OVP: Soul (2020)

Film: Soul (2020)

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett

Director: Pete Docter

Oscar History: 3 nominations/2 wins (Best Animated Feature Film*, Sound, Score*)

Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

Pixar has had an ebb-and-flow when it comes to making films for children versus for their parents.  Even from its feature-film beginnings with Toy Story, that film might have had flashy cowboys & astronauts for children, but the parents in the room understood that this was about getting older, and could look at their little Andy's & understand that they only got to be in this stage for so long.  Occasionally they went totally for kids (the Cars franchise), and in some cases it feels like it leaned more heavily onto the adults with only a few hints for the kids (Up had the dog & the boy scout child, but otherwise was about two old men battling it out as they aged).  Soul, though, takes Pixar to a new direction-while the colors are playful & occasionally the baby souls might feel like a way for children to latch on, this is a film entirely for grownups; this is the first Pixar, and perhaps first Disney animated, film where children are the afterthought.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is about Joe (Foxx), a middle school music teacher whose passion is not in education but in the gigs he plays at jazz venues & nightclubs, where he is an excellent pianist but never got his big break.  When he finally does get a chance to jam with legendary musician Dorothea Williams (Bassett), he's so excited he doesn't realize there's a manhole in front of him, and he, well, falls through and dies.  This brings him to the "Great Beyond," essentially his afterlife, but Joe isn't ready to die, and attempts to escape from this place, but does so with 22 (Fey), a soul that has refused to leave the Great Beyond and start an actual life on Earth.  When the two go to Earth, they switch bodies, and slowly 22 learns about life (realizing it's worth living), and Joe understands that aspects of his life have been ignored & even run selfishly (he has had more impact than he knew).  This results in 22 getting the same "imprint" of hobbies as Joe, even though she's different, and so Joe (after jamming with Dorothea & realizing it wasn't as grand as he expected it), goes back to save her, and give her a chance at a true, unique life on earth.  In doing so, he is given a reprieve to return to his life from the Great Beyond, and he does, but with a renewed perspective to live life to its fullest.

Soul tries to do a lot, and that doesn't always work even in strong movies.  The third act is convoluted-the mythology of the Great Beyond is a bit too convoluted for a movie that's only 100 minutes long, and it does feel like we could've trimmed a bit of the body-swapping aspects as it wears out its welcome pretty quickly.  The film also borrows too much from previous Pixar messages, specifically Inside Out, and so it doesn't feel as special as it might've ten years ago.

That said, Soul is occasionally really wonderful.  The color scheme (so much purple and white) is a treasure (Pixar continues to just reach for the stars aesthetically), and the score is a dream.  It also has the gaul to not just make a film for adults, but a complicated one.  The conversations about not letting your dreams control your destiny is one that we all have to do.  Most of us don't get to have the job we had when we're ten, and we work in day jobs that pay the bills, but aren't what inspires us.  Soul challenges its viewers to ignore the voice in our head that says that we "failed" as a result, and instead to appreciate the dreams & the gifts that we have made for ourselves, and not let us be defined just by our careers in a world where that's what most of us feel defined by.  It's a good message, and an important one after a year of many of us losing our jobs (or more) or having an undue amount of stress that has us appreciating life more.  The film ends on a note of ambiguity but of realness.  Joe has hopes that he will take this experience and not fall back into the same rut, into the same shell of underwhelmed expectations-it's the hope we all carry as we move forward past trauma & close calls (like our collective 2020).  That Pixar is brave enough to admit that this is harder than it seems, and that it doesn't show the next chapter of his life is smart, and yet another sign that this movie is made for the adult-who-still-dreams.

Five Thoughts On...Kimmy Schmidt, Season 3

For those of you who, you know, have lives, this is probably an article that you're going to want to bookmark, but for the rest of you, yes I have spent most of the past 18 hours or so binge-watching Season 3 of Kimmy Schmidt, the only show on Netflix that I have ever liked enough to invest in the second season (sorry-I can't really stand some of their approaches to side characters, and I still insist that they don't gage audience reaction the same way that other cable networks like HBO or FX are able to).  As a result, I wanted to callout the five things that stood out to me while watching Kimmy Schimidt in one long run (for the first of probably several times).

(Spoilers Ahead if You Haven't Finished the Season)

1. Tituss Burgess is Gunning for that Emmy...and He'll Have Earned It

In past seasons one of the things that I have had trouble with was the treatment of Titus.  While his similarly-named real-life counterpart Burgess is consistently hilarious and vocally-magnificent, his character always felt like a cartoon (something the show in general has had a problem with), someone that couldn't exist in real-life and didn't have that much growth that felt authentic to his character.

This year, however, Burgess comes into his own.  We get to see Titus start to experience real emotional pulls, particularly with him breaking up with his lovable construction worker Mikey so that he can see if he still loves him outside the lens of being his "first boyfriend," and he experiences authentic success with a bro-happy California theme that is so horrendous it probably could be an actual hit.  By the end of the season, Titus is realizing that he treats Kimmy terribly and doesn't want to do so, and is willing to put himself out there and at-risk, pronouncing at a Mets Booze Cruise that he will win Mikey back.  Titus of the first season wouldn't have cared enough to put himself in a vulnerable position, instead just falling into a pit of indulgent self-despair, but Burgess has created a real person here-deeply flawed, selfish, but very authentic.  His story was the one that I left most hoping to see more of in a Season 4.

Plus, even when he does go into a cartoonish layer, it's done splendidly this year.  In what has to be my favorite moment of the entire series so far, his "Lemonading" episode, particularly the scene where he spoofs Beyonce's "Hold Up" was pure joy.  You'd think after everyone tried to spoof Queen Bey's album it'd be tired, but this becomes definitive.  Absolutely excellent.

2. The Guest Stars Are Uniformly Good

The show has become famous for its many nods to the television series 30 Rock, also created by Kimmy Schmidt co-creator Tina Fey, and which also co-starred Burgess and Jane Krakowski.  This year we saw more 30 Rock than ever, with everyone from Scott Adsit to Judah Friedlander making guest appearances (is anyone else surprised that they went with Billy Magnussen and not Cheyenne Jackson to play David Cross's new beautiful self, all things considered?).  The show also brought back some of the best characters from past seasons, particularly Anna Camp's Deidre, Tina Fey's Dr. Andrea, and of course Jon Hamm as the absurd Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne.

The show also, in my opinion, cut a few characters down that probably didn't need their time onscreen, principally David Cross, whose character never quite fit in in the Kimmy Schmidt world, and we saw two of Tina Fey's most frequent SNL costars Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch both make an appearance on the show.  All-in-all, I felt like the show did better in this regard than in past seasons, making guest appearances seem a little bit fuller.  Part of me is wondering if, should there be another season, Fey will shoot for the moon and have Alec Baldwin or Amy Poehler or perhaps Kemper's former Office costar Steve Carell come onto the series, but this is the first year where I don't feel like I need to complain about the budget making crowd scenes feel scarce or guest appearances taking away from the central storylines.

