A Little TLC(w): The Days of Being Dumb (1992)

This would’ve been quite the decent enough little comedy, were it not for some of the more unfortunate humor.  I don’t know what it is with the rape jokes in some of these movies – in this case, rape jokes with a homophobic twist – but I’m continually disappointed by it.  While I recognize that plenty of U.S. entertainment contains these unpleasant elements, especially in films like this that are over 20 years old, I also think it feels more pronounced here in part due to the translation; I’m not sure if the characters are really being as blunt as the subtitles suggest, or if it’s the Cantonese-to-English translation spelling it out more plainly.  But either way, overt or subtle, I don’t like it (a few spoilers.)

Fred and Keith are two aspiring gangsters who’ve joined numerous triad gangs, despite their overall uselessness in a fight.  However, after several of their bosses meet particularly grisly ends with the presence of these two as the only common denominator, they gain a reputation for being jinxes and are blacklisted from the gangster community at large.  The guys attempt to strike out on their own, getting into the smuggling business, but that goes wrong at the first turn.  Hijinks, thwarted attempts at criminal activity, and threats of bodily harm ensue.

We’ll start with the bad stuff.  That “smuggling” job Fred and Keith take on is to bring in a prostitute from Singapore, one who turns out to be an unsuspecting young woman who thinks she’s there to model.  Yep, our hapless young criminals are accidental sex traffickers.  Luckily, they realize it would be in bad form to then hand this woman over to a pimp, but this plot doesn’t exactly turn itself around once they decide to protect her.  Both have feelings for her – Keith unabashedly, Fred trying to play it more coolly – but it turns out she’s gay… or is she?  Cue groans and all sorts of reductive noise about female sexuality, not to mention a climactic scene in which one of our antiheroes swoops into her room and passionately(?) declares that he needs to rape her.  Oh, and there’s a suggestion, from her no less, that she isn’t a “real woman” unless she’s straight.  I know this was made in 1992, but holy crap.

Which is a shame, because if you cut out all that grossness, you’d be left with a fairly enjoyable comedy.  It’s a good gangster satire with lots of send-ups and zany humor, and Fred and Keith make a fun disaster-prone team.  I like Fred’s various schemes to keep them out of trouble (an early scene in which they fake their way through a huge gang-on-gang fight with minimal risk is a highlight,) and there’s something nice about the way they stick by each other despite their pretty constant screw-ups.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai plays Fred, who by this point, I can recognize as a pretty familiar type for him during this part of his career.  Low-level shyster with smart enough schemes that, as often as not, fumble in the execution?  Check.  Good looks and plenty of charm, but an even bigger ego?  Check.  Makes a lot of noise about having no scruples but generally does the right-ish thing when the chips are really down?  Check.

But even if I’ve seen it before, there’s a reason he’s played a lot of these characters, something I would’ve never guessed back when I knew him best for his quiet, soulful characters in films like In the Mood for Love and Hero.  He has a strong knack for these fast-talking types who always have something up their sleeve, and when he’s not unwittingly trafficking humans or asking why a woman is a lesbian when she otherwise seems so “normal” (sigh,) Fred is a good deal of fun, especially when playing off of Jacky Cheung’s sweet, dumb Keith.  You can tell Fred prides himself on being the brains of the two-man operation, and he keeps Keith around both out of genuine if usually-unspoken affection and out of the fact that he knows Keith will always appreciate his (dubious) talents, even if others don’t.

Recommend?

In General – If it weren’t for the gross stuff, I probably would.  But as it is, no.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Not with all that baggage.  For less uncomfortable performances of this sort of character, check out Happy-Go-Lucky or Heaven Can’t Wait.

Warnings

Violence (including attempted rape,) sexual content (including sex trafficking,) drinking/smoking/drug use, and sexist/homophobic humor.

Winter Soldier, Vol. 2: Broken Arrow (2012)

No News Satire Roundup today - I’m away for a wedding and have only had a chance to see about half of this week’s Daily Shows.  Expect that post later next week.

If the first volume of Winter Soldier started off a little removed for my tastes, this one kicks it up several notches.  It’s not without its issues, but I’m a lot deeper into this story now and ready to read more (light spoilers.)

Following on from the events of the last volume, Bucky is on the trail of a ghost from his past, a sleeper agent that he trained back in his Soviet days.  Leo Novokov has woken from deep freeze and is slowly grappling with the world in which he now finds himself.  Flung into the present but steeped into the past, he sets in motion a plan to torment his old trainer Bucky (as well as his old Red Room cohort Natasha.)

