Zuckerberg for the suicide of Tyler Clementi). White is, as Ebert proclaimed, a troll that knows his film history. As I see it, were it not for the troll, the man from Detroit who would rise to be the chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle could have been an influential film critic that did more than recount the cast of a film and give it an arbitrary numeric rating. The troll, however, all but consumes a reviewer that shows an occasional flash of brilliance.

Therein lies the tragedy of White dismissing The Social Network.

Whether Armond White likes it or not, he is Mark Zuckerberg.

He has alienated himself from a potential adoring public by his manipulation and cocksure certainty of his own brilliance. Despite his declaration of the majority of filmgoers to be crude and ignorant consumers, I refuse to believe there is not a part of White that envies Ebert or Maltin — critics that likewise have a vast knowledge of film history, but are also revered by critics and movie fans alike for their frank and astute movie criticisms. Perhaps more accurately, I imagine White envies his mentor, Pauline Kael, who had a widespread fanbase and degree of artistic influence despite her occasional bashing of mainstream offerings and championing questionable indie titles.

Whatever his ultimate goals or aspirations may be, White's reputation as a knee-jerk antagonist have been all but sealed, thanks to his mostly bewildering, and always self-important, cinematic opinions. His poor analysis of The Social Network, viewing it as a celebration of cutthroat capitalism instead of a tragic cautionary tale, is all too fitting as it was a lost opportunity for White to engage in some honest self-reflection.

In that respect, perhaps White isn't Zuckerberg. His tendency to ignore mainstream successes and champion otherwise overlooked films mimics the work of Kael, only Kael did it far better than he seems to be able.

He's the Winklevoss twins.

Someone get me David Fincher. I think I know a great subject for his next biopic.

Winnebago Man: finding some meaning in the meaningless world of Internet stardom

Jack Rebney became an unwitting star when a now-22-year-old montage of outtakes found its way onto Youtube in 2005. The creatively profane outbursts resonated with a nascent online audience that was far from discovering how it would interact with the media it absorbed. The “angriest man in the world” was fascinating, the sales video for motorized homes that was the source of the outtakes had never been seen. Nobody seemed to know anything about Jack Rebney, and he never came forward to respond to the video. People sort of assumed he was dead.

Austin filmmaker Ben Steinbauer was intrigued by the mythos of Rebney, and wanted to find out definitively whether he was still alive, and if so, who he really was. The result was the 2009 award-winning documentary Winnebago Man, which is currently in a limited theatrical release. Without spoiling too much in this review, Rebney is alive, and is as cantankerous as ever.

What makes Winnebago Man such an intriguing film, aside from the no-nonsense attitude and blunt wit of its titular star, is that it helps personify the effects overnight internet stardom can have. Steinbauer spends part of the film recounting the story of “Star Wars kid” Ghyslain Raza, and briefly interviews “Impossible is nothing” video resume star Aleksey Vayner. Raza spent time under psychiatric care in the aftermath of his fame, and Vayner claims he’s been able to accept his notoriety in all its forms, even as parodied by Michael Cera.

Although it feels like Steinbauer went easy on Vayner, he challenges Rebney on how he perceives his fame and what he thinks can or cannot be accomplished by it. To Steinbauer’s credit, it’s pretty clear he didn’t set out to be a character in the story, but when it became inevitable after Rebney began interacting with him, he does so with restraint. The conclusion that Rebney ultimately reaches is his own. The journey of his reaching that conclusion is as much fun as the viral promises, as well as surprisingly heartfelt, and highly recommended for anyone that has ever wondered what happens to the subjects in viral videos after the browser window closes.

TOO MUCH: Footage of Rebney’s buddy hiking and sipping wine.

COULD HAVE USED MORE: discussion of how the web is affecting media and how we all consume it, which is touched on in the beginning of the film.

FILM SNOB NOTE: The finished Winnebago sales video that Rebney was producing has been virtually unseen by anyone as Rebney was fired after filming completed. Steinbauer told me after the Minneapolis premiere* that it is immensely impressive for a sales video, and will be a bonus feature on the DVD.

IHYFM RATING: FOUR AND A HALF out of FIVE MEHs. It’s not a perfect or flashy film, but has an understated poignancy and is a fascinating look at an intelligent, complicated, and unwilling minor celebrity. Winnebago Man, and I suspect The Social Network, will be required viewing for anyone wanting to reflect on how the web has impacted the way we interact with one another.

IF YOU SAID THIS WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE, I’D THINK: You’re not a “goddam jackass.”

