Ben Falcone Page 2

The Boss Review

Bad

Melissa McCarthy brings another of her improvisational alter-egos to the big screen with this energetic comedy. The first cause for pause comes because this is a reteaming with her filmmaker husband Ben Falcone, with whom she made the bizarrely unfunny Tammy, as opposed to the filmmaker Paul Feig who directed her to box office triumph with Spy and The Heat and an Oscar nomination in Bridesmaids. Yes, there's a significance difference.

This time she plays hugely popular financial guru Michelle Darnell, whose stardom ends abruptly when she is sent to prison for four months for insider trading. When she's released, everyone she stepped on as she rose to the top turns their back on her, and her nemesis/ex Renault (Peter Dinklage) is still determined to get revenge. The only person who will talk to her is former assistant Claire (Kristen Bell), so Michelle moves in with her family. Unable to restart her business, she also takes over the Dandelion Scout troup of Claire's daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson), pushing the girls to take aggressive measures to sell their cookies.

As always, McCarthy throws herself into the role, creating a vivid character who indulges in a lot of outrageously silly slapstick. As with Tammy, the humour centres more on abusive interaction and humiliation than actual wit. McCarthy and Falcone strain to get laughs from physical wackiness rather than anything based on the character, so the movie only ever feels mildly amusing thanks to its high energy. But there's nothing engaging about Michelle, and it's only in a few cute-warm scenes with the terrific Bell that the film springs to anything resembling life. Thankfully, her scenes with the likeable Tyler Labine (as a potential boyfriend) have a loose humour to them. And Dinklage is surprisingly amusing as the sputtering cartoonish villain, while Kathy Bates generates a few sparks as Michelle's sassy mentor.

Continue reading: The Boss Review

The Boss Trailer

Michelle Darnell is one of the most successful businesswomen of her age. She's loud, boisterous and upset MANY people on her way to the top.

To Michelle, she's made it. She's made billions and she has everything -materialistic - that she needs. However, when the businesswoman is arrested for insider trading, she can't even begin to grasp the changes that are going to happen in her life.

Penniless, sent to jail and alone, Michelle's life has gone from an all-time high to the lowest point she's ever experienced. After being released from jail, she's sure that she'll be ready to reinvent herself as America's latest reformed sweetheart but having offended so many people in the past, finding people to help her along the way won't be easy.

Continue: The Boss Trailer

‘Tammy’ Has All The Makings Of A Hilarious Hit, So Why Aren’t Critics Impressed?

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 02 July 2014

Melissa McCarthy Ben Falcone Susan Sarandon

Were all the best 'Tammy' lines used up in the trailer?

It's nearly July 4th which means at least one thing: Melissa McCarthy's new comedy Tammy is being released this weekend. The hilarious trailer for the movie gives a glimpse into the hijinks of McCarthy's titular "heroine" as she is forced to turn to crime to get herself out of a pickle.

The Bridesmaids actress finally takes centre stage in her own comedy, which is directed by her husband Ben Falcone. After somehow managing to pull off an unlikely robbery at a fast foopd restaurant, the now-fugitive Tammy hits the road with her grandmother (Susan Sarandon) and heads to Niagara Falls. However, the pair must work hard to evade the police, getting caught up in many hilariously outrageous situations along the way.

Early critics have had chance to mull over the movie, and unfortunately for Melissa, Tammy hasn't been given a clean bill of health. Describing the film as an "unfortunate, though ambitious and intermittently enjoyable, misfire," the AP's Jocelyn Noveck fails to be immersed in the movie structure of Tammy, saying "Other recent comedies have been described as elongated "Saturday Night Live" skits, but it's especially apt here.

Continue reading: ‘Tammy’ Has All The Makings Of A Hilarious Hit, So Why Aren’t Critics Impressed?

'Tammy': Melissa McCarthy Turns To Crime In Hilarious Summer Comedy

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 07 May 2014

Melissa McCarthy Susan Sarandon Ben Falcone

Melissa McCarthy finally gets her own movie.

