Reviews of Away We Go, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, The Girlfriend Experience and Monsters vs. Aliens.

Away We Go
Universal
$30
Blu-ray: $40

Plot: An unmarried pair of soon-to-be parents (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) set off on a cross-country trip in search of a new place to call home.

Opinion: Already big names in the television biz, Away We Go confirms that Krasinski (a.k.a. Jim from The Office) and Rudolph (a.k.a. Whitney/Beyonce/Oprah from Saturday Night Live) have the movie star goods. Their moving, funny and emotionally honest performances help distract from the film’s uneven supporting cast, some of whom go so far over the top, it’s painful to watch (we’re looking right at you Allison Janey).  It helps that director Sam Mendes displays a lighter touch here than he has in virtually every other film he’s made to date; in fact, in many ways this movie is an antidote to his last outing, the overbearing Revolutionary Road.  The episodic structure results in a few dead patches, but whenever Rudolph and Krasinski are onscreen, you’re happy to spend time in their company.  

Bonus Features: A commentary track with Mendes and the film’s writers, real-life married couple Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida and a making-of featurette.

Verdict: Buy It

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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Warner Home Video
$25
Blu-ray: $30

Plot: After Lex Luthor frames Superman and Batman for a crime they didn’t commit, the Caped Crusader and The Dark Knight have to fight off hoards of their enemies-and a few of their friends.

Opinion: A more accurate title for the latest direct-to-DVD animated feature from DC Comics would be: Superman and Batman Fight the DC Universe.  The majority of this movie’s slender 67-minute runtime is given over to epic battles that pit Batman and Superman against such villains as Mongul and Solomon Grundy and supposed good guys like Captain Atom and Power Girl.  At least these action sequences are very well executed-in fact, they’re far more exciting and innovative than the fights on display in most live-action superhero movies.  But compared to such previous DC cartoons as The New Frontier, Public Enemies doesn’t have much to offer in the way of a great story or eye-catching animation.  Still, if you’ve ever wondered how Batman would fare in a fight with Captain Marvel, Public Enemies is worth a look.

Bonus Features: Lots of fun sneak peeks at past and future projects from DC’s animation wing, most notably their Spring 2010 release Crisis on Two Earths.  There’s also a twenty-minute documentary exploring the psychologies of Superman and Batman, a half-hour conversation between actor Kevin Conroy (who voices Batman) and the film’s creative team, and two episodes from Superman: The Animated Series, which ran in the mid-’90s.

Verdict: Rent It

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The Girlfriend Experience
Magnolia
$27
Blu-ray: $35

Plot: Steven Soderbergh chronicles a few weeks in the life of a high-end Manhattan escort (porn star Sasha Grey).

Opinion: Coming off one of his biggest-and best-films, a four-hour profile of controversial revolutionary Che Guevera, Soderbergh switches gears and delivers a small-scale character study that lasts a mere 80 minutes.  Filmed on the streets and in the luxurious high-rises of Manhattan in October 2008 just as the economy was starting to crumble, The Girlfriend Experience is a captivating portrait of a city in transition.  Never one to shy away from challenging the audience, Soderbergh scambles the film’s chronology, recounting events out of sequence and building towards a deliberately ambigious ending.  It’s the kind of movie that rewards repeat viewings.  Beautifully shot by Soderbergh (who, as usual, served as his own director of photography) and well acted by its non-professional cast, The Girlfriend Experience is a minor gem from one of the most consistently interesting filmmakers working today.

Bonus Features: Soderbergh contributes another one of his eloquent, insightful commentary tracks, which at times into an extended interview with his star and fellow commentator Grey.  Also tucked away in the extras menus is an unrated alternate cut of the movie that does feature some striking differences from the theatrical version.

Verdict: Buy It

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Monsters vs. Aliens
Paramount
$30
Blu-ray: $40

Plot: The title pretty much says it all: a crew of monsters battle an invading army of aliens.

