The Film Buffa reviews 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie', 'Somebody I Used to Know', and other recent entertainment news

Alison Brie is a brave woman. That is all.

I respect an actor or actress putting it all on the line for a role, even if it’s just sitting on a chair naked. While it helped that Alison Brie is a nudist-favoring lady in real life, playing one on screen and showing it all for the rewindable world to see is quite a feat.

That’s the part that will grab the attention of most movie lovers when they scroll across Somebody I Used to Know on Amazon Prime. Dave Franco’s latest follows through on many methods used in the Julia Roberts favorite, My Best Friend’s Wedding. In fact, a character here actually references that movie to Brie’s Ally in the movie when it comes to stealing her fiancé (Jay Ellis, Top Gun: Maverick). Ally and him have history, the kind that can ruin weddings, hint-hint, etc.

That’s the hook of Franco’s film, who once again has chosen to point his cinematic lens towards his longtime wife, Brie. They couldn’t deny the fact that there’s a lot of them in this movie, having written it together. With the lead character’s name being the name of the actress playing her and the nudist link, the director and star are giving us a glimpse. Anyone not see that hilarious full monty sprint down the hotel hallway from Brie?

The relatable ties work for the film, and also against it in spots. If Somebody I Used to Know has a weakness to contend with its witty dialogue and free spirit cast work, it’s a predictable thread that becomes apparent halfway through. It’s memorable (from other movies) moments that hit the nail too straight on the head. Instead of standing out more like his recent film, The Rental, Franco’s latest disappears into that late night streaming service pile of goods.

Brie, Kiersey Clemons (HEARTS BEAT LOUD!), Danny Pudi, Haley Joel Osment, and the always good Julie Hargerty enliven the material. Pudi and Brie played together on Community, making their dialogue exchanges ping and pong naturally. Osment gets to unplug a little here, ironically in the shoes of a character who likes to make constant movie references and puns. It speaks to my heart, actually.

Serviceable in a general way with some intuitive parts, Somebody I Used to Know isn’t a bad way to spend your time, but I think there was something more there. Stay until the very end for proof that Franco didn’t just ask his lovely partner in crime to embrace her inner nudist.

That one’s for parents after the kids go to sleep, or into their games and controllers. The next one is what you do a few hours earlier on a weekend. Take the family to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Thankfully improving on the atrocious live action take from the 1990s-less said, the better-the animated adventure film is a nice 90-minute diversion. The adults who once were kids and loved this game will get a kick out of this much-better game adaptation. Their kids will like it too.

We’re in easy-to-please territory here with on-the-nose voice choices of Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as our principal heroes. The additional pleasures of Seth Rogen’s laugh and Anya Taylor-Joy’s Princess Peach round out an impressive voice cast. For the record, Keegan-Michael Key could show up in anything, physically or even just a voice, and be great. That continues here.

There wasn’t a real urge to rush out and see this one when it came out two weeks ago, but my arm didn’t need to be twisted when Little Buffa asked to see it. Watching movies with your son, especially in the speed-of-light time warp we seem to be stuck in these days, is a thumbs up experience before the movie even begins.

He loved The Super Mario Bros. Movie; I thought it was fine. There were a boatload of game references he caught that flew over my head. By last night, the wife and Vinny were playing, take a guess, Super Mario Bros on Nintendo. Movies and their effect: it’s a real thing. Also, Pratt has to be printing money at the moment. Good for him. Having Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father-in-law can’t be easy.

What else?

~Cinderella Man is still a classic film wrongly released in the summer. Why don’t you hear more about Ron Howard’s underrated (59% on RT) true story boxing drama? It came out in June amongst a sea of blockbuster dummies, got torn up by critics, and reminded people of the (not so) Great Depression. Making Max Baer more of an antagonist for Jim Braddock was a risky move, but it worked with the dreary backdrop. Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, and Paul Giamatti are absolutely phenomenal too. The power of release dates.

~Bob Odenkirk joining FXX’s The Bear for Season Two is excellent news. No matter who he plays, the Better Call Saul master player will elevate one of the best television shows to come along in a good while. Succession and Barry are rhythmic sensations, but Christopher Storer’s raw and lucid kitchen drama is something else. Odenkirk will only enhance the goodness. Give this man good writing and it’s like watching a delicious cocktail being mixed in real time.

~Here’s the thing about The Flash and all the spoilers rolling out on Twitter after the first screening at Cinema Con this week: don’t act surprised. If you show people a movie that isn’t coming out for seven weeks and release them to their smartphones, plot twists and points are being distributed. Quietly, Warner Brothers loves this. The Ezra Miller-led superhero film needs all the good vibes it can generate after Miller’s off screen chaos.

In case you’ve lived under a rock for the past three years, Miller has been slapped with all kinds of charges, many of which stem from violence and hate. They, Miller’s preferred pronoun, own a large piece of land in Vermont, and have taken groups of people up there for parties and such. It didn’t go well. There have also been a series of altercations and assault accusations in public places with them.

Miller is finally acting right, and this movie is coming out. Expect the kitchen sink of promotion. The studio doesn’t mind reviews like “the best superhero movie since Endgame,” or “holy shit, I believe in life again.” To me, it’s the DCEU’s restart button ripping a few pages from the Marvel notebook on how to reset a universe. I’m there for Michael Keaton’s older and wiser Batman.

Let’s get nuts! Have a good day.