calhoun07

Judd Apatow and crew seem to be the new kings of comedy movies, and the recent Role Models with Paul Rudd spinning away from the Apatow camp, it seems to me that these are the best comedy movies of the last few years.

When I consider when The Farrelly Brothers had a decent movie I actually wanted to see (Me, Myself and Irene) it seems the baton has been passed. (I did enjoy Shallow Hal and Stuck on You...they were decent efforts but seemed to me to be trying to recapture their glory days of past. Don't get me started on how disappointing Fever Pitch and Heartbreak Kid were!)

And Kevin Smith? His comedy train has come and gone. And he rode the same car for quite a while. While I think he has more movies in him, I think he'd be better served in making some genre picks instead of trying to do new comedies (still disappointed his name is no longer attached to the new Fletch movie and Green Hornet.) Zach and Miri played like he was imitating Apatow. It was not his finest hour.

Or is it just me? Do people still clamor to see the latest offerings from the Farrelly Brothers and Kevin Smith as they once did, and as they do now for Apatow and his team?

NoirFan

The sun has certainly set on the Farley Brothers, what with one dead and the other appearing in An American Carol, but the Farrelly Brothers are still going strong, with a Three Stooges film on the way this year, not to mention the 2010 Oscar favorite Walter the Farting Dog.

calhoun07

Wait...what? When did that happen? EDIT...I take back what I posted before...I am even more confused now because IMDB lists both Peter and Bobby on Three Stooges and the Farting Dog movie (words I never thought I would have to type...)

Adam Tyner

He's poking fun that you misspelled "Farrelly" repeatedly.

The Farley Brothers are someone else entirely.

calhoun07

Well, if it helps, I edited the first post, but I can't edit the thread title it seems.

fumanstan

I don't think the sun has set on Kevin Smith, as he really isn't any different now then he was before. I don't think he really "peaked" at any particular point as far as success goes.

The Farrelly Brothers have definitely peaked.

LickTheABCs

I still don't understand this. Isn't Apatow just imitating Kevin Smith?

Supermallet

Apatow has said Smith was a big influence on him. Personally, I thought Zack and Miri was hilarious.

riotinmyskull

yea you're still spelling it wrong.

The Valeyard

I think Smith needs to step up as a director or he will be heading toward the sunset. He should have stuck with Green Hornet instead of staying in his familiar backyard (Jay and Silent Bob or Clerks II. I don't remember which).

Him directing A Couple of Dicks is a good move (IMO). Getting Red State off the ground would be another.

redrum

Zack and Miri was prolly the funniest movie of last year

got the most laughs out of me

PopcornTreeCt

And yet Apatow's movies are much better than Kevin Smith's movies. I see this in the same way that Tarantino is better than everything that he copies.

I think the Farrelly Brothers were always a bit overrated. For me they peaked with Dumb & Dumber. There's Something About Mary has to be most overrated comedy in history.

Zach & Miri was funny so Kevin Smith still has stuff in him to make everyone laugh. While the Farrelly Brothers are so far gone they cannot be saved.

LickTheABCs

fixed.

tylergfoster

I like Kevin Smith, and I can't stand the hate for him. While Smith himself attracts a reasonable amount of attention, he's no Will Ferrell. Every few years he makes a low-key little film, and I just don't get why people just want to blast the guy whenever they get a chance.

I liked Zack and Miri. I think it's intriguing that he's making A Couple of Dicks, using a script he didn't write and without the help of Scott Mosier. I'd have to guess this was inspired by a) the quality of the script and b) the fact that Zack & Miri was a bomb. Smith saw his chance to shatter his $40m box-office glass ceiling using Bruce Willis and studio money, and I'm happy to see him take it. I would also love to see Red State come to fruition, but who knows. Perhaps if this is a success he'll have the clout to get it done.

Troy Stiffler

It's because his internet droogies are all a bunch of super self aware and self conscious brats; greasy-faced internet elitists. You know, the people who are actually conviced that they're capable of making something better than Clerks II. He makes movies with geeky internet folk in mind. When your movies and persona is so tongue-in-cheek and you create that 'in' world with all of those 'in' jokes, it's going to attract those people.

