A Walk in the Woods (2015)

(Not so) Fun fact. I watched A Walk in the Woods because one does not simply pass a movie starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, and Emma Thompson, but also because I needed a film for a Thursday Movie Picks a while back, and by a while back I mean more than two years ago. As usual, I wrote the review, obviously picked the film for the series, and then forgot about it. So here it is, better late than never, right?

Anyways, the story follows travel writer Bill Bryson (Robert Redford), who instead of retiring and spending time with his loving wife, Catherine (Emma Thompson), decides to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends, Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte).

Despite it being based on a true story, the plot feels rather flat and lacks credibility — it's clear the filmmakers weren't able to transform the material into a story — and we barely know where it's going. It's hard to tell even after the film has ended.

The characters aren't that interesting either. They are just a bunch of weird and sometimes predictable and stereotyped people, among which Nick Nolte's stands out for being utterly annoying as he desperately tries to be a dramatic character. And the performances aren't much better.

Anyway, the real problem is another one. Given the title of the film and having a plot revolving around a hike of something like two thousand miles of track, one would expect the film to take place in the woods. Well, there couldn't be anything more wrong. In fact, most of the film takes place in diners, motels and laundromats, and when it takes place in the woods, it's nothing more than some mountain ledges and some truly awful green screen effects.

But there's still the comedy. Although it's stupid and falls flat most of the time, the film is able to make you laugh — more like chuckle actually — a few times mostly because of Redford's character cynical sarcasm. Ultimately, A Walk in the Woods is a mediocre, barely funny slapstick film that isn't worth watching unless you really love the actors involved. 

The Proposal (2009)

I still remember the first time I watched The Proposal — I liked the movie so much I talked about it all the time and I even convinced my mother to watch it. I've been meaning to rewatch it for quite some time to see how I'd feel about it now and, since recently I'm often in the mood for romantic comedies — what is happening to me? — I finally did. 

The story follows Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), a successful editor at a prestigious New York publishing house, and her personal assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). When Margaret, a Canadian, faces deportation due to an expired visa, she blackmails Andrew to marry her. In return, she would promote him to editor and publish his book. Mr. Gilbertson (Denis O'Hare), however, the clerk of the immigration department is a bit sceptical and schedules an interview on the next Monday, so Margaret and Andrew travel to Alaska to celebrate his grandmother's (Betty White) ninetieth birthday and announce their engagement.

The plot to The Proposal is very far from being perfect as it's very predictable, clichéd and unrealistic — that's kind of the point of romantic comedies though —, there are many plot holes, subplots that make no sense whatsoever — I'm still wondering what was the point of that plot involving Andrew's ex-girlfriend as she doesn't have any impact on the story, and that Andrew and Margaret's love comes completely out of the blue — a scene with them bonding over literature and books would have been nice. Despite these flaws, it still manages to be engaging and fun.

The characters aren't particularly well-written either as they are nothing but clichés — Margaret is bossy and bitchy because of course all women in power have to be portrayed as horrible human beings, and Andrew is the ambitious person willing to do whatever it takes to make his dream come true — and quite cartoonish, especially Andrew's grandma. Also, there are so many secondary characters thrown into the story that are pointless and kind of take away the focus from Margaret and Andrew. Still, it's fun to see them interact with each other and, despite how unbelievable it is, it comes more than natural to root for Margaret and Andrew.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The cast is what I love the most about The Proposal. Sandra Bullock — who happens to be the reason I first watched this many years ago — and Ryan Reynolds are both so charismatic and have such nice chemistry — they even dated in real life at some point —, they are a delight to watch. It also helps that they are pretty funny in their roles too. It's Betty White as the dopey grandma, Annie, and Oscar Nuñez as Ramone, the exotic dancer/Mr. I do it all, that absolutely steal the show though with their hilarious, a little over the top performances.

As for the comedy, The Proposal relies a lot on overused jokes and slapstick but it works pretty well and overall the film is quite funny.

