fourth level magic user

I stopped breathing last night.

I went to see "Over the Hedge" and it almost killed me. I haven't laughed so hard at a movie in years. It was truly funny. I am not always big on watching a cartoon in the theater preferring to wait until they come out on DVD to watch them, but this one called out to me. That "call" was mostly William Shatner who was cast as a overly dramatic Possum and the knowledge that his comedy "street cred" is high at the moment.

But he wasn't the passion in this film. He was great, but he didn't stop my heart.

The film is about a bunch of animals that awake from hibernation to find that their world has been surrounded by annoying and invasive, urban sprawl. The real "plot" of the film has something to do with food gathering but that's just a silly notion to keep the film viable. The characters come from a daily comic strip and I'm sure that the creator doesn't write each four box story about food gathering (leave that to the Garfields of the world). The real story here is the animals themselves. Any plot would have worked here and anticipate a sequel in the near future.

Starring in this cartoon is Bruce Willis, as a Judas Raccoon. His performance is neither here nor there, but he does fine, but anyone could have done this role. Garry Shandling, as a nurturing Turtle, and he fits the role perfectly. It works well. Wanda Sykes, as a sassy Skunk. She is terribly underused in this film, but when her turn to shine comes up near the end of the film, she tears it up. Expect more of her in the sequel. William Shatner and Avril Lavigne are a father-daughter pair of Possums. Shatner is perfect and exactly what I wanted from him. Avril... Not sure why she's there, but she does fit the part. I think she was underused, and slightly typecasted. It's a shame, I know Avril is trying to break out of that kid thing. We'll see what becomes of her. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'hara are Hedgehogs/Porcupines with three kids. They play it like they are a modest couple from Minnesota and it works for them. The residual characters are played by Nick Nolte as a bear, Katie Segal as a home owner and Thomas Hayden Church as a pest control agent. Their roles are fine, and they do their parts well.

BUT...

This film belongs to STEVE CARELL!!!

He not only steals this film, he is the film. His role as a hyper-active ADHD squirrel is played to perfection and it's just a voice over role. Even as a cartoon, Steve Carell is hysterical. I'll make this offer to you - See the film, if his moment in the film (and you will know his "moment" in the film is) doesn't cause you to stop breathing from laughing so hard, then I will send you a refund for the ticket. I won't build up his moment too much as I want you to enjoy it but let's say it's powerful funny stuff and you might pee yourself - you have been warned.

Steve Carell has not really been able to bust the big bubble of film stardom just yet. He has the television show, The Office, but that's a remake of a really popular British show and those in the know are not all that pleased with this sub-par remake. It's not Steve's fault, it's just never a good idea to remake Star Wars, if you get my drift.

I would hate to think of Steve as just the new "it" boy of comedy in Hollywood at the moment. If you look at the trends, it would appear that we are due for a new one and Steve is coming along at just the right time. I hope he sticks around and makes some good choices, it would be a shame to see what happened to the former boys, happen to him. The former "it" boys fail us so much that their films actually pain us; Robin Williams finally won an oscar, but his humor is so bad that he makes you wish he was still on coke and stealing jokes. Jim Carrey is destined to be the next great straight-to-video comedy star. Will Farrell has finally worn out his welcome and people are done with him. It's rumored that he is supposed to star in "The Confederacy of Dunces" which is my third favorite book of all time, if he screws it up - I'll kill him. Adam Sandler has shit in his own mouth so many times now, that most of us have forgotten he's still alive. Ben Stiller is so annoying that there are few roles he can find that soften him up enough for human consumption. When he does find a role, he needs Owen Wilson to soften up the film even further to insure that it's palatable. (and vice versa)

It would seem that Steve is set to take the stage for a while and hopefully he will bring us laughter for a long time. He has a few films in the works; "Evan Almighty" which takes over the reigns from Jim Carrey's "Bruce Almighty". "Get Smart" the remake of the old television show. And "Dan in Real Life", not mine.

For now, you have "Over the Hedge" and I suggest you see it. It's a kid's film and I warn you ahead of time - there will be some youngin's in the theater. Unless you go to a late, late show, but then you will have to put up with stoned teenagers/college kids. Your choice, but they are equally annoying to watch films with(this is why I rarely watch a cartoon in the theater). You feel better about hitting a kid, but you get in less trouble if you hit a teenager/college kid.

Now that we are on the subject - What happened to Greg Kinnear?