August: Osage County

Family, can't live with them. Can't live without them. Family dramas can be a dime a dozen but when handled right, they can be home runs drilled out of the ballpark. I didn't necessarily have a ton of interest in catching up with 2013's August: Osage County because it did look a little too familiar, but I'm glad I did. An excellent movie all-around, and as I mentioned periodically while viewing, just a disgusting, talented cast.

It is an especially hot August in the small Oklahoma town of Pawhuska, and the Weston family is in for some fireworks. Family matriarch (of sorts) Violet (Meryl Streep) has been diagnosed with mouth cancer and quickly becoming addicted to the pain pills she's been prescribed. The family has drifted apart over the years, but Violet has to ask them for help, to return to their hometown when their father, Beverly (Sam Shepard), goes missing. There's no trace of where he went to or if he will even be back, but the Westons return in a time of trouble to help their mother (some against their better judgment), including the Weston's oldest daughter, Barbara (Julia Roberts). The family is far from close though, many of them barely able to stand the site of each other. All those buried away emotions and feelings are getting churned up, and they're going to be churned up even more when news of where Beverly went is revealed.

Based on a play of the same name by Tracy Letts, 'August' was a bit of an under the radar flick last winter in terms of Oscar buzz. It made over $70 million in theaters and picked up mostly positive reviews. With this cast, how could it not? Reading reviews, watching previews, I didn't question that it'd be a good movie. I kinda just assumed in that department. But did I want to see it? Need to see it? No, not particularly. I'm glad I did though. It is well worth a couple hours to sit down and watch even if it is equal parts funny and uncomfortable, things changing from one to the other at a moment's notice.

But that's family, isn't it? And that's your movie. These aren't good guys and bad guys. These are people who grew up and reacted/responded differently to their parents, their siblings, their extended families, their house, their school, their surroundings and their environment. That's life, and that is what the movie does so well. That's what life is, and the script by Letts (off the play) does it pretty effortlessly. Much of the movie takes place in the Weston home with an occasional, quick departure here and there. All that frustration and emotion and discomfort has been bottled up for years, and this not so pleasant reunion may be the thing that blows the top right off that stove. Most of that pent-up emotion comes out at a painfully real dinner scene, but more on that later.

But seriously, how about this cast?!? You almost take for granted what a freakishly good actress Meryl Streep is because....well, every year she's in another Oscar-nominated part (she's been nominated 18 times. 18!!!). Streep just commits to each and every part to the point you never even question her. You just go with it. Her Violet is a terrifying character (maybe because my Mom is...ya know, really nice), a mother who had a hellacious childhood and at times takes it out on her kids. She means well -- I think -- but it comes across in some odd ways. The main personal dynamic is between Streep's Violet and Robert's Barbara (both Oscar-nominated turns), a mother and daughter who argue almost constantly, maybe not admitting they're more similar than they would like. Just two supremely talented actresses doing their thing.

But wait. There's more!!! Along with Shepard in a quick appearance early, there's also Violet's sister, Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale), her husband, Charlie (Chris Cooper), and their son, Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch), much maligned in the eyes of his mother and often protected by his father. As for the other Weston sisters, there's Ivy (Julianne Nicholson), single and getting a little older who never moved away from her hometown, and Karen (Juliette Lewis), the youngest sister who means well but is a tad bit clueless. Who else to look for? Ewan McGregor plays Barbara's husband, the longtime couple struggling through some serious issues, Abigail Breslin their rebellious teenage daughter, and Dermot Mulroney as Karen's new boyfriend and recent fiance who you just know is up to something in the slimy department and Misty Upham as Johnna, the Native American (or Injun, whatever you like) caretaker Beverly hires for Violet before his disappearance.

Some complaints were that for a dark comedy, there wasn't enough...well, comedy. There are laughs, but there is far more in the old drama department. The dinner scene is the heart of the movie, some genuine, out-loud laughs that quickly transition into painful, real moments that you could see happening at any long, overdue family reunion. The movie goes down some surprising routes in the second half and let's face it, a happy ending here just wasn't going to happen. This is a drama about the story, about the drama, about the acting. Highly recommended. If you're a fan of family/friend dramas from Home for the Holidays to The Family Stone, The Big Chill to Rain Man, you'll enjoy this one, hopefully a whole lot.

