Time for another batch of mini-reviews, with one film clearly standing out.
![Celeste and Jesse Forever [2012]](https://twscritic.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/celeste-and-jesse-forever.jpeg)
Celeste & Jesse Forever [dir. Lee Toland Krieger]
Rashida Jones is one of the most underrated female actresses working today, so I was pleased to see her in the spotlight as co-writer and star of this film. In this, she plays the role of Celeste, a “trend forecaster” who is in the middle of a divorce with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Jesse (Andy Samberg). However, this isn’t your conventional divorce — the two of them remain best friends and hang out with each other all the time. This frustrates their friends, who call their behavior inexplicably weird. As Celeste & Jesse pursue other people, their friendship is put to the test, as maybe their feelings for each other haven’t quite subsided.
While sharing elements of the romantic comedy genre, the film’s unique concept is enough to distance itself from other likeminded titles. Jones and Samberg have solid chemistry, though some of their character interactions are just plain awkward. One of their little quirks is to find a small, pseudo-phallic object (i.e. a lip balm container) and “masturbate” it together until it climaxes — yeah, it’s as unfunny as it sounds. When the film grows up, it’s at its best, but there are some rough patches along the way. The supporting cast includes a bunch of afterthoughts, including a bizarrely miscast Elijah Wood as Celeste’s gay co-worker. In the end, this isn’t a bad film, just a forgettable one, no matter how great it is to see Rashida Jones get a chance to shine. 6/10
![Ruby Sparks [2012]](https://twscritic.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/ruby-sparks.jpg)
Ruby Sparks [dir. Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris]
The idea of a writer’s character coming to life is full of possibilities. For Calvin (Paul Dano), he has crafted his dream girl, Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan), who unexpectedly appears in his house one night. She provides a burst of inspiration for the struggling novelist, and he quickly finds out that everything he writes about her will happen in real life. This is a powerful ability to have, and in the wrong hands, this could spell disaster.
This dangerous idea is loosely touched on in Ruby Sparks, but when the film has a chance to go dark and move in an interesting new direction, it doesn’t. Instead, we are left with a vanilla romantic comedy that asks a little too much of its viewers in the final act. Dano and Kazan work well together — not surprising given their real-life relationship — and there is a good supporting cast to back them up (Elliott Gould, Steve Coogan and Alia Shawkat all have small roles). It’s just a shame that the film never quite reaches the levels that it could. 6/10
![Searching for Sugar Man [2012]](https://twscritic.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/searching-for-sugar-man.jpg)
Searching for Sugar Man [dir. Malik Bendjelloul]
So much has already been said about this Oscar-winning documentary that I pretty much knew the story inside and out before even watching this. Yet despite knowing the story, I remained enthralled by the mystique of the little-known singer, Rodriguez. For the uninclined, the film tells the story of 70s rock-and-roll singer, Rodriguez, who released a couple albums to little fanfare in the U.S. yet managed to become a huge sensation in South Africa. The documentary takes a look at this bizarre phenomenon while also trying to find out what happened to the singer. There are all sorts of rumors about him in South Africa — some say he set himself on fire while on stage, others say he died of a drug overdose — but these tall tales only add to his aura.
The truth is that Rodriguez is alive and well, and he is just as surprised by his legacy overseas as the rest of us. It’s a pretty remarkable story, and it helps that the man’s music is so good. It’s surprising that his 70s recordings got lost in the shuffle, but now his music is reaching a much larger audience than he could have imagined. Better late than never, right? This is a fun film with a great story, and it’s deserving of its constant praise. 8/10
Have you seen any of these? What did you think of them?
Havent seen the other two, but Searching for Sugarman WAS awesome, wasn’t it? If it wasn’t a documentary I’d have never believed it 😀
Loved it, man. I have no complaints about it winning an Oscar (though I still think The Imposter is better).
I really need to see Searching for Sugarman. Nice reviews.
It’s a great one. Thanks man.
Three movies I’m been planning on seeing. Can’t wait to see Sugar Man.
Sugar Man is the best of the group, easily. Hope you enjoy it!
Ouch, 6/10 for Ruby Sparks??? Say it ain’t so!! :p
I loved it.
Haha yeah, it was a pretty harmless flick overall but just didn’t do much for me. Glad you enjoyed it though.
I really need to see Searching for Sugarman soon, been hearing all kinds of great things about it and now you praised it as well. As for Ruby Sparks, I actually like it a lot but it should’ve ended 10 minutes sooner. I think it overstayed its welcome a bit, but I thought it was a terrific film about writers’ block, amazing that it’s Zoe Kazan’s screenplay debut. Did you know she’s Elia Kazan’s granddaughter?
Yep, I did hear that about Elia Kazan. Pretty cool trivia right there. I agree that the film could have easily ended 10 minutes earlier — I could have done without the meeting in the park. Ah well, I thought it was a decent enough film, just not as good as it could have been.
I think Sugar Man is next in my Netflix queue, so I’m even more excited to see it now!
Nice! Think I’ll give the soundtrack a listen right now. 🙂
I agree Ruby Sparks was full of possibilities, expected more from that, oh well.
Sugar Man doc was good. His story brought a tear to my eye, even though the unanimous praise of Rodriguez is a bit one-sided. I’m sure will help his star rise. One of my favorites of his is Crucify Your Mind.
Yeah, I suppose Sugar Man was a bit one-sided, but I still think it painted a great portrait of the man and his legacy. I’m curious to see if he will put out any new material. Now’s the time to do it!
Have seen all of them and loved the first two a lot more than you did. Searching for Sugar Man is awesome and is best watched knowing as little as possible…
Yeah, I wish I hadn’t known as much as I did before watching Sugar Man, but it was still very enjoyable. Just a well-made film overall.
I’ve not seen any of these…you’ve done a great summary of them all. I’m surprised to see Ruby Sparks only get 6 – i’ve heard good things….but I’ll have to see for myself 🙂 !
Yeah, it sounds like a lot of people got more out of Ruby Sparks than I did. It’s not a bad film or anything, I just don’t think it lived up to its potential. Hope you enjoy it though!
Ruby Sparks does look like one of those average movies. I read positive reviews for it but I’m in no rush to see it.
Yeah, I’m honestly quite surprised to see so much praise for it in the blogosphere. Nothing about it really stood out to me.
I enjoyed Ruby Sparks a bit more than you did I think. Not a great one, but pretty close to it in my book. Sure, it didn’t get as dark as it could have, but why did it have to? It’s a matter of taste rather than a comment on its faults as a cinematic piece.
Fair enough. I was just disappointed that Ruby Sparks took the conventional Hollywood route near the end. Given some of its darker undertones throughout the film, I thought it had a chance to be something truly special. Glad you got more out of it though!
I really liked Ruby Sparks and thought that it did get dark near the middle. The ending was what you would call vanilla and was very cliched but the rest was good
Yeah, it seems I am in the minority on Ruby Sparks. You’re right, it did get a little dark in the middle, but I was just disappointed that it teased that darkness and didn’t really roll with it like it could have.