CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT

Because I am too lazy to write up a plot summary, here's a link to the wikipedia page that describes last night's (and possibly greatest) episode of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's masterpiece television series South Park.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat,_Pray,_Queef

Now that you've read what the episode comprised of, let me just say, if you haven't seen it, it's funnier than you can ever imagine it actually being. Last night's episode was so funny, that it was almost impossible to laugh out loud. I've watched it twice now, and upon my second viewing, my shock had somewhat worn off, and I was able to laugh out a loud a bit more.

It's damn near impossible to truly call out one episode of South Park as being the "greatest" or "best" episode of the series. What Parker and Stone created over 10 years ago has grown into something very special -- and American comedy that both pushes the limits of what's acceptable from a cable broadcasting perspective, and a show that dares to look at and poke at all of the taboos that our society has deemed to be innapropriate. The level of satire on the show is stunning; it's ferociously funny at times, always smart and knowing, and totally deranged. When it comes to their art, Parker and Stone just don't give a flying fuck about anyone. Even themselves.

South Park, much like The Simpsons, has been a pop-culture staple for over a decade now, and it's just incredible to think that Parker and Stone have continuosuly upped their game, year after year, season after season. I hope they never get tired of creating this brilliant show. Characters such as Randy Marsh, Cartman, Mr. Mackey, and Mr. Garrison are some of the funniest, wittiest, subversive creations ever formed.

Last night's episode was a tour de force of idiocy, but the amazing thing about it (and all of their work) is that they are ALWAYS able to work in some sort of societal message in between all of the farting, puking, queefing, and swearing that the various characters revel in. There's always a point, always a greater message, always something more than just surface craziness.

I love South Park. Love it. I simply don't understand how anyone could ever watch this show and NOT think it was funny and/or brilliant. Takes all kinds I guess.

BEST OF THE DECADE

It's going to be really cool when all of the nation's critics start unleashing their "best of the decade" lists at the end of this year. I have been going back over my lists from years past, and I will be posting my top 10's from each of the years this past decade over the next few weeks. Should be some fun to take a look back. Hopefully some good conversations will follow.

SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

I just caught a glimpse of this poster for Steven Soderbergh's upcoming indie flick The Girlfriend Experience at www.hollywood-elsewhere.com Amazing website, by the way. If you don't visit, you should start.

The film is a candid look at the life of a high-priced NYC escort, played by adult film star Sasha Grey. Shot in less than a month and for around a million bucks, this is another one of Soderbergh's experimental endeavors that he likes to sneak in between larger projects. If it's anything like his last avant garde effort, Bubble, than we're in for another great piece of filmmaking.

I love this poster. Love it. It's easily one of the most striking movie posters I've seen in years.

MEDIEVAL LUNACY

It's like these people just keep creating movies that seem to be tailor made for me.

Per Variety:

James Franco is joining Danny McBride in "Your Highness," the Universal Pictures comedy to be directed by David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express"). Scott Stuber is producing through his U-based Stuber Co. Pic begins production July 20 in Belfast. Stuber, McBride and Green set the project at U last year (Daily Variety, May 30). Scripted by McBride and Ben Best ("Eastbound & Down"), the comedy follows two spoiled and arrogant princes in a medieval fantasy setting. When an evil wizard casts a spell on their father and kidnaps the older prince's fiance, they're forced to go on a quest to save their family and the kingdom. Stuber Co.'s Jon Mone, McBride and Mark Huffam are executive producers. Franco starred for Green in Columbia Pictures comedy "Pineapple Express," which also starred McBride. Last seen in "Milk," Franco plays poet Allen Ginsberg in the Rob Epstein/Jeffrey Friedman-directed "Howl."

REVIEW: I LOVE YOU, MAN (***1/2)

If your goal is to make a funny movie, it really does help when your cast includes Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Jaime Presley, Andy Samberg, Jane Curtin, Jay Chandrasekhar, Ben Garant, and Lou Ferrigno. I Love You, Man (***1/2), from director John Hamburg, is the first laugh-out-loud movie I have seen this year. The script, by Hamburg and co-writer Larry Levin, is a clever romantic comedy that gets to play with its genre conventions a bit. It's not going to win awards and it's not a great piece of cinema, but if you're looking for some hearty laughs, look no further than this crowd pleaser.

Rudd is Peter Klaven, an ultra-nice, real estate guy who is engaged to the adorable Zooey (Jones). Problem is, Peter has been a girl-friend man all his life, and as a result, he doesn't have a solid group of guy friends to hang out and develop his masculinity with. Spurred on by Zooey to meet a cool new friend, Peter goes on a series of awkward (and often hilarious) blind dates in an effort to find a best friend, and ultimately, a best man for his wedding. I hate using the already annoying pop-culture term "bromance," but that's basically what this movie becomes after Peter meets the scruffy man of his dreams, Sidney Fife, played with natural, laconic ease and charm by Segel. Segel, who was in last year's good-hearted raunch-fest Forgetting Sarah Marshall, has impeccable timing and delivery, and he and Rudd are a great team. Sidney is everything that Peter isn’t – outgoing, sloppy but somehow contained, sexually aggressive, and just a tad crazy. Watching them develop their friendship is the movie's highlight, and the inclusion of Ferrigno (playing himself and poking fun at his Hulk persona a bit) as Peter's top-client, is an inspired bit of writing and casting. All of the supporting actors nail their scenes, with Favreau, Simmons, and Samberg really standing out. In fact, some of the film's funniest material belongs to Favreau and Presley as a bickering married couple who are constantly at odds with each other.

Some of the humor is of the gross-out variety, and some of it revolves around sexual practices, so, yes, there is a definite juvenile streak that I Love You, Man revels in. The film does feel cut from the Apatow cloth; nothing impressive is done with the camera, the performers have clearly been allowed to improvise, and you end up laughing so hard that you miss a few of the jokes. The script throws in a few surprises here and there, but you definitely can tell where it's going. By now, Rudd has proven himself to be a capable supporting player, but in this flick he really busts out and delivers the goods. He was funny in last year’s slightly underwhelming Role Models, and he stole the show in Knocked Up. But here, Rudd really comes alive. Hamburg's last directorial effort, the lame-ass Along Came Polly with Ben Stiller, Jennifer Anniston, and a ferret, was a film that I pretty much detested, except for the presence of an extremely disheveled Philip Seymour Hoffman as an aging child television star. The humor in I Love You, Man feels more real and honest than in the super-contrived Along Came Polly. Hamburg, who also co-wrote Zoolander and Meet the Parents, is obviously a talented guy, and for the first time as a director, he's brought it all together. This is the kind of movie that you see in the theater, laugh your ass off with, and then grab the DVD when it hits the previously-viewed bin so that you can catch all the stuff you missed the first time around because you were laughing too hard.

26 MORE EPISODES

NBC and Directv have worked out a deal to bring back Friday Night Lights for another two seasons, with 13 episodes per year.

Yes, those are tears of joy running down my face.

QUICK COMMENTS

I Love You, Man is the first laugh out loud movie I have seen this year. Often hysterical and always enjoyable, it's a very entertaining comedy.

Duplicity is a movie for people who like to engage their brain while sitting in a movie theater. The script is pretty ingenious and the dialogue is really strong. Clive Owen is the coolest of cats and Julia Roberts was extremely sexy.

Full reviews to come for both, but in short, I really liked both of these flicks.