New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments 80: Tom Papa – Freaked Out

At one time, Jersey guy Tom Papa used to smoke weed. In Freaked Out, his 2013 Epix stand-up comedy special, he reveals that he has a reminder on his body from the times he used to get high years ago. He looks back on how stupid he was and how he doesn’t wear shorts anymore because of this bad tattoo of a gnome he got…in New Jersaaaay.

“I just picked it off a wall in New Jersey. I wouldn’t pick a t-shirt off a wall in New Jersey…”

Stuff like that is even funnier when you realize it’s coming from a Jersey guy. Surprisingly, I’d never seen Papa’s stand up act, but I was certainly intrigued to see the advertisement teasing the special which aired on Epix Network on Rob Zombie’s Twitter a while back.

At first, I just assumed Zombie was friends with Papa having casted him as the voice of El Superbeasto, but then I went to IMDB and noticed that he was actually a “consulting producer” of this special. It’s no wonder either, considering it’s saturated in ’70s stylings complete with sparkly dancers who provide a choreographed intro for Papa as he appeared on stage. The stage and backdrop looked like it was a remnant straight from a ’70s variety show. It was over the top and very much my speed.

Aside from the intro and the amusing backdrop, we get to witness Papa be the funny motherf*cker he is. I’m glad I watched it because I had a good time. I actually laughed out loud quite a bit. I usually rank a comedian by if he/she actually makes me laugh out loud. It’s easy to say a comedian or actor is funny, but do they actually make you laugh? Check out Tom Papa Freaked Out and determine that for yourself. The hour goes fast. Presently, the special is streaming on Netflix.

*Papa was born in Passaic NJ, grew up in Woodcliff Lake and graduated Rider University – A Jersey guy through and through!

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.78: Twilight Zone’s Mighty Casey

Let’s just say, I’d never get matched up with Baseball on eHarmony.com. Although, there’s not a single doubt that I’d get hooked up with The Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone always offered up some eerie story that satisfied my needs of horror and the unexplained. Then, there were some episodes that were just plain goofy and lighthearted. Surprisingly, one of these episodes involved the Garden State.

Filmed in L.A, but set in New Jersey, this episode aired in June of 1960, “The Mighty Casey” is a favorite of Twilight Zone fans who also love baseball. This episode is more comedic than spooky or scary, but it still has that signature twist that TZ is known for.

A ragtag baseball team, The Hoboken Zephyrs, were abysmal. They were the biggest disappointments in the league. Their manager, Mouth McGarry, was beyond embarrassed by them. Until the day that a man came by the field during practice to show off his star pitcher. McGarry had never seen pitching skills like this before. The pitcher was whizzing balls to the catcher so fast that he was making the balls smoke. He was zig-zagging and screwballing, and doing all kinds of stuff that McGarry and his team hadn’t ever seen before.

It turned out that Casey, the seemingly inhuman pitcher, was in fact…a robot! Once the league got wind of the fact that there was a robot in the league, they put a stop to it because it was required that all players are actual men. Using a loophole, Casey’s keeper, Dr. Stillman and McGarry both wondered if the league would reinstate Casey if they implanted a heart in him. The league indeed granted Casey back into the league once he had a heart put in, but, ultimately, receiving a heart removed all of Casey’s incredible pitching skills.

It’s not the worst Twilight Zone episode ever, but not really one that I ever go back and watch. It’s great for baseball fans, and fans of obscure fictional sports teams based out of New Jersey. If you Google the Hoboken Zephyrs you can actually buy a replica of their jersey! Now that’s geeky, and awesome.

*At the time this post was published, this episode of The Twilight Zone is streaming on Netflix

Laura Prepon is August’s Garden State Playmate!

 photo lauraprepon01_zps9f68e921.jpg

“Pardon me, would you have any Grey Prepon?” What are the chances that actress Laura Prepon got that about once a day as a kid living in Watchung, NJ? You might say the chances are extremely low that someone would say something that supremely lame, even a kid. Although, you might think differently when you find out that Watchung is a pretty well-to-do town and it’s very common for inhabitants of those types of places to have an affinity for gourmet mustard puns. Fortunately, it seems that the condiment related harassment that quite possibly ruined her childhood didn’t have any effect on her acting career. Or did it? Prepon is still working so that’s a good sign.

