The age of comedy has certainly changed over the years, transitioning from the classic slapstick to a simpler, straightforward approach that today's youth loves. Yet, every once in a while, the legends from the past return in an attempt to bring some whit back to the silver screen. Tonight, my friend and I head back into the trenches of the local theater to give some insight into Going in Style starring the legendary trio of Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Michael Caine. Let's get started!
LIKES: Classic comedy Good chemistry between actors Cute Nicely tied together story
Summary: If the intro didn't spoil it for you, Going in Style is true to its name, as the trio brings the classic comedy back into style. Fans of the slapstick of yore are going to bust a gut at this film as the timeless styles of the leads continue to shine bright. Caine and Freeman have comedic timing and delivery down, with clever lines craftily intertwined in the serious dialogue that put today's writing to shame. Arkin on the other hand is all about the banter and complaining, which for the most part is balanced and well-placed. The trio have great chemistry together, and sell that they are best friends who have faced the challenge called life. They sell the struggles and praise the joys, and do it with such class and minimizing the stupid, mindless banter famous today. And in addition to being funny, the lack of crude comedy also makes this movie cute. Watching older men trying to rob a bank, while also getting their lives in order makes for an adorable adventure as my friend commented. Of course, this reviewer likes a story to his comedy, and Going in Style gets this right too. It's a hardy story for most ages, and one that won't have the older audience members shaking their heads in shame. This may also surprise you, but there were a couple of twists that fooled me, which isn't easy in the comedy genre.
DISLIKES: Predictable Depressing at times Old jokes get a bit stale
Summary: With a simple story as this, it's not surprising that much of the story is predictable. Given the theme of the movie, you should be able to predict most of the ending, and certainly can guess where things are going to go wrong. Therefore, the uniqueness of this movie takes a hit in the story department. And no surprise, the comedy is also predictable and therefore loses the comedy edge they wanted to deliver
at least to me. While the trailers do promote the more fun atmosphere of the movie, don't let it fool you that it is all happiness and rainbows (that's the Smurfs!). Going in style emphasizes the end of life generation, highlighting the less than glorious problems of getting older. There are parts that brought me down as they emphasized the sadder qualities of life. Thank goodness for the consistent comedy, because otherwise this could have been a much harder movie to watch. Of all the comedy this movie has in its folds, they certainly stuck with the old theme of this movie. Positives, there are plenty of quips and class to the punches they throw. Bad news, the quips get older than the actors delivering them. How many insults about difficulties getting up can you make, or metaphors for being poor and not having a check. It's good political awareness (nice work there writers), but it would have been nice for a little more variety to work its way into the vaudeville.
The VERDICT:
Going in Style is one of the classier, wittier comedies to end up in the theater this year. Both this reviewer and his friend, enjoyed the trade of simplistic one-liners and innuendos for a less aggressive comedy style that shows the traditional style has not been lost quite yet. Despite the trade up though, the movie is still very predictable and simplistic enough to still be stuck in the mediocre territory. As much fun as I had in the movie, there isn't much to warrant it for a movie theater visit, unless you are a fan of the traditional comedy and looking for a fun group/date movie.
My scores are:
Comedy/Crime: 7.5 Movie Overall: 6.0
