Please click here to browse the Film Guide and to purchase tickets online. The Guard ![]()       Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleason), a small-town Irish cop, joins forces with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) to hunt down ruthless drug-smugglers in Ireland. Some corrupt members of the local police might be involved in the drug-smuggling, which complicates the investigation even further, and leads Gerry and Wendell into dangerous territory.       First-time writer/director John Michael McDonagh has a knack for combining drama and suspense with wickedly funny, dark humor. The Guard doesn't take itself too seriously because it pokes a lot of subversive fun at the genre of crime thrillers. McDonagh sets the darkly comical tone very effectively in the opening scene. Gerry is such an atypical cop from the get-go given his irreverent behavior toward authority figures, but, concurrently, he's a goodhearted human being because, after all, he does look after his dying mother (Fionnula Flanagan). Brendan Gleeson hasn't been funnier since In Bruge. If you enjoyed In Bruge, chances are that you'll equally enjoy The Guard. It will leave you in stitches. Admittedly, though, it could use subtitles because, at times, the Irish accents do get too thick and thereby slightly hard to decipher. ![]() A Good Old Fashioned Orgy ![]()       Eric (Jason Sudeikis), thirty-something and employed in a NYC job, has always gathered at the family home in the Hamptons with his childhood friends, Mike (Tyler Labine), Adam (Nick Kroll), Laura (Lindsay Sloane), Willow (Angela Sarafyan), Sue (Michelle Borth), Alison (Lake Bell) and Glenn (Will Forte). When he learns that his father (Don Johnson) is about to sell the house, Eric decides to have very special, memorable and unique final party there during Labor Day Weekend. That party will be an orgy, although persuading his friends to come together for such an experience ends up easier said than done. Meanwhile, Eric has a romantic interest in the sexy real estate agent, Kelly (Leslie Bibb).       Anyone expecting a hilarious, bold ensemble sex comedy will be sorely disappointed because the screenplay by co-writers/directors Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck offers too few laughs, surprises and wit to boot. Any truly great comedy should be at least somewhat grounded in realism, but A Good Old Fashioned Orgy barely has even a morsel of reality. Its characters are, for the most part, one-dimensional and either bland like Eric or over-the-top like Mike. Moreover, the subplot involving Eric’s romance with the real estate agent feels tacked-on as if it were merely added to add more conflict in the one of the re-writes. You’ll find yourself waiting and waiting for the titular orgy to transpire, but when it finally does, it’s too late and there’s not nearly as much nudity as you probably be expected from an orgy scene. If only the filmmakers were to take more risks like those taken in American Pie and Porky’s, perhaps Orgy would’ve been at least much more entertaining and memorable. Couldn’t there have at least been some outtakes provided at the very end?       At an ideal running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is a lazy, witless sex comedy that’s low on both sex and comedy. ![]() Main Page Film Festivals ______________________________________________________ |