*Two Hunter S. Thompson-esqe friends and I attended the Minneapolis premiere, which was hosted by Steinbauer and the crew of the original sales video. Although they had not been to other screenings, they said it was appropriate as the viral was shot in Iowa and Rebney is a Minneapolis native. Although he was not in attendance, Steinbauer held a microphone to his cell and called Rebney, whom Steinbauer said he speaks with almost daily.

- As an owner of an American bulldog, “not a ‘pitbull,’” Rebney stated even though he’s legally blind, he’s 6’5, 230lbs, and would love to fight Michael Vick (even though he couldn’t recall Vick’s name).

- Rebney’s dissatisfaction with the Bush administration is well-documented in the film; when asked what he thought of the Obama administration, he said he thought the healthcare reform was a perfect example of good intentions being channeled to the wrong priorities.

- I managed to get in the last question of the night. Rebney is a veteran of CBS News who idolized the likes of Cronkite and Murrow. I asked whether he thought there was any hope for the present 24-hour news culture, he concluded, after a long diatribe, that the best hope for political discourse was for young people to abandon the traditional political parties and start something for ourselves. There you have it, Generation Me: the Angriest Man Alive wants us to get off our asses and do something for ourselves.

Jack Rebney: perhaps the only viral video star worthy of a documentary

The internet tubes are all but clogged with videos that spread about as though they were some sort of virus. Among the most popular are those that make us laugh, be they unfortunate accidents, miscalculations, outbursts, or unadulterated cuteness. The in-the-moment quality of the videos is what makes them work – they are a snapshot of a moment that likely couldn't be planned or replicated. They are honest. And importantly, they are brief. The background of the events or people involved in the average viral video would not be interesting enough for a half-hour television special, let alone a feature-length film.

The apparent exception to that rule, though, is Jack Rebney, the foul-mouthed star of one of the original viral videos, the “Winnebago Man.”



What is fascinating about the video, originally made in 1988, is that it was spliced together from outtakes of multiple day's worth of footage, before simple drag-and-drop non-linear editing systems were common. The effort to put together such a montage, especially one that has various themes at different points, and isn't merely a chronological account of everything that occurred on set, must have been a serious undertaking. Furthermore, the fact that the video survived for over a decade without the aid of the digital age, is telling: before sharing videos just took a couple of clicks at the keyboard, viral videos had to be dubbed and handed off friend to friend. Even as late as 1998, trading video tapes was still prevalent enough to warrant a lampooning skit on the final season of Mr. Show (first minute).



What has survived the years is a brief study of a man who is certainly temperamental, but not vindictive. While Rebney does direct some of the ire at his crew, most of it is meant only for him – he spends most of the time ridiculing himself, and, as we can see later in the video, it's frequently jovial. He spends at least an equal amount of time laughing and spitting out random consonants as he does cursing. Unlike Christian Bale's infamous rant that's pure vitriol, Rebney's taped struggles are not so much a dressing down of another as they are an internal struggle displayed publicly. That, I believe, is what originally gave the Winnebago Man legs, and helped it survive all of these years until it was able to reach a wider audience.

When it did, Rebney was a viral star. What makes him even more unique than being made a star almost 25 years after the fact is that he had secluded himself from society to such an extent, he didn't know he was famous. Given the amount of time, the nature and extent of the video, and the unlikely celebrity, Jack Rebney was the ideal candidate for a documentary. Winnebago Man, following rave reviews at SXSW, is on a limited tour of the US before an eventual DVD release. It opens in Minneapolis next week. If I don't make it out, I'm no better than the fly ruining a shot of the Itasca RV – a goddam jackass.

"SCOTT PILGRIM": A COOL MOVIE MY MOM DIDN'T WANT ME TO SEE

Editor's note: I saw the film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and enjoyed it, but I wasn't blown away, as I mentioned in my comments as a part of the excellent series running at The Junior Varsity. I don't deny it has a very strong visual aesthetic, and I quite enjoy the work of director Edgar Wright, but I was a little ambivalent. I figured I might be too old to be in the target audience, so I arranged for my intrepid 9-year-old junior reporter Spencer to see the movie without his mother's knowledge. His unedited words are below. Enjoy.