Opinion: In the never-ending Pixar vs. DreamWorks Animation debate, I tend to come down on Pixar’s side.  That said, with Monsters vs. Aliens, the DreamWorks guys have achieved something their rivals have yet to accomplish: they’ve built an entertaining adventure entirely around a female protagonist.  MvA puts girl power front and center in the form of Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), an ordinary small-town woman who is transformed into a 50-foot-tall giantess following a freak encounter with a glowing meteorite.  While the female empowerment aspect of MvA is worth celebrating, there are plenty of other things to like here as well.  The action sequences are lots of fun and the characters are wonderfully realized by the animators and the vocal cast.  As enjoyable as MvA is, I have to concede that it doesn’t measure up to Pixar’s best efforts.  The truth is we’ve been spoiled by films like Wall-E and Toy Story-to say nothing of such exceptional non-Pixar productions as Spirited Away and Coraline-which seek to both entertain and elevate animation as an art form.  MvA is purely interested in the first half of this equation.  It deserves praise for succeeding at what it sets out to do, but you might leave the theater wishing it had aspired to just a little bit more.

Bonus Features: There’s plenty here to entertain both adult and kid viewers alike; the 25 and older set will likely enjoy the commentary track and making-of featurettes, while those 15 and under will want to check out the games and bonus animated adventure B.O.B.’s Big Break on the second disc.

Verdict: Buy It

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Also on DVD:

One of Hollywood’s most beloved movies turns the big seven-oh this year and what better way to celebrate than with a super-deluxe box set?  The Wizard of Oz: 70^th Anniversary Edition (Warner Home Video, $70) offers a remastered and restored version of the 1939 Judy Garland classic along with a host extras ranging from new documentaries and featurettes to four silent short films based on the writing of the real wizard behind the curtain, author L. Frank Baum.  How I Met Your Mother: Season Four (CBS, $40) collects the fourth season of the best sitcom currently on the air–yes, even better than The Office.  Last but certainly not least, The Unit: The Complete Giftset (20^th Century Fox, $200) contains the entire run of CBS’s underrated action series, created by playwright David Mamet and The Shield mastermind Shawn Ryan.  A terrific showcase for leading man Dennis Haysbert, The Unit mixed impressive action sequences with a lot of juicy drama.  It’s a shame it didn’t last beyond four seasons, but at least viewers who missed the show the first time around will be able to get hooked on it with this set.

Reviews of The Hangover and Away We Go

The Hangover
Directed by Todd Phillips
Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis
**

Hey, remember the episode of The Simpsons where Homer and Ned Flanders went to Vegas, got wasted on booze and woke up married to two floozies?  Well, screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore definitely do because they’ve written a longer big-screen version of that half-hour episode and called it The Hangover.  Following the outlandish exploits of a trio of friends the morning after the wildest and craziest bachelor party in the history of wild and crazy bachelor parties, the Todd Phillips-directed film is positioning itself to be 2009′s version Wedding Crashers or Knocked Up—a riotous R-rated summer comedy that audiences go back to see again and again.

Thanks to its omnipresent ad campaign (seriously, I think I’ve seen Hangover banner ads plastered on every single bus stop and movie-related website on the Internet) box-office success seems all but assured.  In terms of quality though, Vince and Owen and Judd and Seth have nothing to worry about.  For all its zany situations (The guys finds a tiger in the bathroom!  The guys get tasered by the cops!) and stunt cameos (Mike Tyson!) The Hangover isn’t really all that funny.  Where Wedding Crashers and Knocked Up were filled with gut-busting scenes that people spilled out of theater laughing about, it’s hard to think of any truly memorable moments from this creatively challenged outing.  Instead, much like an actual hangover, The Hangover lingers for a little while and then vanishes from your mind completely.

Since comedy is arguably the most subjective film genre there is, I should disclose that I haven’t found Phillips’ past efforts to be all that funny either.  His first feature Road Trip is a bland American Pie knock-off, Starsky & Hutch is only bearable thanks to the potent chemistry of its stars Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller and I didn’t bother seeing the dire-looking School for Scoundrels.  And while 2003′s Old School is beloved by many, I’ve always considered it to be incredibly overrated, offering one genuinely inspired comic performance (Will Ferrell) amidst lots of generic frat boy humor.