I will say, however, that it felt strange to not once have Kimmy Schmidt reference her on-again-off-again boyfriend Dong from the first two seasons of the show.  Unless I missed something, this never happened in the entirety of the third season, which felt odd, right?  Every other supporting character that had a reduced role either appeared in some capacity or was at least referenced.  Considering Daveed Diggs' Perry matches better with where Kimmy is going with her life, was this a "pretend it didn't happen" situation?

3. Carol Kane Continues to Be Wonderful

While I think Burgess takes MVP of this season, Carol Kane continues to find new and fascinating ways to make this season work.  In the first season of the show she felt vastly underwritten, a famous actress that might show up occasionally to give the series credibility in the beginning stages of Netflix, but we don't need that anymore (this is a big pop culture moment already), and instead the writers give her a wonderful arch throughout the season.

Though I will say she never quite had as brilliant of a moment as "are you now or have you ever been a member of Arcade Fire," seeing Lillian first seeing the ridiculousness of being a member of the minority party in her district council (becoming a politician), and then falling in love with a member of the elite that she's spent her whole life fighting, Kane brings her patented funny voice that somehow breaks your heart to great heights this year.  Her wrestling with whether she's betraying her ex-husband (whom, let us never forget, she killed, adding an extra level of absurdity to our tale) with this new man was both gut-busting and heart-warming.  No character on the show, not even Kimmy, quite captures the absurdist aspect of making a comedy about one of the most heinous of circumstances quite like Kane's Lillian.  I particularly liked the way that she brought out the best in costar Jane Krakowski (whose story arch was much-improved over a disappointing second season), and that she's seen genuine character growth as we continued this year.

4. Kimmy Remains a Conundrum

Perhaps the thing that is holding me back from loving this season unabashedly is that our central character of Kimmy becomes something of a question mark as the series progresses.  While Titus, Jacqueline, and Lillian all have clear growth and direction heading into a hypothetical fourth season, Kimmy's story felt very muddled.  This wasn't the case in past seasons, and actually was a problem more for Titus, but now it feels like Kimmy is the character it's hard to see where she's going.  She has a love interest, sometimes (Daveed Diggs' hot but underwritten Perry), but the show doesn't really seem interested in taking her in a romantic direction this year.  Her college experience is more about making fun of Millennials with cheap jokes than anything else, and she has clearly moved beyond the bunker this year (with the way that she dismisses a way of putting the Reverend out of her life to save another woman), but she hasn't gained enough of an identity outside of that situation.

After all, we don't get anyone having a real-world moment where we see, say, Kimmy clearly not being smart enough to go to Columbia (the college storyline felt cheap, quite frankly-it was the worst part of the season, particularly considering Kimmy usually tries so hard and we never even see her play crew, which is the whole reason for her scholarship), and then go to become a crossing guard?  What does Kimmy actually want out of life-what is going to make her happy?  It changes from episode-to-episode, and that after three seasons we don't know this yet, and it hasn't become a centrally-stated issue has become a problem for a show that has become so much about growth.

5. Where Do We Go From Here?

It's worth noting that panic alarms have started to set off for fans that the show hasn't been renewed for a fourth season, and no one really seems intent on talking about this that's connected with the series.  It's clearly still a critical and popular hit at this point, and it's hard to imagine that they would end it with a relatively lackluster finale (honestly, the final moments of the series I can't instantly remember and I just watched them about an hour ago).  But the fact that the increasingly famous Kemper and Burgess, not to mention the always-in-demand Fey, haven't signed up for a fourth season yet feels worrisome.

But let's assume that they do at least one more season (I personally think they need two to properly send us off, but that's just me), where exactly do we go from here?  I think, for example, that the series in a desperate move to get Kimmy away from the bunker storyline left too much on the table there.  For starters, she's still married to the reverend, and while her sunny disposition seems innate to herself, it does feel like she's never properly left that part of her life behind her.  Perhaps she'll realize that working for a startup, or perhaps that's just what the writers think all Millennials are bound to do at some point, but working in tech doesn't really feel authentic to her.  It's easy to see Jacqueline, Titus, and Lillian's journeys going forward (a successful agency, a budding romance, and heading off on the second avenue subway on a tugboat, respectively), but Kimmy still remains a mystery.  I am hopeful that the writers find a way to address this in future seasons as the show continues to be so very funny and have grown so much in this season.  But if this is the finale of the show, it was strangely anti-climactic after multiple moments of terrific.

Those are my thoughts-how about yours?  What'd you think of Season 3, and if they will continue?  Share your thoughts below!

5 Things I Loved (and 5 Things I Didn't) About The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

(Warning: The Following Contains Spoilers About the new season of Kimmy Schmidt-if you haven't seen it yet, please bookmark and come back to discuss)

We're going to be trying something new on the blog in the next few weeks called "5 Things I Loved (and 5 Things I Didn't)" about different pop culture moments or topics that feel like a mixed bag.  So frequently with reviews I don't get to get into that much detail, so with big things (like entire seasons of shows), I figured it was something we should try-let me know if you like it in the comments and if so I'll continue doing them.

We're going to start out with the second season of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which I binge-watched all of Friday and yesterday and went slightly overboard with, admittedly (especially since I won't have any new episodes for another twelve months-I probably could have paced myself more).  Overall, I really liked it-I was a big fan of the show initially, but the second season gave it more depth, we learned more about some of the side characters, and the show figured out some of its bugs.  However, because I'm not a fanboy robot, I can also acknowledge that there are still a few kinks to work out.  Therefore, here are five things I loved (and five things I didn't) about the second season:

Things I Loved

1. Mikey the Counstruction Worker

Nothing brought me greater joy than Mikey the Construction Worker (who I still think is a window into the 30 Rock world) becoming a recurring character this season.  Yes, he manages to be a bit of a blue-collar Manic Pixie Dream Guy, but he's lovable, wonderful, and is genuinely a nice guy, and believably with Titus.  I loved the dynamic of his family dinner when he comes out, and just in general his bizarre navigating of the gay world, where he truly feels out-of-place.  I think everyone assumes that when you come out you'll know everything happening in your new universe, but this isn't always the case and I think that this was a nice showcase of that happening especially as an adult, at least within the world of Kimmy Schmidt.  It also provided a believable way for the seemingly "lost in his own world" Titus to actually grow a bit (or as much as he can).

