This week, the new releases feature two comedies and a thriller decide to do a quick cash grab before the Avengers arrive and take all the money.
1. I Feel Pretty (STX Entertainment, 3,440 Theaters,110 Minutes, Rated PG-13 for sexual content, some partial nudity, and language, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 36% Fresh [99 reviews]): Let’s talk about Amy Schumer. I believe that she is a comedy genius. I believe her TV show is a masterwork of social and political observation.
Now let’s talk about her film career. She is falling into the same trap many other brilliant comic did–Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy–of trying to build a film career by making some bad choices. Her first film, Trainwreck, which she wrote, was great, But then she went into other films that seemed to be a good fit, but wasn’t up to the quality that film or her TV show.
Take this film as an example. A comedy about body politics should be up Schumer’s alley. But the trailer makes it look like a “let’s laugh at the crazy person” type of film. That is definitely an message that does go over too well.
2. Super Troopers 2 (Fox, 2,038 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated R for crude sexual content and language throughout, drug material and some graphic nudity, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 33% Fresh [42 reviews]): Super Troopers was a unexpected landmark in American comedy. It established Broken Lizard as a formidable name in comedy, and gave its members productive careers both in front of and behind the cameras.
Now, 16 years later, the sequel finally arrives. It was crowdfunded by fans of the troupe, and the trailer looks like it gives fans what they’ve been waiting for.
This time around, the boys are in charge of a disputed area on the Vermont/Canada border. When the jingoistic troopers try to mold the life-long Canadians to the American way of life, hilarity ensues.
Keep an eye on the site for Rich Drees’ review of the film.
3. Traffik (Lionsgate, 1,046 Theaters, 96 Minutes, Rated R for violent and disturbing material, language throughout, some drug use and sexual content, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 27% Fresh [11 reviews]): Back when I was a kid, cinematic biker gangs didn’t need and excuse to be evil. That was the age of the Hell’s Angel’s heyday and not long after the debacle at the Rolling Stones show at the Altamont Speedway.
But over the years, real-life biker clubs showed that they weren’t all Satan worshiping tornadoes of two-wheeled destructions. They would hold rallies for sick kids or act as a wall of sound at military funerals to block the bleating of the Westboro Baptist Church. You know, nice things.
So the biker gang that terrorizes the loving couple in the film isn’t just doing it for fun. No, they are child traffickers who are looking to get a phone back from them that is vital to their business. See! Progress!
Next week, all new releases make way for the arrival of Thanos. See you then.
