MovieChat Forums > Hollidaysburg (2014) Discussion > Just Watched Both Movies On Starz.

Just Watched Both Movies On Starz.

posted 10 years ago by MGurlea
4 replies | jump to latest

Starz just showed both movies. I am glad I saw them at home and didn't have to pay for either of these movies. Hollidaysburg is not a good movie and very forgettable. That is pretty much all there is to say about it. Not Cool is an abortion. It is amazing how something this bad even gets made. What a waste of $600 grand. Anna's movie is not good but it is a million times better than Shane's.

The problem with Shane's movie is that it is completely random, makes no sense at times, it is not funny, and to use a word Shane likes a lot, it is just retarded. The people in his movie act like over the top cartoon characters. No person acts like that in real life. Even for a comedy it isn't believable.

Why are all the male characters in this movie flamingly effeminate? This does become an issue because halfway through the movie I was completely confused by the character Joel. At first I thought he was supposed to be straight and interested in one of the female characters but then it seems like no he is gay. I eventually just gave up on trying to figure out what was going on in this movie. If they are trying to portray characters who are supposed to be straight, alpha male, prom king, jock, and popular they should have cast actors who can at least act that way. And not actors who act the exact opposite of this. The funniest parts of this movie were when people would say to Shane Dawson's character that he was "strapping" and "popular" and when Joel was trying to act like he was into girls. It was only funny because the casting was so bad and unbelievable.

The movie tries to hard to be funny. And everyone knows if you have to try to be funny you are not funny. I guess that is what's up with all the random jokes in this movie that don't work. For example, why are they mooning and flashing people on the Duquesne Incline? It just makes no sense story wise, comedy wise, and especially if you have ever rode it. The part where the one father says, "This is how I imagine black people play this game." Again, random, makes no sense, not funny, and thus comes across as just racist. Same thing with the blind sister. Why is she blind? They don't even use her blindness well. It just comes off as offensive towards blind people. Why do they buy a bag full of dildos? They don't even use them in anyway really. I guess it is just for the shock value of showing a dildo on screen. Joke after joke just doesn't work. Shane's movie is an incoherent mess that isn't funny. Actually 20 minutes into it I started looking at the clock and couldn't wait until it was over.

Both of these movies should have been right up my alley too. I have my personal top ten posted on IMDb and American Pie is in it. As I type this I am looking up at my shelf and seeing my copies of all the American Pie movies, EuroTrip, Ted, Fast Times and Ridgemont High, etc. Shane had some snide comment about American Pie in one of the earlier episodes of The Chair. I suggest he go back and watch it, pay attention, and take notes. Also talk to Chris Moore how to make his movie more like that. That is a real teen comedy.

[–] hard_drive1968 10 years ago

I watched both movies, and possibly by mistake, I watched Not Cool first. I really liked Tori's character in Not Cool, and thought she was the best out of the entire cast. The story was easy to follow and the main characters had enough background for you to know who was who and how they relate to each other. The problem I had was with all the potty humor. I'm quite open minded when it comes to film, but some of it was completely unnecessary and didn't prove anything other than to be a laugh for some 14 year old in the audience.
Shane did a decent job acting, but to be honest, he doesn't even remotely resemble the hot-bod highschool hottie that his character portrays.
That being said, I knew what was going on at all times during the film. Not so much for Hollidaysburg. Again, maybe mistakenly I watched NC first, thinking that I would save the better "Indie" film for later. Anna's film was 180 degrees different than Shane's. I couldn't figure out who was who and how they related, and the back story of each character was amiss. Again, this may be because I watched both films back to back and was expecting the characters to have similar roles. I had a hard time remembering who Tori, Scott and Heather were and how they related to the rest of the cast in Hollidaysburg. The transition to different scenes seemed to be very jerky in Hollidaysburg and consistancy seemed to be a problem. Many of the issues I had revolved around Heather's family (or was it Tori's family?)...who was the dark-haired woman at the dinner table? who was the redneck guy at the dinner table? And didn't the 'dad' character seem to be way too young?

I realize that these films were made in a quick timeframe so consistancy is tough (you have to go with the flow for weather conditions, snow melt and sunshine) but I feel that more could have been done to bring the viewer into scenes gently rather than bangin to the next scene.

I gave both films a 6, and will probably re-watch both again just to see if I can figure out what's going on. I was dissappointed in Anna's film and slightly impressed with Shane's film which I wasn't expecting. There were some cool references to Pittsburgh in both (hometown; represent!). Tori in Not Cool is one cool chick!

[–] MGurlea 10 years ago

hard_drive1968,

I watched them as they aired on Starz. Starz aired Anna's movie first on Monday night and Shane's movie Tuesday night.

I actually find potty humor to be really funny. However, Shane doesn't know how to make it funny and that was my problem with his movie. For example, remember in American Pie the diarrhea scene with Eddie Kaye Thomas? That scene is hilariously funny because it has context. Seann William Scott takes revenge on Finch and we get to see other peoples' reaction during it and after. If Shane Dawson were to reshoot that seen all we would get would be a random scene of Finch using the toilet. In Shane's movie he even has a scene where he comes out of a bathroom in drag and tells people to not go in there. Completely random with no context. Not funny.

I agree that Anna's movie was also hard to follow at times too. Both female leads looked and acted too similar at the beginning of the movie to tell them apart. For me both movies were not good. I thought Tristan Erwin who played Petroff in Anna's movie was good. He was probably the only actor in both movies that stood out to me for some reason.

For me the best Pittsburgh comedy in recent years has to be She's Out of My League. It has really funny potty humor and showcases Pittsburgh the best. Shane and Anna should watch that movie and take notes.

[–] hard_drive1968 10 years ago

MGurlea -

I DVR'd them both thinking that NC would be the worst of the 2, so I wanted to get that one out of the way first. I was surprised at how much more I liked (neigh "followed") Not Cool. The potty humor was what it was, and watching 'The Chair', I kinda knew what to expect. It also seemed like "The Chair" followed Shane and his characters more than Anna's characters (other than the Brother in law). Again, just a perception.

Yes, it didn't help that the leads in Anna's films looked so much alike (not unlike HER too!), but I ended up liking the same-sweatshirt girl more.

Anyway, I'll probably re-watch them both again (what's 3 hours of my life on a crummy fall weekend in Pittsburgh?!)

She's out of my league has quickly become one of my favorite films and not only because it's based in Pittsburgh! The story is genuine and it's funny, but not too racey. Maybe that's where Shane's movie ran amok?

[–] There_Is_No_Sayid 9 years ago

I really liked Tori's character in Not Cool, and thought she was the best out of the entire cast.

Cherami Leigh, who plays Tori, seems to be the most experienced actor out of the casts of both movies. Most of them are pretty new and only have a handful of acting roles. But when I looked up Leigh she's got like fifty or sixty credits under her name. Most of it is voice work, doing stuff for anime, but still she's apparently a much more experienced actress than most of the people in the leads.

Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything.