CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review for the doc series “Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose,” about the rise and bitter fall of the major league legend, the MLB’s all-time hits leader, only to be banned from the sport because of gambling. Streaming on MAX and on HBO since July 24th.
Melissa McCarthy
Time to Get Toasted! On-Air Film Review of ‘Unfrosted’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 3, 2024 - 12:05pm Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 2nd, reviewing “Unfrosted,” featuring Jerry Seinfeld as lead role, co-writer and his debut as director. Streaming on Netflix beginning May 3rd.
See the SeaGirl! On-Air Review of ‘The Little Mermaid’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 26, 2023 - 12:44pm Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 25th, reviewing “The Little Mermaid,” Walt Disney Studios live action reboot. In theaters on May 26th.
‘The Kitchen’ is Once Upon a Time in New York City
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 8, 2019 - 11:31pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It’s the ladies turn to harken back to the badass 1970s, more precisely 1977 in Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. In an adaptation of a DC Vertigo comic series, “The Kitchen” features Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss finding their destiny in taking over mobster duties.
‘The Happytime Murders’ Shoots Its Wad Too Early
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 24, 2018 - 3:46pm Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The most noteworthy feature of the puppet-noir comedy “The Happytime Murders” is its use of felt and fluff for nefarious ends, and while that’s not exactly new, there’s no reason it shouldn’t work. But the movie shoots its wad early, and doesn’t have much imagination after that beyond turning silly string into a bodily fluid.
Melissa McCarthy is the Charming ‘Life of the Party’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 11, 2018 - 2:06pmRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Melissa McCarthy is a comedic force to be reckoned with, able to wring laughs improbably out of the stingiest of material. She always manages to find the funny, which helps elevate everyone around her, and so she slips easily in the durable friendly constructs of the campus comedy in “Life Of The Party.”
‘Ghostbusters’ Entertains, But Lacks the Paul Feig Edge
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 15, 2016 - 10:18am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO –Throughout the reboot of “Ghostbusters,” it becomes obvious that co-writer/director Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids,” “The Heat”) is just going to do a straight re-do of the 1984 film, because the film lacks his sardonic touch, even though it does entertain and has the requisite big special effects.
Melissa McCarthy Really Proves She is ‘The Boss’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on April 9, 2016 - 9:34amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – If anything, “The Boss” is a bigger testimony to Melissa McCarthy’s status as a comic superpower than her breakthrough role in “Bridesmaids.” That one had a veritable treasure trove of comedic talent, while McCarthy has considerably less to work with here.
Fresh Blast of Funny From Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 5, 2015 - 9:53amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – It can be argued that Melissa McCarthy, with a film a year and a TV sitcom still running, is topping out on exposure. But as long as she teams with writer/director Paul Feig, as she did on “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat,” she will continue to be an original comic force. Their latest is “Spy.”
Phony ‘St. Vincent’ is Bill Murray’s Worst Choice Since ‘Garfield’
Submitted by NickHC on October 17, 2014 - 11:42am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Garfield, maybe” was the sole utterance of regret that iconic actor/prolific movie-golfer Bill Murray expressed in 2009’s “Zombieland” before he died. Should the adoration for this cameo resurrect him for that film’s announced sequel, Murray will hopefully denounce “St. Vincent,” his most needless and perverse career choice since vocally birthing “Garfield” (and yes, that includes getting a handjob as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 2012’s also terrible “Hyde Park on Hudson”).
Unfunny ‘Tammy’ is a Melissa McCarthy Misfire
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 2, 2014 - 11:53amRating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Melissa McCarthy has jumped the shark. Or if she hasn’t, she’s strapped on the skis and is contemplating the ramp. Going once more to the same character well – this time with a script co-written with her husband Ben Falcone and directed by him – McCarthy shows little originality or gumption as the title character in “Tammy..”
