Dirty Work

Comedian Bob Saget made his feature film directorial debut with “Dirty Work,” released in 1998, with cameos from Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Farley, Chevy Chase and Adam Sandler. “Dirty Work” is movie written by Frank Sebastiano, Norm MacDonald, and Fred Wolf. It stars Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange, Jack Warden, Traylor Howard, and Christopher MacDonald. Brandon Peters admitted in his review, “Its one of my personal favorite comedies from the 90s and I was very happy to see Olive Films picking it up to put onto Blu-ray!”

Best friends Mitch and Sam have started their own business that won’t fail – a “revenge” business that’ll take on the “Dirty Work” of “getting even,” dealing with stuff that people can’t or won’t take care of on their own. However, when they start fighting with shady property developer Travis Cole, they have met their match. Or have they? This time revenge will not only feel good, but will be hilarious, when the “Dirty Work” really starts.

Peters admitted, “Norm MacDonald is my all-time favorite Weekend Update anchor and one of my favorite Saturday Night Live cast members of all time. His humor during his era was a little ahead of its time, and you sort of had to get on the same page as him.  It’s very dry, bitter and relentless.  So, when his first feature film came a knocking in the summer of 1998, I was all over it.  I was hoping that this would launch Norm into some greater stardom.  I mean, they were putting his movie out in the summer, they had high expectations.”

Peters continued, “And I knew right away from seeing Dirty Work opening night to a mostly empty theater, that this one wasn’t going to take off at all.” The film got to number 9 on the top 10 before falling at ten million dollars theatrically. Norm would get another lead in a film, and be in sitcoms before transferring stuff to personal projects before become Colonel Sanders for KFC’s ad campaign.

Peters admitted, “Regardless of the film’s success, I really loved it.  And I still think its very funny today.  I never realized how darn short it was until this review (just over 75 minutes before the credits start rolling).  It featured Norm’s schtick and gags woven into a movie about getting revenge through heinous pranks on people.  His punchline deliveries were there and he carried over his tape recorder “Note to Self:” bit into the movie as well.  It was Norm MacDonald humor on a big scale and I enjoyed every second of it.”

They actually helped this film out with his co-stars and cameos. Bob Saget also made his directorial debut on the film, and his humor and Norm’s are both on the same level (Surprisingly this got a PG-13 rating). Artie Lange makes a good costar with MacDonald as they work well off of one another. Chevy Chase and Chris Farley also have small roles, both bringing the best of what they are given. Chevy Chase actually feels like he got to just use his humor wisely and he did a great job in some parts. Jack Warden really brings everything, and remember Traylor Howard? She was really popular during the 90s, and she’s completely beautiful here. Then there’s the other MacDonald, and if you want a villain in a comedy in the 90s, there’s not one better than him.

Peters mentions, “As someone who loved this movie and the comedic actor it was trying to promote, it still held up for me quite well.  I don’t know the ins and outs as to whether this became a cult classic or not, but most people I know that have seen it tended to enjoy it to varying degrees.  I was excited to revisit this one and notch it into my Blu-ray collection and with how short it is, I’ll definitely be giving it frequent spins.”

This movie got really slammed by critics when it was released. However, when I saw it, I really liked it. Especially with a nice cameo from Don Rickles, how could you go wrong? I know that this has that sophomoric, juvenile, disgusting humor, but it’s not going to make you completely uncomfortable the entire runtime. I still say check it out at least once and give it a chance. If you don’t end up liking it, I get it.

Well, that ends “Chris Farley Month.” I hope all of you enjoyed it. Stay tuned next month for more excitement in my reviews.

Billy Madison

First, he was Opera Man, Canteen Boy and Cajun Man. Then, he was Billy Madison. Going off a hot streak from his five years on “Saturday Night Live,” Adam Sandler co-wrote and starred in “Billy Madison” in 1995, a comedy about a 27-year-old slacker who really needs to get his act together. That eventually happens when Billy’s father, hotel manager Brian Madison (Darren McGavin), who threatens to hand his business over to vice president (Bradley Whitford) if Billy doesn’t straighten himself out.

