‘Year One,’ ‘Proposal’ at opposite ends of the potato spectrum

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June 20, 2009

Anonymous The Jacksonville Daily Progress Sat Jun 20, 2009, 07:59 PM CDT

Editor’s note: A Jacksonville resident has been reviewing movies for friends for several years and has offered to share his thoughts with Daily Progress readers. His reviews come in personal letters to his nicknamed friend, Spud Nut. Our reviewer is Tater Tot, so consequently, the movies get ratings based on potatoes. This week, Spud Nut has written the reviews.

Tater Tot,

OK, so now it’s my turn to tell the world about the two new flicks opening in Jacksonville (and all over the place) this weekend. “Year One” (PG-13 1 hr. 40 min) is a cornucopia of jokes. You’ve got your risqué jokes, your perverse jokes, your gross jokes, your bathroom jokes, even Biblical jokes an, in the process, some jokes bordering on blasphemous. The one thing missing is humor.

It would be an exaggeration to say that there are no laughs in this outing, but not by much. I laughed three times. The best thing I can say about this movie is that the theater was clean and the staff friendly and helpful, as always.

Now, Jack Black tries hard, and I usually like him. The closest thing to real humor in this flat piece is Michael Cera (late of “Superbad” and “Juno”). His steady stream of intellectual banter should be a funny running gag for a caveman. Doesn’t work very often. It’s pretty amazing, though, because there are some fine actors in this one and Harold Ramis wrote and directed (and acts in it, too). He brought us “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhog Day,” two of the most clever and interesting comedies of all time.

Oh, well, this one may go down in history as a benchmark of how uninteresting a movie can be. I give it a half a stale potato.

On the other hand, “The Proposal” (PG-13 1 hr. 44 min.) is a delight.

Now, you can see the plot line coming a mile away, but it manages to stay interesting, anyway. Mostly that’s because of the dialogue and the cast. Sandra Bullock gets my vote for the best comedy actress in Hollywood. She does physical humor as well as anyone ever has.

In this outing, she is paired with Ryan Reynolds (late of “Definitely, Maybe” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”) He does a great job of portraying a complex and often confused young man dominated by his hard-driving boss, Ms. Bullock. Those two have real chemistry on the screen.

The rest of the cast is terrific, too. Mary Steenburgen as Ryan’s mother (can she really be that old? I fell in love with her in “Time After Time,” which was 30 full years ago. Wow. She still gets my vote as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.)

The scenes are often stolen, though, by Betty White. She is just so cute and witty — and she’s 87! She doesn’t look a day over 70! She gets great lines in this one.

Anyway, there are laughs galore and plenty of heart in this love story. Breather alert: When the bachelorette party begins, take a deep breath. You’ll need it. I give this charming piece 4 warm and comforting potatoes. I’m betting that you leave the theater smiling.

See you at the concession stand,

Spud Nut

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‘Year One,’ ‘Proposal’ at opposite ends of the potato spectrum

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