joshuastephen4

I rented this movie with no prior knowledge of it. I simply saw Carly Pope in the cast list and thought, "How fun. I remember her from 'Popular'." I thought this was going to be a funny movie, not a depressing flick about depressing people and their depressing lives. I love movies in which families get together for holidays or events (ie. 'Eulogy' or 'Home For The Holidays') and you witness their personal insanities and eccentricities. But I like them because they portray these families in a light that reminds us of our own relatives and allows us to remember that families are insane yet normal. This movie does not do that. It simply removes any faith you may have about commitment, fidelity, love or happiness. I am not a hopeless romantic or blind optimist, but the problems in these peoples' lives did not warrant the amount of infidelity and self-pity that was portrayed. The only characters I enjoyed were the mom, Carly Pope's caterer/bartender and Dylan (only for his quirkiness, his home-wrecker side really bothered me). Basically, this movie is not funny and would have more success if it presented itself as a drama.

I found this movie to be absolutely hysterical. I laughed so much it was unreal. The "one-line summary" I gave this review may lead many to believe I did not enjoy Rob Schneider in this movie, but that is not true. I was simply trying to let potential viewers of the movie know that though we have seen Rob Schneider "as" several things thus far (ie. an animal, a gigolo, etc.) it in no way detracts from the humor of it. Standouts clearly are Anna Farris (from Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2) and Rachel McAdams, who has since proved herslef as not only a beautiful woman but a very good actress (ie. The Notebook, Mean Girls and Red Eye, all of which she is fantastic in), McAdams is absolutely wonderful in her portrayal of an older man inside a "hot chick". Also, you simply have to love Anna Farris' dopey yet truly adorable character. Overall, I would have to say this is definitely a step up from the Rob Schneider movies I have seen recently, and I do recommend it.

OK. The plot is weak. Very weak. The explosions were plentiful and there were good fight scenes, particularly the fight between Lucy Lui and Ray Park, but that did not sustain an entire movie. That fight scene alone was the only reason not to walk out. Basically, the plot was too forced. Simplifying this one would have been a step in the right direction. The makers of this movie tried too hard to make an intricate, structured storyline and came up with a mess of disconnected story threads that poorly weave themselves together at the end. So to recap, other than a really good fight scene, easily one to miss.