To prove that he’s responsible enough to take over his father’s business, Billy agrees to go back to school and complete grades one through twelve, the grades he originally passed only because Billy’s father paid off the teachers, within six months. On his mission, he meets several helpful elementary school kids, a gay principal who was once a professional wrestler (Josh Mostel), a disturbed school bus driver (Chris Farley), and the drop-dead gorgeous Ms. Veronica Vaughn, Billy’s third-grade teacher (Bridgette Wilson).

Jamey Codding said in his review, “It's not the most complicated story out there, and it's certainly not the most mature selection you're going to find on the Blockbuster shelves, yet somehow Sandler and the rest of the cast make it work.” Billy is instantly lovable and the villain, Eric Gordon, is just as despicable, and if a film really has you cheering for the protagonist and against the antagonist, then it’s doing something right. The script also includes so many successful jokes and memorable scenes like Billy’s hysterical dodgeball game on his first day of school, and you’ve got a movie that’s funnier than it should be.

For many people, films like “Billy Madison” is on the list that is near the top of “guilty pleasures.” Codding asks, “Is it sophomoric? Yes. Is it silly? Absolutely. Is it stupid? On more than one occasion. But it's also funny and, some would argue, even endearing.”

I remember seeing a little bit of the movie a long time ago, which including the cursive scene, but I didn’t see the rest of the movie until way later. I know that people give Adam Sandler a hard time and say that a lot of his movies are horrible, but I still find every single one of his movies funny. I know his movie are childish and can get gross, but I still like them, especially this one. You should see it, especially if you want to see Sandler and Farley work off of one another, especially since this came out after Farley passed away. See it in his memory.

Check out next week when I look at the last Farley movie that also came out after he passed away in the finale of “Chris Farley Month.”

Tommy Boy

The work of onscreen chemistry can’t be overlooked. Look at the 1995 comedy, “Tommy Boy,” for instance. There’s nothing special about Bonny and Terry Turner’s script – the writing is decent, many of the jokes are obvious and the plot is standard. However, when looking at Chris Farley and David Spade, who first worked together on “Saturday Night Live” and later in “Coneheads,” “Tommy Boy” ended up being funnier than it should’ve been. Jamey Codding said in his review, “In fact, the film became one of the surprise hit comedies of the 1990s and, in the process, propelled Farley and Spade into fleeting superstardom.”

Recent college graduate Tom Callahan II, played by Chris Farley, still relaxing over the fact that he got a D+, goes home to work for his father’s auto parts company. Seeing that his son needs serious guidance and supervision, Big Tom Callahan (Brian Dennehey), a greatly successful businessman who “could sell a ketchup Popsicle to a woman in white gloves,” asks corporate assistant Richard Hayden (David Spade) to help Tommy. However, when Big Tom suddenly passes during his wedding reception, Tommy and Richard drive on a sale trip to try and stop Beverly and Paul Barish (Bo Derek and Rob Lowe), Tommy’s new step-mother and step-brother, from selling Callahan Auto to top competitor Ray Zalinski (Dan Aykroyd).

Besides Farley and Spade, whose performances made them get the MTV Movie Award for Best Onscreen Duo, the rest of the cast is great but understated in their roles; however the casting of Dennehey as Tommy’s father was perfect. Derek and Lowe are fine as Tommy’s tricky extended family, as is Julie Warner, who plays Tommy’s love interest Michelle Brock. Codding said, “With this kind of meager competition, Aykroyd actually stands out in his bit part as automotive giant Ray Zalinski, but "Tommy Boy" is still unequivocally the Farley & Spade show.”

Codding continued, “In one corner, you've got Tommy, a warm-hearted clod whose genuine intentions are all too often thwarted by poor execution. And in the other corner, there's Richard, a cold-hearted jerk whose selfish intentions have led to a lonely, unsuccessful life. This Abbott and Costello-like dynamic forms the heart and soul of the film and produces a horde of classic one-liners ("Does this suit make me look fat?" "No, your face does."), and while Farley and Spade revived this relationship one year later in "Tommy Boy 2" (AKA "Black Sheep"), this will forever stand as the duo's crowning moment. For proof, check out Farley's and Spade's post "Tommy Boy" career paths: The redundant "Black Sheep" was popular with the "Tommy Boy" crowd for obvious reasons, but Farley's next two films, "Beverly Hills Ninja" and "Almost Heroes," were mediocre at best, while Spade starred in blockbusters like "Joe Dirt" and "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," and can currently be seen in commercials shilling for Capital One. Not exactly an upward trend, which makes "Tommy Boy's" success even more remarkable.”

