Review: 'Life Partners' starring Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs

We've seen so many comedies about co-dependent female BFFs (Do guys call one another BFFs? Never.) dealing with the realities of adulthood that they've become a genre unto themselves. The festival circuit loves them, and they have found a niche in the indie market where they are practically unavoidable. Many of them follow the same peaks and valleys, the same romantic entanglements, the same life responsibilities intruding on an unbreakable bond. So when a film like Life Partners comes along that tries to go in a somewhat different direction than the norm, a direction grounded in emotional truth, it's worth giving notice to.

Seeing the benefit of two terrific leads in Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs, the film always feels like we're being let in on the private conversations of two people living in their own little world. Maybe that's because director and co-writer Susanna Fogel wrote the script with her best buddy, Jodi Lefkowitz, basing it on their experiences together. So the inside jokes and relationship quirks have a personal, lived-in quality that is consistently engaging, even when the demands of plot steer into familiar territory.

Paige (Jacobs) is the grown up of the duo, or seemingly so. She's the one with the career and a life trajectory headed upwards, while unmotivated Sasha (Meester) has dreams of being a musician but finds herself stuck in a dead-end receptionist job. The two are basically kindred spirits; they've been together so long that they finish one another's sentences, laugh at the same stupid jokes, watch the same bad reality TV, and share the same friends. Of course, being so tied to one person tends to be a hurdle for building healthy relationships with others, and when the two women begin pursuing romantic relationships with others, the results are understandably hit-or-miss.

What thankfully doesn't become an issue, at least not an overtly stated one, is that of Sasha's sexuality. She's a lesbian with a veritable army of histrionic gay friends and past sexual conquests, but at no point does Fogel take us down the "does she secretly love Paige" route that simpler comedies would have. Instead, we see their friendship tested by common concerns faced by all close-knit friends at some point. Paige hooks up with Tim (Adam Brody) and despite his being pretty milquetoast, she begins to fall for him. As she falls deeper into her relationship with Tim, Sasha is left on her own to deal with bad dates, cranky exes, and to wallow in her personal misery. The wedge grows between them as Paige contemplates marriage and a completely new life with Tim, while Sasha is stuck acting like she's 20 rather than nearing 30.

Familiar, right? Sure it is, and while Fogel may paint the supporting characters in broad strokes she doesn't with Paige and Sasha. Neither woman is perfectly happy, and they have their share of hang-ups. Paige may be the more responsible of the two on the surface, but she's also got a petty streak which we see play out in a legal dispute with a neighbor. Sasha is like a lot of people lost in trying to discover who they were truly meant to be, and fearful that it may never happen. The best scenes in the film are when the Paige and Sasha are together cracking jokes to deflect from their problems. If Meester and Jacobs aren't friends in reality you could have fooled me; they get along like pals straight from the womb. On the other hand, Adam Brody continues to be damage nearly every film he's in. Partly it's the characters he plays, who are always that Hollywood kind of "geeky cool" that doesn't actually exist. This has been an issue ever since The O.C. and Brody never grew out of it. Here, he plays a character whose defining traits are that he loves The Big Lebowski and wears t-shirts with messages on them.

With a great cast and witty script, Life Partners delivers with a personal touch a universal story of friendship and growing up.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Review: 'The Judge' starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall

It's a shame we don't get to see more of Robert Downey Jr.'s swaggering ways outside of playing Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes, because boy is he fun to watch. He's so good that even movies like The Judge which are totally predictable, a little overwrought, and frankly a little bit outdated, are a genuine pleasure to watch. And when matched up with the great Robert Duvall, snarling at one another like a couple of combative bulls, The Judge more often than not exceeds its conventional trappings into purely enjoyable popcorn fare.

