Great Comedy with the "The Wedding Ringer, 2015

The Wedding Ringer is a 2015 American buddy romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Jeremy Garelick. It stars Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, and Kaley Cuoco.The film was produced by Adam Fields, Will Packer Productions and Miramax, distributed by Screen Gems, and released on January 16, 2015.

TRAILER

PLOT

Jimmy Callahan provides best man services, through The Best Man Inc., for guys who don't have the friends needed for a wedding. Doug Harris, a successful tax attorney, and his fiancée Gretchen Palmer are planning their wedding. Frantically needing a best man and groomsmen, Doug contacts Jimmy's company.

Doug needs a "Golden Tux" (seven groomsmen) to match with Gretchen's bridesmaids, which has never been done before. Jimmy agrees to do it for $50,000, all expenses paid.

Three of Jimmy's friends are recruited as groomsmen: Fitzgibbons, a federal prison escapee, Lurch, who has a nagging wife and Reggie, an airport security guard. They interview for the four remaining spots: they choose Kip, sexy with a stutter; Endo, has three testicles; Bronstein, can dislocate and relocate his shoulder; and Otis, can say sentences backwards.

Doug tells Gretchen that "Bic" is a military priest based in El Salvador, and she insists that he also come to the family brunch. There, Doug gets nervous, almost blowing his cover until Jimmy accidentally sets Gretchen's grandmother on fire. In the emergency room, Jimmy lies to Gretchen's father Ed, that they used to play football. So he challenges them to a match with some of his old college teammates.

Doug meets his groomsmen, all with fake identities based on the last names of famous Los Angeles sports figures—Plunkett, Rambis, Garvey, Alzado, Drysdale, Carew, and Dickerson. Jimmy takes Doug and the groomsmen on fake photo shoots of skydiving, scuba-diving, etc..

When Doug begins to have doubts, they visit Edmundo, who tells him the key is to please Gretchen and her mother Lois and nothing else. To prove how good he is at being a best man, Jimmy takes Doug to a wedding where the best man makes a terrible speech. After, they have drinks and show off their dance moves. Jimmy tells him how he gave an excellent best man speech for an acquaintance which led to his career as a wedding ringer. Doug explains that he moved a lot with his parents, so he never got to make friends. When his parents died, Doug took over the business, and work consumed him, leaving him without friends and therefore a best man. Jimmy drives Doug home, and reiterates that they are in a business relationship, and Doug, although hurt, agrees.

At Doug's outrageous bachelor party he is introduced to Nadia, who tries to seduce him, but Doug instead befriends her. A prank involving peanut butter, a dog and a blindfolded Doug's goes awry, requiring the groomsmen and Nadia to rush him to a hospital. When he wakes up the next day, Nadia kisses him goodbye, she hints she would like to know him better. Later, the groomsmen play football with Ed and his college football friends, including Joe Namath, John Riggins, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones. A mud bowl ensues, Ed blows out his knee on the last play and the wedding party team wins.

At the rehearsal dinner, Gretchen's bridesmaids sing a song, while Doug's groomsmen create a slideshow of the fake pictures they took, winning Gretchen over. That night, she notices the Bic razors and Mitchum deodorant in the cabinet, and recognizes the last names of the groomsmen and deduces the scheme. Asking Doug about it, he brushes it off, saying she is paranoid, to which she reluctantly agrees.

On the wedding day, the family priest cancels, so Doug suggests that Jimmy officiate. At the reception, Jimmy congratulates Gretchen, who exclaims that the wedding is a disaster as her zipper is torn, her grandmother has third degree burns, her dad's knee is blown out, the food is bad, and she doesn't love Doug (saying she only married him because he is nice and can easily afford her lavish lifestyle). Doug overhears, telling Jimmy that he can't go through with it, but Jimmy dismisses this.

As Jimmy gives his best man speech, Doug stops him, revealing they aren't really married as "Bic" is not a real priest, nor are his groomsmen who they claim to be. Gretchen is livid that her wedding is ruined. Ed's college friends make peace with Doug and Jimmy and tell them they were good players. Jimmy gets a date with Gretchen's sister, Allison. As they leave, Doug pays Jimmy his $50,000 fee and they accept each other's friendship. Jimmy then has the idea to cash in Doug's first class honeymoon tickets to Tahiti, going instead on a guys trip, along with Nadia (who is now with Doug).

Rating: 10 Stars

The Best of Me, 2014 film - A history of Dawson who faces problems of an abusive father, finds a true love and a new father

NICHOLAS SPARKS 

The Best of Me film

General Information
Premiered	October 17, 2014
Starring	James Marsden as Dawson Cole Luke Bracey as young Dawson Michelle Monaghan as Amanda Collier Liana Liberato as young Amanda
Budget	$26 million
Box Office	$35,926,213

TRAILER

The Best of Me is an American romantic drama film directed by Michael Hoffman and written by Will Fetters and J. Mills Goodloe, based on Nicholas Sparks' 2011 novel of the same name. The film stars James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan with Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato.

