Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Against the Crowd Blog-a-thon 2017




It’s time once again for the Against the Crowd Blog-a-thon hosted by Wendell of Dell on Movies and KG of KG's Movie Rants. Having participated in 2015 and last year’s edition. It’s time once again to do another one as here are the rules:


1. Pick one movie that "everyone" loves (the more iconic, the better). That movie must have a score of 75% or more on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you hate it.

2. Pick one movie that "everyone" hates (the more notorious, the better). That movie must have a score of 35% or less on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you love it.

3. Include the tomato meter scores of both movies.

4. Use one of the banners in this post, or feel free to create your own.

5. Let us know what two movies you intend on writing about in one of the following ways:

Comment on this post Comment on KG's Movie Rants Tweet me @w_ott3 Tweet KG @KGsMovieRants1

6. Publish your post on any day from Monday August 14 through Friday August 20, 2017.


Here is what I’m offering:



I don’t understand the hoopla over Amy Schumer. I tried to watch some of her standup comedy shows and I don’t think she’s funny. Even in interviews or red carpets, she will say something that is funny and I’m baffled into thinking “was this supposed to be funny?” I have nothing against plus-sized women trying to show they’re sexy as there are some like Ashley Graham and Iskra Lawrence but Schumer is not one of them. Yet, she isn’t the only reason why I’m not fond of Trainwreck which she co-wrote and starred in as some of the reasons it’s not very good is due to its director Judd Apatow. Though Apatow has made great comedies in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, it seems like he is trying to become something more important than other comedy filmmakers by having his films be timed at over two-hours as those two films as well as Funny People and This is 40 do the same in going over two hours which is too much to do for comedies.

Though Trainwreck is a bit shorter than his last two films, it is clear that Apatow crams too much into its 124-minute running time in order to get audiences to laugh where it just feels forced and not engaging enough to be invested into this story about this young woman who finds love but has trouble trying to stay monogamous. Despite the ensemble cast that include the likes of Bill Hader, Brie Larson, and Tilda Swinton, they’re not given much to do as it’s all about Amy Schumer and the appearances from LeBron James and John Cena as the latter isn’t funny in this film. Plus, it wants to be dramatic and it wants the audience to sympathize with Schumer’s lifestyle but her character is completely pathetic and her attempts to be funny are terrible. Part of it is due to Apatow who seriously needs to hire an editor who should tell him what to cut out and try to make something shorter and to the point. Jacques Tati may have gotten away with making a 124-minute comedy with Playtime but at least that film was funny and had a great commentary on the fallacies of modernism.



The 1990s admittedly was not a good decade to be Chevy Chase. Not just for the fact that he was in some bad and mediocre films but also had his career nearly killed when he was given his own late-night talk show that sank quickly after it aired. Yet, there is one film that he did that isn’t as bad as people think it is as it’s just this very funny comedy that is quite out there but all with good reason. Directed, co-written, and starring Dan Aykroyd as a reclusive yet offbeat judge who likes to the take the law in his own hands in this remote town in the middle of New Jersey. Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, the late great Taylor Negron, and Bertila Dimas take a wrong turn and is stopped by the late great John Candy and everything goes to hell in very funny ways. Add Candy in another role as his sister and Aykroyd as a twin, overgrown baby plus an insane rollercoaster that kills people, and an appearance from one of Aykroyd’s favorite hip-hop acts in the Digital Underground with 2Pac. The result is just an insane film though flawed film. It’s got some spotty moments as some of the moments involving Chase are a bit uninspired but Aykroyd, Moore, and Candy are the ones who keep the film fun to watch.

© thevoid99 2017

12 comments:

joel65913 said...

I've considered Trainwreck a few times because I like Bill Hader but I am likewise rather mystified by Schumer and don't find her amusing in the least. This only adds fuel to the fire that will probably keep me away from the film.

I didn't love Nothing but Trouble but it was nowhere near as terrible as I'd expected based on what I'd heard about it before I watched. People had said it was the worst thing they'd ever seen but believe me I've watched MUCH worse films.

Dell said...

I agree. Trainwreck is, well, a train wreck. You were spot on to call it out, along with other Apatow movies, for just being too damn long. His movies should run 100 to 105 minutes, tops. Instead, he makes them drag on for two-plus hours. I've been saying for a long time he needs an editor that he will listen to. Now that he's a big shot, I don't know if that can happen. I didn't love Nothing but Trouble, but it wasn't a bad movie. It definitely had its moments. I had no idea it has such a low RT rate. Great post. Thanks for playing along.

