Movie Review: You Again (2010)

Year Produced: 2010
Director: Andy Fickman
Writer: Moe Jelline
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures

Cast:
Kristen Bell - Marni Olivia Olsen
Odette Yustman - Joanna Clark (J-J)
Jamie Lee Curtis - Gail Byer Olsen
Betty White - Grandma Bunny
James Wolk - Will Olsen
Victor Garber - Mark Olsen
Billy Unger - Ben Olsen
Sigourney Weaver - Ramona Clark (Mona)
Sean Wing - Charlie
Kyle Bornheimer - Tim

Special Appearance:
Dwayne Johnson - Air Marshal

Synopsis/Plot/Storyline:

Marni Olivia Olsen (Kristen Bell) was an ostracized teenager in high school and was constantly terrorized by the popular kids, led by a group of cheerleaders and their lead, J-J or Joanna Clark (Odette Yustman). She was constantly ridiculed of because of her initials; which spelt M-O-O and led a miserable life throughout high school. In one incident, she was dressed up as the school's mascot, Gator, for the school's basketball tournament in which her handsome and popular elder brother, Will, was playing in. As she was pushed over by J-J and the cheerleaders, she fell over and caused Will to miss his shoot. As a result of that incident, she was booed by the entire school and her brother was upset with her.
However, he forgave her quickly when she confided in him that she was being called a loser but refused his help when he said he would teach whoever called her that a lesson.

Marni soon grew out of her high school ways, and is now a highly publicized PR executive working for a big company in LA and was sharing her story with a bunch of new and eager PR personnels. She was promoted to a job in New York, and no longer looked like the acne-ridden, brace-wearing and bespectacled teenager as she was in school, but rather, an attractive young woman.
When Marni was informed of her brother, Will's (James Wolk) upcoming wedding, she boarded the flight home and was talking to her mother on the plane when she realized that her soon-to-be sister-in-law was actually her high school arch nemesis, J-J; the one who made her high school life a living hell.
She jumped in shock, forgetting that she was on a plane, and got into an argument with the air-stewardess until an Air Marshal (Dwayne Johnson in a cameo) calmed her.

She arrived home and was delighted to see her brother, who was excited to introduce her to his fiance. Marni dreaded the moment until she met Joanna in the kitchen, who turned and embraced her excitedly while telling her how she had been looking forward to meet and to get to know Will's little sister. It seemed that Joanna had forgotten about her, much to Marni's frustration. Marni tried to provoke Joanna's memory throughout dinner and also on various trips they took together with her brother.


Marni was upset to see how Joanna was getting along with her family, as even their home grown dog was more comfortable with Joanna and growled at Marni.

As Marni's mum, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) tried to assure Marni to accept Joanna into the family, she herself faced her own set of problems when she was introduced to Joanna's only relative, her wealthy aunt, Ramona (Sigourney Weaver), who was Gail's best-friend turned enemy in high school.
To her dismay, Ramona is now a successful woman, owning several exclusive hotels and even flies on her own private plane.

Although Gail assured herself and her family that she had put the past behind her, she tried, on several occasions, to prove that she could outdo Ramona; in a few hilarious scenes such as the rehearsal dance routine.

While Gail and Ramona continued their silent resentment for each other, Marni refused to let the past be hidden as she tried to inform her brother of who Joanna really is. In a car ride with Joanna and Will, Marni was convinced that Joanna really remembered who she was when she started singing the infamous song she used to terrorize her with back in high school.

Determined to uncover Joanna's real character, Marni confronted her and it was obvious that Joanne did remember her but still treated her with much disrespect as she just apologized casually when Marni demanded for an apology. It was then that the two started to declare a silent war with each other as they tried to outdo each other in their dance routine, together with Gail and Ramona.

Marni was surprised that Will's best man was her high school crush, jock Charlie (Sean Wing) but being nervous around him, she ended up humiliating herself in front of him, on several occasions.

Marni was even more upset when her Grandma Bunny (Betty White) seemed to fawn over Joanna instead of her.