When looking at quotable movies, this one can be a contender with just about any other ‘90s comedy. Sure, it has flaws, but not enough of them to overlook the comedic duo of Farley and Spade. Like its late, funny co-star, “Tommy Boy” is memorable, fascinating and absolutely hilarious. Codding said, “Featuring Chris Farley at his goofiest, zaniest, clumsiest best, this is the way most of us will forever remember the former "SNL" star.” Ironically, the same thing could be said about Spade.

There is a cameo of the hot model, Lorri Bagley, who plays a girl that decides to go skinny dipping at a hotel pool Farley and Spade stay at.

I saw this movie during math class in High School and I found this movie really funny. If you haven’t seen this and you liked Chris Farley, don’t listen to the criticisms the critics gave this and see it for yourself. This is an absolute must, especially for those who are fans of Chris Farley, and comedy fans overall.

Look at next week when I look at two movies that Farley co-starred in, but people don’t really talk about it so much, in “Chris Farley Month.”

Raya and the Last Dragon

Tonight, I checked out the new “Raya and the Last Dragon” Disney movie, which came out yesterday in theaters and Disney+ with a premier access fee. For the first time in a few years, Disney has come out with some new movie that isn’t a sequel or a remake. Even though the story isn’t entirely new, but it’s still a breath of fresh air. How is the movie? Let’s find out:

Andy Lea started his review by saying, “When those Disney princess parties start up again, supervising adults should make sure kids go easy on the sugary drinks. I dread to think what a little Raya may do to a blushing Cinderella after too many cups of orange squash.”

Lea continued, “The studio's princesses have been getting pluckier since Ariel literally lost her voice pining for a man in The Little Mermaid.” That trend reaches its height with Raya, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, a sword-carrying martial artist from the beautiful fictional kingdom Kumandra. After a sacred stone breaks unleashing demons called the Druun began turning people into statues, including her father, voiced by Daniel Dae Kim, the survivors retreated to their five tribal kingdoms, each protecting themselves with a piece of the Dragon gem.

However, if Raya find the pieces and put the gem back together, she can banish the Druuns from the entire kingdom and reunite the five kingdoms of her once peaceful country. This makes her plan out a series of heists with the help of her giant armadillo pet Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) and funny shape-shifting water dragon Sisu (Awkwafina).

On her journey, more partners team up with her. There’s a 10-year-old chef (Izaac Wang), a sad soldier (Benedict Wong) and, very hilariously, a baby who is both orphaned and a con-artist (Thalia Tran).

Once again, there’s no handsome prince to make the protagonist fall in love, but we do have a villain. Namaari, voiced by Gemma Chan, is from the warring Fang tribe and wants the pieces of the gem for power reasons.

The message in this film is about forgiveness and unity, and might be in the records as the first major family animation of the Biden era.

However, Disney’s goal is more direct.

Lea ended his review by saying, “The sparky characters, slick animation and breezy (and entirely bloodless) fight scenes transport us to a beautifully realised fantasy realm.”

I know that this movie’s message is something that we have seen before in previous movies, like “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Moana,” but you got to love the animation, voice cast, characters, music, sword-fights, everything. The movie being about prejudice and not judging people, learning how to forgive, not hold grudges, putting differences aside, don’t trust people easily, I think is needed today, even though Disney has done this before. There are similarities to “Avatar: the Last Airbender,” but I still would say this is might be one of my favorite Disney films. Unlike the “Mulan” remake, this movie is worth giving Disney+ the premier access fee because of how good it is. You should see it if you want to see it because you will love it. Kids will also really love this movie because it will teach kids about not making enemies, learning when to trust people, not hold grudges, especially with what we had to go through. Check it out and have a great time watching it.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review. Look out next Friday for the continuation of “Chris Farley Month.”

Coming to America

Tonight I checked out “Coming 2 America” so I will review that, but first, I need to let everyone know what I thought of “Coming to America,” released in 1988.

A comedy about finding true love, “Coming to America” is a familiar story and is a fun comedy and gives lots of laughs, mainly thanks to Eddie Murphy’s comedy.