Shooting began on March 6, 2014 in New Orleans. The film was released on October 17, 2014 by Relativity Media. Previews in selected test markets were shown on October 15.

PLOT

The film -- the story of Dawson and Amanda -- moves between alternate scenes of the couple's relationship in 1992, and their current separate lives. 

Dawson Cole works on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. An explosion on the job nearly kills him, throwing him into the water, but miraculously he survives. After his recovery months later, Dawson learns that his close friend and surrogate father—Tuck—has died, so he returns home for the first time in almost twenty years to carry out Tuck's final wishes, with the deceased's appointed lawyer.   

When he arrives at Tuck's house, Dawson is surprised to find that Tuck arranged also for Dawson's high school girlfriend, Amanda, to join him. It seems that Tuck's intention was to heal some old hurt between them. However, Amanda is now married. Dawson was born into a notorious criminal family with its abusive father. In flashbacks, it is revealed that as a teenager, he once left his father's home and stayed overnight in the garage of Tuck Hostetler, a local mechanic who had recently lost his wife, allowed Dawson to live with him and eventually considered him as his own son.   

Dawson and Amanda attended the same high school and began dating, soon falling in love. On the afternoon of the prom, Dawson's father and brothers beat Tuck. Dawson, angered, goes to his father's, intending to kill him with Tuck's rifle. However, as they scuffled, Dawson's cousin, an expectant teenage father, was unintentionally killed. Thus, in exchange for a lighter sentence, Dawson testifies against his own father and brothers. Since Dawson would not be paroled for at least four years, he cut ties with Amanda, forcing her to prefer college over waiting his release.   

After Tuck's death, Amanda and Dawson meet with his lawyer and learn that they are to scatter Tuck's ashes at a cottage he owned with his wife. Later, Dawson and Amanda spend a passionate night together. They have lunch and discuss their plans, during which he is reminded how she insisted but refused at the time to visit him at prison. The following day, Amanda decides to return to her family and her strained marriage, to fulfill her family commitments.   

When Amanda goes home, Dawson remains at Tuck's to restore the garden. However, she later decides to split up with her husband, and she leaves Dawson a voicemail expressing her love. Before anything more can happen between them, Dawson is attacked and almost killed by his brothers, having been almost pushed in front of a moving train. He knocks them out, but after calling 911, he was spotted by his father across the railroad tracks and is shot dead.   

Meanwhile, Amanda gets a call that her son has been in a car accident. On arriving at the hospital, the doctor tells her he needs a heart transplant. That same night, as a donor was found, Amanda had a dream of Dawson sitting at her bedside, and when awoken by the doorbell rung, it's her mother, who came to tell her that Dawson had been shot and killed by his father.   

One year later, Amanda gets a call from her son telling her he found out the donor's name and that maybe she knew him: Dawson Cole. Shocked and happy upon hearing this, she drives back to the house Tuck had left them. It is there that Amanda reads the letter Dawson had left her, telling her how much he loved her. She proceeds to take a walk through the garden Dawson had beautifully arranged for her before he died.  

Rating: 10 Stars

Soul Man, 1986 - Comedy: Young Man disguises himself as black to get into Harvard

Soul Man is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Steve Miner and written by Carol L. Black. C. Thomas Howell stars as a white male law student who pretends to be black in order to qualify for a scholarship. Its title refers to the song of the same name by Isaac Hayes and David Porter; the original soundtrack includes a version performed by Sam Moore and Lou Reed.

PLOT

Mark Watson is the pampered son of a rich family who is about to attend Harvard Law School along with his best friend Gordon. Unfortunately, his father's neurotic psychiatrist talks his patient into focusing on his own happiness instead of spending money on his son. Faced with the prospect of having to pay for law school by himself, Mark decides to apply for a scholarship, but the only suitable one is for African Americans only. He decides to cheat by using tanning pills in a larger dose than prescribed to appear as an African American. Watson then sets out for Harvard, naïvely believing that black people have no problems at all in American society.

However, once immersed in a black student's life, Mark finds out prejudice and racism truly exists. He meets a young African American student named Sarah Walker, whom he at first only flirts with; gradually, however, he genuinely falls in love with her. In passing, she mentions that he received the scholarship she was in the running for at the last minute. Due to this, she not only has to handle her classes but work as a waitress to support herself and her young son George.

Slowly, Mark begins to regret his decision as he continues to experience problems because of his skin tone. He gets arrested by a cop who assumes that he is a thief because he is driving an expensive car, is put on the receiving end of many hurtful racial stereotypes by white people and finds himself subjected to sexual harassment by his landlord's daughter, Whitney, who is eager to explore what she perceives to be the "exotic" thrill of sleeping with a black man.

