The Foxy Film Fan

Why Him? (2016) Perhaps my first mistake with the new comedy Why Him? was going into it with any sort of expectations at all. I've been a fan of Bryan Cranston ever since seeing him as the goofy father in Malcolm in the Middle  and I've always admired his abilities as a serious actor and as a comedic one. Bearing that in mind, I suppose I unintentionally found myself with moderately high expectations when going into this movie. Not necessarily high expectations, but certainly not expectations that were as low as they probably should have been. First and foremost, allow me to offer this piece of advice: if you laughed during the trailer you will probably laugh during the movie, most likely at the scenes you laughed at during the trailer, because those are essentially all of the big comedic moments of the film. If you didn't laugh during the trailer, then you're simply going to find yourself bored and wondering why you thought seeing this movie was a good idea. T...

50 First Dates (2004) Like so many other women before me, I too have fallen victim to swooning over the occasional movie which falls under the blanket term of 'romantic comedy'. I've sighed as the two unlikely love interests find passion and some strange mutilated version of true love based mostly on the fact that the script said these two characters must fall in love with one another, so that's exactly what they're going to end up doing. While there are exceptions to the rule, these films have the tendency to all follow the same exact formula time and time again, and on top of being lazy filmmaking it also depicts a rather unhealthy foundation for any sort of relationship (be it platonic or romantic). For some reason, the two protagonists must always begin their story hating one another. Their distaste for each other could range from one-sided affection (varying from a light crush to obsessive pining which the other ignores) to absolute loathing (as seen i...

The Holiday (2006) The romantic comedy genre is one which has been completely overrun with the same tropes repeated again and again, but once in a while a particularly unique movie comes along to break free from those cliches and reveals itself to be something original and heartwarming; The Holiday  is one of these films. Unlike other traditional romantic comedies, The Holiday  uses a simple plot to smoothly transition between the love lives of two very different women. Two women, depressed with the mundane nature of their lives, seek out the opportunity to temporarily spend the holiday season in another home, one in London and the other in Los Angeles. These two women trade places, and in the process find love. Admittedly, were the plot placed in the hands of another cast it would have fallen flat, but with a cast as talented as Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, and Jude Law, it's hardly difficult to see why the film is such an extraordinary tale of romance. Th...