An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

January 4th

One of the most well known documentaries of the past 25 years is on the agenda for the Genre-ary DailyView today: the Oscar-winning doc An Inconvenient Truth featuring a presentation by former Vice-President Al Gore.

The term ‘Global Warming’ is no longer used because the opposition forces have jumped on the semantics of the term, pointing to terribly low temperatures that have happened. The term these days is ‘climate change,’ which, as I said, is just semantics.

The science Al Gore presented in this doc is very compelling and hard to argue against. Contrarians might claim this is meant to be a political presentation, but it does not feel that way to me. Gore speaks about misconceptions during the film and how opponents try to build on doubt, and this feels more accurate.

Al Gore is undeniably an engaging speaker on this topic. He has always been presented as being stoic and stuffy, and, while one can see some of that in this doc, he showed himself knowledgeable and effective in providing info on this topic in compelling ways.

I thought the moments where they connected parts of Gore’s life, whether that be his presidential run, his sister’s death to lung cancer or the near death of his son, were very strong parts of the film that were then tied neatly back into the film’s overall narrative.

As a movie, this is a thoroughly entertaining work, but its relevance in the world today is undeniable unless there are motivating circumstances that prevent you from accepting the dangers that climate change can bring. Gore quotes Upton Sinclair in the film who said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

I am happy to have finally watched this two-time Oscar winning film (it also won for Best Song) and I wish people would stop looking at this through the spyglass of politics.

2024 Year in Review: Best Documentary

I do enjoy a good documentary. I am going to have a list of top ten documentaries for the year. Nine of them are movie format and one is a weekly series. There were a lot of weekly series that intrigued me, but it is harder to fit those into the schedule than straight movies.

I am also going to officially announce here that in January, for the annual Genre-ary DailyView, where I watch a movie that I have not seen in a certain genre every day for the whole month. This is the third year for the Genre-ary (we have had sci-fi and musicals) and in 2025, the topic for Genre-ary is Documentaries. This starts on Wednesday, January 1st.

Best Documentary

Previous Winners:  Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King, The Beatles: Get Back, Lights & Magic, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Here are the top 10 docs of 2024.

#10. Elton John: Never Too Late. A look at Elton John’s life and his music. Found on Disney +.

#9. Blink. An emotional story of a family who had 3 out of 4 of their children who had a genetic disorder that would eventual lead them to lose their sight. Their family went on a trip across the planet to give the kids experiences they could always remember.

#8. Brats. I saw this on Hulu this year and it was all about the group of young actors from the 1980s called the Brat Pack and how that nomenclature affected their careers.

#7. Music by John Williams. Another Disney + doc on a famous figure, looking at the life of the iconic composer John Williams and all his amazing movie music.

#6. Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal. The WWE documentary on Bray Wyatt, who just passed away. The emotional doc spoke to his friends and his family, including brother Bo Dallas.

#5. Beatles ’64. Another Disney + doc, this time looking at the Beatles from 1964, the year they arrived in the United States.

#4. The Greatest Night in Pop. A Netflix doc that details the events of the night where the song “We Are the World” was recorded. Amazing footage from the actual night.

#3. The Jinx: Part Two. The one series on this list, and one that I considered to make the winner. I enjoyed this weekly series on MAX that followed the rest of the story of killer Robert Durst.

#2. Jim Henson Idea Man. This is the fifth doc from Disney + on this list. Ron Howard directed this documentary on the Muppet creator Jim Henson. Very emotional and a great look on one of the most creative men in entertainment.

#1. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. The doc on Christopher Reeve is powerful, emotional, and shows us what a hero Chris Reeve was, before and after he played Superman.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

It was a strange path to arrive at me watching this movie. After seeing trailers, I had zero interest in going to see this Christmas movie. It looked very much like a Lifetime special and Christmas is down my list of holidays. I had pretty much decided I would not go to this.

