Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

CLASSIC-SMACK: Evan Almighty (2007) -vs- Bruce Almighty (2003)

 Going One-on-One with God 

The Smackdown. People like to talk about having a "personal" relationship with God. Maybe that's why both these films bring in audiences -- the chance to watch the main characters actually have that relationship on screen in a literal sense.  In the wish-fulfillment saga of "Bruce Almighty," weatherman Bruce goes into an on-air meltdown followed by a rant to God about how he's doing a miserable job. Now, in the sequel "Evan Almighty," Evan prays to the Man Upstairs for good luck on his first day as a congressman -- and does it as if it's just another quick cell-phone call. Both Bruce and Evan end up in a one-on-one with God, but it's an open question as to whether this Divine Intervention was enough to float either film. You've probably heard already that "Evan Almighty" had the highest budget for a comedy in film history. Money well-spent? We'll see...

The Challenger. "Evan Almighty" is the newest movie from the creative team of director Tom Shadyac and writer Steve Oedekerk, who collaborated together on "Bruce Almighty." Evan Baxter, as played by Steve Carell, a Buffalo news anchor (he was in the original) turned Congressman, moves his family to Washington, D.C. for his new career in politics. Evan got elected through his campaign promise of 'Change the World,' which seems like one tall order for Evan to fill. Even though Evan doesn't even have a new iPhone, God still answers his call. Connection made, though, God personally assigns him the biblical duty of building an Ark due to an imminent flood. Naturally, Evan would rather tend to the people's business as he defines it rather than Ark building but Morgan Freeman's God is an unusually persuasive constituent. You try saying "no" to the guy.

In the Land of Women (2007) -vs- Garden State (2004)

 The Sincerest Form of Flattery? 

The Smackdown. Here we have two writer-directors telling coming-of-age stories starring TV stars trying to give off a semi-leading man feature vibe while projecting angst and alienation.  Making his debut, writer-director Jonathan Kasden gives us our latest combatant "In the Land of Women" to take on writer-director Zach Braff's "Garden State." Braff goes Kasden one better (or at least one more) in that he also cast himself as the lead while Kasden (son of Lawrence) went with Adam Brody. Both lead characters are Hollywood wannabe's: Braff's character wants to make it as an actor and Brody's character wants to make it as a writer. Here's the question. Did "In the Land of Women" build a better film on the lessons of "Garden State" or did it just manage to be a weaker version of the original? 

The Challenger. You've seen Adam Brody as the comic-loving, caffeinated nerd of "The O.C." who eventually wised up, got hunkier and started dating the hot chick of the series. In this film "In the Land of Women," he's Carter Webb, an LA writer of softcore porn who wants to write "real" novels and other important work. After his extremely hot girlfriend dumps him, he ends up in Michigan because of an ailing grandmother, ends up getting to know the woman across the street -- Sarah -- a woman who looks a lot like Meg Ryan with a face-lift and her lips done. He also gets to know her daughter, Lucy, played by Kristen Stewart. In the original cut of the film, Carter ends up sleeping with Sarah the night before she has a mastectomy and audiences went berserk and it was cut. The studio demanded certain changes, shall we say, and Kasden Senior who produced the film, as I understand it, said he'd fix it, reminded everyone of his writing credits, and demanded to know what they'd written lately. The executive said, "The check." Studio got its way, whether that was good or bad, stay with us...

The Wackness (2008) -vs- Running with Scissors (2006)

Therapists Who Need Therapists

The Smackdown.  Hollywood loves to write about therapists who are more screwed up than their patients.  Maybe that's because most Hollywood writers and directors are in therapy and want to feel better about themselves, I don't know.  Anyway, both of these films from Sony Pictures and from writer/directors put their coming-of-age male leads in therapy with people who are, shall we say, practicing "out of the box."  In "The Wackness," Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) trades marijuana for shrink sessions in New York in 1994 and in "Running with Scissors," Augusten Burroughs (Joseph Cross) moves in with his family’s therapist in the 1970s.  Have these movies pushed the boundaries of therapy too far to seem believable?  If therapy was this messed up in the recent past, how bad is it now?  And our Smackdown question:  If you have to see a shrink, do you want a referral from someone who runs drugs or runs with scissors?

The Challenger. The title of the film comes from a line that "Juno" darling, Olivia Thirlby, says to Josh Peck, “You’re the wackness and I’m the dopeness,” which is basically an overly cool way to say that Peck's a pessimist.  (Not as much as the film's cinematographer, who lit the film like he couldn't afford a lighting package.)  Anyway, "The Wackness" gives us Luke Shapiro in the summer before he goes away to college who has a lot to be pessimistic about.  In this film, writer/director Jonathan Levine lingers of the fact that he's masturbating seven times a day dreaming about real sex and dealing drugs out of an ice cream cart in New York City to make some coin.  Oh, yeah, he's looking for love, too. Shapiro is trying to get a grip on life because his parents are fighting over losing their apartment and he never made any friends in high school. Shapiro finds solace in his pot client and therapist, Doctor Squires (Ben Kingsley), who gives a string of unusual advice that probably goes beyond the Hippocratic Oath.  In any case, Shapiro follows Squires' advice about losing his virginity, only does it with Dr. Squires' step-daughter, Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby). Kingsley and Peck give stellar performances as men with no coping skills to deal with the matters of life and love besides escaping through drug use.  It might even be enlightening if it hadn't been shot so damned dark.