2. Lack of Cliffhangers

With the grand exception of the finale, the show learned a little bit from its first season and rarely ended episodes with a cliffhanger.  This is something that kind of turned me off of House of Cards because on Netflix, a cliffhanger is literally just an excuse to get you to watch the next episode, but Netflix doesn't really suffer from that problem.  In fact, not going to the next episode is probably a bigger problem for viewers like me who are in bed and eating Cold Stone already-it's not like our shame is going to go grow by clicking the next button on the computer.  This also allows for more happiness at the end of episodes, a nice change of pace from network serials/soaps, which always end on a dour note for our characters to get you to tune in next week.  Plus, it also makes the story feel more like installments that you can start any time than something you have to watch one-after-the-other.

3. Carol Kane

In the first season of the show, I felt like Carol Kane's Lillian was a little bit underwritten.  Yes, she'd show up and nail a particular scene or series of one-liners, but she was nothing more than a random person that sat on the stoop, completely unknowable, which felt like a disappointment for such a wonderfully-celebrated and brilliant character actress.  This season, this is no longer the case and in many ways Kane comes across as the season MVP, frequently finding great discomfort in the way that her neighborhood, her longtime home, is being gentrified by hipsters and (in an hilariously correct moment in the finale) a series of Lulu Lemon-wearing mothers.  Lillian grew the most this season in my opinion, but was consistently hilarious and Kane found her own special brand of moxie to put on her, for which I am extremely grateful.

4. Tina Fey

Tina Fey, if you recall correctly, played Marcia Clark this past season (isn't it weird after first Sarah Palin and now Marcia Clark that Fey keeps doing the comedic foil to Sarah Paulson TV dramas?), but this season she gets the new season's best brand-new character, Andrea, a chronic alcoholic who is an uptight therapist by day and an inebriated, though still highly cogent psychologist by night.  Her character, while still in the exaggerated form of Kimmy Schmidt, felt the most organic to this universe of any introduced, and it is wonderful that Fey is willing, even in her current state of moviestar-dom to go back to being a recurring character on her show here.  It works-Fey's Andrea gives Kimmy some of her best scenes this season, and I suspect we'll see Fey once again get nominated for Guest Actress at this year's Emmy Awards.

5. Dong's Kardashian Voice

Seriously-the premiere had possibly the best recurring joke of the season, with Dong proclaiming that he learned how to speak in an American accent while watching the Kardashians, and then slowly all of the characters randomly know literally everything about the Kardashians despite not actually watching them on television, ever (they learned about it, as Kimmy so aptly pointed out, "from the real news").  The ludicrous nature in which stations like CNN cover the Kardashians has been done as a joke before, but this is wonderfully sharp writing and pop culture observation, and deserves its own mention.

Things I Didn't

1. David Cross Doesn't Work

For the most part the guest stars in the series are wonderful this season ranging from one-scene wonders like Ice-T totally mocking the Law & Order franchise and what it means to struggling actors in NYC to Anna Camp who shows up in multiple scenes and is absolute dynamite as Jacqueline's foil (if she was more famous, I would assume she would be a shoo-in for an Emmy nomination alongside Fey).  However, one of the guest stars didn't work for me at all, and that was David Cross' Russ Snyder.  Perhaps it's because he's played by Cross, who is funny in his particular schtick, but has been doing it for so many years that it's completely worn out its comedic cache, but it wasn't clear until nearly the finale that his character was supposed to be a good guy and just is a loser.  Jacqueline, so vapid and in need of money, is the least tightly-written of the four main characters, and while that works because Jane Krakowski is a comedic genius, her plot feels most reliant on that writer's crutch of "convenient to the narrative" and she most often shifts her point-of-view to reflect what the plot needs and not to be reliant on character consistency.  She falls far too suddenly for Russ and gives up on her dream of wealth far too easily, which bothered me as it means he'll be around next season for even longer.

2. Kimmy & Dong's Relationship

The internet has co-opted the word 'problematic' to essentially be pointless and ridiculous, but I will say that it applies to Kimmy and Dong's relationship.  Though they were adorable and smitten lovebirds in the first season (something I didn't quite love as I felt like Kimmy's rich boyfriend just randomly ended up being a complete jerk as the year went on to make her like the poor Dong instead), this season it feels like Kimmy is pursuing a guy that is essentially horrible to her but still needs her.  It felt a lot like a mirror of her past relationships with men, which is perhaps smart writing but considering that the writers clearly still want us rooting for them in the future, it completely turned me off to their relationship and I was over it pretty fast-when Dong disappeared in the second half of the season, I was fine with it even if it meant no more Kardashian voice.  Kimmy can do better.

3. The Cartoon Challenge

This was always an issue on 30 Rock (still the better show, and I'll defend that to anyone), but it becomes more in-focus for Kimmy Schmidt.  The reality is that none of these people could possibly exist in real life, but on 30 Rock you were at least grounded with Liz Lemon playing someone that is, though occasionally ludicrous, based in reality in comparison to Tracy, Jenna, and Jack.  On Kimmy Schmidt there is no such character, as everyone is a cartoon.  This works for lighter-hearted moments, but it also makes feeling any deeper emotions about the characters considerably more challenging-Titus and Kimmy, in particular, feel like they might fall into the trap of Golden Girls or Glee in that they don't seem to move forward, or each episode it feels like they're falling back into an old pattern once again but now it's in a doctor's office or a boyfriend's home.  This doesn't work with the way that Fey is trying to shape the characters, and it made things like the mom storyline feel less earned (for the record I recognized the Fairy Godmother voice so the Lisa Kudrow appearance I knew was coming).

4. The Budget Still Shows

All right, this is less a reflection on Kimmy Schmidt and more on Netflix.  I think this is a terrific platform for television, and perhaps even new television, but it has its limitations.  One of those reasons is the budget is always showing.  Without the advantages afforded a major studio, the show frequently has empty streets when you'd expect fuller ones, jokes that clearly would be funnier with crowds or multiple locations but they skimp out on them.  I get that the budget for Netflix is slim because I would assume (especially without advertisers, though clearly companies like Five Guys or Verizon are on the take) the margin on the show is relatively light, but it does make select scenes feel stilted and under-produced.  The show makes up for this in part because of the writing, but looking cheap is still a problem for the series.

5. Thinness of Moving Forward

Netflix has improved quite a bit in terms of trying to write without audience reaction.  I remembered HATING this about the first season of House of Cards, where there was clearly no audience input so select characters and stories kept going or fell short without enough resolution.  Fey and Robert Carlock are good enough writers that they don't have this problem as often (and they also, despite protesting they aren't paying attention to the internet, brought back fan favorites like Mikey the Construction Worker this season so audience input is at least part of the process).  However, the stories and the movement of the show, especially for Kimmy and Jacqueline, feels out of place and quite rushed in the final few episodes.  The shows don't have the climactic build that a sitcom like The Office or 30 Rock is able to attain over a full season with actual time in-between the episodes.  The show is produced and meant to be binged, but that means that the actual movement of characters from Point A to Point B have less growth, and it feels like they haven't had as much change throughout the season.  Admittedly you might get a different feeling if you waited and only watched an episode a week, but that's not Netflix's game or intention.  As a result, it still becomes a problem that hasn't quite been solved, though they're making progress.