A rich man hiding in cheap clothing to find a woman who would love him without his money is a love story as old as time. Ace Black said in his review, “Coming To America distracts from the obvious by injecting its central theme with another ancient plot device, the worlds-apart culture clash.” Prince Akeem, played by Eddie Murphy, is next to secure the throne of Zamunda, a fictional African country. Raised in beautiful luxury at the hidden royal palace, and never having to earn anything, Akeem is turning 21 and his parents King Joffe (James Earl Jones) and Queen Aeoleon (Madge Sinclair) have arranged a bride for him to marry (Vanessa Bell).

Unhappy at being spoiled his entire life, Akeem decides to change tradition, refuses to listen to his parents, and goes to America with his personal aid Semmi, played by host and comedian Arsenio Hall, to find his true love. Since they are looking for a future queen, they fly to Queens, New York to find Akeem’s queen. They rent a downgraded apartment, pretend to be poor, and take jobs as floor cleaners at McDowell’s, a fast-food restaurant run by Cleo McDowell, played by John Amos. Cleo’s smart and loving daughter Lisa, played by Shari Headley, is found beautiful by Akeem and he decides to choose her. Akeem needs to fight against Lisa’s egotistical boyfriend Darryl, played by Eriq La Salle, complaints from a homesick Semmi, and an ineptly desperate try at intervention by King Joffe and Queen Aeoleon, before he can find himself his own future queen.

Ace Black mentioned, “Eddie Murphy wrote the story, and he keeps the laughs coming with welcome good timing and some rather tiresome over-exuberance. He receives good support from Jones, whose booming voice and haughty personality are perfectly suited to the role of a domineering king. In one of his more memorable big-screen roles, Arsenio Hall is also excellent in the role of the side-kick who is too quick to harken for the comforts of home and even quicker to pretend to be Prince when it suits him.”

Ace Black continued, “Coming To America does suffer from Murphy always looking more comfortable in New York than the flagrantly artificial dream world of Zamunda, and once Akeem and Semmi settle into New York and the pursuit of Lisa begins, the plot is fixed onto the sturdy rails of predictability all the way through to the sugary ending. Director John Landis has the easy task of keeping his cameras pointing in the right direction, and allowing his star to do his thing.”

“Coming to America” is a movie for Murphy at his prime: it doesn’t have the originality of unpredictability or any type of edge, but nevertheless works as a movie for his comedic talent.

Now we come to the sequel, “Coming 2 America,” which was supposed to come out last year, but came out today on Amazon Prime.

Arriving 33 years after the smash hit “Coming to America,” this sequel feels like it went dry during the long making. It re-introduces everyone to Prince Akeem, who is still living happy with his beloved Lisa and their three daughters (KiKi Layne, Billa Murphy, and Akiley Love). (Jeffrey M. Anderson said in his review, “Thank goodness the producers weren't gauche enough to replace Headley with someone younger and prettier.”) Akeem becomes the king of Zamunda after his father passes away, and immediately has trouble, according to the traditions and laws of the country, he must have a male heir.

He learns that when he was in America in 1988, he was drugged and had a one night stand with Mary Junson (Leslie Jones) and actually has a son, Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). So Akeem and his faithful aid Semmi go to America once again to get Mary and Lavelle. Back in Zamunda, the newcomers have fun with their recent fortune for a little bit, and then Lavelle is told he must marry Bopoto (Teyana Taylor), daughter of General Izzi (Wesley Snipes), to make peace between the two countries. However, like the first movie, Lavelle falls in love with hairdresser Mirembe, played by Nomzamo Mbatha, who has more personality than the obedient Bopoto.

Akeem then must find a way to stay up-to-date and allow women to be in power, seeing that his eldest daughter, Meeka (KiKi Layne), is ready and willing to become queen. Anderson said, “This plot essentially locks Murphy into an inflexible role, making it next to impossible for him to be funny, while Fowler becomes the movie's uninteresting "main" character.” Other attempts to be funny, like revisiting the famous barbershop (Murphy, Hall, and Clint Smith play the famous roles in the shop), feel forced.