With Downey there's always going to be a little bit of Tony Stark in every performance, and right away we see the brash arrogance that undoubtedly hides a heart of gold within big city lawyer, Hank Palmer. After a troubled childhood Hank escaped his small town roots and made something of himself as a high-priced defense attorney. "Innocent people can't afford me", he tells the schlub of a prosecutor (David Krumholtz) who has probably lost to him on more than one occasion. But a sudden phone call with a tragic message sends Hank racing back to Carlinville, Indiana for his mother's funeral and an unwanted reunion with his father, tough-as-nails Judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall).  With a script by the writers of Clint Eastwood's curmudgeonly turn in Gran Torino, it's no wonder Joseph is so darn ornery. He's the kind of guy who believes in old school, All-American values. Joseph is tough but fair in the courtroom, but not so much to his own son who he deems as a troublemaker and failure. So when they are reunited there aren't a lot of hugs. Or no hugs at all, actually. If there's a compliment from Joseph it's of the back-handed sort.

Those old values were never Hank's thing, and he can't wait to leave town and the bad memories behind until Joseph is suddenly charged with a murder. He can't remember what happened; can't remember much lately it seems, and Hank decides to stick around and defend his old man who is either very ill, a murderer and liar, or has fallen of the wagon. Or perhaps all three. Directed by David Dobkin, who also had a hand in developing the story, The Judgehas a hard time getting out of its own way thematically. A big problem is the sheer number of subplots, each of wildly ranging tones that crush a fairly simple story under their weight. Hank pities his pathetic older brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), a former baseball prospect now just an average working stiff; and his autistic younger bro Dale (Jeremy Strong), the "Fredo" of the family. Hank has a young daughter back home and is about to get a divorce from his cheating wife, but that's okay because an old flame resurfaces in Samantha (Vera Farmiga), owner of the town's most popular restaurant. Oh, and she has a daughter (Leighton Meester) who may be Hank's, although that situation is awkward in more ways than one.  You could probably get two or three movies out of all that, but The Judge tries to fit them all into a package just over two hours long, and it's a tough gig to pull off.

Dobkin is best known for directing comedies like Wedding Crashers andFred Claus, and he's clearly more comfortable when handling the many humorous beats. He's less steady when expressing the dramatic themes, and oversells them to make sure we "get" it. A massive thunderstorm erupts just as family tension reaches a boiling point; Hank and Joseph argue angrily and stomp away in opposite directions with the camera practically screaming "Look at the gulf between them!!” These are problems caused by inexperience handling issues of actual weight, and Dobkin isn't served well by a soundtrack that is begging you to tear up. Photographed beautifully by Janusz Kaminski (Schindler's List), the film strikes a perfectly homey image of America through the lens of Norman Rockwell.

Tonal issues aside, The Judge is saved by the performances of Downey and Duvall, two great actors with more in common than one would think. There's a certain level of showmanship in both men, each getting their chances to either chew scenery or strum at a heart string. Duvall really shines as the film goes along and we learn more of Hank's predicament, while Downey is consistently motor-mouthed throughout. They're difficult roles to play because neither Hank nor Joseph is immediately sympathetic. It takes time for the actors to earn that from us, but they eventually do. The courtroom scenes, on the other hand, are no different than anything you'd find on an episode of Law & Order, with the exception of Billy Bob Thornton as a mustache-twirling prosecutor played by Billy Bob Thornton. Why not just stamp "bad guy" on his forehead?

The Judge is too busy for its own good and tries too hard to play with our emotions, but as solidly entertaining family drama it's guilty as charged.

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Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs are 'Life Partners' in New Trailer

What happens when a new love threatens to break up a long-term friendship? Director Susanna Vogel used her friendship with co-writer Joni Lefkowitz as the inspiration for Life Partners, a new dramedy starring Leighton Meester and Gillian Jacobs. They play co-dependent best friends Sasha (Meester) and Paige (Jacobs) who see their bond tested when the latter hooks up with a new boyfriend played by Adam Brody, who happens to be Meester's real-life husband. But as the newly-released trailer shows, there's a lot more going on here than just some Yoko Ono situation with Brody threatening to break up the band. Sasha's sexuality plays a part in the brewing tension between the women and it looks to be depicted honestly and with a touch of humor.