Those are my thoughts on what overall was a strong (and even improved) second season.  How about yourself-what'd you think of this year of Kimmy Schmidt, and what are your hopes for season three and all of the cliffhangers of the finale?

The Best and Worst Dressed at this Year's Oscars

While I will be continuing on with the OVP for 2015 and finishing up a few reviews from some of the nominated films (including the Live Action Shorts, of which I did catch Monday to continue my streak!), this will be the last review regarding the actual Oscars themselves.  If you missed it earlier this week, here was my review of the ceremony in general, but now we're going to dive into that other aspect of the Oscars everyone loves so well, the fashions.  This year, while it wasn't nearly as exciting for me fashion-wise as it usually is (despite having some of my favorite fashion plates there), there's always something to love (and something to eyeroll) so let's take a look.

Best-Dressed

10. Cate Blanchett in Armani Prive

I know this was one of those love-it-or-hate-it dresses, but I was in the former's camp.  I loved the coloring, the way that Blanchett is constantly just going for broke in terms of fashion (name me anyone else who could pull off a dress this complicated so well on the red carpet), and her continual push to break up the solo-shade, strapless army of dresses that cascade through the red carpet.

9. Tina Fey in Versace

I'm going to be honest here, I don't recall ever putting Tina Fey on a best-dressed list, as usually her red carpet looks aren't my style, but this va-va-voom dress (of course from Versace) is a treat and a great way to stand-out since it's so a-characteristic of Fey's usual.  Bonus points to making the necklace pop with an up-do.

8. Kate Winslet in Ralph Lauren

The other love-it-or-hate-it dress that I was enamored with, Kate Winslet's "oil-slick" dress, as others were calling it out, was eye-popping and may have been the first time in years that an unadorned black dress on the red carpet actually worked for me.  I love the long tresses in a year where up-do's were everywhere, and the color in the earrings popped nicely against the neutral coloring of the gown.

7. Priyanka Chopra in Zuhair Murad

Chopra made a splash in her first Oscars appearance.  The white translucent gown is gorgeous and ties neatly with the costume-jewelry style rings, but I think what really sets this apart for me is the belt.  I'm not wild about belts and gowns intertwining, but it's so striking and doesn't feel added-on but as part of the dress that it was a big win for me.

6. Margot Robbie in Tom Ford

I'm in love with this Margot Robbie gown.  Combining "hey Oscar notice me!" gold with a gorgeously sexy cut ala Dynasty, and then tied together with a handbag that has a sleek black trail. Black-and-gold is such a tough combo to tackle without looking gaudy, but for me this was a romping success.

5. Brie Larson in Gucci

I know some have called this a prom dress, but teenage girls should be so lucky.  The skirt is elegant and I love the way it feathers, the belt ornaments the dress nicely and keeps it from not being washed out, and I like that we actually get straps here as I feel like no one goes there anymore.

4. Jennifer Garner in Atelier Versace

Looking good is the bet revenge, and every year we see at least one jilted actress on the red carpet get a chorus of "what was he thinking?" and this year it was Garner, who looked sexier than I've ever seen her in an asymmetrical Versace.  Bonus points for the jewelry, which make the look even more regal.

3. Dev Patel in Burberry

Proving that, yes, men should also be asked whom they're wearing Chris Rock, Dev Patel took male-best-dressed in this sleek and modern Burberry.  I didn't quite think that I'd love the suit not matching the shoes, but the tie keeps a great balance and I'm obsessed with the more unkempt hair and beard.  I have no idea why Patel was at the ceremony this year (does he have anything to promote coming up?), but he at least looked the part.

2. Isla Fisher in Marchesa

Gorgeous.  The makeup is perfect, easily the best of the night, and I loved the vintage-meets-princess sort of styling of the dress, which matches Fisher's rom-com sort of persona.  Bonus points for going with a pattern in a night where almost no one else attempted one successfully.

1. Naomi Watts in Armani Prive

Perfection.  The chic box handbag with the intense diamond necklace are grand accessories to Watts' flowing indigo-and-magenta gown.  If you're not a nominee or a presenter and want to stand out on the red carpet, take a risk, and that's what Watts does flawlessly here.

Worst-Dressed

5. Amy Poehler in Andrew Gn

Every year there's at least one person who wears a dress that makes it look like it was made from your Great Aunt Ruth's curtains.  That would be Amy Poehler this year, who also picked a dress that made her look heavier than she is, which is hard to do for someone so pixie-like.

4. Olivia Wilde in Valentino

One of my most-hated morning-after dress comments is "she looked beautiful" because this is Hollywood-everyone is beautiful in an almost impossible way, and that's more than true for Olivia Wilde.  However, the dress is hideous and looks like it is put on backwards with the high-waist and J. Lo-style decolletage.

3. Kevin Hart in Dolce & Gabbana

Kevin Hart looks like he borrowed this from an old Siegfried & Roy act.  The shiny shoes on-top of the shinier lapels is a gigantic swing and miss.

2. Heidi Klum in Marchesa

Klum, no stranger to worst-dressed lists went for a prom dress that looks like it went through a deli slicer when it was tailored.  Even the coloring is bad, considering how it washes out the blonde supermodel.

1. Jared Leto in Gucci

Never, ever, EVER should a tie be substituted for a fake mum.  Never.  This is the most hideous thing I've seen a guy wear on a red carpet since...well, probably Jared Leto last year.  The hair is also a gigantic miss, as it is pulled back so tightly it calls into question his botox usage.

Sisters (2015)

Film: Sisters (2015)
Stars: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, Dianne Wiest, James Brolin, John Cena
Director: Jason Moore
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are always funny.  It feels physically impossible for the two of them, when brought together, not to create some sort of massive humor and that's clearly on-display with Sisters, their rather lucrative (on what is purportedly a $30 million budget, the film has now made nearly $100 million, a tidy sum that will surely greenlight any project they want to do together in the future) new movie that is trying to coast off their mountains of goodwill from stellar performances at the Golden Globes and two massive bestsellers.  Whether or not Sisters was going to be funny was never in doubt, however, and that doesn't necessarily make it a good movie.  From the outset, the film's script is pretty sophomoric, and aside from occasionally trying to be interesting, it falls principally into cliche (look-adults can be crazy too!) and never reaches the sort of sharpness that Fey and Poehler's TV shows have so consistently achieved.

