Cinema Hype

We’ve spoken here before about talented, respectable actors who make bad movies. Every actor has a few in the old IMDB entry, right? It happens. We try to ignore those little bobbles. But what happens when we end up actually seeing those movies? What happens when, heaven forbid, we actually like them? It’s embarrassing. We do not share that information with our friends when they ask whether we’ve seen any movies lately. We keep quiet.

The current crop of theatrical releases has a few of these potential disasters/winners for me, and it’s all because of a couple of actors I like. In one sense, I pride myself on being able to spot a bad movie without actually seeing it. As soon as I’ve stopped bragging, though, I realize that the recognition of a bad movie really doesn’t mean I won’t show up at some matinee somewhere (in an unfamiliar neighborhood, of course, so as to not run into anybody I know as I’m slinking in to see Stomp the Yard). I’m loyal, and I imagine I’m not the only one. You know who you are.

To start, I have serious reservations about Catch and Release. For one thing, it has post-hipster Kevin Smith; furthermore, Sony shelved it for a year after shooting, which is generally not a vote of confidence from the higher-ups. But, what, I’m supposed to skip a Jennifer Garner movie? I mean, yes. There was Dude, Where’s My Car? There was Daredevil, followed by Elektra, which I believe even she knew was not her finest hour. But she’s Sydney Bristow! She’s Jenna Rink, for goodness’ sake! What do you want from me?

I have similar feelings about Because I Said So. Do I think we need more movies with Diane Keaton as the neurotic mother? I do not. Do I think we need more movies with Mandy Moore showing up at all? I do not, even more. But I do think we need more movies with Lauren Graham, whom I firmly believe is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Aside from consistently excellent work on seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, she’s spent the last decade playing small roles in terrible movies, and I’m happy to show up anytime she gets to do something besides be Keanu Reeves’s sickly girlfriend. So although I’m even more dubious about Because I Said So than I am about Catch and Release, I intend to show my support.

I make no promises, however, about throwing or not throwing popcorn at Mandy Moore. Sue me.

Catch and Release, Because I Said So, Jennifer Garner, Lauren Graham