Movie Time With Ice, The Movie Guy
There are some things in life that are just naturally funny. Things that you don't have to put into weird and wacky situations in order to make them funny. There are very few things in life that can always be counted on as comedic gold.
Oprah, pizza, talking computers...these things will always work, and, except for one god-awful Just Be Friends show, Gay cowboys. I have to admit the idea of this movie is so good that I was expecting to be disappointed, but this movie definitely went beyond my wildest expectations.
First off, my hat goes off to the brave director, Ang Lee. Ang is one of Hollywood's premier directors and this is not a movie that most directors would be willing to risk their reputation on. Many would view sex comedies as something that should be left to the kids just out of film school, but Mr. Lee treated this movie with as much respect as
Spielberg treated "
Schindler's List". Having not seen any of the previews, I went into the theater expecting a
joke-a-second laugh factory much like "Porky's" or "Bachelor Party". Mr. Lee, however, took a much different approach from the classic sex comedy formula that was established during their heyday in the early '80s. In order to separate his film from the rest of the genre and create something completely his own, the director took a very slow and subtle approach to the underlying humor of this film. This approach allowed the natural comedy of the script to resonate with the audience much like the lingering aftertaste of a fine glass of wine. This is the work of a director at the top of his game.
Yes, this is a very slow burning comedy, but don't let that deter you. When the jokes finally hit, they hit with double the impact. Imagine this situation for instance; Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, a bottle of whiskey and a tent with no lights....I won't tell you what happens, but as you can imagine hilarity ensues! SPOILER ALERT: One thing that was unfortunately left out of this movie however was the nudity. Nudity is expected in these movies, but besides one set of
lackluster titties this movie had none. That, however, is the only complaint I have with this movie. This is comedy in a epic form that I have never experienced before. Whereas most movies in the sex comedy genre take place over a couple of days, this movie has it's characters turning jokes on each other for their whole entire lives! This movie takes hold of the humor and does not let go. It forces its characters to be dedicated to the comedy with an intensity that has never before been seen on the big screen. Characters marry, cheat, even have kids, all for the sake of fooling one another! OMG, I was on the floor!
This was not the movie I had expected to see. It went well beyond that. This is one of the most innovated and genre-busting movies I have ever seen. It deserves every bit of the praise that it is receiving and this movie will surely put Ang Lee in the same class of directors as
Harold Ramis and
Bob Clark. Not too much sex, but a whole lot of funny business and in the end that makes this one pretty good flick.