Then I started doing the Year in Review and I realized that the only Christmas film that I had seen this year was Red One, and that was, at best, okay. It felt wrong to give it the X-Mas Movie of the Year Award so I watched an animated movie called This Christmas on Netflix. Sadly, it was just around okay too. I then looked at the Rotten Tomatoes score for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and it was at 91% critics and 97% audience. This made me wonder if I should take this basically open weekend and go see it. It was only an hour and a half. How could that be painful? So even with a doubt in my head, I went to Cinemark this morning for a 9:15 AM showing.

This was really a good movie. I liked this way more than I ever expected.

Historically, I have not been a fan of the faith-based movies, but that is not what this is. This is a movie featuring characters who are being reminded about what Christmas means to them, and how important the Christmas story can be for them. It was about characters. And it was really well done.

Based on a popular novel, we are introduced to The Herdmans, a family of six children who were the biggest troublemakers in the town of Emmanuel. They were feared by children and adults alike.

At this time, the director of the local pageant broke both of her legs, making her unable to continue to do her duties. Grace (Judy Greer) volunteered to take over the job. Unbeknownst to her, the Herdmans decided to come and join the church’s pageant (to get the snacks they were told would come with it). The Herdmans, led by the scary Imogene (Beatrice Schneider), forced their way into the main roles of the pageant, which just happened to be the 75th Annual event.

This was well written, solidly acted and had some genuine funny moments. You can’t but help to like the antics of the Holdman kids, and you can see the diamonds in the rough beneath their surface, especially Imogene. Young Beatrice Schneider does a fantastic job in the role, bringing a humanity to this character that is gruff and unappealing on the surface.

I will admit to getting kind of emotional during the film. I was amazingly impressed with the kindness and unbelievable patience shown by Grace, who could have easily bowed to city pressure and dumped the Holdmans from the play. As a teacher, I was inspired by the way she reacted to these troublesome children and watching the Holdmans respond to the play and trying to answer the questions they naturally had (by a trip to the library) was awesome to me.

You kind of knew what the film’s resolution was going to be, but it was well constructed and still managed to tug on those heartstrings. This was one of those times where predictability was not a negative.

As a Christmas movie, this is much better than much of the sentimental slop that is out there and it gives us a chance to really question if we know the true meaning of Christmas.

4 stars

Piranha (1978)

The October 8 of 13

Piranha, a movie directed by Joe Dante, was a film that I never had any interest in seeing. Those type of B-movies were never in my taste. However, for the October 13, I decided to watch the original Piranha on Prime to see if it was more enjoyable than I thought.

It was pretty much what I expected.

According to IMDB, “An insurance investigator and her local guide search the Lost River Lake area to find too missing teenagers. When stumbling on an abandoned military facility, they release by accident in the river some flesh-eating piranhas that were bred to use in the Vietnam war. The piranhas are heading straight to a nearby summer resort’s lake and its guests.

A Jaws rip-off, Piranha is a low-budget film that had some terrible special effects and the story about as simple as you could get. The acting was not very good either, especially with the secondary characters. The dialogue was atrocious for most of the film.

I have seen reviews of Piranha saying that it is a parody of Jaws or that the film was tongue-in-cheek humor. I didn’t think much of any of this film was funny, and the time when the film tried to add humor, it fell flat.

I can see why this may have become a cult classic, because there is so much awful about this that you can look at it an laugh… not with it but at it.

This would be a perfect film for Rifftrax Live as there is so much comedy to mine around what is on this screen. It was actually worse than I had thought and proved that I was right for avoiding it all these years.

The Wild Robot

Animated movies have been on a roll lately. I have two 5 star animated movies during the summer (Inside Out 2 and Transformers One) and now we have another exceptional animated movie hitting the theaters this weekend.

