I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon and beat up the superhero movie more than it already is. We all know that seeing a superhero movie is more about the effects than the story and by the time we’ve moved into weaker secondary characters like Green Lantern, we have reached into the DC Universe a little too far. Let’s stick with Superman, Batman, and Spider-man because you seem to have enough trouble delivering an entertaining storyline with them let alone digging into the bag and pulling out the Green Lantern. Yet hope seemed to be shining on a dog’s ass when DC pulled a casting gem in Ryan Reynolds. I’m a fan, I’ll admit it. He has consistently put a smile on my face in everything he does and in Green Lantern, it was no different but something was lacking. His wisecracks were at a minimum and they seemed more concerned with secondary characters rather than telling the story of Hal Jordan (Reynolds). As lovely as Blake Lively is, I did not come to the movie to see her.
So while I can’t condemn the showing put forth by Green Lantern, I can’t say that I would recommend the movie to others. If you like superhero movies or special effect laden movies with explosions of buildings and not story, this may be a good movie. I’d rank it between Superman Returns and Spider-man 3. Not great but good.
Mr. Unhappy sez: Not for everyone but worth a view.
So with that being done, as I’ve said, I am a fan of Ryan Reynolds and I appreciate the work he’s done. I’ve compiled a few thoughts on some movies/TV work he’s done and I would recommend seeing before I would throw in Green Lantern. So in no specific order...
Definitely, Maybe
This was a movie I was not expecting. Ryan Reynolds is the divorced father of Abigail Breslin who wants to know how her mother an father met. Instead of telling her the story, he unwinds a tale of three possible women, one of which is her mother and she gets to see if she can see which of the three women Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz is her mother. Yet the story is not so much about the women of Reynold’s past as of which one of them is he still in love with. Sometimes a movie comes along that lets you see the course of a life in which things have gone wrong but are not doomed to stay wrong forever. This is one of those movies. Breslin as Maya, is a wise beyond her years girl who very well could be the daughter of a wiseass like Reynolds’ Will Hayes. Not only that but it shows a softer side to Reynolds and a departure from his previous work in Van Wilder. It raised his game as an actor and made movies like The Proposal possible.
Fifteen
My first experience with Ryan Reynolds was in this Nickelodeon TV show that lasted a few years. A Canadian show called Hillside was brought to the states and offered a soap opera for teenagers (like me when the show came out.) It was not a good show but it reminded me about my life as a teen. Between this show and Swan’s Crossing, I was given a soap that I could watch and relate to. Reynolds was the guy you wanted to be. Yes, this is a little harder to watch than say Green Lantern but it was still better.
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder
Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) is a big man on campus who has been at his college for seven years. Van spends most of his time throwing parties and "fund raisers" but his father decides that it's time for tough love, he doesn't pay his tuition. What to do now? Van has a limited set of skills and becomes a professional party thrower. At the same time, Gwen (played by a pre-drunk/crazy Tara Reid) who writes for the college paper, is tasked with doing a story on him, but Van is too busy partying to be interviewed so she writes it using info from people who have been on the receiving end of his pranks and so she writes an unflattering piece, which doesn't make him happy. He then dares her to see if she can get the true story but is more interested in trying to score with her, which is not easy because she has a boyfriend, who is a snob, and who is not too happy with the amount time she is spending with him. So he tries to get rid of him. This and the next movie on my list show Ryan Reynolds ability to get laughs through gross out and sarcastic comments. I dare you to watch this movie and not laugh.
Waiting...
I’ve never given much thought to what goes on in the kitchen of a restaurant and frankly haven’t cared to. I am overly nice to most everyone in the service industry and therefore am pretty confident that I will not piss anyone off so much that they perform some of the acts in this movie. Is it possible that I have eaten a steak off the floor or shoved in someone’s crotch? Sure but if I don’t give anyone a reason to mess with my food, I’d like to believe that I haven’t earned that yet. Reynolds plays the enigmatic Monty, the king of the wait staff at an Applebee’s like restaurant. He helps a new waiter learn the tricks of the trade. Again, Reynolds is in a movie filled with gross out jokes and toilet humor with none of the Kevin Smith elegance. A youngish Justin Long also stars and web sensation Andy Milonakis pops up throughout.
Blade: Trinity
The third movie in this series following vampire hunter Blade as he fights the war against the vampire master, Dracula. Yes, there is nothing to write home about this movie. It is as mindless and explosive as Green Lantern. Yet in the role of wisecracking Hannibal King, he rises above Wesley Snipes and steals the movie. Not to mention for those of you wanting to see abs and abs alone on Reynolds this movie delivers that too and in a non special effect green suit. Yet what makes this movie better than Green Lantern is that Ryan Reynolds takes chances in this movie that he doesn’t in Green Lantern. This movie shows Reynolds at the top of his game and in the midst of Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel, he takes the movie.
I think the point to take away from this is that when you have a talent like Ryan Reynolds is to trust him to make the character he is playing likeable. Even as a cad, Reynolds can shine through. I look forward to seeing him in the upcoming movie The Change-Up because I hope the director of this movie realizes the comedic talent he has. Hopefully I’ve given you some things to think about when you go to a movie and that despite the critical reaction to a lesser known movie, that movies can display the best of an actor or the worst. It’s up to how you handle the talent.
And just for the ladies...
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