Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) wants to move up in the corporate ladder so to do that he must pass a strange test. Tim’s boss hosts a monthly dinner where all the top executives compete to see who can bring the most idiotic guest. Initially Tim is debating about whether to do such a cruel thing, especially since his girlfriend is against it. However, money hungry Tim decides to go through with it when he meets Barry (Steve Carell), a very quirky guy who has a hobby of making dioramas with stuffed mice. Meeting Barry changes Tim’s life, together they endure many strange situations, with the initial purpose of moving to the top of the corporate ladder.

Rating: One out of five buckets
Release Date: January 4, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: None
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate

See the trailer here!

Talking Points:

As quirky and weird that this movie is, there is also a sweet element to it. Initially Tim does want to use Barry to advance in his career, but in the end he realizes how cruel and wrong it is to mistreat people. Through all the drama that’s in their relationship, they gradually develop a nice friendship. This is the only thing I liked about the movie.

Sexual Content: Excessive

• This movie is on the edge of PG13, it could have been R, there is a lot of sexual adult humor throughout the whole movie. Some examples are:

• Darla, a girl that Tim once a had fling with, shows up at Tim’s apartment wanting a romantic evening with Tim. She is very strange, she even stuffs Tim’s phone in her pants. There was a great deal of sexual references and innuendo when she was on the screen.

• There’s a scene where an artist is shooting a photo session with two nude woman, covered with paint. He claims that he will sleep with both of them.

Profanity: Mild

Conclusion:

I really like Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, and my whole family was excited to see this movie. Unfortunelty this was a weird, strange movie, with uncomfortable humor that we did not enjoy. There were some redeeming qualities in the end about friendship and honesty, but other than that it was a waste of time! I didn’t like the movie and I don’t think it’s appropriate for most children.

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“Always a bridesmaid never a bride.” I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying, and when you’re in your thirties it really starts to get you down. I know I was a bridesmaid nine times before getting married. In the movie Bridesmaids, Annie (Kristen Wiig), is a single women in her thirties, and has been asked to be her life long friend’s maid of honor. Though a little jealous, Annie is excited for her friend, and wants to help plan the perfect wedding. However, it’s not as easy as she thought it would be. Dealing with four other bridesmaids, (one whom is especially difficult), being completely broke, and having romantic issues of her own; Annie goes through many uncomfortable and difficult situations, hoping to be the quintessential friend and maid of honor. Bridesmaids is not for kids, though it’s a hilarious, entertaining movie, good for a mom’s night out!

Rating: Five out of five buckets
Release Date: May 13, 2011
MPAA Rating: R
Best Age Group: 17+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Excessive

See a clip of my review here!

Talking Points
I absolutely loved this movie. Besides the comedic element of the film, it was a story of friendship and romance. I thought of my best friend and maid of honor, and all the fun times we had planning our weddings.

The soundtrack was great, the film concluded with Wilson Phillips singing, “Hold On,” which was the maid of honor and brides favorite song. That brought back some fun memories, too.

One bridesmaid was obsessed with how awful her family was. She continually complained about her three boys, and husband. She wanted to be with a different man, and get away from her kids. That part bothered me, and got little old.

Sexual Content: Excessive
There were some sexual scenes, with a lot of suggestive comments and references throughout the film. To a name a few:
• The opening scene Annie and her “F*&k Buddy” (that’s how he refers to Annie), are in bed having a sexual encounter. There’s not full nudity, though she is in her bra and underwear, and you clearly see them in action.
• Conversations of different sexual positions and number of partners.
• Conversation on an airplane between one of the bridemaids and the “Air Marshall,” insinuating a rendezvous in the bathroom.
• Two of the bridesmaids kissed on an airplane, they were both upset about their sex lives, and wanted to try something different.

Violent Content: Mild
• In one scene, the bridesmaids vomit and have diarrhea in a bridal shop. Though a very funny scene, it’s pretty disgusting.
• Annie’s roommate gets a free tattoo and shows it to Annie. It’s infected and disgusting as well.

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
• The f-word and every other swear word is used a lot throughout the movie.
• At one point a kid tells his mom to f*&k off.
• One bridesmaid tells her kids to f*#k off as well…unusual parenting.

This is an R-rated movie, which means that kids under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. With that in mind, I decided to review this because a couple of months ago, my daughter (14), called me from a friends asking if she could see “The Hangover.” I immediately told her “no”. Though I would never bring my kids to this movie, I could see a similar situation happening, and once again the answer will be “no”. Having said that, Bridesmaids is a fun, entertaining movie for adults. I brought my niece (22), brother and sister-in-law, and we all loved the movie.

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Jack McCall(Eddie Murphy) can get anything he wants by using his words. He’s a smooth-talking literary agent who can close any deal…..by talking! However, when he meets Dr. Sinja, a New Age guru, Jack’s life dramatically changes. A magical tree suddenly appears in his backyard, and strangely enough, Jack is spiritually connected to this tree. So when Jack speaks, the leaves fall from the tree; and when the leaves are gone and the tree dies, Jack will die too. Jack soon discovers that he only has a thousand words left to speak, in order to stay alive. “A Thousand Words,” is a comedy about a guy who finds the true meaning of life.

Rating: 2 1/2 buckets out of 5
Release Date: June 26, 2102
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Mild
Crude or Profane Language: Excessive
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate

See the trailer here!

See a clip of my review here, along with John Carter!

Talking Points:

There were some great messages in this film. Jack learned to appreciate what’s important in life. He eventually came to realize that life is not about an important job title, or how much money one makes; life is about forgiveness, love and the importance of family. A character in the film said, “Life’s not worth living without family.” The New Age guru told Jack that he needed to find peace, and the truth about himself. This could spark some great parent/child conversations.

I’m an Eddie Murphy fan.I think his movies are typically funny and entertaining. However,while this film starts out funny, things change half way through the movie to a more serious tone. Even though I liked the messages, I wish they would have kept the comedic element, while instilling the life lessons throughout the film.

Sexual Content: Moderate

• There were many sexual references and comments throughout the film.
• In one scene, Jack’s wife plans a romantic evening in a hotel room. She was wearing a seductive outfit, while trying to seduce her husband. She repeatedly said, ” Talk dirty to me”, “What do you want me to do to you?” She took off his clothes as well, though not his boxers.

Violent Content: Mild

• In one scene, Jack drank too much and smashed a bottle against a tree. He also got into a fight with his male assistant that night.
  

Crude or Profane Language: Excessive

• Character’s swore throughout the film. Words such as, “a–,” d–n,” and “sh-t,” were used a lot. Jack also said the the f-word a couple times.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate

• We saw Jack drinking Vodka out of the bottle; he was very drunk.
• Character’s were shown drinking cocktails.

Overall this is a movie that some people may be entertained by. It has some wonderful life lessons, and also some humorous parts. However, with the sexual content, and mature subject matter, this movie may not interest kids. Depending on the child, I would say this film is appropriate for kids ages 14 and up.

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