Tag Archives: Comedy

Jan 16 2021

Welcome to Happiness (2015) Movie Review

Director: Oliver Thompson

Writer: Oliver Thompson (Screenplay)

Starring: Kyle Gallner, Olivia Thirlby, Nick Offerman, Keegan-Michael Key, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Brener, Molly C Quinn

Plot: There’s a magical door in Woody’s closet that allows those who go through it to erase mistakes from their past. When he finds out where it goes, his life will be changed forever.

Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Strange and Quirky

Story: Welcome to Happiness starts as young man Woody (Gallner) a children’s author who welcomes strangers into his apartment to help them go through his erase their mistakes, this makes his life complicated when he starts becoming friendly with a fellow tenant Trudy (Thirlby). Meanwhile Nyles (Sexton III) a man that is cleaning up after his father’s death, learns that he has valuable baseball cards, which sees him getting drawn into a big adventure around the people who want in on the business.

When Woody sees the full effect of the visits, he starts to question why he can’t change moments from his past, which soon starts to put a strain on his relationship with Trudy, while his landlord Moses (Offerman) is encouraged with his work.

Thoughts on Welcome to Happiness

Characters – Woody is a children’s author that has just moved into an apartment which sees strangers visit, answer a string of questions before putting them in a closet where they vanish. He doesn’t know what happens next until he meets one of the visitors, which leaves him wondering why he can’t change his past, which only makes him out to be going crazy to his girlfriend. Trudy is the new neighbour to Woody who strikes up a relationship with him, she does question him about the visit and doesn’t believe him when he tells the story. Moses is the landlord that knows about the closet, he knows how it helps people and who should be the one that guides people through it. Nyles is a depressed man that learns about the treasure in his father’s attic, he ends up follow a string of instructions, which will sees him visiting the closet.

Performances – Kyle Gallner does well in the leading role, it shows us just how difficult being an author with pain in his life can be difficult to get through. This does have a big cast, with each actor doing their thing to make us understand figures they are playing.

Story – The story here follows a young man that finds himself in the unusual position of having to deal with strangers looking to answer questions, which would see them disappear in his closet, over time he wants to know more, which will soon start to push him to his limits. This is an interesting little story, it does show us how difficult living in despair could be on the people in life, they will need to learn to move on, because once you break down everything, you never know what could have been in the world. We do have to meet a lot of characters, which do seem to have moments of randomness, though it does all make sense by the end of the film.

Comedy/Fantasy – The comedy in the film comes from just how far out there certain ideas are, mixed in with certain characters too, the fantasy shows us how the closet works and just how life can be seen differently if people come into it.

Settings – The settings for the film does try to put everything into a position of everyday, leading down the same plan as people you see in life will have stories you might not always get to know.


Scene of the Movie – Behind the door.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Certain characters don’t seem needed at times.

Final Thoughts – This is a very strange movie, it does have an important message, that does need to help us reflect our own lives, even if it does lean away from it at times.

Overall: Interesting throughout.

Jan 16 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2020 – P – Playing with Fire (2019) Movie Review

Director: Andy Fickman

Writer: Dan Ewen, Matt Lieberman (Screenplay)

Starring: John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Tyler Mane, Brianna Hildebrand, Christian Convery

Plot: A crew of rugged firefighters meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids.


Tagline – 0% contained

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Playing with Fire starts as we meet a group of smokejumpers Jake (Cena), Mark (Key), Rodrigo (Leguizamo) and Axe (Mane) that believe they are the elite in fighting fires with Jake following in his father’s footsteps demanding a perfectly run department.

When the four rescue three children Brynn (Hildebrand), Will (Convery) and Zoey (Slater) the four are left to look after the kids until a storm finishes, now they men will see them dealing with the most difficult challenge of their lives, children.

Thoughts on Playing with Fire

Characters – Jake is the commander of the station, he plays everything by the rulebook not stepping outside his comfort zone, he will do anything to make sure his unit is the best in the area, wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, he is emotional closed and this is made him live the remote life not letting people in. Mark is the second in command that will do anything to help Jake keep the department running smoothly. Rodrigo is the chef that always misquotes famous people that is about to get the promotion that he isn’t ready for. Axe is the silent one of the group, always carrying around an axe, he will make us wait for his big moment to speak. Brynn, Will and Zoey are the three children the unit save, they are difficult to handle with them having their own quirks, they will help turn the opinions of Jake on life in a way he never knew.

Performances – John Cena continues to shine in the comedic roles, while embracing the physical side of his appearance. Keegan-Michael Key and John Leguizamo bring the comedy to the film more often than not, with Key sometimes going to much with it, while Leguizamo gets stronger laughs. Tyler Mane often steals the scenes here too, with the silent comedy performance, the younger stars do some off like the handfuls they are meant to be playing through the film too.

Story – The story here follows four smokejumpers that must care for three children after a rescue, which will see them needing to handle the challenge none of them are used to, children, which will bring them together more than before. This is a story that will come off on the simple side, with lots of over the top behaviour going on, the younger children’s behaviour is completely unrealistic, which will play into the comedy, but the story does have the heart to show us just how important doing the right thing will be for people.

Comedy – The comedy in the film is a right mix, with the created situations of wildly over the top behaviour not getting as much of a laugh as the calmer situations, which are a well played out creation, this does however play into the family friendly creation the film is going for.

Settings – Most of the film is set in the fire station, which will give the children different equipment to get into trouble playing with, while also giving the idea that they are safer then they could have been.


Scene of the Movie – The birthday.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The kids Will and Zoey do come off more difficult than they should.

Final Thoughts – Playing With Fire is an entertaining comedy, burning with laughter from start to finish.



