sarsipius23 Reviews

Never Been Kissed (1999)

Wonderful, amazing movie! Very funny too.

[10/10 · 15 March 2009]

I never tire of this movie. That is the true sign of greatness. I have watched it many, many times. It gets better with age. I first saw this in the theater and was already loving it when at just the right time "Don't Worry Baby" blasts into my ears, which to me is one of the greatest songs of all time. Pure sonic heaven.

Anyhow, I thought the movie was very funny (especially David Arquette.) It also was touching. The prom flashback was truly heartbreaking. Also amazing is how unattractive Drew Barrymore was as Josey Grossie. I think she is generally very attractive, but they really hit the nail on the head in this movie in making her plain.

I enjoyed Leelee Sobieski quite a bit and find her very sexy in general. She did great at her part. The plastic friends and over-clichéd "teen roles" for the popular kids was a tiny turnoff but the positives far out-weighed that.

Molly Shannon was a hoot. John Reilly was perfect in his role.

Good job Drew and company! Favorite quotes, "You don't think I can grab a bull's balls?" (or something like that) "I know, I made it up. I didn't think it would catch on like it did." (in reference to David Arquette's character naming his sister Josey Grossie)

Juno (2007)

I loved it!

[9/10 · 17 October 2008]

Indie movies and me generally do not get along. This one, however, I found very refreshing and entertaining. I liked Juno from the start and that is why I loved it. Not to mention I was surprised at the twists that resulted from the relationship between Juno and the adoptive couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner.) The only real negative is some of the music. It is too often "cutesy" or "indie" or whatever. It simply sucks sometimes.

I have been a huge Jason Bateman fan since Silver Spoons. He obviously had great acting and comedic talent even then (which sadly Ricky Schroeder did not have.) He was brilliant in "It's Your Move." In short, he's always been great. He was again great here. He is good enough that Oscar should come looking his way.

Back to the movie. The dialogue was funny, hip, and fit Juno's personality perfectly. The simplistic view she had of the world and her situation is exactly what a smart, smart- mouthed but good hearted teen would have. The little touch of the runner's running by was endearing and often funny. Having been a cross-country/track runner myself, I identified with it more than some perhaps. When we first meet Bateman and Garner I did not know what to expect and at first got pretty much what I would have guessed: a happy, yuppie, childless couple looking for a way to start a family. The later opening up of Bateman's character through a shared love of music and pop culture with Juno really made his character come alive, as well as the movie. Bateman's obvious attraction to Juno is exactly what most men would feel in the same circumstance (much like Timothy Hutton's feelings toward Natalie Portman in Beautiful Girls.) Meet a young beautiful girl who thinks like you, is creative like you, is easy to talk to and be around, and it is easy to see yourself falling for such person. The fact that Juno did not recognize the relationship as possibly romantic shows the true naivety both of women in general and of teenagers. Men will recognize Bateman's feelings as true and legitimate while women will likely be (like Juno) horrified and shocked at Bateman's brushing aside his marriage vows, no matter how unhappy he is.

Garner did fine but as a man I did not identify as much with her. I was sad that she would be raising the baby alone. I also was somewhat sad that the baby would not be part of Juno and her boyfriend's life. I wondered whether she would ultimately decide to keep the baby. I thought she might considering how difficult giving up your own flesh and blood would be. One thing that rung false was the high school Asian girl alone picketing an abortion clinic. Overall, I thought the movie was great!

California Dreaming (2007)

One of the worst ever

[1/10 · 23 September 2007]

Wow. I am shocked that with the considerable charm and talents of Dave Foley and Lea Thompson that someone with access to enough money to finance this could have actually put this turd to film. It is that bad. There is almost nothing even mildly amusing. The alarm bit was horrible. The stowaway boyfriend and his parents--horrible (but I did like the acting of that dude that was on Star Trek).

All in all it is simply worse than I could come up with in about five minutes, including the complete script idea, the casting of the daughter/boyfriend, and the "comedy."

Foley was so good in "Blast From The Past" and Thompson was very appealing in "Back To The Future." I can understand how folks will do such things as THIS movie when they need money. I just feel sorry for them both and I hope better days are ahead.