(Spoilers Ahead) Perhaps the biggest issue on display in Sisters is that its plot is exactly what you expect it to be.  On 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation, while the end result usually gave us something to anticipate, the middle would get into weird and oftentimes crazy areas, a combination that made for wry and endearing humor.  The shows intelligently commented on things like groupthink and the culture around us, but Sisters is far more likely to comment on cliche.  I loved the way that Fey/Poehler reversed what you'd expect from the casting department (here Fey is playing the loser while Poehler is playing the uptight planner), but that's pretty much the only way that the film actually stops our expectations.  Every single plot point is spelled out in the trailer, from the odd relationships the two sisters have with their lives, romances, and each other, to the fact that they don't want their parents to sell their childhood home despite having little connection to the place after so many years away from it.

This cliche causes the laughter to be kept at about the minimum possible between Poehler and Fey.  The actresses, along with the likes of Maya Rudolph and Samantha Bee, are too funny not to land a few of the gags, and in particular Rudolph's uptight suburban mom and her feud with Fey's Kate is probably the film's comic high-point as it shows the pettiness of high school and how far it carries, and in particular it gives Rudolph a moment to flex her histrionic side, which we know from years of watching Saturday Night Live is a forte for her.  Otherwise, though, it's a series of mishaps and misadventures that you see coming a mile away (you just know it'll be Bobby Moynihan's joking loser that will end up taking the cocaine and the Asian nail salon stereotypes border more on the racist than the amusing).

Honestly, if it weren't Poehler and Fey I'd be fine with settling for just funny.  After all, funny is what you're hoping for and I've been to comedies many times where they couldn't even make me laugh, much less give me time to complain about the plot (this movie made me laugh, there's no doubt about that), but these two are comic geniuses, and when given strong enough writing they truly create something magical.  Paula Pell did many years at Saturday Night Live and made memorable guest spots on both actresses' TV shows, but she lacks the sharpness that Fey brought to something like Mean Girls or 30 Rock.  In a year where Melissa McCarthy hit comedic heights in Spy and Amy Schumer became a star through Trainwreck, it has to be said that Fey/Poehler, the Matthau and Lemmon of their era, should have been able to bring more of their A-Game after so much anticipation.

Those are my thoughts on these two-what are yours?  Are you disappointed like I am in how Sisters turned out, or are my expectations too high?  Are you (like me) still hoping to see something truly special from these two on the big-screen?  And when is someone going to give Maya Rudolph the lead in a movie?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Bechdel Test: 30 Rock, Season 4

I cannot believe we haven't done one of these in so long, but I decided to trudge one of the most popular series we've ever done at the blog, which is the TV Bechdel Test, and what better way to do so than with Tina Fey's critically-acclaimed 30 Rock.  Though the series is off-the-air now, Fey has become sort of the poster-child for women-in-comedy, a producer/writer/actor who saw, say, the potential of Ellie Kemper and decided to build a show around her or continually has supported women like Hillary Clinton for president.  Her years on Saturday Night Live ushered in an era where the show has become dominated (pop culturally) by young female comedians ranging from Kristin Wiig to Kate McKinnon.  As a result, I was curious if her iconic Liz Lemon was able to pass the Bechdel Test.

I went with Season 4 principally because in the early days of the show, there was less focus on some of the characters' personal lives and the show was more confined to the workspace.  As a result, Liz (who does work in a male-dominated environment) rarely got out and was less likely to interact with other women aside from Jenna.  By Season 4, though, Cerie, Sue, and Jack's many female love interests had started to take up more of the timeline, and so I figured 30 Rock would have a fighting chance.  Take bets now on what our final score is, and let's dive in to see if Tina Fey's 30 Rock manages to get our second passing grade of this project.  Before we begin I will state that every episode of the show ended up passing the reverse Bechdel Test.

As a reminder, these are the criteria for passing the Bechdel Test:

1. The show needs to have two named, female characters.

2. The two characters need to talk to each other.

3. The conversation needs to last thirty seconds and be about something other than a man.  This thirty second rule is something that has been added specifically at the Many Rantings of John to ensure that a simple “hello”/”hello back” conversation doesn’t get a show an accidental pass.

Season 4 (#4.1)

While the opener of the season starts with a meta wink at the viewers (the name of the restaurant is Season 4), the episode is a FAIL for the test.  There are some female conversations, but none weren't about a man or were long enough.  Paula and Liz discuss having a threesome with Pete, and Jenna chastises Liz, but the conversation quickly turns to Jack.

Into the Crevasse (#4.2)

This is an interestingly gender-focused episode, as Liz's recent bestseller Dealbreakers has made all of the men in her life save Jack extremely angry at her for using their personal foibles as fodder for her book (particularly Tracy).  However, the episode does get a PASS as Jenna, still mad about a new cast member being hired, discusses her ridiculous sounding Icelandic vampire movie with Liz.

Stone Mountain (#4.3)

I always thought this one was a little bit cloying (anything involving Kenneth and his ridiculously murky past always seemed a bit stupid as it made the show more cartoonish than it was even attempting to be at this point during the run).  The episode is also a FAIL, as Liz heads to Stone Mountain with Jack and Jenna hangs out with her gay male pals in the meantime.

Audition Day (#4.4)

A considerably stronger episode, one where almost every character gets two seconds to shine (and we get the best of Brian Williams' multiple cameos on the series), we still don't get a hit on the Bechdel Test, as the only discussions between women are Jenna and Liz discussing Jenna's feud with Jayden. FAIL

The Problem Solvers (#4.5)

Another FAIL for the show.  The episode is good (gotta love Jenna/Tracy-themed episodes), but the only conversations between women are either Cerie and Liz chatting (but for too short of a time) or Jenna/Liz discussing how Jack is taking advantage of he and Liz's friendship.

Sun Tea (#4.6)

Am I the only person who watches this episode and secretly wants to pull Nate Corddry's gay hipster cop out of the screen and make him my husband?  No?  Crickets?  Anyway, this is another FAIL, as the only discussions between Liz and Jenna are surrounding the crushable Brian.

Dealbreakers Talk Show #0001 (#4.7)

I have a complicated relationship with this episode for two reasons.  One, I hate that Liz finally gets a chance at happiness and success in her career and totally blows it even though she's been fine before (remember when she went on that talk show and gave out relationship advice, and how she never gets stage fright in any other situation?), and the entire panicky performer line seemed like a convenient plot point to keep 30 Rock in Studio 6H rather than a new setting.  I also don't like the way that they treated Tracy's EGOT story as he just randomly gets them without at least a couple of episodes where Tracy has to compete with A-listers (considering the guest stars on the show you know they could have gotten a Machiavellian Tom Hanks or George Clooney to guest star as someone trying to beat Tracy at the Oscars).  Either way, Jenna and Liz discuss performance anxiety, so PASS.

Secret Santa (#4.8)

A slightly better episode, even if most predictable when Danny has to stunt his gorgeous singing voice to make sure Jenna feels better (this is the classic "rage stroke" episode).  The Bechdel Test is a FAIL though since the only conversation between women is Cerie, Nancy, and Liz, but they're all talking about Jack.