The Wild Robot is from DreamWorks Animation and tells the story of a robot named Roz that was designed for helping with tasks being stranded on an island with a plethora of animals. When a gosling hatches from an egg that Roz had found, the baby goose imprinted upon the robot, believing her to be its mother. A somewhat helpful fox with possible ulterior motives named Fink befriends the odd couple, they start to train the gosling runt what it will need to survive the upcoming migration.

There are so many wonderful things about this movie. It has a tremendously fulfilling coming-of-age story that included an underdog type story of the runt, soon to be named Brightbill. There are several moments throughout the story that are funny, feel-good and touching. The story does take a turn about halfway through as the migration happens. One would think that the migration would be the big event of the film, bringing the story to a close, but there is much more after that happened.

The story is emotional, and it sneaks up on you. You are just going along and enjoying what the movie is doing and, suddenly, your eyes are misting up because there is something there that touches you unexpectedly.

The voice work is amazing. In particular, Lupita Nyong’o as Roz and Pedro Pascal as Fink do exceptional work. Roz is a machine that finds that there is more than just her programming and Fink is an unlikable sneak who discovers what it means to have friends. Both of these arcs are emphasized by the wonderful voice work of these two top notch actors.

There are other excellent voice cast members including Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry and Stephanie Hsu.

The animation is spectacular. It is difficult these days to release an animated film if your animation is not competitive. The background of this film are spectacular and almost makes one think they were actually in the wilderness. There are a couple of times during action beats that the animation gets a little shaky. I know the reason for that, but it stood out in a picture that is such a piece of art otherwise.

However, there are some wonderful action beats in the film too. In the first half of the film, I was gasping in shock over some of the surprisingly dark moments of the movie. Let’s just say that the circle of life is on display in this movie in several moments.

The themes of this movie are wide spread and one of the most relatable of the year. In fact, there are themes here that will appeal to just about any segment of the viewership, from motherhood struggles to overcoming challenges to friendship. I would venture to say that everyone would find something to connect to in The Wild Robot.

I’m not going five stars with this one, but it is close. There are just a couple minor complaints that bring it down, but The Wild Robot is still a magnificent family film that is perfect for both parents and kids. Beautifully animated with exceptional voice acting, this is another huge win for DreamWorks.

4.9 stars

Afraid

I came across Afraid on Vudu/Fandango this week and it was a movie that I had missed while it was in the theaters. I had intended to go see it, but things just never worked out, so I was somewhat excited to see it show up on streaming.

However, this was a disappointment of a film with an ending that was wholly unsatisfying.

According to IMDB, “The Curtis’ family is selected to test a new home device: a digital assistant called AIA. AIA learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way.”

We have seen this type of movie before. It is very much similar to the M3GAN film from a few years ago which was also produced by Blumhouse. Honestly, it was predictable and lacked any originality, although the switch up at the third act was different. Problem is that that same switch up was also really dumb.

I do like John Cho as an actor, even though he is really not given that much to do in this movie. He was considerably better in 2018’s Searching, which deals with an online search to find his missing daughter. This is a considerable step down from that much more intelligent and engaging script.

Even still, the first part of the film was decent enough, but it went off the rails very quickly. AIA became crazy very quickly and became dangerously unbalanced not too much longer after that.

I was not the only person who missed this in the theater (by looking at its box office), but I would not say that anyone needs to find this on streaming. Perhaps it is worth a view when it comes up for free on Netflix or one of the other streamers, because it is short and gets over in a hurry. of course, it does not do much along the way either.

2.45 stars

The Deliverance

I was surprised to see the name Lee Daniels attached to this Netflix horror movie. Daniels has directed such films as The Butler, United States vs. Billie Holiday and The Paperboy, none of which moved into the genre of horror. With a great deal of curiosity I went ahead and pulled this up on Netflix.

It started out listed as based on true events.

According to IMDB, “An Indiana family discovers strange, demonic occurrences that convince them and their community that the house is a portal to hell..

