Boss Baby confuses critics, but amuses everyone else

Movie Title:  The Boss Baby

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG, 97 minutes

In a Nutshell:  With great animation and voice talent, this film has some confusing elements that baffle adults.  But let’s face it, it’s made for kids and they simply won’t care that a lot of the plot points don’t make sense.  They’re just going to laugh and move on to the next animated flick.

Uplifting theme: 

• “There’s plenty of love for everyone.” – Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi)
• “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.”  The Boss Baby spouts off a bunch of platitudes like that during one particular scene.
• Family is the most important thing.
• Imagination

Things I liked:

• Alec Baldwin was really fantastic.  He added to the skilled animation and the animation added to his performance. Outstanding blend. A recent news report explained that he got sober on Feb. 23, 1985 — but if he hadn’t, the “Boss Baby” star is confident he would have straightened out at some point. Baldwin, 58, detailed his experiences with substance abuse, addiction, and recovery in his new book: Nevertheless: A Memoir hitting shelves Tuesday.
• Tobey Maguire’s voice always makes for the perfect, reflective narrator who has become wise through time and experience.
• It’s cute in 3D, but not necessary.
• The animation and sound effects are so great that drool and farts have texture.  Another outstanding blend.
• The parents in the audience I sat with absolutely loved the assembly line scene at the beginning of the movie.  Adorable.
• I got a kick out of the Elvis scene, maybe because I live in Las Vegas.  When there are a bunch of Elvis, are they called “Elvi”?
• Some cute scene transitions.
• I loved the magical sound of the laughing baby whenever the Boss Baby would revert back to being a baby.  Is that from a YouTube video?
• I love how Dreamworks always takes important items from the movie and incorporates them into their logo at the beginning of the film.
• I used to be the National Marketing Director for a company.  I thought it was hilarious that the babies who didn’t laugh were the ones who went into management of the company.  Ha ha
• “Wake up halflings!” alarm clock which featured lines from The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-ray.  I just finished binge-watching that awesome trilogy again.  Such great movies.
• Poopies diaper brand.  Ha ha
• Some things really made me laugh out loud.  There are plenty of jokes and gags for parents to get a kick out of.
• Fans of Jimmy Kimmel Live! will enjoy hearing him voice the dad.

Things I didn’t like:

• It was clever to animate Tim’s imagination sequences differently than the main story line, but by the end of the movie, you’re not exactly sure if the whole thing was supposed to be Tim's imagination or real or what?
• Surely, some people at PETA are going to protest that Puppy Co. dangled puppies from the ceiling.  Funny visual though.
• Lots of anal gags and slapping.  The film has lame lines like “Fart! Poop! Doodie!” – Boss Baby
• The mother is pregnant, but….??? 

Interesting lines:

• “You can’t miss what you haven’t had.” – Boss Baby
• “Sometimes I rescued my parents; sometimes they rescued me.” – Tim

Funny lines:

• “Cookies are for closers.” – The Boss Baby
• “I don’t wear nautical.  And it’s not even Friday!” – Boss Baby
• “Well, isn’t that sanitary?” – Mom (Lisa Kudrow) as she looks at a ball pit made of puppies
•  “We can share!” – Tim

“You obviously didn’t go to business school.” – Boss Baby

• “I don’t have a quote for this!” – Boss Baby
• “Welcome ladies and gentlemen….and those in Coach.” – flight attendant announcement
• “So, you went to a community college, is it?” – Boss Baby
• “I’m going to write the perfect memo.  The perfect memo can change the world. ” – Boss Baby
• “If people knew where babies really come from, they’d never have any.  Same goes for hot dogs, by the way.” – Boss Baby

Tips for parents: 

• You see a lot of baby bums, but thankfully, the front “naughty bits” are blurred out, which is actually a funny visual.
• So, you probably shouldn’t give your son the middle names of Leslie.  Just sayin…
• Be prepared…your kids may ask you where babies really come from…

Adult jokes lost on kids because they’re based on the 1960’s—1970’s pop culture:

• Cassette tapes
• Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 5 TV show sound's bionic effects
• Julia Child - The French Chef on the TV
• Mary Poppins reference – By the way, did you know Disney is currently re-making Mary Poppins?  The musical nanny will be played by the lovely Emily Blunt.  Your head will explode when I tell you who’s going to play Dick Van Dyke’s role: Alexander Hamilton own Lin-Manuel Miranda!  An A-list joins the cast: Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters, Ben Wishaw and even an appearance by 91 year old Dick Van Dyke!  It’s going to be awesome!  It’s supposed to hit theaters Christmas Day, December 25, 2018.
• Blackbird - The Beatles Album, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• The Thor pose
• Cabbage Patch Kids 11" Drink N' Wet Newborn reference
• Tim eats an old version of TV dinners from the 1960’s made out of aluminum pans.

@trinaboice 

Labor Day Chick Flick

Movie Title:    Labor Day

PG-13, 1 hour 50 minutes

Grade:  C+

In a Nutshell:  First off, I was surprised that acclaimed director Jason Reitman didn’t release this film during Labor Day   Instead, it quietly opened at the end of January 2014, receiving mixed reviews from critics.  It’s an unlikely romance that digs deep into the kinds of heartaches that last a lifetime.  Whenever Tobey Maguire narrates a movie, you feel like you’re going to hear profound lessons about life’s journey.  While sappy and belabored at times, this film invites you to experience such a journey.

Based on a book by Joyce Maynard, it feels like a The Bridges of Madison County wounded romance you would read at the end of summer.

Uplifting theme:   

• Family is what brings us the greatest joys and sorrows in life.
• It’s surprising how the smallest moments between people can impact our lives.

Things I liked:

• Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin and Gattlin Griffith were all terrific, especially considering the material they were given to work with.
• There is a unique loss and pain that comes after a miscarriage.  I’ve had several, so I could really relate to Adele’s sorrow.  A woman never forgets the baby she could have raised.  While Adele allowed herself to withdraw from the world, her reaction is not unusual for a lot of women who have experienced her sequence of trials.  Thankfully, there is more help out there nowadays for women who go through similar circumstances.  One of the books that helped heal my soul almost more than anything else was this one:

 

Things I didn’t like:

• Some of the scenes were ridiculously implausible and I found myself talking to the screen, saying things like “Oh, come on!”
• Most men won’t be able to tolerate this sugary chick-flick. 

Interesting lines:

• “A man should know how to dance.  When a man can dance, the world is his oyster.”  - Adele
• “I could feel her longing and loneliness before I had a name for it.”  - Henry Wheeler
• “The mom asks her son if his father explained sex to him.  She points out that in school they usually talk about the bodily functions of the act, but they don’t talk about the way it feels.  She said “There’s another kind of hunger.  A hunger for human touch.  A desire.  People never tell you how it feels.”  - Adele
• “There were two people who couldn’t go out into the world, so they made a world with each other.”  - Adult Henry Wheeler

Dumb lines:

*  Frankly, this needs to happen.  - Frank

Tips for parents:   While the theme is about families, this isn’t really a movie appropriate for young children.  There are a lot of sexual innuendos, but very little bad language.  If you want your kids to see it during the Labor Day weekend, use it as a kick-start to talk about "stranger danger" and how to avoid potentially dangerous situations.