Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
March 24, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Switch – Opens August 20th
Trust me, the trailer to The Switch is a heck of a lot better than its poster. On it, Jennifer Aniston is staring off into space at only god knows what, while Jason Bateman is giving the ol' eye to a cup used only in doctors' offices to collect urine or semen samples with a look on his face that one could argue looks like he wouldn't be too opposed to finding out what its contents taste like. It's a regrettably awkward poster to an otherwise funny looking movie. Now let's get to what this column is really about: the trailer.
Similar to the pair of mall security movies we got last year in Paul Blart and Observe and Report, 2010 is apparently the year of artificial insemination. In late December, I reviewed the trailer to Jennifer Lopez's April comedy, The Back-up Plan, about a woman (Lopez) who decides to have a baby through artificial insemination – only to fall for someone (Alex O'Loughlin) while pregnant. Similarly, The Switch stars Aniston as a woman who undergoes the same procedure, but comes to find out that the father may not be her sperm donor (Patrick Wilson), but instead her good friend Wally (Jason Bateman). They both have a drunken evening to thank for that (and Aniston's poor decision to leave the semen container in the bathroom).
Though penned by Allan Loeb, The Switch is based on a short story, The Baster, by Jeffrey Eugenides, who happens to be one of my favorite authors. For being such an accomplished storyteller, it's amazing to me that he's written just two novels (including Middlesex, one of my absolute favorites) and a handful of short stories. Though The Switch can't be a direct translation of what is probably a compelling read by Eugenides, the trailer contains enough decent material – Aniston and Bateman playing characters they're good at playing; Jeff Goldblum playing Bateman's wacky boss – that has me believing the movie could very well be a hit.
Grade: A-
Harry Brown – April 30th
For people who didn't think Clint Eastwood was enough of an elderly bad ass in Gran Torino, look no further than Harry Brown, a revenge thriller starring Michael Caine, who goes absolutely ballistic on the deadly gangs lurking within his neighborhood in modern-day England. He's stabbing people with bayonets. He's shooting people with handguns. The character Harry Brown is certainly no Alfred Pennyworth, or Dr. Wilbur Larch for that matter. What we see here is Michael Caine at his absolute grittiest. Whoever said 77 year-olds couldn't enact a little revenge?
Emily Mortimer, who I adore, is in this one too as a law enforcement official who breaks the news to Harry Brown that his longtime friend, Leonard, has been murdered. The death signals Harry's final straw living amongst an unruly and wild society. Feeling like the police have done nothing over the years to curb the violence, Harry, a widower, takes it upon himself to be the deadly vigilante that he feels he has no other choice but to be.
I applaud Michael Caine's decision to do a project like Harry Brown. I've gotten so used to him playing the friendly, grandfatherly guy that it's a refreshing change to see him work on something with more oomph.
Grade: B
The Greatest – Opens April 2nd
After watching the trailer to The Greatest, I had to do a quick search to confirm or deny my suspicion: Is the movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book? To my surprise, it isn't. But based on what we get here, it very well could have been. That's because The Greatest is about the connection between two young people (Carey Mulligan and Aaron Johnson) that is tragically cut short due to a fatal car wreck. Months later, following the funeral for the boy and the inevitable grieving, Mulligan (who will be plenty busy now thanks to An Education) contacts the boy's family to reveal that she is pregnant with his child. Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon play the parents of the deceased Bennett.
Though I'm sold on Sarandon – she plays the grieving, don't-eff-with-me matriarch quite well – my problem probably rests on Brosnan, whose performances I tend to dislike outside of the James Bond franchise. However, his work in the recently released Remember Me looked promising, and the same could hold true here if I were given a few more clips from the movie. Whatever the case, expect to bring tissues when you go to The Greatest. Otherwise, you're bound to have a pool of tears collected on your lap by the end of the movie.
Grade: C+
Breaking Upwards – Opens April 2nd
Breaking Upwards is just about as indie as indie gets. It's got the catchy, play on words title, the actors who you probably remember from that one movie (Juno!) or TV show (Six Feet Under!) and an interesting plot, loosely based on real-life experiences, set against the backdrop of the busy, always bustling New York City. The movie follows a young couple who, inspired by their real-life open relationship, decide to fictionalize how to break up with each other by having it happen on their own terms. Over the course of a year, the pair (Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones) explores alternatives to monogamy, and whether such relationships can exist in a society that begs for people to find one soul mate – not several.
There are moments in the trailer that I found funny. This is especially true of the things the leads feel the need to bicker over, like gchat and Netflix queues. (Finally, fights about things that my generation uses daily!). But as different as Breaking Upwards' story sounds, I didn't find it to be too innovative. Waiting for it to become available on home media is probably a good idea.
Grade: C