Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Starring: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury
Directed by: Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”)
Written by: Sean Anders (“Hot Tub Time Machine”), John Morris (“Hot Tub Time Machine”), Jared Stern (debut)

“Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is poppycock – a poorly prepared picture packed with pleasantries for the pipsqueaks and pathetic puns for parents who are paying the painful price.

Alliteration aside, “Penguins” is a family film based on a children’s book from the 1930s written by Richard and Florence Atwater. Jim Carrey (“Yes Man”) stars as title character Mr. Popper, a real estate businessman who is left a plethora of penguins by his estranged explorer father who has recently passed away.

On deadline to complete a very important real estate deal, Mr. Popper is forced to bird-sit a set of six penguins who he deems his childrens’ pets when they come over for a visit with his ex-wife Amanda (Carla Gugino).

For whatever reason, everyone seems nonchalant about everything the penguins do from the moment they take over Popper’s apartment. Not much makes sense in “Penguins” for people over the age of seven. It’s harmless drivel for Carrey who phones in his performance and proves he can still collect a paycheck by putting a pothole in his comedy résumé the size of the Arctic Circle.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Starring: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry
Directed by: Steve Pink (“Accepted”)
Written by: Josh Heald (debut), Sean Anders (“She’s Out of My League”), John Morris (“She’s Out of My League”)

Until “The Hangover 2” hits theaters sometime next year, comedy lovers will be itching to find a male-bonding movie as juvenile and riotous as the original Las Vegas romp of last year. The closest they’ll get so far this season is with “Hot Tub Time Machine.” Despite its similar comedic elements and disregard for levelheadedness, the blast-from-the-past flick doesn’t have more than obvious jokes in its arsenal.

Like “The Hangover,” “Hot Tub” features four friends who find themselves on the biggest misadventure of their lives. Instead of Sin City, however, Adam (John Cusack), Nick, (Craig Robinson), Lou, (Rob Corddry), and Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) are vacationing at a Nevada ski resort where the three middle-aged friends used to party back in high school.

Bored with their lives, the trio wants to recapture the glory days when they were all younger, dumber, and full of aspiration. Their trip takes a bizarre twist when the foursome climbs into a mysterious hot tub and are magically transported back to the year 1986 for one more chance to relive their adolescence.

Not only do the boys travel back in time, they also transform back into their teenage bodies (with the exception of Jacob who is already a teen). Since Jacob hasn’t technically been born yet (and since he begins to flicker like Marty McFly in “Back to the Future”), they guys realize if they don’t do exactly what they did 24 years prior, Jacob might disappear and never be born.

The whole idea of the “butterfly effect” is used loosely throughout the film as Adam, Nick , Lou and Jacob search for the hot tub repair man (Chevy Chase in a wasted role) who can get them back to the present day (think Don Knotts in “Pleasantville” without the personality) and run around the resort trying to remember specific aspects of their past so they can keep the future intact.

Most of “Hot Tub” is a one-joke homage to the 80s. It has a number of hilarious moments (especially when Robinson is involved), but wears out the nostalgia after a while. Yes, cassette players and Jheri curls have their place in a movie like this, but why fixate on the obvious?  It’s one thing to create an 80s-inspired world and build a comedy around it, but “Hot Tub” relies too much on the references to get the bulk of its laughs. Legwarmers are funny, but not that funny.

She’s Out of My League

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller
Directed by: Jim Field Smith (debut)
Written by: Sean Anders (“Sex Drive”) and John Morris (“Sex Drive”)

While it might remind you of the reality show “Beauty and the Geek,” there is a lot more heart and plenty of hilarious moments in “She’s Out of My League” that propels it past mindless TV fare and similar types of recent comedies like “I Love You, Beth Cooper.” It actually feels more like 1987’s “Can’t Buy Me Love” with rougher edges.

In “League,” Jay Baruchel (“Tropic Thunder”) plays Kirk, a nerdy airport security officer who gets the shock of his life when Molly (Alice Eve), a gorgeous blonde bombshell genuinely takes an interest in him. His buddies – Stainer (T.J. Miller), Jack (Mike Vogel), and Devon (Nate Torrence) – can’t believe a girl like Molly (described here as a “hard 10”) would lower her physical standards and give Kirk (a 5 or 6 depending on who you ask) a chance.

Kirk is a nice enough guy, but aside from his average looks he’s not very aspiring or self-confident. Molly, on the other hand, doesn’t just flaunt her outer beauty. She’s an all-around girl who likes sports, has a law degree, and owns her own event-planning business. It’s a dream come true for Kirk from the start until his mind starts playing games with him. He is begins to wonder how long something this good can actually last. More importantly, how can he live up to this fantasy when everyone around him is dumbfounded by his new relationship?

While there is enough frat-boy humor to keep the R-rating fresh, “League” packs more than just lowbrow antics you’d normally get from a juvenile comedy like this. Sean Anders and John Morris, who penned 2008’s surprisingly funny “Sex Drive,” might not be the next Judd Apatow just yet, but there’s a lot to be admired in a story that refuses to take the easy route and run over all the obvious clichés time and time again.

Instead, the comedy hits a couple of potholes and moves on smoothly. With a lead character that you can root for in Kirk, it’s easy to be charmed by “League” no matter how unrealistic the geek in all of us knows it really is.