Jan 10 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2020 – J – Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) Movie Review

Director: Kevin Smith

Writer: Kevin Smith (Screenplay)

Starring: Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams

Plot: Jay and Silent Bob return to Hollywood to stop a reboot of the ‘Bluntman and Chronic’ movie from getting made.

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Meta 101

Story: Jay and Silent Bob Reboot starts as Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) lose their identity in a rights battle with an upcoming movie being made by Kevin Smith called Bluntman, a reboot of their own movie where they starred on.

To get their identities back the two must travel to Hollywood in a desperate attempt to stop the movie being made, running into a string of old friends along the way.

Thoughts on Jay and silent Bob Reboot

Final Thoughts – This is an attempt to bring two of the favourite Kevin Smith creations to Jay and Silent Bob as the navigate the world of remakes, reboots and sequels, with the story bringing characters from previous movies into one universe, with a convention about the characters being included. We get an adventure across country, just like how the first Jay and Silent Bob story unfolds. The story does have plenty of messages in, a lot of the story gets to feel like a confession from Kevin Smith because of the mistakes he might have made in the past, with casting, writing, while understanding, the older you get the smarter, wiser you can become. We do also get plenty of wink, wink at the camera, that you would need to understand references to get the movie points, though the deeper we get the more frustrating it becomes. Leaving the deepest part of the story being about the importance of making the most of life.

Overall: Jay & Silent Bob Fans Will Enjoy.

Jan 8 2021

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2020 – H – Hooking Up (2020) Movie Review

Director: Nico Raineau

Writer: Nico Raineau, Lauren Schacher (Screenplay)

Starring: Brittany Snow, Sam Richardson, Anna Akana, Jordana Brewster, Vivica A Fox, Amy Pietz, Shaun J Brown

Plot: After he receives a new cancer diagnosis and she is fired from her job as a sex columnist, Bailey and Darla take a road trip that forces them to get intimate with their issues, as well as each other.


Tagline – There’s more to love than sex.

Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hooking Up starts as we meet gym employee and cancer survivor Bailey Brighton (Richardson) who is in the middle of break up and the tragic news, the cancer has returned, he meets sex addict Darla Beane (Snow) who has just lost her job for her behaviour and decides to make a story of her own sexual history, with Bailey joining her on the journey, replaying her history.

As the journey unfolds, the two start to learn about their pasts and how they have lived different lives along the way, but now they could help each other in the future.

Thoughts on Hooking Up

Characters – Darla is a sex addict who writes articles on sex for a magazine, she is assigned therapy which she isn’t happy about and her actions at work see her getting fired, in her own attempt to get her job back, she looks to go on a replay of her own history with a cancer victim, only to learn it is her own pain of love, which is causing more problems for her. Bailey is a mild-mannered gym employee who has beaten cancer, he is going through a break up and has discovered the cancer has returned, causing him to question everything and agree to join Darla on her journey, stepping outside his own comfort zone for the first time in years. Liz is the ex-girlfriend that has broken up with Bailey after encouraging him to look to date other people, she will always support him and she does remain close with him. We meet the parents and the people who are supporting the two through their problems along the way.

Performances – Brittany Snow does bring as a character we wouldn’t expect to see from her, here one that does have her problems that covered up with her confidence. Sam Richardson steals the show here as a gentle kind characters that has been lost most of his life, which is what is causing him more problems along the way. The rest of the cast do give us strong performance throughout, understanding their characters in the world of the leads.

Story – The story here follows two people who are both in need of help, one is a sex addict who has spiralled out of control, while the other is a cancer sufferer who isn’t sure how to deal with his own future, not knowing what the future will hold, who end up going on a journey together. The story will give us a look at self-discovery from people who will need to start taking life a different direction, either from needing supporting through cancer, who addiction. It does show us how important it is to ask for help and let people in to support you, even if we do go down a misleading road at times.

Comedy – The comedy comes from seeing a lot of Bailey’s reactions to hearing Darla’s stories, the two have had different lives, which will see more reactions coming from them.

Settings – The film is a road trip movie, it doesn’t hit any of the major locations you would expect to see around the different cities, which shows us more of a normal life that Darla has been on.


Scene of the Movie – 1-year later.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It doesn’t seem to have a friend in Bailey’s life, even after everything he has been through, you would like to think he would have had a support bubble around him.

Final Thoughts – Hooking Up is a comedy that highlights the importance of friendship and relationships in life.



Jan 3 2021

Mindhorn (2016) Movie Thoughts

Director: Sean Foley

Writer: Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby (Screenplay)

Starring: Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis, Steve Coogan, Richard McCabe, Andrea Riseborough

Plot: A has-been actor best known for playing the title character in the 1980s detective series “Mindhorn” must work with the police when a serial killer says that he will only speak with Detective Mindhorn, whom he believes to be a real person.


Tagline – It’s truth time!

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Mindless

Story: Mindhorn starts as washed up actor Richard Thorncroft (Barrett) is struggling to find work after his iconic cult character Mindhorn. When a criminal on the Isle of Man known as the Kestrel demands to talk to Mindhorn all he will continue to kill the residents of the Isle of Man, Richard must come out of retirement to solve the crime.

When the criminal remains at large, Richard must confront his own failures in his career and escape from the character he has trapped himself in and make amends for his own mistakes.

Thoughts on Mindhorn

Final Thoughts – This is a comedy that looks at how actors could find themselves trapped in a role for their life, trying to recapture the magic they believed they had in their career, while not taking life seriously enough. This could be seen for many great characters, only Richard Thorncroft is insufferable, which I do understand is part of the point. The whole story does feel like a weak episode of one of the late night detective shows, where the comedy in the film misses so often it becomes cringeworthy for the most part. This is one of the worst comedies you will see and will leave you wondering just what you have seen.

Overall: Poor Comedy.