Will Ferrell should still be apologizing for “Land of the Lost.”

Instead, he’s making excuses for President Barack Obama’s first term.

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The increasingly political “Saturday Night Live” alum is co-chairing a Feb. 15 fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign. But you have to be a one percenter to afford the entrance fee – $35,800 each. Let’s hope that includes Ferrell wearing his cheerleader outfit for some high-energy kicks and jumps.

The bigger issue is getting Obama re-elected, and Ferrell argues the president’s case with a little fuzzy math.

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Will Ferrell’s career could use a Redbull following duds like “Land of the Lost” and “Everything Must Go.”

The latter reaffirmed Ferrell’s range without making a dent at the box office, and the former should be put in a time capsule and buried indefinitely. “The Other Guys” proved Ferrell could still draw a crowd, but the film couldn’t measure up to the likes of “Anchorman,” “Old School” or the brilliant “Elf.”

But Ferrell’s new comedy, “Casa de mi Padre,” hardly looks like a return to form. instead, It’s a one-joke premise without an actual laugh judging by the trailer. The Spanish-language film casts Ferrell as one of two brothers warring with a drug lord to save the family ranch. The film co-stars Diego Luna (“Contraband”), Nick Offerman and Gael Garcia Bernal.

The trailer looks like a wonderful starting point for a comedy, but we’re still waiting for the actual jokes to be weaved into the footage. The notion of Ferrell speaking Spanish might be good for a chuckle, but the gimmick wears out before the trailer’s two-minute running time elapses. That doesn’t bode well for the finished movie.

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In light of the devastation to our civilization directly resulting from the collectivist policies of our ruling elite, there’s probably never been a better time to look at one of Hollywood’s best-loved genres – the end-of-the-world movie.

It’s hard to pin down exactly what films qualify for this category – one list of doomsday movies includes dozens of very different films, with plots ranging from the world blowing up to society suddenly changing dramatically into something unfamiliar, dystopian, and creepy.  A documentary about the last two-and-a-half years would qualify as the latter.

From the Cold War nuke paranoia of Fail Safe (1964) to the “Oh s***, it’s a comet” catastrophes envisioned by flicks like Deep Impact (1998), they run the gamut.  Sometimes society is teetering – think California – and sometimes it has fallen completely into the abyss – think Detroit.

But at their best, these movies show us something about ourselves and about enduring truths, challenging our intellects and asking vital questions about the nature of man.  But mostly they’re just cool and fun to watch.

And sometimes they are Zardoz (1974).  This is an utterly insane 70’s freakshow starring Sean Connery that can best be described as what it must be like to party with Anthony Weiner and Eric Massa in Thailand with an endless supply of bad Woodstock acid and a substantial NEA performance art grant.  Gotta respect any movie that offers the straight-faced line, “The gun is good, the penis is evil.”   (more…)

“Know your products,” is the first rule for being a salesman, according to Nick (Will Ferrell), the main character in the new independent film “Everything Must Go.” Such advice comes is handy when Nick is forced to hold a yard sale after being kicked out of his house by his wife. Based on Raymond Carver’s short story “Why Don’t you Dance?”, “Everything” focuses on Nick as he sells his property and spends a few days living in his front yard.

As the story begins, Nick is having a terrible day. After his drinking problem starts affecting his work performance, he is fired from his job despite the fact that he is still making his sales numbers.  Nick then drives home and finds all of his property on his front lawn. His wife, whose relationship with him was also affected by his drinking problem, has kicked him out of the house and is living with friends.

Interestingly enough, that wife never appears onscreen. She may be the person who put Nick on the front lawn but “Everything” is more interested in what he does when he gets there. (more…)

Ben Shapiro’s new book, Primetime Propaganda: the True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV confirms what has been suspected by many for years – Hollywood emphasizes, repeats and stresses the liberal agenda with the specific goal of impacting opinion and shaping minds.   

It’s no secret that television commercials, sitcoms, children’s shows and mainstream news are all renowned for promoting left-leaning bias. Woven into the tapestry of primetime Hollywood offerings are messages insinuating that the liberal choice is always the better, more intelligent option.  

Television is saturated with liberals who attempt to influence public opinion with subliminal methods as subtle as smiling approvingly when interviewing a liberal and scowling when discussing a conservative. 

The hit show Glee presents homosexuality as a viable option for confused prom “queens” vying for the dual prize of acceptance and a rhinestone crown. Private Practice’s Dr. Addison Montgomery heroically performed a partial-birth abortion and even Doctor House’s main squeeze Lisa Edelstein, complete with a hanger for a prop, promoted legalized abortion in a “We Won’t Go Back” ad.  

