Dave (1993)

Written by Gary Ross and directed by Ivan Reitman, this good-hearted political fantasy seems silly, based on a one-line sitcom idea, but works so smoothly and so beautifully that it can restore your faith in America. Dave Mitchell (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and is a dead ringer for the crooked President of the United States. When the real POTUS suffers a stroke, Dave is tapped to impersonate him for an undetermined period of time. In reality, the evil White House Chief of Staff Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) has a plan for getting rid of both the president and the kindly Vice President (Ben Kingsley) and taking over the country. read more...

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Blended (2014)

Blended at least shows that Adam Sandler, who has offered up some of the laziest comedies of recent years, is still thinking about his career. Ten years after 50 First Dates (2004) has teamed up for a third time with Drew Barrymore, co-star of one of his most beloved films, The Wedding Singer (1998). As if for good luck, Sandler has also reunited with Wedding Singer director Frank Coraci (also of The Waterboy and Click). Sadly, the comparisons stop there. Sandler has once again used moviemaking to provide himself a paycheck and a vacation simultaneously; this time he brings his friends to a colorful African tourist resort, complete with amorous hippos. read more...

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Trainwreck (2015)

With Trainwreck, Amy Schumer wrote her first feature screenplay, which was then entrusted to Judd Apatow to direct; the result is, like all Apatow films, too long and quite messy. But it has that unique combination of outrageous comedy slowly and unexpectedly merging into heartfelt emotion. It may stretch the bounds of believability, but it's never phony. read more...

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• Romantic Love ▶ Happily ever after

Elizabethtown (2005)

When Cameron Crowe was a young rock journalist, he probably had a good editor who helped shape his copy. Even when he wrote his first screenplay, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982, based on his own book), there was a director, Amy Heckerling, who translated it into a good movie. read more...

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Speechless (1994)

Possibly, but not necessarily based on the real-life relationship between liberal political consultant James Carville and conservative commentator Mary Matalin, the movie Speechless (1994) eventually dissipates anything even closely resembling real life. It's a shame because Michael Keaton and Geena Davis could have been at their charming best here, playing rival political speechwriters who fall in love during a New Mexico senatorial race. But the movie betrays them with so many dumb sitcom moments and idiotic misunderstandings that the actors barely know how to react. One situation depends on the science fiction idea that Davis's character is unable to wake Keaton's character from a deep slumber, even after dropping him on the floor. Despite not working as a romance or a comedy, the even bigger shame is that this doesn't even try to be a political satire. Christopher Reeve plays the third wheel in the romantic triangle, a thankless role as a self-obsessed TV reporter (it was one of his final roles before his debilitating accident). The only good thing about Speechless is the poster, which features the instantly-recognizable lips of Keaton and Davis, presumably in pre-kiss mode. Ron Underwood directed, from a screenplay by Robert King. Olive Films released it on Blu-ray in 2016. read more...

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• Overall Depth ▶ Surface