After a chaotic day in which Sarah, his parents (who are not aware of his double life), and Whitney all make surprise visits at the same time, Mark drops the charade and publicly reveals himself to be white. He is surprised to find that many are willing to forgive him for the charade after considering his reasons for doing so, but Sarah is furious. Mark has a private conversation with his professor. He has learned more than he bargained for, admitting that he still doesn't know what it is like to be black because he could have changed back to being white at any time.

Because Mark must forfeit his scholarship, his father agrees to loan him the money for school, but with exorbitant interest. He goes to Sarah and begs for another chance, to which she agrees after Mark stands up for her and George when two male students tell a racist joke in front of them.

Rating: 10 Stars (Super Fun)

Don't worry Darling - The housewife Pugh suspects a sinister secret being kept from its residents by the man who runs the place (Pine).

 Don't Worry Darling is a 2022 American psychological thriller film directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Katie Silberman, based on a spec script by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. The film stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. The film follows a housewife (Pugh) living in an idyllic company town who begins to suspect a sinister secret being kept from its residents by the man who runs it (Pine).

TRAILER

PLOT

Alice and Jack Chambers are a married couple who live in Victory, California, an idealistic desert company town in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Every day, the men leave for work at Victory Headquarters in the surrounding desert, in which their wives are discouraged from entering or even asking about their husbands' work. The women enjoy luxuries and lounging while caring for their homes during the men’s absence.

Alice spends her days with other wives, including her best friend Bunny. One resident, Margaret, has become an outcast after experiencing a mental breakdown and taking her son into the desert, resulting in his apparent death, although she claims Victory took him from her as punishment for breaking the rules. At a party hosted by Victory's enigmatic founder, Frank, Alice witnesses Margaret's husband attempt to give her medication after an outburst. Alice and Jack then have sex in Frank's bedroom, but she notices Frank secretly watching.

Riding the trolley across town, Alice sees a plane crash in the desert and rushes to help. She stumbles onto Headquarters in the desert and touches one of its mirror-like windows, experiencing surreal hallucinations about another life before waking up at home that night. In the following days, she experiences increasingly strange occurrences and receives a phone call from Margaret, who claims to have seen the same things. After brushing off Margaret, Alice witnesses her slit her own throat and fall from her roof. Before she can reach Margaret's body, Alice is dragged away by men in red jumpsuits who work for Frank and experiences strange visions.

Jack dismisses Alice's claims and says Margaret is simply recovering from a household accident, corroborated by the town physician, Dr. Collins, who makes a house-call at their residence. He prescribes medication for Alice, which Jack declines, and she steals Margaret's heavily redacted medical file from his briefcase. Alice becomes increasingly paranoid, and during a company celebration where Frank gives Jack a promotion, she breaks down in the bathroom. Comforted by her friend Bunny, Alice attempts to explain her suspicions, but Bunny reacts angrily, accusing Alice of jeopardizing their livelihood in Victory.

Alice and Jack invite their neighbors to dinner, with Frank and his wife, Shelley, as special guests. In private, Frank confirms Alice's suspicions and taunts her by saying he hopes she continues to challenge him. Spurred by his confession, she attempts to expose him over dinner, but Frank makes her appear delusional to the other guests, causing Jack grief over her deteriorating mental state. In the aftermath, Alice begs Jack to leave Victory, to which he feigns agreement, but he instead has her taken away by Frank's men. Dr. Collins forces Alice to undergo electroshock therapy, during which she sees visions of herself in the 21st century, struggling to make ends meet as a surgeon named Alice Warren and living with the unemployed, lazy, and disgruntled Jack.

After her treatment, Alice is welcomed home and resumes her normal life, but comes to realize the visions are her real memories. Realizing he can no longer conceal the truth, Jack finally admits it: Victory is a simulated world created by Frank, where Jack and the other men lead their version of perfect lives; the women they have forced into the mid-20th century simulation are unaware that their lives, children and Victory itself do not exist. When the men leave for work each day, they are in reality logging out of the simulation for real jobs and to maintain their drugged wives, whose minds stay in the simulation. Jack argues that Alice was miserable in the real world while Victory means they can both finally be happy, but she is infuriated for him putting her in the simulation without her consent. Jack begs her to stay, forcefully holding on to Alice, prompting her to fatally smash a rocks glass over his head, causing his death in both the simulation and reality.

Frank is immediately alerted to Jack's death, while Bunny finds Alice and explains that she has always known Victory was a simulation, but chose to stay to be with her children, who died in real life. She tells Alice that her real body will be killed by Frank's minions, so she must get to Headquarters – the exit portal from the simulation. Alice silently confronts the neighborhood, leading the other wives to become aware, while the husbands panic. Fleeing in Jack's car, Alice is chased by Dr. Collins and Frank's men, maneuvering them into fatally crashing into each other. Meanwhile, Shelley fatally stabs Frank to take control of Victory. Arriving at Headquarters, Alice has a final simulation vision of Jack, then puts her hands on Headquarters just as Frank's men reach her. The screen cuts to black, and Alice gasps for air.

Rating: 10 Stars