My general problem with Phillips as a director is that he surrounds himself with talented actors and then saddles them with uninspired material.  The Hangover has a number of opportunities to blossom into a genuinely witty and daring comedy, but keeps making safe, obvious choices at every turn.  Take the casting of scene-stealer Ken Jeong (Knocked Up, Role Models) as the leader of an Asian crime ring.  A smarter movie would have allowed Jeong to play against type; unfortunately this one falls back on broad caricature, requiring the actor to repeatedly mispronounce “Engrish” words and jump around buck naked for no discernible reason.

There’s also the issue of the film’s questionable treatment of its few female characters, a recurring problem in Phillips’ work.  In the world of The Hangover, women are either doormats who willingly tolerate the guys’ bad behavior or raging bitches who deserve public humiliated for daring to call them on their B.S.  The former type is represented by Heather Graham’s Jade—a stripper with a heart of gold, a fantastic rack and no backbone—while the latter is typified by Rachel Harris’s Melissa, a nasty piece of work the guys take great pleasure in vilifying.  Say what you will about Judd Apatow’s own issues with women; at least his movies don’t require the female characters to just be big-boobed Madonnas or shrewish whores.

The Hangover‘s one saving grace is its cast, who work overtime to wring laughs from the wafer thin screenplay.  Cult comic Zach Galifianakis has deservedly won lots of buzz for his spacey turn as a bearded man-child; in fact, the studio has already announced that he’ll be getting his own sequel.  His co-stars Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper are eminantly watchable as well.  But it says something about the movie that its most inspired sequence turns out to be the end credits, which reveal the group’s bachelor party hijinks in (very) explicit detail.  Too bad the rest of The Hangover only provides a mild buzz.

Verdict: Skip It

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Also in Theaters:

Away We Go
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph
***1/2
As an unmarried pair of soon-to-be parents touring the country in search of a new place to call home, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are the glue that holds Sam Mendes’ sweetly comic road movie together.  Their moving, funny and emotionally honest performances help distract from the uneven supporting cast, some of whom go so far over the top, it’s painful to watch (we’re looking right at you Allison Janey). Already big names in television, Away We Go confirms that Krasinski and Rudolph have the movie star goods.

Verdict: See It

Maya Rudolph talks about her life, her music and Away We Go

GIANT: Was part of the motivation behind taking this part showing that you could handle a more dramatic role?
Maya Rudolph: I think that’s usually the perception when you do something different from what you’re known for—that you’re trying to change your image or maybe redirect the way people look at you.  But it was really just another part of me I wanted to express. When I started working, I had always hoped for some kind of project like Away We Go to come along.  This was one of those lucky things where I got to play a character who is closer to the real person I am without abandoning any of my roots to do it.

GIANT: There are lots of similarities between your own life and your character.  Do you know if the role was written with you in mind?
Rudolph: There were rumblings that the screenwriters Dave [Eggers] and Vendela [Vida] had me in mind when they were writing the script.  But I didn’t know them and I haven’t heard that from them, so I don’t know if that’s a wonderful folk myth or if it was true.  I just tried as hard as I could to show I was interested in the part, so I kept buzzing around passing messages to Dave and Vendela saying, “Hey, I love the script!  When are you making it?”  That went on for a long time.  Then I finally met up with them when I happened to be in the Bay Area.  We ended up meeting in the park with our kids—it was kind of a playdate.  It didn’t guarantee anything, but I could finally tell them to their faces how much I loved the movie.

GIANT: What was the audition process like?
Rudolph: I auditioned for Sam on my own and then with John [Krasinski] later on.  It was just really nice right away between us.  Our senses of humor are totally in sync.  And once we knew we were making it together, he couldn’t have been more positive and interested in cementing something between the two of us.  We spent so much time together whether it was moving to our weird corporate housing in Connecticut or helping each other buy pillows at the local Target or making sure we had stocked fridges.  It quickly helps you care about the other person’s well being.  That and a lot of Guitar Hero.