While most liberal bias is blatant, some can be more insidious, because inherent to all liberalism, regardless of genre or venue, is an unrelenting crusade to portray conservatives as idiotic dolts. 

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Not entirely sure what the point of this is. Maybe you can figure it out.

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In his 1999 review of “American Pie,” film critic Roger Ebert wrote:

As I swim through the summer tide of vulgarity, I find that’s what I’m looking for: Movies that at least feel affection for their characters. Raunchy is OK. Cruel is not.

Unfortunately, the creators of the new teen comedy “The Virginity Hit” didn’t understand that concept when they created their own story about a nerd trying to lose his virginity. ”Hit” is an often cruel and humorless comedy that makes “American Pie” look like a classic.

Both “Pie” and “Hit” follow similar paths. Like “Pie,” “Hit” begins with a group of male teens eager to lose their virginity. After one of them succeeds, the friends all take a hit on a bong to celebrate (hence the title). Eventually the others lose their virginity and Matt is the only virgin left. But he has a plan with his long-term girlfriend. They’ve scheduled a special night together. Unfortunately, before that night arrives, Matt discovers she cheated on him and then has to choose whether or not he wants to sleep with her or break up.  (more…)

By now, you’ve probably heard about what Politico is billing as a potential “October surprise” – a “Rally to Restore Sanity,” planned for October 30th on the Mall in Washington and hosted by the brilliant comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The day before Halloween? I’m sure it’ll be a solemn occasion, where people intend to reflect upon the real problems that face our nation, dressed up in costumes mocking conservative movers and shakers like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. In fact, I can just imagine the oh-so-clever people who will be dressed up like Christine O’Donnell as a witch. (Funny, isn’t it, how when a conservative admits to “dabbling” in something like witchcraft as a teenager it’s a big scandal, but progressive, leftist PC dictates that we should be sensitive to the beliefs of those who declare themselves pagans and Wiccans.)

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert – your hosts

Oh, but I’m being cynical. The Comedy Central guys don’t really “mean” anything by the whole thing. It’s just a big joke, doncha know:

“We’re not provocateurs, we’re not activists; we are reacting for our own catharsis,” Stewart tells [New York magazine's Chris] Smith. “There is a line into demagoguery, and we try very hard to express ourselves but not move into, ‘So follow me! And I will lead you to the land of answers, my people!’ You can fall in love with your own idea of common sense. Maybe the nice thing about being a comedian is never having a full belief in yourself to know the answer. So you can say all this stuff, but underneath, you’re going, ‘But of course, I’m f*cking idiotic.’ It’s why we don’t lead a lot of marches.” (emphasis mine)

Perhaps that’s why the Comedy Central overlords have asked Craig Minassian, former Clinton administration press aide who is now a consultant to Comedy Central, and Chris Wayne, a former Clinton White House event organizer who works on large-scale media events and promotions, to help them file their permit for the October 30th event. But I’m sure they won’t be helping them actually run the event… (more…)

While growing up in the ‘80s, one of the most popular genres of films were buddy-cop films. Filled with wisecracking banter between two mismatched, big-city cops – one fat, one fit; or one black, one white – along with fast-paced action and a plot that often barely mattered, films like “48 Hrs.,” “Tango & Cash” and even the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” films were fun ways to turn your brain off and kill a couple hours at the cineplex.

But even these movies lost their appeal due to lackluster sequels like the third “Beverly” or “Another 48 Hrs.” (yep, Eddie Murphy was one of the kings of these flicks). And over the past decade, they largely seemed to disappear like some forgotten relic of the 20th century, doomed to be played back on dusty VHS tapes by middle-aged men.

Yet hope springs eternal for fans of this underrated genre, as Hollywood has sprung not one but two of these films upon an unsuspecting public since spring: “Cop Out,” which matched Bruce Willis up against Tracy Morgan, deservedly did so-so business. And now Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg (see what I mean about mismatched teams?) are starring in the new spoof “The Other Guys,” in which they play two hapless desk-bound cops in the NYPD who suddenly get a shot at real action when the department’s best team of daredevils – played in cameos by Duane “The Rock” Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson – get killed on the job in hilariously freakish fashion. (more…)

I caught a screening of writer/director Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys” over the weekend. Politics aside, let’s just say that the Will Ferrell action-comedy is nothing close to their previous collaboration, “Step Brothers,” which is actually kinda brilliant. Amusing, but not ever terribly funny and surprisingly cheap looking for a production budget reported to be $90 million, “The Other Guys” is also an unqualified box-office success where Ferrell man-childs like he always does, Mark Wahlberg (an actor I like) confuses LOUD with funny, and the idea of riffing on 80’s action films — using tropes that include everything from a lonely saxophone score to all the familiar plot beats — is already a trope itself, having been done before.

