(OT) No Hard Feelings
I saw the movie No Hard Feelings last night starring Jennifer Lawrence in the first raunchy R Rated comedy to hit theatres since COVID.
It was overall very good and definitely at least average in terms of laughs when compared to the raunchy comedy heyday of the 2000s and early 2010s. This was definitely the funniest film to hit theatres since Blockers. It was also really cool to see Matthew Broderick return to comedy.
I highly recommend seeing this movie in theatres with an audience. The movie is well on its way to making its budget back and I'm optimistic that it'll be a box office success. If you're looking to see a return to good old fashioned R Rated comedies and miss the likes of Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Owen Wilson, etc then the best thing you can do to get them back on the big screen is to buy a ticket and signal that we still love these movies.
I saw it --- it had it's moments.
At the risk of sounding like "old man talking about what it was like back in MY day" ......... the R-Rated comedy is a lost art these days.
It doesn't have to be a sex-oriented R-comedy (like this one) either: I'd love more movies in the spirit of Midnight Run, a action-adventure profane-as-can-be R-comedy that also has a few truly heartwarming scenes in it (I'd posit Midnight Run to be a best-in-class example of an R-rated comedy, it was made in 1989).
These things go down! They go down!
"Serrano's got the disks! Serrano's got the disks!"
Back in the mid-2000s, I flew into McCarren for a wedding --- my buddy & I start yelling that as we walk through the terminal. A couple guys going the other direction recognize it and start yelling it too. Fun shananigans.
De Niro’s first comedy (depending on how you classify Brazil or King of Comedy). Now it’s all Fockering all the time…
"Sidney, relax. Have a cream soda."
I love dropping that line here.
Midnight Run - oh my. After watching that the first time, I recall my thoughts were - "Damn, I'm effed out." Incredibly funny.
"Midnight Run" is a classic, in my opinion. For De Niro in particular, I think it was a great send up of every other role he had played up to that point really.
Marvin Dorfler. Alonzo Moseley. Jimmy Serrano. The secondary characters were funny as hell.
In our environment of “Cancel Culture”, no one wants to make these movies. Heck, you couldn’t even get someone to make The Office in todays world.
Has nothing to do with whatever you think cancel culture is. These movies are not being made and released in theaters because they just don’t make enough money. It’s just worth it. Some are still being made for streaming services though.
Except they just made one.
People are downvoting but:
-Seinfeld
-Southpark
-The Office
-30 Rock
Have all had episodes pulled from syndication and blacklisted within the last 3 years.
Somes of the creators themselves have said they "don't know" if the show could be made today.
Seinfeld
Wait, which one? I see a recent article about The Puerto Rican Day, but that was pulled 25 years ago ... and reinstated 20 years ago. It appears to be on Netflix.
Lol. There's no denying you have a point. But they were episodes. The "violence", racial, sexual, and black humor that has made it through puts the canceled content to shame.
(Warning: Links have racial, violent, and sexual content)
Family Guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5sNeH0ofPg), Archer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_3Xy8D8KI), and many other shows are shows that are still on the air with "humor" that hasn't been toned down.
"cancel culture" lol
You REEEEEEEALLY think that's it?
So wait, I can still find the most misogynistic music on Spotify, PornHub is like the #1 site in the world (I don't know that to be true, but it really doesn't matter for the sake of the point), and we have access to anything and everything in today's world...but you think it's cancel culture that is holding these movies back?
1. What really is cancel culture?
2. It has everything to do with money. People won't pay to watch those movies. But if you put Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller in theaters today...only a certain demographic is watching.
Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE MOVIES OF A GENERATION!
You liked this movie, which means you're probably over 30 and you liked Superbad, Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, etc.
The 80s had its run of the same style of movie, the 90s did, your 00s did, the 10s did, and now this generation will have their thing.
Most of us love our favorite things from middle school to the end of college. And then we get older. The people who made those things are also older. And that age group is on to something different.
Seems like that is just part of life. But if 30-50 year old people FLOCK to theaters to watch this movie and it's a blockbuster hit...
...wanna bet we get another one?
I do believe Cancel Culture has impacted “comic movies”. How could it not when every single major comedian says it impacts where they can perform.
Comedians such as Bill Maher, and just about any other major comedian, won’t perform at universities anymore due to the stipulations they out on their acts. So doesn’t it make sense that if colleges are imposes harsh restrictions on the content a comedian can cover that a movie studio would have equal concerns over the content it can put into a “college / adolescent comedy movie”!?
I didn't realize anyone still took Bill Maher seriously.
Straw man statement. Your comment doesn’t take away that what Bill Maher states, and literally every other major comic, from being true. They all say they won’t perform at colleges and universities due to “cancel culture” telling them what they can’t talk about. Thats been Bill’s experience and most other major comics. They are told what topics their act can’t talk about, and you know as well as I do what those topics are.
You're telling me that college kids all over America are crying out see Bill Maher live? I don't think so. Bill Maher makes millions yearly on an HBO show that's been on longer than any college kid's been alive, and he grumps about being canceled. Okay, man...
Just to be transparent about where I'm coming from: I'm kind of a flaming liberal, but I don't believe in censoring or shutting down anyone, especially comedians. I don't believe in so called "safe spaces" or trigger warnings or pulling books from shelves because they have words in them that are offensive, like the N word. I'm Jewish and have been on the receiving end of those kinds of words, pointed at my religion. That's my story. But I have kids who are smack dab in the middle of the "cancel culture" generation. Here's why they object: because a lot of what is out there is legit hurtful. Homophobic slurs, misogynist sentiments, etc....their goal isn't to shut down free speech, they legit want to protect people from being hurt. It's not about being weak or fragile, it's about having friends from all walks of life and understanding that minorities have been the butt of the joke and on the receiving end of ugly comments for a long, long time, and maybe it's time we acknowledge them. I still stand where I stand but I can respect that.
