This weekend, expect Kung Fu Panda 3 to end its reign as #1, as three new films open, all of which seem likely to appeal to mass audiences. Plus, Michael Moore’s first documentary in seven years!
The film which appears to have the greatest chance of winning the weekend is Deadpool, adapted from the beloved Marvel Comics character. Starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular antihero with the disfigured face and R-rated sense of humour, the film is a refreshing for-adults-only take on the superhero genre. I admit to having such superhero fatigue, but I actually think this one looks enormously appealing. There’s a laidback scrappy quality to the marketing materials that feels very different from the on-brand corporate sameness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe machine. I’ve also always really liked Reynolds as a movie star, dating all the way back to Van Wilder (and I’ve even been a fan since his Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place days. I find it fascinating as well that the marketing has made a point of sexualizing Deadpool every step of the way. Considering that the character is famously “omnisexual”, I find this a ballsy move (no pun intended) — and also one that flips typical Hollywood sexism in a hilarious way. All the marketing materials that I’ve seen have been intelligent and subversive, so count me in. Early reviews are also very, very positive.
Also opening this week is Zoolander 2, the sequel to the wildly popular Ben Stiller comedy from 2001 about the dim-witted male model who keeps getting drawn into matters of international espionage. In the new film, Zoolander must infiltrate the world of high fashion when the world’s most beautiful people start getting assassinated. Stiller returns as director, co-writer, and star, bringing with him returnees Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell — plus Penélope Cruz as an INTERPOL agent and Kristen Wiig as an Eastern European supervillain. Silly stuff, but potentially very funny as well. Alas, early reviews so far are overwhelmingly negative.
The third and final film opening in wide release this week is the romantic comedy How to Be Single. Starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, and Leslie Mann, the film is based on a novel by Liz Tuccillo, co-author of the book He’s Just Not That Into You. There’s a definite feminist vibe here with the I-don’t-need-a-man quality of that title, and that could be a refreshing change from what we often see in this genre, where women tend to be professionally successful yet find self-worth only in being loved by man. Director Christian Ditter previously directed last year’s little-seen rom-com Love, Rosie. Those are four very appealing and funny women in the lead roles, so I’ll give this a look. Reviews are quite mixed, however.
Among the films opening in limited release this week are Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next (which premiered last fall at TIFF), which finds the filmmaker traveling to various countries to experience how those countries deal with social and economic problems compared to the United States; Fitoor, a Bollywood romance based on Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations; Providence an indie, faith-based, silent (!) romance film from writer-director Sharon Wilharm (The Good Book); and Touched with Fire, a drama from first-time filmmaker Paul Dalio in which Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby are bi-polar poets who meet in a psychiatric hospital and fall in love.
What are you planning to see this weekend?