Apparently there’s a small group of Prepon detractors out there who like to make their passionate hatred for the actress abundantly clear. One of those guys is “parlance-263-43691,” who, in an IMDB review, felt strongly enough to rant about her performance in the short lived Chelsea Handler (former Garden State Playmate) inspired show, Are You There, Chelsea?

 photo lauraprepon02b_zps4a17633c.jpg

She may not be the most versatile actress, but I don’t think she’s as awful at comedy as this guy claims: “Where do I begin? Laura Prepon couldn’t act her way out of a box; the timing and delivery of whatever comedic value there is in the writing is completely lost when it falls limply out of her mouth.”

Even if she was the worst actress of all time, would you ever would go out of your way to write and post a review on how miserable of an actress she is on IMDB? It’s true that actors put themselves out there and become vulnerable to online punishment, but I don’t think Laura Prepon is so bad that she deserves to be ruined on IMDB. That said, people should have a little bit of sympathy for her considering the lifetime of heartache she went through with that damn mustard joke. It drove her straight into Scientology.

At 5’10” she’s a tall drink of water and I wouldn’t recommend messing with her in a woman’s prison, if you’re ever in one with her that is, or if you’re near a TV when she’s on it and in prison. I’ve never seen Orange is the New Black and even though I’ve heard it’s getting good reviews I probably won’t be investing my time in it since my viewing schedule is booked up through my death. In the Netflix original series, Prepon plays Alex Vause, a lesbian and fomer drug dealer. Recent news stories covering her possible departure from the show have caused quite a stir. The rumors range from monetary disputes to the possibility that her character may get killed off and the producers want to keep it under wraps.

 photo lauraprepon02_zps6ce4dfdc.jpg 
Pictured here in a 3-way kiss as Reanna in the 2002 comedy Slackers. I remember seeing this in the theater and the best parts included Prepon trying to have some “alone time” and of course Jason Schwartzman being highly entertaining as Cool Ethan. 

Prepon also appeared on a few short lived TV shows, one off roles, and also landed a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother. In addition to her on-screen roles, she voiced characters in the animated series American Dad and the video game Halo 2. None of that can come close to the character I first saw her play. She will ALWAYS be Eric’s girlfriend Donna Pinciotti from That ’70s Show. That show was a huge part of my life for its entire run, except for a few episodes toward the end. You may remember her as Hot Donna. How about some pricey mustard to slather on that Hot Donna of yours?

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments 76: Rules of Engagement in A.C

 photo rulesofengagement03_zps1e49e8c8.jpg
Rules of Engagement
Jeff and his friends winning at a blackjack table 
while their friend Timmy is supposedly bringing them good luck.
I find it to be a challenge to keep up with sitcoms. Every Fall season I see one or two commercials for a new show that I get geared up for, and then, after I watch two episodes, my attraction for them usually fizzles out. Rarely, there’s one that I get really into. Rules of Engagement wasn’t one of them. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the particular episode that we’ll be looking at in this post though. Actually, it was mildly amusing and moderately memorable. To be honest, I’d probably be writing that it was completely forgettable if the action of this specific episode didn’t happen in one of The Sexy Armpit’s favorite places, Atlantic City, NJ.

If you’ve never seen an episode of Rules of Engagement, here’s the quick IMDB synopsis:

“Two couples and their single friend, all at different stages in their relationships, deal with the complications of dating, commitment and marriage.”

The recently cancelled Rules centers around Jeff (Patrick Warburton) a financial manager who claims he buys socks in New Jersey to avoid paying additional tax on them, and his wife of several years, Audrey (Megyn Price), an editor at Indoor Living magazine.

The show is set in New York. Exactly what part of New York is beyond me. Jeff loves New York sports teams, so it seems like they probably live in a nondescript part of Manhattan, especially since his wife works for a magazine which is likely located in the city. In this episode, everyone wound up about 130 some odd miles away in A.C…at the Taj Mahal to be exact.

 photo rulesofengagement01_zps0aaa5783.jpg 

In Season 4 episode 3, “Atlantic City,” Jeff is heading down to A.C for a bachelor party, but the plans get squashed after he finds out that the bride has decided to dump the groom at the last minute. Jeff and his friends soldier on because they want to party despite the wedding plans being cancelled. Jeff opts not to inform Audrey about the non-existent bachelor party, but she winds up finding out anyway when she sees the former groom at a local cafe and confronts him.

