Nicole Richie: Award-Winning Mommy
Nicole Richie: Award-Winning Mommy
There’s something about motherhood that has made Nicole Richie more beautiful and vibrant than ever. And she was spotted doing her motherly duty yesterday.
The Simple Life cutie made the most of her Memorial Day afternoon by spending some quality time with her daughter Harlow on a stroll around her neighborhood. And after Sunday’s festivities, it was surely a much-needed low-key day.
The day before, Richie, her boyfriend/babydaddy Joel Madden, and Harlow all attended Kingston Rossdale’s 2nd Birthday party in Malibu.
And it sounds like Nicole’s mothering proficiency has already made an impression on Babytalk Magazine, as they’ve awarded her a Golden Pacifier Award.
Editor-in-Chief Lisa Moran told press, “Honoring Nicole Richie with a Babytalk Golden Pacifier Award might come as a surprise to some, but we felt that she deserved some recognition for her turnaround since becoming a mom. She’s grown up a lot since the arrival of little Harlow, and her creation of the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation has demonstrated her efforts to set a good example by shining a spotlight on important issues affecting today’s families.”
Brett Ratner in Talks to Direct Remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man For Universal
“Mayonaise. Nom nom nom.”
Pssssssst, put your ear up to the monitor. Here that? That’s the sound of so many strikes at a bowling alley. Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy: together at last for a presumably plastic potty-humored family comedy! Ratner is in talks to helm a remake of the 1957 movie The Incredible Shrinking Man for Universal, with Murphy circling the lead. The script is by Thomas Lennon and Reno 9-11’s Robert Ben Garant (The Pacifier, Night at the Museum), and HR reports that it tells the tale of a Las Vegas magician who falls under a spell that causes him to lure ’00s Eddie Murphy gradually shrink to the point of disappearing. Brian Grazer will produce.
In related but not related discussion, where this leaves Ratner’s biopic about Hugh Hefner is unforeseen. Rick Moranis has not yet chimed in on his feelings about Ratner invading his “shrink” territory. I predict $200 million at the box office, and $230 mill if there’s a talking dog, cat, bumble bee and/or Murphy rides on top of said creatures. Sleep soundly tonight imagining what Ratner’s vision for a “Las Vegas magician” will look like.
Movie Review: Balls of Fury
If you ask the movie studio, Balls of Fury was a huge Comic Con sensation. Rogue Pictures announced that they had decided to move the release date of Balls of Fury up because of the incredible response they received at the convention. While I was covering the con, I talked to hundreds of people, yet didn’t hear one positive thing about the flick. Which made me wonder, did I miss this “phenomena”? Or was it a complete PR creation.
For me, Balls of Fury never even looked funny in the trailers and video clips. It didn’t even seem that amusing. Writer/Director Ben Garant is behind some of the worst comedy films of the last three years: Taxi, The Pacifier, Herbie Fully Loaded, Lets go to Prison, Night at the Museum and Reno 911!: Miami. But the comic con crowd supposedly loved this film, so I decided to give the film a chance, with my expectations raised just a little. And by a little, I mean slightly. And by slightly, I mean, not much at all. I went into this film with little to no expectations and came out of the film feeling dumber than I did two hours prior.
Balls of Fury follows Down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom turned failed Reno restaurant performer. But one day he is recruited by the FBI to spy on a series of Ping Pong competitions in hopes of being invited to a fatal competition held by FBI’s Most Wanted, arch-fiend Feng (Christopher Walken), who also happens to be the one who killed his father. The story is convoluted, and the comedy is ridiculous and stupid. The script seems much tighter than the group’s past efforts, but offers just as little in terms of comedy.
Randy Daytona must undergo secret Ping Pong training with a blind carbon copy of Mr. Miyagi, who spouts out wisdom like “You Suck when you’re nervous” and “It is better to die like a tiger than to live like a pussy.” There is not much to laugh at in Balls of Fury. And in the end, it seems less of a parody, and more of the same old generic sports comedy. They missed a great opportunity to play against and with the conventions of the training/sports/competition genre, but chose instead to be that type of movie, but to a ridiculous degree. The characters are unbelievable, unlikable, and for the most part, unwatchable.
I usually look forward to Christopher Walken to make even the worst movies watch-able. But his turn as a evil Elton John dressing Ping Pong master is probably his least interesting performance to date. There is no destined-to-be-classic monologue (remember Walken’s Tooth Fairy speech from The Rundown?). While Balls of Fury might pass for a late-night HBO half asleep watch, there are so many better comedies available now theatrically. I suggest you spend your money elsewhere: SuperBad, The Simpsons Movie, Death at a Funeral, or Rocket Science.
The Game Plan Movie Poster
Last night we posted the movie trailer for The Rock’s new family sports comedy film The Game Plan (groan). Cinematical has released the theatrical poster, which looks even worse. As always, left click to see a larger version.
I think our friend Chris at Movie Marketing Madness said it best: “Note to all studio executives, Big, manly guys with a reputation for action movies all of a sudden being thrown into a domestic situation with a cute kid is a pitch that should be avoided.”
And yes, this does remind us of Vin Diesel’s The Pacifier all over again. The new poster also confirmes the Fall (aka Football Season) release date.