This is not that funny

Of course even the casual observer knows I like movies and watch them all the time. I like them for many reasons, sometimes for the acting or scorer or directing or screenplay, sometimes the special effects, sometimes to laugh or escape or have a nice fright.

I rented This is 40, and while watching it found myself disliking it more and more until the end when I was pretty much thinking “Hurry up and finish already so I can just go to bed.” (that’s what she said, heh)

This got a bit long so I’ll just put in a more button (haven’t needed this in a long time). Also to bury spoilers in case you worry about that.

So, where was I? Oh yeah. I’m not a movie critic. I don’t pretend to be one. I find myself amazed that I could actually dislike this film as much as I do. I mean it’s got great actors, funny jokes, a little skin, kids tossing around the word fuck a lot, another kid that looks like Tom Petty. What’s not to like?

For me, here’s my list:

  • It’s too damn long. I split the movie over three nights because at over two hours I just couldn’t stay awake because
  • some gags just took forever to play out. Much of it was just boring. Okay, we get it, your musician isn’t selling a lot of records. And let’s show him again. And again. Oh, a cameo! Next.
  • Albert Brooks. I love the guy, but he had way too big of a part in this. IMO. How many times can we repeat the same “I can’t tell my kids apart” joke? Or the “I can’t lift a finger, I have high blood pressure.” Maybe I just didn’t “get it.” Maybe I just kept hearing Nemo’s dad.
  • The whole bit about an employee possibly stealing. NEVER RESOLVED.
  • That’s a huge part of what I disliked: nothing was solved. Nothing was done. “Should we talk about our fight?” “Nah, just let it go.” Such a nice fantasy. Nothing was fixed. At the end of the movie they are still in huge debt, still dysfunctional, still can’t talk to their own parents or kids, still just the way they started, only a week or two older.
  • I love me some Judd Apatow, but on this movie I heard just about every line in Seth Rogen’s voice. After a while it was a bit unsettling. Or maybe just boring

Okay, that’s enough. I just didn’t find the movie that funny. Some of the gags hit really close to home – when she’s saying to him they were just business associates, just sharing a house. I get that. I really do. I know that feeling. BUT HOW THE FUCK DO YOU MOVE ON? They don’t, they just decide “eh, we love each other, we’ll be okay.”

There’s plenty of yelling, finger-pointing, escaping. Just not enough of the funny.

Okay, back to my not being a movie critic. Meh. Next up I think I’ll just stick to escapist bullshit and not something that has any level of thinking required.