Two low-budget reviews

1. For husbands looking to meet your relationship-by-chick-flick annual quota with a minimum of boredom and no Richard Gere whatsoever, I highly recommend Failure to Launch. First-rate dialogue in the script -- very funny stuff, actually, each gag honed to a fine point and perfect expression. A plot that is not predictable and in particular isn't the man-slamfest you'd expect from the first five minutes. Fine acting all around except for Sarah Jessica Parker who does about as good an acting job as she ordinarily does but fortunately the rest of this movie is good enough that marginal competence in the female lead is actually all that's necessary. (Sarah Michelle Gellar would have been much better, I think; perhaps the secretary just committed an unfortunate typo on the casting calls.) Zooey Deschanel cracks me up even more here than she did in the much more uneven Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy; she reminds me of a rather more oddball Janeane Garofalo from back when Garofalo was funny, and has just gotten promoted to if-she's-in-a-movie-I'll-probably-go-see-it status. (If you've seen Winter Passing, drop me a line and let me know whether it's worth the rental.) Of course Kathy Bates is good, but surprisingly so is Terry Bradshaw.

Just a word of warning: when the McConaghey character goes back to visit his parents for the first time, cover your eyes, and do not uncover them until you hear Kathy Bates's voice again. Let's just say that nobody gave Dessie and me adequate warning, and when the scene ended Dessie leaned over to me and said, "Terry Bradshaw must be a very secure man."

2. For the first time since Keen Eddie went off the air there's a television series I think is worth watching (I mean a drama series, as opposed to something like The Colbert Report). SciFi's new Doctor Who has won me over completely -- and (as my Stargate-addicted family can ruefully attest), scifi television dramas pretty much leave me wondering why, in a world full of interesting things to do, anybody would pony up one of their valuable hours and spend it on a scifi television drama. Of course, what this probably means is that if you ordinarily like scifi television dramas, then you probably won't like Doctor Who... But my family seem to like it; so I'll let the recommendation stand.