The South rises again ... in comedy

I've never considered myself much of an elitist (which would be pretty friggin hard to do since I see at least half the movies that come out, even sometimes when I'm fairly certain they're gonna just be really bad), but one thing I've never been able to bite on is the "Blue Collar" comedy crew.

Now, I can appreciate in at least small doses Ron White, who - staying true to his character - called in from the road a few years ago just about blind drunk at 2 in the afternoon on a weekday for an interview with our former entertainment writer Maggie Large. But I've been waiting for some time for a brand of Southern comedy that paints things a little less broad and a lot more askew.

And thanks to Jody Hill, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Ben Best, I'm convinced it's finally here. It started, of course, with Tyler Perry, whose mix of humanity, hilarity and drama just hooks me every time, but he's really an empire unto himself and probably best left apart from what I'm talking about here today.

The latest example comes with the very welcome news that veryfunnymen James Franco and McBride will be reuniting for something to be called "Your Highness," and from the premise alone I can tell it's gonna be right up my alley. Green, who last directed the duo in "Pineapple Express," will direct the comedy about two "spoiled and arrogant" princes (Franco and McBride, I'd have to assume) in medieval times who are forced to go on a quest to save their family and kingdom from the spell of an evil wizard. I'm laughing at that already.

The production will begin shooting July 20 in Ireland, from a script by McBride and Best, a very funny guy in his own right. I'm not sure you can call it fall-down funny (although that "Myrtle Beach drunk" line just made me howl out loud), but I unconditionally loved what Best, McBride and Hill came up with their first flick, "Foot Fist Way." More a portrait of a guy struggling with life than a straight-out comedy, it's still just a really entertaining little flick (and if you rent it and don't like it, which is entirely possible, please remember before you complain to me that it's only 82 minutes long.)

And you can still watch all six episodes of the recent series the trio cooked up for HBO, "Eastbound and Down," online for free without too much effort (I'd try to find a link, but I don't want to risk steering anyone to anything that might fry their computers.) Like "Foot Fist Way" it takes as its hero an extremely hard-to-like guy, a former Major League ballplayer (McBride) forced to return to his North Carolina hometown and none too happy about it. Again, this certainly isn't for everyone, and it got mixed reviews at best, but I just like their very funny but not insulting view of Southern life.

And Mr. Hill, of course, will try and hit the big time next week with "Observe and Report," but I have a feeling that like "Foot Fist Way" that one's gonna have too much of an edge to make a whole lot of money, even with Seth Rogen and the always-thoroughly-welcome Anna Faris in the leads. Here's hoping I'm wrong, and that this new Southern comedy wave continues to ride high. Peace out.

The funniest three minutes you'll see all weekend

I'm not sure if this is hitting theaters this weekend, but if not you can at least enjoy it here.

Writer/director Jody Hill, who created last year's very funny "Foot Fist Way" for Danny McBride to star in (rent it already!), is now back with something called "Observe and Report."

Though I didn't bother to see "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," I can only assume it was a different kind of thing than what Seth Rogen and Mr. Hill have cooked up here for a second flick on the subject (and, just so you can't say I didn't warn you, there is indeed a mall security TV show coming this fall ... who knew it was so fascinating?)

Just one word of warning: This is a red-band trailer, full of f-bombs and other suitably R-rated material. It's also, however, very funny, so enjoy. Now I'm off to see "Coraline" and can't friggin' wait!

All aboard the "Pineapple Express"

"It's like killing a unicorn, with like, a bomb."

Somehow I think the men's "round of 64" (as the equally nonstoned announcer kept saying over and over) Olympic badminton that was on this morning when I woke up probably would have been a lot funnier under the influence of some Pineapple Express.

And I promise, to the best of my ability, I will try to make this completely free of any stoner puns (so nothing about "high art" or "buds.")

From the outset of "Pineapple Express," you feel like you know the characters played by Seth Rogen and James Franco (even if you somehow haven't yet seen them together before in "Freaks and Geeks," just watch it already!), and that will be the test of how much you like this movie.

Personally, I liked them quite a bit, making the first half hour of "Pineapple Express" its most enjoyable segment. My only beef would be a fault of my own making: I had seen a lot of the funniest parts in advance. Even so, there's plenty of little gems like the quote at top (from James Franco, about smoking the titular weed) laced in the banter between his dealer and Rogen's perpetually stoned process server (and the action-hero segment about his dreadful job is really funny.) You may find Rogen's constant yelling as the situation deteriorates around them a bit annoying, but I think under the circumstances (witnessing a murder committed by a drug dealer [Gary Cole] and a cop [Rosie Perez], of course), I'd probably be at least as frantic.

