Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Dead Mouse Dioramas Rule Dinner for Schmucks (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS Fans of Director Jay Roach’s Gaylord Fokker (Meet the Parents) will probably enjoy Dinner for Schmucks (114 min- utes). It has the same relationship dynamic, the same awkward lead character, and the same vaguely unpleasant antagonists. Of course, this film has the extra added bonus of opening on DEAD MOUSE DIORAMAS! I wonder how I can get an introduction into this amazing underground of people scraping up road kill, sewing little outfits for them, and setting up intricate dioramas with the preserved corpses? In theory, Tim (Paul Rudd) is the hero of the story. Too bad he is so hard to identify with. His romantic side is sorta endear- ing, but at the same time his romantic side is totally irritating. Any man that proposes to the same woman for the second time two days after being rejected is not delightfully whimsical, he is a potential stalker. No means No! Not only does he come off as dense, insensitive, and needy he is not a relatable character. He’s young and successful with a hot girlfriend and loads of debt. Why should anyone care what happens to him? Anyway, Tim impresses his boss (Bruce Greenwood) with a little bit of wheeling and dealing and a whole lot of picking the right moment. After he makes his pitch, The Boss invites him to a little get together, the titular Dinner for Schmucks. Naturally Tim can’t wait to tell his impossibly gorgeous and sophisticated girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) all about his plans to become completely unworthy of her by doing something only a complete jerk would do. In fact, since they have no chemistry and she is his superior is so many ways (cuter, more sophisticated, more cultured, more mature and more ethical) she Publicity for Publicity Kim Kardashian plugs her own PR in The Spin Crowd TV by DEAN ROBBINS Here are the six scariest words in TV: “From the Mind of Kim Kardashian.” The airhead socialite has become famous for doing nothing, aside from playing herself in the reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. And how hard could that be, since her life basically consists of standing around in tight clothes? Now Kim shares her creative genius with us as the execu- tive producer of The Spin Crowd (Sunday, 10:30 p.m., E!). It’s an inside look at her own publicity agency — that’s right, the people who helped make her famous for doing nothing. Would you be surprised to learn that Kim herself appears in the show, wearing tight clothes? I don’t think reality TV can get any more insubstantial or self-referential, unless perhaps Kim’s tight clothes go on to executive produce a series about themselves. You’re Wearing That? Thursday, 10 pm (We TV) This makeover show focuses on mothers and daughters who need help with their wardrobes. The idea seems to be: Fix the clothes and you fix the life. For example, American Idol contestant Kimberley Locke wants to help her mother overcome breast cancer, low self-esteem and general unhappiness. She and the makeover guru get her out of stretch pants and baggy T-shirts, finding fabrics with something called “darts.” Not only do they make mom look better, but they apparently solve all her other problems. By the end of the episode she feels con- fident and fulfilled, surrounded by adoring friends and family. Where can I get me some of these “darts”? All You Need Is Klaus Sunday, 8 pm (Smithsonian Channel) Klaus Voorman is an iffy documentary subject. He’s not an important cul- tural figure himself, but he befriended the Beatles in their early Hamburg days and played bass on albums by John Lennon, George Harrison and Carly Simon. He proves to be a thoughtful German with moderately interesting stories about 20 UCW AUGUST 18-24, 2010 hanging out with people we care about more than we care about him. Most interesting of all is Voorman’s tale of wandering into a dank Hamburg club in the early ‘60s and discovering the young Beatles playing for a handful of drunks. Near as I can tell, he’s the first person on Earth who really got excited about them — and I suppose that alone qualifies him for his own documentary. Hardcore Pawn Monday, 10 pm (TruTV) If you told me I’d enjoy hanging out in a Detroit pawn shop, I’d have said you were crazy. But Hardcore Pawn is a fascinating look at the inner workings of American Jewelry and Loan, a family-owned operation with a steady stream of characters looking to buy or sell. These customers occasionally turn threatening, and that’s when owner Les Gold deploys a hulking security guard named Robo who could stop a tank with one punch. Or maybe even with one smoldering look. I do have a couple of reservations about Hardcore Pawn, but I’ll keep them to myself. There’s no reason to get Robo mad at me unnecessarily. Flipping Out Tuesday, 9 pm (Bravo) Bravo’s reality series about an unappealing L.A. house renovator is now in its fourth season. The fact that Flipping Out has lasted four years is a significant milestone, proving that a contemporary reality series needs none of that old- fashioned nonsense — drama, humor, coherence, interesting people or situa- tions — to be a hit. As in previous seasons, Jeff Lewis works with clients and bosses around his staff. And that’s about it for a typical hour. Major developments include: a stop at McDonald’s for lunch, a consultation about backsplash, and the discovery of cat poop in Jeff’s home. I suggest making your own trip to McDonald’s as a thrilling alternative to watching Flipping Out. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM should really take this opportunity to look around and see who else is available. For example, what about the totally cute guy standing over there, with the long hair and the great fashion sense? What’s that? He’s also an artist, has an accent, and a great sense of humor? Kieran Vollard (Jemaine Clement) is clearly the better choice! Despite his better half choosing to keep him instead of trad- ing up, Tim makes it a point to prove just how unworthy he is by first driving his car into poor, dumb Barry (Steve Carell) and then inviting him to be humiliated by very mean people. Barry is actually pretty cool, except for having bad taste in friends and a tendency to inadvertently make bad situations worse. For example, after Tim disgusts his wonderful girlfriend for the mil- lionth time, Barry introduces the dreaded ex- (Lucy Punch) into the mix. A series of disconnected, illogical scenes pass across the screen. Zach Galifianakis appears, but he is more interested in doing weird stuff than making sense. Overall, the main issue with the film is lack of connection. The male and female lead have zero chemistry, Rudd and Carell are just going through the motions, and the scenes don’t lead the audience logically through the movie. The problem is the characters responses come off as half-hearted, even nonsensical, when examined. The film is funny enough from mo- ment to moment; there just isn’t anything worth sitting through twice (except the dead mouse dioramas. Those ruled!). HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com