Adam McKay and scarf

There are, however, a couple of memorably funny scenes, including a deliriously inspired and plot-turning leap off a very tall building and Wahlberg’s reaction when he first meets Ferrell’s wife, played by the striking Eva Mendes. For at least 75 of the 107 minutes you’ll have a smile on your face and enjoy a few honest laughs even as you wonder why the cinematography’s so bright and all the expensive action is unnecessarily hyper-edited.

Amusing devolves into outright tedious in the third act, unfortunately, when the plot turns hard-left thanks to a confusing, uninteresting, unfunny, and unnecessarily preachy investment banking plot and stakes that never rise above having to stop a wire transfer. Without spoiling the specifics (though I will below), let’s just say that never for a second did I believe that what might have been lost in that wire transfer wouldn’t have been immediately made up within days using taxpayer money in the form of a bailout. Which brings me to the now infamous “Other Guys” end credits: (more…)

If you’re not interested in having Will Ferrell lecture you on the evils of capitalism this coming weekend and would instead prefer to cozy up at home before the warm glow of plasma with a cold one in one hand a Redbox receipt in the other, here are five fairly new-to-DVD flicks that won’t leave you feeling sucker punched.

1. The Road: Director John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize winner was unforgivably snubbed for Oscar consideration last year, as was leading man Viggo Mortensen for his heart-wrenching work as a widowed father leading his adolescent son across a dangerous, barren  post-apocalyptic America. Muted, heartbreaking, and yet hopeful, this is a story about a father teaching his son about what it takes to survive at any cost other than losing your humanity. Perfectly acted, beautifully directed and paced in such a way that casts an hypnotic spell, “The Road” is part Christian allegory, part zombie movie, and boasts an unforgettable cameo by Robert Duvall. (more…)

The last thing I was worrying about was that The Other Guys would be too preachy.  Sure, Will Ferrell has a long history of deep, thought-provoking critiques of society and culture, so that should have been my big concern.  Also subtitles.  And having the last shot of the film be the word “Fin” superimposed over the freeze-framed image of a crying child alone on a beach symbolizing death or something. 

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You know, sometimes you just want to go, have a drink or two, or three, or ten, and then sit in a movie theater and tune out the seemingly endless parades of nimrods, pinkos and sanctimonious deadbeats who make up so much of our society today.  You just want some guys to come on the screen and to do and say some funny stuff.  Maybe you want an explosion or two, perhaps a gratuitous shower scene – strike that, as shower scenes are never gratuitous.  Unless it’s a dude.  Or Kathy Bates.

The point is the last thing you want after a Dos XX prep and handing over $11.75 each for yourself and your life partner/designated driver is for a bunch of Hollywood half-wits to stop the fun to give you a PowerPoint briefing on their insights into modern politics – without even the PowerPoint.  And it appears that this is exactly what The Other Guys intends to do. (more…)

This is not a not a review of The Other Guys. It’s more of a statement of disbelief.

There’s actually some funny history between that film, Big Hollywood and my site ScreenRant.com – we posted the trailer for it a couple months ago and one of my writers commented that it looked funny. The result was that Editor-in-Chief John Nolte accused my site of being part of the “Left wing media establishment.”

Biggest laugh I’d had in a while, let me tell you. [Ed. Note: It was all a deliberate trap to convince Vic to join BH. I'm hoping it will work with Patrick Goldstein and Jeff Wells, as well.] 

Anyway… I didn’t go in to The Other Guys expecting much (I think that the buddy cop/action film parody was done to perfection with Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz), but I was mildly surprised to find myself chuckling throughout and laughing out loud more than once.

Until John pointed it out in the aforementioned story, I didn’t know the political affiliations of Adam McKay or anyone else behind the film – but having been educated I went in forewarned and expecting to be beat about the head with political potshots. (more…)

Back in April, our own Pam Meister gave everyone a heads up with a scathing Sucker Punch Review of director Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys,” which stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and opens nationwide this coming Friday. From the looks of Kyle Smith’s write up today, the actual film is even worse than expected — completely undone by left-wing speechifying. Yep, Hollywood is money driven. Not political at all. You gonna believe Patrick Goldstein or your lying eyes?

Kyle Smith Online:

Ferrell and his writing partner/director Adam McKay think they have a really important message about capitalism. It’s so important that it interrupts, then takes over, then finally kills their (otherwise often very funny) new movie, “The Other Guys.” The movie is being sold as (like “Hot Fuzz”) a mock-cop epic, and it is. Or it was, at some stage of the process. But Ferrell and McKay introduce an investment banker (Steve Coogan) who represents Evil Capitalism and is even shown shaking hands with George W. Bush (whom Ferrell has said he would refuse to meet with, on principle).

