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The Shaggy Dog (2006)
A funny film shows issues with IMDb ratings
The Shaggy Dog is a decent remake of the 1960's original with Tim Allen, Robert Downey Jr and a solid supporting cast. It's an enjoyable popcorn film aimed at kids but with plenty of jokes and physical humor adults can enjoy. It deserves a 7.5 or an 8 but I gave it a 10 because of the rash of low ratings by people who have it in for Tim Allen or films for children.
The IMDb rating is a shame and is not the first time that a decent film has terrible ratings (see, for example, The Wild Thornberrys Movie) because of its unrestricted rating system (compare, for example, the rating on Amazon). IMDb needs to review its rating system and come up with something better than unrestricted rating which allows groups of Internet users to sabotage the ratings of good films.
Scarecrow (2013)
Good actors hamstrung by been-done plot.
This is an almost good horror flick: with good cinematography, good actors (Lacey Chabert is quite good throughout) and a well-done CGI Scarecrow.
The problem is the plot.
First, the movie doesn't properly setup the history of the monster and it doesn't setup the initial monster-meet on Kristen's (Lacey Chabert) old family farm. As mentioned by others, why is there corn growing on a supposedly abandoned farm? But these errors could be forgiven if the rest of the plot held up. It doesn't.
In the first half of the movie, various teens do stupid things (wander off alone) and promptly get killed, fair enough - that's the standard trope for this type of movie. In the second half of the movie, the remaining teens, adults do smart things (run fast and far together) and promptly get killed, which is ridiculous.
It's a shame because there's a decent horror movie in there somewhere, just needed a script rewrite or two.
Christian Mingle (2014)
Overall cute, but third act is a little shaky.
Christian Mingle: The Movie is basically a cute-meet rom-com. Gwyneth (Lacey Chabert) is feed up with dating and ends up signing up to the eponymous website despite the fact she's not an evangelical Christian.
She ends up meeting Paul (Jonathan Patrick Moore) and what follows is a series of small calamities as she dives into the deep-end of a religious community of which she knows nothing. There are several funny fish out of water moments.
At the same time her relationship with Paul is blossoming, she's having trouble at work, her boss Douglas (the wonderful Stephen Tobolwsky) and the firm has just been hired by Donny De Bona (John O'Hurly) to come up with an ad campaign for a new fake baldness cure. Her assistant at the firm Pam (Saidah Arrika Ekulona)is the only one who knows about her "double-life" on ChristianMingle at the firm, and strongly disapproves.
As happens in this type of movie, Paul and his family (David Keith, Morgan Fairchild) discover that Gwyneth has been fakin' her evangelical Christianity. Paul drops her like a hot potato and Gwyneth ends up joining a church and going on her own spiritual journey.
This leads to the faltering third act: there are two big problems with the third act: there is a conversation with God sequence that just seems unnecessary but even the conversation with God sequence would have been acceptable, if not for the worst moment in the movie, which blows up a lot of good will that Lacey Chabert has built with the audience as Gwyneth. Right before the final scene of the movie Gwyneth receives a letter from a young Mexican girl she helped mid-way through the movie, and the letter is read as a voice-over in a very strange and stilted accent. The movie ends with Paul and Gwyneth back together (of course) and with her now an English teacher in Mexico.
Ms. Chabert is as lovely and likable as always, quite funny at moments and believable, aside from the unnecessary conversation with God sequence. Mr. Moore is a little too stiff, but that may in part be because his character was written fairly stiff.
It's a movie I want to like more but the third act problems are too distracting. Still I give it a 7 due to Ms. Chabert's charming performance, and the presence of some great character actors.
Non-Stop (2013)
Can't be saved
Lacey Chabert does her best with a terrible script, but nothing can save this movie. Terrible editing, weird directing, wooden acting by many of the other actors and a completely ridiculous plot. The only reason it doesn't get a one is because Ms. Chabert is actually quite good for much of the movie.
Ms. Chabert, who is always likable on screen, makes it almost worth watching, but unfortunately, by the finale of the movie, even that's not enough. Without spoiling anything, the last twenty minutes or so of the movie are beyond bad - the movie enters crazytown - first there's a scene with the oddest cinematography, followed by a series of ridiculous plot points, followed by an ending that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
It would be nice to see Ms. Chabert in something with a decent plot and a solid ensemble.
All of My Heart (2015)
Sweet and Unpretentious
A sweet, small and unpretentious Hallmark TV movie much like the star Lacey Chabert herself. It's a very traditional romantic movie cute meet: newly single girl Jenny Fintley (Ms. Chabert) yearning for the country meets too busy for romance man Brian Howell (Brennan Elliott) who loves the city. The plot revolves around the two's different plans for a house which they have unexpectedly inherited but it's really just an excuse to put the two actors into a room together and see what happens. There's some nice chemistry between Ms. Chabert and Mr. Elliot with Ed Asner (as Vern) on screen now and then to steal a scene.
There are no surprises in this kind of movie but so what? It's sweet, it's light, it's unpretentious and it's enjoyable. I will add that the baby goats are a bit too much on the sweet side but overall: 7 out of 10.