Many film critics have already published their "Best of the Year" lists, but as a member of the general public I haven't had a chance to see some of the year's most critically-acclaimed films. There are many intriguing films coming to theaters before the end of the year, and I hope to add some of them to my personal "best of" list. However, some of my favorite films of 2011 are already out on DVD. With roughly a week of shopping time left before Christmas, here are some suggestions that should appeal to any movie-lover on your list.
Cedar Rapids - Ed Helms (The Office) stars as naive, small-town insurance agent Tim Lippe, who is called upon at the last minute represent his company at the annual regional convention. Tim must rely on three convention veterans (John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) to help him navigate his way through the intimidating, and sometimes corrupt world of Midwestern insurance. This film could easily have been called Mr. Lippe goes to Cedar Rapids because, in the tradition of Frank Capra's classics Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, it is the story of an innocent in cynical world. Helms is an appealing everyman whose guileless sincerity is never grating, and Reilly is hilarious as "wild man" Dean Zeigler. If given the choice between Helms' gang of bros from The Hangover 2 and his Cedar Rapids pals, I'd be be cashing in my drink tickets at Horizons with Zeigler & Co. every time.
Super 8 - Anyone who embarked on some creative effort as a child - whether it was making a movie, putting on a play, or forming a band - knows the thrilling potential of such a scheme to go from fun to fiasco fairly quickly. One minute you're making a werewolf costume out of tin foil and Styrofoam cups, the next you're wearing that costume, handcuffed, in the back of a police cruiser. (That exact situation never happened to me, of course...) I was reminded of that thrill while watching the young protagonists of Super 8 set out to make their zombie movie, despite facing near-death as witnesses to a spectacular train derailment. The accident may have unleashed a dangerous alien force upon their small town, but the kids will have to wait a couple days while their film is developed to know for sure (they didn't have handheld digital video recorders in 1979, after all). Director J.J. Abrams intentionally pays homage to the films of Steven Spielberg, balancing the sentimentality of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial with the moodier atmosphere of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And like Spielberg did with Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in E.T., Abrams has cast talented young actors to play characters who actually resemble real children.
Bridesmaids - A lot of the press around this film labels it as a raunchy comedy...but for women! However, what I really appreciated about this movie was not that it showed women "acting like men," but that it showed women acting like regular human beings. So many films that center on "best friends" do little to establish why the two women would be friends in the first place; so when the supposed besties suddenly turn on one another in order to further the plot, there's no sense of loss because their friendship seemed unlikely to begin with. (I'm looking at you, Bride Wars.) In contrast, the friendship in Bridesmaids between maid-of-honor Annie (Kristen Wiig) and bride Lillian (Maya Rudolph) feels true; and when the stress of the wedding causes friction between them, it doesn't feel contrived. I think of this film as one part The 40-year Old Virgin, one part I Love Lucy, and a little bit Anne of Green Gables. Wiig shines as the down-on-her-luck Annie, proving she has a range beyond the manic characters she's known for on Saturday Night Live. The supporting cast is also excellent, especially Melissa McCarthy as a brash in-law and Rose Byrne as a too-perfect trophy wife.
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen's latest film may not be his best, but it is his biggest hit with audiences so far. What makes it so appealing? Well, there's the charming lead performance by Owen Wilson as Gil, a fledgling novelist who idealizes the arty, bohemian milieu of Paris in the Twenties. Then there is the element of fantasy, which Allen previously used to great effect in The Purple Rose of Cairo; one night Gil finds himself living his 1920s dream, rubbing shoulders with Hemingway, Picasso, and an enchanting Parisian fashion designer named Adriana (Marion Cotillard). And, of course there is Paris itself. Just as he did in Manhattan, Allen begins this film with scenes of the title city set to a gorgeous piece of music. Even if you don't share Gil's rose-colored view of Paris (sorry, no city is better when it's raining out), you can't help but be a bit swept away by this opening sequence.
Cedar Rapids, Super 8, and Bridesmaids are all currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Midnight in Paris will be available on Tuesday, December 20. Happy Holidays!
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