However, she was delighted when they bumped into Tim, a man whom Joanna was not too pleased to meet on the streets.
Marni then sought the help of her younger brother, Ben (Billy Unger) to obtain the contents of the Time Capsule from her high school.


At the rehearsal dinner, Marni even invited Tim as her partner, much to Joanna's displeasure. When Tim went on stage to give his speech, he revealed that he and Joanna used to be engaged and that he left. Will was upset that he never did know about the incident, and that Joanna was hiding it from him.
To make matters worse, a video was played which revealed Joanna as a teenager in high school and how she was a big bully, to everyone's surprise.
The video made Will furious and he left, telling Joanna that he no longer knew who she was anymore.

While Marni was being fawned over by her family as they knew she was the victim, they were surprised when a man approached Marni to return her the video and they were shocked to discover that Marni was behind the whole incident.


When Marni tried to approach Joanna to talk about the whole thing and how she only wanted an apology, the two ended up in a heated argument and a cat fight, which was witnessed with disgust and disappointment by Will.


Marni and Joanna were not the only ones having a drama that night as Gail and Ramona appeared in similar outfits and then Ramona accused Gail of always trying to upstage her and they both ended up in a fight in which they both fell into the pool.


Ramona then revealed that she hated Gail, even when they were friends as she always outdid her and made her miserable in high school. She even blamed Gail for taking away the guy she had her eyes on to senior prom. However, Ramona also sarcastically thanked Gail for motivating her to her current success. Gail then apologized and that she had no idea that she was causing so much harm to Ramona, but tells her that she had always been proud of Ramona as a friend. Gail also mentioned that her family was her accomplishment, and Ramona told her that she was jealous of Gail's loving family when she herself had gone through several failed marriages. The two friends then reconciled their differences.

Marni found Joanna in the kitchen that night; binging on junk food and wallowing in her misery. She approached her and was surprised when Joanna admitted that she felt awful for being a bully to Marni back in high school and that she was always insecure as to whether her parents were proud of her. She then admitted how much she loved Will and that she had probably ruined everything. Marni forgave her after Joanna gave her the much awaited sincere apology, and she promised to help them get back together.


Marni pretended to be injured to get Will's attention and apologized to him, explaining the reason of her actions was so that she could protect him and Joanna really loved him.
As the two lovers reconcile in their tree house, Marni was talking to Ben on the lawn and was surprised when Ben told her that he had loosened the bolts on the tree house so that he could hide it from Will (Will wanted to take it to his new place after the wedding). Shortly after,the tree house collapsed, and Joanna and Will was injured and admitted to the hospital.

Joanna and Will's stay at the hospital delayed the wedding, but Marni then surprised Joanna with a wedding staged inside the hospital although both the bride and groom were bandaged and on crutches. Joanna thanked Marni, as it was the perfect wedding.
Her wedding planner seemed to be starting a romance with Tim, while Marni and Charlie were also depicted to be finally starting a romantic relationship.

As the party danced to the Hall & Oates performing, which was a wedding gift from Marni to the newlyweds, the movie ended.
During the credits, as a final twist to the ending, Joanna was shown to be introducing her own grandmother, Helen (Cloris Leachman) to Grandma Bunny. It appeared that Grandma Bunny and Helen were also high school rivals as Helen was seen to have stolen her boyfriend back then.
Grandma Bunny then stole the dancing partner from Helen and it seemed that another feud is about to unravel as the credits roll.

Christy's review:
Kristen Bell at her best here! Awesome performance, and the star-studded cast full of great veterans made the whole movie enjoyable.

Sure, the addition of several similar plots of all the leading ladies' old feuds, but it was still hilarious all the same.
Predictable story, and ending, but a light-hearted comedy to be enjoyed with the family and friends :)

Likes about the Movie:
Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and Betty White, or should I say the female cast in the leading roles? Awesome performances by all of them, and they have clearly overshadowed the men in this movie!
Great scenes of Marni and Joanna, whenever they stand up to each other; and the pursuing cat fights between them were just hilarious.

