411 Fact or Fiction Movies 03.28.08: Week 119

Posted by Ben Piper on 03.28.2008

Will Superhero Movie be the first spoof movie in a long time that shall not suck? Was anyone surprised by the cancellation of Jericho? Will David Schwimmer's lack of directorial talent sink Run, Fatboy, Run? 411's Bryan Kristopowitz and Leonard Hayhurst debate these and other topics in week 119 of Fact or Fiction: Movies!



Greetings and salutations, my friends. With the weekend upon us, it could only mean one thing, Fact or Fiction action at it's finest! In this instance we've got Leonard Hayhurst and Bryan Kristopowitz bringing their opinions to the table. Let's see what they have to say…

1. Superhero Movie will be the first spoof movie in a long time that shall not suck.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact- I say "Fact" cautiously because there's still a big chance this flick will bomb and bomb badly. But it does have a few good things going for it. First, David Zucker is involved as a producer. He, along with brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, basically created this genre of movie. He may not be directing, but he's got a hand in it, so there's a good chance this could be better than those Epic Movie type spoofs. And second, Leslie Nielson is in it. Nielson is always funny, even in a bad spoof movie. So, again, I say "Fact" with caution.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- I actually agree with Bryan in his points, but my glass is half empty while his is half full. I don't like any of these movies, because they try to be current with their barbs and are outdated by the time the movie hits. From previews we see them using the 'make fun of Tom Cruise' card that the last Scary Movie already did a couple years ago. If anything redeems the film, it will be the solid comedy cast that includes Neilsen, Robert Hayes, Nicole Sullivan, Christopher McDonald, Brent Spiner, Keith David and Tracy Morgan as a black Professor Xavier telling Storm to "keep that booty tight." However, Drake Bell and Sara Paxton leave a lot to be desired in the leads in their experience and acting skill.

Score: 0 for 1

2. You were not surprised by the cancellation of Jericho.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact- As soon as CBS announced that they were airing the seven episode second season on Tuesdays at 10pm, I figured the show was pretty much doomed. For whatever reason Tuesday at 10pm is a black hole on the CBS schedule. CBS should have put the show on Wednesdays at 8pm, where the show thrived in its first season (well, at least the first half of the season thrived at that time). It's too bad. Jericho was a great show and had plenty of cool potential going forward (I really wanted to see Jake and Hawkins go to New York). I wonder what CBS will replace it with. What new CSI premutation can they come up with next? That Blue Collar Comedy CSI spoof CSI: Greater Greensboro Tri-County Area is looking more and more like something the network will want to produce.

Leonard Hayhurst:Fact- I never watched the series, but it seemed like fan fervor had died down from last year. The writer's strike probably derailed any momentum the show might have had. CBS is usually pretty good at letting cult hits hang on the schedule and giving shows time to develop, but (CBS) seems to usually go after women and older audiences, which Jericho doesn't play into so much. This doesn't mean that the show is dead, because I think there might be some interest from Sci-Fi or USA if CBS just lets the show go its own way.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Despite its intriguing premise, you expect 21 to be doomed to fail at the box office.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction- I have absolutely no interest in seeing this movie at all. Every single time I saw the preview for this movie (and it stands now at seven times) I wanted to burn the theatre down. I hate the hip and edgy premise of this movie, I hate the hip and edgy douchebag cast, I hate the "Don't call me dude" Kevin Spacey line (wait a second, didn't he decide not that long ago to go back to the stage because he wanted to be a "real" actor?), I hate that little smirk the hip and edgy chick gives the guy when he asks "Where are we going?", I hate big, fat Larry Fishburne for being in this thing, and now, because of the trailer, I hate "The Doors." But, just because I don't like something doesn't mean other people are going to like it. And as long as the trailer plays in heavy rotation on MTV and the other hip and edgy young people TV channels and internets sites, I'm sure 21 will do just fine. It may not open at #1, but I'm sure it'll do well enough for the producers to light up a big cigar on Sunday afternoon.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fact- I don't hate the previews as much as Bryan does, but I do detest "The Doors." Yeah, I said it. The fact is that the poker craze has died off totally and even though this movie is dealing with blackjack, it's still trying to ride those coattails. Lucky You that was released about the same time last year totally bombed. Nobody in the movie, not even Spacey, can really open a film. No matter how hip and edgy they try to make it look, I don't think the current MTV crowd is not really going to get behind it. I predict it opens out of the top five this week and drops quickly.