August: Osage County (2013): *** 1/2 /****

The Switch

For lack of a better, more well thought out description, sometimes all a movie needs to succeed, to pull audiences in is to have a gimmick. When it comes to comedies, the gimmick has to tread that fine line. A bunch of friends on a bachelor party weekend rediscovering what they did in Vegas via flashback? Good gimmick. A drunken man destroys his female friend's semen sample she was going to use to artificially inseminate herself and instead replaces it with his own? Oh goodness, what a horrifically contrived gimmick. Yep, 2010's The Switch.

Wally (Jason Bateman) and Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) have been friends for years following a couple dates that didn't go so well. Kassie is at a point in her life where she wants to have a kid, but she's had no luck finding the right guy and chooses to go to a sperm donor and be artificially inseminated. There's an issue. She does so at a 'Getting Pregnant' party, and a very drunk -- possibly high -- Wally accidentally destroys the semen sample. In a drunken stupor, he replaces the lost sample with his own, not even remembering what he did by the next morning. Some six years go by, Kassie moves from NYC and has a son, leaving Wally behind. She moves back to the city, giving Wally quite the shock. The boy is like him in every way right down to his neurotic, hypochondriac ways. It all starts to come together. Should he tell Kassie? How do you even tell someone that? Uh-oh, we've got a problem.

I almost didn't make it through this comedy. I try and give every movie I see a fair shot, but this one pushed the limits early on. The biggest reason? Well, it could be the horrifically awful gimmick that puts the story into motion, but it isn't. It's Bateman as Wally, an obsessively neurotic, shrill, rude and inconsiderate guy who is so easy to root against that it made me question why I was watching the movie. It's clear he has feelings for Aniston's Kassie, but that almost-relationship never worked out. In the meantime, he intervenes in her life -- more than just a friend -- while also sabotaging his own relationships. It's explained later that his Dad left the family when he was younger so I guess that makes it all okay. Still, for the first 40 minutes or so the character is so downright unlikable that it almost derails the movie.

While the second half of the movie is actually pretty decent, it is the first half that does its best to drive us away. Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck rely on a screenplay that builds itself around such a badly contrived gimmick that it's just rough to watch. Bateman's Wally keeps trying to convince Kassie not to go through with the sperm donor but can't pull it off. At her 'Getting Pregnant' party, he gets drunk and also takes some herbal pill that clearly messes with his consciousness. Destroying the sample, he actually masturbates and replaces the missing donation with his own donation. Oh, but he's drunk so he can't remember it!?! It feels like a cop-out that he simply can't remember what he did. I'm all for gross-out jokes and comedy, but this just seemed like a little much on the gross-out meter. It also seems all sorts of wrong ethically, but that could just be me up on my high horse.

Go figure then, but when Kassie returns to NYC, 'Switch' actually manages to find an enjoyable, likable and entertaining tone and story. That switch-up comes when Wally meets Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), a 6-year old version of himself....but really cute. He's a unique little kid from his hypochondria to his general intelligence. Named Sebastian, he's got quite the nerdy name and after bonding early on with Wally, turns to his "Uncle" for advice. I liked the Sebastian character a lot. He's curious about his real dad. He likes to collect photo frames but keeps the inserted pictures, not replacing them with his own. The chemistry between Bateman and Robinson is pretty perfect, helping make up for the rather obnoxious early portions of the movie.

The rest of the cast is familiar but not bad. Aniston is okay as Kassie, but she's not given enough to do other than look kind of worried and be nervous. Patrick Wilson plays Roland, the actual donor who thinks Sebastian is his son. It's a tough part because we're supposed to think Roland is a doof, but other than some weird little traits, he seems like a good guy. Juliette Lewis is wasted as Debbie, Kassie's appropriately kooky character, a must-have character in a quasi-rom-com. I did like Jeff Goldblum as Leonard, Wally's co-worker who usually gives him a good dose of brutal honesty as the problems arise. Not surprisingly, things get uncomfortable late as Wally decides to tell Kassie the truth. The ending seems a little forced to make things a happy ending. I for one, imagine Kassie being eternally pissed at Wally, but I'm not writing screenplays.

So while I really intensely disliked parts of the movie, the parts that do work are excellent. It's a moderately positive review, but don't be looking for a comedy classic.

The Switch (2010): ** 1/2 /****