After seeing Summer (Zooey Deschanel) for the first time, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) knows that she is “the one” for him. Unfortunately, Summer doesn’t believe in love at all. The film starts when Summer breaks up with Tom and then shows the beginnings of their relationship through flashbacks, going back and forth and then also to the future. Tom is a very creative guy and the film is shown from his perspective, so sometimes there are drawings combined with life action.

The audience is being warned up front that this isn’t a love story but I was still surprised that there really isn’t a conventional happy-ending, mainly because the main characters are so perfect for each other. The story and most of the characters are fun and cute. But (500) Days of Summer didn’t turn out to be as great as I had hoped it would be. It has really great moments but it is sometimes going a bit too far. There is a scene where Tim is really happy after spending the first night with Summer and he starts dancing on the street and the scene turns into a musical where everyone on the street joins him with the dancing. It is kind of sweet and I laughed but it is just too much and wasn’t necessary. A big grin and a little hop would have been enough to convey his joy.

A little  note on the side: the set designer (or whoever) had a stroke of genius when they decided to make an entire wall of Tim’s room into a black board! I so want this in my room! It is brilliant!

The main reason I went to see (500) Days of Summer was the lovely Zooey Deschanel and she does the film justice. I did have a bit o a feeling that she played herself just memorizing the lines but I don’t know her, so I don’t know. It looks like type-casting to me but she could just be really good. I don’t think I have seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in anything else, so I was positively surprised how great he is. He is very quirky and suits Zooey perfectly.

All in all it is a fun film and very entertaining for two hours but it won’t make my 100 favorite movies of all time list (coming soon…I’m still working on it.).

I really hate flying. The only thing that keeps me going through a long flight are the films. So for me the worst thing that could happen is a really bad film (although I would still watch it to keep me occupied).

Yes Man

Jim Carrey in another comedy. In Yes Man he plays someone who says “no” to absolutely everything. He has been at the same job in a bank for the past five years and his wife left him a few years ago and now has a new boyfriend which really upsets Jim’s character. One day he runs into an old colleague of his who convinces him to come to a seminar to become a “yes man” in order to start living his life. To his own surprise the seminar actually does change him and from now on he has to say “yes” to every offer that comes his way.

The beginning of the film is completely flat. I mean, we get the fact that he says no to everything, you don’t have to show it over and over again. Once he becomes a “yes man” things get a bit funnier. But the jokes are not very good, quite bland. The only really fun thing about this film is Zooey Deschanel. I am amazed at her ability to light up the screen in any movie. She is a really unusual actress. I think she should be in a lot more films! Other than her I don’t see a reason for watching Yes Man.

Bride Wars

Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play Liv and Emma, two best friends whose life dream it is to get married at the Plaza in Manhattan. Now that the time has finally come, there is one problem: Their wedding planner has booked the friends’ weddings on the same date. This means that one of them has to change the venue, but neither of them is prepared to give up their dream.

Bride Wars is a sort of amusing film but I just can’t understand this dream of the grand wedding at the Plaza. What is the big deal? I don’t even think the Plaza is particularly beautiful. How can two people be so utterly obsessed with getting married there? How can you even make a film about two people who are obsessed with getting married? The film is good enough to be entertained on an airplane, where there is really nothing else to do than watch it, but not more than that.

Both of the movies were fairly bad but entertaining on a level that is good for flying-mood. I wouldn’t recommend watching them under normal circumstances though.

I stumbled across a blog post by Miranda on Cinematic Passions where she wrote about Entertainment Weekly’s article on the 25 funniest actresses in Hollywood. When I looked at the article there I realized that I only new about 2 out of the 25. So, now I am making my own list of the 10 funniest actresses of today (classic actresses are a whole other post).

I have to admit that when I think about comedies, I think about men (Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria and the likes).

Ellen Page - Even though I have only seen her in one comedy (Juno), she impressed me enough to make it onto the list.

Renée Zellweger – I can laugh about her as Bridget Jones every single time I watch it (it’s been a few). She is also funny in Down with Love, Chicago, Me, Myself and Irene and Nurse Betty.

Reese Witherspoon – I probably shouldn’t admit it, but I love her in Legally Blonde!

Emma Thomson – more known for her dramas, she can be very funny (Much Ado About Nothing, Harry Potter). I am sure this woman can play any role you throw at her anyway…

Jennifer Aniston – She really makes me laugh (apart from Friends, she is funny in Along Came Polly, Bruce Almighty).

Shirley Henderson – She might not be a big Hollywood star but she is incredibly funny! (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Harry Potter)

Julia Roberts – (Pretty Woman, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Hook, America’s Sweethearts, Ocean’s Twelve…)

Zooey Deschanel - I love her in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Almost Famous

Cameron Diaz – even though I am not a big Cameron-fan, I have to admit that she is very funny in Shrek (voice), My Best Friend’s Wedding and There’s Something about Mary.

Drew Barrymore – she appears in a lot of comedies but she is normally the “cute” one, rather than the “funny” one.

Other funny actresses:

I thought about adding Meryl Streep - but even when she is in comedies, she brings drama into them (i.e. The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!)

Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie Smith, Blythe Danner

I miss Whoopy Goldberg and Bette Midler, make me laugh again

The Conclusion: I am sorry to say that there are no real comediennes in Hollywood. At least not in films I watch (If you like American Pie and similar films you might disagree with this statement). The actresses I listed are all funny or appear in comedies but they are, mostly, not the main character and their funniness comes more from the amusing story. Legally Blonde is the wonderful exception here. It seems strange that there is such a big gap between male and female comedians. What are your thoughts?