Step Brothers (2008)

After a day of non-stop walking, I still had some energy left to watch a movie so I decided to watch something light. It took me 30 minutes to pick one and eventually went with Step Brothers because it had been on my list for ages and it was about time for me to watch it. 

The story follows Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), two unemployed, nearly 40-year-old slackers who still live with their parents. When Brennen's mother, Nancy (Mary Steenburgen), marries Dale's father, Robert (Richard Jenkins), Brennan and Dale are forced to share a room. Despite their personalities being so alike, they don't get along very well, but when Brennan's successful young brother, Derek (Adam Scott), the two begin to bond. 

Step Brothers's plot is not thin, it's non-existent as the film is mostly a vehicle/excuse for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly to do crude sketches. While that exactly something one would expect from a movie with those two, the absolutely ridiculous story, the fact that almost everything happens by chance, that there are subplots that only make the story more dreadful, and that overall it feels like an improvisation after another, not even good ones, these things still bothered me. 

Not as much as the characters did though. Not only they are incredibly stupid and unbelievable — I mean, the two main characters are two adults who behave like two retarded kids —, but they also are very unlikeable and quite irritating, and the only reason I sided with them was because Brennan's brother, Derek, was an asshole, with a capital aitch. 

The performances aren't much better as they are dull, unbelievable and uninspired. Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins both do a good job though as the parents, the only two responsible characters in the entire film, and Kathryn Hahn, who gets the chance to go nuts in the role of Derek's sexually repressed wife, is quite funny. 

Columbia Pictures

I wouldn't have given a damn about the script and the terrible acting though if Step Brothers was a funny movie. Unfortunately, neither the comedy works. I'm not sure what's the issue here, maybe the fact that Adam McKay didn't want to make a comedy but a drama, the thing is that the comedy just falls flat. I smiled when Brennan and Dale turned their single beds into a bunk bed and it collapsed, and the job interview sequence was quite something, but everything else just didn't work for me. Ferrell and Reilly try to be funny but the funny jokes and gags are just not a part of the script.

Four Christmases (2008)

When I picked the Christmas movies I'd watch this year, I left the 22nd out as I was supposed to watch Aquaman on the 21st. Turns out they moved the release date to January 1 because of the new Mary Poppins movie —I hope it flops with all of my heart— and I found myself short of a movie. Four Christmases is the first I stumbled upon, I saw it had Reese Witherspoon —believe it or not, I like her— and I went with it. 

The film follows Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon), a couple who met in a bar around Christmas who has managed to avoid spending Christmas with their families for the past three years by going on heavenly vacations. This year, their plan fails as all the flights have been cancelled and a television news crew interviews them revealing to their families where they are. Having no way out, they are forced to spend time with their families, which means four Christmases the same day since both Brad and Kate parents are divorced.

I don't think I need to point out how stupid the plot is. Actually, doing that would require the film to have a plot and Four Christmases doesn't have one, it's just a sequence of random-ish events that serves as a vehicle for "jokes" and that ends in the most predictable way possible. 

Just like the plot, the characters too lack depth and any sort of development. Neither Brad nor Kate are likeable leads, and the fact that Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn has no chemistry sure doesn't help to make you root for their relationship. And I found it tremendously annoying that Brad and Kate are such out-of-the-box people, both against marriage and kids, and then, all of a sudden, Kate wants it all and, five seconds later, Brad wants it all. If anything, an experience like theirs would make me give up on the idea of having kids for good. 

New Line Cinema

As for the supporting characters, they are a wide variety of weird, odd characters. The problem? There's too many of them so none really stands out. Also, they aren't likeable at all, and having big actors —Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, and many more— playing them doesn't help one bit.  

Neither the plot nor the characters are Four Christmases's biggest problem though, the humour is. The film is filled with idiotic, childish jokes that are just too stupid to be funny, Vaughn's sarcasm barely works here, and the gags are very generic and not funny at all. I must have chuckled something like one time while watching this film.