Written by / 7/07/2013 / No comments / , , , , , ,

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

year: 2010 cast: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Sean Combs, Rose Byrne, Lars Urlich, Colm Meaney rating: **1/2
“Your mouth is smiling,” Russell Brand’s has-been rock star Aldous Snow tells Jonah Hill’s put-upon record company gopher Aaron Green, “but your eyes look all sad.” This describes much of what makes Jonah Hill a likable comedic actor: just how vulnerable he can get in desperate situations, and eventually how sarcastic he remains through a tumultuous misadventure…

It’s too bad GET HIM TOO THE GREEK has a title with much more urgency than the movie itself: The plot involving Green having to take Snow (green and snow… how’s that for symbolic?) from England to the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, an outdoor venue where Snow will have a ten year reunion concert from the album that, like FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE, made him a sensation. The concert will also save Green’s job and make his boss happy.

Creating a film about a fictional rock star (or band) is never easy since it’s just as important to write tunes that would seem worthy enough for that person’s fame to seem legit. With that in mind, GREEK opens with a truly horrific song called “African Child,” a pretentiously liberal disaster making Snow a punchline in the music industry… it’s much easier writing a flop than a hit.

Russell Brand takes the easy road playing a womanizing smug jerk with a heart of gold, and yet his character, a determined heroin addict seeking the next score in various stopover cities… including New York and Las Vegas… isn’t very funny. And Jonah Hill's constant victim remains in sleep mode even through a breakup, various sexcapades and a heart-pounding overdose... Although it never really seems like GREEK is trying to be hilarious – it's a breezy character study about two polar opposites remaining mellow no matter what the stakes are: they could have been on their way to McDonalds and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

For anyone who has purchased L.A. Greek Theater tickets, you never want those seats that say “Obstructed View,” which means the stage is blocked by beams or girders, and with an overload of gratuitous sex and nudity there’s a lot missing in this limp road movie. And yet, despite the abundant flaws, Brand and Hill have just enough chemistry (or anti-chemistry) keeps the movie watchable for a short ninety-minute ride.
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT WAGNER IN THE OBSCURE GOLF PRO CURIO 'BANNING'

Robert Wagner in BANNING Year: 1967 Rating: **** The extremely elusive and rare BANNING is a 1967 film about former golf pro Robert Wagner a...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "I don't know what it is, but it's yoga." Elliott Gould, The Long Goodbye

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE HEROIN BUSTERS 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE