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You remember the old theme song from "The Facts of
Life"??? -- "You take the good, you take the bad, you
take what's left and then you have the facts of life".
Well, that pleasant little ditty also nicely sums up the new
comedy "Serving Sara", one of the most pointless films
of the year, yet still producing a few humorous moments.
Matthew Perry stars as Joe Tyler, a process server whose boss
Ray (Cedric the Entertainer) sends him on a new assignment.
What is the new assignment? To serve Sarah Moore
(Elizabeth Hurley) and, in return, receive a tidy sum of cash.
Alas, Hurley offers Perry one million dollars to serve her
husband instead, and her husband is played by the highly
underrated Bruce Campbell (yes, from "The Evil Dead"
films). And, that is the plot of this comedy.
Instead of starting out with the bad and going into the good, I
will do it a different way this time. The only humorous
scenes in this film involve Bruce Campbell, who may not be the
best actor but has great comic timing. And, those few
inspired scenes of comedy are the only things worth watching
about this flick.
Now, for the bad--I should have
made out a checklist. Oooooh, I will:
(1) Bad performances. Matthew Perry is awful (I thought
that after "A Whole Nine Yards", his taste in films
might have become a little more mature. Alas, I was sadly
mistaken). Elizabeth Hurley is awful
("Bedazzled" was pretty funny, but she really is a
minimal actress with limited range and skills). Cedric the
Entertainer is awful (but, what's new--he's usually always
awful. He is a funny guy on television, but in film he
isn't exactly Chris Tucker--oh wait, Chris Tucker is awful too).
(2) Bad storyline. A film about a process server.
Wow. How exciting. It seems like more and more films
are coming out about people with really horrible jobs.
"The Good Girl" was about a woman who worked as a
retail store. "One Hour Photo" is about a man
who works at a photo lab. "Serving Sara" is
about a process server. At least the other's have good
acting.
(3) Bad timing. Most actors learn right off that the only
way to produce a successful comedy is to have comic timing.
I am constantly told that on the stage, but that notion is not
just for the theatre--it is also for the theater. Matthew
Perry had marvelous timing in "The Whole Nine Yards",
but his timing is pitiful in this flick. Elizabeth Hurley
just stinks all around, so I wasn't expecting much from her.
I was, however, expecting something from Cedric, just because he
has a television background, and that usually gives an actor a
good sense of timing (unless you're Matthew Perry). Boy,
was I completely and utterly WRONG!
So, this film is rotten? Pretty much. I usually like
Reginald Hudlin's films, like "Boomerang" and
"The Great White Hype", and even "House
Party". This film, though, is not one he should place
on his resume. "Serving Sara" was a waste
of my time and will be a waste of yours. It was nice
to see Bruce Campbell in another mainstream role, but it is too
bad he picked this pile of crap as his return vehicle.
"Serving Sara" is serving nausea and discomfort at a
theater near you.
-- Billy
Ray
( 1/2 out of 4 pops )
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