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FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: John Junk 2.0 on April 24, 2008, 01:43:37 AM

Title: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 24, 2008, 01:43:37 AM
I'm willing to accept this Sarah Marshall thing is not a total piece of shit, but is it honestly going to be any better than Overboard or One Crazy Summer?  Honestly, I cannot see myself watching this movie.  Seth Rogan has a certain burly charm, but that Segel character is a whole lot of not attractive.  Seeing his penis is not a draw, and neither is watching his cracked-in-the-kiln mug for 2 hours.  Sticking him with the hot-stuff snob from That '70's show is six ways of wrong.  This movie is probably more mature than other shit movies, but why not just go see a good movie instead? 

And I actually liked Knocked Up and Superbad!

That is all.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Jouster on April 24, 2008, 02:46:02 AM
I'm sorry Jason Segel is not attractive enough for you, you snob.

I have no particular attachment to Apatow.  He works with some dubious people, and I've heard bad things about him taking credit where it ain't due.  Eh.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: dvdv on April 24, 2008, 03:48:00 AM
It's pretty good overall.   I'm a pretty big Apatow fan but you can probably wait for the dvd and not miss out on anything.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 24, 2008, 04:18:13 AM
I'm sorry Jason Segel is not attractive enough for you, you snob.

It's not your place to apologize for him.





Slob.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Laurie on April 24, 2008, 09:34:04 AM
I think you should go shop for a coffin.

Nick Andopolis for life.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_2Czbpk33PI

I am biased and fell in love with Freaks and Geeks when it first came on the air. I was a junior in high school. I will continue watching Apatow movies as long as he keeps working with the cast of Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks.

Fun fact: Undeclared premiered when I was a freshman in college.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: pscan on April 24, 2008, 10:48:09 AM
I, too, have loved the Apatow world since F&G and Undeclared. I've mostly enjoyed the films, and feel some sort of unconscious compulsion to see them. So I went to see FSM, and while I didn't think it was as good as KU or Superbad, it still managed to tease laughter from me. It's not a great movie or anything, but I laughed pretty much all the way through it. Russell Brand is a genius. His video for "We've Got to Do Something" is fantastic.

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pUc2kI2XKRQ&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pUc2kI2XKRQ&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Spoony on April 24, 2008, 12:27:58 PM
I think this is going to be a sleeper. I haven't seen it yet, but this looks like a movie that will be funny, but was poorly marketed. That sounds lame, but some films are great, but some marketer dept. can't make heads or tales of how to present it, so it comes across as being mediocre.

Apatow is really on top of a small empire now. It will turn out it's share of crap but for the most, I've liked it.

He has an unexpected social conservatism behind everything that I find unexpected and a nice alternative to the movies that are makin' mah baby dress like a harlot.

C
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: joanna on April 24, 2008, 01:17:18 PM
i've been hoping someone -- if not apatow, then someone else -- would put segel in the main role for a while, but i wish he weren't reprising the "painfully needy loser who is pathetically and creepily obsessed with his ex" role that he carved out in freaks and geeks and undeclared.

Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 24, 2008, 01:18:41 PM
Yeah, maybe I'm mostly responding to the marketing.  Holy Smokes those are some of the most annoying billboards ever.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Shaggy 2 Grote on April 25, 2008, 05:54:41 PM
The first week those billboards were out (before I knew they were even for a movie), an actress named Sarah Marshall auditioned for me.  I'm not such an idiot that I thought the ads had anything to do with her, though I did once think those faux-stenciled-and-spray-painted ads for the latest Rambo movie were wheat-pasted all over NY by a crazy guy I know who does a one-man show version of Rambo.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Spoony on April 26, 2008, 12:57:28 PM
I love that double-take you do when you momentarily misinterpret an ad or any other item as something completely personal to you.

I had a cat named Casey, and whenever I saw a blurb about Casey Spooner from Fischerspooner showing up at some party, there would be a split second where I would think "what the hell is my cat doing with Bono at the Whitney?"

Chris Spooner
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Beth on April 26, 2008, 02:26:23 PM
I think you should go shop for a coffin.

Nick Andopolis for life.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_2Czbpk33PI



Any boy with a 29 piece drum kit can have my heart.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Beth on April 26, 2008, 02:28:20 PM
Yeah, maybe I'm mostly responding to the marketing.  Holy Smokes those are some of the most annoying billboards ever.

