So, now that I’ve mentioned testicular cancer, who’s ready to laugh?

Nepotism has long been the way in the business of show. Children of actors and other famous people often get first crack at auditions, or get walked into a role with the backing of their parents or famous friends of the family. In fact, you’d be surprised at the number of today’s stars that come from show business families. Not Channing Tatum though. I’m really not sure how he broke through the hard way.

Gwyneth Paltrow

The daughter of director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, Gwyneth originally studied Art History at the University of California. She then realized, “Hey, what the f*ck am I doing?” and dropped out. She was then cast in her first notable role in Hook. Ah, the ol’ dropping out of college and immediately being discovered by Spielberg. It’s a story as old as time itself.

Sofia Coppola

At first, Sofia Coppola came off as the lucky benefactor of nepotism when her famous father cast her in a lead role in The Godfather III. However, her performance sucked worse than terrible, which caused a lot of backlash from critics and audiences. She then refocused her efforts behind the camera to become one of the more noteworthy arthouse directors working today. Her films are so well-received that she may have even broken through without the family backing.

Colin Hanks

Colin Hanks got his first taste of Hollywood when he was cast as a page in the Tom Hanks-directed That Thing You Do! Being that close to and seeing the success of fellow celebrity kid Liv Tyler must have inspired him, as he’s worked pretty consistently since college. He can currently be seen doing creepy religious stuff on the current season of Dexter.

I’m not saying that you should go see a movie that you’ve already viewed (though it is a good idea), but there are certain terrible date films you should avoid. First of all, you don’t want anything about ruined lives break ups, or spousal abuse. Those films are for legally-separated people.

At any rate, here are seven films to avoid on your next movie date.

(500) Days of Summer

Don’t allow yourself to be sucked in by this one. Yes. It has Zooey Deschanel. Yes. It has Joseph Gordon Levitt. Yes. It has quirky animated interludes. But it also shows a pretty dreadful portrayal of a relationship going to shit. Personally, I blame IKEA. There’s no way to get out of there without a fight.

Antichrist

Fellas, nothing is going to light her fire more than a film featuring a couple grief-stricken over the death of their child. Throw in some intense hallucinations and genital mutilation, and that kitten should be really purring. If that still doesn’t do the trick, go ahead and lean in closely before whispering how director Lars Von Trier sympathizes with Nazis.

Cast: Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Elizabeth Banks

Synopsis: Centers on an idealist dealing with his overbearing mother who crashes at the homes of his three ambitious sisters and brings truth, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives while also wreaking havoc.

Release Date: August 26, 2011

7 photosJanet Montgomery

In addition to Rudd’s attractive sisters, you can also oogle more of his idiotic antics. Like taking money out of his pocket on the subway or making sure his parole officer knows he’s high. And, I can’t be certain, but I think he fed a dog chocolate. That dog is going to get chocolate-wasted. Literally.

- The new J. J. Abrams series “Alcatraz” has officially been greenlit, because Fox needs another beloved, expensive, poorly-rated mystery drama from Abrams right away. The story follows a team of investigators trying to figure out why 1960s prisoners are re-appearing in Alcatraz. Hint: Sideways Universes.

- Also picked up is a “Bones” spin-off called “Finder.” The series stars Geoff Stults as a military-trained “finder” of missing items and persons in Florida. Hint: “Lost and Found” boxes.

- “Human Target” was targeted for cancellation, and subsequently got hit with the dreaded cancellation missile.

- “Breaking In” did just that with strong initial ratings, but the Christian Slater comedy will not make it to season 2.

- “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” is apparently liked, not hated, by Fox executives. They picked up the new Jaime Pressly comedy series.

- “The Chicago Code” has been decoded. It reads: “cancelled.”

- “Traffic Light” got the dreaded red “cancellation” light, not the green one.

- Zooey Deschanel will star in “The New Girl,” a single camera comedy about a teacher who gets dumped. Like all girls who get dumped in movies and TV shows, Deschanel’s quirky teacher character will have to navigate the wacky world… of dating. She’ll do so with her three new dude roommates: “the cynic, the player and the man-child.” Setting my TiVO to “destroy.”

- As I reported earlier, the “House” party continues with season 8.