The trailer has been released for the new comedy from Melissa McCarthy, Tammy. The actress, who is known for her side-splitting roles in comedies like Bridesmaids and The Heat, stages centre-stage in her own comedy, which she wrote and is directed by her husband, Ben Falcone.

Melissa McCarthy Is The Star Of The Show In New Comedy, 'Tammy.'

The new film sees the 43 year-old actress team up with Susan Sarandon, who plays her grandmother, Pearl. The trailer shows McCarthy as Tammy gearing up to rob a fast food restaurant by pulling gangster poses and expressions to the sound of Coolio's 'Gangster Paradise' to get her pumped up for the crime.

Continue reading: 'Tammy': Melissa McCarthy Turns To Crime In Hilarious Summer Comedy

Enough Said Review

By Rich Cline

Excellent

With a strikingly against-type performance from the late Gandolfini, this film gives the romantic-comedy formula a welcome adult spin. Writer-director Holofcener keeps the characters authentic even as she indulges in some rather farcical plotting. And her astutely observational dialog lets the cast members create characters who are funny, flawed and thoroughly engaging.

At a party, massage therapist Eva (Louis-Dreyfus) meets two people who become important in her life. First is Marianne (Keener), whose snappy wit and honesty make her much more than just a new client. And then there's Albert (Gandolfini), an unlikely suitor who charms Eva with his dry wit and warm camaraderie as they share common emotions about daughters (Fairaway and Hewson) who are leaving home for university. But as Marianne moans about her miserable ex-husband, Eva realises that she's talking about Albert. And she knows that if she tells them that she's made this connection, she'll lose both a friend and a boyfriend.

Holofcener takes this simple idea and stretches it nearly to the breaking point. Fortunately, the film's real strength lies in the interaction between these people, and it's easy to identify with their hesitance as they endure a series of awkward moments that feel bracingly realistic. All of the dialog bristles with humour that feels improvised, and Louis-Dreyfus has always been an expert at combining comedy with both underlying strength and fragility (see Veep). Gandolfini seems like a strange match for her, but he plays the role so beautifully that we root for them as a couple.

Continue reading: Enough Said Review

Enough Said Trailer

Eva, a divorced, single mother who faces the impending departure of her soon to be college bound daughter, meets Albert, an easy going, teddy-bear of man who has a complicated relationship with his ex-wife.

Eva pursues Albert and the couple's relationship quickly blossoms until Eva's latest friend, Marianne, gets a phone call from her supposedly miserable, horrible and selfish ex-husband. Albert.

Eva finds her relationship being tested and doubting her new partner after being sub-consciously influenced by Marianne. Eva must discover the truth about Albert in order find out first hand if he is as the man Marianne suggests he is.

Continue: Enough Said Trailer

Video - Melissa McCarthy With Husband Ben Falcone At 'The Heat' NY Premiere - Part 1

Melissa McCarthy was snapped on the red carpet at the New York premiere of 'The Heat' at the Ziegfeld Theater accompanied by her husband Ben Falcone. She wore what looked like a navy blue jumpsuit with heels for the event. 'The Office' star Kate Flannery and New Kids on the Block singer Joey McIntyre also made appearances.

Continue: Video - Melissa McCarthy With Husband Ben Falcone At 'The Heat' NY Premiere - Part 1

Melissa McCarthy Fires Extra From 'Tammy' Set For Bizarre Reason

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 22 May 2013

Melissa McCarthy Ben Falcone Susan Sarandon Dan Aykroyd

When Melissa McCarthy fires an extra, she must have done something dreadfully wrong, right?

When Melissa McCarthy fires an extra from a movie set, things must have gone very, very wrong. The bubbly Bridesmaids star gave a young woman her marching orders on the set of her and husband Ben Falcone's new movie Tammy for a frankly bizarre reason, reports TMZ.com.

The extra - a woman in her 20s - had brought along her child to the set for a daylong shoot by a lake. She was being paid $58. However, witnesses say the extra had been struggling to keep her kid occupied all morning and was constantly harping on the child to "stop it" and quiet down, loudly disrupting production apparently.

