Video review: "Finding Dory"

If “Finding Nemo” was groundbreaking filmmaking, then the long-gestating sequel “Finding Dory” is cinematic comfort food. It’s not really necessary, and it certainly doesn’t match its predecessor, but we get a warm feeling just from having it around.

Set some time after the last adventure, the star here is Dory, the forgetful blue tang voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. We find out more about her backstory, such as the fact her funny/annoying short-term memory loss is not the result of some injurious experience, but something she grew up with as a little fishy.

My friend Ed Johnson-Ott of NUVO Newsweekly, a wonderful film critic and even better human being, correctly noted that this revelation irrevocably alters how we feel about Dory as a special-needs person, likening it to his own family.

“Dory is presented as what she is: an individual trying to work around her limitations. She assumes that most of those around her will help when they can, and most of the time she is right,” he wrote. “Individuals like Dory remind us that we are a community and, especially when one of us is a little more vulnerable, we need to behave like one.”

Dory, suddenly instilled with flashes of long-ago memories of her parents, determines to go on a quest to find them. Nebbishy clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) and son Nemo (Hayden Rolence) come along, too. They end up at the fictional Marine Life Institute, which first seems like a haven for injured sea life, but has a dark shadow just beneath the surface.

Many of the critters there display odd behavior as a result of their captivity. Some want to be free, but many others are complacent about their stable existence. One is Hank, a cranky octopus lovingly voiced by Ed O’Neill. He can change colors and mold his squishy body into all sorts of shapes, even operating human gizmos like a pro. He helps Dory and the gang, but only if they first scratch his back (so to speak).

A combination of slapstick antics and empathetic storytelling, “Finding Dory” will make us remember why we adored the original film so much, and fall a little bit more in love with Dory.

Bonus materials are extravagant, though you’ll have to buy the Blu-ray version for most of them. The DVD has only the short film “Piper” and a feature-length commentary track by director Andrew Stanton, co-director Angus MacLane and producer Lindsey Collins.

The Blu-ray adds nine deleted scenes and 10 making-of featurettes, touching on everything from creating Hank, the musical team, underwater explorations of real fish who inspired the onscreen ones, interviews with inhabitants of the Marine Life Institute, and more. Personal favorite: “Casual Carpool,” in which Stanton drives some of the key voice actors around.

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Review: "Finding Dory"

Of course it doesn’t hold a candle to “Finding Nemo,” but that’s a pretty darn bright flame to be held up against. We’re talking “best animated film ever” territory here.

“Finding Dory” isn’t that, but it is an agreeable and welcome follow-up to the 2003 hit from Disney/Pixar. Even more than the first “Toy Story” flicks, “Nemo” showed us the boundless possibilities of computer-based animation, in terms of technical accomplishment but especially emotional engagement.

Ellen DeGeneres brought incredible empathy to her voice performance as Dory, a forgetful blue tang who befriends worrywart clownfish Marlin while searching for his fishnapped son, Nemo. A story about reaching out beyond our limits while learning to let go of fears -- and children’s apron strings -- “Nemo” took us on an emotional journey as real as the cross-ocean trek of our gilled companions.

Now it’s Dory’s turn to go on a trip of discovery. Struggling with short-term memory loss her entire life, so she forgets new experiences minute by minute, she suddenly has dim flashbacks of her parents, and sets out to find them -- with her orange-and-white pals in tow, it goes without saying.

Albert Brooks is, of course, back as the voice of nebbishy Marlin, who’s grown a lot in the year since the last story took place, though he’s still overly protective of Nemo. (Hayden Rolence takes over the role of the tyke since original actor Alexander Gould is a twentysomething now.)

This movie, again written and directed by Andrew Stanton, focuses less on the trip than the destination: the (fictional) Marine Life Institute on the California coast. A sort of sea-life utopia with a dark undertow, it’s a place where injured fish are snatched up from the ocean, rehabilitated and returned to the sea -- unless they’re needed for an aquarium in Cleveland, that is.

The human workers are rather blasé about how they treat the critters, and some of the fishies have acquired off-kilter personalities during their confinement, such as a lonely giant oyster who’ll talk your ears (if you have them) off. Sigourney Weaver provides the soothing voice of the tourist park’s narrator, lulling us into a false sense of benevolence.