Big Screen Small Words said...

Why didn't I think of Trainwreck? I didn't like it - I didn't find it funny or endearing, or anything, really. I don't find Amy Schumer funny; I tried to watch her show to see what the fuss was about but I couldn't get through an episode. She's partly why I watched the movie (then checked her show because I don't know why people find her funny) but this is one of those times where I should have skipped this film.

Anonymous said...

I also didn't get all the fuss about Trainwreck, I found it not funny in the slightest.

Brittani Burnham said...

I thought Trainwreck was pretty funny when I saw it in theaters (until it nose dived in the 2nd half) but when I watched it again on DVD I did not laugh once. That movie was so forgettable outside of John Cena, whom I normally can't stand. That's the shocking part.

I haven't seen Nothing But Trouble though.

s. said...

Schumer is a disgrace. Hader was doing wonders in that movie especially since he had to act opposite...that.

thevoid99 said...

@joel65913-I like Bill Hader too and he was alright in this film but man, he could do so much better than act with someone as repulsive as Schumer. And yes, Nothing but Trouble wasn't that bad and there are worse comedies like.... The Heartbreak Kid (2007 version).

@Wendell-You're welcome. I think part of Apatow's problem as a filmmaker is that he wants to be the funny guy but he also wants to be James L. Brooks but there's one problem. Brooks only made one movie that I liked and it was Broadcast News. Everything else wasn't good at all. Plus, you don't need to drag these things for very long. I know you may not like Terrence Malick for all of his pretentiousness but at least knows what to cut out and find a suitable running time for his films.

@Big Screen Small Words-Originally, I was going to do The Breakfast Club but I realized there's things about the film that I do like even though I think it's overrated so I discarded it in favor of this piece of shit. I remember seeing Schumer talking about tampons or something and I was like.... "this is funny?" I can hear women say "oh, you don't get it because you have a penis". Really? I can name women that are way funnier than Schumer. Garafalo, Cho, DeGeneres, some of those ladies I used to watch on Def Comedy Jam. They were hilarious and didn't need to be that grotesque.

@vinnieh-Exactly.

@Brittani-I don't like Cena very much either though he was a fucking riot in Tour de Pharmacy which I can watch over and over again. Plus, he can at least take the criticism from wrestling fans such as what he did last night on Smackdown Live! where a young girl gave him the finger while he just laughed it off.

@Sati-I know. Should we invite Schumer to Evan Rachel Wood's SUPERKICK!!!!! party?

Kgothatjo Magolego said...

Trainwreck is one of my least favourite comedies. I also don't quite get the hype around Amy Schumer. It feels like she's living off the hype of being a plus sized woman instead of actually having substance. This movie was torture, I actually picked it as my entry for last year's edition of this blogathon.

I haven't watched Nothing But Trouble but I was a fan of Chevy Chase back in the day.

Thanks for your post and contributing to the fun :)

TheVern said...

I had the exact same issues with Trainwreck,Steve. You are not the only one. I really hate it when crude raunchy comedies give their purposely offensive main characters some sort of pathos and heart near the end. I liked it more when she was this alcoholic who slept around.
Yeah Nothing but Trouble is bad in the same way Sharknado is bad. It's a fun little B Movie, Plus I guarantee it got an 8% because no one actually sat and watched it.

thevoid99 said...

@Kgothatjo Magolego-You're welcome. I grew up on Chevy Chase as he is someone that me and my family loves. Nothing But Trouble may have not been one of his finest films but he's done worse. I totally agree with you on Schumer. She's just flat-out disgusting.

@TheVern-I haven't seen Sharknado but I think it's likely more fun than anything Schumer has done. At least when you watch a B-movie, it doesn't try to hammer you down with anything. It knows what it is and knows what it aims to do. I have more respect for B-movie filmmakers and porno filmmakers than those who have all of the money in the world to make shit like Trainwreck.

Myerla said...

I don't find Amy Schumer either, mostly because her type of comedy (I HAVE SEX!!) appeals to me. Looks like Trainwreck is in the same vibe so I have no interest in seeing it.

thevoid99 said...

@Myerla-It's pointless. Who gives a shit if you had sex or not. I don't want to know about anyone's sex life. Plus, her last film had her show her boob in an attempt to be funny. It wasn't and I was like.... "put your nipple away woman!" Usually, I'd be stoked to see a naked boob but not this time.