Mr. Right

(L-R): Anna Kendrick as Martha McKay and Sam Rockwell as Francis/ Mr. Right, in the action
comedy “MR. RIGHT” a Focus World release. Photo credit: Cook Allender courtesy of Focus
World.

Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell star in Mr. Right, the romantic action comedy opening Friday in limited theaters and Video on Demand platforms.  The two have perfect chemistry together in this enjoyable comedy.

Paco Cabezas directs from a screenplay written by Max Landis.  Rockwell and Kendrick lead a cast that includes Tim Roth, James Ransome, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund and RZA.

Landis' screenplay has it all and because of that, the film is hard to market.  Is it a comedy?  Is it a romantic film?  Is it an action film?  It's all three combined and that makes the film enjoyable as outrageous as the concept may seem.  Mainstream studios passed on the movie and that's a shame because it's worthy of being seen.

Martha (Kendrick) is going through a breakup and not really at her best when she meets Francis (Rockwell) at a convenience store, where they bumped into a stack of condoms of all things.  It's the last place one would expect the typical meet-cute to be.  Francis doesn't come off in the best sort of ways as he tries asking her out but Martha is interested and the two go out.  Of course, she doesn't know he's a professional hit man.

Francis is a different kind of hit man.  Instead of taking out the people that other people want killed, he kills the people that requested the hit.  When he tells Martha that he has to go shoot someone, he isn't kidding around.

Francis' services are soon required by a client who is being changed by an FBI agent (Roth).  Martha has to quickly figure out if he's going to join Francis in the action or leave the scene.  Most people would run away after finding out they are dating a killer.  Not Martha.  She decides to stay and becomes even more attracted to Francis.

Rockwell describes the film as Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Silver Linings Playbook.  That's a fair assessment.  Nobody could have played Francis as well as Rockwell--Landis wrote the part with him in mind.

Kendrick is no stranger to comedy or drama and the actress has delivered great performances over the years.  Martha is crazy from the get go and Kendrick pulls it off very well, right down to the girl being turned on by the gunfire even as she gives off the vibe of being the nice girl living next door.

If you're not up to seeing The Boss this weekend and want some laughs, check out Mr. Right.  You won't regret it.

The Boss: Movie Review

(Foreground, L to R) Claire (KRISTEN BELL) and Michelle Darnell (MELISSA MCCARTHY) lead their Darnell's Darlings in "The Boss." McCarthy headlines the comedy as a titan of industry who is sent to prison after she's caught for insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America's latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget. Photo Credit: Hopper Stone

Melissa McCarthy more than makes up for Tammy with her upcoming film, The Boss.  While anything McCarthy does with director Paul Feig makes for classic comedy, it's the films not directed by Feig that give some pause to question whether the film is any good.  This one is good though.  It's not too long either with a running time of 99 minutes.

Directed by McCarthy's husband, Ben Falcone, the movie stars McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Kathy Bates, Tyler Labine and Peter Dinklage.

Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone & Steve Mallory wrote the screenplay for the comedy, which was based on a character that the actress created with The Groundings.  Some sketch characters have a hard time making the transition from a three to five minute sketch to a full lengthy feature film but Michelle Darnell makes the transition very well.

Darnell is a self-help finance guru who is sent to jail after rival Renault (Dinklage) turns her in for insider training.  Out of jail after a short prison sentence, she turns to former assistant Claire (Bell) to help her re-brand herself after finding out that nobody is going to welcome her back.  Her extravagant lifestyle is no more.

A lot of people were upset with the way Michele treated them so it's not easy to reform her image as a white collar criminal.  Even Claire is hesitant at first to help her back to her feet but it's Claire's daughter, Rachel (Ella Anderson), who talks her mom into bringing in the down-on-her-luck titan.

Michelle is soon using Claire's homemade brownies and a girl scout troupe as a way back into business in the mold of Darnell's Darling.  It's a great idea at first but soon things get messy.  A woman who grew up bouncing from foster home to foster home, and does not seem like she would be a likable character, turns out to have a soft spot for family after all.  If not for the time spent with Claire and Rachel, not to mention the children involved with Darnell's Darlings, Michelle would not be grounded and come to understand what it means to have a family.

Bell holds her own against McCarthy's Darnell.  The comedy charm of the movie, if you will, according to screenwriter Steve Mallory.  Playing a single mother, she has to deal with her boss' demands of the day.  Claire's strong moral compass eventually starts rubbing off on Michelle.  Not only do we have a strong female character in Michelle Darnell but we also have one in Bell's Claire.

The film also serves as a commentary of sorts when it comes to wealth, family, fame, and the power that comes with that.

Update

This website is back in action and I'll be doing some freelance work over at Movie Pilot, too.