Movie #366 - Can't Hardly Wait

Can't Hardly Wait
1998 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 40 min
Directors: Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan
Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, Freddy Rodriguez,  Sean Patrick Thomas, Donald Faison, Jaime Pressly, Selma Blair, Jason Segel, Chris Owen

Oh, high school. This movie came out the year before I graduate high school, so the whole party-before-college premise rung true for me at the time.  Jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and X-filers alike can revel in this movie's accurate rendering of high school in the 90s.  And what a cast... so many great bit parts played by actors who have real careers now!

See if you can spot Selma Blair. Or how about Jason Segel?  Yep, that's him all right!  This was fun to revisit after so much time has passed.  Not only could I still remember my favorite lines, but finding all these "new" faces in the crowd became a game for me. 

Anyway, it's no Oscar winner, nor does it have the kind of original plot that keeps you riveted.  The characters are stereotypes, the acting's okay, but the real joy here is in what it represents for me.  If you didn't graduate high school in the late 90s, this might not strike the same chord for you.

Movie #348 - Knocked Up

Knocked Up
2007 - Rated R - 2 hr 9 min
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Harold Ramis, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Wiig

Knocked Up was one of those movies that came out and everyone raaaaaaaaved about it. "Go see it! Go see it! It's hillarious!" I waited till it came out on DVD and saw it at home, expecting really good things.

Instead, I felt like it wasn't as funny as it could have been. And Katherine Heigl annoyed the piss out of me.  Especially in the delivery room when she's arguing that she can't get induced because her birth plan says no drugs... when the doctor says the baby's health and safety is at risk.  What?! Helllllllooooooooo?

I'm a mom and I wanted a natural delivery. But when the doctor said, "Your baby needs to come out now," I did not argue for a second. I said, "What do I sign?"

Sorry, kids. But that one irksome scene isn't the only issue I have.  Heigl and Rogen have absolutely no chemistry.  I really want to like this, cuz I love these guys and Judd Apatow.  I don't hate it... but I think it got talked up to me too much and the only way to go was down.

Movie #291 - I Love You, Man

I Love You, Man
2009 - Rated R - 1 hr 45 min
Director: John Hamburg
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Sarah Burns, Jaime Pressly, Jon Favreau, Jane Curtin, JK Simmons, Andy Samberg

Who doesn't love this movie? Paul Rudd's so adorably awkward that you can't help but laugh.  And the modern bro-mance is forever captured here on film.  The twist on the rom-com is clever and the relationship between our two "bros" is fun and realistic. It may not be heavy on the thinking, but it's a good laugh.

It's also nice to see the Hulk working again, sleeper holds and all.  The Lou Ferrigno subplot is one of the best parts of this movie, as well as the Rush concert cameo.  There's enough here to make this a great comedy, even if the plot is a tad bit predictable.  But hey, isn't using two dudes in a rom-com enough of a twist to keep things interesting?

Movie #210 - Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Forgetting Sarah Marshall
2008 - Rated R - 1 hr 51 min
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Paul Rudd, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Liz Cackowski, Maria Thayer, Jack McBrayer, Jonah Hill

From the awkward naked breakup in the very beginning to the Dracula puppet musical at the end, I love this damn movie.  Jason Segel hits every note of this movie perfectly and in an adorably charming way like no other.  Who could blame Mila Kunis for falling for him? And who could forgive Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) for leaving him?

And then, of course, there's Russell Brand's Aldous Snow - a character that is the stuff of legends.  Seriously, he inspired a second, unrelated movie to be written about this character.  So well done.  So what if it's not really acting because Russell Brand truly is that nuts? Now we all get to enjoy it together.

If you haven't seen this, please do.  It's smart and funny, and tackles a topic near and dear to all of our hearts: how to move on when you've been brutally dumped.