Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi727620889/
I am very forgiving when it comes to actors I absolutely love. I'll pretty much see George Clooney in anything, I am always keen to see Meryl Streep's next and I have a crush on Penelope Cruz so even her English speaking films make it onto the playlist.
Seth Rogen can really do no wrong for me, and he has starred in some doozies. I am yet to see The Green Hornet but I think it looks terrible. I haven't liked quite a few of his films but I will end up seeing every single film he is in.
His new film coming out is called 50/50. It stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, Anna Kendrick. It is about a young man discovering he has cancer and learning he has a 50/50 chance of living.
It looks sweet, funny, if not a little twee. I will absolutely see it though, because that mushy, adorable Jewish teddy bear Seth is in it.
I don't know specifically what it is about Seth that I find so funny. His deadpan dude humour is really the stock standard comedy routine of late. That kind of dumb bro down, 'I'm an idiot but adorable' routine is seen in every Judd Apatow film going around.
A decade ago, and further back, comedians like Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and even Ben Stiller created a completely new characters for their roles. They were (and are) the masters of impressions and often a film was built up around one of their characters (Zoolander, Ace Ventura etc). These days comedians like Jonah Hill, Zach Galifianakis and Seth Rogen just roll around a film being themselves. They have excellent comic timing and an ability to knock each other down but gone are the comedy characters. They are just filming their true selves.
While this doesn't always work, I do really love watching Seth and his mates in most things. It feels genuine to me. It really has taken off and these days even romantic comedies seem to have the token 'Apatow' sidekick. But no one can beat Seth's deadpan, stoner Rogenisms.
Take 'Knocked Up': Seth and 4 of his best friends spend half the film just improvising. You know they have spent hours together trying to one up each other. It feels effortless. A great example is the ongoing joke about their mate who has been dared to grow a beard for the duration of the film:
"How Did It Feel changing your name from Cat Stevens to Yusef Islam?"
"See ya later Scorsese on coke"
"Your face looks like Robin Williams Knuckles"
None of it felt forced or scripted....and it's damn funny.
Compare that to say The Hangover, where carefully cast, handpicked stereotypes are grouped together and fed very calculated lines and jokes. Not so funny to me.
The Hangover is well done, don't get me wrong, but I didn't find any one person incredibly funny in it.
I do love Zach but I prefer his stand up and find the whole 'I'm a Retard' routine pretty ho hum.
Imagine The hangover with Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and one straight laced actor. You could just let the events play out and the unscripted ridiculousness ensue.
ANYHOO...50/50 the film I mentioned before getting completely off track looks funny.
My pal Victoria wants to take me to The Hangover 2 this week. I love her dearly so I'm going to go.
As Seth would say, it's a chance to hang out with mates for 2 hours...... the film comes second to that.
I am very forgiving when it comes to actors I absolutely love. I'll pretty much see George Clooney in anything, I am always keen to see Meryl Streep's next and I have a crush on Penelope Cruz so even her English speaking films make it onto the playlist.
Seth Rogen can really do no wrong for me, and he has starred in some doozies. I am yet to see The Green Hornet but I think it looks terrible. I haven't liked quite a few of his films but I will end up seeing every single film he is in.
His new film coming out is called 50/50. It stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, Anna Kendrick. It is about a young man discovering he has cancer and learning he has a 50/50 chance of living.
It looks sweet, funny, if not a little twee. I will absolutely see it though, because that mushy, adorable Jewish teddy bear Seth is in it.
I don't know specifically what it is about Seth that I find so funny. His deadpan dude humour is really the stock standard comedy routine of late. That kind of dumb bro down, 'I'm an idiot but adorable' routine is seen in every Judd Apatow film going around.
A decade ago, and further back, comedians like Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, and even Ben Stiller created a completely new characters for their roles. They were (and are) the masters of impressions and often a film was built up around one of their characters (Zoolander, Ace Ventura etc). These days comedians like Jonah Hill, Zach Galifianakis and Seth Rogen just roll around a film being themselves. They have excellent comic timing and an ability to knock each other down but gone are the comedy characters. They are just filming their true selves.
While this doesn't always work, I do really love watching Seth and his mates in most things. It feels genuine to me. It really has taken off and these days even romantic comedies seem to have the token 'Apatow' sidekick. But no one can beat Seth's deadpan, stoner Rogenisms.
Take 'Knocked Up': Seth and 4 of his best friends spend half the film just improvising. You know they have spent hours together trying to one up each other. It feels effortless. A great example is the ongoing joke about their mate who has been dared to grow a beard for the duration of the film:
"How Did It Feel changing your name from Cat Stevens to Yusef Islam?"
"See ya later Scorsese on coke"
"Your face looks like Robin Williams Knuckles"
None of it felt forced or scripted....and it's damn funny.
Compare that to say The Hangover, where carefully cast, handpicked stereotypes are grouped together and fed very calculated lines and jokes. Not so funny to me.
The Hangover is well done, don't get me wrong, but I didn't find any one person incredibly funny in it.
I do love Zach but I prefer his stand up and find the whole 'I'm a Retard' routine pretty ho hum.
Imagine The hangover with Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and one straight laced actor. You could just let the events play out and the unscripted ridiculousness ensue.
ANYHOO...50/50 the film I mentioned before getting completely off track looks funny.
My pal Victoria wants to take me to The Hangover 2 this week. I love her dearly so I'm going to go.
As Seth would say, it's a chance to hang out with mates for 2 hours...... the film comes second to that.
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