I don't know how she does it

I saw this with a friend last night. Rottentomatoes.com gave it a rotten 17% average score, so my expectations were low. I didn'd read any of the reviews intentionally, because when I do, that's all I can think about--I can't form my own opinions.

Overall, this was a nice, relaxing 90 minutes. There wasn't anything earth shattering. Carrie, I mean, Sarah Jessica Parker as ... um ... Kate Reddy, an ambitious employee, wife, and mother of two, was a decently fair representation of what it's like to accomplish all these activities at once, though I found myself wishing she'd stop rolling her shoulders in her trademark Carrie way whenever she turned over in bed. I also saw no reason for the voice over by SJP that carried all the way through the movie, telling everything we were already seeing--nothing new or outside the clear lines drawn on screen. Leaving it out wouldn't have changed the story, and I feel like it would have been a stronger departure from the Sex in the City branding, thus giving SJP a newer identity as in 2005's The Family Stone.

Pierce Brosnan, as SJP's new colleague, was a fun character study on a successful businessman who no longer knows what he wants. As my friend said, "He is aging nicely." Agreed. He could have been the clear antagonist--a danger to SJP's career and marriage--but the writer as well as Brosnan's acting did a decent job of making him nicely sympathetic and a bit of a surprise.

I would have liked to see more of Greg Kinnear as SJP's husband. His dialogue felt heavyhanded and awkward at times, which disappointed me as I tend to be a fan.

As often happens, a minor character stole much of the show. SJP's highly motivated assistant, "Momo", played by Olivia Munn, provided many moments of comic relief in what could have been an overall heavy story. The director used "breakout" moments, for lack of a better term, when the action froze around certain characters while they voiced their thoughts about Kate or life in general. Momo's were the best, and evolved into a surprisingly poignant arc of her own. There were similar moments, mostly comic, from Busy Phillips, playing the over-exercising, cookie-baking PTA mom those of us who are domestically challenged love to hate, and Christina Hendricks as SJP's rebel friend.

The story itself was mostly predictable, though a few minor turns kept my interest mostly intact. I found myself thinking about other things a few times when the action dragged a little--never a great sign while watching a movie in a theater--but overall, I stayed engaged.

My basic reaction to this film was, "Nice. Pleasant. I won't remember a thing besides Momo tomorrow." Seventeen percent? I dunno. Maybe. But for a quiet girls' night out with a friend, I didn't mind. I've seen movies with higher ratings I couldn't wait to exit.

Review: Higher Ground

I saw Higher Ground Saturday at the Magnolia at the Modern in Ft. Worth, always an interesting place to see a movie. It’s a theater, but not exactly a theater. You’d have to go to understand.

Here's the trailer:


Caroline S. Briggs, author of the memoir the film was based on (originally 2002’s This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost, re-released along with the film as Higher Ground: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost) was present Sunday for a signing before the showing. I would have gone again if I hadn’t stayed up so late thinking about it the night before.

This is a movie I suspect you’re going to love or hate, depending on your worldview, thinking style, and viewing preferences. It’s a fairly slow, meandering movie, so don’t expect action scenes—well, maybe a few seconds here and there—or anything to hit you over the head in a black and white “aha” moment. It’s a movie that addresses a touchy subject—faith and doubt and fundamental Christianity. Does the thought of a slow movie or those words alone make you squeamish? Don’t see it. If you’re looking for a movie that lays everything out in black and white, ties it up in a bow, supports any one agenda, and entertains at a mile per minute, check the schedule again.

For me, I’m still pondering it three days later—one reason I haven’t already posted a review. So much of this movie reflects on things I can relate to from my childhood and young adult years, yet much of it is extreme opposition to those years, too. This made it a very personal experience for me, and I was mesmerized by all 114 minutes.

Each actor in this film turned a stereotype into something more. In Vera Farmiga’s first directing experience, she treats a touchy subject and even the most unlikeable characters with gentleness and respect. No one character is all good or all bad—a challenge in film or literature.

Vera Farmiga, also in the lead role as Corinne, is an expressive actress--capable of expressing herself with one twitch of a facial muscle.