Klaus and Greta (#4.9)

Again, James Franco is also an A-lister who could have made a play for Tracy's Oscar.  Instead we got him in love with a random Japanese body pillow.  Still, though, this episode (the Liz parts, anyway, not the lovelorn Jack portion) is superbly funny, even if we FAIL once again (the only conversations between women are Jenna and Liz discussing James Franco).

Black Light Attack! (#4.10)

Jack is exposed once again as a hypocrite (a recurring theme as the series would continue), as Liz starts an affair with Danny, but this is a definite PASS since Liz and Jenna discuss Jenna's role on Gossip Girl as well as Liz's "Tom Selleck"

Winter Madness (#4.11)

For the first time in this writeup, we have not only a PASS, but a pass that doesn't involve Liz.  Jenna, Cerie, and Sue all discuss rooming together and talking behind each other's backs as the team heads to Boston.

Verna (#4.12)

I miss Jan Hooks.  The SNL veteran showed up as Jenna's mother Verna, a woman who somehow finds a way to work the phrase "jacuzzi water" into a business pitch.  This is actually the first case this season where the show PASSed the Bechdel Test during the cold open, with Liz and Jenna discussing Verna.  The rest of the episode is a series of Verna and Jenna talking about their relationship.

Anna Howard Shaw Day (#4.13)

It would have been nice if during the episode where Liz claims she didn't need a man and then suddenly she has to have one (hit one for feminism) that we at least would get a star on the Bechdel Test, but no dice: Liz's conversations with Jack and Avery centered around Jack and Jenna's stalker. FAIL

Future Husband (#4.14)

For an episode that is about Liz's alleged "future husband," this episode seems to be the Jack-and-Tracy show, with Don Geiss having died (amidst Rip Torn's scandal involving breaking into a bank) and Tracy trying to get a Tony. FAIL

Don Geiss, America and Hope (#4.15)

Avery is nowhere to be seen, and Liz and Jenna are on opposite plotlines here, so while Jack has a funny scene where he tries to pitch the idea of porn for women, there's no pass for the cast here. FAIL

Floyd (#4.16)

Jenna and Liz discuss a sex dream about Kenneth and Katelyn/Liz briefly discuss Katelyn's wedding, but not for long enough so another FAIL as we once again go four-in-a-row.

Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter (#4.17)

One of my all-time favorite episodes, we get the weird face-off between Nancy and Avery and the ways that they bring out a different side of Jack.  I particularly adore the Avery story, and Elizabeth Banks' wonderful comic timing during her phone call to Jack.  The episode also has Nancy and Liz discussing singles dating and Liz's poor attitude, so PASS.

Khonani (#4.18)

We get another PASS, with Cerie, Jenna, and Liz discussing Cerie's wedding shower, but easily the best part of the show was an NBC program having the chutzpah to make their parent company look like a fool during the whole Jay/Conan debacle.

Argus (#4.19)

I was never wild about Will Forte's character-I felt like he pulled Jenna, who was already off-kilter, into a cartoonish area that even she couldn't sell.  This episode introduces him, but since all of the discussions between Liz and Jenna are about Paul, this is a FAIL.

The Moms (#4.20)

Considering we bring on a half-dozen female guest stars, it's impossible that this would fail, and indeed Verna and Jenna discuss their relationship late in the half hour for a PASS.  Still, the best part of this episode is Liz and her mom and the flashback where Liz, eternally pining for Astronaut Mike Dexter, finds out that her mom could have married Buzz Aldrin.

Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land (#4.21)

Once again we get a FAIL, as Liz and Cerie discuss Wesley, but that's the only female conversation in the episode.

I Do Do (#4.22)

We finish off, though, with a PASS as Nancy and Avery discuss Avery's career and pregnancy in their only scene together in the series.

Final Scorecard
Bechdel Test: 8/22 (36%)
Bechdel Grade: F

I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed in this.  Frequently I write about how rare passing the Bechdel Test is, but a show written by a woman, created by a woman, and starring a woman, one who has become famous for her stances in favor of more women in entertainment should be able to pass the Bechdel Test at least enough to get a passing grade, but it didn't.  As always, every episode passes from a male perspective, but somehow 30 Rock couldn't even get to half for the ladies.

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

Film: Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey...though of course the real stars of this series are always Kermit, Piggy, and the gang
Director: James Bobin
Oscar History: The Muppets have a surprisingly robust history with Oscar, scoring five nominations with 57% of their films gaining the Oscar-nominated title.  Still, considering this film is pretty much forgotten just a few months later I have solid doubts that it can score a random Best Song nomination despite having the largest original song catalog this year outside of Begin Again.
Snap Judgment Ranking: 2/5 stars

It's impossible not to have a soft-spot for the Muppets.  Growing up, my brother and I would revel in this show-we were ecstatic whenever it randomly ended up on Channel 13 for some reason.  I mean-what wasn't to love?  A backstage look at one of the world's most famous variety acts, with an inevitably famous guest star (frequently one we had to ask our parents who they were, since most of the shows were reruns from the 1970's, but still this is how I discovered people like Rita Moreno and Shirley Bassey for the first time).  Plus, we had grown up on Muppet Babies, and this was a perfect anecdote to that fun but only-for-kids show.  As a result of this, I was thrilled three years ago when Jason Segal decided it was time for a new generation of moviegoers to "play the music and light the lights."  With the inevitable success of the 2011 film, it was only a matter of time before yet another outing with Kermit, Piggy, and the gang, and though I missed it when it was in theaters, Netflix decided it was time for me to catch up with this rag-tag band of puppets this past weekend.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film, like most Muppet movies, involves a series of misadventures for our gang as a result of a comically-cast villain (in this case Ricky Gervais as the aptly named Nick Badguy) that ultimately results in them putting on a show to save the day.  The film follows Kermit as the Muppets, newly reunited (the film literally takes off right after the past film, even with stand-ins for Segal and Amy Adams where you only see the back of their heads) decide what to do next.  Enter Nick Badguy, who says they should go on a world tour, but continually undermines Kermit with the entire troupe, and we soon learn why-Nick is working with Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog, who pulls a switcheroo on Kermit, taking over as the show's host and sending Kermit to a gulag where he is imprisoned by a tough-but-smitten-with-him Nadya (Fey).  In true Muppet fashion, no one seems to notice Kermit's new Russian accent and weird aversion to what is actually going on with his beloved gang (except for Animal, oddly enough) and Constantine and Nick, through a series of bizarre Da Vinci Code-esque capers, eventually manage to steal the Crown Jewels in hopes of pinning the crime on the Muppets (though Kermit flies in to save the day).