They're using the Under Siege 2 font!

I wonder what will  happen when I actually type Under Siege 2.


EDIT: Nothing, apparently.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: buffcoat on April 26, 2008, 06:36:58 PM
Saw FSM last night and it's really good.  Segal is not quite the loser you would expect - he's completely broken up over his ex, but not obsessed with her in the way you might expect.

I laughed a good bit.  I liked it a good deal better than "Knocked Up," which I thought was just ok.

The nice thing about Apatow is yes the premises are silly and there's a lot of immature, gross-out humor, but he/they do at least try to make all of the characters at least slightly 3D.  That's a lot more than you can say for most things these days.

Plus who came up with the idea of Loudon Wainwright III as a sitcom actor?  I loved Undeclared...
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: todd on April 26, 2008, 06:44:00 PM
I'm willing to accept this Sarah Marshall thing is not a total piece of shit, but is it honestly going to be any better than Overboard or One Crazy Summer?  Honestly, I cannot see myself watching this movie.  Seth Rogan has a certain burly charm, but that Segel character is a whole lot of not attractive.  Seeing his penis is not a draw, and neither is watching his cracked-in-the-kiln mug for 2 hours.  Sticking him with the hot-stuff snob from That '70's show is six ways of wrong.  This movie is probably more mature than other shit movies, but why not just go see a good movie instead? 

And I actually liked Knocked Up and Superbad!

That is all.

Yes, the advertising campaign was annoying. You think Apatow has any shred of control over that?

Watching the indie crowd try to find reasons to hate Apatow now that he's popular is embarrassing to me. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't watch it - but posts like these are really just attempts to start a "APATOW SUCKS, WHO'S WITH ME?" angry mob so you can rationalize your irrational dislike for it.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 26, 2008, 07:24:07 PM
I'm willing to accept this Sarah Marshall thing is not a total piece of shit, but is it honestly going to be any better than Overboard or One Crazy Summer?  Honestly, I cannot see myself watching this movie.  Seth Rogan has a certain burly charm, but that Segel character is a whole lot of not attractive.  Seeing his penis is not a draw, and neither is watching his cracked-in-the-kiln mug for 2 hours.  Sticking him with the hot-stuff snob from That '70's show is six ways of wrong.  This movie is probably more mature than other shit movies, but why not just go see a good movie instead? 

And I actually liked Knocked Up and Superbad!

That is all.

Yes, the advertising campaign was annoying. You think Apatow has any shred of control over that?

Watching the indie crowd try to find reasons to hate Apatow now that he's popular is embarrassing to me. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't watch it - but posts like these are really just attempts to start a "APATOW SUCKS, WHO'S WITH ME?" angry mob so you can rationalize your irrational dislike for it.

Perhaps you are right.  I'm sorry I embarrassed you.  I will think twice next time before I bandy about my opinions willy-nilly.  Obviously my scheme to create an anti-Apatow mob has backfired.  You seem very upset, and I respect that.  I will very likely be renting this movie when it is released on video, but if anyone can tell me that it is, without question, better than One Crazy Summer right here on this thread, I solemnly swear to go to the theater and see it as soon as possible so my $12 dollars can rightfully continue to the fill the bountiful coffers of Judd Apatow, OUR NATION'S GREATEST LIVING COMEDY WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR WHO SHALL NEVER BE QUESTIONED OR DOUBTED.  I will post a fair, rational, balanced review and try and upset you as little as possible, sweet Todd, and try not to muddy things up with my crazy hair-trigger hipster backlash tendencies.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: dave from knoxville on April 26, 2008, 07:33:25 PM
Sometime's it's OK to just not like something. Unless you're Michael K. Hey, only 59 months on that ban, LOSER.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Shaggy 2 Grote on April 27, 2008, 11:16:40 PM
Watching the indie crowd try to find reasons to hate Apatow now that he's popular is embarrassing to me. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't watch it - but posts like these are really just attempts to start a "APATOW SUCKS, WHO'S WITH ME?" angry mob so you can rationalize your irrational dislike for it.

I'm not a member of the indie crowd as far as I know (I'm in a crowd right now but actually I think all these people are Shriners.  Or Maybe Mummers).

