22 Jump Street

It turns out Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are pretty good at poking fun at themselves. They did it in This is the End. And, hey, that worked, right? So, this is one inside joke after another. Jokes about their personas. Jokes about bro-mances. Jokes about sequels. Jokes about movie conventions. It’s so super-meta aware of itself, it’s like a hall of mirrors. It’s so narcissistic, it almost shouldn’t work. But there’s a relaxed vibe and a quick pace, so the laughs come easily. Stay for the end credits.

Obvious Child

This movie is all about RISK. It’s a rom-com about a woman who decides to get an abortion. No one in her life objects. There are no protesters outside the clinic. She never wonders out loud why she didn’t try “Plan B.” But it’s still a tough decision to go through with it, nevertheless. The cast is good, and they’re up to the challenge. But the point of the movie, I guess, is that there is no conflict. The point is to depict the women who have to make this decision and show them making it. So if you want politics, look elsewhere. The conflict of this movie is just telling the story in the first place. It’s an admirable endorsement of reproductive rights, and as a movie, it’s a decent, easily appreciated dramedy in which the resolution less important than the choice.

They Came Together

We laughed all the way through this. Not a spoof, per se, of any particular rom-coms, but more like a satire of the genre in general, picking on the well-worn tropes. Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd are in top form and so is the support cast. It’s too bad David Wain and company don’t have a bigger following and this didn’t get a bigger release. It’s so much funnier than those lame/obvious Date Movie things. It’s back to the old-school Zucker Brothers/Mel Brooks style of comedy and it’s a fun night at the movies.

Edge of Tomorrow

The trailers to this made it seem like a sequel to Oblivion, and a rehash of a thousand other sci-fi parables. But as skeptical as I initially was, Cruise & Liman delivered a taut, entertaining thriller that doesn’t suck. Performances are strong, the script is interesting, the pace is speedy, and it’s more or less satisfying. It won’t be chosen to be in the Library of Congress National Film Registry any time soon, but you won’t be pissed off seeing it, either.

Chef

It seems like all of the summer movies that are coming out have one thing in common: the world is about to end. The same is true in Chef. While the stakes aren’t quite as high as if Godzilla was rolling into town, Jon Favreau’s temperamental chef manages to lose everything, and then fights to get it back. It’s a nice, emotional movie. Sure, there are no buildings tipping over, but Chef may end up packing more of an emotional punch than expected as an inarticulate artist struggles to reinvent himself and also, if there’s any chance, earn a living.