Zack & Reba

This movie has no explosions nor does it have blood and guts, hell it doesn't even have Julia Roberts. But it's undeniably a cute romantic comedy with a weird sense of humor. It's a mix between a black comedy and a true romance story. Brittany Murphy is outstanding, it's nice to finally see a film in which she stars. Sean P.F. is also great in this movie and they seem to have good chemistry together. So if you're not looking for a blockbuster hit and want to try a movie thats a little more on the cynical side (still telling a good story none the less) pick this up from your local video store. I was so impressed I bought it.

Well, first of all, I give it 6 out of 10. The plot is not very well thought out, and the characters are portrayed as very bland and superficial. The only good performances come from Sean Patrick Flanery (who excels in any movie that he's in) and Debbie Reynolds. There were hardly any chemistry between the leading characters, which I suppose isn't really their fault but the script's. Overall, the movie is not even worth commenting much about so I guess I will stop here.

I bought this film at Blockbuster for $3.00, because it sounded interesting (a bit Ranma-esque, with the idea of someone dragging around a skeleton), because there was a cute girl in a mini-skirt on the back, and because there was a Restricted Viewing sticker on it. I thought it was going to be a sweet or at least sincere coming of age story with a weird indie edge. I was 100% wrong.

Having watched it, I have to wonder how it got the restricted sticker, since there is hardly any foul language, little violence, and the closest thing to nudity (Honestly! I don't usually go around hoping for it!) is when the girl is in her nightgown and you see her panties (you see her panties a lot in this movie, because no matter what, she's wearing a miniskirt of some sort). Even the anti-religious humor is tame (and lame, caricatured, insincere, derivative, unoriginal, and worst of all not funny in the slightest--it would be better just to listen to Ray Stevens' "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex on His Television Show"). This would barely qualify as PG-13 (it is Not Rated), but Blockbuster refuses to let anyone under the age of 17 rent this--as if it was pornographic. Any little kid could go in there and rent the edited version of Requiem for a Dream, but they insist that Zack and Reba is worse.

It is, but not in that way.

In a way, this worries me--the only thing left that could offend people is the idea of the suicide at the beginning. If anybody needs to see movies with honestly portrayed suicides (not this one, but better ones like The Virgin Suicides), it's teenagers. If both of those movies were rated R purely because of the suicide aspect, then I have little chance of turning a story I've been writing into a PG-13 movie (the main characters are eleven and a half and twelve). Suicide is one of the top three leading causes of death in teenagers (I think it's number 2), so chances are that most teens have been or will be affected by it.

Just say no to this movie, though. 2/10.

What a crude, hilarious sense of humor! The actors, director, the writer, were all unknowns to me when I picked up the video and took it home. Sean Patrick Flanery is adorable, but all the characters in this offbeat film leave an impression. The scene with the preacher had me laughing out loud, and rewinding the tape to watch it again. I've never seen a movie quite like this.

Debbie Reynolds outside her perky persona is what drew me, but this movie is a lot more. Brittany Murphy is adorable, and Sean Patrick Flannery should be out of the indies by now. It makes you smile while you watch,a clever story, and no glaring holes in the plot. What more can you want?