The curse of any actor is to become “typecast.”  Do too many of the same type of role or the same character, and you end up not being able to do anything else.  Katherine Heigl is in serious danger of being typecast.  Her last two movies involve her being a single woman not able to find a guy and then screwing it up when she does find one.  27 Dresses was the first one, and The Ugly Truth is the second.

Heigl plays a morning show producer who can manage everyone’s crises but her own.  Along comes Gerard Butler who predictably turns her world and thoughts of men and women upside down.  What follows is a 1 1/2 hour serving of cotton candy, leaving you wondering why you went to see this in the first place.  Heigl has an unapproachable look about her that follows from role to role, making it hard for me to believe that she could be anything but an “ice princess”.  Yes, there are a couple of laughs, but ultimately not worth the time to sit through.

My advice:  wait for cable – even women jonesing for a rom-com will be left wanting….

This one is a couple of months late…..

In a summer lacking comedies for adults, The Hangover provided some much needed relief during the first half of summer.  Ed Helms got a lot of the credit for this movie, but all of the cast pitched in.  Cameos by Mike Tyson and Rob Riggle helped raise the absurdity bar without going too far.  This is one that must have the credits watched all the way to enjoy, but be prepared – this movie more than earns its “R” rating.

My advice:  check this one out if it is still playing and you will feel no pain….

In my review of Inglorious Basterds, I talked about improv and Quentin Tarantino.  It is interesting that on the same weekend, I see a movie made by Tarantino’s partner and friend, Robert Rodriguez, and am once again thinking of improv games.

But I am ahead of myself…..

Over the years, Rodriguez has done what Tarantino could never do – cross over to the family market.  His success with Spy Kids let him work with other kids stories to see what would work.  Such is the case with Shorts.

Shorts is movie about the effects of a wishing rock on a group of people.  Readers of The Monkey’s Paw can already see where this story is headed.  However, the story is not told in a linear fashion.  Much like the game Chapters that is played at SAK Comedy Lab, Shorts is a series of chapters to a story that have been jumbled up.  The execution of this style came off better than anticipated and I give Rodriguez credit for trying it.  The other thing I give him credit for is not putting all of the jokes in the trailer, including some nice wordplay with character names.

Is it predictable?  yes

Is it lame at times? yes

Will this be on constant repeat in DVD players? Yes

My advice:  Take the kids one afternoon and relax – remember what you wish for may not be exactly what you had in mind…