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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Wahlberg the Peacock The Other Guys (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS First of all, I think we can safely say that The Other Guys (107 minutes) is a way better buddy cop satire than Kevin Smith’s Cop Out. However, if you’re not a Will Ferrell fan then you can safely steer clear, since it is classic McKay style and Ferrell delivery. The fourth movie pairing Ferrell/McKay movie ranks below Anchorman, but is easily funnier than both Talladega Nights and Stepbrothers. The film opens on the standard Lethal Weapon/Beverly Hills Cop chase scene. There are stunts, explosions, and crashes. The Voice Over Guy (Ice-T) explains that in New York some cops are The Heroes, such as Detectives Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson). Voice Over Guy goes on to explain that there are also The Funny Cops (Damon Wayans, Jr. and Rob Riggle) and The Veterans (Michael Keaton and some unnamed lady). Then, there are The Other Guys. The Other Guys are the paperwork police. They get all of the work and none of the glory. Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) is at peace with his place on the force, But Detective Terry Hoitz (a funnier than expected Mark Wahlberg) is frustrated at driving a desk while Danson and Highsmith get all the arrests, attention, and women. In his own words he is a peacock, and he needs to fly. For those of you looking confused, similar non sequitors are peppered throughout the script. You will either enjoy these little moments or spend about an hour of the movie trying to figure out what everyone else is laughing at. Unfortunately, during a routine high speed car chase, Danson and Highsmith are taken out of the picture, leaving the field open for new supercops. Competition is stiff, and Gamble and Hoitz manage to complete- ly blow their first chance at stardom. Luckily, where there’s a Will Ferrell, there’s a way, and the duo end up investigating David Ershon (Steve Coogan). Ershon is involved in some shady dealings that involve Nigerians, the Chechen Mafia, and Anne Heche. They have a fairly easy time finding and arresting Ershon, but then that guy from HBO’s Rome, who is not Kevin McKidd, takes their prisoner, their car and their shoes. On their 30-block walk back to the precinct, they argue and kiss and make-up approximately 100 times. Supposed plot twists abound, but the narrative is mostly an excuse to mock buddy cop movie conventions. Since there are some genuinely funny gags, it is a shame that so much of the female screen time is devoted to turning domestic violence (emotional, sexual, and physical) into comedy. Don’t get me wrong! I’ll agree that people getting beat down can pro- vide some laughs. I’m not picketing against good old fashioned slapstick humor. What I am pointing out is that when a gorgeous woman (Eva Mendes) inexplicably loves your admittedly below average leading man, at least give him a sense of humor so it makes sense. DO NOT make him constantly criticize and degrade your female lead and have her love every minute of it. DO NOT show him being physically ag- gressive towards her without also showing lasting conse- quences. What message does that send? HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com A Small-screen Golden Age The Emmys cap an amazing year for TV TV by DEAN ROBBINS Which is better, movies or TV? I think we can settle the question at Sunday’s Emmy Awards (8 p.m., NBC). The Hurt Locker, which won the Best Picture Oscar this year, was good. But was it great? I don’t think so. Same for The Blind Side, Up in the Air and most of the other Oscar nominees. If you want greatness, check out the Emmy nominations. You’d have a hard time choos- ing among the masterpieces of comedy (The Office, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm) or drama (Breaking Bad, The Good Wife, True Blood). Same goes for the actors. Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie or Toni Collette The United States of Tara? Michael C. Hall in Dexter or Kyle Chandler in Friday Night Lights? If you want to leave home tonight and search for a good movie, best of luck. The rest of us will huddle around the small screen for a celebration of true greatness. Summer Under the Stars: Lauren Bacall Wednesday, 6 am onward (TCM) What is Lauren Bacall’s greatest screen perfor- mance? Most would pick To Have and Have Not or The Big Sleep, but they would be wrong. This Bacall marathon allows us to see her role in Young Man With a Horn (10 p.m.) as her best ever. She plays the mixed-up wife of jazz trumpeter Kirk Douglas, making the character sympathetic in spite of her villain- ous behavior. It may be one of Hollywood’s most underrated performances, just as Young Man With a Horn is one of its most underrated movies. True, I’m a certifiable Young Man With a Horn fanatic, having seen it doz- ens of times and taken my identification with the brooding Douglas character to dangerous extremes. But even psychologically normal people would love this movie. Really. Watch it, then join my campaign to have the National Film Preservation Board add it to the National Film Registry. Together, we can make this thing happen. 20 UCW AUGUST 25-31, 2010 She’s Got the Look Wednesday, 10 pm (TV Land) Modeling shows like America’s Next Top Model favor ar- rogant young contestants who radiate confidence. She’s Got the Look, in which over-35 contestants vie for a photo shoot in Self magazine, goes the opposite direc- tion. As beautiful as they are, these women practically quiver with self-doubt. “I’m as sexy as a washcloth,” says Julie, who looks like a scared rabbit in her photographs. Gorgeous grandmother Susan admits, “I feel very un- comfortable in a swimsuit.” Most of the women crumble in the challenges, and the judges are forced to buck them up. “Susan, here’s your assignment,” says host Brooke Burke. “Find your confidence!” Compared to the pretty monsters of America’s Next Top Model, these women are easy to like — who can’t re- late to insecurity? But I suspect readers of Self magazine will be puzzled to come across a model with hunched shoulders, downcast eyes and one foot creeping toward the exit. Masterpiece Mystery Sunday, 9 pm (PBS) Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) returns in a compelling episode about aging British rockers. The supposedly dead singer of a legendary band reappears, hav- ing faked her demise 30 years ago. Around the same time, a fellow band member turns up dead, as does a teenager and an Oxford professor who’d had deal- ings with the band’s sleazy manager. Inspector Lewis tries to make sense of the crimes, which seem to revolve around a lost album. I’ll grant you that the plot is a bit fantastical, but it’s no harder to believe than actual events involving aging British rockers. I mean, the sextagenarian remnants of the Who just played the Super Bowl — what’s more fantastical than that? WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM