HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION

Voices of:  Mel Brooks     Adam Sandler     Selena Gomez     Andy Samberg     Kathryn Hahn
Fran Drescher     Steve Buscemi     David Spade     
Keegan-Michael Key     Chris Parnell     Molly Shannon

     For a little background information, Dracula (Sandler) is a widower with a grown-up daughter called Mavis (Gomez) who has decided they both need some R&R and more family time.  So for a surprise, she has arranged for all of them to go on a trip, without telling them it will be a cruise—which Drac would never agree to beforehand. Their party will consist of Mavis’ human husband Johnny (Samberg), and their child Dennis (Asher Blinkoff)—along with a trail of friends:  Wayne (Buscemi), Griffin (Spade), Frank (James), and others.  

     They go on a harrowing plane trip, and are dropped off in the Bermuda Triangle (a place where only the adults will sense the danger), where they board the ship, the Legacy.  (The name is something of a pun in that Drac and the Van Helsing families have been archenemies for generations, and both have an interest in continuing their legacy.)  Drac has had a lot of anxiety about the trip, and Mavis has wisely kept the cruise as a surprise. Now, it’s all she can do to convince him to board the ship for the sake of the family.

     Drac goes into a funk because he hates being on a boat.  In his despair, he has given up on having the “zing”, thinking one can only experience that once in a lifetime, and he had that with his wife. So, of course, much to his surprise, when the captain of the ship, Ericka (Gomez), appears, his heart goes thumpedy-thump, and he gets the zing.

     The thrills and chills of the story will stem from Erica’s heritage:  Her great grandfather is a Van Helsing, and he is on board the ship and counting on her to use the stowed away “instrument of destruction” to do away with Drac.  From what her ancestors have told her, Erika is already chomping away at the bit to do away with him, is delighted when she sees he is attracted to her, and begins to plot his demise.  But Van Helsing instructs her to wait until she can use the special instrument. She proceeds anyway to try to do him in, but neither she nor her great grandfather have anticipated the power of the zing.

     Sony Pictures has created an impressive production design and animation with special effects, and there is a lot of cartoon-like action throughout the film, which will please many viewers.  I thought it odd, though, that for a children’s movie, the thrust of the story would be about love, murder, and generational grudges—more adult-type of subjects.  It does end with a positive message about acceptance of differences and the unity that should exist among all living beings on earth—whether human, animal, monster, or whatever.  And this is done cleverly with music from three songs (“Good Vibrations”, Don’t Worry; Be Happy”, and “Hey Macarena”).  Everyone should have an opportunity to experience the zing.

Summer vacation can mean many things, including one with monsters aboard a cruise ship.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BAD MOMS

Mila Kunis   Kathryn Hahn   Kristen Bell   Christina Applegate   Jada Pinkett Smith   Annie Mumolo

Cameos:  J. J. Watt, Wanda Sykes, Martha Stewart

          Observe a typical American mother’s day, as Bad Moms illustrates, and you will get dizzy.  That is, if the mom is conscientious, guilt-ridden, and feeling that she has never done enough.  Mila Kunis as Amy is such a woman, driving the kids to school and activities, helping with (doing) their science projects, attending their games, shopping, cooking, active in PTA, and a myriad of other tasks, all while holding down a job.  Her husband (David Walton) seems to have a cushy job and no other responsibilities at home, and has no clue about empathy.  However, when he transgresses beyond her tolerance—about the same time that she meets two women who will be bosom buddies, Carla (Hahn) and Kiki (Bell)—Amy begins to see the light and realize what her life has become. 

        The instant friendship that develops among the three women is not only beneficial to all, but their antics are often funny (except the over-drinking), and they are the embodiment of true friends.  Kunis as the lead actor holds her own and shows her considerable talent.  Hahn is bawdily hilarious as a street-smart, good-hearted but not-so-good mother, and she elicits most of the chuckles.  Kristen Bell, is perfect as the wide-eyed Kiki who has always been the epitome of good girl, good wife, etc., then draws applause for her assertiveness toward the end of the film.

        Of course, in a film like this, there has to be baddies, and the principal role for that is played by Gwendolyn (Applegate), the president of the PTA, who not only wields her power within that organization, but within the entire school.  Her two yes-women are Stacy (Smith) and Vicky (Mumolo).  Shows about women, sadly, seem to require a cat fight at some point, and this is included in Bad Moms in the form of Amy standing up against Gwendolyn’s demands (ridiculous requirements for a bake sale) and competing with her in an election. 

        There are some very good lines in Bad Moms, like, “Everything that comes out of your mouth is a cry for help” and “You’re not a slow learner; you’re just entitled.  Do you know what that means?”    And I enjoyed those, but much of the plot is like a canned sitcom going for easy laughs without much thought going into making the comedy meaningful and inspirational.

       The basic premise of this film is good—that American moms try to do too much, don’t expect enough from their kids, and have continuous self-doubts.  And I can imagine making a very successful comedy to get those points across.  The mistake writers/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore make is duplicating their Hangover films; their good points are over-shadowed by bad behavior that is supposed to be funny (and, granted, it is to some people).  I’m often taken aback by what people do laugh out loud about in movies.  Inevitably, pratfalls, farts, and getting hit on the head will draw them out, but they might also laugh about over-drinking, driving recklessly, and even sad events.  This film shows, as do a number of movies recently (e.g., Absolutely Fabulous, Ghostbusters, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, The Neon Demon), women at their worst—sniping at one another, over-drinking, being hysterical—which are meant to be funny, and indeed many do laugh.  I don’t.