SO I SAW SOME OF THE TRAILERS FOR SCOTT PILGRIM AND I WAS LIKE, WOW THAT LOOKS LIKE A REALLY COOL MOVIE BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE A VIDEO GAME AND JAPANAMATION AND I WANTED TO SEE IT BUT I WAS PRETTY SURE MY MOM WOULDN'T WANT ME TO SEE IT BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENCE AND FIGHTING AND ROCK MUSIC AND GUESS WHAT I WAS RIGHT. WHEN JOE CALLED AND SAID HE WOULD GIVE ME SOME MONEY TO SEE IT AND CALL THE THEATER TO PRETEND TO BE MY DAD SO I COULD SEE IT I WAS LIKE WOW I REALLY WANTED TO SEE IT SO PLEASE LET ME SEE IT AND HE SAID OKAY.

I WENT TO GO SEE IT ON A MONDAY NIGHT SO THERE WEREN'T ALOTS OF PEOPLE IN THE THEATER THERE WAS SOME HIGH SCHOOL KIDS IN FRONT OF ME ONE GUY AND LIKE FIVE GIRLS AND I WAS LIKE I HOPE I'M THAT COOL WHEN I GET TO BE IN HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE HE HAS IT ALL FIGURED OUT. HE WAS SITTING AT THE END AND WAS WEARING A BEANIE AND BLAKC MUSCLE SHIRT AND FINGERLESS GLOVES AND HAD HIS ARM AROUND ONE OF THE GIRLS I THINK MAYBE I SHOULD GET CLOTHINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE HE MADE IT WORK FOR HIM.

SO ANYWAYS THE MOVIE STARTED AND I LIKED IT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING THE UNIVERSAL LOGO WAS LIKE A REALLY OLD VIDEOGAME JOE SAID IT WAS PROBABLY SUPPOSED TO BE A SEGA GENESIS HE SAID THOSE COST ALMOST AS MUCH AS A PLAY STATION DOES TODAY AND I LAUGHED ALOT AND SAID OLD PEOPLE WERE STUPID TO PAY SO MUCH MONEY FOR THOSE I HEARD JOE SIGH.

AFTER THE UNIVERSAL LOGO THE MOVIE ACTUALLY STARTED IT WAS ABOUT SCOTT PILGRIM WHO PLAYS IN A BAND HE DOESN'T HAVE A JOB THOUGH SO HE'S KIND OF A LOSER AND POOR BUT HE JUST STARTED DATING THIS GIRL KNIVES WHO IS GOOD AT DDR FIGHTING GAMES AND BEING CHINESE. SHE SEEMS REALLY COOL AND SCOTT SEEMS TO LIKE HER BUT THEN HE DREAMS ABOUT RAMONA AND MEETS RAMONA AND HE WANTS TO DATE RAMONA AND EVERYONE TELLS HIM HE SHOULD BREAK UP WITH KNIVES FIRST BUT HE PUTS IT OFF UNTIL AFTER HE HAS A DATE WITH RAMONA AND THEY MADE KISSY IN UNDERWEAR AND IT WAS SO AWESOME I HOPE I HAVE DATES LIKE THAT SOMEDAY.

SO ANYWAYS RAMONA HAS EVIL EX-BOYFRIENDS THAT SCOTT HAS TO FIGHT AND KILL IF HE WANTS TO DO MORE UNDERWEAR DATES WITH RAMONA AND THE REST OF THE MOVIE IS HIM FIGHTING EX-BOYFRIENDS AND ONE EXGIRLFRIEND (WHAT?) AND THEN AT THE END HE FINALLY GETS TO DATE RAMONA MORE. JOE WANTED TO KNOW IF I THOUGHT THE COMBINATION OF WINNINGS WITH FIGHTING AND SOMETIMES BEING SMARTER THAN THE EX WAS SOMETHING I LIKED OR DIDN'T LIKE BUT I LIKED ALL THE FIGHTS BECAUSE THERE WAS ALWAYS SOME KUGFU ACTION AND COLORS FLASHING SO IT DIDN'T REALLY BOTHER ME I GUESS.

I ALSO LIKED HOW SOMETIMES IT WOULD SEEM LIKE THEY WERE TALKING IN THE SAME PLACE THEY STARTED TALKING BUT THEN THEY WERE SOMEWHERE ELSE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME THINGS THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS IS CALLED EDITING AND I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WAS A SURPRISE. THERE WERE LOTS OF THINGS I NOTICED REALLY SMALL LIKE A SIGN WITH A FLICKERING LETTER SO IT SAID FIGHT IN A BACKGROUND OR HOW FUZZY STREETLIGHTS OUTSIDE LOOKED LIKE HEARTS WHILE SCOTT AND RAMONA WERE ON THE BUS I'LL BET I DIDN'T SEE ALL OF THEM.

