Comments on: Video Verdict: ‘Funny People,’ ‘Angels & Demons,’ ‘Four Christmases,’ ‘Shorts’

By: Forrest Hartman

Forrest Hartman — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:40:17 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, ER Episodes!

By: Er Episodes

Er Episodes — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:59:15 +0000

You have an cool site!

By: Forrest Hartman

Forrest Hartman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:58:54 +0000

Good points Allen. I’m not sure what was up with the Carol Kane bit. She’s uncredited in the film.

Maybe she saw the cast list and thought it would be fun to be part of it. If I was an actor, I’d want to work with the folks they assembled for this film. It’s just too bad they didn’t do more with it. As smilingldsgirl said, “You think with 5 Oscar winners they could come up with better jokes.”

By: Allen

Allen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:39:28 +0000

Yeah, I wasn’t a huge fan of “Four Christmases.” It started out with potential, but then the writing got a little careless. If they’d stretched a little bit more, it would have been laugh-out-loud funny, as well as touching.

By the way, what was up with the totally unnecessary Carol Kane cameo? When I first saw her, I was thinking, Cool, she’ll probably do something hilarious. But she didn’t. I’m not sure she even spoke.

By: Forrest Hartman

Forrest Hartman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:16:57 +0000

Hi:

Thanks so much for the response. I had a decent time with “Four Christmases,” probably because (as noted) I really like the two leads. So, I guess I was predisposed to like it.

That said, it is certainly nothing like “Roman Holiday” or any of the other great romantic comedies you mentioned. If only we could get back to those days. The one recent film that reminds me a little bit of them is “Leatherheads.” It won’t be a classic, like the movies you mentioned, but it is an obvious tribute to the genre. The dialogue, acting styles and everything else are clearly designed to recall an earlier era of filmmaking. You might check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.

Also, I failed to reply to one of your earlier posts about “Up.” I think you asked if it might get nominated for a best picture Oscar. I think, with 10 nominations for best picture this year, it will be a travesty if “Up” isn’t in the mix. This hasn’t been a great year for film, but “Up” is just delightful.

By: smilingldsgirl

smilingldsgirl — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:02:57 +0000

I think you are too kind on four Christmases. I thought it was terrible. I can think of 2 moments that made me laugh. Every other joke fell flat. Plus, I didn’t think there was any chemistry. You think with 5 Oscar winners they could come up with better jokes.
I think romantic comedy writers need to sit down and watch Hist Girl Friday, Shop Around the Corner, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Mr. Deed’s Comes to Town, Roman Holiday, and Bringing Up Baby and see how romantic comedies should be made. It’s a good genre but boy have there been a lot of turkeys lately- like 4 christmases.