The film didn't get the greatest reviews initially, at least not compared to its immediate predecessor, and while I wait until after I write this review before I read those reviews (no influencing!), it's hard not to agree with that largely due to the film's over-reliance on the chief villains.  The past film may have been a fluke in this regard, as Jason Segal's character and the newest Muppet Walter were the main characters, but they were entirely working in service to the Muppets reformation, and Segal seemed so at home in this universe you wouldn't be entirely blamed for assuming he's just the world's tallest muppet (give or take Sweetums).  This film takes Kermit (who is really the straight man that needs to interact with the rest of the Muppets to make his comedy work) and places him into a world all on his own, and Constantine/Nick take up far too much of the film's time.  The movie cast the three principle human cast members well (Fey, Gervais, and Ty Burrell as a detective working with Sam Eagle to solve the crimes all are exactly the actors I would have called upon for a Muppet movie), but with the exception of Burrell, probably gave them to much screen-time at the expense of more ridiculousness involving the actual Muppets.

Still, the Muppets rarely leave us without something worthwhile, and the best part of these movies is watching the random celebrity guest spots and the way they find themselves into the Muppet universe, as well as the joyous love of original musical numbers.  The celebrity cameos do not disappoint-in particular I liked the geographically-considered guest stars in each country (Christoph Waltz, Salma Hayek, and Saoirse Ronan, congratulations on speaking the correct language and/or accent), Celine Dion as Miss Piggy's fairy godmother (of course) and Tom Hiddleston as the Great Escapo (tap-dancing and looking adorable with his ginger hair).  Honestly you'd have a good time watching this movie with a friend playing a veritable Where's Waldo with the dozens of celebrities who show up at a moment's notice.

The musical numbers don't stand out in the same way as The Muppets a few years ago, and there's certainly no "Rainbow Connection" lurking in this particular score.  The funniest numbers in the movie are "We're Doing a Sequel" and "I'll Get You What You Want," but if you're thinking there may be another Oscar-nomination in store for this picture, think again-"Sequel" is too wink-y and reliant on the film for its humor (it won't stand alone as a recording) and "I'll Get You What You Want" is sung by the otherwise comically-challenged Constantine.  Still, it's refreshing to see an original musical come out of Hollywood (two, in fact, this year, with Begin Again also brimming with its own tunes), so they get some credit for that.

Those are my thoughts on this fluffy but ultimately throwaway film-what are yours?  Do you have a favorite Muppet or Muppet movie?  Which celebrity cameo did you enjoy the most?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Oscar Trivia: Stars Without an Oscar-Nominated Film

There are a lot of perks with being a movie star.  Global fame, money, free clothes, international platforms, legions of fans, people fawning over you, and you’re probably already gorgeous so you had that going for you to begin with.  However, one of the less-noted pieces of fame is that you generally have an Oscar-nominated film or two in your repertoire.  In fact, it’s extremely difficult to come up with a list of genuinely famous actors who have not been in an Oscar-nominated film (which is what I did below) and more importantly, it’s going to be a lot harder next year as many of the below actors are in major motion pictures that could be part of the Oscar conversation.

You may be thinking that this is a super easy game to play, but it’s not, as it isn’t just Meryl Streep and George Clooney movies that get nominated for the Oscars.  Adam Sandler, for example, starred in Click which was nominated for Best Makeup.  Miley Cyrus was the voice of a little girl in the Oscar-nominated Bolt.  Mike Myers had a bit part in Inglourious Basterds.  Kevin James had a role in Monster House.  By-and-large, if you’re famous enough to open a movie, you’re probably famous enough to have been in an Oscar-nominated film.  However, the ten below actors have never been (through my checking on IMDB) in an Oscar-nominated film and regularly star in motion pictures.  Let’s jump in and see when they got the closest/and if they have a shot this year!

Jessica Alba

Lifetime Gross: $931 million

Biggest Hit: Fantastic Four ($154 million)

Highest-Rated (all highest-rated according to Rotten Tomatoes Freshness Rating): Stretch

Best Shot She Had: I would assume it would be Sin City, which got nominated by the Sound Editors branch for a Golden Reel Award and received a number of critical awards from the St. Louis, Washington DC, and San Diego critics groups.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: Doubtful-if the first Sin City film couldn’t make it, I have little confidence that its sequel will.

Jennifer Aniston

Lifetime Gross: $1.41 billion

Biggest Hit: Bruce Almighty ($242 million)

Highest-Rated: The Iron Giant

Best Shot She Had: Considering that it was in the years before the Animated Feature category, the reality is that the critically-celebrated The Iron Giant was never going to be a genuine player.  However, none of Aniston’s other films came close to being nominated, so I’m going to go with Iron Giant in perhaps a writing category (had the Animated Feature category existed at the time, Aniston wouldn't be on this list).

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: As we discussed earlier this month, absolutely; Aniston is, in my opinion, one of the current frontrunners for Best Actress and could score not only a nomination, but a nomination for herself with Cake.

Zac Efron

Lifetime Gross: $813 million

Biggest Hit: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax ($214 million)

Highest-Rated: Hairspray

Best Shot He Had: If there’s a genuinely surprising person on this list, it would be Efron, who has been in some films with major shots at the Oscars.  Hairspray and The Paperboy both got Golden Globe nominations for acting, and Me and Orson Welles scored an acting nod at the BAFTA’s.  All-in-all, I think that he’s probably been the closest of any of these ten actors.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: Not really-Neighbors was a big hit, but it’s not Oscar BAIT in the slightest.

Tina Fey

Lifetime Gross: $530 million

Biggest Hit: Megamind ($148 million)

Highest-Rated: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Best Shot She Had: Megamind was a contender in a particularly competitive year for Animated Feature, but that Box Office might have helped it had the year gone five-wide.  I would assume, though, that Mean Girls could have been a contender in Best Screenplay if it had been the phenomenon upon release that it is now, so I’ll go with that.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: Yes, kind of.  While I don’t 100% know if the Elaine Stritch documentary should count, she definitely was a key player in Muppets Most Wanted, which could end up in the Best Original Song category, as that franchise frequently scores music nods.  A little more Box Office would certainly have helped her odds, though.

Katherine Heigl

Lifetime Gross: $745 million

Biggest Hit: Knocked Up ($148 million)

Highest-Rated: King of the Hill (not the hit FOX animated series, but instead an early 1990’s Steven Soderbergh drama)

Best Shot She Had: I would assume that at some point Judd Apatow was in contention for a writing award considering the critical acclaim and box office he typically gets.  Knocked Up is the most likely contender of his films to have gotten some votes in that column.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: No-Heigl is far more concerned about the ratings of State of Affairs, her highly-anticipated return to television than she is getting an Oscar-nominated film on her résumé this year.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Lifetime Gross: $1.639 billion

Biggest Hit: Fast and Furious 6 ($239 million)

Highest-Rated: Racing Dreams

Best Shot He Had: He's been in a couple of major visual effects feasts, principally The Mummy Returns, which would have been his best shot at a nominated film.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: No-neither of the two Hercules movies is a film many people will remember a week after they saw it, much less months later for a high honor.

