The Baxter (2005)
Dir: Michael Showalter
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401244/
Being a big fan of Stella, I figured I had to check this out. It's nothing incredible, but I wasn't dissapointed either.
I liked the way it subverted and embraced genre conventions, and paid tribute to romantic comedies from years part. I just wished it did a little more subverting and a little less embracing. Michael Showalter does a good job in the titular role, his facial expressions can be so subtle, but they crack me up sometimes. I think people think I'm stupid when I laugh at his expressions sometimes, because they don't see anything.
The supporting cast was all great, especially Michelle Williams and Showalter's Stella cohorts. David Wain almost steals the whole movie with his little monologue in the middle of it. I also think the movie was pretty well shot, obvious paying homage to some of Showalter's favorite filmmakers (a reference to Manhattan being the most obvious). The humor was much more conventional than I am used to seeing out of Showalter, but there were still some inspired lines that were gold. All in all, a worthy romantic comedy. Not nearly as good as The 40 Year Old Virgin, but it was certainly worth my time.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401244/
Being a big fan of Stella, I figured I had to check this out. It's nothing incredible, but I wasn't dissapointed either.
I liked the way it subverted and embraced genre conventions, and paid tribute to romantic comedies from years part. I just wished it did a little more subverting and a little less embracing. Michael Showalter does a good job in the titular role, his facial expressions can be so subtle, but they crack me up sometimes. I think people think I'm stupid when I laugh at his expressions sometimes, because they don't see anything.
The supporting cast was all great, especially Michelle Williams and Showalter's Stella cohorts. David Wain almost steals the whole movie with his little monologue in the middle of it. I also think the movie was pretty well shot, obvious paying homage to some of Showalter's favorite filmmakers (a reference to Manhattan being the most obvious). The humor was much more conventional than I am used to seeing out of Showalter, but there were still some inspired lines that were gold. All in all, a worthy romantic comedy. Not nearly as good as The 40 Year Old Virgin, but it was certainly worth my time.
posted by will at
12:40 AM
