Skip to main content

The To Do List

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, and Bill Hader
Directed by: Maggie Carey
Screenplay by: Maggie Carey

     Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) is going to college in the fall.  There are a few things she wants to get done before she goes to school though.  Her biggest goal for the summer is to lose her virginity to a guy named Rusty Waters (Scott Porter).  So, she's created a list of all the sexual experiences she thinks she should have before going to college, including intercourse with Rusty Waters.  This list will be rewarding at some times and will threaten her friendships and potential relationship with her friend Cameron (Johnny Simmons).  Spoiler alert:  You probably can guess many if not all of the things that happen to Brandy as she goes through the list (no STDs and no pregnancy).
     The To Do List is easily the raunchiest film of the year so far.  Pretty much all the dialogue in the film has something to do with sex or some aspect thereof, and at times, it can make you squirm in your seat a little.  For some, this movie might be pretty uncomfortable because of just how prevalent sex is in the storyline.  It's all about sex, so if you don't like seeing a movie all about sex or are uncomfortable with the subject in any way, I'd recommend seeing something else.
     Aubrey Plaza delivers an excellent performance as Brandy Klark, and stands out as the clear star of the show.  She plays the parts of both a nerdy high school valedictorian and a girl on her sexual journey, and plays these roles quite well.  She's the only performance that really stands out in this film.  Bill Hader plays a slightly different role in this film than we're used to seeing him play on Saturday Night Live.  He's more serious in this film, but still brings some comedy to his role.
      The writing for the film is terrific.  The laughs start right as the film begins and they don't stop until the film's end.  The To Do List is perhaps one of the funniest films I've seen all year, and I think part of that is because most people are not as comfortable with the subject of sex as this movie's characters are, and that's just a way for audience members to deal with their lack of comfort in this subject.
      Overall, this is one of the strangest films I've seen this year and at the same time, one of the funniest.  Like I said above, if you're comfortable with this subject, this might just be the movie for you.  Teenage boys will probably not want to see this movie with either their girlfriends or especially, their mothers.  It can be kind of embarrassing at times depending on whom you see this movie with.
      I give The To Do List a B.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Unknown

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, and January Jones Directed by:   Jaume Collet-Serra Screenplay by: Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell     "They had me convinced I was crazy.  But when they came to take me I knew."  Identity theft is a major problem in today's world, but it can't get much worse than the situation present in Unknown .       While on a trip to a biotechnology conference in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) is involved in a car crash putting him in a coma for four days.  He awakens to find out that not only has his identity been taken, but he has been replaced by someone who also claims to be him.  Even his wife Elizabeth (January Jones) claims to not recognize him.  He begins to believe that his entire life has been thrown away, or never existed at all.  As he finds people who can help him remember what happened to him before the crash, he becomes part of a conspiracy involving...

Transformers: The Last Knight

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Anthony Hopkins, and Stanley Tucci Directed by: Michael Bay Screenplay by: Art Marcum and Matt Holloway      Does it ever feel like certain things are just getting old now?  Like, they're not even fun anymore? That's how I feel about Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment of the Transformers series that Michael Bay has said is his last (even though there will be more of these movies).      Optimus Prime ( Peter Cullen) is gone.  He has left to go find his makers and see what is left of the planet Cybertron after being ravaged by war between the autobots and the decepticons.  While there he is seduced by a weird transformer sorceress named Quintessa (Gemma Chan) and changes his name to Nemesis Prime.  She convinces him that in order for Cybertron to live once again, Earth must die.  So like an asteroid speeding towards a point of gravity, Cyber...

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...