Author Archives: Dazzling Erin

I Watched The Whole Nine Yards (2000, Dir. by Jonathan Lynn)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Oz (Matthew Perry) is an unhappily married dentist who discovers that his new neighbor, Jimmy (Bruce Willis), is a notorious contract killer who has a bounty on his head.  Oz’s wife, Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), wants Oz to rat Jimmy out to the local mob boss (Kevin Pollack) and collect the bounty.  Oz is deeply in debt and has a hard time saying no to his wife but he and Jimmy have actually become friends.  Also, Oz is falling in love with his dental assistant, Jill (Amanda Peet) despite the fact that Jill is also a contract killer, though she’s still a “virgin” because she’s falling in love with the man that she was hired to kill.

The Whole Nine Yards is an amusing comedy that works because of the chemistry between Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis.  When it came to his movie career, Perry was always Chandler Bing no matter who he was playing but that didn’t matter because everyone loved Chandler.  I know I loved Chandler, even if Joey would have been the Friend that I probably would have ended up flirting with.  Perry was a naturally funny actor and he and Willis made for a good team in The Whole Nine Yards.  I also really liked Amanda Peet’s energetic performance as Jill and Kevin Pollack as the crime boss.  The Whole Nine Yards is basically a violent sitcom.  It may not be a great movie but Perry and Willis will make you laugh.

It’s a little hard to rewatch now.  Matthew Perry is gone.  Bruce Willis is retired for health reasons.  They’re both having so much fun in this movie and are so entertaining to watch that it’s impossible not feel a little sad watching them.  But the movie also shows what Perry and Willis could do, even with so-so material.  Watching the movie made me laugh and it made me sad but mostly it just made me appreciate their talent.  We can mourn what we’ve lost while still appreciating what we had.

I Liked Look Who’s Talking (1989, Dir. by Amy Heckerling)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Mollie Jensen (Kirstie Alley) is an accountant who has an affair with a married client, Albert (George Segal) and ends up getting pregnant.  At first, Albert has no interest in being a father but luckily, when Mollie goes into labor, she’s driven to the hospital by a down-on-his-luck taxi driver named James (John Travolta).  After little Mikey is born, James agrees to be Mikey’s babysitter in return for Mollie letting James use her address so he can set up nursing care for his grandfather (Abe Vigoda).  Mollie and James are falling in love but then Albert reenters the picture.  Will Mollie choose rich Albert or goofy James?

As if there’s any doubt!

The important this is not the story but that the story is narrated by Mikey and Mikey sounds just like Bruce Willis!

I will admit it.  I like Look Who’s Talking.

Hey, it’s cute!  It’s a movie that opens with a point of view shot of a herd of sperm heading for an egg.  Little sperm Mikey is so excited!  Even before Mikey is born, he’s giving us his opinions.  When he is born and they cut the umbilical cord, he says, “Hey, I need that!”  What newborn wouldn’t say that?  You’re comfortable and suddenly, you’re getting dragged into the real world.

What I really like about Look Who’s Talking is that we just hear Mikey’s narration and thoughts but Mikey himself doesn’t actually talk.  It’s not like those creepy commercials where they use cheap CGI to make it look like the babies are actually talking.  I hate those commercials.  Instead, we’re just hearing Mikey’s thoughts and his thoughts are probably the ones that most babies would have.  He just sounds like Bruce Willis.  John Travolta is adorable in this.  Kirstie Alley is neurotic and relatable.  The babies are all cute.  But the true star of the film is Bruce Willis’s voice.  Supposedly, Willis ad-libbed most of his lines.  Mikey’s crude but most babies are.

No, I haven’t seen the sequels.  I won’t ever see the sequels.  I get the feeling this is one of those movies that could only work once.  Didn’t the third movie feature talking animals and no Bruce Willis?  There’s no need for that.