Sources say the last straw came when the young mother harshly jerked the child up in the air by the wrist and McCarthy saw the whole thing. The director immediately had assistants eject the woman from the set saying she wouldn't tolerate such abuse on her set. The woman's identity was not disclosed and representatives for McCarthy made no immediate comment on the incident.

Continue reading: Melissa McCarthy Fires Extra From 'Tammy' Set For Bizarre Reason

Life After Bridesmaids: Melissa McCarthy And Hubby Ben Falcone Have Major Movie Projects In Pipeline

By Hayley Avron in Movies / TV / Theatre on 07 February 2013

Melissa McCarthy Ben Falcone Jason Bateman Seth Gordon

Melissa McCarthy’s career has been going from strength to strength since appearing in the 2011 hit comedy Bridesmaids. Now, McCarthy and her husband and working partner Ben Falcone have a series of major projects in the pipeline with Universal and Fox. The projects will be helmed by On the Day, the production company formed by Melissa and Ben.

First up is Michelle Darnell, which has been snapped up by Universal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This particular project centers around a character created by the working couple and is set to star Melissa McCarthy, who will also be producing along with Falcone. Universal have also taken on Cousin Irv From Mars, based on the recent book by Bruce Eric Kaplan (the New Yorker cartoonist, who has also written scripts for Seinfeld and Six Feet Under). On the Day will also be taking on Fox’s adaptation of the comic self-help sex guide, Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days (No Excuses!). The adaptation is taken from a book by Douglas Brown, who told the story of his and his wife’s attempts to rekindle their sex lives after 14 years of marriage.

McCarthy is soon to appear in Universal’s Identity Thief, alongside Jason Bateman, with Seth Gordon in the director’s seat.

Continue reading: Life After Bridesmaids: Melissa McCarthy And Hubby Ben Falcone Have Major Movie Projects In Pipeline

Identity Thief - Trailer Trailer

Sandy Bigelow Patterson is a successful businessman who lives in Denver, Colorado but his world is turned upside down when his credit card gets rejected at the gas station. He discovers that several expensive transactions have been made on his card including a water sports excursion in Florida - where he has never happened to venture. After making several enquiries and informing the police, he is told that his identity has been stolen. His initial shock and distress is quelled slightly on seeing a mugshot of the thief: an eccentrically dressed, overweight, middle-aged woman who Sandy thinks he can take on himself and force her to relinquish his identity after she has spent thousands of dollars on shopping, luxury items and partying. However, she proves too much for Sandy to handle when he tracks her down in Florida, aggressively refusing to give up her hold on his life.

'Identity Thief' is the side-splittingly funny crime comedy from the director of 'Horrible Bosses' Seth Gordon and written by Craig Mazin ('Scary Movie 3', 'The Hangover Part Two') . It is produced by Scott Stuber ('Ted', 'Love And Other Drugs'), Golden Globe winner Jason Bateman and Pamela Abdy ('Garden State') and will be released in cinemas in the UK on March 1st 2013.

Starring: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I, Genesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Robert Patrick, Eric Stonestreet, Ben Falcone, Clark Duke, Mary-Charles Jones and Maggie Elizabeth Jones.

What To Expect When You're Expecting Review

By Rich Cline

Weak

The odd moment of honest drama or genuinely witty humour catches us completely off guard, because this is one of those resolutely bland Hollywood star machines that bears no resemblance to the real world at all.

In Atlanta, TV fitness guru Jules (Diaz) is about to reveal that she's pregnant by her celebrity dance show partner Evan (Morrison). Meanwhile, Holly and Alex (Lopez and Santoro) are looking into adoption even though they're not sure they're ready; Wendy and Gary (Banks and Falcone) are finally expecting after trying for years, only to be upstaged by Gary's dad (Quaid) and his much younger wife (Decker); and food truck operators Rosie and Marco (Kendrick and Crawford) rekindle their teen romance with unexpected results.

Continue reading: What To Expect When You're Expecting Review