Hello all! McEric here with a quick review of two (new) releases hitting the market this St. Patrick's Day Weekend, both of which I actually enjoyed.

RAGING MIDLIFE

First was RAGING MIDLIFE, a movie that was pitched to me as starring Paula Abdul (I'm a massive fan), Eddie Griffin (DOUBLE TAKE), Walter Koenig (STAR TREK), and Motch O. Mann, the world's foremost Macho Man Randy Savage impersonator. Yeah, I hear it, too. Luckily, I didn't read any further. I saw Paula Abdul's name and shouted "I'm in!" Going in to this film blind is the best way to see it. As I'm furnishing you with a review, however, I must speak further to the film. If you want to skip down to AMERICAN DREAMER and go in blind, I do suggest it. Otherwise, here we go.

The film, written by Nic Costa and Rob Taylor, and directed by the latter, follows childhood friends Alex and Mark, now in their midlives (see that?) who are chasing their dragon - a purple tanktop once worn by their favorite wrestler, Raging Abe. Raging Abe is a Macho Man Randy Savage-type character who wears a stove pipe hat and chin beard and lives by five "proclamations," all meant to help his young fans navigate life and walk as better people. The film opens with grainy footage of a talk show appearance (think Arsenio Hall) from Raging Abe and his handler, Mary Todd, played by Abdul. The action opens in the eighties with young Alex and Mark ringside the night that Raging Abe turns heel, and after receiving his tanktop as its thrown off stage, the interference of Alex's sister Mindy causes them to lose it (and her to lose most of her hair in a fire).

As chronological adults, Alex and Mark have not let their obsession wane, so when the shirt goes up for auction, they go all in. They ultimately lose, but unable to accept defeat, they engage on a series of comic misadventures to retrieve the sacred shirt from its new owner, a beautiful stranger named Tyler Roberts (Darielle Mason), with the help of their hacker slacker buddy Rob (director Rob Taylor). The film that plays out is fun, irreverent, and dreamy. Listed as a Comedy/Romance, the film is better categorized as a Comedy/Fantasy, as much of it plays out beyond the confines of a real world. The hijinks are hyperbolic and character motivations and reactions are not rooted in reality. Which is not to say that the film doesn't have heart - one can't help but appreciate the effort put into this fun diversion, and fans of 80s buddy comedies will thoroughly enjoy this feature.

AMERICAN DREAMER

The next (new) release is AMERICAN DREAMER, starring Peter Dinklage ("Game of Thrones"), Shirley MacLaine (TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA), Matt Dillon (THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY), Danny Pudi ("Community"), and Danny Glover (LETHAL WEAPON 2). Dinklage plays Phillip Loder, an adjunct professor of Cultural Economics vying for his own American Dream - a place to call home. Directed by Paul Dektor, AMERICAN DREAMER plays out like a comedy of errors - think MEET THE PARENTS with an even more unlikeable protagonist at its heart. Loder sits at his favorite bar at one point while the bartender runs down his failures and shortcomings in an exposition dump that tells us all we need to know, and if there were any lingering doubt, Loder actually says aloud at one point "I'm not a compassionate person." Setting the film up for his redemption, we're pulled along a serpentine path toward personal growth that never really reaches its conclusion. He's changed, to be sure, but we're not sure for the better. The disconnect in the film is that we're not supposed to sympathize with Loder at any point, but Dinklage is compulsively likeable. Every mistake he makes makes us like him more, and we see something of ourselves in his selfish pursuit of the American Dream. Adding to that, he's something of a lothario, bedding and seducing almost every "obstacle" put before him, so there's another level that paints him as deplorable yet oddly capable.

Shirley MacLaine is a firecracker, Dillon is all sleave, Glover is once again an innocent delight (think ROYAL TENENBAUMS), and Pudi is there, too. Loder's dream extends beyond only wanting a home - he spends too much of his waking moments in a fantasy of his own making (see? we found a theme). While this isn't THE TOXIC AVENGER, it's a good precursor to satiate us as we wait to see a conflicted hero hit the screen that we can cheer along while equally revulsed. AMERICAN DREAMER has been out in America on the streaming services for a while but finally hits UK streamers Tuesday, March 17th.

RAGING MIDLIFE is in theaters for a limited run currently and also available on all major streamers.

Until next time, take care of each other and follow your fantasties.

-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-