As the movie shifts from comedy to action flick, there's one transition scene that I guarantee will have you laughing out loud from the opening blow. If you've seen it, you know I'm talking about that house fight with Danny McBride's Red which makes use of just about every fixture in sight (though I won't tell you how.) Until now I really hadn't been able to appreciate just how funny a guy McBride is, having only seen him in the instantly forgettable "Drillbit Taylor" and goofily entertaining "Hot Rod" (though I did just save his first real starring vehicle, Jody Hill's "Foot Fist Way," in my Neflix queue for when it comes out Sept. 27.) Here he sustains the flick as it starts to lose course near the end, and his constantly battered drug dealer is just a joy to watch.

The formula of "Pineapple Express" starts to shine through (see, I was gonna make a rather weak joke about "coming down," but I won't) as the flick builds to its surprisingly intense big showdown inside a farmhouse filled with legendary weed. It's not that it's not funny, which it is, or suitably violent, which it certainly is too. I just had the feeling that I've seen this all before and done funnier, specifically by Edgar Wright and crew in "Hot Fuzz."

And one final word about the ending, which I really appreciated because director David Gordon Green and writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg set you up for one of those cheesy, five-years-later endings before pulling a fast switch, and I admit I fell for it and laughed all the harder for being fooled.

The bottom line: I've probably been a little hard on this one only because of my own lofty expectations, but if you're expecting a stoner comedy with serious laughs and just enough heart, you won't be disappointed. Peace out.

P.S.: In my search for information on Danny McBride, I found out that he and Jody Hill have made a half-hour pilot for HBO called "East Bound and Down" (with apologies, I suppose, to Jerry Reed and "Smokey and the Bandit") starring McBride as a former pro athlete who has to return to his hometown as a substitute gym teacher. No idea if or when it will air, but definitely keep your eyes out for it.

Friday fun with trailers ... starring the Coen brothers!

OK, OK, I realize it's the height of sloth to simply post a couple of trailers for only my second post of the week, so let's first start out with a bit of news, the first of which I can only see being all kinds of bad.

Now, I love the movie "Donnie Darko." It took me at least three viewings to properly wrap my mind around it, but once I did, it just rocks. But why in the world would you feel the need to make a sequel? And more importantly, why would you possibly want to make a sequel without director Richard Kelly (someone named Chris Fisher is stepping in) but with Elizabeth Berkley of "Saved By the Bell" fame? I can't fathom any possible answer to those questions, but it's apparently happening now in the form of something called "S. Darko" (for Donnie's sis, Samantha), and probably headed straight to DVD soon.

In much better news, there will indeed be new TV this summer in the form of the very satisfying "Mad Men" on AMC. Hopefully with some kind of Emmys bounce, with the nominations set to be announced in July (I think), the show will return for season two at 10 p.m. July 21. And, in even better news, if you somehow managed to miss the first season of this great show about ad men, AMC will air all 13 episodes of season one on July 20, so set your DVR.

And, in the last bit before we move on to a twin bill of trailer goodness, David Gordon Green, director of the upcoming can't-miss comedy "Pineapple Express," will next direct the very funny Danny McBride in something called "Your Highness."

The promising premise, in a flick written by McBride and buddy Ben best, has an arrogant, lazy prince (McBride) who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom. While I'm all for movies with dungeons and dragons, it's certainly also a genre ripe for send up.

And if you've never heard of Danny McBride, you hopefully will very soon. I was really hoping the kung-fu comedy he made with Jody Hill, "Foot Fist Way," would be playing everywhere this week, but it's apparently only in New York and L.A. so far. Here's hoping it plays everywhere next week, cause even if though it's gotten very mixed reviews so far, any flick that actually contains the phrase "Myrtle Beach drunk" as an adjective has to have at least a few merits.

But, finally, I did promise you two trailers, and they're for two flicks I'm genuinely jazzed about. The first, and surely superior, is the redband trailer for the Coen brothers' next flick, "Burn After Reading." While I loved "No Country for Old Men" almost unconditionally, I like the brothers best when they turn to comedy (my favorite Coens flick remains "O Brother Where Art Thou"), so this CIA caper starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich should just be a hoot when it hits this fall. Enjoy!



