Jake Johnson

  • The Pretty One (2013)

    The Pretty One (2013)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On TV, March 2021) Strange plotting things start to happen when you use twins as a plot device. In the case of The Pretty One, it means being able to treat a quasi science-fictional device in a realistic fashion, as a young woman takes over her dead twin sister’s life after a case of meticulously engineered identity confusion. Zoe Kazan carries the film on her shoulders in the dual lead role, both as the unpleasant outgoing glamorous career-driven Audrey, and the likable shy frumpy homebound Laurel. Invading some else’s life is easier when you look exactly like her, but it’s not easy, and much of the film plays along the lines of a classic thesis/antithesis/synthesis structure, as our introverted heroine learns to take the best parts of her sister’s life in order to improve her own. Jake Johnson does well as the romantic interest, with Ron Livingstone providing one of his usual handsome schmucks. Still, the film always goes back to Kazan in a challenging dual role, not simply playing different parts for a chunk of the film, but also playing someone playing a part and reacting to various strong emotions along the way. It’s all handled with some restraint and glossy cinematography by writer-director Jenée LaMarque, and the result is a minor but very enjoyable film that stays nicely grounded despite a premise that is more often found in genre fiction.

  • Let’s Be Cops (2014)

    Let’s Be Cops (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2015) I’m not necessarily opposed to silly immature comedies, but Let’s Be Cops is… not a good example of the form.  The big premise here is how two out-of-luck young men hit upon the idea of donning police uniforms and pretending to be cops for fun and then love and profit.  Surely I can’t be the only one unaccountably bothered by this?  There’s a really good reason why impersonating a police officer is a jail-worthy offense.  It certainly doesn’t help that the film’s two protagonists are borderline-unlikable, their immaturity being a problem long before they start wearing their uniform.  (Damon Wayans, Jr. is slightly more tolerable than Jake Johnson, but I’m not sure that’s a quirk of the role or the actor.)  Let’s Be Cops may have played better in a year or two, given current issues of police brutality being in the news.  But as of today, it feels crass, and its lack of wit only makes it worse as it doesn’t deserve its infringement of social norms.  (Arguably, it doesn’t have the guts to exploit its premise at full-tilt.)  The criminal subplot isn’t much, but Andy Garcia does make an impression in a short time.  With little wit, few laughs, more than a bit of irritation and unremarkable directing, Let’s Be Cops is almost instantly forgettable… and that’s not a bad thing.