Movie #407 - Let's Go to Prison

Let's Go to Prison

2006 - Rated R - 1 hr 24 min
Director: Bob Odenkirk
Starring: Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Chi McBride, David Koechner, Dylan Baker, Michael Shannon, Jay Whittaker

Yeah, this movie's pretty dumb. I also think it's pretty funny, so sue me. Okay?
I think Will Arnett's hillarious, so I'm in.

If you're not familiar with this comedy, Shepard plays a con who wants to get back at the judge who put him away.  Instead, he has to settle for ruining the life of the judge's son (Arnett) and gets him locked up through a too-easy scheme.  McBride plays the tough inmate who falls hard for Arnett, leading to a strange kind of partnership that is itself pretty entertaining. Koechner plays the corrupt prison guard only too eager to take bets on the next inmate fight.  Great actors and characters make this more fun than the lame premise suggests.

It had been a while since I'd last seen this one and it's a nice, light-hearted way to break up some of the heavier stuff and action-heavy stuff I've been watching lately.  It's always nice to laugh.

Movie #82 - Blades of Glory

Blades of Glory
Dreamworks
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 33 min
Directors: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Starring: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Jenna Fischer, Craig T. Nelson, Romany Malco, lots of skating pros

Any time I need a pick-me-up, I turn to a good Will Ferrell comedy.  (You'll notice I said "good," so Semi-Pro is strategically missing from the movie wall.) When I was pregnant with my daughter, this was often found in the DVD player just because it makes me laugh.

For pure entertainment purposes, this movie is fantastic.  The plot is a bit fantastical, but the satire of figure skating is a lot of fun.  A huge list of skating pros appear in this movie, which just makes it that much better.  And how can you not love "Coach" playing their coach? Craig T. Nelson is a quiet tyrant in this movie and it's awesome.  Ferrell is outrageous and Jon Heder is the farthest thing from Napoleon Dynamite that a man can be.  From start to finish, I love these characters and this movie.