The Deliverance hooked me right away, with its depiction of this black family from Indiana. Ebony (Andra Day) was rough and troubled, dealing with her issues through alcohol and anger. The fact that there was little redeeming qualities about Ebony made the character and the film more intriguing. Her three children struggled to try and find their own way through the difficulties presented to them by their mother. Ebony’s mother Alberta (Glen Close) moved in with them to try and help them with their troubles while dealing with her own health issues. Each character was angry and expressed it in a variety of manners.

Andra Day and Glen Close were both great with their performances. They brought the deep-seeded frustration and regret to the forefront. Caleb McLaughlin (from Stranger Things) also does a very strong job with his role of one of Ebony’s suffering children, Nate.

After about an hour, I was fully invested. The problem was that, when the film started to transition from the familial problems into the haunted house ones, the film lost a lot of steam and became just another haunted house movie. The final act of this movie was tremendously bad and spent every ounce of good tidings that it spent the first part of the film building up.

I really wish this film had taken a different path because it started with a very compelling group of characters with problematic family issues and slipped into a cliche-ridden, disappointing haunted house film.

2.5 stars

Shortcomings (2023)

June 19, 2023

The directorial debut by Randall Park is today’s entry in the June Swoon 3. It is an unconventional rom-com called Shortcomings.

According to IMDB, “Ben, a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko, who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an arthouse movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blonde women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend Alice, a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices, and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.”

This was an interesting film. Usually, I have problems when the protagonist is such an unlikable character, and Ben (Justin H. Min) is absolutely in that category. He is opinionated, mouthy, rude and arrogant. It seems like every scene he is in, all I want to do is yell at him to shut up. Yet, there was something about Ben that was appealing. Don’t get me wrong, I was cheering actively for him to understand what a jerk he was being, but I was also ready to support him learning from the events of the film and adjusting his behavior.

I have to say, I did like this conclusion to the movie. It felt real and played with all of the conventions of the rom-com.

The movie had some great laughs in in, although nothing that was going to be over the top hilarious. The situations are where the humor came from and they all worked very well. Probably the one moment that stood out was when actor Jacob Batalon joked about loving the Spider-Man movies, considering he played Ned in the MCU Spider-Man movies

Sherry Cola played Alice, Ben’s friend, and she was the standout performance for me in the movie. She had an Awkwafina type vibe about her and she was both funny and an excellent ‘straight-man’ character.

I found this to be very entertaining and a creative way to take the rom-com genre in a new way.

The Royal Hotel (2023)

This morning’s June Swoon entry comes from Australia and I found it on Hulu. It was called The Royal Hotel.

According to IMDB, “Hanna (Julia Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called ‘The Royal Hotel’ in a remote Outback mining town. Bar owner Billy and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture, but soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that rapidly leaps out of their control.

Now, that is what the synopsis on IMDB says, but that is not what this movie is like. It is listed as a psychological thriller, but there is nothing psychological about it and very little thriller.

It takes way too long for anything to happen. We spend way too much time with the drunken reprobates in the bar without any sort of character development.

The ending sequence was just nonsensical and does not wrap anything up outside of the basic result.

This was very boring for most of the film and anything that it tried at the end did not work at all. I was very disappointed with this one.

Ezra

A new film featuring a character with Autism was at Cinemark this weekend, and I had heard some positive word of mouth about the film, so with a light weekend of new movies, I decided to give it a shot.

According to IMDB, “Tony Goldwyn’s EZRA follows Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale), a stand-up comedian living with his father (Robert De Niro), while struggling to co-parent his autistic son Ezra (introducing William Fitzgerald) with his ex-wife, Jenna (Rose Byrne). When forced to confront difficult decisions about their son’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both their lives.

Bobby Cannavale is the definitive stand out in this film as the deeply troubled father who still loves his son, Ezra. Cannavale was given a really meaty role with plenty of deep seeded troubles and he does an exceptional job. Much of it is the chemistry between Cannavale and William Fitzgerald, who is the young actor they found to play Ezra. Fitzgerald is very good in this role too. Director Tony Goldwyn held a nationwide search for a child actor with Autism, providing as realistic of a performance as possible.

Robert DeNiro gives a strong supporting performance as Cannavale’s father. There are some story in the film for DeNiro and Cannavale to play and, while it does not dominate the film, it adds a nice flavor to Ezra.

There are some parts of the story that stretch believability and I will say that the ending felt too emotionally manipulative, but I thought most of the story was well done.

3.75 stars

The Strangers Chapter 1

This film was promoted, seemingly, as a prequel to the original The Strangers, which was a surprise classic. However, it does not feel like a prequel when you watch it. Worse yet, this feels like a terrible movie.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 takes all the worst parts of the horror/thriller movie genre and highlights them through a ninety minute film that felt considerably longer.

The worst parts of horror? Jump scares. There are plenty. Characters being stupid? Check. I do not know how many times one of the Strangers appeared directly behind the character, particularly Maya (Madelaine Petsch), and was not seen, and was gone when she turned back. That is a scene that is overused in horror films and had to have happened in this movie ten times at least.

There were several times that I had to laugh out loud at what was happening in the movie, and it was not a scene that was intended to be a laugh moment.

I honestly would say that there was not one moment in the film that was an original idea. I think every last bit was from films that were much better. Now I understand that there have been a lot of horror films and it might be getting difficult to find things that have not been done before. So I would guess that you should just write something clever or create some suspense instead of just relying on the tropes.

The following may be considered a spoiler….

By the way, the ending of the film was quite a cop out. TO BE CONTINUED? I mean, really? My guess is, after watching this thing, we won’t have to worry about a Chapter 2.

End of Spoiler

So far this year, there are four films that are in contention for the worst film of the year and I am not sure which one will take that ‘crown.’ The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not at that level, but it is not too far off either.

1.25 stars

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

I love the Ghostbusters movie from 1984, and no Ghostbusters movie since has come anywhere close. That does not mean that every film since has been garbage. I had heard that the new film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was not very good. It lowered my expectations for the movie. I think that helped.

According to IMBD, “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.”

I did think the story was decent. I liked the idea of the villain and the powers made it very cinematic. There are some great moments with the cast, in particular McKenna Grace, who once again had the biggest arc among the new characters. Paul Rudd was playing Gary in the best Paul Rudd manner. Carrie Coon did not have much to do. Finn Wolfhard was a nice addition for comedic purposes.

However, there was way too many in the cast. There are too many characters who were just here because they were in the last movie, and they added several new characters who are performed by great actors. I do not think that any of the new characters were needed additions. I love both Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt, but they felt forced into the story.

And I hate to say it, but of the original Ghostbusters, Dan Aykroyd’s Ray Stantz was the most important. Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson were there for no major reason and Annie Potts was just collecting a paycheck. It is nothing against any of these actors, because they are all great, but there was just not enough in the script for this many people to do.

Making William Atherton’s Peck the new Mayor of New York though is a stroke of genius. He is a perfect antagonist for the Ghostbusters and it makes sense why he hates them.

The special effects are great. They use them in the proper times and it does not seem to be overused.

However, the finale of the film was a touch underwhelming for me because of which characters were central in the battle, and I saw it coming a mile away.

I enjoyed the film for the most part, but it did feel as if there were just too much stuffed into the two hour run time, making the movie feel cramped. Very few of the new characters are developed. There were a couple that I did not even mention. Still, as a fan of Ghostbusters, this was a good time at the movies. It could have been considerably better.

3.25 stars

Arthur the King

This was the second film I saw today that I disagreed with the Rotten Tomatoes score. Arthur the King, the new dog movie starring Mark Wahlberg, had a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I did not find it as enjoyable as that.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ARTHUR THE KING follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.

