Mafia! (1998)

AKA: Jane Austen's Mafia!

The Godfather films were ripe for parody, and there was none better to come along and skewer it than Jim Abrahams (of ZAZ), in what would become his final film. Weaving The Godfather Part II and Casino into its pastiche, the plot is little more than skin deep...but it's funny, god damn it. Severely underrated and overlooked at the time of its release for seeming stale and outdated, and yet, everything is relative; after watching a string of bad spoof films, this sticks out like a diamond in shit. And yes, it's still better than The Godfather Part III.

3 wishes on a falling star out of 5

BAD MOMS [2016]

Every now and then Hollywood's dime-a-dozen lazily written raunchy comedies actually manage to belt out a few good laughs.  Jon Lucas & Scott Moore's Bad Moms is one of them...sort of.
It's about three overly stressed-out mothers that decide to brush-off their long list of duties in retaliation against the group of stick-up their asses mothers that rule the PTAs.
There really isn't anything I can say about these type of films that hasn't been said before.  You either take it for the lowbrow flick that it is with it's cheap laughs and calculated heart-warming schmatlz only to brush it off with ease.  Or leave it because clearly there's a list of thousands of better things you could be doing with your life.  I for one enjoyed it for what it was, although I'm obviously not the target audience (even if weird juices are squirting out of my nipples at the moment) but I won't be rushing out to see this ever again.

2½ foreskin hoodies out of 5

VACATION [2015]

The fifth installment of the long-running Vacation series has Ed Helms stepping in for Chevy Chase in the lead role as Clark Griswold's son, Rusty, now all grown up and with a suffering family of his own.
It basically follows the story of the first film, only now it's a whole new generation of Griswolds making their way to the infamous Walley World amusement park.
Overprotective fan-babies of the original series will scoff at the change in tone from the original films but it's not like they were cinematic gold to begin with.  The films were directionless silly humored and not particularly intelligent but they supplied laughs-a-plenty and that's where this film succeeds if you're ready and willing to lower your expectations to a not-so-classic but highly cherished comedy series of the '80's.

3 "mud" facials out of 5

Wild Bill (1995)

WB is a Hickok story that acknowledges the embellishments surrounding the real life character and works them into the plot. I liked that. But the shifting back in time via black and white flashbacks is something that I didn't like. It was distracting and made everything feel disjointed.
What drags it down more than anything else, however, is the casting. Jeff Bridges as the marshal with a gun in each hand would definitely seem a good idea on paper, but it didn't work so well onscreen. Likewise, John Hurt is a fine actor but not a good choice for Bill's close friend Charlie. Jane's role is necessary; it's a shame she's annoyingly melodramatic. The worst of all is David Arquette's piss-weak attempt at being the antagonist.

2½ remedies for the restless spirit out of 5

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY [2004]

If not for Will Ferrell, I'm sure director Adam McKay wouldn't have much of a career. Their first outing together, apart from Saturday Night Live, the tongue in cheek comedy Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy was a successful one at the box office.
Apart from a few good chuckles and some great performances from Fred Willard, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and Dave Koechner, Anchorman is nothing more than a few boner jokes, "witty" new ways to degrade women, jabs at the mentally disabled and douchebags being douchebags only to praised for it by both the film's characters and audiences alike.

1 flaming jazz flute out of 5

Hall Pass (2011)

A return to form (and comedy) from the Farrelly Brothers after the atrocious effort known as "Fever Pitch." While not an instant classic like some of their earlier efforts, there are still several laugh-out-loud moments, including a scene in a locker room which I'm still not sure how got past the MPAA. As expected with movies of this sort, it is ultimately more sweet than raunchy.

3 car faps out of 5