I honestly don't get the appeal, and I don't think it has anything to do with popularity.  I like stuff like Napoleon Dynamite, Wedding Crashers, and Will Ferrell movies just fine.  I don't think the fact that it turns me off is irrational.  Maybe my funny bone is just crazy!!

Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: emma on April 27, 2008, 11:17:43 PM
Maybe my funny bone is just crazy!!

Or not funny so much as "funny".
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: erika on April 28, 2008, 09:26:51 AM
Judd Apatow movies always crack me up, FSM was hilarious (penis time!) and Pineapple Express looks fucking amazing. All you haters should prepare to DIE. Kiss your wives and your livestock goodbye.

THIS MEANS WAR.





(I say good day.)
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Chris L on April 28, 2008, 10:19:19 AM
Apatow is always teetering on the edge of full-on Kevin Smithitude but I like those movies anyway.  I like all the non-sequiter gags, even though they bloat the running time.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 28, 2008, 01:16:00 PM
THIS MEANS WAR.

Why?

So far, these are the things I've expressed that have made other people mad in 2008:

(1) Irritation with Nirvana apologists.

(2) Exasperation with Judd Apatow marginalia.

I was on the verge of watching FSM this weekend but my girlfriend has no interest whatsoever in seeing another "dude's movie" with me.  I'll probably like it.  My One Crazy Summer challenge still stands.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: erika on April 28, 2008, 01:24:14 PM
I just like war, dude. Don't judge.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Beth on April 28, 2008, 01:26:04 PM
Quote
My One Crazy Summer challenge still stands.

Wait...are you saying that One Crazy Summer is a good movie or a bad movie?
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 28, 2008, 01:36:34 PM
I'm saying it's pretty good, but it's not, like, that good. 

I just want someone to step up to the plate and assert Sarah Marshall is better in most ways than One Crazy Summer. I know OCS is a crappy movie, but it's awesome in its way. I'm saying is this Sarah Marshall thing a Good movie, or is it a pretty good movie, you know what I mean?  A tougher fight would between FSM and Better Off Dead, but Better Off Dead would turn that contest into a car wash.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Beth on April 28, 2008, 01:42:50 PM
Quote
I know OCS is a crappy movie, but it's awesome!! in its way.



Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Chris L on April 28, 2008, 01:45:38 PM
THIS MEANS WAR.

Why?

So far, these are the things I've expressed that have made other people mad in 2008:

(1) Irritation with Nirvana apologists.

(2) Exasperation with Judd Apatow marginalia.

(3) That hate speech I posted in the "Define 'Marginal'" Thread.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on April 28, 2008, 02:18:41 PM
Quote
I know OCS is a crappy movie, but it's awesome!! in its way.





I want you on my team!
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: todd on April 28, 2008, 02:47:57 PM
Watching the indie crowd try to find reasons to hate Apatow now that he's popular is embarrassing to me. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't watch it - but posts like these are really just attempts to start a "APATOW SUCKS, WHO'S WITH ME?" angry mob so you can rationalize your irrational dislike for it.

I'm not a member of the indie crowd as far as I know (I'm in a crowd right now but actually I think all these people are Shriners.  Or Maybe Mummers).

I honestly don't get the appeal, and I don't think it has anything to do with popularity.  I like stuff like Napoleon Dynamite, Wedding Crashers, and Will Ferrell movies just fine.  I don't think the fact that it turns me off is irrational.  Maybe my funny bone is just crazy!!



It's fine to not like it, I didn't like Superbad or Knocked Up. I'm talking about the people that haven't seen the movie but still trash it - I get the feeling they're just looking for an excuse.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on April 28, 2008, 05:21:09 PM
I'm saying it's pretty good, but it's not, like, that good. 

I just want someone to step up to the plate and assert Sarah Marshall is better in most ways than One Crazy Summer. I know OCS is a crappy movie, but it's awesome in its way. I'm saying is this Sarah Marshall thing a Good movie, or is it a pretty good movie, you know what I mean?  A tougher fight would between FSM and Better Off Dead, but Better Off Dead would turn that contest into a car wash.


it looks like a "straight to the netflix queue" movie...but ive been tricked by bad trailers before.  and good ones.