Debuting at Tribeca to solid reviews, Life Partners is set to hit VOD on November 6th before opening theatrically December 5th. Check out the synopsis and trailer below.


Life Partners Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs Movie HD. by TrailerNow

SYNOPSIS: At 29, the most long-term relationship Sasha (Leighton Meester) and Paige (Gillian Jacobs) have ever been in is with each other, using their co-dependent friendship as an excuse not to venture out into the dating world alone. But when Paige meets nerdy Tim (Adam Brody) and starts to get serious for the first time, the nature of their friendship begins to shift. Fearing she’s being cast aside, Sasha tries to keep their relationship the same, but does growing up also mean growing apart?

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Robert Downey Jr. Goes to Court in First Trailer for 'The Judge'

The Iron Man and Avengers movies may pay the bills, but when there's a break in his schedule Robert Downey Jr. is dabbling in projects that don't involve superpowers. He recently took time out for an extended cameo in Chef, the small-budget film from his Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, which is doing gangbusters (for an art house film, anyway) at the box office. He also agreed to star in The Judge, a courtroom drama that Downey has previously said has one of the best scripts he'd ever read.

The question is whether audiences will be as interested in him when not in the role of Tony Stark. Certainly, The Judge isn't going to make $1B or anything like that, but at least judging by the first trailer it may earn Downey some awards attention. Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) and featuring a solid cast of Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Melissa Leo, David Krumholtz, Leighton Meester, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton, the story follows a slick big-city lawyer called back home upon learning of his mother's death. Only when he returns he discovers it's his estranged father, who happens to be the town judge, accused of her murder.

Not only is this something of a change of pace for Downey, but also for Dobkin who is best known for helming comedies. There's certainly a good bit of humor here, as well, along with mystery and family drama elements making for an ambitious combination. Whether it all comes together for The Judge we'll have to wait until October 10th to find out.


The Judge - The Official Trailer HD by thecinemasource

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Dane DeHaan Joins 'Life After Beth'; Kevin Costner In 'Midnight Delivery'; 'Veronica Mars' Adds Gaby Hoffmann

* After a lengthy delay, the horror comedy Life after Beth finally began rolling. John C. Reilly and Aubrey Plaza have been attached since the beginning, and now as production begins we're learning of one more big addition. Dane DeHaan has joined the cast, fresh off wrapping up his Harry Osborn role in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Coming along with him is Paul Reiser (Mad About You), who will be playing DeHaan's father. The story, written and directed by Jeff Baena (I Heart Huckabees), has DeHaan as a young man who tries to continue his relationship with his girlfriend after she returns from the dead. [THR]

* Continuing the roll he's been on since playing Pa Kent in Man of Steel, Kevin Costner has now joined Midnight Delivery, co-written and by produced by Guillermo Del Toro. The film sounds an awful lot like Dwayne Johnson's Snitch, and has Costner as a father who must become a drug mule for a Colombian druglord in order to save his daughter. Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones) had been in line to direct, but he jumped ship to helm Passengers with Keanu Reeves. Neil Cross (Luther) co-wrote the script, and could be a solid candidate to step in before filming begins in the fall. [THR]

* As the Veronica Mars film heads to Comic-Con for what should be one raucous panel, show creator Rob Thomas is steady adding new faces to the cast. We already learned that James Franco would be appearing as himself, and now we can expect to see Gaby Hoffmann as new character Ruby Jetson. Hoffmann, who I'll always be fond of for movies like Uncle Buck and 200 Cigarettes, can be seen right now starring with Michael Cera in Crystal Fairy. Thomas has done a pretty good job getting all of the show's cast together, but unfortunately he couldn't work out the schedule with Leighton Meester, who played pop star Carrie Bishop for a couple of episodes. So her role has been filled by Twin Sister lead singer, Andrea Estella.

