By Chris Kavan - 02/11/16 at 07:39 AM CT
This Valentine's Day weekend, nothing says I love you like an R-rated superhero action/comedy featuring the most anticipated anti-hero to come along in awhile. Or you could go the more traditional route and watch Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann navigate the new-age singles scene or forget both of those and just watch a straight-up comedy sequel fifteen years in the making. The strong lineup probably means that films like Star Wars and The Revenant will face their first real competition but overall I expect a good weekend.
DEADPOOL I have been extolling the virtues of the marketing behind Deadpool for awhile now. Ryan Reynolds is the perfect fit, despite having made The Green Lantern - I'm willing to give him another chance at this superhero thing. Of course he already portrayed Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but this one looks like it will suit the character much better. Plus, the film is rightfully rated R - so all the violence and language I'm expecting better be worth it. Plus we get Colossus (Stefan Kapicic and Greg LaSalle for voice and face), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) the villain Angeldust (Gina Carano) with TJ Miller and Morena Baccarin as the normals. All told, the movie just looks like a whole lot of fun and with tracking pegging this with some pretty big numbers, I fully expect it to dominate the weekend.
ZOOLANDER 2 For the most part, sequels seem to follow a set rule - the longer the time between an original film and the sequel, the more likely it will be the sequel will be a disappointment. Now, this rule isn't always 100%, but, for the most part, that seems to be the case more often than not. That doesn't bode well for Zoolander 2 - as it has been 15 years since Derek, Hansel and Mugato were last on the big screen. Once again Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell repriese their respective roles while Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and a whole lot of celebrity cameos join the scene. In fact, I think it might be those cameos that draw in the audience - and also the cult aspect the first film achieved. Granted, that didn't exactly help Anchorman 2 from being a disappointment, but maybe this time it will work out. I wasn't a big fan of the original, so I don't see myself going all out for this sequel. It should do OK, but probably won't break any records.
HOW TO BE SINGLE That leaves us with the most traditional Valentine's Day release, the aptly named How to Be Single. The film follows a group of women in New York City as they try to navigate the increasingly-difficult terrain of being single in Millennial society. It has a host of big names attached: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Leslie Mann, Damon Wayans Jr., Nicholas Braun, Anders Holm and Jason Mantzoukas are all on board. Being pretty much the definition of a romantic comedy, I'm sure this will be the movie of choice for women - and probably more than a few men who are dragged along. Granted, I do have to say most of the previews I've seen make this look pretty funny - so at least this is one I wouldn't mind too much to be dragged to (if that was even a prospect... which it is not). We'll see how this stands up against Zoolander 2 (I don't think it has a chance against Deadpool) as it fights for a spot in the top five.
That's the skinny on Valentine's Day weekend. I have no doubt Deadpool will rule the weekend, but the question is whether Zoolander 2 and How to Be Single can carve out their own spot or if previous winners hold strong.
Comments
