MOVIE REVIEW: THE HOUSE

Andrew J. Cohen directs this romp about a mother and father (Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler) who blow their daughter's college fund and start an illegal casino in their basement to recoup the losses. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Director: Andrew Jay Cohen

Cast: Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Allison Tolman, Rob Huebel, Michaela Watkins

Rated: R for language throughout, sexual references, drug use, some violence and brief 

nudity 

Genres: Comedy

Review:

The House is an unfortunate example of how getting an impressive collection of comedic talents together doesn’t guarantee a funny movie.  The premise sounds good and it should work but unfortunately the film just never finds its footing with most of the jokes and situations missing the mark.  There a few laughs to be had here and there probably birthed out of sheer will by Ferrell and Poehler but it’s not enough to save the film.  First time director Andrew Jay Cohen can’t seem to create any sort of energy for the cast which is a shame because it feels like there is a funny movie in there somewhere.

C-

TV SHOW REVIEW: CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS DVD

TV SHOW REVIEW: CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS DVD



Synopsis: Short parodies of medical dramas.

Cast: Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Megan Mullally, Erinn Hayes, Ken Marino, Michael Cera, Lake Bell, Henry Winkler, Malin Akerman, Zandy Hartig, Nick Offerman

Review:

Children’s Hospital is an incredibly funny rapid fire show. First season is comprised of the 4-5 minute “episodes” which shoot medical drama parody jokes at you at an amazing rate. It’s hilarious for the most part, when it doesn’t quite hit the mark it helped by its format because nothing ever lingers too much on screen. The 2nd season offers up longer 11 minute “episodes” which still have the same effect but occasionally linger a tad to long when a joke isn’t working. The cast is a collection of wonderful comedians who are all in throughout. Nothing is off-limits and they aren’t afraid to go for the cheapest laughs while setting higher concept laughs either (such as mocking every type of behinds the scenes, live shows, TV show deaths, etc..). There’s a very loosely connected overall plot but its sparse and fairly unnecessary since it’s not really the point. Satire and parody are the name of the game here and its down quite well.

B-