Tag Archives: ‘Last Fan Standing’

Movie review: ‘Long Shot’ enjoyable romantic comedy that strays off-target

“Long Shot” (R)

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen make for appealing candidates, romantic comedy-wise, in “Long Shot,” an oftentimes funny, sometimes heartfelt, sometimes preachy and sometimes gross-out tale set amid the wishy-washy world of United States politics.

Theron plays U.S. Secretary of State Charlotte Field, a rising political star who plans on announcing her candidacy for the 2020 presidential election after a whirlwind, worldwide tour touting her global environmental initiative. Working with image and message consultants to bolster her appeal, Charlotte realizes she could use help interjecting a bit of comedy into her speeches, so he hires on a whim controversial journalist Fred Flarsky (Rogen) with a penchant for flying off the cuff. Even though his behavior, temperament and rage against the government and corporate machines make Fred a risk, Charlotte trusts her instincts because as a teenage girl, she used to babysit Fred as an adolescent.

For as odd a couple as Charlotte and Fred seem, Theron and Rogen have a surprisingly good chemistry, both comedically and romantically in “Long Shot.” The big issue is that while Theron continues to prove to her talents in different genres, Rogen, while funny, seems to play the same role of the stoner bud once again.

For a film about politics, “Long Shot” manages to mostly steer clear of the scumbaggery that pollutes today’s political climate, creating an almost idyllic world where politicians almost act like civil human beings. That’s not to say director Jonathan Levine doesn’t make the GOP a punching bag time and again throughout the film – or at least the party’s cable news supporter, Fox News (thinly veiled here as The Wembley Network). On the flip side, however, “Long Shot” introduces a positive Republican character with Christian values who puts a far-left extremist in his place — who effectively argues that Democrats and Republicans simply need to learn how to compromise to manifest the ideal notion of politicians actually getting work done on behalf of the people that elected them.

With a semi-fresh approach to the way politics are presented (Charlotte is not a complete idealist – she knows the system is deeply flawed if not outright crooked, and full-realizes that she needs to play the game in order to see her vision through), the story on which the foundation of “Long Shot” rests – the romance – is hopelessly predictable. “Long Shot” is an enjoyable film to be sure, it’s just doesn’t rise to anything special in the sea of cookie-cutter plots that have populated the romantic comedy genre for decades.

Levine, Rogan and Theron (who also serve as producers on the film) certainly give it their best to separate itself from other romantic comedies, particularly with the interjection of reckless drug use and graphic sexual humor into the third act, a move that ultimately causes “Long Shot” to lose any shred of believability as the film wraps up.

True, the scenes in the third act are very funny, but for a film that focuses on the serious matter of the long-overdue election of female president, you would have thought the filmmakers would have found a much more dignified way of going about it instead of hinging the endgame on a crude sex gag. As such, “Long Shot” gives the term “dirty politics” a  whole new meaning, even if that wasn’t the film’s intention.

Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

Tim Burton Book 2
Click book cover for info on how to buy!

Interview: Bruce Campbell talks ‘Last Fan Standing,’ ‘Ash Vs. Evil Dead’

Bruce Campbell 2

By Tim Lammers

Bruce Campbell, one of biggest attractions at Wizard World’s fan conventions, is turning the spotlight on the people who’ve showed up to support his work over the years – and he couldn’t be more thrilled.

Campbell, the star of the classic “Evil Dead” movie trilogy and such hit shows as “Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Jack of All Trades” and “Burn Notice,” has yet another new gig: the host of the new ConTV.com trivia game show “Last Fan Standing.” Debuting Monday on the website and other mobile platforms, the show features four fans at different Wizard World conventions facing off against each other with their knowledge of movies and TV shows in the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. Through a process of elimination based on points earned, the last of the four contestants is deemed the “Last Fan Standing.”

Campbell is a very affable host during the show, and often takes the time to have fun with the contestants — not make fun of them.