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Sure Shots: Catherine Hardwicke; Liam Hemsworth; Leighton Meester

* After venturing into tween territory with Twilight and Red Riding Hood, Catherine Hardwicke is back directing the sorts of tough youthful dramas that began her career. She recently completed her latest thriller, Plush, and has just lined up an adaptation of Karen Thompson Walker's best-selling, Oprah Book Club approved novel, The Age of Miracles. The story follows 10 year-old Julia, who awakens to discover that a natural phenomena has caused the earth's rotation to slow. The change stretches the days and nights, effects the gravity and begins to destroy everything in Julia's life. Seth Lockhead (Hanna) will adapt the script.

* Even though he's a key fixture in The Hunger Games franchise, and recently appeared in The Expendables 2, Liam Hemsworth has yet to match his big brother Chris by landing a blockbuster all his own. That could be changing as he's now set to star in The Raven, which thankfully has nothing to do with the awful John Cusack film. This one is directed by Ricardo de Montreui and based on his futuristic sci-fi short film, a conspiracy thriller about a man hunted for his supernatural powers.  Michael Gilio and Justin Marks will collaborate on the script, with Mark Wahlberg producing. [Deadline]

* Leighton Meester (The Roommate) and Jeremy Strong (Zero Dark Thirty) are the latest to join Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge, the comedy-drama directed by David Dobkin. Also starring Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Dax Shepard and Vincent D'Onofrio, the film follows a lawyer who returns home for his mother's funeral, only to discover that his father, an local judge, has become a suspect in her death. Meester will play Farmiga's daughter, while Strong is the younger brother to Downey and D'Onofrio.

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Trailer Time: 'The Oranges', starring Hugh Laurie and Leighton Meester

For awhile there it seemed as if we'd never get a release date for The Oranges, even as it debuted at last year's TIFF to some pretty good buzz. Word has been quiet on the film ever since, odd considering the level of talent involved, but now with an October release date approaching, we're getting a look at a new trailer which shows off a clever mix of humor, longing, and a touch of heartbreak.

Featuring a stellar cast that includes Hugh Laurie, Allison Janney, Leighton Meester, Oliver Platt, Adam Brody, Alia Shawkat, and Catherine Keener, the dramedy follows the suburban Wailing and Ostroff families. Neighbors and best friends for years, things get a little touchy when dad David Wailing(Laurie) falls for the Ostroff's daughter(Meester) when she returns home for Thanksgiving. Getting beyond the "ick" factor of seeing Dr. House making out with the Gossip Girl chick, their relationship has all the awkwardness and fresh excitement you'd expect. I can see the potential for this film to go a little over-the-top, but with a cast like this they should be able to keep it in check. Julian Farino(Entourage) is directing, with The Oranges set for a limited theatrical run on October 5th. Check out the trailer below....

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Trailer Time: 'That's My Boy', starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg

It's weird to think that Adam Sandler, still one of the most reliable box office draws on the planet, could be in desperate need of a comeback vehicle. A year that saw him starring or producing three critically reviled pieces of crap like Just Go With It, Jack & Jill, and Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star will do that for ya. Maybe that's why he's been sent scurrying back to the relative comfort of a Grown Ups sequel, and taking on a more vulgar role than normal in a movie like That's My Boy.

Thankfully shedding the unwieldy title of I Hate You, Dad, the film stars Sandler as Donny, an immature guy who fathered a son, Todd, (Andy Samberg) as a teenager. Raising him in the only way he knows how until the Todd turned 18 and left the house, Donny has continued with a carefree, responsibility free existence, not seeing his son for years. Until the IRS comes calling looking for back taxes, and Donny suddenly shows up on Todd's doorstep on the eve of his wedding looking to make amends....and hopefully borrow a few bucks.