By the way, somehow Odette Yustman just looks like Megan Fox to me, in this movie :p


Dislikes about the movie:
Not much, except for the annoying wedding planner who seemed to making too much of an appearance most of the time and why does she have to speak in so many different languages when she addresses the crowd? Just plain weird to me, a little OTT over here...

The Verdict:
Watch the movie, and enjoy a good laugh!

Rating: 3/5

Movie Review: The Proposal (2009)

Year Produced: 2009
Director: Anne Fletcher
Producers: Todd Lieberman, Sandra Bullock, David Hoberman, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci,Kristin Burr
Written by: Pete Chiarelli
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures

Cast:
Sandra Bullock - Margaret Tate
Ryan Reynolds - Andrew Paxton
Mary Steenburgen - Grace Paxton
Betty White - Annie Paxton
Craig T. Nelson - Joe Paxton
Malin Akerman - Gertrude

Synopsis/Plot/Storyline:
Andrew Paxton(Ryan Reynolds) woke up late one morning and rushed to his office, where he reached in the nick of time before his boss gets in for work. Shortly, his boss, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) strides into the office, giving everyone a cold stare and it seemed that the atmosphere in the office changed from lively to dead quiet as Margaret walks in.
Being the book editor for a big NYC publishing company, Margaret seems to be the one to hold the fort in the office with Andrew as her assistant and definitely not one with a good relationship with her subordinates, let alone her co-workers.


That morning, Margaret sacked an editor, Bob Spaulding, who was being rude to her and she threatened to have him escorted out by the security guards. She then informed Andrew that he will need to work over the weekend with her, causing the poor guy to dismiss his plans to go home and celebrate his grandmother's birthday.

Margaret was then called into her bosses' office where she was informed that due to her leaving the country a few months earlier which sped up her visa's expiry which meant that she would be deported almost immediately and her position would be filled by the other editor, Bob, the guy she just fired. Desperate to retain her position and to stay in the country, she held onto Andrew who walked into the office at that moment to inform her of a phone call from a writer and she informed her bosses that she and Andrew will be getting married soon, to her bosses' and Andrew's surprise.


Margaret and Andrew then left the office to head over to the Immigration office to sort out her visa details, and she blackmailed a confused Andrew to just go along or lose his job.

At the immigration office, they were interviewed by Mr Gilbertson who seemed to have seen such situations before and remained skeptical over their relationship. Andrew then decided to play along, using promotion as his motivation and blackmail factor, and announced to the officer that they will be spending the weekend at his hometown to celebrate his grandmother's birthday and at the same time, announce their engagement to the family. Margaret was surprised but went along, when Andrew mentioned that his hometown is in Sitka, Alaska.

Once they are outside the Immigration office, Andrew makes his demands to have his manuscript published and be promoted or he will let the cat out of the bag, much to Margaret's displeasure. He then proceeded to make her propose to him in public; where she knelt down on her knees to ask him to marry her, in the middle of NYC! (Classic scene!)


They then traveled together that weekend to Sitka, Alaska, where Andrew's from and were greeted at the small airport by Andrew's mother, Grace (Mary Steenburgen) and grandmother, Annie (Betty White). As they drove through town, she was surprised to learn that Andrew's family was quite wealthy as they owned most of the businesses in town. Then she was also surprised when his mother mentioned that she had cancelled their hotel reservations and had planned for them to stay at home with the family.
Margaret was complaining about the small dingy which they had to take from the pier to get to Andrew's home, which she uncomfortably did so in her high heels, much to the amazement of Grandma Annie (or Gammy, as Andrew fondly calls her).

They arrive at the Paxton's home, which was a mansion and Margaret questions Andrew as to why he never mentioned he was rich and he said his family is rich, but he is not. Andrew was also surprised to see the whole town at his home in a welcoming party thrown by his family as he had been away for three years.


He was seen to be in an estranged relationship with his father, who seemed to look down on him. Frustrated, Andrew proceeded to announce his engagement to Margaret and the two proceeded to spin a story about how they met and how Andrew proposed (another classic scene!)

As the crowd cheered, they were applauded and forced to kiss in front of everyone (very funny!)
Margaret then also met Andrew's high school sweetheart, Gertrude (Malin Akerman).

