Crazy, Stupid, Loving it anyway.

I've had a majorly intensive week so far and decided to reward myself (slash, just take a minute to breathe) by going to see the latest Rom-Com to hit the screens. Crazy, Stupid, Love features an all-star cast made up of Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell, Emma Stone, and Julianne Moore with Kevin Bacon and Marisa Tomei guest starring. The film centres around Carrell as the hapless Cal Weaver who is unwillingly told his wife Emily (Moore) is having an affair and therefore wants a divorce. What then transpires I think is a witty storyline that most writers would dream of coming up with.

Cal meets the charismatically cool Jacob Palmer (Gosling) at a local bar where he is uninvitingly told that he is a poor excuse of a man and Jacob is here to sort him out. And sort him out he does. Cal goes through the typical male resurrection from blubbering mess to brazen ladies man. On the side, we're introduced to Hannah, a suave, intelligent student about to sit the Bar test. With her extremely funny side kick (who I personally think does not get enough screen time in this film), she meets Jacob in the same bar Cal frequents but does not fall for his whims like all the other girls Jacob encourages Cal to practice on.

For a while, you think you know exactly where the film is heading - Cal gets his balls back + sleeps around + realises what he's missing = goes running back to the wife who incidentally enough, has had enough of being a single woman. Add to this Jacob throws his weight around pretending to be this awesome player + meets girl who changes him + falls in love = lives happily ever after. Done deal. Now quite. The film is much more complicated than that and as a result, much more entertaining.

Intersecting the subplots of Cal's son's devastating crush on his babysitter, said babysitter's crush on Cal, the various interactions between Emily and the man who broke up her marriage (Bacon), and you have a slightly distracting narrative which carries you a long right until THE BIGGEST TWIST I HAVE EVER SEEN IN A FILM SINCE I CAN REMEMBER!!!

I'm not going to reveal what it is because I don't believe it spoilers but trust me when I say this, its worth watching. Other elements of the film that are worth watching is the great balance between exploring contentious issues (stalking, child pornography, infidelity) whilst adding comedy to the mix. The script is well versed and the producers have done well to obtain a great cast that know how to deliver comedy. Gosling was an interesting choice for this one but I think its his conviction within his character to remain true to type set against the more slapsticky-comics of Stone and Carrell that makes him brilliant too. A final touch to the film is the fact that it doesn't get preachy - no one is "punished" for their actions and most things go back to how they began, with some major memories to boost. The film for me was a refreshing example of what the rom-com is designed to do and filmmakers abound should take note of its ingenuity.

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation

Turn up the bass and prepare to blast your speakers because this has got to be one of the best opening sequences I have seen in a movie for a long time.

The final chapter in my Cinema Studies major ends with Australian Cinema, an in-depth look at the history of our nation's most unique and exciting art form with an indigenous twist. Most of the films we have seen so far have had an indigenous focus which I have appreciated however, my intention for studying the course was to finally see some of Australia's greatest film works and learn about the creatives behind them such as Peter Weir and Picnic At Hanging Rock (admittedly we did study Peter Weir and The Last Wave).

The course has now moved into the beginning of the end of the Renaissance period, a time where government policy allowed for a direct injection private funding for Australian filmmakers which resulted in the "Ozploitation" era. Ozploitation was a term coined by the enigmatic Quentin Tarantino who was a massive fan of the films in the 1970s and credits them for his success to date. The "genre" (this term is contested by some) is defined by excess; in sex, drugs, violence, blood, anything you can think of. The result was hundreds of films made with very low budgets, low production values, which were considered by some, such as Philip Adams, to be considered "trash" and not worth the breath of a critic.

Not Quite Hollywood is a celebration of all of these films. Written and directed by Mark Hartley, the film clearly reflects the 10 years of research he undertook and is incredibly well conceived. It features numerous interviews with some of the era's best known personalities (Brian Trenchard-Smith, Antony I. Ginnane, Barry Humphries and Philippe Mora to name a few) as well as hundreds of outtakes from the films themselves. I am in no way a fan of this style of film at all. I much prefer pleasant photography, classy characters, and normal narrative (yes, I am a purist and a boring person). However, after watching Hartley's film, I have a renewed appreciation for the effort these guys put into essentially, saving the Australian film industry from extinction. My bra, in true Ozploitation style, goes off to you boys.

Bad Teacher. Good Film

I was lucky enough to win a double pass to see Cameron Diaz's latest flick, Bad Teacher, in which she plays possibly one of the bet characters I have seen on screen in a long time. 

The film centers around Elizabeth Halsey, your typical, dysfunctional 21st center who doesn't see fault in the old-fashioned tradition of having a man take care of you financially. In fact, she actually encourages it. The film opens onto her expected engagement to an absolutely drip of a man who's balls a clearly the possession of his wealthy mother, the only attraction she has being his hefty back pocket. When the engagement is broken off, Elizabeth is forced to return to her day job as a teacher, a profession which demands passion and commitment, neither of which she has any time for. Elizabeth's belief is that her inability to find a husband is due to her flat chest and so she embarks on the egotistical journey towards raising enough funds to 'enhance her assets'. A new potential at work in the form of Justin Timberlake motivates her towards her goal whilst her arch nemesis Amy (played by the hilarious Lucy Punch) puts the perfect number of obstacles in her way to pace the film. 

There is so much wrong with Elizabeth. She's rude; ignorant; manipulative; and incredibly self-centred. But you can't help loving her. For all her negative qualities are incredibly human, strikingly so I would say, and what I love is that she doesn't change by the end of the film. The directors and writers allowed her to get away with her horrible antics and for that I am truly surprised and grateful. 

Bad Teacher has a number of horrible messages and at the same time, a fair few that are incredibly real: if you're true to yourself, not a lot of people may be interested; however, one day you will have your moment. Being a perfectionist doesn't always get the results you're wanting; but you do need to work hard to achieve your goals. It's good to have standards; but you also need to know when to drop them. 

Finally, I believe the best message the film promotes is the idea that above all, life is an ever-evolving process, whether you're conscious of it or not is not important. It's whether you can accept it. 

It's not a great film and there are many awkward moments. I think it could have been improved if the narrative had occurred in a shorter space of time as opposed to the year it was dragged out to. But the acting is spot on and the causation honest and true to the inner story. An enjoyable film with some good moments.