A new red band trailer has been released, and basically it's Adam Sandler cussing a lot and acting like he should've been cast in Project X. That's probably going to be enough to sell most people, since Sandler has taken such a turn towards family friendly movies we don't get to see him act like this very often. Unfortunately the trailer isn't particularly funny, though, and doesn't highlight the supporting cast which might make the film work. James Caan, Leighton Meester(as Samberg's fiance), Susan Sarandon, Will Forte, Eva Amurri, Donald Glover, Luenelle, Vanilla Ice, and New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan all co-star. Can we just ditch Sandler and Samberg and just make a movie with these folks? I'd pay to see that. Sean Anders(Sex Drive) directed, with the latest draft of the script written by David Wain and Ken Marino, who usually do good work(Role Models) but are still hurting after the poor performance of Wanderlust. There's potential here, even if the trailer does a damn good job of hiding it.

Check out the red band trailer below from the comfort of your own home, and look for That's My Boy on June 15th...[MTV]

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

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Tops at the Box Office

1. The Roommate- $15.6M
The teeny boppers came out to enroll in the latest psycho thriller, but not in any overwhelming show of box office muscle. In fact this marked yet another slow week of grosses, even with the power of young adult favorites like Leighton Meester and Cam Giganet in the lead roles. Basically a PG-13 version of Single White Female, The Roommate actually surpasses that 1992 film's opening, but obviously trails way behind in actual attendance due to the lower cost of tickets. 
2. Sanctum- $9.22M
So James Cameron's name doesn't always equal success, eh? Sanctum, which boasted Cameron's name all over the place even though he's merely a producer, opened at over 3300 screens and still had one of the lowest 3D wide releases in recent memory. 
3. No Strings Attached-  $8.4M/$51.8M
Holding steady, only dropping a minuscule 37% from last week.

4. The King's Speech-  $8.31M/$84.1M
Slightly increasing it's theater count,  The King's Speech continues it's remarkable Oscar surge, only dropping 25% from last week.
5. The Green Hornet-  $6.1M/$87.2M
6. The Rite- $5.57M/$23.7M
7. The Mechanic- $5.37M/$20.1M
You suck, America. Get out there and support one of the better action films you'll see this year!
8. True Grit- $4.75M/$155M
 9. The Dilemma- $3.45M/$45.7M
10. Black Swan- $3.4M/$95.9M

 Three movies that saw big gains coming off the Academy Awards nominations: Biutiful, starring Best Actor contender Javier Bardem, jumped up 60% and now stands at a total gross of $1.5M Mike Leigh's Another Year also increased by 62% for a $1.7M tally. And finally, The Illusionist, nominee for Best Animated Feature, saw it's grosses jump up 53%.

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The New Wave: 2/4/11

James Cameron's name is plastered all over the ads for this spelunking adventure, but he's only producing and lending the use of his innovative 3D cameras. That alone will be enough to put a few butts in seats, but what they'll experience is closer to Ghosts of the Abyss than Avatar. My review of Sanctum can be found here.

The studio ran away in fear of our dredded pen, so The Roommate didn't screen for us? Booooo! Maybe its all the Single White Female jokes being hurled their way, but more than likely they know that the trendy cast(Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Giganet) is going to lure the kids in whether the reviews stink or not. I literally just walked out of this thing, so expect a review on this Sunday's episode of Punch Drunk Critics Live!

Sylvain Chomet brings his beautiful handrawn style(last seen in The Triplets of Belleville) to an adaptation of French artist Jacques Tati's unproduced script. Swirling with controversy, the story is that Tati wrote The Illusionist, which features an animated version of himself as the main character, as a means of reconciling with his estranged daughter. Encompassing themes Whatever Tati's motivations, the story of a struggling illlusionist who meets a young girl and convinces her he's a real magician, has touched people the world over, and is one of the three movies nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards.

The Housemaid turned a few heads at Cannes last year. A stylish thriller from South Korean director, Im Sang-Soo, it tells the tale of an au pair who takes a job with a wealthy couple, but soon enters into a sexual relationship with the husband. Not nearly as controversial Sang-Soo's The President's Last Bang, which imagined the assassination of the former Korean president. That didn't go over so well.


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