The couple were then led to their room; which Grace had prepared and was a huge bedroom with an awesome view of the lake. That night, Margaret made Andrew sleep on the floor while she tosses uncomfortably in her bed to avoid the sunlight which was the norm even during night in Alaska.
The next morning, they woke up to a Margaret's phone ringing and as she tries frantically to get a signal, she ran downstairs and out of the house, followed by the family's cute little puppy. The eagle swooped down and took the dog, leaving Margaret frantic to get it back.

When the eagle releases the puppy, it took Margaret's phone instead (she was in the middle of a conversation)!
Then Andrew told Margaret to get dressed as his family wanted to bring her to some place.

It turned out that Margaret was led to a bar with a stripper performing and Margaret was given a lap dance which she was uncomfortable with. At the same time, Andrew and his father proceeded to have an argument and his father tried to apologize but he wouldn't accept.

Back at home, Margaret was taking a shower when she realized that she had forgotten her towel and tried to run out to get it and run into Andrew who was also completely naked! (This is another classic scene)
They both shared a light moment sharing her heart's contents that night as they both lay to sleep.

The next morning, they awoke to Grace bringing them breakfast, and the two pretended to snuggle in bed before she arrives. Grace then suggested that they should get married the next day in the barn where he and his dad got married, and Grandma persuaded them by saying that she wanted to see her grandchild before she's dead.

Margaret was touched by the kindness shown by Grandma and Grace when she was kidnapped to try on Grandma's wedding gown. She then rushed to tell Andrew that she is worried about what would happen to his family; particularly his mother and grandmother if they were to find out about their lie and Andrew assured her that it will fine, but accidentally caused her to fall overboard the speedboat. He rescued her and the two returned to the mansion.

They arrived to find that the Mr Gilberson, the Immigration officer had arrived and informed that he had contacted Andrew's father to discuss about what he believed to be the reason for their engagement. Andrew then announced that they are to be married the next day.


The next day, Margaret was wearing Gammy's wedding gown and was walked down the aisle by Gammy to Andrew. However, at the altar, Margaret broke down and confessed, to Mr. Gilbertson's delight who informed her that she has 24 hours to pack before she is deported back to Canada. Andrew tried to run after Margaret but was stopped by his father. It was then that Gammy collapsed, and thinking that it was a heart attack, they rushed her on the plane to the hospital where she made Andrew and his father promising to bury the hatchet. She then revealed that she was faking her heart attack to make them reconcile.

In the last scene, Margaret was packing her stuffs in the office and Andrew arrives, begging her to stay and confessing that he had fallen in love with her and proposed to her. They then kissed , to the applause of their colleagues in the office.
They informed Mr Gilbertson that they are engaged, and for real this time!

Christy's review:
Alright, usually I don't really believe in short flings and how people could just fall in love within such a short time (that's me), but this movie, I will make an exception.
I have lost count over the number of times/scenes which made me hold my stomach and laugh, as it just keeps getting better!
If there is a movie to just purely entertain and yet maintain a little romance in the category of rom com, this would definitely be it!
I am a huge fan of the leads; and they definitely proved their capabilities all right in this movie!

Likes about this movie:
Any scene on Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in it; there is never a dull moment whenever they are around!

There are so many classic scenes:
1. Immigration office whereby Andrew mentioned Sitka and Margaret was surprised but yet went along.
2. Andrew blackmailing Margaret into proposing to him on the streets, of NYC! She got down on her knees (Definitely the best scene ever!)
3. Margaret, in her heels trying to get down from a steep ladder and Andrew trying to grab her butt
4. They were forced to kiss in front of everyone
5. Them running naked into each other
6. Margaret waving the cute little puppy in the air to get the eagle's attention
7. The cute little puppy!
8. The awesome view of the lake and Alaska

Dislikes about this movie:
Nothing; in fact, the movie is too short, as I was just enjoying it too much!

The Verdict:
Watch, watch, watch! Even I have watched it three times already, and it's still so good!

Rating: 4/5