TheRetroCritic

That Ben Stiller's latest received predominantly negative reviews both surprises me and makes perfect sense. This sci-fi version of cult comedy classic The 'Burbs tries to have its cake and eat it too. Attempting something unique while still appealing to fans of the likes of The Wedding Crashers and Tropic Thunder was always going to be a bit of a stretch. Perhaps opting for a more Spielbergian approach altogether could have been the way to go? I'm thinking Super 8 with plastic alien boobies. I should not think, like, ever again... Instead, we get a farcical genre-mesh which fails to gel entirely but which presents an all-too familiar style of comedy with fresh material. I, for one, enjoyed The Watch : you've got a solid team of goofy dudes doing what they do best... but with aliens. What's not to like? Granted, no-one is exactly playing against-type here. Hell, new recruit Richard Ayoade looks like he was lifted straight out of The IT Crowd playi

Had Morning Glory not been directed by the man behind *shudder* Notting Hill and had it not been built specifically for the Devil Wears Prada audience, we could have had a decent, original, funny, even touching little film here. Unfortunately though, what we get is Anchorman's great grandmother. There was potential here to really explore the inherent absurdity of morning TV daytime shows: the subject matter pretty much gives everything on a plate. Alas, the film finds Rachel MacAdams' painfully irritating lead way more interesting than all that and we are forced to sit through endless scenes of her acting all cute, all professional, all self-involved before we get to the good stuff, namely: Ford and Keaton. Devil Wears Prada worked because of its seemingly heartless "villain" and a just about bearable protagonist in Anne Hathaway. Pretty much exactly the same formula is applied here with a terrific "villain" in Harrison Ford (on wonderfully grumpy fo