Although it was another slow weekend at the cineplexes, we take a look at the new comedy, Mr. Woodcock (PG-13). In the film, Seann William Scott stars as a self-help author who finds out that his mother (Susan Sarandon) is marrying his dictator-like ex-gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) from high school. Needless to say, Scott's character tries to break off the engagment.
Ryan: I went into this film with zero expectations. The movie has been on the shelf for awhile and this is the time of year when studio's tend to dump off some of their “stinkers.” There's no question that having no expectations made Mr. Woodcock a better film. Don't get me wrong, the movie is far from a comedic gem but for a dump-off comedy it's not too bad. There are some funny scenes and even a few laugh-out-loud moments. I can't say that I really recommend this movie but I will say that for a uninspiring comedy it does offer some escapism.
Andy: “A dump-off comedy” is a pretty big caveat to be spending the price of a movie ticket on, and the bottom line is, this is not a movie worth spending more than three dollars on. I was repeatedly struck by how weak the writing is. You know from the all the built in juvenile jokes that the title implies that this is not going to contain much “smart” humor, but it ended up containing surprisingly little humor at all. I felt like the times the movie was even trying to be funny were few and far between, and the times that it actually was funny I could count on my fingers. Ultimately, this is a sitcom plot stretched out to 97 minutes, and it just doesn't work very well.
Ryan: Billy Bob Thornton is a fine actor so it is somewhat surprising that he keeps rekindling a role that he's done before (and better). His performance in Mr. Woodcock is nothing more than a watered-down version of his Bad Santa role and to a lesser extent his role in Bad News Bears. Bottom line-- moviegoers have seen Thornton play this heartless and stern role before. I'll admit Thornton's good at it but it is nothing new. One would expect an actor as talented as Thornton to take on more roles that offer more of a challenge.
Andy: The level of talent this movie brings to the table is baffling. Billy Bob Thornton heads that group. Instead of showing his past Oscar-nominated form, Thornton is doing his deadpan tough-guy comedy routine. Only this time around his character is much less developed. Susan Sarandon, who has actually won and acting Oscar, can't be blamed for doing a fun comedy, but her character is so paper-thin that she is completely wasted. Seann William Scott does an okay job in the leading role, but he's really just doing a watered-down Ben Stiller rom-com performance. Those performances are sometimes annoying when Ben Stiller is doing them, so just imagine Seann William Scott trying it.
Ryan: The other lead in the film belongs to that of Seann William Scott--forever known as Stifler to most moviegoers. I'm not sure if he'll ever be able to truly escape the Stifler-persona but he's not a bad comedic actor. He doesn't have (or shown) much range but he's more than capable of holding his own in run-of-the-mill comedies. He has pretty good comedic timing and he does have a small degree of charisma that enhances his star status on the screen. As long as Scott can stay away from those cheesy direct-to-video American Pie sequels, which he has so far, he'll have a healthy career in Hollywood.
Andy: There is enough talent in this movie that it seems tolerable for long stretches, but it really doesn't have much going for it. The story is predictable and boring, the laughs come way to rarely, and there is surprisingly little attention paid to detail in the movie. I thought there was going to be a glimmer of hope when Melissa Sagemiller was introduced as a potential love interest, but her character promptly disappeared from the film for the next 45 minutes. Then we were left with Stifler and Thornton falling down over and over.
Mr. Woodcock has some decent moments, but is largely a disappointing film. Final grade: C.
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