This Is Where I Leave You is a comedy drama film directed by Shawn Levy. The plot follows a family as they grieve the death of their father, and are trapped together for a week, by their mother. Old rivalries are reborn and the past rears its ugly head once again.

So, this is a depressing watch. I put it on because I enjoy the comedy of Tina Fey and I thought it might make me laugh, boy was I wrong. I didn’t laugh once not once, and that wasn’t through a lack of trying on the films part, but when I left it I was bummed out. I had to watch a series of funny shows and programs to try and shake it off.

It is a failure as a comedy film, that we have established, thought comedy is subjective. Sadly, it is not much better as a drama film, I felt like the film was not as deep as it thought it was and a lot of its big revelations about life just came off as obvious clichés. The writing just wasn’t up to snuff to make it an impactful drama film in the way it wanted to be.

Overall, this is a failure as both a comedy and drama film, moreover it manages to waste a great cast and be thoroughly disappointing

Pros.

The actors are trying

Cons.

Sadly they have nothing to work with

The writing is bad and over reliant on clichés

It is not funny

It feels laughably shallow when trying to be deep

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a comedy drama film directed by John Madden. The plot this time around is far more centric to Sonny (Dev Patel), seeing him and Muriel (Maggie Smith), attempt to secure finance to build a second hotel.

I enjoyed this film more than the first, there was an air of finality to it that I thought worked well. The spectre of death hung over the characters, but rather than be depressing it felt real and earned. It furthers the idea that we have to enjoy the time we have while we have it, which is the philosophy these films seem to live by.

Judi Dench takes a backseat, really only having a b side plot, with Smith taking centre stage, I believe this is for the best as of the two Smith delivers a better more nuanced performance in both films. As Judi Dench is just playing Judy Dench.

I enjoyed see Dev Patel getting more of the centre stage, he is a very likeable lead and an enjoyable on-screen presences; the first film wasted him, but he is given time to shine here. The new additions to the cast are okay, they don’t bring much to the dynamic and fail to match the energy of some of the actors that didn’t return.

Overall, a better more thought out film.

Pros.

Giving Patel centre stage

Feeling like the end

Maggie Smith

Cons

The new characters don’t add much

Some of the drama feels a little clunky and forced

3/5

Reviewed by Luke    

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a comedy drama film directed by John Madden. The plot follows an eclectic group of pensioners as they go to India to retire. They each go for their own reasons and they each find India touch their lives in one way or another.

This film features almost all of the famous older British faces that audiences would be familiar with, you have Bill Nighy, Judie Dench, Maggie Smith and more; it really is like a who’s who of elderly British talent. It is a very wholesome watch as it feels like you know these people, they’re almost like your grandparents, so it is nice to see them falling in love and having fun.

I found this film to be far better than the other older romance films like Finding Your Feet, that would follow it, in many ways these sort of films are a genre all their own and maybe one day I will write about it in more detail. With that said you can imagine what the story is like, it is all fairly predicatable.

My issue with this film is the pacing. There were parts of it I really enjoyed, I thought they were snappy and done well, however, there were also bits that dragged; to an almost painfully extent. These issues are not just in one part of the film that I can point to, they’re throughout. It could greatly benefit from a tighter edit.

Overall, a very safe comforting film that is boosted with standout performances from Dev Patel, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, if it had been condensed down a bit more it could have been something special.

Pros.

The performances

Comforting to watch

Very wholesome

Cons.

Predictable

Parts of it badly drag on.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke   

An American Pickle is a comedy drama film directed by Brandon Trost. The plot sees a Herschel (Seth Rogen), fall into a pickle briner and be trapped there for a few hundred years, he awakens in a different time, our present, and tries to see what has become of his family.

I don’t know if this film is supposed to be a comedy film, yes it has a wacky premise and yes it stars Seth Rogen in a double role, but at the same time it seems to have a lot of subtle subtext about identity and family that it seems far more concerned about rather than focusing on being funny. It didn’t make the laugh once, but it did make me think and feel, so in a way it is a triumph.

Seth Rogen has made a name for himself as a comedic actor, but here he brings much more to the table. Rogen plays Herschel as a man out of time, obviously, as someone who is trying to adapt to the world around him and find a reason to carry on, hence why bonding with his only living family member Ben (also Rogen), is so important to him. Ben on the other hand is a loner who can’t seem to deal with emotion or process the grief in his life, he has lost any form of his identity, but with the help of Herschel learns to regain it.

Overall, if you’re looking for the usual Rogen comedy film you won’t enjoy this, if you’re looking for something a bit deeper and more nuanced than this is for you. Be warned it can be quite depressing at times.

Pros.

Rogen as a dramatic actor

Rogen plays both roles well and crucially differently

It has a good heart

Cons.

It is not funny

It can be depressing at times

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Brittany Runs A Marathon is a comedy drama film directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo. The plot follows Brittany (Jillian Bell), a young women whose life has got out of control.  She finds it hard to leave the house, she hates the way she looks, she is surrounded by bad friends, and her body is failing her, medically. Just when things seem their bleakest Brittiany decides to go for a run, she then dedicates herself to training for a marathon and things start to change.

I thought this was just going to be a dumb comedy film, but boy was I wrong. This is far more of a commentary on body positivity and being okay with yourself, this film hits some very dark very personal areas and handles the subject matter beautifully.

So yeah this film isn’t funny, as a comedy film it fails, but as a nuanced drama film with an eye on body image, self esteem and learning to love yourself this film is simply a triumph. Bell takes us on a journey with this character and we feel her pain, we want to see her win, and the moment we see her hurt her leg and not be able to race, the first time, we feel as devastated as she does. This film makes me want to see Bell cast her more dramatic roles as I think she has a real talent.

Overall, this film is what I Feel Pretty should have been, its body positivity message is something that everyone can get behind and honestly it is kind of inspiring. I highly recommend.

Pros.

The message

The well rounded, fleshed out, real character

Bell’s performance

The heart

Cons.

It is not a comedy in any way

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedy drama film directed by Wes Anderson. The plot sees the current owner of the titular hotel Mr. Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham), recount the story of how he came to own it, telling how his predecessor (Ralph Fiennes) was accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

I have recently become a Wes Anderson convert, quickly burning my way through his filmography. I love Anderson unique take on cinema and the charmingly eccentric feel of it, however I feel he has hits and misses, this to be would be one of the latter.

Unlike something like Rushmore or The Darjeeling Limited I did not find myself particularly caring for any of the characters, other than the minute-long cameo of Bill Murray, I also found the story to be surprisingly dull. The quirkiness that I have mentioned before is the only thing that saved this film from mediocrity and was the only reason I didn’t turn it off midway through.

I don’t quite know what it was but there is something lacking from this film, something central and critical. It felt all over the place in a lot of different ways and seemed to lack any kind of singular focus outside of just being odd.

Overall, this is the weakest Anderson film that I have seen yet, it lacked engaging characters and that spark that the rest of his films have, very disappointing.

Pros.

The uniqueness

There are a few good memorable moments

Cons.

It is forgettable

The soundtrack is not up to usual Wes Anderson standards

The story and characters failed to engage me

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke