PITCH PERFECT 3 (2017)

Directed By: Trish Sie 
Written By: Kay Cannon & Mike White 
Story By: Kay Cannon 
Based On The Book By: Mickey Rapkin 
Cinematography By: Matthew Clark 
Editor: Craig Alpert & Colin Patton 


Cast: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, John Lithgow, Matt Lanter, Guy Burnet, DJ Khaled, Moises Arias, Ruby Rose, Trinidad James. 


After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.

YEAR OF THE DOG (2007)

Written & Directed By: Mike White 
Cinematography By: Tim Orr 
Editor: Dody Dorn 


Cast: Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly, Regina King, Josh Pais, Thomas McCarthy, Liza Weil, Christy Lynn Moore 


Peggy is single, childless, in her 40s, a lonely executive assistant in a friendly office. Her dog Pencil is the love of her life, and when he dies after eating some sort of toxin, Peggy's life spins out of her control: a friendly neighbor invites her for dinner; a friendly staff member at her vet's calls with an abused dog he recommends she adopt - she does, and also finds herself attracted to this fellow. She becomes a vegan, supports animal-rights causes, and embroils her brother's young children in these concerns. Saving dogs and other animals become such a passion that her mental health and her job may be in danger. Are regaining control and finding love beyond her reach?

BEATRIZ AT DINNER (2017)

Directed By: Miguel Arteta 
Written By: Mike White 
Cinematography By: Wyatt Garfield 
Editor: Jay Deuby 


Cast: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, Chloe Sevingy, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, David Warshofsky 


An holistic medicine woman spends her life absorbing the pain of all those unfortunates that she comes in contact with while attempting to heal them. She is invited to a dinner party by a client/friend when her car breaks down putting the hostess in the awkward position of having Beatriz join a dinner party with people whose lives are foreign to hers and she begins her judgement of them all. She is self absorbed and incapable of self healing. She forces her opinions on the group and for such a healer as herself has no difficulty inflicting violence on the group as a whole and finally on herself.

ORANGE COUNTY (2002)

Directed By: Jake Kasdan 
Written By: Mike White 
 Cinematography By: Greg Gardiner 
Editor: Tara Timpone 



Cast: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Catherin O’Hara, Leslie Mann, Carly Pope, Lily Tomlin, Chevy Chase, Dana Ivey, Brett Harrison, Natasha Melnick, Harold Ramis, Kyle Howard, Mike White, Fran Kranz, Nat Faxon, Monica Keena, Lizzy Caplan

GENTELMEN BRONCOS (2009)

Directed By: Jared Hess 
Written By: Jared Hess & Jerusha Hess 
Cinematography By: Munn Powell 
Editor: Yuka Ruell 

Cast: Michael Angarano , Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Jennifer Coolidge, Josh Pais, Mike White, Halley Feiffer, Hector Jiminez, Clive Revill, John Pleshette

THE GOOD GIRL (2002)

CAST: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gylenhaal, John C. Reily, Tim Blake Nelson, Mike White, Zooey Deschanel, John doe, John Carroll Lynch, Deborah Rush, Aimee Garcia

Directed By: Miguel Arteta
Written By: Mike White
Cinematography By: Enrique Chediak
Editor: Jeff Betancourt

This is a movie where I wonder what is the point I enjoy mike white scripts but this feels more like a vehicle that was written around a star to give them some kind of artistic indie credibility and bring out there strengths more then a film with a story that ether needed to be told or actually have a story to tell. It’s got plenty of great characters but has nothing to do with them. It’s almost like they just stand around and react to the star but don’t actually seem to do anything.

I understand this is supposed to be partially a examination of small town life but we have explored that in many other films already, the only difference is that this is updated more modern but still the film revolves around a scandal that threatens to come out but never is in any real danger of being exposed.

I can see why the film has such a good character actor cast the characters are quirky which is usually a actor’s paradise.

The film revolves around a bored housewife. Whose husband is a pot smoking house painter who wants to have kids his best friend has a crush on the housewife who has a retail job to try to enliven her life. Which it doesn’t then she meets Holden a cashier who fancies himself after Holden Caulfield from “A Catcher In The Rye” he is much younger and they begin a torrid affair which the longer and deeper the relationship gets the more unstable and unbalanced he becomes. Which leads to a robbery of the store and her trying to cover it up. Mix in a born again adulterer A Christian security guard who does heavy recruiting for his church. A Sarcastic make up person who makes the store announcements and wears way too much make up and a cat lady.

This film feels like a loose plot tread or a used one of “Desperate Housewives”

Jennifer Aniston tries but she feels like she is out of her element there is nothing wrong with her performance but it feels like she is out of place and trying to mask that with her character wanting to get out the town and her life doesn’t help. Jake Gylenhaal here gets to play the type he always seems to enjoy angst ridden as a actor he seems to prefer off beat and downtrodden characters even though he more has the looks of a movie star. In some films that he is in that is annoying luckily not here.

This may have been better served just like his other script and film “Year of the dog” as a short story or a novel it would then be more penetrating instead of feeling like a quirky run of the mill independent film.

Rent at your own risk.

GRADE: C-