A Day Without a Mexican (2004)

Director: Sergio Arau

Writers: Sergio Arau, Yareli Arizmendi, Sergio Guerrero

Composer: Juan Colomer

Starring: Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Muse Watson, Caroline Aaron, Maureen Flannigan, Tony Abateamrco

More info: IMDb

Tagline: On May 14 there will be no Mexicans in California.

Plot: When a mysterious fog surrounds the boundaries of California, there is a communication breakdown and all the Mexicans disappear, affecting the economy and the state stops working missing the Mexican workers and dwellers.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No (but with that little wavy line above the 'o' making it all foreign looking and shit).

What sounds like a one joke movie ends up being...a one joke movie.  It's not a simple as that but a lot of the gags are those that practically write themselves once you begin with the premise that all Latinos in the state suddenly disappear without a trace.  There are different types of jokes so there's a possibility that some might work for you.  The ones that landed for me that got laughs were the ones that came out of nowhere like suddenly cutting to a gas powered leaf blower spinning on the ground in a circle or a driverless car with the front end bouncing across the screen and a car horn playing La Cucaracha.  That never gets old.   What does get old is the rest of the film that doesn't work for the same reason that telling the same joke many times in a row doesn't work.  The concept probably worked better on paper but extending it to 95 minutes is a tall order.  There's an obvious social commentary going on here but it's also such a simple and obvious one that it can be told much more succinctly in a less boring way.  This would make a hilarious 20 minute comedy and it would still be able to get the point across.  The thing is, I can't see this movie converting anyone from the anti-immigrant camp.  This movie was made, I'd reckon, for those of us who are on the immigrant's side and it misses the mark by overdoing it.

The Grand (2007)

Director: Zak Penn

Writers: Zak Penn, Mat Bierman

Composer: Stephen Endelman

Starring: Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Dennis Farina, Cheryl Hines, Richard Kind, Chris Parnell, Werner Herzog, Jason Alexander, Ray Romano, Mike Epps, Judy Greer, Gabe Kaplan, Michael Karnow, Michael McKean, Julie Claire, Barry Corbin, Shannon Elizabeth, Estelle Harris, Andrew Hill Newman, Andrea Savage, Hank Azaria, Brett Ratner, David Pressman, Tom Hodges, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A comedy about the fine art of losing

Plot: Woody Harrelson stars as One-Eyed Jack Faro, a not-quite-fully-rehabbed gambler, party monster, and serial marry-er hoping to save his late grandfather's hotel-casino by winning $10 million cash at The Grand Championship Of Poker. But first he'll have to beat a Vegas field of geeks, gurus, online amateurs, greedy developers, ruthless housewives, old-school pros and more of the top players in the world for the largest prize in poker history.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Hey, kids, when's the last time you saw Gabe Kaplan in anything?  I know, right?  It's been forever and six weeks.  Looking at his credits, this is the last thing he's been in and that was only the 9th screen project since his classic 70s show, WELCOME BACK, KOTTER.  I love this guy.  He needs to be seen (by me) more.  Oh, yeah, the picture.  It's pretty damn funny.  It's well cast and everyone gets their moments of funny.  Word on the street is most of this mockumentary was improvised.  At an hour and forty minutes this thing flies by super quick.  The pacing is amazing.  It's a fun picture even if you're not a fan of poker or watching poker tournaments.  That's just a means of getting these folks together.  The two commentators are hilarious.  Hell, the whole cast is fun but Kaplan, Farina and Corbin had me laughing out loud.  The Anchor Bay DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen print with lots of extras (YAY) including a commentary from the director and his writing partner, an alternate ending (with optional commentary), deleted scenes (with optional commentary), select scenes with commentary from Zak Penn along with some of the main cast, Player Profiles which is a couple of minutes of each character introducing themselves as they did in the film but from outtakes (VERY funny), and the theatrical and TV trailers (both anamorphic widescreen).  You can get it new on Amazon for $4 and free shipping (Prime).  It's an easy blind buy. 

The Making of '...And God Spoke' (1993)

Director: Arthur Borman

Writers: Arthur Borman, Mark Borman, Greg Malins, Michael Curtis

Composer: John Massari

Starring: Michael Riley, Stephen Rappaport, Soupy Sales, Lou Ferrigno, Eve Plumb, Tamara Mello, Ashlie Rhey, Monique Parent, Lisa Comshaw, Daniel Tisman, Andy Dick

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The World Was Created In Six Days. It Was Beautiful. But It Was Way Over Budget!

Plot: A documentary on the making of a big budget Bible picture. This is a spoof that shows the inside action on a film set where everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Pre-dating Christopher Guest's directorial mockumentaries, this picture has a lot going for it.  It's definitely got the look and feel of a documentary made on a film that's in production.  They did an outstanding job on that which includes the editing.  The performances are very good as is the casting, writing and so on.  The ONE thing that disappointed me was the laughs.  It was the kind of picture that I knew early on was going to be hilarious only it wasn't.  I laughed a little but as a whole, it was more amusing satire than laugh out loud funny.  It's possible that the filmmakers held back on the performances a little or the editing and so on in order to keep it more realistic. I don't doubt that a lot of this picture is based on real people and experiences in the film industry.  There are stupid people in every walk of life and profession but Hollywood seems inundated with people who desperately think they're creative but aren't.  I recommend checking this out.  It's definitely worth a look despite its shortcomings of lacking the gut-busters but it is fun and amusing in its own way.