Review: Deadpool 2 (2018)

* * *
Director: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin

Part of the charm of Deadpool was its inherent shabbiness. Made on a shoestring budget (at least by the standards of superhero/action movies), Deadpool turned its discount elements into a strength by making it part of the joke. Deadpool 2 has the benefit of having about twice the budget as its predecessor, which gives it a lot more flash in terms of its action pieces, but it still manages to maintain that industrial and minimalist aesthetic of the first. It adheres to the principle of movie sequels to "do the same thing, but more," but it manages to stay relatively true to its roots at the same time, which is surely no easy feat. Deadpool 2 is the equal to its original, better in certain respects but not quite as good in others, and certainly worth the price of admission.

Review: Mississippi Grind (2015)

* * * 1/2
Director: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds

One turns everything he touches to gold and couldn't seem to care less, the other just can't stop losing. Even when he's winning, he can't help but start losing, pushing and pushing his luck until he's lost it all over again. Together, they're a pretty bad combination, but left to their own devices they aren't exactly doing great, either. Helmed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and starring Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds as the mismatched pair, Mississippi Grind is part buddy movie, part road movie, and part addiction drama, and though it relies on some of the well-worn tropes of each, it's well-realized and compelling enough to transcend cliches.

Review: Deadpool (2016)

* * *
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Ryan Reynolds

Every time a superhero movie comes out (so, uh, every week lately) and becomes either a massive hit or a massive failure, scores of articles end up being written of the "What X can learn from Y" variety. Batman & Robin taught Hollywood that superhero movies shouldn't be so campy and nakedly geared towards selling toys; Batman Begins taught Hollywood that superhero movies should be gritty and "realistic;" Marvel's run from Iron Man through The Avengers taught Hollywood that shared universes are a recipe for continuing success; and now there's Deadpool to teach Hollywood that superhero movies should be funny and graphically violent. The thing is, if there was a blueprint for success, then everything would be a success. What works for one film isn't necessarily going to work for another; it's all a matter of finding the right tone and style for the right character and the right franchise and finding them at the right time for the right audience. That's not the lesson that Hollywood is going to learn from Deadpool, a film that goes fantastically against the grain of other superhero movies (until all the copycats come along in the next couple of years), but it's a set of variables worth keeping in mind the next time whatever is trendy at the moment takes a would-be franchise completely off the rails.

Canadian Film Review: The Captive (2014)

*
Director: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Rosario Dawson, Scott Speedman, Mireille Enos

The general consensus on Atom Egoyan seems to be that he's been in a sharp decline as an artist for the last decade, or so. I haven't really agreed with that, having found things to like about even Where the Truth Lies and Chloe, two of his least loved films, but The Captive may be the film that makes me change my tune. This abduction thriller is not just a mess, it's borderline unwatchable. Built around characters who are wafer thin, performances that never quite jive with each other, and a story which, were it told in linear fashion rather than in Egoyan's signature scrambled narrative style, would be immediately exposed as a tale that wouldn't even qualify for distinction as a good Lifetime movie, it fails in pretty much every respect. Seriously, this thing is baaaaad.

Review: Adventureland (2009)

* * *
Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds

Greg Mottola's Adventureland is, in many ways, your typical teen comedy/drama, except that its characters aren't teenagers but are instead in that strange, extended adolescence period of your early 20s where you're technically an adult but you haven't yet become financially independent and your responsibilities are still extremely limited. It isn't necessarily an instant classic of its genre, but I suspect that it's the kind of film you can pick up over and again as the years pass and still enjoy.

Canadian Film Review: Foolproof (2003)

* * *
Director: William Phillips
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Kristin Booth

If you ever come up with some great scheme, don't name it "fool proof." That's just asking for trouble. Also, if you're going to write your great scheme down, maybe you should leave it a safety deposit box or some other secure place rather than in a gym bag in your apparently easy to break into apartment. Just saying.

Foolproof centers on three friends - Kevin (Ryan Reynolds), Sam (Kristin Booth), and Rob (Joris Jarsky) - with an unusual hobby. Together they plot out the logistics of breaking into a place and stealing something valuable. They spend countless hours over the course of a few weeks staking a place out, becoming familiar with its security, and creating a replica of the layout along with the security system inside a warehouse, for the thrill of theoretically pulling off an awesome heist. They never actually put these schemes into action, mind you, they just come up with very detailed plans for how they would do it.

The leg work they've done on their latest plan hasn't gone unnoticed, however, and soon they find themselves having to contend with Leo Gillette (David Suchet), a legendary con man who blackmails them into working with him on a real heist. At first all three are reluctant but Leo is able to play on Rob's odd man out status to cause dissent amongst the friends which in turn leads to a few double crosses and betrayals and reversals of fortune. Some of the twists you can see coming from a mile away and I'm not quite sure I believe the final one, but for the most part the screenplay by William Phillips (who also directs) is pretty solid.