Among the new characters is Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a nearsighted whale shark; Bailey (Ty Burrell), a beluga whale convinced his echolocation ability is on the fritz; and Fluke and Rudder (Idris Elba, Dominic West), a pair of lackadaisical sea lions, former residents of the marine institute who now serve as a sort of territorial Greek chorus.

Undoubtedly the film’s finest creation is Hank, a cantankerous octopus voiced by Ed O’Neill. A longtime captive of the marine center, Hank agrees to help Dory find her parents in return for a one-way ticket to a quiet life in a glass box. He can change his color and contort his slippery body to camouflage himself against virtually any object -- not to mention manipulate human tools with hilarious aplomb.

The movie’s a little too overly reliant on slapsticky action to carry the plot forward. I lost count of the number of times Dory & Co. jumped or were dunked from one body of water to another, from a sippy cup to child’s sand pail to a janitor’s mop bucket, without ill effects. You just have to roll with it.

(A former aquarium hobbyist, my brain kept screaming: “But those sudden changes in temperature, pH level and salinity would be deadly!”)

Despite the fact it’s nowhere near as accomplished as its predecessor, I wasn’t disappointed by “Finding Dory.” The second trip is rarely as exciting as the original excursion, but you can ride the current of warm feelings from the last time.

It felt nice to be back in good company, going on another adventure with the gang. Speaking of which: make sure to stay all the way through the credits.

Video review: "American Reunion"

Somebody's still got a jones for the horny crew from the "American Pie" franchise.

The first "Pie" movie in almost a decade -- at least one that didn't go straight to video -- barely made its $50 million budget back here in the U.S. But it hauled in another $175 million overseas to become a solid international hit.

Who knew folks in Japan and Brazil needed a fix of has-been actors eking out a few more bucks from the movie that (briefly) made them stars?

Jason Biggs, Alyson, Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Chris Klein and the rest of the gang are back for their 13th high school reunion, and dealing with unrequited dreams and lowered expectations about life.

Jim and Michelle are married with a kid, and find the steam has leaked out of their bedroom. Slick jock Oz has become a famous but vacuous TV star, while Stifler is now a rather pathetic figure still cruising for chicks and brewskies long past his expiration date.

There are a few funny riffs and tawdry sex jokes, and Eugene Levy as Jim's awkward dad is always worth a laugh. But mostly, "American Union" feels like it's cashing a check.

Say what you will about the motivations for making this movie, but the filmmakers have certainly approached the video release with gusto. Both the DVD and Blu-ray versions are loaded with extra features.

The DVD includes both the theatrical and unrated version of the film, plus seven deleted scenes, a gag reel, several making-of featurettes and a feature-length commentary track by co-director/screenwriters Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg.

Upgrade to Blu-ray, and you add 13 extended scenes and alternate takes, an interactive "yearbook" of the characters and several additional featurettes. Probably the most ambitious feature is an "Out of Control Track" in which Biggs, Scott, Hannigan and other cast members pop up onscreen with banter and even put-downs of their fellow actors.

Movie: 2 stars out of four
Extras: 3.5 stars out of four

Review: "American Reunion"

Watching "American Reunion" is sort of like going to your own high school reunion: it's not nearly as much fun as it should be.

As nice as it is to see some of the old gang again, the tang of unrealized dreams and squandered potential hangs over the scene like a vapor. The good ol' days are just that, and continuing to chase them feels increasingly pathetic. Rebelling against authority is harder when you're starting to resemble your parents.

The first movie was way back in 1999, which feels like a different era now. Over the closing credits we see photographs of the cast from "American Pie," looking so young and achingly fresh. They're still pretty young -- the youngest of the main cast is 31, the oldest 38. But let's face it: their film careers are pretty much kaput.

(What, you didn't see Chris Klein in "Hank and Mike," a movie about two guys in pink bunny suits -- and he wasn't even one of the bunnies? Or Jason Biggs in "Lower Learning"?)

"Pie" was actually quite funny with some unexpected sentimentalism mixed in with the scatological humor. The sequel was reasonably entertaining, and the third one, where horny geekboy Jim (Biggs) marries high school sweetheart-slash-dominatrix Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) was ... sufficient.

But the last feature film was way back in 2003, and since then there have been four more movies that went straight to video, dubbed "American Pie Presents..." featuring Stifler's cousin going to college, or something. The brand hasn't been so much devalued as pimped out and strung out.

So it's hard to see "American Reunion" as anything other than a cynical chance to cash in on fading popularity.