SO ANYWAYS JOE ASKED ME A BUNCH MORE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT STUFF I LIKED AND DIDN'T LIKE AND I WAS LIKE YOU THINK ABOUT MOVIES TOO MUCH IT WAS REALLY COOL JUST ENJOY IT BUT ANYWAYS HERES SOME STUFF WE TALKED ABOUT. JOE WANTED TO KNOW IF I THOUGHT MICHAEL SERA WAS PLAYING THE SAME ROLE AND I WAS LIKE WHO IS MICHAEL SERA AND HE PLAYED SCOTT SO I SAID I LIKED HIM BECAUSE HE WAS FUNNY AND COOL. JOE SAID HE WAS IN YOUTH IN REVOLT AND I HADN'T HEARD OF IT AND PAPER HEART AND I HADN'T HEARD OF IT AND NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST AND I HADN'T HEARD OF IT. HE WAS IN JUNO THAT MY MOM WOULDN'T LET ME SEE BECAUSE IT GLORIFIED TEEN SEX AND IN SUPERBAD THAT MY MOM WOULDN'T LET ME SEE BECAUSE IT GLORIFIED TEEN SEX AND TEEN DRINKING AND ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT THAT MY MOM WOULDNT LET ME SEE BECAUSE IT GLORIFIED BEING SASSY. ALSO YEAR ONE.

HE ASKED ABOUT THE REST OF THE CAST AND LISTED OFF A BUNCH OF NAMES KEERUN CULKIN AS WALLACE WITH THE BOYFRIENDS AND MARK WEBBER AS STEPHEN FROM THE BAND AND ANNA KENDRICK AS STACEY THE SISTER AND AUBREY PLAZA AS JULIE WITH THE BLEEPS AND ALISON PILL AS KIM ON DRUMS AND MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD AS RAMONA WITH THE HAIR AND JOHNNY SIMMONS AS YOUNG NEIL ALSO ON BASS AND ELLEN WONG AS KNIVES AND CUTE AND JASON SCHWARTZMAN AS GIDEON THE BAD GUY AND I THOUGHT EVERYONE WAS REALLY GOOD. THERE WERE MORE NAMES HE SAID BUT I STOPPED PAYING ATTENTION.

I LIKED ALL THE MUSIC A LOT AND PLAYING AND HOW KIM COUNTED THEM OFF ONE TWO THREE FOUR ALL THE TIME THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE PUNK BANDS FROM THE 80S AND 90S BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THEM BECAUSE GUESS WHAT MY MOM DOESN'T LET ME LISTEN TO PUNK. JOE SAID THERE WAS STUFF THAT REFERENCED OTHER EDGAR WRIGHT MOVIES AND MATRIX TWO AND THE POWER UP REDO WAS LIKE RUN LOLA RUN BUT I DIDN'T SEE THOSE SO WHATEVER I STILL LIKED EVERYTHING PRETTY GOOD.

SO ANYWAYS I REALLY LIKED SCOTT PILGRIM AND IT WAS FUNNY AND REALLY COOL TO LOOK AT AND I LIKED ALL THE MUSIC AND FIGHTS WITH PEOPLE BURSTING INTO COINS AND STUFF AND SOUNDS SPELLED WITH LETTERS AND IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A REALLY AWESOME COMIC BOOK. I WAS SUPPOSED TO RATE IT FROM ONE TO FIVE SO I WOULD TOTALLY GIVE IT FIVE BECAUSE IT WAS SUPER AWESOME AND I LIKE MOVIES THAT WERE AWESOME. I WANT TO BE COOL LIKE SCOTT AND THAT GUY WITH THE FINGERLESS GLOVES AND PLAY THE BASS NOW BECAUSE SCOTT PILGRIM TAUGHT ME THE BASS IS THE COOLEST INSTRUMENT IN THE BAND.

IF YOU LIKE MOVIES THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH AND HAVE ACTION STUFF AND LOOK NEAT ALL THE TIME YOU SHOULD SEE SCOTT PILGRIM BECAUSE IT WAS COOL AND IT TEACHES YOU SOMETIMES YOUR BIGGEST ENEMY IS YOURSELF AND YOU CAN BEAT IT BY GOING TO LUNCH SO UNTIL NEXT TIME THANKS FOR READING MY REVIEW THIS IS SPENCER BYE.