License to Wed (2007) -vs- My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Review by Lauren Zabel

The Smackdown. The greatest thing about movies revolving around weddings is not, actually, the weddings themselves.  Instead, it's the dramatic and hilarious (hopefully) events leading up to the big day. Personally, I love seeing the different cinematic ways of displaying the wedding jitters, cold feet, and second thoughts. In both P.J. Hogan’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and Ken Kwapis’s “License to Wed," they take full advantage of their upcoming unions by making the audience wait until the bitter end to see if the couple makes it down the aisle. Both films focus on the amusing situations their characters get themselves into and ultimately make the bride-and-groom-to-be question whether they should even get married in the first place.

"When it says 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, that's about like Bush's approval ratings, right? Oh, he has 29%, wow!"

The Challenger. "License to Wed" brings a star-studded cast from every discipline; whether it’s series regulars from television (The Office, Big Love) or it’s familiar faces from film (Robin Williams, Christine Taylor) or even if it’s a pop semi-star from the Billboard charts (Mandy Moore). Our newly-to-be-wed and newly appointed leads, Sadie Jones and Ben Murphy, are a happily in love couple who decide to take the plunge. The catch is sincere Sadie, played by Moore, wants to get married to Ben, played by John Krasinski, in her family’s church and wants her crazy Reverend to ordain the ceremony. In one of his regular over-the-top comic performances, Robin Williams plays the Reverend who runs an unusual wedding preparation course and now needs to complete it in the three weeks before the big day, thus giving the movie its comic ticking clock. There's nothing much real here, especially in the story, since the movie centers on this absolutely insane and completely illogical marriage preparation class, which includes animatronic babies, wire tapping, and late night class sessions at a local bar.

"You think you can take my movie from me, girlfriend? Guess again."

The Defending Champion. By now, ten years since its release, "My Best Friend's Wedding" has gained the status of a modern romantic comedy classic. It stars the now very established actors and actresses who include Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, and Dermot Mulroney. The engaged couple in this film is not what you would expect, it’s Kimmy and Michael, as played by Cameron Diaz and Dermot Mulroney. Michael has found the love of his life who is also a fabulously wealthy heir to a big fortune. She's many years his junior but, being played by the charismatic Cameron Diaz in a Ron Bass script that does not stack the deck against her, it's a fair cat-fight. Before Kimmy was ever in the picture (or maybe even before she was even in middle school), Jules, as played by Julia Roberts, was Michael’s main squeeze. They were best friends that completely understood each other but the catch here is that they vowed to marry each other by their 28th birthdays. This pact from the past rears its ugly bridal veil and generates some authentic-feeling conflict when Jules finds out Michael is engaged to be married through his wedding invitation. What could be better than the Maid of Honor wanting to ruin the wedding and run off with the groom? That, as they say in the movie business, is a good problem.

The Scorecard. Both films use the concept of "Marriage" as a giant obstacle course, which its characters need to fight through before getting to the finish line. Both explore the overall message that love is what makes the obstacle course called marriage work. The paths they each choose, however, are very different, as we've said.

In “License to Wed," Sadie and Ben have to complete those ridiculous tasks before they can get married in Reverend Frank’s church that range from abstaining from sex to having to learn to fight with each other in front of a group to writing their own vows. I doubt I'd even be around to write this review if my own parents had to pass Reverend Frank's  improbable obstacle course.

In “My Best Friend’s Wedding," the wedding obstacles, instead of being scheduled tasks, are actually a lot of unforseen problems. Whether it’s Jules’s gay best friend (wonderfully played by Rupert Everett) pretending to be her fiancé, or Jules’s faking an e-mail from the bride’s father to his future son-in-law, or a car chase through downtown, or even a screaming match in a woman’s public restroom, it all makes marriage seem like survival of the fittest. But the obstacles seem more organic.

Feeling organic or real is not a pre-requisite to being good, however. Many films are made of improbable set-ups. So this could still go either way...

Evan Almighty (2007) -vs- Bruce Almighty (2003)

Going One-on-One with God

The Smackdown. People like to talk about having a "personal" relationship with God. Maybe that's why both these films bring in audiences -- the chance to watch the main characters actually have that relationship on screen in a literal sense. In the wish-fulfillment saga of "Bruce Almighty," weatherman Bruce goes into an on-air meltdown followed by a rant to God about how he's doing a miserable job. Now, in the sequel "Evan Almighty," Evan prays to the Man Upstairs for good luck on his first day as a congressman -- and does it as if it's just another quick cell-phone call. Both Bruce and Evan end up in a one-on-one with God, but it's an open question as to whether this Divine Intervention was enough to float either film. You've probably heard already that "Evan Almighty" had the highest budget for a comedy in film history. Money well-spent? We'll see...

The Challenger. "Evan Almighty" is the newest movie from the creative team of director Tom Shadyac and writer Steve Oedekerk, who collaborated together on "Bruce Almighty." Evan Baxter, as played by Steve Carell, a Buffalo news anchor (he was in the original) turned Congressman, moves his family to Washington, D.C. for his new career in politics. Evan got elected through his campaign promise of 'Change the World,' which seems like one tall order for Evan to fill. Even though Evan doesn't even have a new iPhone, God still answers his call. Connection made, though, God personally assigns him the biblical duty of building an Ark due to an imminent flood. Naturally, Evan would rather tend to the people's business as he defines it rather than Ark building but Morgan Freeman's God is an unusually persuasive constituent. You try saying "no" to the guy.