The movie has Paul Rudd as the titular character, along with Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer and Rashida Jones as the “Our.” It’s pretty funny too, particularly the opening scene between Rudd and a police officer. Here’s the official plot synopsis, which I found inside a chocolate egg:

“Ned Rochlin (Rudd) looks for the good in every situation and in everyone, which often puts him at odds with the world around him – especially his family.  Upon being released from jail for a stupid mistake, Ned is kicked off of the organic farm he lives and works on by his ex-girlfriend Janet who also insists on keeping his beloved dog, Willie Nelson.  Having nowhere else to go, he turns to his family, three ambitious sisters (Banks, Deschanel, Mortimer) and an overbearing mother.  Ned crashes at each of their homes, in succession, and brings honesty, happiness and a sunny disposition into their lives.  In other words, he wreaks havoc.”

Can’t wait until Willie Nelson gets his own CGI spin-off starring James Marsden. It can be called Our Idiot Willie Nelson Dog and it’ll be great.

Cast: Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, Danny McBride

Synopsis: A fantasy movie about an arrogant, lazy prince and his more heroic brother who must complete a quest in order to save their father’s kingdom.

Release Date: April 8, 2011

My Idiot Brother seemed more like the average studio comedy than a Sundance movie. There were a few inspired moments but mostly embarrassing misfires. It kind of feels like the whole movie is Kuno from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and that gets old as the main character.

Ned (Paul Rudd) is the idiot. He’s clearly a nice guy because he gives a little girl free fruit when he’s working a fruit stand. He also sells pot to a uniformed cop because he really buys the story that he just needs to relax. It’s a sting, which honestly I’ll admit, I would not expect a cop to be so blatant either. Also Ned’s dog is named Willie Nelson.

Once out of jail, Ned’s girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) dumps him and keeps the dog. His family tries to support him, but they’re really condescending. They take turns letting him live with them. Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) is bisexual with a girlfriend (Rashida Jones). Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) is a journalist trying to get the dirt on Lady Arabella (Janet Montgomery). Liz (Emily Mortimer) is married to Dylan (Steve Coogan), a filmmaker making a documentary on a ballet dancer, basically ogling her doing the splits.

Here are examples of some of the wacky hysterics of My Idiot Brother. Dylan bumps into a wall. Liz and Dylan’s kids take African dance class. Ned walks right through Dylan’s shot while he’s filming. Ned pretends to throw his urine sample at his parole officer. Ned goes to a self-help seminar in a sauna and passes out. An elaborate contrivance has Ned sitting in a tow zone all night, when a traffic cop comes he realizes Dylan has the car keys, and walks in on Dylan naked with the ballerina.

The plot complications revolve around Ned delivering information he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand that Dylan is cheating on Liz until Miranda explains that’s what he saw. Ned is honest to a fault. When Miranda’s neighbor Jeremy (Adam Scott) mentions a few of Miranda’s faults, Ned just tells her. Then when Miranda bashes Jeremy, he tells him. He also tells Natalie’s girlfriend that Nat’s still sleeping with guys too.

By the end I sort of got what the film was going for, but I don’t think it established it clearly enough. The sister’s have so many smart thoughts that they try to control everything. Ned just relates to people, even if he can’t read them. He charms Lady Arabella so she opens up to him, but when Miranda wants to use the secrets he got, he won’t vouch for her story. So he’s got integrity.

It’s wisdom through idiocy basically, as if being childlike is better than being grown-up and cynical. Well, when these are your sisters, Ned is the lesser of four evils. There’s still a good balance where you can have good values but also take care of yourself.

These photos shed some light on the feel of the movie, which is rife with quirks, including, but not limited to: a hipster neighborhood, alternative lifestyles, pot, and of course, Zooey Deschanel. The film will be something of a mulligan for established music video director Jesse Peretz, who made a name for himself directing several offbeat Foo Fighters videos, including “Learn to Fly,” and “Big Me,” which many may remember as “the Mentos video.” Peretz first stab at a feature was the little-loved The Ex, which fell flat despite a cast that included Jason Bateman, Amanda Peet and Charles Grodin.

Early buzz suggests that Peretz has made the most of his star studded cast that includes, in addition to the aforementioned Rudd and Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott, Emily Mortimer, and Rashida Jones. My Idiot Brother promises to take a very conventional premise and add some depth and edge that one would expect from this cast and director. No release date is set, but you can bet that will change after the film has tested the waters at Sundance.(The Playlist)

Then again, they did leave in the Natalie Portman thong shot. Maybe these marketing guys know what they’re doing afterall.

Let's all take a moment to reflect.