"The Other Guys": Adam McKay's most conventional comedy to date

Adam McKay, an alum of Second City and Improv Olymipic, a founding member of the Upright Citizen's Brigade, and former SNL writer and the originator of the SNL Digital Short, had a bit of experience in comedy before his directorial debut feature, 2004's Anchorman.

McKay's regular partnering with Will Ferrell, combined with McKay's studies under improv legend Del Close, has often led to his films featuring frequent non-sequitur asides and running gags. All three of McKay's features, Will Ferrell vehicles Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers, contain constant improvisations and tangents unrelated to the plot at hand, which does manage to stock his films with laughs but also makes them feel incredibly disjointed and loose compared to most other mainstream comedies. This style is in part thanks to McKay's famous tendency to overshoot, hence the DVD special “Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie,” which is comprised almost entirely of alternate takes and deleted scenes from Anchorman.

On first seeing the trailer for The Other Guys several months ago, it seemed clear that McKay wasn't going to stray too far from his usual playbook. Ferrell and Wahlberg star as two NYC desk cops who struggle to fill the shoes of star officers Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson, who are taken out of action. Their only way to shine above rivals Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr is to catch Steve Coogan, a ponzi-scheme financier. Bombshell Eva Mendes surprised me with her comic chops as Ferrell's unlikely wife, and Michael Keaton was perfectly cast as the department's moonlighting captain with curious musical allusions.

Much of the laughs come from parodying cop movie tropes, most amusingly when Ferrell and Wahlberg get knocked over by an explosion.

In fact, The Other Guys rarely drifts far from playing with the cop and detective thriller cliches viewers are constantly bombarded with* and as a result, it feels like a much more focused comedy than previous Ferrell/McKay collaborations. Even though we already know what's going to happen throughout the film, McKay's awareness of the genre he's working with manages to keep the comedic beats intelligently surprising, and most importantly, consistently funny.

TOO MUCH: The film feels pretty lean, even though it clocks in at just over 1:40. Anyone complaining about too-long chase scenes or comedic bits probably doesn't appreciate, or have the patience for, the genre satire at play.

COULD HAVE USED MORE: Dare I say it, a little more improv from Ferrell, who was surprisingly reserved throughout the film.

FILM SNOB NOTE: a running gag about driving to the right pump up music** echoes the 1999 almost-cult hit Three Kings, wherein Wahlberg's fellow soldiers drive into battle listening to Chicago's “If You Leave Me Now.” A mini-theatrical spot for The Other Guys featured Ferrell and Wahlberg suspended from wires in the pose from the poster; a similar bit promoting Step Brothers featured Ferrell and costar John C. Reilly in a "living poster."

IHYFM RATING: FOUR out of FIVE MEHS. Is it a timeless comedy? Certainly not. Did it deliver a consistent stream of unpredictable laughs? Sure did.

IF YOU SAID THIS WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE, I'D THINK: I won't deny you when you tell me Gator needs his gat.

*Like the ones that could very well sink this fall's star-studded yet tragically titled thriller The Town.

**Ferrell claims the best is Little River Band.

"Dinner for Schmucks": serving up a buffet of lame puns for review slug lines

To paraphrase Zach Galifianakis in his recent interview with Steve Carell, Carell has proved himself to be above criticism. Despite several questionable comedies following his rise to stardom on The Daily Show and the American adaptation of The Office, Carell continues to enjoy the reputation of a down-to-earth star with a solid box-office draw. Likewise, Paul Rudd, who was for a while best known to my generation as the not-blood-relation love interest in Clueless, has carved a nice comedy niche for himself in the world of Adam McKay/Judd Apatow style comedies, some (the David Wain-directed Role Models) far better than others (last year's uneven I Love You, Man).

As I stated previously in my summer comedy preview, Dinner For Schmucks, based on the French film The Dinner Game, seemed as though it would be a hit-or-miss. I was right. Were it not for the charm of Carell and Rudd, the movie would have been a total dud.

Dinner for Schmucks, directed by helmer Jay Roach (Meet the Parents), follows Tim (Rudd), a financial advisor hoping to advance his career. The only catch is he has to bring an unsuspecting dolt to a “dinner for losers” hosted by his boss every month. A chance encounter with Barry (Carell), an IRS agent with a hobby that combines dioramas and taxidermy, seems to be the answer to Tim's promotional problem. Of course, Tim's almost-fiancée Julie (Stephanie Szostak) isn't on board, and seems to be the object of artist Kieran's affections (played by the scene-stealing Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords). The film builds predictably to a predictable climax and a predictable resolution where everything works out in the end.

