Nora Ephron typically makes a certain type of movie. That movie: one which I do not care about. Her most acclaimed films run the gammit between romantic comedies starring Tom Hanks to other romantic comedies starring Tom Hanks. A bit of filler movies with Will Ferrell and Meryl Streep fill in the gaps. The thing I was most excited about with Mixed Nuts was Parker Posey, who I learned to love in Scream 3. Sadly, she appears with Jon Stewart in roughly 80 seconds of the movie. At least I had another Scream series vet to bide time with.
Mixed Nuts centers around a crisis hotline on Christmas Eve. Phillip (Steve Martin) runs this help center although needing some help himself with an immanent breakup, a pending eviction, and stupid people surrounding him. His neurotic co-worker Catherine (Rita Wilson) has a friend of sorts Grace (Juliette Lewis) who is potentially nine months pregnant by her seven-month paroled boyfriend Felix (Anthony LaPaglia). The other hotline worker is Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn), an older, battier woman who derives pleasure from absolutely nothing. When they meet up with Adam Sandler (Adam Sandler) and a cross-dressing Liev Schreiber, attempted comedy ensues involving dog tranquilizers, loaded handguns, and a serial killer.
On the surface, Mixed Nuts attempts to offer to the cinematic gods of yore the joy of an absurdist comedy set around a suicide prevention center at Christmas. After all, what could be better than a Christmas movie about overtly generic characters that endure such crazy situations? Oh, the answer is anything other than this movie. For a comedy, there sure was not too much funny in it. It is surprising that so many fairly good actors showed up only to be stuck in such forced, unbelievable, and very predictable predicaments. There is very little that is surprising about what unfolds in this movie: we have the unrequited love between two office mates, the shrill old woman turns around her ways, and the white trash couple fight a lot. With stock characters, it is difficult but not impossible to create a decent movie but we learn and care so little about the group that it really is inconsequential who shacks up with who, who makes it to Christmas dinner on time, or what will become of them all afterwards.
Given that I’ve never really liked Steve Martin, I wasn’t surprised to find him a bore in this movie that in better hands could have been much better. This was made apparently in the time that he was able to dye his hair but unable to behave in any other way than manically unfunny. At least he was better than the more-often-than-not unfunny Adam Sandler. He plays a ukulele and sings in the traditional Adam Sandler voice. The late Kahn is delightful though even if her character is not. The real star was Schreiber as the gender-bending Chris. Perhaps it is just because I enjoy the actor but seeing him attempt to pull off a woman with such a distinctive voice and stocky build was entertaining.
There are far too many decent Christmas comedies out there that watching this is just as futile as running a suicide hotline. You know some are not worth saving.
Mixed Nuts centers around a crisis hotline on Christmas Eve. Phillip (Steve Martin) runs this help center although needing some help himself with an immanent breakup, a pending eviction, and stupid people surrounding him. His neurotic co-worker Catherine (Rita Wilson) has a friend of sorts Grace (Juliette Lewis) who is potentially nine months pregnant by her seven-month paroled boyfriend Felix (Anthony LaPaglia). The other hotline worker is Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn), an older, battier woman who derives pleasure from absolutely nothing. When they meet up with Adam Sandler (Adam Sandler) and a cross-dressing Liev Schreiber, attempted comedy ensues involving dog tranquilizers, loaded handguns, and a serial killer.
On the surface, Mixed Nuts attempts to offer to the cinematic gods of yore the joy of an absurdist comedy set around a suicide prevention center at Christmas. After all, what could be better than a Christmas movie about overtly generic characters that endure such crazy situations? Oh, the answer is anything other than this movie. For a comedy, there sure was not too much funny in it. It is surprising that so many fairly good actors showed up only to be stuck in such forced, unbelievable, and very predictable predicaments. There is very little that is surprising about what unfolds in this movie: we have the unrequited love between two office mates, the shrill old woman turns around her ways, and the white trash couple fight a lot. With stock characters, it is difficult but not impossible to create a decent movie but we learn and care so little about the group that it really is inconsequential who shacks up with who, who makes it to Christmas dinner on time, or what will become of them all afterwards.
Given that I’ve never really liked Steve Martin, I wasn’t surprised to find him a bore in this movie that in better hands could have been much better. This was made apparently in the time that he was able to dye his hair but unable to behave in any other way than manically unfunny. At least he was better than the more-often-than-not unfunny Adam Sandler. He plays a ukulele and sings in the traditional Adam Sandler voice. The late Kahn is delightful though even if her character is not. The real star was Schreiber as the gender-bending Chris. Perhaps it is just because I enjoy the actor but seeing him attempt to pull off a woman with such a distinctive voice and stocky build was entertaining.
There are far too many decent Christmas comedies out there that watching this is just as futile as running a suicide hotline. You know some are not worth saving.
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