EW

John C. Reilly will play top banana in Walk Hard, a comedy about a (fictional) legendary musician. The inspiration: ''watching a ton of [biopics] and realizing they're basically the same movie,'' explains co-writer Judd Apatow (The 40 Year-Old Virgin), who'll produce with director Jake Kasdan (Orange County). The two have even hired songwriters. Says Apatow: ''The tricky part is the music has to be great and terrible at the same time....

(Posted:08/18/06)

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Billy Bob Thornton has played a football coach, a Little League manager, and a really, really evil Santa. But with his latest comedic turn just around the corner, as a lecherous life coach in Dimension's School for Scoundrels (Sept. 29), we were wondering: What happened to that other fiendish-teacher flick Thornton has in the can, Mr. Woodcock?

New Line originally saw the movie—about a guy (Seann William Scott) whose mom (Susan Sarandon) falls for his dreaded former high school gym teacher—as a natural way to build on the unexpected success of 2003's Bad Santa. ''I play a PE teacher from hell, the one that's your worst nightmare,'' Thornton told EW on the set. Of course, that was 15 months ago, when Woodcock was still slated to be released this year. One explanation for the delay is that the filmmakers wanted to get out of the way of Scoundrels—which wrapped after Woodcock—and Thornton's drama The Astronaut Farmer, due in theaters next January. But those scheduling issues came into play only when a behind-the-scenes creative struggle resulted in a second director and extensive reshoots that stalled the movie's release.

At first, according to Woodcock producer Bob Cooper, the comedy proceeded without incident under first-time director Craig Gillespie. But after test audiences didn't cotton to the initial cut, the creative team ordered a rethink. David Dobkin—the man who directed New Line's $209 million hit Wedding Crashers—came aboard as a producer last winter and shot several weeks of new footage, altering a number of scenes including the ending. Woodcock finally finished earlier this year, and Gillespie—who had input on the reshoots—will retain his directing credit when the movie hits theaters next spring. (He is now in preproduction on his next film, the romantic comedy Lars and the Real Girl, and wasn't available for comment.)

Of course, this doesn't mean that Woodcock is a disaster. After all, there was another rancorous Billy Bob comedy that reportedly required a new ending: Bad Santa. And that movie not only grossed $60 million, it broke critical ground in the depiction of felonious little people dressed like elves.

(Posted:08/18/06)


I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
Directed By: Jeff Garlin
2006, 80 min

Curb Your Enthusiam's Jeff Garlin wrote, directed, and stars in this poignant romantic comedy about an overweight, underappreciated Chicago actor in search of a soul mate; or, as one woman (Sarah Silverman) so eloquently puts it before dumping him, "someone to eat cheese with." James (Garlin) is an underemployed 39-year-old improvisational comedian who lives with his mother in an apartment where Jackie Gleason's Poor Soul always seems to be on television. Ever since his bar mitzvah, he has wanted only three things: someone to love him, a great part, and to lose weight. Unfortunately, he is 0 for 3. His girlfriend dumps him, he loses the title role in a remake of Paddy Chayefsky's Marty to teen idol Aaron Carter, and he sneaks out of an obsessive-overeaters meeting only to wind up at an ice cream parlor. There, the woman behind the counter tantalizes him with a free banana split before sleeping with him and finally breaking his heart by telling him that she doesn't date fat guys. Even though he is continually undergoing traumas of this sort, James doesn't get angry, he just eats. He loads up on fattening snacks from the convenience store run by Dick (Dan Castelleneta), and then he scarfs them down while reclining on top of his car. Still, James keeps plodding along in his amiable way, refusing to surrender. Even the angst is low-key in this highly personal, immensely likable film buoyed by strong supporting performances from Amy Sedaris, Bonnie Hunt, and other alumni from Chicago's famed Second City improv troupe.
 - David Bushman

*

The Groomsmen
Directed By: Edward Burns
2006, 93 min

With lighthearted verve, director Edward Burns shows us that growing up is hard work in The Groomsmen. Perhaps there are problems too big to be solved over a couple of beers, but that will not stop Paulie (Burns) and pals from trying. The tale, which explores the dynamic between adult responsibility and that gang of lovable knuckleheads with whom some of us still hang out, is familiar yet fresh territory for local filmmaker Burns. The jittery Paulie has a fiancée (Brittany Murphy), a baby girl on the way, and a week of hanging out with his four groomsmen before the wedding. Cold feet are just the tip of the iceberg for this group of Peter Pans, comprising Paulie's brother (Donal Logue), cousin (Jay Mohr), and two friends (Matthew Lillard, John Leguizamo). Before they put on their tuxedos, they will have confronted infertility, sexual identity, and the mystery of a pilfered Tom Seaver baseball card. Recriminations and the occasional punch will fly, but is this any way for adults to behave? In Burns' world, we would start worrying if they acted otherwise. The director has a knack for wringing laughter and truth out of serious situations, so audiences are guaranteed a "hey, that's me" or two. While the guys' inner children are belting out hair-band songs circa 1985, their adult personas are trying to rock on into the future. With their old neighborhood serving as the backdrop for reunion and reckoning, they realize that they must sink or swim. Burns makes sure that we smile through either possibility.
 - Ron Dicker

*

The TV Set
Directed By: Jake Kasdan
2006, 87 min

In this comedy about the making of a television pilot, writer/director Jake Kasdan serves up an intelligent mixture of first-hand insight and laugh-out-loud comedy. Series creator Mike Klein has finally sold a television pilot. Now he must navigate his show through the mine-laden path from casting through production to the madness of prime-time scheduling and the network "upfronts." Along the way he has to juggle the demands of network executives, volatile young stars, a pregnant wife, and a personal manager of suspect loyalties, all while trying to stay true to his vision. But this is the television business, and there's really only one true agenda: the one that leads to ratings and advertising dollars. Mining his own experiences working in television, Kasdan deftly blends his behind-the-scenes experience with biting humor. The cast hits every comic mark, no matter how subtle or how broad. David Duchovny gives a deeply nuanced performance as Mike, and his reactions are pitch-perfect. Sigourney Weaver flexes her comic muscles as the headstrong network president with a lot of "thoughts" about what the show needs to be a success. And her second-in-command-a British import (Ioan Gruffudd) in his rookie TV season stateside-is caught between the gut instincts that got him hired and the compromises he must make to succeed in his new job. As Mike's wife, Justine Bateman keeps her husband grounded, while Judy Greer shakes things up as his manager. With Kasdan's witty script and impeccably paced direction, The TV Set shows that there is as much entertainment behind the camera as there is in front.
 - David Kwok

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