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Slated for release on August 6, 2010, “The Other Guys,” written by Adam McKay and Chris Henchy and starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg (whose “funky” credentials expired a long time ago), offer viewers a film that is:

“Set in New York City, … [and] follows Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a forensic accountant who’s more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an embarrassing public incident with his quick trigger finger. Allen and Terry idolize the city’s top cops, Danson and Manzetti (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don’t quite go as planned.”

No big deal. We see these sorts of cop comedies all the time: Opposite personalities are forced to work together. They constantly clash. They bungle assignments. Then they come to an understanding and manage to save the day.

A sneak peek at the script tells us that there are a few moments that will irk conservatives, including a “hilarious” reminder that we have a “black president” and that it’s time to stop stereotyping, even though there’s no stereotyping involved in the scene. Get it? Ha ha. But that’s all typical for this kind of in-your-face, over-the-top comedy film. (more…)

Adam McKay co-wrote and directed “The Other Guys,” an action comedy which stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The summer tentpole hits theatres August 6th and thanks to the Entertainment Media, buzz is already starting to build. Here’s a look at the trailer:

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It sure has the feel of a fun time at the movies; another one of those high-lariously self-aware action comedies with our man-child protagonist over his head in a crazy story filled with bullets, car chases and that all-important zaniness.

Gee, the critics sure are excited, too. Why, from the trailer alone, ScreenRant is already hyping a Will Ferrell/Adam McKay comeback:

From the looks of it, The Other Guys may be just what the pair needs to get moviegoers back on their side after that flop of a remake [Land of the Lost]. While the story sounds like a mix between Lethal Weapon and the most recent Get Smart, everything we’ve seen to this point lends itself to a great comeback.

Over at the L.A. Times, our buddy Patrick Goldstein’s so bowled over he compares the screen chemistry of Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg to the all-time classic cinematic buddy-cop pairings: (more…)

Look fast right around the one-minute mark:

“Inspired By Historical Events”

Cut to:  A little boy in a t-shirt labelled “Israel” beating up a helpless little boy in a t-shirt labelled “Gaza Strip” as a slow, fat, clueless little boy in a t-shirt labelled “America” refuses to help.

I know, I know… It’s just a joke. Jokes are harmless, right? Below the fold I have some jokes about Muslims, gays and blacks… (more…)

Don’t let the unwatchable sequels diminish how imaginative and heartfelt the original was. And though I’m not a big fan of Tim Allen’s film choices of late, in the right role like this (and Galaxy Quest), he’s very good. Also going for The Santa Clause is a perfectly cast Judge Reinhold, the hottest of all hot moms, Wendy Crewson, some terrific special effects, a warm Christmas spirit and, uhm, well, Wendy Crewson.

Most of the credit, however, belongs to the screenwriters who seized upon the beloved and well known story of Santa Claus and turned it into an original story that still very much respects what came before. The Santa Clause doesn’t rewrite or deconstruct, it builds upon the legend basing itself on all those lingering unanswered questions, such as: How does Santa fit down the chimney? How does Santa visit every home in one night?  It’s a genius premise and don’t forget that the divorced-dad-who-learns-how-to-be-a-better-father comedy wasn’t as tired and played out in 1994 as it is today. (more…)

Paul Bond at the Hollywood Reporter:

“Looks like “Land of the Lost” has earned star Will Ferrell the dubious distinction of being the most overpaid actor in show business, according to the list makers at Forbes magazine.

“Forbes looked at 100 top actors based on their widely released films over the past five years. It factored in the production costs of those movies against how much boxoffice, DVD and other revenue they generated in order to come up with an operating income for each film, which it then compared with the salaries the stars earned. (more…)

Heather Graham’s latest starring role is playing “Public Option” in Obama’s health care epic (uh-oh, time to reconsider your agent).  You may remember Graham as Felicity Shagwell from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me… or perhaps Roller Girl in Boogie Nights.  Here, she gets physical in “Track Meet,” a new ad produced by leftist group MoveOn.org.  The philosophy: if you can’t pass the public option on its’ merits in policy and debate, why not try selling it through sex and cheap laughs?

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So, what’s a nice Catholic girl from Milwaukee doing in an ad like this? Graham admits, “My friends really wanted Obama to be elected so we all did a spell and then he got elected.”  Thanks for sharing.  Graham is a long way from that seemingly squeaky upbringing, having joined a coven of witches. But she becomes just the latest conjurer in a string of celebrity activists pushing ObamaCare. (more…)