1. Fool’s Gold (3,125 Theaters, 113 Minutes, Rated PG-13): There is something inherently funny about seeing someone hit in the head. Whether it is with a slap, a pie to the face or a cane, seeing someone cracked in the cabeza tickles the funny bone.
The scene from the trailer where Kate Hudson hits Matthew McConaughey in the head with that old man’s cane makes me laugh every time I see it. I am quasi-interested in seeing the movie just on the basis of that scene. What makes it for me is McConaughey’s line about her not going to hit him-right before she hits him.
McConaughey and Hudson are becoming a modern day Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. They are the king and queen of the modern adversarial romantic comedy. This time they play an estranged married couple who reunite to go in search of treasure. Really.
So, while I like seeing McConaughey getting hit on the head (more so after having to type his name four times), I am not a big fan of the genre. If the rest of the scenes in the trailer were as funny as that one, then I’d be more willing to take a chance.
2. Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2,385 Theaters, 114 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Kind of an interesting cast here. You have no less than three Oscar Nominees (James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, and Michael Clarke Duncan). But you also have people who have made such cinematic gems as How High, Big Momma’s House, and Soul Plane (Mike Epps, Martin Lawrence and Mo’Nique, respectively). Who knows where this movie will chart in the wide scale or quality that history of flicks create.
Lawrence plays a Dr.Phil-like self-help guru who goes back to his hometown for a family reunion. And his family is not exactly non-embarrassing. Hilarity, naturally, ensues.
The plot, man goes back home to be embarrassed by his family, isn’t one of the most original. And the fact one of the plot points that is revealed in the trailer is Mike Epps character trying to see Lawrence’s fiancee naked doesn’t really improve it for me.
3. Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Days-Hollywood to the Heartland (962 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated R): Wow. That’s one long title. C’mon, Vince! What are you trying to do? Kill me?
Usually, I have a 1,000 theater count minimum for inclusion on this list, but Box Office Mojo considers this movie a wide release, and who am I to argue.
This is not a comedy concert film. This is more of a documentary about the Wild West Comedy Show tour that Vaughn put together in 2005. It details both the on stage and behind the scenes portion of the show as the troupe performs 30 shows in 30 consecutive days. Think less Eddie Murphy: Raw, more Madonna: Truth or Dare.
In this day and age, when these kinds of things become reality programs on basic cable, it’s nice to see that it has not fallen out of custom for a movie treatment. Not that Vaughn couldn’t have gotten a reality show deal, but I just think in this case, theatrical release is better.Now on to the predictions. This is what I called for last week:
- Strange Wilderness
- The Eye
- Rambo
- 27 Dresses
- Meet the Spartans.
And this was how it turned out:
- Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour
- The Eye
- 27 Dresses
- Meet the Spartans
- Rambo
That silly concert movie was only on 683 theaters. 683! Who in their right mind would have thought that it would do that much business? Who, I say, who!
This means that I was 1 for 5, making me 48 of 125 after 25 weeks. My average is now 38%.
This is what I think this week will bring:
- Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour
- Fool’s Gold
- Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
- 27 Dresses
- The Eye
The spawn of Billy Ray is still showing up as being in most of my local theaters this week, so I am running on the assumption the flick will be in another week. I could be wrong, but here I stand.