Because the story itself isn't anything particularly revolutionary - it's very much a genre film and the plot movements will be familiar to anyone who has seen a heist movie or two - much of the film's success depends on the chemistry of the actors. Foolproof is very lucky in that regard because the actors work off of each other very well and in a believable way. Suchet is appropriately intimidating as Leo, his personality towering over that of the other characters. Reynolds, Booth and Jarsky have good buddy chemistry, though the romantic chemistry between Reynolds and Booth is nonexistent, making their eventual, inevitable kiss a non-event of epic proportions. Still, as friends, they're perfectly believable.

At the time of its release in 2003, Foolproof was something of a fiasco, a financial disaster with a big (for a Canadian film) production budget as well as a big marketting budget that ended up grossing about 0.5% of its budget back. Released between the first two Ocean's films, it may simply have seemed like another example of the Canadian film community producing low-rent versions of American product, tapping into a feeling a self-loathing and thereby alienating its would-be core audience. Seen apart from that socially fraught context, Foolproof proves to be a perfectly serviceable film. It is not overly ambitious, but it achieves what it sets out to do and does so in an entertaining way. I recommend it.

Review: Just Friends (2005)

* *
Director: Roger Kumble
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris

Oh, Anna Faris. What won't I watch for you? Please try to be in better movies in the future. Not that Just Friends doesn't have its moments, but objectively speaking it's really not a good movie. However, if all you require from a comedy is someone in a fat suit, a bunch of pratfalls, and a fiery massacre of Christmas decorations, you will not leave Just Friends disappointed.

The film begins with Ryan Reynolds in a fat suit playing Chris Brander, an unpopular guy who is best friends with Jamie (Amy Smart), the most popular girl in school. He's in love with her, but she thinks of him like a brother and only wants to be friends, which becomes the defining event in Chris' life (that should tell you quite a bit about Chris' life). Just Friends is kind of like Nice Guy: The Movie, in that that Chris is under the impression that because he's friends with Jamie that somehow makes her obligated to become romantically involved with him (and, as an aside, that sense of obligation paradoxically negates itself since believing it means that he isn't really her friend after all) and her rejection is seen as an enormous betrayal. A decade later, having lost the weight, moved to LA, and become successful, he's still complaining about how Jamie messed with his head in high school, though as far as I can tell "messing" with him involved hanging out with him as if they were, you know, friends.

Chris hasn't been back to his hometown since high school but through a twist of plot-friendly fate gets stuck there at Christmas with pop star Samantha Jones (Anna Faris). Chris and Samantha used to be involved but since she's crazy it didn't work out, though he continues to feign interest in her in order to secure a deal between her and the company he works for. The scenes involving Samantha are the ones that redeem Just Friends and kind of, almost, make it worth watching. The romantic plot between Chris and Jamie is less worth watching, primarily because Reynolds and Smart have very little chemistry, and also because of Chris' sense of entitlement and subsequent behavior. I mean, if he wants to believe that his weight was the only reason she wasn't interested in him, that's his prerogative, but it doesn't change the fact that he's also kind of a dick.

In the end, Chris more or less realizes the errors he's made with regards to Jamie thanks in no small part to Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein), a character who acts as a mirror to Chris having also been unpopular and in love with Jamie in high school and having since become a player intent on avenging his younger self. The fact that Chris does a bit of a turnaround at the end combined with the fact that Reynolds is a very likeable actor, means that he emerges from all this unscathed. When he's in good movies, Reynolds shines, and when he's in bad movies you can't help but wonder how such a bad movie ended up with such a good lead.

The real star of the show, however, is Faris who can go so far over the top (as she does, frequently, here) while still seeming to be in total control of her performance. The writing for the character is extremely thin, but Faris puts everything into the role and manages to be the most entertaining thing in any given scene, even when she's not physically there, such as during a scene where Chris listens to multiple voice messages she's left for him. Like Reynolds, she always seems to be at the top of her game even when the material isn't really giving her much to work with. Just Friends is a 90 minute wasted opportunity that just shows you why Faris and Reynolds deserve to be in better films.

Review: The Proposal (2009)

* * *
Director: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds

The Proposal is pretty much exactly what you would expect from the trailers: a lightweight charmer that hits all the necessary notes for its genre. You've seen this movie before, in one form or another, and it doesn't really make any attempt to break out of the tightly constructed romantic comedy box. That being said, as formula films go, this one is fairly good and its leads are engaging enough to make it worth two hours of your time.

The plot is set-up thusly: Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is the Editor-in-Chief at a New York publishing house who is loathed and feared by everyone in the office. Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is her long-suffering assistant who dreams of one day becoming an editor himself. When Margaret, who is Canadian, is threatened with deportation she makes a deal with Andrew: marry her so that she can stay in the country and she’ll promote him to editor. In an effort to prove their “love” to the INS agent who sees right through their scam, they go to Sitka to visit Andrew’s family for the weekend and celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday.

