OCT 10 — In this age of irony, feel-good films can seem distinctly old-fashioned. While they actually do make decent money at the box office, which means that there are more than enough people out there who like this kind of stuff, to actually get someone to confess to liking feel-good films is a different matter. To get film critics to write something good about feel-good films, well that’s probably an even rarer sight!
The unfortunate side effect of all this is that sometimes a feel-good film, even when it’s a good one, can get lost in the shuffle, just because people take it for granted that it won’t be anything special. I’m pretty sure I can stand accused of that crime for a great many unpromising-sounding feel-good films that have been released throughout the years, as there are obviously many, many more ‘important’ films out there deserving of my time and attention but sometimes I get lucky and suddenly get this by a number of good feel-good ones almost at the same time, which was what happened to me quite recently with three relatively new films, some released in cinemas here and some never released here in cinemas but have recently been released on home video.
The Intern
Still playing in Malaysian cinemas, although it is entering its third or fourth week of release here, I was very pleasantly surprised at how funny and sweet this latest piece of light and frothy fun from writer-director Nancy Meyers is. Having seen the movie’s trailer a couple of months back, the movie itself is everything the trailer promises it to be — a rom-com in all but name as its central relationship is a platonic (and rather paternal) one between Anne Hathaway’s successful online shopping entrepreneur and her new intern, a retired guy played by a dashingly charming Robert De Niro. Pitting the old school De Niro character against the young and modern world of hip online shopping yields plenty of comic rewards, but this is one old-fashioned movie (complete with an emphasis on almost out of date family values) that somehow feels like a breath of fresh air in its unpretentiousness.
Magic Mike XXL
This movie is that dreaded thing we call a sequel, with further warning signs coming from the fact that Steven Soderbergh, the director of the original and surprise smash from 2012, is not directing this time around, giving the director’s chair to his longtime assistant director Gregory Jacobs, who’s making his directing debut here. But here’s the thing, this is hands down the best movie out of the three I’m writing about here, and a surprisingly clever and outrageously entertaining extension of the original film. While Magic Mike was actually very spot on about the precarious nature of the economic times it was made in, which was probably one of the reasons (aside from watching Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey and friends take of their shirts, flex their abs and strip, that is) why it connected with so many people back then, Magic Mike XXL wisely decided not to go down the same route and decided instead to celebrate the art of male stripping by making it ‘one last show before we retire’ movie, as Mike joins his old gang of male entertainers on a road trip to participate in a big male stripper gathering in Tampa, Florida. Witnessing guys with perfect pecs and abs take erotic dancing this seriously has rarely been this fun, even for male viewers! As for the female viewers, this movie would probably be better titled What Women Want.
A Royal Night Out
It’s probably just a coincidence, but there are already two movies this year where a young Queen Elizabeth (or rather Princess Elizabeth) is seen going out on the town, letting her hair down, having fun with her subjects without them quite knowing who she is. Minions is definitely the better known one, with the British film A Royal Night Out quite below the radar unless you regularly keep tabs on British films, but don’t let that fact dissuade you from seeing this charming, funny and still polite imagining of what might have happened on V.E. Day (Victory for England Day) in 1945 when young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret managed to beg the King and Queen to allow them to go out and join the V.E. Day celebrations. Director Julian Jarrold unfortunately never could decide whether he wants his film to be a wacky comedy (as its night-on-the-town plot would usually have you believe), a rom-com between the future Queen and a commoner, or a historical drama. A wee bit too polite, surely out of respect for Her Royal Highness, A Royal Night Out is still an enjoyable feel-good romp, it’s just a pity that the “romp” in question is a bit too subdued and, for lack of a better word, too safe.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
