Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Slacker Jeff lives in his mother's basement, waiting for a sign. He imagines the signs to appear and tell him what to do, because he has watched the film Signs. Repeatedly.

So, on one particular day, when someone calls the house looking for a Kevin, Jeff believes that this is what he has been waiting for. He is supposed to get glue to fix his mother's shutters but gets distracted by a guy in a basketball jersey with the name Kevin on it. From there he follows the Kevins he sees (on a candy deliver truck, say) while at the same time, together with his brother Pat, trying to find out whether Pat's wife Linda is having an affair.

Their mother has her own awkward day in the office when a 'secret admirer' contacts her via instant message. After lots of confusion Jeff and Pat are in a cab following Linda's car and end up in the same traffic jam as the mother, who is about to go to New Orleans on a whim with the admirer. While they are all waiting for an accident to be cleared up, Jeff has an epiphany and runs to the sight of the accident and jumps in the water to help a family whose car has gone over the side of the bridge. He saves two little girls and their father named - wait for it - Kevin.

Nice little movie, even for someone (like myself) who does not get the infatuation with Jason Segel.

6/10

Gulliver's Travels

This film had me worried that Jack Black might go the way of Adam Sandler - appearing in films of constantly declining quality. He seems to have found his footing again (recently starring in the promising looking Bernie, which I will report on as soon as I have seen it), but Gulliver's Travels was one of his low points.

It starts off with Gulliver, who works in the mail room of a newspaper in NYC and is in love with the travel writer Darcy, handing in a sample of his 'writing'. Of course, he copied everything out of various guide books and websites. Anyway, he gets immediately sent off to a three week boat trip to Bermuda. And I mean immediately.

The infamous Bermuda Triangle takes you straight to Lilliput, apparently. There, being bigger than anyone else and coming from a (at least technically) more advanced society, he tells tall tales and beats off the villainous armada that repeatedly tries to kidnap the princess to become a lauded hero. He proceeds to behave like a giant tool and recreates time square plastered with billboards of himself (among other ridiculous, non-funny feats).

Of course, the guy the princess is supposed to marry does not buy a word Gulliver says (there is always that one non-believer in a comedy, isn't there). He goes over to the dark side and ends up blowing Gulliver's web of lies. Subsequently he gets shipped off to some mysterious, scary place, where he himself is suddenly the small person.

When Darcy - pissed off at having to do the Bermuda assignment herself now, despite her seasickness - is captured by the evil forces now running Lilliput, Gulliver's only friend comes to get him back and together they save kind and country.

Lame and painfully void of humor, which is doubly shameful as a shitload of money obviously went into this project.

<sad-headshake>

2/10