I enjoy his movies. I thnk that he is out making good movies. And I think that he's very capable of making an amazing, big movie that catches on with everyone.

On the other hand, I haven't really liked a Farrelly Brothers movie in awhile. I enjoyed Dumb and Dumber. "There's Something About Mary" is still a great film and I think will be their legacy. "My, Myself and Irene" is still enjoyable and is really fun to watch sometimes. But I haven't really enjoyed anything since. They (the movies and the brothers) are aimable. So I can't-not like them. But I just don't bust a gut like I did when watching the three mentioned above. I still have hope that they'll come across a really good project in the future.

Supermallet

I really liked Shallow Hal, FWIW.

Dr Mabuse

Kevin Smith made a couple of interesting films.

That's it.

His blatant attempt to try and imitate Apatow was embarrassing.

Much of his stuff is really bad. He seems like a pretty cool fella, but he isn't a good filmmaker.


The Farrelly brothers have kind of failed on their movies for a pretty good streak now, but they could make something really good again any time I think. They've been picking the wrong material to make.

I would like to see them get back into form, when they were hitting on all cylinders they made some classic comedies. 'Kingpin' is so funny it's hard to believe it at times.

Goat3001

I think Kevin Smith is fine. His films are niche comedies. Zack and Miri was a failure financially but most would agree that the movie would have faired much better had it not been released on Halloween and not have Role Models follow a week after. Meanwhile, I'm sure it'll find a bigger market on DVD as most of his movies do.

We'll see how he fares with A Couple of Dicks. Hope it works out for him only because I'd like to see him continue to make his own films.

And no one would have made the 'Zack and Miri' is just an Apatow flick comparison if Seth Rogen wasn't involved. That movie was more like Chasing Amy than anything Apatow has done and its silly that people don't see that.

PopcornTreeCt

Fixed.

Rypro 525

on the zack and miri documentary he said that originally it was a spec script called "Name" with a similar plot, and it would of had the Amy casgt

gcribbs

I do not think Kevin Smith has made many movies that did not end up making his studio money. He tends to make lower budget films and even with modest box office for them they are profitable due to Dvd and now BluRay sales.

Mallrats made the losses back thru video and then Dvd sales. Jersey Girl may be the only movie that may not have been profitable. Although it is even possible that the movie ended up making some money in the end.

Kevin Smith is like a small cash register for a studio. Give him 5-10 million and he will get you 20 million or more box office and very nice disc sales later to make you some cash.

Heck you could probably not spend any cash advertising his movies since he does that thru his website to his fans and at comic shows.

tylergfoster

Elizabeth Banks belongs far more to David Wain's troupe of actors and comedians than Judd Apatow's, having been in six projects attributable to him and only one of Apatow's.

OldBoy

i just saw this last night and really had a good time. i wish they had stuck more to the making a porno aspect as i didn't think the romance angle was so effective, especially showing it so early on with Miri's looks when Zack was going to have sex in the movie. it seemed to have strayed from a good formula when that was introduced and it took it down a notch, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

even saw the 1:14 docu which i never do and that was fun as well.

and how was it a failure? i saw it was made for $24 mil and made $31 mil. sure it wasn't a hit, but it seems to have made back the budget and a little more which is usually a good thing, especially prior to DVD sales.

harpo787

What?!? This movie will BOMB without Mosier!!! Will Smith (wait, not WILL SMITH....will Smith) even know what to do?!?

But seriously, I don't think the sun has set on either Farley brothers or Will Smith (or the Farrelly brothers and Kevin Smith, either). Geez...so much for seriousness...

Rypro 525

also when you think about it (i mentioned this in another thread too), this movie actually had decent word of mouth, as while it only made 10 mil opening week, it managed to pull in 31 overall, when most movies prob see a 50 to 60% drop. Also it had a good increase in sales after opening day, as don't movies start dropping off after day one, especially on a niche comedy