I don't have too much to say about this film. I went in with low expectations since I'd already seen the British version and LOVED it. (seriously, it's one of my all time favorite movies) However, this version disappointed me even more than I expected.
This is a film that depends heavily on writing, but perhaps even more so on acting. The humor is definitely that of the awkward British temperament. When you "American-ize" it, it doesn't always translate well. We can't expect to hit "The Office" gold every time. I didn't think I was going to like this as much as the British version, but I thought that their impressive list of starring actors would still make it watchable. WRONG. I love a lot of these actors...Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Luke Wilson, James Marsden, Eddie Glover etc. Tracy Morgan was definitely my favorite and James Marsden was quite funny too (though I didn't feel he brought really anything unique to the role... .a lot of people could have pulled off that part. Alan Tudyk, though, brilliant.) Chris Rock and Luke Wilson however....they were just painful to watch. Painful. Chris Rock needs to figure out he can't play "serious" parts. He could have made that character much more humorous as Matthew MacFadyen did, but instead...it was just rough.
"Adaptation" wise, ehhh. The house and complete set design were very similary to the first version and I didn't feel like it fit in with these characters. Chris Rock and Martin Short played the same kind of character they always do, which didn't seem to correlate with a Victorian-style, fully decorated home. A lot of the lines were exactly the same...a lot of them. I'm not sure why this annoyed me so much, but it did. It seemed like they couldn't decide if they wanted to be completely original with the same basic story line or if they wanted to do the same film with different actors. It was weird...
There were definitely some funny one-liners...If you're looking for something light and moderately entertaining on your day off when you have nothing better to do, it might be worth watching. Might.
This is a film that depends heavily on writing, but perhaps even more so on acting. The humor is definitely that of the awkward British temperament. When you "American-ize" it, it doesn't always translate well. We can't expect to hit "The Office" gold every time. I didn't think I was going to like this as much as the British version, but I thought that their impressive list of starring actors would still make it watchable. WRONG. I love a lot of these actors...Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Luke Wilson, James Marsden, Eddie Glover etc. Tracy Morgan was definitely my favorite and James Marsden was quite funny too (though I didn't feel he brought really anything unique to the role... .a lot of people could have pulled off that part. Alan Tudyk, though, brilliant.) Chris Rock and Luke Wilson however....they were just painful to watch. Painful. Chris Rock needs to figure out he can't play "serious" parts. He could have made that character much more humorous as Matthew MacFadyen did, but instead...it was just rough.
"Adaptation" wise, ehhh. The house and complete set design were very similary to the first version and I didn't feel like it fit in with these characters. Chris Rock and Martin Short played the same kind of character they always do, which didn't seem to correlate with a Victorian-style, fully decorated home. A lot of the lines were exactly the same...a lot of them. I'm not sure why this annoyed me so much, but it did. It seemed like they couldn't decide if they wanted to be completely original with the same basic story line or if they wanted to do the same film with different actors. It was weird...
There were definitely some funny one-liners...If you're looking for something light and moderately entertaining on your day off when you have nothing better to do, it might be worth watching. Might.
