And that's why I can't stand most comedies, because they all feature this exact same character as our protagonist. Now, don't get me wrong, this character existed before, but back in the 90's, say, they weren't treated like they were "cool." Look at any Chris Farley movie. Every movie he was in, he was a total schmuck. Under no circumstances would you look at him and think "I want to be just like Tommy Callahan." Now we're supposed to look at these clods in movies like "The Sitter" with the mindset of "Man, they really know what's going on." It's irritating to me.
I kind of shot myself in the foot with this one. Since there was absolutely nothing else I was interested in seeing out, I saw the one Blu-Ray copy of "The Sitter" on the wall and said to myself, "If it's under 90 minutes, I'll watch it." I look on the back. 81 minutes.
Crap. Well, I've got no one to blame but myself.
"The Sitter" was exactly what you thought it was going to be. That's why they make comedies. They're easy. They're marketable. They do absolutely nothing new or unique. Just have a little kid swear and make sure to include gay jokes and you're all set. Comedy. Next, please.
Comedy. It's really just that easy.
So Jonah Hill is fat, he's a fish out of water, and the kids are all insane in their own quirky, loveable way, and along the way oh-we-have-so-much-fun. It all goes down as expected, but on a character level, I never really bought the characters as people. I know that their individual quirk is their only defining characterization, since Jonah Hill has to find a way to "fix" them by the end of the night (because remember, he's the loveable slacker who has a better handle on life than everyone else), but the quirks seemed a little unnatural since for two of the three, they had be taken so far over the top.
The little girl is supposed be emulating celebrities, but she seemed more like she was usually the foil to go to whenever they needed a kid to swear so they could be shocking. The kid's adopted brother Rodrigo honestly just came across as outright INSANE. And I don't mean zany, I mean this kid should be in a mental institution. Or jail. Or the mental institution inside a jail.
The only kid I liked was the oldest kid, Slater, played by Max Records. I think Max is a phenomenal young actor who really blew my mind in "Where The Wild Things Are," and not surprisingly he winds up being the best actor in the movie by a long country mile. He also is the only character with some sense of depth, and the only one with a story arch worth mentioning. His big scene where he's forced to come to terms with the realization that he is gay is actually quite well written and seems to just come out of nowhere, like a couple of pages from a good movie stuck in this tripe by accident.
And Max kills that scene. In the only occasion in the film where profanity is used to actual shocking effect instead of cheap gimmick, Max delivers what has to be one of the best, most heartbreaking and intense readings I've seen a kid give in the last few years. When he says "What the F#&@ are you talking about?!" when Jonah Hill tries to get him to come to terms with being gay, you really feel like this kid's brain is about to short-circuit.
If you can just watch this scene somehow, do it. JUST this scene.
Oh but we need to even out the good with the bad. Even though there was a very well done scene involving a gay kid, we need about 20 minutes of the most ridiculous, over-the-top, FLAMING stereotypes you can imagine to round out that goodness with stupid.
See, I was interested in seeing Sam Rockwell in this, because he's another actor I really like. He plays a drug dealer and amounts to the villain, but when Jonah Hill arrived at his place we are treated to a character who is so outlandishly, absurdly gay that he plays like if you crossed Serge from "Beverly Hills Cop" and Frank N. Furter, put him on roller skates, stuck him in hot pants and then told him to lose whatever dignity he had. This person leads Jonah Hill into Sam Rockwell's home, which is bursting at the seams with muscled dudes in speedos working out and sweating. I think we're meant to laugh at it.
Because he's gay, you see. And gay is funny. You find this funny. Laugh at the gay.
I mean, there's no way we can treat a gay character with dignity, am I right?
Oh.
THE BOTTOM LINE - "The Sitter" may appeal to those who like stuff like "The Hangover" or "Pineapple Express" or any of the rest of that crap. I personally can't stand it. Notable for Max Records destroying that one scene, and the only line that made me laugh:
"Hey man, your balls are on fire!"
"I KNOW MY BALLS ARE ON FIRE!!!"
That was pretty funny. Other than that, skip it.
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