Anderson said, “What's really missing is the personal touch that director John Landis brought to the original; his odd rhythms and staging wrought R-rated laughs where there might not have been any. Current director Craig Brewer — whose other Eddie Murphy movie Dolemite Is My Name is excellent — seems to be working as if on too much cold medication, turning in a sluggish, bland PG-13 film with no personality.” Keeping watching to spot cameo appearances and some product placement for Pepsi and McDonalds.

The first movie is a comedy classic that still holds up perfectly to this day. The sequel is fine, seeing how the first one took place mostly in Queens and the sequel mainly in Zamunda, with a beautiful look and still having the comedy, but the story is basically the same. If you have an Amazon Prime and you want to see the sequel, you can if you want and will enjoy it fine. Make sure to see the first movie before seeing the sequel.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review. Stay tuned next Friday for the continuation of “Chris Farley Month.”

Wayne's World

For this month, I will be paying tribute to a late SNL alum who we sadly lost too young and too soon, the late and hilarious Chris Farley. I first saw him in a movie when I was a freshman in High School and I really found him funny. I didn’t know of his drug addiction that caused him to go so soon, so I would like to look at all the films that I saw of his, starting with two of my favorite comedies, the “Wayne’s World” movies.

Mike Myers and impressionist Dana Carvey star as the famous Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar in director Penelope Spheeris’s harmless, childish 1992 intelligent youth comedy based on a Saturday Night Live sketch.

Sadly, they are friends who are 35-year-old slacking teenagers who host and try to promote their heavy-metal late-night public-access cable TV show from Wayne’s parents’ basement in Aurora, Illinois.

Rob Low plays a smooth TV producer named Benjamin Oliver who wants to abuse them, and on their raise to stardom they get to meet famous rockstars Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper.

Derek Winnert said in his review, “The two stars seem to have amusing acts of fairly restricted range, though stand-up comedian Myers, making his feature film debut here back in 1992, looks like a developing talent.” Lowe, in his supporting role, fails to get laughs by playing up his 80s good-looking image as a slimy entrepreneur trying to take over the Wayne’s World TV show.

Winnert asked, “The script is amiable enough but gleefully amateurish and where are the big laughs?” Yet it took $33.5 million on the first 10 days when released and grossed $121.6 million on it theatrical release, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest grossing of the 11 films based on Saturday Night Live sketches.

Shot in 34 days, the film also has Tia Carrere (Cassandra), Lara Flynn Boyle, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chris Farley, Ed O’Neil (Ben), Kurt Fuller, Ione Skye and Colleen Camp. Robert Patrick spooks his role in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”

The TV sketches and film started catchphrases such as “Schwing” and “Schyea,” along with popularizing “That’s what she said,” “Party On,” “We’re not worthy” and the use of “…Not!” after actually positive sentences.

Wayne, Garth, Cassandra, Glen and Ben sometimes speak directly to the audience and even the cameraman, but no one else seems to notice that they are in a film..Parts of the story are carried by Wayne’s narration to the camera, where he gives his thoughts on what’s happening in the film.

Director Stephen Surjik’s 1993 comedy “Wayne’s World 2” is a less harsh, more friendly and more accomplished sequel to the 1992 “Wayne’s World” however much less popular at the box office.

This time the famous Wayne Campbell hosts the rock concert Waynestock, a sequel to Woodstock, with the help of the spirit of Jim Morrison (Michael A Nickles) and a naked Indian (Larry Sellers) – “If you book them, they will come” – while Garth Algar gets to make love to Honey Hornée (Kim Basinger), who is only doing it because she wants him to kill her husband.

There are as many movie parodies as rock tributes this time, even spoofing “The Graduate” as Wayne runs to the church to the tune of Mrs. Robinson to stop his girlfriend Cassandra Wong from marrying evil pop promoter Bobby Cahn, played by Christopher Walken.

There are plenty of lenient laughs, mainly of recognition, as we add up the parodies (including “Jurassic Park” and “Thelma and Louise”) and have cameos (Charlton Heston as Good Actor, Al Hansen as Bad Actor, Drew Barrymore as Bjergen Kjergen, Heather Locklear as herself, and Jay Leno as Jay Leno). Winnert said, “But there are also a failure to develop individual comedy set pieces much beyond the original gag, a lack of impetus to drive the story along, and a fizzle of a finish.”

