Cougars Inc.

I decided to give this one a shot after seeing James Belushi and Denise Richards on the credits. That, and the fact that there was no review for this title on IMDb; it kinda felt like a "virgin" territory to explore.

And I don't regret it, because I ended up liking it. The acting was believable without any of the forced over-the-top or wooden performances that you see in crappy movies where you are constantly reminded that some people are trying to act and the results are painful to watch.

The lead character which plays Sam was natural, the role fit him like a glove and in the end it felt like he pulled it off with style; and the other characters delivered good performances too.

I wouldn't know where to classify this but it certainly isn't a comedy. The story is somewhat original (at least I haven't seen another movie about high-school kids doing escort services for older women) but it doesn't fall into cheap clichés, not a little bit and all the little side stories are neatly weaved into the main one.

It has a sweet-sad tone all through, however, it also has a sort of light feeling of hope to it and the music helps building and keeping that up.

All in all, I didn't end up regretting the time I spent on it (as I do with a lot of movies, lately) so what I can tell you is, give it a try and make up your own mind about it. This isn't your garden-variety blockbuster but I think you'll find it a quite good way to spend one and half hours on a stormy afternoon.

(2010) Cougars, Inc DRAMA

Co-produced, written and directed by K. Asher Levin, that has teenage misfit, Sam (Kyle Gallner) paying for his own tuition by setting up an on-line escort service for already married women or housewives, and at the same time he falls in love with a girl his age named Courtney (Sarah Hyland). Everything about this movie is strictly by the book, and that the embarrassing comedy routines had already been done before on previous films shown before, such as the "American Pie" movies and so forth. There's nothing new what I hadn't seen already. Some of the comedy scenes is cringe worthy.

I wasn't sure about it during first 10 minutes but, as story kept unfolding, it kept me going. Although the movie have some emotional elements and a nicely flowing storyline, it is not presented as an emotional movie. Scenes are neither too long or too short, which is a nice thing - just enough to tell the story.

There is not much character introduction with their backgrounds and motivations to do things, and I guess, it is left for us to imagine. Ending of the story was predictable within first 1/3 but it didn't hurt the movie.

This movie lacks the "scale": small and less-involved cast, short and medium camera shots giving the feeling of a budget movie (or a tele-drama).

Overall, watching it is not a waste of time, but remember to tolerate first 15 minutes until story starts appearing, because, editor hasn't done a great job.

I must start out by saying that I was definitely not in the target audience for this movie, because I gave up about halfway through the movie out of sheer boredom. This movie took forever to get nowhere, and for a comedy it was frightfully devoid of laughs and funny situations.

Admittedly, then the storyline does have the ground for a great comedy, but it just came out as non-appealing and not funny at all. Plus, the core essentials of the movie have been seen in other movies that deal with the same situation.

Despite having some fairly good names to the cast list, then "Cougars Inc." was a dull experience, one that I will never pick up again and attempt to watch with the intend to finish. It should be said that I rarely give up on a movie, so for this one to cause me to get up and stop it halfway through, that pretty much says a lot about the movie. With that said, then I am not saying that the actors or actresses in the movie didn't do good enough jobs, because they did, the movie was just a boring experience.

I am sure if you are a young teen, perhaps around 15 to 18 years old or so, then you might find some amusement in this movie. But for an adult audience, "Cougars Inc." doesn't offer much in the entertainment aspect.

"Heroes aren't born, they're cornered". I didn't know Mickey Rooney said that, but according to Dean Fox (James Belushi) , he did. I couldn't agree more. It takes guts to try pull off an adventure of this nature, involving unsatisfied, lonely mature ladies, but it takes guts too to make a hero, inasmuch as the word can imply.

Lately we've seen a string of movies involving mature, horny ladies, most of them forgettable disasters. I was unsure about this one, but all things put together, it was an enjoyable movie. The theme, yes, might be risqué, but it was a well done and mature story. Several acting roles are highlights in this one. Kyle Gardner, as Sam, made some powerful scenes as the young escort service manager, too young to tackle a venture of this nature, but yet, mature enough to behave responsibly and respectfully. The scenes involving heart to heart conversations with his High School Dean were well done. James Belushi, of course, is a veteran of such, and I couldn't help smiling at his conversational quirks and facial expressions. So like Belushi.

That is another of the strengths of this movie. It never vilified or sullied women, whatever their sexual preferences, nor did it ever make them look vulgar or cheap. These women craved love, there were some nice, horny boys around willing to please, the ladies were willing to pay for a good time together, Sam needed the money to pay for his tuition, so you had a deal. There was no attempt to make things seem dirty, it was just a circumstance that happened. The nice thing about it, too, no one ended up as enemies. Everyone was mature enough to understand the situation and act accordingly, so despite the obvious scandal in the end, the story ended well for everybody. It was not a fairy tale ending either, in case you think this was another tear-jerker. Everything was plausible and very believable.

There was no stupid behavior, brainless monkeying around, boys acting stupidly like I've seen in other movies. That too was another plus in this one. The ladies were pretty and nice to them, the boys were also nice and gentlemanly with the ladies. I think the screenwriter of this plot likes women and respects them, and it shows in the story. That's so nice to see.

But like everything in life, there are consequences. The final 'showdown' talk between Sam and his friend Dean Fox was heartbreaking, but so very very true these days, where families are dysfunctional and...well. not quite families anymore. Powerful acting in this scene. Both actors show their talent.

Bottom line, then, not a ten-pin-bowling strike of a flick, but very enjoyable, intelligently done, and time well-spent. Highlights notwithstanding, when you think of it, this is a very difficult movie to film and pull off.

I think you will like the style of this one.