I can respect that point of view for sure. I would never want someone to come under harm. I am a Christian. Christianity is mocked from Ned Flanders to South Park to tons of other shows.
I don’t scream violence has been done to me. 90% of the time I can see where the humor is coming from, and the other 10% of the time I just turn the channel. I would never dream of saying the content should never be aired because it is hate speech towards Christianity.
By the same token, comedians are subject to the marketplace just like everyone else. If your humor doesn't hit anymore because your audience wants something else, that's on the comedian. It's hard to stay relevant in comedy. I am thinking Bill Maher here because he really doesn't adjust to the times. He thinks of that as a strength -- at least he's consistent -- but when the audience is younger and younger compared to him, them's are the breaks. Comedians age out of the profession all the time.
Totally agree. 100% Wendy. Let the marketplace decide. From movies, to Bud Light marketing to comics being allowed to perform their sets without restrictions. People’s wallets and footsteps always tell the truth economically, even if it isn’t the truth people want.
I used to be a hardcore Bill Maher fan, and find his comedy to still be outstanding. It's his TV host "skills" that I can't stomach any more. He either sucks up to his guests or talks over them, and does not give fair pushback to refutable dangerous misinformation.
I totally agree. I still watch him (or watched before the writer's strike) but he has a clear agenda which is like his shtick, and if someone strays from that, he won't give them air. I agree with him on a lot of stuff, but he'll never even consider that he might be wrong about something. That gets old.
For the perspective you have brought here, Wendyk5.
It would be valuable to review punching down v. punching up.
Thank you. The great comedians of the 60s and 70s spoke truth to power: Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, etc. Comedy, wielded by them, was a form of protest against injustices in the power structure. Bill Maher bitching about people's pronouns, or Dave Chappelle railing about trans people, or rape jokes, homophobia, racism, or whatever these millionaire comedians rail about not being able to say, is not about speaking truth to power. It's punching down.
You're legit clueless.
Big blockbuster movies are getting shit canned at the theaters only to end up on a streaming platform within 2 months of release.
Half of these R rated comedies used to go straight to DVD (even ones with good actors), so why the fuck would studios make more of them when they don't make money?
While I agree things have gotten way out of control and that people are genuinely afraid of the Twitter mobs, I do still think these movies could be made today. People will bitch and moan on Twitter, but then life will still go on. I think we're starting to realize more and more as a society that Twitter is not real life. This makes me optimistic that Hollywood will be less and less afraid of being funny. I think Dave Chappelle has done wonders to make progress in this area.
Night Shift was also a good one. Winkler at his finest.
Outstanding
How can you mention Night Shift without noting the brilliant performance of a young Michael Keaton?
Charles Grodin is one of my all time favorites. His appearances on The Tonight Show were absolutely brilliant.
Vacation Friends is a recent one that's really funny and heartwarming. John Cena does remarkably well in a comedy role. Great movie about what friendship means.
Vacation friends was awful. John Cena is not a good actor.
Why don't you tell us how you really feel?
I'm dating myself here by Grodin in "Heaven Can Wait" was understated brilliance. I don't think anyone did that better than him.
Sorry, but I'll take Rickles and Dangerfield on The Tonight Show over anyone.
Sorry, but I'll take Rickles and Dangerfield on The Tonight Show over anyone.
Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters for the win!
Always enjoyed them, but they generally had a performance teed up. Grodin just started weird and uncomfortable (for Johnny) and took off from there. Genius.
Time to fire up your VHS copy of Porky's!
"Midnight Run" or the "The Fugitive" hits my feed and I'm dropping everything.
My parents won't allow me to see it
I’m surprised they let engage in your oddly specific form of bootlegging.
Comedy movies in general (and especially R rated ones) have been absolutely terrible in the last 5+ years. My wife and I talk about it all the time. We'll have to go see this one and hope it's the start of a overall comedy comeback.
A few years ago, my wife and I went to see "Long Shot" in theaters. It was a Seth Rogan, Charlize Theron comedy and we expected it to be absolutely terrible. We took a cab so we could get dinner and cocktails and be nice and drunk for bad movie night. Unfortunately, this romantic comedy was worse than terrible: it was mind-numbingly boring.
Like many, I enjoy an awful movie: one where you and your partner or friends are making little comments and laughing at the absurdity of it all. There's nothing fun or redeeming about a boring movie, though.
100% agree about boring movies. That movie was boring and terrible.
Long shot was a really solid movie; I'm surprised it didn't hit for you. I generally agree that comedies have scuttled a bit recently but you still have movies like Palm Springs and Set It Up, for example, are good recent romantic comedies. But those are both streaming-specific examples (though Palm Springs probably would have gotten a theatrical release had it not been for COVID).
I feel bad when I talk about a piece of media I dislike and someone comes in and says "aw man, I liked that!" so I'll make myself vulnerable and mention a recent romcom I enjoyed so people can make fun of me if they want.
I went in to Last Christmas starring Emilia Clarke thinking it would be cheesy, predictable, and not very good. And while it was cheesy and I was able to predict part of the ending, I really enjoyed it and even cried a little at the end. It's now in our Christmas movie rotation in my house.