As Wayne and Garth, Myers and Carvey seem friendlier, and more focused in their comedy than before, while Walken and Basinger do their welcome moves, but are a bit lost.

Winnert mentioned, “It is all very showbizzy and cosy for a celebration of teenage idiot culture, which may be why it disappointed at the US box office, likeable and amusing though it is.”

It cost $40 million and grossed $48,197,805 in the US, unlike the original which cost $20 million and grossed $121,697,323 in the US.

Also in the cast are Olivia D’Abo, Chris Farley, Ralph Brown, Ed O’Neill, Harry Shearer (the voice of Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert, Scratchy, Birch Barlow, Marvin Monroe, Herman Hermann, Clancy Bouvier, Eddie, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, and Mr. Fisk from "The Simpsons") and James Hong, along with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer from Aerosmith.

These two are really great movies. I did not know they were based on SNL sketches, but I did hear about this movie when I was in High School. One time we had a substitute and the class had to vote to either watch Wayne’s World” or “Remember the Titans,” and “Remember the Titans” won. One student didn’t like that “Remember the Titans” won, he left class. I did hear a few students quote “Wayne’s World” in class, since I knew the famous “Schwing” line, but I never bothered watching both the movies until I was in college. I really enjoyed them. If you haven’t seen these movies, give them a watch because you will like them. The second movie may not be as good as the first one, but it is still good in its own way. Now I know that Chris Farley was only a cameo appearance in these movies, but he was still in them, so it counts.

Look out next week when I review the first movie I saw of Farley’s in “Chris Farley Month.”

SpongeBob SquarePants

Tonight I was able to watch the new “SpongeBob SquarePants” movie, so I will review all of the theatrical movies that have been released, starting with “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” released in 2004. I saw this movie On Demand for free with my younger cousins two years after it was released.

Rich Cline started his review by saying, “Like the TV series that inspired it, this movie is almost blissfully silly, poking fun at movie formulae even as it indulges shamelessly in them. But it does keep us giggling helplessly.”

In the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob, voiced by Tom Kenny, is just too happy and optimistic for descriptions. He finally loses the story when his grouchy boss, Mr. Krabs, voiced by Clancy Brown, fails to promote him to manager of the new Krusty Krabs. However, he gets a chance to prove himself traveling with his starfish friend Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) to the dangerous Shell City to get back King Neptune’s (Jeffrey Tambor) stolen crown and clear the boss’ name. Also, don’t forget the helpful princess (Scarlet Johansson), the brutal hitman (Alec Baldwin) and the megalomaniac Plankton (Mr. Lawrence).

Cline said, “If there's a message here it's that old chestnut about valuing the kid inside you. SpongeBob and Patrick are uncontrollably juvenile, and they of course think they need to grow up in order to face the horrors of their epic quest. But the filmmakers refuse to get bogged down by this underlying message and instead focus on the warped and goofy humour that floods each frame.”

Everything is hilariously silly, from the original and surprisingly well-done characters to the surfaced animation and a number of live-action elements (a pirate framing story and a funny ridiculous appearance by David Hasselhoff). There are funny moments like SpongeBob and Patrick getting “drunk” on ice cream, the king’s ignorant pride, the Bubble Party in the Thug Tug. It’s just so deeply, completely silly that you can’t help but love it. Also the characters are voiced with warmth and personality that balances the strange designs nicely.

It’s the type of film that children will love for the number of insanity, while adults party in the smart satire and overall silliness. The story just knows enough in its spoof and detailed enough in its themes to make it deeper than it looks. However, the real point is to just have fun and that’s definitely enough.

Next came “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” released in 2015, a movie that I saw as a rental from the library.

Completely silly, this animated comedy sees SpongeBob SquarePants sent into the live-action world in amazingly rendered 3D. Cline credited, “Everything about this film is ridiculous, from the pun-packed script to the raucous action mayhem. And like the cartoon series, it's likely to entertain adults with its brainy humour while kids giggle at the wackiness.”