“You have to appreciate their love of the genres. We’re just trying to give them a chance to shine,” Campbell told me in an interview Monday. “There’s a lot of introverts who come to these things. Inside they’re dying because they want to talk about things, and in some cases, they can’t. But with the show, we’re hauling them up on stage and people are clapping, and we’re giving them prizes and stuff like that. It’s a special time for people who don’t usually get in the spotlight. They spend their whole lives looking at people in the spotlight, so with the show, we’re turning the spotlight on them. I think they’re enjoying the hell out of it.”

Campbell, who said he’s appeared at “dozens upon dozens” conventions since 1998, noted that he doesn’t take his fans for granted, mainly because he wouldn’t be where he is today without them.

“Harrison Ford was just quoted as saying ‘I don’t get this whole fan thing,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, Harrison, maybe you should get this whole fan thing.’ People are obsessed about certain things. Once you get into sci-fi, horror or fantasy, fans can let their imaginations go wild,” Campbell said.

Tim Burton Book 2
Click book cover for info on how to buy!

Having witnessed their interactions with fans at convention appearances, Campbell said he’s been very impressed with the way cast members from that monstrous zombie TV show on AMC conduct themselves with people.

“When Norman Reedus from ‘The Walking Dead’ goes to these Wizard World conventions, he is frickin’ Elvis Presley,” Campbell said. “People are bringing him stuff, and you look at his table when he’s done signing, and it looks like someone died or something. They bring him candles and gifts and strange oddities, and he’s a very gracious participant in these events. Not every actor likes being there.”

Campbell said the first season of “Last Fan Standing” shows were shot at Wizard World conventions in Louisiana and Oregon, and given the company’s ever-expanding in presence (Minneapolis, for example, was one of the cities to add a Comic-Con last year), the “Last Fan Standing” crew could very well be visiting more places in seasons to come.

“We were able to get a whole season done in two cities, because we found that it was more cost-effective to shoot more than one show per city,” Campbell said. “So if you’re dragging your crew out to do a show, you might as well do two shows a day. We did four shows in New Orleans and six in Portland and we were done. Now, granted, if the show is a success, I have five other events this year that I’m booked at, and the show could very easily go to any of those.”

Campbell said he loves how “Last Fan Standing” is shot, which bypasses all the formalities of other game shows.

“Fans walk through the doors and nobody is screened. We don’t do the crap that they do for all those other TV shows,” Campbell said. “Everyone gets a clicker and a voting device, and four people get weeded out of that crowd. Then I show up and they go at it.”

‘Dead’ again

Campbell told me he’s revved up to start filming his new STARZ TV series, “Ash Vs. Evil Dead,” starting this April in New Zealand. The series, based on his Ash character from his two “Evil Dead” movies and “Army of Darkness,” will find the wise-cracking, square-jawed anti-hero as a nomad living in a trailer park in the Midwest. Apart from the news of the addition of a couple younger co-stars who will play his sidekicks, Campbell couldn’t reveal too many details of the show – apart from the fact that Ash is reluctant to face the evil Deadites once again.

“When the evil rises to test the mettle of the average man every so often, Ash is our average man,” Campbell said. “It’s a journey he doesn’t want to undertake. It’s very much a Joseph Campbell’s hero’s story that we hope to carry over multiple years to finally flesh Ash’s character out. He’s never really been fleshed out. He’s only been in six hours of material. After this first season, you’re going to have 10 hours of brand-new Ash. He’s going to have to talk and things like that.”

While Campbell and “Evil Dead” co-creator and director Sam Raimi have been bugged for years to do a fourth “Dead” movie, the actor/producer said doing a TV show makes the most sense. The great thing for fans is in addition to Ash’s return, Raimi is directing the first episode of the series, set for debut later this year.

“We’ll be coming into fans’ living rooms every week with new stuff. I don’t know how they would want anything more than that,” Campbell said. “They’ll be getting 10 fresh hours a year of ‘Evil Dead.’ They never got that before. This is going to be a feast. They can gorge themselves on this show now.”

Hot Toys Ichabod Crane
Click photo to learn how to buy!