Comedies Are Good for Your Heart

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

'The silly is slowly being leeched out of him'

(NEWSER) - Paul Rudd is Hollywood’s next big thing —but not in the way he should be, writes Elbert Ventura in a Slate piece arguing that Tinseltown is squandering the actor’s comedic talents. “Rudd's rise is well-deserved,” considering his body of work “is one of the funniest—and most underrated—in recent American comedy.” But Rudd, “an absurdist at heart,” has gone from “unhinged, even surreal” movies like Wet Hot American Summer and Anchorman to bland, conventional fare. More»

Low-ball comedy splits the critics

(NEWSER) - The latest big-screen foray by Saturday Night Live cast members has split critics, with some loving and others despising MacGruber's raunchy satire:

• SNL movies tend to suck, “but MacGruber breaks the jinx,” writes Peter Travers of Rolling Stone . It sends up '80s action flicks “with a sense of style and unabashed affection.” Star Will Forte “is having a ball, and the feeling is contagious.”
• Kyle Smith isn't catching it. You can tell it came from TV, he writes in the New York Post : “ It features the pacing of C-SPAN, the production values of the public-access channel, the writing acumen of Home Shopping Network.”

Box office performance for latest flick a mystery

(NEWSER) - Though it’s called Funny People, Adam Sandler’s latest film is a bit more serious than his fans are used to—and its opening-weekend performance is a mystery, Variety reports. Forecasts range from just over $20 million to more like $35 million, Audiences loved director Judd Apatow’s prior efforts—which were more upbeat than the R-rated, 2½-hour Funny People. More»

(NEWSER) - Audiences fell for The Proposal this weekend, sending Sandra Bullock's comedy down the aisle with $34.1 million, USA Today reports. Banking $12 million more than pundits predicted, the romcom claimed yet another box office win for summer comedies. The Hangover hung onto second with $26.9 million, Up finished third with $21.3 million, and Jack Black’s Year One debuted at $20.2 million. More»