I really felt as if this film was pushing the boundaries of emotion manipulation with the times it put the dog in jeopardy, and the fact that this dog somehow followed this group of people across some brutal environments because Michael gave him some meatballs was just too much to believe. Yes, it is a true story, but I find it difficult to swallow.

There were some dramatic moments in the film, including one stunt with bicycles and a wire that was harrowing. The landscape was beautiful and was shot very well.

I never doubted what was going to happen in the movie. It was very predictable, which is not always a bad thing. Here, it just felt so manipulative that I rolled my eyes more than I should have.

I do love Simu Liu, but his character was really inconsistent throughout the film and it does not do an adequate job of explaining why he is as he is. Some of his scenes are in direct opposition to moments earlier in the film and even Simu’s great charisma could not help these moments.

A major problem I had was not necessarily the direct problem of the movie, but they showed WAY too much in the trailers, including several scenes from the very end of the movie. Any real tension there may have been in the scene was robbed because I knew there were scenes we saw in the trailer that had not yet happened in the movie. Scenes including the end of the race and subsequent after effects. Some films are hurt by their trailers, and, in my opinion, this is one of them.

I think a lot of people will love this movie, but I am not one of them. It was a basic story that we have seen dozens of times with a dog and a manipulative story. Still, it was not an offensive film and families should like it.

2.75 stars

Once (2007)

Today’s Genre-ary DailyView film is 2007’s Once, an Irish musical/drama that is about as charming and sincere of a movie that you are going to find.

According to IMDB, “An unnamed guy (Glen Hansard) is a Dublin guitarist/singer/songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners in his Dad’s Hoover repair shop by day, and singing and playing for money on the Dublin streets by night. An unnamed girl (Markéta Irglová) is a Czech who plays piano when she gets a chance, and does odd jobs by day and takes care of her Mom and her daughter by night. Guy meets girl and they get to know each other as the girl helps the guy put together a demo disc that he can take to London in hope of landing a music contract. During the same several day period, the guy and the girl work through their past loves, and reveal their budding love for one another, through their songs.”

This was a beautiful film. Simple and well-told, Once had an amazing group of songs performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are wonderful together. Hansard is a more experienced actor than Irglová, but she was every bit as excellent as he was.

The music was a major star of this film. A more modern musical, part of the movie was the creation and recording of these songs but our characters. I found those moments the most intriguing. The relationship in the film between guy and girl was different and surprising.

Written and directed by John Carney, Once is real, gritty and warm. Thoroughly entertaining, Once is a low-budget success that is exceptional to watch. 

Earth Girls are Easy (1989)

It’s late in the day and I needed a film for the Genre-ary DailyView. The scheduled film for the day was Earth Girls are Easy.

According to IMDB, “Three furry (and funny) aliens travel around the universe in a spaceship and receive a broadcast showing human females. They are fascinated by these shapely creatures and discover that the broadcast came from Southern California on Earth. Meanwhile, Valley girl Valerie Gail feels her cold fiancé Dr. Ted Gallagher is slipping away and decides to seduce him. Instead, she catches him cheating on her with a nurse, throws him out, smashes his things and refuses to see him again. The aliens’ spaceship crash lands in Valerie’s swimming pool – putting a decided damper on her future wedding plans in Las Vegas. She brings them into her home; and the aliens prove to be quick learners and absorb American popular culture and language through television

The movie had a surprisingly great cast including Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Michael McKeon, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Charles Rocket, Larry Linville, Rick Overton, and Julie Brown.

Julie Brown was introduced to me from the Dr. Demento Show with her classically inappropriate song, “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun.” Brown co-wrote this movie and performed several of the songs, the title track “Earth Girls are Easy,” “I Like ’em Big and Stupid,” and “Cause I’m A Blonde.”

This film is really simple and pretty stupid. It has some funny moments, but it is so crazy that it has a hard time keeping a consistent tone. 

This is harmless, but just really dumb. Jeff Goldblum is always great. Jim Carrey was great here. Otherwise, it is a basic B movie with some funny songs.