STACK Magazine November Issue 121

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Christopher Guest's shadow looms over this
mockumentary that focuses on a writers' workshop
full of dysfunctional, unpublished authors. These
wannabe wordsmiths include American Pie guy
Chris Klein, as a Fitzgerald fan; the late, great
Dennis Farina, who fancies himself as the next Tom
Clancy; a Bukowski-loving rebel (Jonathan Bennett)
and a married couple (Dylan Walsh and Teri Polo).
Then there's dumb blonde Kaley Cuoco, who hits
the jackpot with a successful first novel, triggering
resentment in her peers. Although not in the same league as
Waiting for Guffman or A Mighty Wind, director Ellie Kanner does
provide an often amusing insight into the world of publishing and
the chaos of the creative process.
The write stuff.
AUTHORS ANONYMOUS
Following the funeral of his girlfriend Beth
(Aubrey Plaza), grief-stricken Zach (Dane DeHaan)
is horrified to discover that she's somehow
returned from the grave and is being hidden by
her parents (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon).
After confronting them and learning the truth, Zach
attempts to continue his relationship with Beth,
but her violent mood swings and taste for human
flesh mean things are going to get complicated.
Plaza is terrific, lurching between sympathetic and
scary, while DeHaan, having made a career out of playing troubled
teens, brings the right amount of pathos to Zach, despite the
absurd circumstances. Playing like a humorous take on TV's The
Returned, Life After Beth proves there's still life in the zom-com.
Love never dies.
LIFE AFTER BETH
088
visit REVIEWS DVD&BD
Format: Release Date: 05/11/14 Format: Release Date: Out Now
NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
Sex tapes have brought embarrassment to many a
celebrity, and now married couple Jason Segel and
Cameron Diaz discover the folly of uploading their
homemade porno (inspired by '70s manual The Joy
of Sex) to the cloud. With access available to friends
and family in possession of Segel's old iPads, the race
is on to delete their three-hour raunch epic before it
goes viral. The leads reunite with their Bad Teacher
director Jake Kasdan for a raunchy romp which can be
considered a cautionary tale in the wake of the recent
"fappening". Sex Tape desperately wants to be dirty, but it also wants
to confront the serious issue of intimacy problems faced by married
couples with kids. And it's not without a sense of irony that real-life sex
tape veteran Rob Lowe turns up in a supporting role.
They did everything but delete it.
SEX TAPE
Brendan O'Carroll's incredibly (some might say
inexplicably) popular cross-dressing creation follows
the likes of Mr. Bean and The Inbetweeners onto the
big screen, with the series' slapstick improvisation,
crude humour and fourth wall breaking intact. But
does hilarity ensue? Let's just say that you either get
this type of ramshackle comedy, or you don't. Suffice
to say, Agnes Brown's attempts to save her Dublin
market stall from greedy developers and Russian
gangsters results in an onslaught of broad gags that
make the Carry On movies look restrained. Love her or hate her,
Mrs. Brown is a bona fide phenomenon, and O'Carroll should be
regarded as some kind of comic genius simply for getting so much
mileage (TV series, stage show, movie) out of one joke.
Fecking feature-length fun.
MRS. BROWN'S BOYS D'MOVIE
Format: Release Date:27/11/14 Format: Release Date: 20/11/14
COMEDY