ParanoidAndroidMarvin

Well, to start off, I have to say that Biker Boyz isn't a good movie. However, it is better than the other recent bike movie, Torque, if only because it tries to do something with itself. But it fails none the less, perhaps for being too ambitious. The bike crowd watches the movie hoping to see realism and some good racing. Instead they get straight-shot drag style races, which in real life involve little to no actual talent on a machine. Also, they'll be racing 160 mph one minute, and dead stopped the next. It takes some time to come down from speeds like that. The movie also frequently ignores the force of wind that would be present at high speeds, with the racers hardly tucked in at all. The final race, much like many in Torque, takes place on a dirt road. Apparently they aren't aware that these high end bikes are often called street fighters.

Despite all that, there's actually an effort to tell a story. It's an admirable effort, but many of the parts just slow the movie down. It's often a painfully slow movie. Odd, since it's about a bunch of guys that race at speeds in excess of 100 mph. The story is a coming of age one, for both Kid and Smoke. They are both forced to confront issues, and in the end reconcile them. The biker clubs are set up to mirror, I think, a sort of community, and therefore Kid's efforts to rise in the clubs are supposed to represent his finding his place in society. The pieces are there, they were just poorly assembled. Folks most likely were expecting a quick, guilty pleasure like the Fast and Furious movies, and instead got a slow movie with mediocre action sequences.

The acting isn't nearly as bad as most are saying. It's not Fishburne's finest moment but it's not like it stained his reputation or ability, just look at his fine work in Mystic River. The writers made an effort to have three-dimensional characters. For example, After Dog's dirty racing forces Kid to drop his bike at the track, he lends him his own bike to take on Smoke. Granted, it's for his own reasons, but it's not like he's the evil villain parody going "mu-ah-ha-ha" off in the corner. I have to agree with another user that said it portrays black Americans in a positive way. They're not all stereotypes, they have their own personalities. Smoke is confident, but level headed. Soul Train seems the stereotype, but we see a totally different side of him when we find he's a lawyer.

So, it's not a good movie, but it makes an effort to be one, which counts for something. For all it's lack of realism, it gets points for not having the absurd stunts that Torque did, like flipping a huge street bike (with a helicopter jet engine, mind you) mid air, and riding on top and through the passenger sections of moving trains. Biker Boyz isn't good by any means, but it's not quite that bad.

This isn't the sort of movie I see too often, but I actually did enjoy it.

I saw David Duchovny on Letterman Thursday night, then on Conan on Friday night, and since I try to follow his career (big X-Files fan), I decided to go see it. I also think Nia Vardalos is pretty cool, and finding out she was Canadian was all the motivation, coupled with being a Duchovny fan, I needed to go see the movie.

Apparently it's somewhat of a remake of an old Jack Lemmon/Marylin Monroe film, Some Like it Hot, and while I've heard of it, I've never seen it. Why some are crying "rip-off," I have no idea. So it's a bit of a remake? What's the big deal? Everyone flocks to the other remakes, now it's suddenly a negative thing?

It hasn't been a big hit with the critics, and many fan reactions I read online haven't been exactly beaming either. I think it might be because it's a Musical/Comedy/Romance, and people aren't sure what to do with it. The only performance that occasionally bugged me was Toni Collette as Carla. She's just a little too over the top at times, even in the atmosphere that the movie creates.

I liked the subplot about Duchovny's character reuniting with his estranged brother, who is a drag queen. It gave a little depth to the movie, but it's not too heavy either.

Maybe I'm just getting soft, I don't know. It was just nice to sit down and relax to a good-hearted movie. I get bored with these R-rated movies that masquerade as PG-13 movies. Maybe you've noticed this too, the comedies that cram as much skin, swearing, and toilet humor into a PG-13 rating as they can, just barely staying on this side of the R-rated line. While those don't do too well critically either, most doofus movie goers enjoy them.

Many are saying that Connie and Carla is same-old-same-old, but because it isn't like most of those other comedies, I don't think it is. I don't think anyone could watch the movie and be offended (unless they've got issues with the underlying theme of accepting yourself and others for who they are), which is rather admirable, I think.

So, in the end, all I'm saying is that I enjoyed it! Take it or leave it!