The female version of Hangover films—if you like that kind of humor.

Grade:  C-                        By Donna R. Copeland

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Viggo Mortensen   George McKay   Samantha Isler   Annalise Basso   Nicholas Hamilton   Shree Crooks   Charlie Shotwell  

Kathryn Hahn   Steve Zahn   Frank Langella   Ann Dowd

            Get on board the bus.  This will probably be one of the more unusual rides you’ll make this year in the movies—along with Hunt for the Wilderpeople.  It’s basically about a father who wants to make everything right (perfect, perhaps) for his wife and children, so he takes them to live in the wilds of Washington State and carefully instructs them in survival skills such as:  Securing, growing, and preserving food; administering first aid; maintaining physical fitness; self-defense; education (and boy! do they learn philosophy, government, and politics!); and music.  I’m sure I left something out, but you get the point.  These are kids who would put the regular American student to shame.

            Everything is going well (although we don’t know the back-story until later), and then a tragedy occurs, which makes their world topsy-turvy.  In order to talk about the rest of the movie, I have to spoil what it is—the mother dies.  But she doesn’t die at home—that wouldn’t present any practical problems beyond heart-wrenching grief—she dies at a hospital near the home of her parents who are decidedly Christian and have no sympathy for the lifestyle she (who has become a Buddhist) and her husband have chosen.

            What follows is a resounding clash of cultures, which is used to comment about society today, at least in the U.S. and maybe in much of the western world.  The immediate dilemma for Ben is that the children desperately want to go to the funeral, which Leslie’s father has forbidden.  It’s also a dilemma because he has Leslie’s will which specifically states what is to happen after her death.

            For all Ben’s (Mortensen) sage planning and execution of the “ideal world”, he underestimates how much different the world he has created is from the real world.  We see the incredible training and education he and his wife have provided for their children, but perhaps it’s because of the absence of the feminine influence when his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) goes to the hospital for an extended stay, Ben begins taking more risks than he should, e.g., climbing steep mountains during a thunderstorm, and over-applying his socialist philosophy by teaching the kids how to rob a store.

            All of this comes to bear in the last part of the film, which entails a complex and near-disastrous resolution, but an excellent one, nevertheless.

            Having been a fan of TV’s “Silicon Valley”, I was shocked to see that one of the actors in that show wrote and directed this film, Matt Ross.  It’s especially humorous because the character he plays on TV is shallow, without many social/moral values.  Clearly, Ross does have social/moral values, and wants to caution us about our current society.  Do our children know what the Bill of Rights is?  Could our children survive in the wild?  Do we really have an appreciation and respect for nature?  This is basically what Captain Fantastic is about.

            I understand that when signing on to this project, Mortensen wanted to assure that the tone and message of the film was quality based, and there would be no "bad guys."  After his discussions with Ross, they made sure, for instance, that the child actors could actually slaughter a sheep for food and play musical instruments.  Mortensen himself maintains a garden at home.

            Important to acknowledge is the contribution of Alex Somers to the music of the film, which elevates and perfectly captures every scene. 

There are so many reasons to see Captain Fantastic.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE VISIT

Kathryn Hahn     Olivia DeJonge     Ed Oxenbould     Peter McRobbie     Deanna Dunagen

           M. Night Shyamalan says in an interview (Bill Desowitz of “Thompson on Hollywood”) that The Visit will be his comeback film.  It could very well be.  I was pleasantly/scarily surprised at its force and power to engage the audience on many different levels.  Along with Shyamalan’s work in writing and directing, much of its appeal is owed to the two young actors, Ed Oxenbould and Olivia Delonge, who are phenomenal. 

           They’re both precocious—and are supposed to be in their roles—which could have sounded like children mouthing words written by adults.  But these two look like they had come up with the lines themselves.  Olivia’s character, Becca, throws out phrases like, “We don’t know their temperaments or proclivities” and “Don’t touch it; let it organically swing”, plus many technical terms of movie-making (she’s filming a documentary of hers and Tyler’s visit to their grandparents); and Tyler can rap, sounding a lot like Eminem.  He also had a wicked sense of humor.

           The film is a delightful combination of horror and comedy, so the story effectively swings smoothly back and forth between the two moods, with some tenderness and warm feelings mixed in.  Their mother (Hahn) left home when she was 19 to be with an older man, much to her parents’ dismay, and they have not communicated in the 15 years since.  Now the mother is single, and badly in need of a vacation with her beau.  The kids have never met their grandparents, and they are eager to go and want to give their mother some adult time.  So it’s agreeable to everyone concerned.

           The initial time with the grandparents is mixed; Nana is a great cook, and Pop Pop is good natured and helpful.  Aging signs are obvious, which the kids can understand, but eventually things start getting really bizarre, and you wonder what will happen to them by the end of their week’s stay.  This is a horror movie after all.

           The script is intelligent in setting up information for later scenes.  For instance, there is an account of eight year-old Tyler standing frozen during a football game when he is supposed to be making an easy tackle.  Toward the end of the film, you see him standing as if frozen, and you remember the previous account.  A theme about holding onto anger and not forgiving comes up in the beginning and at the end with two characters. 

           Filming techniques used to enhance the eeriness of the story include dark scenes with mysterious or alarming sounds, Becca’s hand-hand video camera, and her documentary pictures, which sometimes serve as “found footage.”  Finally, I really like the sudden twist at the end, which some have found fault with, but I thought was a perfect conclusion, once again set up in earlier scenes, but not really preparing you.

Final Thought:  A good horror film with refreshing humor and clever characters.

Grade:  B+                        By Donna R. Copeland