Let’s do the chick flick thing

Editor’s Note: Movie reviews brought to you by The City Wire. Here. Now. Enjoy.

The Trav & SHE movie of the week: The Proposal
The Taking of Pelham is playing at the Malco Cinema 12 and the Carmike 14 in Fort Smith, and the Malco in Van Buren. Link here for ticket info and show times.


Trav: Sunday night is considered movie night for Trav & SHE. We go on Sundays to avoid the Friday/Saturday night crowds and all the annoying tom foolery associated with a crowded theater. The last thing I wanted to do after this weekend was watch a romantic comedy. I spent the majority of the weekend with my brother Trent and our buddy Steve in Memphis for an Eddie Vedder concert. Vedder put on a great show, but the post-concert Memphis nightlife nearly did me in. All the fun lead to a puffy-eyed, fuzzy-headed, 5 hour drive across Arkansas on Sunday. Maybe I was still battling the effects of the late night in Memphis, but why didn’t I know the Carmike only charges $7 for a movie? That’s about 20% cheaper than the Malco across town.

SHE: Trav, always the math genius … and always watching out for the consumer. Your trip to Memphis was perfect. What prepares you for a romantic comedy more than Eddie Vedder, drinking beer in Ray Charles’ old bedroom and a road trip with your brother? So funny! So heartwarming! So romantic! This was the first Sunday it appeared the crowded theater could not be avoided. Moviegoers kept coming and coming and coming. And lest you think this was a theater full of chicks with a few dudes dragged along by wives and girlfriends, it appears that Sandra Bullock has a pretty wide box office appeal.

The previews
• The Ugly Truth (July 24)
Trav: Do. Not. Want. A romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. Something about a reporter/correspondent and a producer, blah, blah, blah.  Honestly, I quit paying attention once I saw Heigl hit the screen. To me she’s more annoying than she is cute.

SHE: All I saw was Gerard Butler offering to “make this guy your bitch.” Yes, please! But wait. What? Kathrentitlement Heigl is in this? No, thanks.

• A Perfect Getaway (Aug. 14)
Trav: Thriller starring Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich as a vacationing couple backpacking in remote Hawaii. Their vacation ends up a struggle to survive after running into some other island visitors. I like Zahn’s quirkiness and Jovovich’s exotic look enough to probably buy a ticket to this one.

SHE: Love Milla, scenery looks gorgeous and the story full of suspense. Yes, please.

• My Sister’s Keeper (June 26)
Trav: Do. Not. Want. This movie will be a tear-jerker. The trailer made me cry, but only because I could tell SHE was mentally adding this movie to her "must see" list-o-movies. Admittedly, I’m due for a chick flick after our testosterone driven start of the 2009 summer movie season with Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels and Demons, Terminator Salvation, The Hangover, and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

SHE: Do not assume dear Trav, you know what that does! Love the song played during the trailer – it’s on my regular play-list. Quite honestly, this should be added if there’s a demand for it because no one is a big fan of public tears. Disclosure: I cry a lot. Both when I’m happy and when I’m sad. I’m a passionate person, it’s who I am. Therefore, unless there’s a demand that Trav & SHE review My Sister’s Keeper, this sister should watch it at home with a box of tissue.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 26)
Trav: I will be buying a ticket to this even though I find giant talking robots from another planet to be way more believable than Megan Fox being interested in Shia LaBeouf.

SHE: Shia LaBeouf. Yes, please!

• Old Dogs (Nov. 25)
Trav: This Disney comedy stars John Travolta and Robin Williams as business partners who end up playing the role of "My Two Dads" when Williams learns he is the father of 7 year old twins. Old Dogs is directed by Walt Becker who was behind the 2007 comedy Wild Hogs. I’ll probably end up adding this one to my Netflix queue (where Wild Hogs has been stuck for a while now).

SHE: John Travolta should stick with bad guy roles – just one girl’s opinion. But this may be an entertaining film to take the kids or grandparents to see around the Holidays. Looks harmless.

