BIG SCREEN: Inside Out Revieux (Rated PG)

Emotional turmoil is a very tough concept for kids to comprehend. When bad or difficult situations arise, how do you help them cope? Inside Out tackles just that.

As the movie opens, we meet young Riley, a happy 11-year-old girl living in Minnesota with her parents. We also meet the colorful team of emotions -- Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Fear (Bill Hader) -- who operate the machinery inside her head. It’s an elaborate and carefully constructed combination of amusement park and industrial complex, all designed to catalog memories and keep her emotionally stable.  Everything is great, until she and her parents move to San Francisco. The stress of the situation gets the better of her, and despite everyone's best efforts, the entire system crashes, and Riley stands on the brink of a very dangerous emotional breakdown.

Great topic, right? I love a kids’ movie that actually tries to teach a vital lesson. However, in this case, I think the filmmakers bit off more than they could chew. 

But, let’s start with the positives. I was immediately struck by the vibrant colors and cool animation of the emotions. It’s certainly a very delightful movie to look at, and the casting is brilliantly, ridiculously right on. Amy Poehler was born to do animated voiceover work. Her energy is very similar to that of Ellen Degeneres, probably my favorite voice actor of all time. If the name Phyllis Smith doesn’t ring a bell, she played Phyllis on The Office -- and is perfect for the droll voice of Sadness. But my favorite was definitely Lewis Black, who made me laugh every time his character spoke. To have such a caustic comedian voice the animated embodiment of anger in a kids’ movie is just too perfect. Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader do great jobs, too, but their characters are not nearly really scene stealers like the others.

On the flipside, while I really liked the concept of helping kids to understand the role that various emotions play in their overall character and well-being, I think it went a little too high concept. I loved how Joy and Sadness wind up realizing how they have to work together, but there’s a whole lot of convoluted stuff that gets in the way of this message. Subconscious? Core memories? Abstract thought? What little kid is going to understand and stay focused on any of this? I like to think I’m a fairly smart grownup, and they lost even my attention several times.

Inside Out is definitely an original movie with a fabulous cast, which earns it a lot of brownie points. But losing sight of your audience is a huge problem. It’s probably not ideal for kiddos with extra short attention spans.

It opens today, Friday, June 19. Go here for local theaters and times.

BIG SCREEN: Bad Teacher Revieux (Rated R)

Cameron Diaz must have thought she’d died and gone to heaven when she read this script. I can’t imagine a more fun, liberating role to play than a really bad girl with few-to-no redeeming qualities. JACKPOT!

Her character, Elizabeth Halsey, is a trash-mouthed, hard-drinking, dope-smoking gold digger who got into teaching for all the wrong reasons, and is desperate to get right back out. When she gets dumped by her sugar daddy/fiancé, her priorities become: (a) lie, cheat and steal to raise money for breast implants (b) land the wealthy new substitute teacher (Justin Timberlake), and (c) make life miserable for her nemesis, an annoying, overly enthusiastic fellow teacher (Lucy Punch).

Notice that neither teach nor encourage her students appears on that list.

If you don’t like raunchy humor, you may as well just cut to my Cars 2 review right now. It’s alright, we won’t judge you for being tasteful!

Okay, for the rest of you, I can think of pretty much nothing I didn’t love about this movie. Yes, yes -- by day I’m a G-rated mommy who watches my language, minds my manners, and sets a good example for my little boy. But, man, there’s nothing like a good, uncensored hour-and-a-half of naughty humor to ease the tension. You remember movies like this from the 80s: Porky’s, Animal House, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Bad Teacher's very cool 80s soundtrack underscores the similarities, by the way). But the difference is, the adult humor is perpetrated by the adults, not the teens, so we don’t have to feel like pervs watching it. And – most importantly – the leader of the raunchiness is a woman. I think it’s a first in this particular genre, and Diaz does us proud. She totally embraces the role and delivers, big time.

A major part of why this movie is so great is the amazing, amazing casting. All the supporting actors and actresses are as ideally suited to their roles as Diaz, and they totally commit to their characters. In addition to Timberlake, who’s not afraid to play a repressed little worm (did this add to the appeal for ex-girlfriend Cameron?!), and Punch, who goes delightfully over-the-top and borderline psychotic, Jason Segal adds a slightly Judge Reinhold/Brad Hamiltonesque quality to his portrayal of the lovable gym teacher who totally has Elizabeth’s number. But, next to Cameron Diaz, the star of the show has got to be Phyllis Smith, aka, Phyllis from The Office. She plays a self-conscious, nervous fellow teacher who inexplicably gravitates toward Elizabeth, takes on a sort of awkward sidekick role, and delivers some of the greatest lines in the movie.

Dudes will enjoy this movie, too, but, really, it’s let-your-hair-down, girls’-night-out perfection. On par with – and maybe even a shade funnier than -- Bridesmaids. Yeah, I said it!

Keep those funny-lady-driven comedies coming, Hollywood!

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