Universal has dropped the epic red-band trailer for Your Highness. The David Gordon Green-directed film stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, and an unbelievably sexy Natalie Portman. Franco and McBride pla brothers, one of them brave, the other an idiot. When Franco’s fair maiden (Deschanel) is kidnapped by an evil witch-man (Justin Theroux), the two go on a quest to rescue her. In the process, they find Natalie Portman, who is sporting some kind of amazing Middle Ages thong. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to. A the town crier would proclaim, “Daaaaaaaaaamn!”

Paul Rudd has assembled his past movie girlfriends and a few indie darlings to form a Voltron of hotitude.. hoticity… umm… attractiveness. Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, and Rashida Jones have all joined his upcoming Jesse Peretz project My Idiot Brother.

In the film, Banks, Deschanel, and Mortimer will play Rudd’s put-upon sisters whom he totally You, Me, and Duprees. Mortimer is a Park Slope mom with a failing marriage, Banks is a career girl, and Deschanel is a flaky bisexual who can’t commit to girlfriend Rashida Jones. Hopefull Paul Rudd can help those mixed up lovebirds see the error of their ways and they live happily ever after in boob-touching bliss. Expect that news to swell a lot of pants at ironic yacht parties this weekend. (THR)

Tonight on TV, Zooey Deschanel throws her sister a bone.

CHECK OUT WHAT TO WATCH AFTER THE JUMP

NOTE: ALL TIMES EASTERN & PACIFIC!!!

COMMUNITY
Network: NBC
Time: 8 – 8:30PM

Reasons to watch: Fresh off biting-his-girlfriend’s-forehead allegations, Anthony Michael Hall guests as a bully on Community. Joel McHale had better wear a helmet.

BONES
Network: FOX
Time: 8 – 9PM

Reasons to watch: Zooey Deschanel, Emily’s younger sister, guest stars as Brennan’s second cousin. How long before David Boreanaz‘s hot wife has a cameo?
 

BIOGRAPHY: BILL MURRAY
Network: Biography
Time: 9 – 10PM

Reasons to watch: The star of Larger Than Life, Osmosis Jones, Garfield, and Get Smart is profiled for all of his achievements.
 

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA
Network: FX
Time: 10 – 10:30PM

Reasons to watch: The gang returns to the world of competitive flip cup after a ten-year league ban from the tournament. However all of their old rivals have grown up and moved on. Just like all of my paintball rivals. Except for those guys that were in ‘Nam. Let it go fellas.
 

JERSEY SHORE
Network: MTV
Time: 10 – 11PM

Reasons to watch: Ronnie is jealous when Sammi sets her sights on a new guy. Go ahead. Call her mean names but it’s not her fault. No girl is immune to the sweet siren’s caterwaul of TAG Body Spray.

WHO’S ON LATE

LENO
Matt Damon

LETTERMAN
Kate Hudson; James Hansen; Tori Amos performs

CONAN
30 Seconds to Mars perform

KIMMEL
Steven Seagal; Jay Sean performs

FERGUSON
Howie Mandel; Paula Marshall

FALLON
Julianne Moore; David Alan Grier; Blakroc perform

It’s been several days now, and I can’t quite get this movie out of my head.  (500) DAYS OF SUMMER is one of those rare films that actually speaks to a young generation, but – lo and behold – does so in an intelligent and thoughtful way.  In his feature debut, director Marc Webb takes a relationship comedy to some pretty daring and refreshing places, not an easy feat for this genre.

A lot of guys out there are going to piss all over the idea of seeing this movie.  Maybe it’s the marketing, which makes it seem like a typical romantic comedy.  But (500) DAYS is very deceptive. At first, you do think you are getting your typical romantic comedy but you end up with something entirely different – something that guys can not only sit through, but to which they can actually relate. I’m happy to say this romantic comedy – and I use that term lightly – is made with the guy in mind.  (And yes, women are welcome.) 

The film looks at the sh*tty side of relationships that many of us men face and so few of us want to discuss.  But when we see Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s portrayal of Tom, a broken young man who yearns for what he can’t have, we all know that all too familiar feeling.  We’ve almost all experienced that desire to want someone that doesn’t want us.  But for men to actually confront and discuss this just doesn’t seem appropriate.  We’d all rather just talk about fantasy football.  But (500) DAYS OF SUMMER’s spot-on portrayal of the unrequited love bullsh*t is what makes this movie so great. 