When the secret recipe for the delicious Krabby Patty is stolen, causing a catastrophe in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, the obvious villain is fast-food enemy Plankton. However, Krabby Burger cook SpongeBob knows Plankton didn’t steal it, so he goes out to rescue it with his friends: airhead starfish Patrick, boss Mr. Krabs, ignorant Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) and uptight Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence). With help from the colossal-guardian dolphin Bubbles (Matt Berry), they’ll have to go above the surface to stop insane pirate Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas).

Cline mentioned,” Director Tibbitt seamlessly combines the usual cartoon scenes with lavish digital animation in which this band of misfits gains superpowers (just go with it) to confront the real-life Banderas, hamming it up for all he's worth. There isn't a single plot point that makes sense, as the screenwriters pack the story with deus ex machina elements that inexplicably solve every corner the script writes itself into. This requires the requisite sequences, including several frantic chases building up to an epic showdown.”

Cline continued, “The movie is so insanely freewheeling that it ignores every rule of animated storytelling to spiral off into absurd silliness. The animators have a field day with all of these crazy story elements, from a photo-booth time machine and the post-apocalyptic Bikini Bottom to a set of superpowers that reveals just how unimaginative and safe Big Hero 6 played it. At several points this overpacked film threatens to tip over into incomprehensible idiocy, but the script is much smarter than it looks.”

Along with the funny wordplay (“Release the condiments!” “With relish”) and nonstop movie references, Glenn Berger and Jonathan Aibel’s screenplay gets so beyond that it upsets in on itself. Cline said, “They also pepper the movie with riotously pointed gags (SpongeBob gets so upset at one point that he mixes the garbage with the recycling).” Also the essential everything is a subtle message about refusing to jump to scary conclusions while working together to solve problems. This is a message the adults need just as much as their children.

Now we come to the recent film, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” released on NetFlix last year and today on Paramount+ and VOD. This really silly franchise is back on the big-screen for another enjoyable story, again using amazingly well-done 3D digital animation. Cline said, “Targeting gamers and stoners as usual, this relentlessly childish movie would be unwatchable if it weren't for the dopily endearing characters and a steady stream of snappy gags. Although with virtually no subtext, the film feels stretched out almost to the breaking point, never more than mindlessly enjoyable.”

Living happily under the sea in Bikini Bottom with his pet snail Gary, also voiced by Kenny, SpongeBob and his absent-minded starfish friend Patrick enjoy annoying their neighbor Squidward, who works with SpongeBob at Krusty Krab. However, underwater ruler Poseidon, voiced by Matt Berry, needs a snail to keep his green skin soft, and Gary is the last snail in the sea. When he’s captures, SpongeBob and Patrick travel to The Lost City of Atlantic City to rescue him. After being distracted by the theme park and casinos, they’re captured by Poseidon. Now they need their friends to rescue them.

All of this chaos was set up by the usual subplot, as the evil Plankton sends SpongeBob on his rescue mission so he can steal Mr. Krabs’ secret formula. Along the way, there are few detours, including several songs and a live-action Wild West dream scene with a wise Sage (Keanu Reeves) and a zombie dance team led by the Gambler (rapper Snoop Dogg) and their ruled by El Diablo (Danny Trejo). There are even a number of flashbacks to the friends when they first met each other as kids at summer camp (Antonio Raul Corbo, Jack Gore, Jason Maybaum, and Presley Williams).

Cline noted, “With its rubbery textures, the animation bursts with colour, and the animators add witty, elaborately expressive faces to the characters. So the voice cast has a lot of fun making this nutty group of critters consistently sparky. The attention to detail in both the imagery and the script is hilarious, packing the fast-paces scenes with more micro-jokes than you can catch. Although this makes the more emotional moments feel cornier than expected.”

Cline continued, “It's a surprisingly simple movie, with only the odd pop culture reference and fewer puns in the dialog. The themes are also the usual suspects, from a shout-out about how important friends are to learning that the courage is already inside us.” More interesting is a delicate comment on how we’re not really living our best life if we’re not being real. This is definitely something writer-director Tim Hill could have worked on just a little more to make this more than just a part of attractively silly enjoyment.

If you’re fan of the cartoon, see every single one of these films. You will love every one of them, I promise you because the original actors are voicing the characters and they bring their usual traits to make the characters just as enjoyable. Each one is good in their own way and you will have some nice laughs and feel the emotion when they have their parts.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review, stay tuned tomorrow to see what I will review for this month.