Score: 1 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You expect the heavy Iraq war themes of Stop Loss will keep people away in droves.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- There seems to be more controversy over stars Abbie Cornish and Ryan Phillippe possibly having an affair than anything involving the Iraq war. I don't think the movie will be a huge hit at the box office, but I believe reviews will be fine and it will do well on DVD as it builds buzz. At the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war, it might be the right time for a film that examines the war from the home front in a frank manner. It's certainly more relatable to the average filmgoer than a flick that focuses on the war itself. Stop Loss is the only movie of its kind out there and that might bring in some serious filmgoers. I didn't think Zodiac was going to do well last year released around the same time because it was too serious a drama, but it did fine. Although I don't look for this to have legs, unless critical buzz really helps it.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction- Despite the recent commercial featuring Peter Travers from "Rolling Stone" lauding the flick, Stop Loss hasn't been advertised as a serious prestige "art" movie about "issues" and "making a statement," which is what I believe killed the chances of the Iraq war movies that came out last fall. It appears to be about young people and their families and what being "stop lossed" does to them. But the most important thing is it's about young people, "regular" people. I agree with Leonard in that it won't be a huge hit, but it'll make money. The producers of this flick will join up with the 21 people on Sunday and help each other light their cigars.

Score: 2 for 4

5. You were pleased to hear that FOX has renewed Prison Break for next season.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fiction- I never watched the show, I don't care to watch the show and I don't give a damn. The only exposure I have to it is that a woman my mom works with is obsessed with Robert Knepper and she has me track down obscure movies of his for her. I wondered what they were going to do after they actually broke out of prison and from the commercials I've seen it looks like they stuck them in another prison. It's a concept with a short
shelf life.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction- I've never seen the show, either. I have no interest in the show at all. I bet the people at TV Guide are happy about the show's renewal, though. They love the show. They write about it pretty much every week.

Score: 3 for 5

6. Despite the considerable comic talents of Simon Pegg and Hank Azaria, you have no faith in the directorial talents of David Schwimmer to invest time and money to see Run, Fatboy, Run.

Leonard Hayhurst: Fact- With that title you would think they could find someone who, you know, was actually fat. Was Kevin James that busy? Schwimmer has done some television work, but this is his first feature film. There are too many comedies out there right now and this will get lost in the shuffle. The poor reception of Hot Fuzz last year doesn't bode well for a movie with Simon Pegg as its star, no matter how talented he might be. Keep in mind that Shaun of the Dead didn't find an audience in the U.S. until hitting DVD. I also see that Michael Ian Black worked on the screenplay and that probably defeats it more than Schwimmer's directing. Oddly, as I wrote my answers up with the TV on in the background a commercial ran for every single movie talked about (in this week's column).

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction- I certainly have no faith in Schwimmer as a director (or as an actor, for that matter), but I'm curious to see how this movie works out. The commercials have been funny, and since like everyone else on the internets I'm a fan of Simon Pegg, again, I want to see how it works out. I think the biggest problem for this movie is that it takes place in Britain, and for Americans, unless it's James Bond or an American superstar actor (like Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts) starring, no one wants to see a movie about "foreigners."

Final Score: 3 for 6

There you have it, Leonard and Bryan split the difference this week. Many thanks to them both for their participation.

Useless Trivia Question of the Week
To anyone that may have written in response to last week's contest with "interracial couples" as the subject of their email, I mistakenly took it for porn spam and deleted it posthaste. Sorry. If it's any consolation, I already had a winner so it didn't matter anyways. And that winner was Jeff from Van Nuys, Ca. who correctly answered that the first ongoing interracial couple on network TV, the actors that played them and the show itself was Franklin Cover and Roxie Roker who played Tom and Helen Willis on The Jeffersons.

Kudos and an honorary mention goes out to Brad from Round Lake Beach in Illinois. While he wasn't the first to answer correctly, he gave TWO correct answers. Not only did he supply the answer I was looking for he also pointed out that Lucy and Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy were also in fact, an interracial couple. I personally hadn't considered it but the dude is right. So while he didn't get sent the letter, he gets a mention in the column, so hopefully everyone's happy.

We're going to experiment a little this week with regards to the contest. While U.S. citizens shall continue to compete to win a hand-written letter from moi', non-U.S. peeps now have something to play for as well. The first non-U.S. individual to write in with the correct answer will be given a chance to come up with an argument for the following week's Fact or Fiction column. HOWEVER, please do not include your proposed argument in the initial email for I require certain parameters to be met, so be looking for my email response that shall get the ball rolling. Anyone that attempts to short-change what I'm trying to do by sending in their proposed argument with their trivia answer shall be summarily disqualified. Why? Because it's my contest and I dislike people that can't follow simple directions.

We'll see how this plays out. If it's a success, we'll make it a permanent feature.

Rules: First person that emails in the correct answer and provides their home address from within the continental U.S. shall receive a hand-written letter from me. Previous winners are ineligible.

Question: What current working actor or actress' father was once the commissioner of Major League Baseball? I require the name of the thespian and the paternal unit as well.

Have a good weekend, and see you next time!
-BP