411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 4.09.10: Week 223

Posted by Ben Piper on 04.09.2010

Is Megan Fox a good choice to play Red Sonja? Will the team of Steve Carell and Tina Fey make Date Night one of this year's better comedies? Is an animated Star Wars comedy show a bad idea? 411's Steve Yanosey and Erik Luers debate these and other subjects in week 223 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



Hey there. Welcome back yet again to the column that keeps on giving, Fact or Fiction. This time around, Steve Yanosey and Erik Luers kick around a few concepts for your reading pleasure. Let's right down to it…



1. The pairing of Tina Fey and Steve Carell will help make Date Night one of the better comedies to come out this year.

Steve Yanosey: Fact. Even if the movie sucks, it'll suck a whole lot less with these two in it. Even though The Office is in a downward spiral, Steve Carell is hardly at fault. Rather, the writers seem to be scripting it as slapstick material these days; they've really dumbed it down to make it nice and zany for the masses. Great job, fellas. And Tina Fey improves everything she gets her hands on, whether it be cheesy chick comedies or Saturday Night Live, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if Date Night ends up being actually pretty good. I sure won't pay money to see it, but that doesn't mean a million other people won't.

Erik Luers: Fiction. Something tells me that this is gonna be one of those movies that does really well in theaters and then is quickly forgotten about until a legion of Steve Carell fans come across it on his IMDB filmography page ten years from now. I don't watch any regular television shows, so I can't tell you how Tina Fey and Carell are on their respective sitcoms. What I have observed however is that these are two TV people trying to break into leading roles in the motion picture businesses. Carell's breakout hit came from the unexpected 40 Year Old Virgin. That film's immense success was not planned. Carell then wanted to capitalize on his fame and star in really big, expected-to-be-franchise blockbuster films like Evan Almighty and Get Smart. Those didn't do as well. See what happens when you try to force feed a star to the public. Date Night looks to be yet another attempt for him to capitalize on his 40 Year Old Virgin and Office fame, but it just feels like a high concept with a couple of pop culture references sprinkled in (ones that will be outdated by Sunday). And Tina Fey, good luck at being a movie star. On the eve of your fortieth birthday, Hollywood starts to close its doors.

Score: 0 for 1

2. You're tired of hearing about Jesse James' extramarital affairs and all the sordid details thereof.

Steve Yanosey: Fact. But it's not just James' extracurricular activities – it's every celebrity's. I understand that this kind of stuff sells magazines or gets people to click on the link; we even feature that kind of gossip on this site, unfortunately. I have no problem at all discussing it per se, it just all seems beside the point. I mean, who f'n cares? My own daily life is confusing enough… why on Earth would I give a shit about some biker or celebrity or golfer or politician who can't keep their dick in their pants? People have been cheating on each other forever – it's not news. People will look back on our era in hundreds of years and laugh at how obsessed we are with stuff that just doesn't concern us. But hey, it's a free country and as long as the people keep clicking and reading, who am I to complain? Until then, the joke's on us.

Erik Luers: Fact. I agree with Steve. Every celebrity's sex life needs to stop taking up newspaper and internet space. People feel like they know Sandra Bullock because they've seen her movies, so she gets the sympathy vote. Jesse James has a lot of tattoos and has been sleeping around with a heavily tattooed woman (the press even says she may be a Nazi now? Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up, people), so he is shown as the bad guy. Yes, infidelity is considered a bad thing, but why is it any of our business? Who gets what out of it? When Sandra Bullock gets the sure to be sitdown interview with Barbara Walters in a few months time, everyone will tune in. And yet, Bullock won't say anything revealing because she's smarter than that (I hope). She'll just take the money and run. It's great. Tiger Wood had a press conference the other day in which he apologized for all of the acts that pushed him to go to rehab. When asked why he was in rehab in the first place, he said that that was personal information. So then what are you apologizing for? Better yet, what are you even admitting to? He just wants to keep his sponsors happy as he heads back to golf. He's in the public eye for being a golf player, not a role model. If you work at Walmart and cheat on your girlfriend, are you fired? I hope not.

Score: 1 for 2

3. There is neither a need nor a demand for American Pie 4.

Steve Yanosey: Fact. There wasn't a need or a demand for any American Pies after the first one. Although I'll admit right now that I've never seen the second installment and that American Wedding wasn't actually that awful. It definitely made me laugh a few times. But it's time for this generation of high school kids to get their own coming-of-age graduation movie instead of having to deal with lazy writers who'd rather retread beat-to-death material. Then again, the Sherminator does need the work.