• Surrogates (Sept. 25)
Trav: This sci-fi thriller starring Bruce Willis looks promising. Willis is a cop in the future where people live isolated from the real world and use robots to interact with others.  When people end up dying while connected to their surrogate robots, Willis takes to the streets to solve the murders. Oh yeah, Willis’ robot has hair … awesomely crazy looking hair.

SHE: You think Willis demanded the “hair” be written in to the script? Because at first glance, it’s pretty special – it should get credits of its own. Sure, the story is science fiction but still slightly familiar. People don’t actually interact face to face. Let’s replace robots with cell phones and computers – hello email, instant messaging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. This film looks interesting.

The Proposal
SHE: The film opened to scenes many of us are familiar with – reviewing or reading voluminous documents while trying to squeeze in some exercise, standing over the sink inhaling some "breakfast," finally getting to work and sending or receiving a warning message that a certain scary/special person has entered the building. We’ve all been here, experienced this – and if you haven’t, would you drop me a line because I’m so curious about YOUR life!

Trav: We do get kicked right into the fast-paced lifestyle of Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) and Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). But, I can’t quit thinking to myself, "here we go, the first chick flick of 2009." I can think of other places I’d rather be, but I’ll attempt this escape from reality for the next couple of hours.

SHE: We quickly learn Margaret Tate is the boss. She’s not just any boss – she is feared and despised and doesn’t appear to have any friends. Really, what’s the deal? Can we get past the idea that a woman who is smart, driven, demanding, slightly domineering, and wears 4 inch heels is always going to be an uptight bitch? Ahem, I apologize – it’s just that I know how sensitive Trav gets about these stereotypes.

Trav: That’s me. I’m like the sensitive sensitive yin to your snarky yang. It was nice to see a reversal from the usual blueprint of a chick flick. Having Bullock as the domineering business woman was a pleasant change to the usual male dominated role in this type of movie.

SHE: "Big ups” to the writers, director, and producers for not making a big issue of the age difference. Bullock is 12 years older than Reynolds and the age thing is never an issue.

Trav: I never thought about the age thing. An issue they did point out, and I’m glad they did, was the legality of an American citizen marrying a foreigner for the benefit of American citizenship. They are quick to point out the legal issues created by the faux proposal.

SHE: The casting rates a 3 out of 5. Reynolds is nice to look at and likable as, the smarter than you think assistant to Bullock’s icy Tate. Betty White is golden as the family’s bawdy matriarch, Grandma Annie. Mary Steenburgen as Andrew’s emotional mom was great and Oscar Nuñez is fab as Ramon. Not as impressive were Craig T. Nelson as Andrew’s dad or Denis O’Hare as Mr. Gilbertson, the immigration officer.

Trav: I couldn’t agree more. The casting was very well done. I thought Reynolds was a little dry, but Bullock did a great job. Oscar Nuñez, who plays Oscar on “The Office,” was hilarious. It’s nice to see another member of “The Office” getting some face-time on the big screen.

SHE: The Proposal is a great date movie. Is it predictable? Somewhat, but there are enough surprises that keep it entertaining. The writing is great and the dialogue is real.  There are moments of amusement and there are times when the entire theater is laughing so hard and so loud, everyone misses the next line. Much of the film is set in Sitka, Alaska but was, in fact, filmed at several locations in Rockport, Manchester and Gloucester, Mass. The scenery was beautiful and lent itself to the story.

Trav: There always is a bit of predictability to this type of movie, but I enjoyed it anyway.

SHE:  Although I was looking forward to this movie after Trav’s admitted testosterone driven start to Summer 2009, I enjoyed it far more than expected. In fact, I may drag some friends out of the heat so they can have 2 hours of cool entertainment and laughs. The Proposal earned a 4 out of 5 on the snack scale.

Trav: The Proposal was surprisingly good. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’d watch it again, but I did enjoy the movie. Guys, if you’ve dragged your better-half to see some of this summer’s big action flicks, go ahead and take them to The Proposal. It’s entertaining enough for you, plus it should get you a pass for anything they’ve hated that you’ve taken them to so far. It was worth the $7. I’m giving it a 3 out of 5.

Feedback
Trav can can be reached at [email protected]

SHE can be reached at [email protected]