Retro Movie Review: Killing Gunther (2017 - R – 92 minutes)

Some of the theaters in my area have begun discussing plans to safely reopen. In the meantime, I continue to safely social distance and catch up on older flicks I missed.  Killing Gunther is available on Netflix.

Taran Killam came up with some truly zany characters during his time on SNL. I have enjoyed his run on the sitcom Single Parents. This movie features something in between. Killam wrote and directed this truly bizarre movie where he plays a hitman named Blake.  Blake and all his hitman friends are doing just fine in the old hitman rankings. There’s one issue. Each of them has come across Gunther – the number one hitman in the world.  Annoyed with being constantly one-upped, they get together to decide to kill Gunther and remove him from the equation.  To ensure everyone is aware of the success once they have succeeded, they have hired a documentary crew to follow them as they attempt to ensnare and eliminate Gunther.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeLp9-k9-LQ

The movie is absolutely ridiculous. As long as you go in realizing that, you can turn off your brain and enjoy the silliness. Killam directs as well as having written this story and with a cast of friends the interaction scenes where all the hitpeople are together are the best moments.  Bobby Moynihan is a standout and I could have used even more scenes with he and Killam.  Each of the characters is more insane than the last and watching them attempt to plan is where the best hijinks ensue. 

The true gem of this movie is Arnold Schwarzenegger as Gunther. He seems to be having the time of his live as Gunther. He definitely understood the tone and has a blast sending up his previous roles and lines of dialogue.

Overall, the movie is stupid and silly, and honestly, might be exactly what you need to watch right now.

6 out of 10 – solid brainless entertainment. Get out the air popper and enjoy.

Movie Review: The Lovebirds (R – 86 minutes)

We’re all still practicing social distancing. The Lovebirds was going to be released in theaters last month, but it adjusted to Netflix, where you can now stream it!

The Lovebirds is a rom-com that begins with a quick montage illustrating how Leilani and Jibran fell in love. Three years later they are realizing the relationship is no longer working and have decided to call it quits when they encounter a bit of a situation. They interrupt a man who says he’s a cop chasing a guy on a bicycle. The cop commandeers their car and promptly uses it to eliminate the man on the bike. He then leaves as bystanders start to show up. Leilani and Jibran realize they are not likely to be believed when they state their innocence and go on the run. Hijinks ensue as their relationship rekindles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzPq8uVgLe8

The movie is directed by Michael Showalter who also directed the Big Sick (see that if you haven’t).  It’s fairly straightforward and predictable, but not in a bad way.  As I have stated before, I do not mind rom-coms being predictable. It is the one genre where that is perfectly acceptable. Here, the situation is zany. The chemistry between Issa and Kumail is good and they are both skilled comedians, so I expected to laugh out loud more often than I did.  As it was, I spent a good deal of time chuckling, so not complaining.

There’s very few other cast members, Anna Camp and Kyle Bornheimer have just a couple of scenes and everyone else has near-cameos.  Paul Sparks plays the cop that they encounter briefly and then set out to find.

The movie does make it clear this is a broad comedy but could have leaned into that a little harder.  It’s a little tough because the very premise of them going on the run is a result of them not wanting to call the cops, being two people of color. This is certainly timely and the movie does a good job of acknowledging it without it being the central theme.  The couple experiences one insane situation after another as they decide solving the murder is the best way to clear their names and begin to appreciate one another again.  Are they any different than the couple who realized at the beginning they should not be together? No, but being interrogated in a barn and narrowly escaping a bizarre sex cult does bring people closer together.  

6 out of 10 – Overall, I definitely enjoyed it. However, I can’t help but wonder how I would have felt if I had seen it in a theater rather than on Netflix. I think I give streaming movies a little more leeway.