Movied: ‘Brüno’ and ‘I Love You, Beth Cooper’

There are two comedies coming out this week: Brüno, starring the attention-grabbing Sacha Baron Cohen, and I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring “Heroes” hottie Hayden Panettiere. Here’s what I’m watching to prepare my cheek muscles (not those ones) for massive laughs:


Brüno

Featuring Sacha Baron Cohen

“Da Ali G Show” – I used to watch this show on HBO when it came to the states (it had already been in the UK for a season), and I loved it. This show not only introduced us to Ali G, but also Borat and Brüno. As of this week, all three will have their own feature-length movies. That’s pretty impressive considering they all came from one show.

Madagascar – Honestly, I don’t need another reason to love this series, but Baron Cohen’s character Julien, the king of the lemurs, is hysterical despite being the token bad guy. I’m not usually into animated films, but the unique storylines and witty dialogue have me laughing as much as “real” comedies do.


Producers of Comedy

Meet the Parents – Brüno producer Jay Roach, who we know as the main man behind the Fockers series, could do no wrong with the series opener, Meet the Parents. It’s what everyone in a relationship fears will happen, only much worse, which in turn makes us laugh because it’s NOT us!

Zoolander – The other producer of Brüno, Monica Levinson, was behind a separate Ben Stiller film that almost everyone I know is obsessed with. In fact, I would even say there’s a little bit of Zoolander in Brüno (although I’m sure the latter is way more intense and crazy). Who knew male models would be so funny?


Wildcard

EuroTrip – The man responsible for writing and directing this movie, Jeff Schaffer, is also a co-writer (one on several, actually) for Brüno. He and Europe have become pretty friendly of the last few years, making him great for the job. Also, be sure to check out his biography on IMDB. It’s pretty funny stuff.



I Love You, Beth Cooper

Knights of (Christopher) Columbus!

Gremlins – While he didn’t direct the movie (Joe Dante did), he did an equally, if not better, job than that; he wrote it. He managed to turn something so cute and cuddling into a scary-ass, not to mention dangerous, monster. Almost 25 years later, it remains one of my favorite movies of all-time.

Adventures in Babysitting – While most people know Columbus from directing the Home Alone series, this is his directorial debut. As a kid, I loved watching it, but as a young teen, I dreaded having the job. Turns out the job isn’t half bad and I was introduced to a hunky (I still think he is) actor named Vincent D’Onofrio.


Holy Hayden Panettiere

A Bug’s Life – Movies don’t really get more adorable than this. While it was a voice-only part, Panettiere showed us at a young age that she was capable for the job. The entire film centers around saving her character, Dot (the Queen ant’s youngest daughter), who manages to almost get eaten but ends up saving the colony from grasshoppers.

Raising Helen – Just before her days on “Heroes”, Panettiere plays a rebellious teen in this film. It was a little different from her “good girl cheerleader” or “girl next door” acts that we had seen several times, and she pulls it off relatively well (of course she ends up being a good girl in the end, so it doesn’t go the full nine).


Wildcard

Duplex – I Love You, Beth Cooper author Larry Doyle, who also wrote this movie, gave novel writing a stab with this book, which ironically was turned into a movie. The writing in Duplex, although pretty absurd at times, works really well; especially with actor-turned-director Danny DeVito on board. I dig it, and you might too.