Original directors Paul and Chris Weitz are long gone, though Adam Herz, who dreamed up the whole thing, is back penning the screenplay. Directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who previously helmed one of the "Harold & Kumar" flicks, pitched in on the script, too.

The story plays out with predictable character arcs. The gang is back in town for their 13-ish-year high school reunion -- somebody spaced on the 10th, so this is the make-up -- and it's an opportunity for old romances to be reunited.

For Jim and Michelle, that means getting the heat back in the bedroom. After a few years of marriage and a 2-year-old, they're no longer getting their freak on -- at least not when they're both in the same room.

Oz (Klein) is now the famous host of a sports blather show and TV dancing star. He's got a super-hot girlfriend, but still pines for Heather (Mena Suvari). Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), having conquered the challenge of bedding Stifler's mom (Jennifer Coolidge), has moved on to a life of international mystery.

Stifler (Seann William Scott), meanwhile, is still the same party-hardy dude who manages to rub everyone the wrong way. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), the vanilla-ish nice guy, lives in marital bliss until he sees old flame Vicky (Tara Reid) again.

There are a few genuinely funny bits, mostly involving sexual humor, such as when Jim gets caught pantless in the kitchen and resorts to some transparent attempts at hiding his manhood. There's also a gag involving Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) and a bucket of popcorn worth a few hoots.

But mostly, "American Reunion" just feels tired. It's the act of getting back together, just for the sake of being back together for awhile.

2 stars out of four

Review: "Taking Woodstock"

I liked everything about "Taking Woodstock" except for the concert itself. Or rather, I liked the movie up until the point the music started playing.

And that's because we already know pretty much everything there is to know about the iconic "3 Days of Peace & Music" from 1969 -- the acid trips, the rolling hills filled with people sleeping and grooving, the casual nudity, playing in the mud, etc. It is literally not possible to have lived in America over the past 40 years without being inundated with these images.

What is interesting and new are the events leading up to Woodstock, which are depicted by director Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain") in a fresh and vibrant manner. They deal with the tiny New York town of White Lake, which suddenly found itself host to the biggest rock concert in history. Most of the townsfolk are not happy about it, and blame the two local men responsible for bringing it there.

You may have heard of one of them, Max Yasgur, the unassuming dairy farmer (played by Eugene Levy) who hosted the Woodstock concert on his land. But many people (including me) didn't know the story of Elliot Tiber (renamed Teichberg for the film), who ran a tiny motel with his parents and played perhaps the most pivotal role in the concert happening in White Lake, or anywhere.

As played by Demetri Martin, Elliot is a timid, closeted gay youngster who lives in the Big Apple but spends most of his time helping his aged parents (Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman) run the equally decrepit El Monaco Motel. As president of the tiny local chamber of commerce, Elliot is perpetually dreaming up ways to promote the El Monaco, including an annual chamber music festival and using his barn to play host to a troupe of starving thespians with a penchant for doffing their clothes.

When Elliot gets wind that a major rock festival has been killed by the neighboring town of Wallkill, he contacts the Woodstock organizers and pitches the El Monaco to them. They reject it as too small, but make a deal with Yasgur. Soon organizers and construction guys are arriving by the dozen.

I enjoyed these scenes because they make clear what a major business venture Woodstock was -- in fact, Woodstock Ventures was the name of the company formed to put it on. The irony of an event devoted to free love being birthed entirely by people with money on the brain is delicious fare.

But once the concert starts up, the energy dissolves. Elliot wanders over to Yasgur's fields to check out the scene, and soon gets caught up in acid trips and orgies and all that.

There are a number of supporting characters, played by actors giving some adept performances. Unfortunately, they seem less like real people than contrivances of the script (by longtime Ang Lee collaborator James Schamus, based on Tiber's book).

There's Billy, a burnt-out Vietnam vet played by Emile Hirsch who keeps wading through flashbacks, and Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff), the Zen-like concert organizer who acts as if he knows something no one else does. The most artificial figure is Liev Schreiber as Vilma, a cross-dressing tough who provides security and dispenses assuring platitudes.

Elliot's parents seem like they want to be at the center of the story, but keep getting shunted to the periphery. Mrs. Teichburg has a penny-pinching mania that drives a wedge between the family, but the film never bothers to explore the source of her obsession.

Lee and Schamus should have forgotten about Woodstock, and stayed at the El Monaco.

2.5 stars