Dinner for Schmucks is an innocuous comedy – it's not hysterical, but consistently amusing, thanks in part to the amazingly deep cast. Aside from Zach Galifianakis in a supporting role, the screen is shared by the likes of Kristen Schaal (Mel in Flight of the Conchords), Nick Kroll (Chupacabra on some season 6 episodes of Reno 911!), Ron Livingston (Peter in Office Space), puppeteer with mass appeal Jeff Dunham, Octavia Spencer (the prostitute in Bad Santa that “didn't shit right for a week”), and Daily Show correspondent Larry Whilmore, just to name a few. Most of the weight, though, is carried by Carell and his ability to play the likable loser. Unlike Will Ferrell or Seth Rogen, who often play similar roles, Carell can perform in a way that makes the character completely sympathetic, which although unrealistic, is necessary for such an absurd comedy as this to stay afloat.

It's not a laugh riot, it's not groundbreaking, but, this being the highest praise I can offer to Dinner for Schmucks, it's not a disaster.

TOO MUCH: Emotional story arc. Granted, the side plots with Tim and Barry's respective women are far from the focus of the film, there's enough in there to make it feel forced. There was almost too much Zach Galifianakis, whom I fear audiences are going to quickly tire of.

COULD HAVE USED MORE: Embracing the absurdity of the dinner antics – I daresay a few comedic punches were pulled back. When a movie is cast with the likes of Carell, Rudd, Clement, Galifianakis, Schaal, and Kroll, more improv is always welcome. I'd be surprised if the DVD release weren't chock full of alternate takes and extended scenes.

FILM SNOB NOTE: In the original French film, it was more of a dark social satire than screwball comedy, and the dinner in question didn't even occur. The word "schmuck" or phrase "dinner for schmucks" doesn't appear anywhere in the actual film, thankfully.

IHYFM RATING: THREE out of FIVE MEHS. It's an inoffensive and ultimately forgettable comedy that still manages to deliver a consistent stream of chuckles. If you wanted to see it after watching the trailer, you'll probably enjoy it. If you've grown accustomed to the raunchier and riskier R-rated comedies that have been in vogue as of late, you may be a little disappointed.

IF YOU SAID THIS WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE, I'D THINK: You have the taste of a shmendrik.

"Inception": Christopher Nolan had a dream

If you have not heard of the blockbuster thriller that garnered over $100 million in its first week, I hope it's because you've been doing something more important like plugging an oil leak in the gulf.

There's been a lot said on Inception this past week, from mostly positive reviews to an overwhelming barrage of various theories on how deep the dream actually goes. As my editor at the Junior Varsity so eloquently stated before we started a round table that'll run next week, “let's move past whether we liked it or not, or whether it met our expectations or not, or JESUS CHRIST whether or not Cobb was dreaming the whole time, and talk about something productive.” If your interest hasn't been piqued by the 'buuum'bastic trailers or the national conversation, nothing I say here will sway you.

Inception, a story of psychological thieves who invade dreams, is a well-executed and intelligent thriller. I'll leave it at that, because, honestly, everything that can be said about this film, in one form or another, already has been said.

TOO MUCH: Ridiculous character names: Ellen Page as Ariadne, the mythological princess that guided Theseus out of the Minotaur's labyrinth; Tom Hardy as Eames, which is one 'e' too many and one 'dr' short of being “Dreams”; Marion Cotillard as Mal, ostensibly the film's only villain whose name means “evil” in Latin...

COULD HAVE USED MORE: Joseph Gordon-Levitt fighting Astaire-style in the hotel. I could watch an entire movie of that alone. Stuff like the train in LA happening in other dream levels.

FILM SNOB NOTE: All of Nolan's films feature important hand held objects and dead/tragic females. DiCaprio plays master mind thief Cobb, which is the name of the thief in Nolan's debut feature Following. The hallways in the hotel were made in a giant rolling tube. Nolan famously doesn't like using a lot of CGI, and decided against making Inception 3D after the fact, like the much-derided Clash of the Titans. The "kick" song, "Non, je ne regrette rien," is a standard by Edith Piaf, the portrayal of whom earned Cotillard an Oscar.

IHYFM RATING: FOUR out of FIVE MEHS. Despite some minor flaws, it's a well-told thriller that's one hell of a lot of fun.

IF YOU SAID THIS WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE, I'D THINK: I successfully planted the idea when you were taking a nap.