Bridesmaids, Larry Crowne and Transformers 3

What possessed me to go and see "Bridesmaids". I blame the reviews that were almost universally good. The first twenty on Rotten Tomatoes were all glowing. I should have known better. it is a long time since I walked out of a movie, but this came the closest after the first ten minutes. I just cannot stand these gross out American comedies. The sad part is, that there is a good sweet romcom hiding underneath. The relationship of lead Kristen Wigg and that of bit part player Chris O'Dowd was the best thing about the film. But it was the appearance of the always splendid Rose Byrne as the horrible, spoilt one that kept me watching through all the rubbish. And the late revelation about her job by the huge Megan put the top hat on the awful ensemble. What is wrong with me?

And it was the reviews that nearly stopped me from going to see movie of the year "Larry Crowne". The critics have all massively missed the point. When The Times gives it a grudging one star you know this is true. This is the most tongue in cheek romcom to come out of America for years. I didn't think they did such things, and all the critics obviously didnt think so too. so let's start with the names of the leads - Larry Crowne and Mercedes Tainot. Doesn't that tell you something? This movie is pure feelgood escapism. Nothing is remotely real. How can an aging redundant retail worker team up with an ultra cool scooter gang/ There you go. It is not supposed to be real. Take "Star Trek's" George Takei as the hot shot professor Dr Matsutani. That's right. Must be best supporting actor. OK, the film is cheesy to the point of being a gooey brie, but hey, I love brie. And there is so much feelgood stuff poured in that it nearly overflows. I had high hopes as soon as ELO's "Hold on Tight" played over the opening credits. They also play "Calling America" over the final credits. Great stuff. With tracks from Tom Petty, the soundtrack is spot on. There is a nice role for Brit Gugu Mbatha as Talia. She started her acting career in Holby, Spooks and Dr Who before some American TV. I have saved the two lead till last. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts just look as if they are having the most enormous fun and it shows. Tom does a reasonable job of directing, but that was easy. But it is the writing of Tom and Nia Vardalos ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - do these movies do better in the UK than the USA?) that stands out. When Tom and Julia wave to the audience at the end, I bet the critics didn't wave back. Guess if I did.

I must stop going to see movies like "Transformers 3". Like "Bridemaids" there is a decent story hiding underneath. And the first hour is not at all bad. There is quite a lot of plot so you actually have to concentrate on what is going on. But then it is all downhill with the CGI battles at the end as tiresome as ever.