The D Train

In all honesty, when I saw that Jack Black and James Marsden had made a movie together I thought: "oh this might be cool", because I like both of them.

But when I read the plot summary: "The head of the high school reunion committee has to persuade the most popular guy in school to join them in the reunion" my expectations fell way down to the floor.

The idea of a high shcool reunion is really not something I would even bother going to due to many different things so it lost me in the relation to the material factor and it just didn't sound like a very good premise for a movie.

And in a sense it isn't, and it didn't pull me in right away but eventually once James Marsden got into the picture it did and became a lot different from what I expected of the movie, it actually became rather moving in the end.

It's a movie that deals with identity, popularity, sexuality and parenthood and it does so in quite an unusual rather non PC way so if you are a prude you might not appreciate some of the events taking place, I however did and thought it was a breath of fresh air.

I was a little surprised by this movie, because it had some layers that I didn't really expect. Now, I can't go into much detail about these layers, because I want to be totally spoiler free, but they are there.

The D Train is listed as a comedy, but I think it's more of a comedy/drama, because, like I said, it's not all silly fun. The comedy is often silly, it is Jack Black after all, but when it is serious, it is serious. I kind of felt for Jack Blacks character. He does some dumb stuff indeed, but he is also tossed into a couple of situations he doesn't know quite how to tackle. (here those aforementioned layers comes to play)

I don't laugh that easily, so when I watch a comedy I first and foremost want to be entertained, not laugh. And I was entertained by this movie. It did make me chuckle a couple times too, though.

I think part of the reason for this movies relatively low score (here on IMDb) is exactly that it is not a clean comedy, and definitely not a clean drama, it falls between two chairs, and maybe some are confused by that. We do love to define stuff, don't we? Us humanoids that is. Yes we do.

Anyway, it's an alright movie with some heart, some drama and some goofiness. Not your worst, not your best.

Another mislabeled movie... So no wonder that people who expected to have mindless fun watching Jack Black in a typical comic role he used to play many times before and James Marsden in a role similar to the ones he played brilliantly in Sex drive or Death at a funeral, got unexpectedly hit with quite dark theme with no many things to laugh at and disappointed. At first, I was disappointed too, but somewhere at the middle I realized that the movie it self is good, that the theme is important and that above mentioned (but all the others too) actors did amazing job. I blame the marketing of this movie, poster, but you too dear IMDb for providing wrong info on a movie category and misleading synopsis. So, in conclusion - as a comedy, this one is quite bad, but as a drama, it's very nicely done.

Way beyond my expectations.

Jack black was nothing but hysterical. Honestly could not stop laughing at him.

James Marsden make a fantastic side kick to Black's fantastic performance.

Another great Jack Black movie written by Mike White who also wrote School of Rock.

Black plays the head of his 20 year high school reunion committee who after seeing one of his classmates, Oliver lawless played by Marsden in a national TV commercial, weaves a very tangled web to get the coolest guy in the school to come to the reunion so he can be a hero but his quest turns out a little disastrous.

This movie impressively went places I did not expect and turn out some real funny results that change how I see Bromance movies forever.

This one you got to see.

It is really hard to know quite what to make of this movie. I am inclined to think it's a hair away from being a masterpiece or just trash.

I usually don't pay too much attention to which actors are or aren't in something, or rather usually I prefer to not recognize any actors, but the presence of Jack Black in here gives it a certain credibility, and his impeccable comic timing makes this that much more palatable.

A very dark story about how much of our identity hinges on who were were as youths and how our lives go down hill from there. The plot demands that you believe that a class reunion could be that much of a big deal. It throws its own hands up at one point and tries to hand wave a plot hole by making it an oversight by the main character but it's still just a plot hole.

Things take a very awkward turn half way through in a way I did not see coming. It's an intentionally discomforting movie where things can get quite excruciating. It's a tricky balancing act, not going over board with that kind of thing and overall this movie, despite its intelligent armoury of characterisation and nuance, doesn't quite pull its ambitious story off. Having said that I'm very glad this movie found its audience there were people who could get out of this movie the very particular thing it had to give.

It rather smugly ends thinking it's resolved all it characters problems but it hasn't.