Farmiga’s real-life younger sister, Taissa Farmiga, plays the part of Corinne as a young adult in a pretty stunning debut for a 16-year-old with no previous film experience. I can’t wait to see her in something more—she’s in a pilot of American Horror Story, which premiers October 5 on FX. (I am THRILLED to see Connie Britton in another series with the demise of Friday Night Lights.)

Oscar nominee John Hawkes of Winter’s Bone plays CW, Corinne’s alcoholic father.

The music, well, perhaps only lapsed Baptists might appreciate it as much as I did. In a world where church so often now means upbeat music with repetitive lyrics week after week, the soaring arrangements of traditional hymns with lyrics pulled deep from my subconscious were … ironically refreshing. I found myself with a lump in my throat more than a few times.

The laugh-out-loud moments are there, too, mostly when you don't expect them.

Highter Ground isn't for everyone, but it might be for you. If the trailer or the possibility that you might have to think turns you off, skip it. If the trailer draws you in and you’re not scared of a little honest exploration of faith and doubt, find the nearest theater (unfortunately, probably not many, as it’s fairly limited release), and get there.

The movie is rated R for language, sexual content, adult situations. I wouldn't take a child. A teenager, sure, if you're willing to talk about it with them later.

Our Idiot Brother

My very smart husband and I saw Our Idiot Brother this evening. It was a warm, fuzzy film, nothing to write home about—mostly chuckles and smiles and one or two random belly laughs. It wasn’t exactly the kind of movie that lets you suspend your disbelief, but rather invites you to wallow in the completely ridiculous concept.

Paul Rudd plays Ned, a bumbling modern-day hippie who gets himself and just about everyone around him into absurd messes at every opportunity, though it never seems to dawn on him (and perhaps that’s the point) that he is anything but happy and living the life he’s meant to live. His sisters are so busy believing he’s putting them out and that they have to clean up after him, it doesn’t occur to them that they, really, are the ones whose lives are in shambles.

Of course, no film would be complete without a dog named Willie Nelson. As part of the fore-mentioned ridiculous concept, this cute setter is Ned’s highest source of conflict as he attempts over and over to regain custody of the dog after his ex-girlfriend dumps him following his stint in jail for selling pot to a cop. (Perhaps one of the most believable moments—Bob Stephenson as the cop was pretty convincing! I might have sold the pot to him, too, if I were in such a business, which I am not, thank you very much.) Our Idiot Brother is certainly not a breakout film for Rudd, but he pulls off the charming Ned better than most actors might have.

Zoey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer are a couple of my favorite actresses, so I’m usually up for anything they’re in. In an ironic switchback after my last entry (regarding One Day’s Anne Hathaway), Mortimer’s British accent was a little too apparent in this movie in comparison with her past films, such as the delightful Lars and the Real Girl. Though she was fairly convincing as Liz, a tired young mother whose philandering husband (Steve Koogan, as Dylan, one of the real idiots in the movie) forces her to bring their son up in a way that goes completely against the adorable little fellow’s grain, Mortimer’s accent sets her apart from her three siblings in a “one of these things is not like the other” kind of way. Deschanel, as Natalie, delivers her classic awkward/cute/emo shtick, much like she played in Failure to Launch, Elf, and 500 Days of Summer. I’d love to see her in something with a little more depth just to see what she can do. (Am I forgetting anything? Has she already?)

The somewhat-unknown-to-me (even though she has a pretty long resume) Elizabeth Banks might have been my favorite sister in this film, though. Miranda is the one sister who tries to make things happen instead of letting things happen to her, and Banks’s facial expressions as she allows her idiot brother to take over an interview she’s been coveting forever are spot-on hilarious. You feel sorry for her even as you enjoy her brother’s accidental coup. She plays Effie Trinket in the upcoming book-to-film, The Hunger Games, and I can't wait to see her portrayal of this interesting and quirky character.

All in all, Our Idiot Brother isn’t the kind of movie you MUST see before it leaves theaters—you’ll be quite safe waiting for the DVD release, and pretty safe even if you miss it—but if you’re looking for a bit of last minute summer fun, a happy ending, and everything tied up in a bow, and can manage to keep your expectations somewhat low, you might enjoy this pleasant bit of mindless entertainment. It makes a nice movie for a date night, and that’s exactly what it was for me and my hubby.

Our Idiot Brother is appropriately rated R for some nudity, adult situations, and lots of language.