I am entirely sure that I don’t need to tell you that Margaret and Andrew start off hating each other, that city-girl Margaret is a fish out of water in Sitka, that Andrew’s family embraces Margaret and she comes to like them in turn, and that Margaret and Andrew slowly realize that they’ve fallen in love. This is all, of course, standard, cut-and-paste stuff and The Proposal won’t be accused of breaking any new ground. It does, however, manage to keep things entertaining even though you can easily spot the all too familiar landmarks along the route from “I hate you” to “I love you.” This film doesn’t try to be anything more than it is, it simply focuses on making what it is work – and it mostly does.

Sandra Bullock is, always has been, and I suspect always will be, a very likable actress. Ryan Reynolds, similarly, crafts a screen persona that is easy to enjoy and engage with. The Proposal succeeds largely on their charm and the energy that they are able to give material which might otherwise be limp. They’re surrounded by romantic comedy standards like the wacky granny (Betty White), the ex floating around the periphery (Malin Akerman), and the vaguely creepy dude (Oscar Nunez) who manages to be everywhere. There’s also some family conflict courtesy of Andrew’s father (Craig T. Nelson) which contributes to the obligatory third act crisis leading to happy ending. Some of these supporting characters work and others do not. The ex-girlfriend, for example, serves little purpose and could have easily been lifted out of the story without affecting anything at all. The character is meant to be a threat to the potential relationship between Margaret and Andrew, but the film hardly bothers with her, knowing as well as we do that Margaret and Andrew are endgame and everything else is pretence.

What works in The Proposal works very well, although it never breaks away from some of the more problematic aspects of the romantic comedy genre. Because Margaret strives to be successful, she is also unhappy, alone, and a terror to everyone around her – women who pursue ambitions outside the home do so at the expense of their humanity. Andrew is ambitious, too, but he still gets to be nice and he isn’t the one the film seems determined to punish and humiliate into submission. Romantic comedies are marketed to women but they aren’t really made for women, they’re made to maintain the status quo, which is why characters like Margaret always end up being put in their “place.” It’s annoying, of course, but The Proposal manages to be less offensive in that respect than the average romantic comedy. Anyway, end rant, this is a good movie with a lot of laughs and a lot of charm and worth the price of admission.

Review: Definitely, Maybe (2008)

* * * 1/2
Director: Adam Brooks
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks

It would be easy to say that a considerable part of Definitely, Maybe’s success stems from the fact that I’ve come to expect so little from the romantic comedy genre. However, to say that would be to do a great disservice to this film, which is so utterly charming and engaging. Carefully crafted and wonderfully executed, this is far from your typical romcom.

Will (Ryan Reynolds) is in the process of a divorce, hates his job, and has lost his youthful idealism. The only bright spot in his life is his daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), who begs him to tell her the story of how he met her mother. Refusing to be swayed by his claim that the story is “complicated,” Maya finally wears Will down and he agrees to tell her the story on one condition: the names of the women in his life will be changed and she has to guess which character in his story is based on her mother.

Will’s story begins in the summer of 1992, when he’s just out of college and is about to spend the summer in New York, campaigning for Bill Clinton. His story will ultimately chart not only his romantic relationships, but also the progress of his political ideals as the scandals surrounding Bill Clinton, whom Will at one time idolized, come to disillusion him completely. The three women who figure into Will’s story are Emily (Elizabeth Banks), his college sweetheart; April (Isla Fischer), a fellow campaign worker with whom he has great chemistry but bad timing; and Summer (Rachel Weisz), a reporter who is an old friend (and slightly more) of Emily’s. I don’t really want to go into the details of these three relationships, because the way that the film allows them to unfold is really wonderful and a large part of the reason why the film works so well.

There are a lot of things that I really loved about this movie – too many to name them all, so I’ll limit myself to just a few. First, there’s the story itself which is so very well constructed. By structuring it the way that it does, the film effectively sidesteps many clichés of its genre – it hits on a few, but also consciously acknowledges them as clichés through Maya’s commentary. It also allows the characters to develop in realistic ways. More often than not, romantic comedy characters are just that – characters who could only exist in a romantic comedy – but here they are people with depth and, refreshingly, intelligence. So often, the plot of a romantic comedy hinges on a kind of obligatory stupidity ascribed to the characters, but these characters are intelligent. They don’t always make the best choices, but they aren’t stupid.

I only really have one criticism of the film, which is that it tips its hand a little early. I mean, if there are three love interests and one them utters the words in the title and also just happens to be the one with the most screentime of the three, then you can kind of guess where it’s going. However, that didn’t detract at all from my absolute enjoyment of this film.