Lindsay Lohan

Lifetime Gross: $492 million

Biggest Hit: Freaky Friday ($110 million)

Highest-Rated: Teenage Paparazzo

Best Shot She Had: Bobby at one point was supposed to be an awards contender, but only got cited by the SAG Awards, and working with Robert Altman usually results in a citation for acting or directing, but A Prairie Home Companion couldn't quite cut it in that regard.

Does She Have a Shot This Year?: No-Lohan doesn't even have a film out this year, I believe, and is far more focused on-well, being a tabloid fixture?  Everything she touches lately turns to lead (not even Oprah could save her), so I am assuming this isn't going to happen, and she won't be considered a movie star in the same way the other nine are in a few years.

Kellan Lutz

Lifetime Gross: $1.48 billion

Biggest Hit: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($300 million)

Highest-Rated: Love is All You Need

Best Shot He Had: You may question Kellan Lutz as a movie star, but he's headlining films now and has made more box office than most people on this list, so I'm going to stick with him for now.  Probably the only chance he had was during the Twilight series when it came to Best Original Song, as there were a number of hits from those films that could have been contenders if Oscar had been willing to look past the glittering vampires.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: The Legend of Hercules doesn’t really seem Oscar-worthy even by the low standards of Best Makeup, so no.

Paul Rudd

Lifetime Gross: $1.143 billion

Biggest Hit: Monsters vs. Aliens ($198 million)

Highest-Rated: Casting By

Best Shot He Had: Probably either Clueless or The Perks of Being a Wallflower, both critically-acclaimed, particularly for their screenplays, but probably left off of the list due to the youth-oriented aspects of the films.

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: No-his movie with Amy Poehler They Came Together barely made a blip on the radar screen (did you know it was released)?

 Channing Tatum

Lifetime Gross: $1.721 billion

Biggest Hit: The Lego Movie ($257 million)

Highest-Rated: Foxcatcher

Best Shot He Had: Honestly, maybe Magic Mike?  Matthew McConaughey easily could have scored a nomination for the film, though if we don’t count that, than perhaps Public Enemies (Art Direction) or GI Joe (Visual Effects).

Does He Have a Shot This Year?: He’ll be off of this list this year.  Tatum not only has the critically-acclaimed Foxcatcher making plays for writing, acting, and Best Picture, but he has two animated films that could factor into the Animated Feature race: The Lego Movie and The Book of Life.

There are the eight-what are your thoughts?  Who gets off this list first?  What major actors am I missing?  And which actor that I name-checked that does have a nominated film are you most surprised to see included?  Share in the comments!

This is Where I Leave You (2014)

Film: This is Where I Leave You (2014)
Stars: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Jane Fonda, Connie Britton
Director: Shawn Levy
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

I don't care for Jason Bateman.  There, I've said, and I am not taking it back.  I watched a couple of episodes of Arrested Development in college, so I don't have that to call back on when I have so many terrible movies thrown at me.  He was awful in The Switch (or The Change-Up...whichever one had Ryan Reynolds...why do his films have such generic, interchangeable titles?), he was the least interesting character in Horrible Bosses-I'm just not that into him.

That being said, the rest of this cast reads like a dream, so I was torn about this movie.  I mean-Fey, Driver, Byrne, Stoll, Hahn, Fonda, and Britton?  Yes please!  It reads like a list of actors that I either am totally in love with or on my way, so even with the middling reviews and the middling leading man, this film had too much curiosity factor to ignore.  And I have to say, I don't quite get the hatred-while certainly not perfect, there was a lot to offer from this movie.

(Spoilers Ahead) Bateman's Judd is a man lost in horrible mid-life crisis cliches.  His wife cheated on him with his boss, so he's out both a job and a spouse, and to make matters worse, his dad just died, and he's not sure how he feels about it.  He and his three siblings: Wendy (Fey), Phillip (Driver) and Paul (Stoll) all have to sit shiva for seven days after their father's passing, meaning that a family that has long had tangential relationships with each other all need to watch their lives (and their baggage) unfold in close proximity to each other.

The really interesting thing about this movie is how much it is a throwback to films from the 1980's, where we would have large, expansive family dramas that added up to a series of different chemistry pairings between a myriad of actors.  In this era of superhero films and not knowing the difference between a straight comedy and a straight drama onscreen (though oddly that combination has been perfected on television), it's nice to see a director having mastered that onscreen.  Of course, it helps that he cast all actors who have been a regular character on a recent television series, since they all know the cadences associated with creating chemistry with everyone on the show.

Picking an MVP in the cast is easy, of course.  Anyone who has seen the trailers knows that Adam Driver was going to be something to behold onscreen, and they were right.  Driver is electric the moment that he comes onscreen, screaming shit in the middle of a psalm because he is late to his own father's funeral, pays no attention to anyone as he proclaims "mommy!" while hugging Fonda and then trying to grab the rabbi's testicles (it sounds weird, but works in the moment).  Driver has sort of upstaged Lena Dunham in the ensuing years of Girls, becoming a young Daniel Day-Lewis in its cast-fascinatingly sexy, intensely watchable, and irresistible to the camera.  If he hasn't become one already, he's on track to be a major movie star and I would be stunned if he doesn't have both an Oscar nomination and a Vanity Fair cover in the next few years.

The rest of the cast is strong too, though.  I'd like for Fonda to get something a bit meatier, but this is someone who pulled off one of the great family dramas of the 1980's, so she knows how to keep things interesting onscreen (and not be reduced by the frequent jokes about her breast augmentation).  Corey Stoll and Kathryn Hahn provide oddly strong layers to a side couple who are desperately trying to have a baby, which is slowly ruining their marriage (and while Stoll adds layers to everything he does, can someone give the very talented Hahn the chance to do the same more often?).  And Fey is heartbreaking as a woman who is lost in her own suburban dream-married to a rich and successful man who has no time for her, she pines for the days of loving a man she wanted when she was twenty but couldn't have.  To be frank, I don't know why we were centered on Judd rather than Wendy this entire movie-he was probably the least interesting and most routine of all of the characters we were encountering.  Had we made this film about Wendy or Paul, I think we could have made this a five-star film, but Bateman is for some reason a bigger star than the rest of the cast, so we simply have a very good movie (I know it's based on a book, but admit it-he's the Altman sibling you were least interested in by the end).

Overall, though, the critics were wrong on this film-it's a great family dramedy: a little bit of laughs, a little bit of heart, a little bit of the bitter-the sort of film you catch on cable and wonder why they don't make them anymore.  Except they just did.  So see it.

And if you did, share your thoughts below-am I the only person not in the Bateman camp?  Is everyone else intensely in love with Adam Driver?  Are we all wishing that Tina Fey or Jane Fonda would get another great acting showcase?  Share your thoughts in the comments!