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Here's a look at a trio of comedies that hit the Box Office last weekend.


Get Him to the Greek
Starring: Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Rose Byrne, and Sean Combs
Quick Take: In 2008, comedian Jason Segel starred in the film "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which he wrote. In the film, directed by Nicholas Stoller, there was a supporting character — wild British rocker Aldous Snow (Brand), that proved to be one of the more memorable elements of the film. Two years later, Stoller is back with "Get Him to the Greek," a film he wrote and directed that features the Snow character from his earlier collaboration. Also in the mix is a record label representative played by Hill and his boss, an outlandish, profit-driven executive played by Combs. Combs and Byrne, who plays Snow's on-again, off-again girlfriend, are the strongest performers. Their scenes generate the most amusement. With Snow, a little goes a long way — the same could probably be said for Brand. Hill does his best in the "straight man" role, and this film has some amusing moments, but it doesn't hold up through the whole run. Eventually random sequences of intoxication, drug abuse, and wild sexual encounters don't make a good movie, especially if that's all you have to offer. In some ways, Aldous Snow feels like a "Saturday Night Live" character, and much the same way that MacGruber didn't work at feature length, I don't think Snow is really the best central character for a feature-length film. This film tries so hard to be "The Hangover" that is misses the fact that "The Hangover" worked because of its ensemble cast and original premise. There's little original or ensemble in "Get Him to the Greek."
Rating: R for strong sexual content, drug use throughout, and pervasive language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.

Killers
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, and Tom Selleck
Quick Take: Last summer Heigl starred in the romantic comedy bomb "The Ugly Truth," directed by Robert Luketic. This summer, she starred in the romantic comedy/action bomb "Killers" directed by Luketic. I sense a pattern here. Heigl, I feel, may not truly have that "leading lady" quality. I discussed this before when critiquing Amanda Seyfried's work in "Dear John" and "Letters to Juliet." A true "leading lady" makes everyone around her better and can put a shine on even tepid material. Heigl doesn't have that ability. In fact, the only thing that makes "Killers" better is the work of Kutcher. That doesn't make it great, but he has better comic timing and creates a more relatable character. Part of that could be the writing, but again we'd have to question Heigl's choices. This is the second film in as many years she's made with Luketic that has her playing a shrewish character. Not a great choice. She was once the "it" girl thanks to her fine work on "Grey's Anatomy" and in the feature film smash "Knocked Up." She has since dissed both projects, and chosen to take the lead role in projects of far lesser quality. So I'm not sure what the ultimate aim is there. As for "Killers," it's a film with a cheesy, easy to predict premise that, once it wraps up to a final act isn't all that satisfying. And, the longer you think about the film the less sense it makes. There's some amusing moments, but it really isn't all that great.
Rating: PG-13 for violent action, sexual material and language.
Verdict: One star out of four.

Marmaduke
Starring: Lee Pace, Judy Greer, William H. Macy, and the voices of Owen Wilson, George Lopez, Kiefer Sutherland, Emma Stone, and Fergie
Quick Take: Based on the comic strip, "Marmaduke" tells the tale of a great dane named Marmaduke (Wilson) and his family, who move from Kansas to sunny Southern California. There Marmaduke's owner, Phil (Pace), struggles to balance work and family needs, while Marmaduke struggles to fit in with new friends and enemies at the local dog park. This is a film squarely aimed at younger viewers. Anyone over the age of 12 will get a little bored by the plot and the level of sophistication of the jokes. However, if you're looking for family entertainment for the younger members of the family this is about on target. The production comes together fairly well, it's just easy to predict where it's going.
Rating: PG for some rude humor and language.
Verdict: Two stars out of four.

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