I like this volume way better than the first one.  While I’d still say I prefer the overall tone of comics like Ms. Marvel or Jughead, what really makes this volume work for me is the personal stakes.  Even though the sleeper agents plot was introduced in the first volume and obviously tied into Bucky’s past as the Winter Soldier, it mostly felt like a job that Bucky and Natasha were uniquely qualified to address.  Here, though, with Novokov’s vendetta against Bucky, it’s so much more personal.  This is a guy looking to hit Bucky where it hurts, and Bucky has a hard time maintaining his composure in the wake of this onslaught.

Another thing I love is the scenes of Bucky and Natasha working together.  I love watching kickass couples fighting alongside each other in an equal partnership, and I feel like this volume delivers on how I’d imagined Bucky/Natasha since I’d first heard that they were a pairing in the comics.  Moving in tandem, implicitly trusting one another, able to see individually to different parts of a task in the mutual assurance that both can handle themselves.  It’s truly a pleasure to see.

Unfortunately, that’s where I do run into a complaint with the volume; there’s not enough of that.  Novokov’s plans for Bucky involve Natasha, and while I wouldn’t say she’s damseled – it’s more complicated than that – the second half of the volume focuses more on Bucky and other guys banding together against Novokov on Natasha’s behalf, rather than Bucky and Natasha against Novokov.  Even though the specific way Natasha is involved in the plot is interesting (and certainly designed for maximum impact,) it bugs me that she’s made into a piece on Novokov’s chessboard instead of continuing on in her capacity as Bucky’s partner.  It’s not enough to make me dislike the story, but I do hope volume 3 brings that aspect of the comic back where it ought to be.

The Book of Rannells: Bachelorette (2012, R)

This isn’t quite the first film Andrew Rannells was in – he has what seems to be a bit role in the first Sex and the City movie, but it’s pre-Mormon, so I’m not including it here.  It’s very early for him, though, a small but decent enough part in a middling movie.

On the eve of their former classmate’s wedding, type-A Regan, ditzy Katie, and edgy Gena have a night of misadventures to remember.  An early mishap at the bachelorette party devolves quickly into mayhem when the wedding dress gets torn.  The trio’s quest to fix their mistake before anybody finds out takes them down numerous, chaotic rabbit holes.

It’s a raunchy comedy in the vein of The Hangover or Bridesmaids.  I’ll admit that I don’t watch many of these movies and so don’t have a good sense of how it compares to others of its type.  My novice opinion, however, is that it’s decent – not great but serviceable.  There’s a lot of sex and drug use and plenty of crass humor.  Some of it, to be expected, feels shocking for shocking’s sake, while some of it is fairly funny.  I like how it plays with old high school dynamics repeating themselves in adulthood, and it earns definite points for Gena’s philosophy of dividing guys into “Catalanos” and “Krakows.”

The acting is the best thing the film has going for it.  It’s strong across the board, led by Kirsten Dunst’s determined Regan and supported by Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher, both very good as Gena and Katie.  The film also features Rebel Wilson in what I’m guessing is an early U.S. role for her, and on the guys’ side of things, we have Adam Scott, Hayes McArthur, and James Marsden playing hard against type.  I’d say the script is mediocre at best, but the cast makes it work.

Andrew Rannells plays Manny, a friend and coworker of Katie’s.  He’s mainly involved (briefly) in Katie’s third of the establishing scenes for the three women early on, and he later shows up (again, briefly) at the bachelorette party itself, doing Katie a solid by serving as a stripper for the bride.

We don’t know a whole lot about Manny.  We know that he’s more put-together than Katie and attempts to save face on her behalf when she mostly-inadvertantly insults customers (they work retail,) but since he’s only marginally less rude than she is, it has limited effect.  We can also presume that he’s gay, thanks to him yelling, “Let’s see what you’ve got, breeders!” when he starts stripping at the party.  The line surprised and amused me – since Manny is in the film so little, there’s no real reason to establish his sexuality, and that seems like a weird thing to let a woman know while you’re stripping for her, but at the same time, I find it interesting, which means it ultimately adds to the scene.

Recommend?

In General – Possibly, if you’re into these kinds of comedies.  I think it’s fine.

Andrew Rannells – Not necessarily – his part’s so small.  Of course, if you’d like to see Rannells stripping, there’s that.

Warnings

Lots of swearing, sexual content (including one guy encouraging another to have sex with a woman too impaired to consent,) drinking/smoking/drug use, gross-out humor, and thematic elements (including eating disorders.)