"two dollars!!"
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: ughwhy on April 29, 2008, 04:09:41 PM
I think the threshold I've reached is the Apatow name as marketing technique. It was a thin brand to begin with and now it's diluted. Plus on top of that, as a trend I am not digging this one where women are foreign creatures and childlike boys are ultimately rewarded for their guilelessness.

But also, Baby Mama ain't all that hot either. So what do I even want.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on April 29, 2008, 04:41:42 PM
ive never seen an apatow jewel (feature films), but out of curiousity i went and saw FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL-

its chuckle worthy
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Jixby Phillips on May 01, 2008, 11:25:02 PM
I saw this and liked it a lot!

The first portion of the movie was pretty unpleasant and not that fun but it won me over. I'd love to see it again on DVD.

I love the 40 year old dude and I love Superdudes. This one falls in between those movies and Knocked Up which was just okay
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on May 02, 2008, 10:50:20 AM
I saw this and liked it a lot!

The first portion of the movie was pretty unpleasant and not that fun but it won me over. I'd love to see it again on DVD.

I love the 40 year old dude and I love Superdudes. This one falls in between those movies and Knocked Up which was just okay

yeah, the first part was ok.  it does get better, although, the movie takes a bizarre, weird, uncomfortable turn when theyre on the beach.  you know shes going to run into the old boyfriend she just happens to be talking about...but YIKES. 

oh brother, that was a choppy transition.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Beth on May 02, 2008, 11:19:04 AM
I saw this and liked it a lot!

The first portion of the movie was pretty unpleasant and not that fun but it won me over. I'd love to see it again on DVD.

I love the 40 year old dude and I love Superdudes. This one falls in between those movies and Knocked Up which was just okay

I thought Knocked Up was incredibly sweet, it was one of my favorites. But then again, I'm a girl, probably with maternal instincts.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: cutout on May 02, 2008, 01:04:55 PM
The Apatow phenomenon is similar to the Vince Vaughn phenomenon.

In both cases, they had a string of Medium-Funny projects, found themselves in the spotlight, then got real itchy at the idea of relinquishing the spotlight and accordingly started saying "Yes please!" to any mediocre idea pitched to them. Most moviegoers start to recognize when quantity begins to compensate for quality. John isn't the first person to suggest that FSM would burst the Apatow bubble.

(For the record, I haven't seen FSM, but the trailers did make it seem pretty fluffy)
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: iAmBaronVonTito on May 02, 2008, 01:36:23 PM
The Apatow phenomenon is similar to the Vince Vaughn phenomenon.

In both cases, they had a string of Medium-Funny projects, found themselves in the spotlight, then got real itchy at the idea of relinquishing the spotlight and accordingly started saying "Yes please!" to any mediocre idea pitched to them. Most moviegoers start to recognize when quantity begins to compensate for quality. John isn't the first person to suggest that FSM would burst the Apatow bubble.

(For the record, I haven't seen FSM, but the trailers did make it seem pretty fluffy)

i will say that the trailers made it look AWFUL...but in actuality, it was decent.  needless to say, it served its purpose: i was alone, bored, and wanting to kill 2 hours painlessly. 

at any rate, the guy is making a living...and i support living.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: erika on May 02, 2008, 01:43:49 PM
In both cases, they had a string of Medium-Funny projects,

I must be a big dummy because his movies crack me UP! A lot.

Knocked up didn't hold my attention the 2nd time around, but the first time I saw it I laughed til I cried.

Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: cutout on May 02, 2008, 02:42:53 PM
You're no dummy, you're one of Tom's best callers  :)

In retrospect I lol'd a fair amount during Knocked Up and Superbad, and I always like Freaks and Geeks. On other hand, I didn't crack a smile during Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Walk Hard or 40 Year Old Virgin. And Undeclared I thought was plain unlikeable, the characters anyway. I'm wondering where Apatow will be, quantity vs. quality, in another five years.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: todd on May 02, 2008, 03:44:19 PM
You're no dummy, you're one of Tom's best callers  :)

In retrospect I lol'd a fair amount during Knocked Up and Superbad, and I always like Freaks and Geeks. On other hand, I didn't crack a smile during Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Walk Hard or 40 Year Old Virgin. And Undeclared I thought was plain unlikeable, the characters anyway. I'm wondering where Apatow will be, quantity vs. quality, in another five years.