Erik Luers: Fact. Well, let's be honest, factoring in those never-ending direct-to-video sequels that have flooded the marketplace in recent years, this would actually be American Pie 8 . The American Pie name is done. It's like the "National Lampoon presents....." label. After a while, they lose their meaning and marketing power. The original trilogy was fun for what it was (and light years ahead of the crap that it inspired), but I think that it's a series best left in the past. Even American Wedding, with only half of the original cast from the first two films, sort of felt like an afterthought. And who would come back? Jason Biggs? Eugene Levy? Levy is the only actor to have been in all seven of these movies and probably one of the only seven people in the world to have seen them. I bet he's filming a mockumentary with Christopher Guest on what he will do to get paid these days. Call it Waiting For Paycheck. The original American Pie has been out long enough now to have fallen into the nostalgia realm of nineties teen movies. Don't believe me? Remember when Shannon Elizabeth was the new hot "It" girl? Feels like centuries ago, right? I'm not gonna even bring up Tara Reid.

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!



4. Megan Fox is a good choice to play Red Sonja.

Erik Luers: Fiction. Only because I didn't even know what Red Sonja was when I read this statement. A friend told me it's cheesy, so there you have it. To fans of the film, I offer you this: if people are wondering if Megan Fox is a good choice for an upcoming remake, the original ain't held in such high regard. So I pick Fiction because I'm not sure if Megan Fox is a good casting choice for any movie, with the exception of porn remakes of real movies. More nostalgia, more remakes. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Call Robert Duvall and get me a preacher. I get the feeling Red Sonja will be recommended only for those that truly expect The Expendables to be a good movie.

Steve Yanosey: Fact. I gotta disagree there. I bet The Expendables gets the job done for its intended audience (guys in their 20s, 30s, and 40s – remember, the movie will skew young because of the action and older because the time period its nostalgic for). Also, I have no clue who Red Sonja is, but I'm definitely sure it will be a garbage movie. And if it's gonna be garbage, it might as well look great. I appreciate your talents, Meg!

Score: 2 for 4

5. An animated Star Wars comedy show is a horrible idea.

Erik Luers: Fiction. This statement assumes that everyone loves Star Wars to begin with, so I have to vote Fiction. I am not a big Star Wars fan (18-34 male demo be damned), and haven't had much interest in George Lucas' recent trips into television with the likes of The Clone Wars and his contributions to Robot Chicken. In fact, I like the Star Wars Holiday Special more than most of the feature films because it has Bea Arthur and Art Carney in it. That's right, I'm more of a Harry and Tonto fanboy>. The Holiday Special is strangely hypnotic though. All those scenes with nothing but Wookie dialogue...compelling!. It felt like a two hour Star Wars play done on a soundstage. But anyway....a comedy show? Why not? How about a new version of The Facts of Life starring the Skywalker family? You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have....Episode 7. How's that? Just play a John Williams score in the background or something.

Steve Yanosey: Fact. How Star Wars manages to be 33-years-old and still sorta relevant while it's over-saturating the entertainment market with crap ideas like that, I've no idea. Ok, I have some idea, but I do have trouble believing that they think that this will have any sort of artistic merit or lasting value. George Lucas should be thinking about how to redeem his and the franchise's besmirched name. Why not remake the entire saga (I'm talking from even before the Phantom Menace) as an animated mini-series, with a grown-up touch of course? Hire someone else besides Georgie to write some new dialogue and add some new character subtleties, and maybe get some fresh new ideas for the animation style. ANYTHING besides retreads on the last three 3 prequels and whatever happened in between them.

Score: 2 for 5

6. Joss Whedon would be a great choice to direct The Avengers.

Erik Luers: Fiction. I think I'm being pranked right now. Is this one really for me? I have nothing to say about this. Jeremy Thomas is a big fan of Joss Whedon so you should go ask him. He writes The Hush-Hush News Report on Tuesdays. You know the one. Not the one that takes you Around the World. Not the one with the Michelle McGee photos. The one with the Danny Devito photo at the bottom. Jeremy could answer this question better than I could. So I'll just shrug and say Fiction. He's only directed one feature film, so there you have it. Whedon that is, not Jeremy.

Steve Yanosey: Fiction. I don't doubt that he may be good, I just disagree with the statement that he is definitely a great choice. He did do one great episode of The Office ("Business School") and one shit one ("Branch Wars"). But then again, The Avengers isn't quite The Office and everyone seemed to love Buffy and Angel. Frankly, if he can tone down the camp and cheesy requisite comic-book dialogue that never translates well to the screen, then I say "bravo". They're already a step-behind with the guy who just got cast as Captain America. The studios never learn that these movies never work unless they cast with the spirit of the character in mind, not whose the most popular with tweeners.

Final Score: 3 for 6

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And there you have it, Steve and Erik split the difference. Many thanks to them both for taking part. See you next week.
-BP


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