And lastly here's a teaser for Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" (and no, I didn't just put the word "porno" in this post to get a few more hits from perverts.) I know a lot of people are tired of Smith's rather juvenile view of the world, but I still have a lot of time for him, and have high hopes for this flick starring Seth Rogen and soon-to-be-"it" girl Elizabeth Banks (after her turn as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's upcoming Bush biopic "W".) Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

Sam Raimi visiting the "Monster Zoo"

Even if he has been rejected by Ellen Page, Sam Raimi still seems to be having a boatload of fun since unshackling himself from the "Spider-Man" ship.

After directing the Universal thriller "Drag Me to Hell," which he's co-writing with brother Sam (and which Page pulled out of, to be replaced by Alison Lohman), he'll next take the producing reins of (and maybe direct, who knows) a crazy creation called "Monster Zoo," an upcoming graphic novel by Douglas TenNapel.

Now, one of the many problems with having to work for a living is that I don't get to sit around and read comic books all day, so I must confess I wasn't familiar with that name before reading the report this morning. I've included, however, courtesy of Amazon.com, the cover of "Monster Zoo."

So, what is "Monster Zoo" about? Well, thankfully, the title pretty much says it all: It's the story of a young boy who discovers his local zoo contains critters much more frightening than the ordinary collection. The tale is apparently set in motion when an ancient idol is unearthed and transported to the zoo, where its spirit awakens and starts to mutate the caged animals (of course.)

This just all sounds like tons of fun to me, and here's what the creator himself, Mr. TenNapel, had to say about it in getting geeked up on his own blog:

Raimi’s movie A Simple Plan is among my favorite all-time films. It’s nice to be in business with people who love telling stories…about creatures, comics and underdogs. Amen, brother.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is - finally - back!

A hearty huzzah to always-welcome reader Jeremy, who clued me in to the fact that Amy Sherman-Palladino's new series, "The Return of Jezebel James," will finally hit the airwaves this Friday night at 8 on Fox (with two back-to-back episodes, no less.)

Now, it's been a while since I've talked about it, but I've made no secret of my love for ASP'S "Gilmore Girls." For six years or so (not counting the last, rather disastrous season), it was just about the funniest and smartest thing on TV, and packed with beautiful women to boot, so why not tune in week after week?

Thankfully, though a half-hour comedy (probably saddled with a laugh track, sheesh), "Jezebel James" seems to mine many of the same issues, and it's headed by two veritable babes as well, if I may be so blunt.

Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose lead the cast as two estranged sisters. In the pilot episode (of which I've included a short YouTube preview below), Posey asks Ambrose's character to move in with her and, rather more importantly, I'd think, carry and have a child for her. "Gilmore Girls" fans should note that Scott Cohen, a k a Lorelai Gilmore's paramour Max Medina, will also be a "Jezebel" regular.

In a preview at the great Gilmore Girls News site, doubts were raised about whether or not Posey can keep up with ASP's signature quick and (hopefully still) witty dialogue, but I'm hoping they're wrong. Definitely tune in to find out (or if, like me, you have to work on Friday nights or - even better - actually go out on the town, set your TIVO/DVR.)



Mitchell Hurwitz's coming back too!

I suppose this means that any movement toward an "Arrested Development" movie is, for now at least, on hold, but let's just focus on the positive for the moment.

The good news is that the "AD" creator is coming back to Fox with an animated adaptation of the short-lived Aussie comedy series "Sit Down, Shut Up." Though I've never heard of it, it apparently revolves around the lives of seven staff members of a dysfunctional high school in a small northeastern fishing town (sounds like perfect Hurwitz territory already.)

I'm a little skeptical about the animated thing, but it's certainly what Fox thrives on, so here's hoping that Hurwitz can come up with a winner if and when this finally comes to fruition (and that, of course, all hope is not lost for an "Arrested Development" movie somewhere down the line!)

Fun with posters ... and a trailer

OK, I'm bringing it back to movies now. Though these two posters are, I suppose, both somewhat related to kung fu, they really couldn't be much more different. My impressions: The one for the Jackie Chan/Jet Li flick "Forbidden Kingdom" looks a little bit queer (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course), and the tagline for Jody Hill's "Foot Fist Way" is enough to reinforce my belief that the flick, coming in June, will be a real sleeper hit this summer. Enjoy!



And, lastly, here's the final trailer for Pixar's next summer offering, "Wall-E," also scheduled to hit in June. Unlike what we've seen thus far, this clip offers a look at the second half of the flick, after our hero has left his cleanup job on Earth. I'm still more than a little skeptical that a flick with little to no discernible dialogue will be much of a hit with the tykes, but it looks simply beautiful, so here's hoping I'm wrong. Peace out.