Now that the anti-Apatow backlash has officially begun, people are dragging out all these projects with Apatow's name on them and saying "Ugh, what a pile of garbage!" But half of those movies are movies he acted as a producer on, not movies that he wrote or directed. Producers are important obviously, but they aren't the major creative force behind these projects. Dragging his name through the mud for a project he was only tangentially related to is unfair.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: cutout on May 02, 2008, 03:55:59 PM
Quote
"Ugh, what a pile of garbage!"

Definitely not garbage, but also not anything I thought was funny or above middlin', personally. Your mileage may vary.

Quote
Producers are important obviously, but they aren't the major creative force behind these projects.

Ordinarily, no, but that's not what I've read about Apatow's producer role. Which is to say, by reputation, he puts his creative stamp on a movie whether or not he's the one writing.

Quote
Dragging his name through the mud

Is your last name Apatow, by chance?  :)
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on May 02, 2008, 04:02:23 PM
Dragging his name through the mud for a project he was only tangentially related to is unfair.

If he doesn't want his name dragged through the mud, he should stop hitching it to every jalopy that drives past his window.  (anywhere else we can go with that metaphor?)


Having said that, I rented Walk Hard this weekend and liked it.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: todd on May 02, 2008, 04:32:16 PM
If he doesn't want his name dragged through the mud, he should stop hitching it to every jalopy that drives past his window.  (anywhere else we can go with that metaphor?)

Oh please. "From the guys that brought you..." is a marketing technique, not something he has any control over whatsoever.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on May 02, 2008, 04:41:30 PM
If he doesn't want his name dragged through the mud, he should stop hitching it to every jalopy that drives past his window.  (anywhere else we can go with that metaphor?)

Oh please. "From the guys that brought you..." is a marketing technique, not something he has any control over whatsoever.

Okay, first of all, he does have control over that.  It's his name. I understand he's not personally involved in the minutiae of every movie that carries his name.  When I said "Apatow Universe" I was referring to the Apatow brand, not Apatow the guy with the beard and the medium-sized beer belly.  I'm sure he's a real mensch and a helluva guy and the hardest working man in showbiz and the man with the plan and the guy who's going to save American comedy.  I get it.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: erika on May 02, 2008, 04:48:20 PM
The "Apatow Brand"?

What is that? Guy writes and produces movies. The people he works with write and produce movies. They're generally pretty funny, or at least some people think they are. (I personally think the majority of them are hilarious... at least the ones he writes...)

So what's the big deal? I don't get it.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: John Junk 2.0 on May 02, 2008, 05:06:26 PM
The "Apatow Brand" =
Guy writes and produces movies. The people he works with write and produce movies.


You answered your own question. 

I'm tired of defending my right to be mildly critical of Judd Apatow while also constantly asserting that I still enjoy his movies anyway.

I think my threshold for the Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached thread has been reached.

Moderator, please lock this thread, put it in a box, put that box in a much larger box, fill the empty space in the much larger box with cement, and drop that cement-filled box in the Hudson River.

Thank you.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Martin on May 02, 2008, 06:00:57 PM
I'm tired of defending my right to be mildly critical of Judd Apatow while also constantly asserting that I still enjoy his movies anyway.

This will make you feel so much better: I'm with you when it comes to Apatapatapatow*.


*copyright Mark Kermode
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: dave from knoxville on May 06, 2008, 06:28:42 PM
I saw Walk Hard last Wednesday; certain scenes were very funny. Certainly worth your RedBox dollar. Don't show it to the kinder.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: masterofsparks on May 06, 2008, 06:58:43 PM
I'm tired of defending my right to be mildly critical of Judd Apatow while also constantly asserting that I still enjoy his movies anyway.

This will make you feel so much better: I'm with you when it comes to Apatapatapatow*.


*copyright Mark Kermode

My favorite Kermode misnaming is his referring to Uma Thurman as "Erma Theakston." I'm not sure if he's making a reference I don't get or just butchering her name, but it makes me laugh.
Title: Re: Apatow Universe Threshold: Reached.
Post by: Gilly on May 06, 2008, 07:02:22 PM
I saw Walk Hard last Wednesday; certain scenes were very funny. Certainly worth your RedBox dollar. Don't show it to the kinder.

It was worth a buck but I wish I could would have known to skip to the 3-4 funny scenes. Because the rest of the movie stunk.