And a huge part of the credit for that is lead man Joseph Gordon-Levitt, once known as “Information Officer Tommy” on “3rd Rock From the Sun.” 

He’s come a long way, and it was probably his breakout performance in 2005’s BRICK that put him on the map as a rising young star to watch.

(500) DAYS solidifies Gordon-Levitt’s place among the new young leading men of our generation. He’s a likable everyman that makes you want to root for him just because he symbolizes so many of us who have known these feelings of longing and rejection all too well.  (The jury hasn’t convened on his upcoming portrayal of Cobra Commander, but it’s probably safe to say it won’t outshine Tom’s credibility.)

This movie spoke to me personally and reminded me of the girl that broke my heart so many years ago.  And every once in a while I will have a flashback and just mutter under my breath “Renee Carson, you bitch”.  Tom’s relationship with Zooey Deschanel’s character – without feeling cookie cutter – is a proxy for every tragic union; for all intents and purposes, she is Renee Carson or [insert your own heartless ex’s name here].  I think this movie could make a vial of testosterone tear up like a baby.  And considering we are in a time when movies are disposable like the greeting cards Tom writes in the film, it is nice to have one that could maybe last forever.

I can’t speak highly enough of Marc Webb’s direction.  He did a masterful job with his first movie, and transitioned incredibly smoothly from Music Videos. Check out some of his work; you’ve probably seen it at some point:

You can see a couple more here and here.

Perhaps one of the best scenes of the movie is a segment about “Expectation vs. Reality”.  Don’t watch the clip here if you are going to see the movie but if you need something to prove how cool it is, there you go.

Webb was clearly a perfect choice for this film.  The movie is told out of order and in rather creative ways to convey Tom’s love and memories of Summer.  Now this could have been dangerous territory because, in the wrong hands, an average Hollywood director would have made a very conventional, run of the mill romantic comedy. And in the wrong music video director’s hands we might have gotten “Bulletproof Days of Summer”, Youtube: “Bulletproof Monk”.  Here I’ll do it for you:

Instead, Webb was able to add the right ingredients together: a dash of music video flavor with two parts great leading actors, with the secret ingredient, a well crafted script.  And on that last note I am going to do what many reviewers won’t dare to do.  Talk about the two men who actually wrote this male driven romantic comedy, Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber. (You can listen to a podcast hosted by the amazing Jeff Goldsmith on the writing of (500) DAYS OF SUMMER at Creative Screenwriting Magazine, or go to iTunes and type in “Creative Screenwriting” to download.

Neustadter and Weber both met at Tribeca Films. For those that are unfamiliar, Tribeca is Robert Deniro’s production company. A somewhat well known actor. Scott actually hired his writing partner Michael Weber several years back, to intern at Tribeca.   The two struck up a friendship and decided to collaborate as screenwriters.  The actual story for (500) DAYS is loosely based on two relationships that Scott found himself in, and the two men thought it would be a good idea to turn reality into fiction.  As one of Tom’s friends in the movie says, “The best way to get over a girl is to turn them into literature.” Perhaps a clever nod by the writers who were doing just that.  The literature though was in the form of a screenplay that would take on a life of its own once all the pieces were properly assembled.

From a solid script we bring on Marc Webb, the director, we cast the brilliant Joseph Gordon Levitt and finally the one person I haven’t talked about yet. Zooey Deschanel, who plays Summer.  I first took notice of Zooey in a little known film called ALL THE REAL GIRLS where she gave a breakout performance. 

In (500) DAYS she does not fail to deliver in a way that few actors of her generation can even come close.  I would dare say that Deschanel’s performance as “Summer” is Oscar-worthy.  Some might say she’s just playing another Zooey Deschanel character.  Either way it works.

Here is the bottom line guys: Take your significant other or some girl you’re trying to impress to this movie.  It can be under the pretense that you’re just being nice and sacrificing to satisfy her need for a cutesy romantic comedy.  But take a seat and marvel at what unfolds.  It will touch a raw nerve that so few movies can do and it will make you think back to that one girl that left you on the side of the street as road kill. 

And before you think I have ruined anything in this movie, just realize, this isn’t a love story.

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Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

Synopsis: Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) grows up thinking that he won’t be truly happy until he finds his true love.  Summer (Zooey Deschanel) thinks the opposite. She doesn’t believe in love. However,they both meet each other ,and they do get along quite nicely. But this isn’t a story about love as they d break up eventually. He then tells the story of their 500 day relationship starting from day 1.