Some of you will spend your summer lifeguarding or teaching tots to play tennis, others will be getting some pompous investment banker his daily vanilla skim latte in exchange for "experience." Not us. We are going to spend our summer in the one place that matters. It's a place where a kid can laugh at the antics of an ogre and a talking donkey and an adult can cry at the love between a man and his wife who suffers from dementia (no, we don't mean "50 First Dates" (2004)), where the delicious smell of commerce is masked by the enchanting aroma of buttery popcorn. We're talking about the movies. This summer, several comedies have already garnered our attention and made us giddy with anticipation.
In June 2009, watch for "Land of The Lost" and "The Hangover." The former follows paleontologist Will Ferrell and company as they journey through the Prehistoric Era. We'll see how their time traveling compares to Doc Brown and his pimped out DeLorean. In "The Hangover," Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis wake up after their friend's bachelor party to find a tiger, Mike Tyson, a chicken and a human baby, but they are missing one thing: the groom. What ensues next is sure to be like "Bachelor Party" (1984) on acid.
A couple of weeks later, "Year One", starring Jack Black and Michael Cera, hits theaters. Black and Cera reprise stale roles as the sloppy rapscallion and the awkward, lovesick teenager, respectively. How original. The more exciting pairing is that of David "Never-Nude" Cross and Paul Rudd as Cain and Abel, respectively.
Then there's the always-nude "Brüno". Brüno is one of the three alter egos of British funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen. In 2006, he wowed audiences with the benignly racist and misogynistic Kazakh reporter, Borat, in the film of the same name. The movie focused on interviews, in which unwitting politicians, businessmen and frat brothers let their guard down enough to say ridiculous things. The movie's success was two-fold; it worked as a comedy, complete with a naked wrestling match, and as a social commentary on America's xenophobic tendencies.
"Brüno" won't stray from its predecessor's formula. The movie follows the flamboyantly gay, Austrian fashionista as he explores America, making friends and enemies along the way. We don't want to give too much away, but for more, check out the trailer that hit the web last Thursday.
The movie has already generated controversy. Sacha Baron Cohen was detained last fall in Milan for crashing a fashion show. Now, when we say crashing, we mean it. He showed up in a Velcro suit and plunged onto the catwalk with a plethora of outfits clinging to him.
This controversy has extended to the editing room. Last week, the movie was slapped with an NC-17 rating — a financial kiss-of-death. NC-17 movies, much like lepers and gingers, are rejected by society. But the producers will likely edit some scenes (only to reinsert them in the inevitable unrated DVD), and with a July 10 release date, there shouldn't be any reason to worry.
If none of the aforementioned movies float your boat, here's one we are sure you will like: "G-Force." This film comes out in July and revolves around a squad of specially trained FBI agents who have to stop a diabolical billionaire from destroying the world. If that isn't enough, the film stars Hollywood A-listers like Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Will Arnett, Jon Favreau, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi. How can this movie be classified as a comedy? The FBI agents happen to be guinea pigs. What? They can't all be "Benji" (1974).
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Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian are freshmen who have not yet declared majors. They can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu and Christopher.Poldoian@tufts.edu.