GIANT: Was it weird being “movie pregnant” not long after giving birth in real life?
Rudolph: It was a breeze, because the fake tummy was only two pounds!  It’s flattering to be fake pregnant in a movie because you look fantastic and all you have is a big round belly.  Other than that, you’re skinny and have no water weight and you can eat whatever you want.  Apparently I waddle naturally, so I had the walk down.  I was really big when I was pregnant with my daughter and I’d constantly have people asking me “Are you having twins?”  I was like, “I don’t need to hear that man—that’s not making me feel any better about my day.” [Laughs]

GIANT: You left New York for Los Angeles after your daughter was born.  Was that a hard transition?
Rudolph: I was in New York when I was pregnant, but I knew I wanted to be near my family, which is here in LA.  It’s nice to be close to family when you have a child.  I didn’t get to grow up getting to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins because they all lived back east and I always fantasized about living on the same block as all my cousins.  But I hope to live in New York again.  There’s so much about it that I feel brings out a part of me.  It was such a life changing experience to move there for Saturday Night Live and the show meant so much to me.  I don’t feel like I’m in New York without feeling SNL somehow.  If I’m ever there and it’s a Saturday, I feel like I need to be in that building.

GIANT: You started out as a musician before transitioning into acting.  Any plans to record another album one day?
Rudolph: I always fantasize that one day I’ll get my shit together and record an album.  I know that I would have so much fun doing it.  Music is my family’s business so it feels very normal.  I was living down the street last summer from the Lonely Island guys and they were making their record and I was like “See Maya—it’s so easy!”  They called super late one night and asked me to sing backup on one of theirs songs.  And I’m like no problem.  I just need to find my female Lonely Island.

GIANT: What’s up next for you on the acting front?
Rudolph: I’m going to be shooting Adam Sandler’s new comedy this summer.  The story is based around a bunch of old friends who grew up together and now all the families are getting together for a summer weekend.  I play Chris Rock’s wife in the movie.  I like those guys so much—I feel like we’re part of the same family.  There’s a lot of love between SNL alumni.  It’s a special group.  We’re in the comedy army together and we have this special unique history that bonds us for life.

GIANT: What do you hope moviegoers take away from Away We Go?
Rudolph: I just hope people like it.  I feel like there’s a lot of goodness in it so I hope people get that, but really I just want them to like it.  I don’t want them to throw tomatoes at it.  I feel really proud that I’m one half of this couple.  I really like them and I think we did them justice.  Maybe we’ll inspire a new generation of babies named Burt and Verona!

Away We Go opens in limited release tomorrow.  For more with Maya, pick up GIANT’s July ’09 issue, on stands now.

Welcome back Maya Rudolph!

The ex-Saturday Night Live player best known for her blistering Beyonce and Oprah impressions has been lying low since leaving the late-night series at the start of the 2007 season.  Granted, she had a good reason for taking some time off; she was the mother of a two-year old toddler, Pearl, her daughter with revered director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood).  In the two years since her departure, Rudolph has occassionally popped up in guest spots on SNL and also lent her voice to animated projects like The Simpsons and Shrek the Third.  Fortunately, we’ll be seeing lots more of Rudolph in the year ahead; she was just cast alongside Salma Hayek in Adam Sandler’s next movie and in June she stars in the Sam Mendes-directed road comedy Away We Go.  Written by acclaimed novelsists Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, the film follows an expectant unmarried couple (Rudolph and John Krasinski from The Office) on their cross-country trip in search of a new place to call home.  Along the way, they encounter a number of eccentric personalities, played by such ace character actors as Allison Janey, Jeff Daniels and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Don’t expect a Road Trip-style broad comedy though.  The recently released trailer suggests the film will be more of a whimsical Juno-like affair, minus, one hopes, all the stupid pop-culture slang.  Check out the teaser below and look for Away We Go to hit theaters on June 5, 2009.