Rather than sit home and take care of her annoying Aunt Judy, Audrey coerces her friend Jennifer into heading down to Atlantic City along with her, using the enticing offer of a free spa weekend as bait. Her plan is to get Jeff back for lying to her.

Soon, Jeff finds out that Aunt Judy cancelled her visit with Audrey, so for the rest of the episode the two of them make phone calls to each other featuring Aunt Judy impressions, fake doctors, and anything else that would keep up each others lies. Neither of them give up the battle, which is how Miss Sexy Armpit and I would probably act in a situation like this.

This was a decent episode, and I checked out a few others to get a better feel for the show. It’s not a classic show, but it’s fun for what it is. I enjoyed Patrick Warburton’s dry delivery and his chemistry with Megyn Price. They’re certainly not written to be the typical TV couple because they share a more realistic, imperfect relationship.

Rules occasionally whips out some pretty snappy dialogue also:
Russell: “Look If I wanted sex with strings attached, I’d bang a marionette.”
Timmy: “Now there’s a puppet show you don’t want the kids to see.”

Presently, you can watch Rules of Engagement streaming on Netflix also starring David Spade, Oliver Hudson, and Bianca Kajlich.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments 73: The Bounty Hunter

 photo bountyhunter01_zpsb371b198.jpg
What I loved about the movie Hitch was Kevin James’ dance practice sequence. Unfortunately none of Kevin James comic relief was present in director Andy Tenant’s 2010 feature, The Bounty Hunter. With the supporting cast including the likes of comic actors such as Jason Sudeikis, Jeff Garlin, and Christine Baranski, it didn’t really make me laugh much. But luckily, it wasn’t as bad as Tenant’s 2008 movie, Fool’s Gold. But, since today is her birthday, I figured I’d post about a film starring Jennifer Aniston…and New Jersey!!!

 photo bountyhunter08_zpsbd40faed.jpg 
Butler and Aniston in front of the Taj Mahal’s main escalators

There’s wacky hijinks galore as the former Friend plays Nicole Hurley, a reporter who is targeted by her ex-husband and bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler.) Hurley jumped bail and Milo is pursuing her in order to gain a big pay day. In the mean time we’re supposed to be on the edge of our seats to see if all this hot and heavy action will cause them to rekindle their romance.

 photo BountyHunter03_zps2b882cb0.jpg
A vibrant shot of The Atlantic City Expressway

Considering the abundance of New Jersey appearances, I still couldn’t bring myself to love this film. I definitely didn’t hate it either. It had some real potential to be a fun time, but it’s ulterior motive to be a rom-com is what keeps it from getting to the next level. It’s no surprise that I dozed off toward the end of the film, but I saw enough of it to make the assessment that it was steaming with mediocrity.

Butler does shine as Milo though. His snarky attitude and arrogant overtones work as a scoundrel, a Han Solo-type of guy. Butler brought Milo to life in a realistic way, but all gets weird when we see his macho bravado is all a front and he’s still actually in love with his ex-wife played by Jennifer Aniston. As Hurley, Aniston seems like she’d rather be sunbathing on some exotic beach getting photographed by hidden TMZ photographers. Even with that said, it’s hard not to like her…or LOVE her. Especially when she’s handcuffed to the bed. YUUUUP! That’s in the movie!

 photo bountyhunter06_zps9ccc16ab.jpg 
The film would like the viewer to believe that Monmouth Park Racetrack is in Atlantic City

If you’re familiar with Jersey and you’ve seen the film, you probably noticed that the horse racing scene took place at Monmouth Park. The sequence pulled me out of the film because it was made to seem as if the race track was actually in Atlantic City and a line in the film confirms it. It makes more sense to the viewer, after all, but the filmmakers probably assumed most viewers had no idea that the Monmouth Park race track is over 80 miles away from Atlantic City. That’s easily overlooked.

Making up for any of the negatives here are some gorgeous shots of A.C. In fact, The Bounty Hunter contains probably the best modern-day footage of the Atlantic City shoreline in movies. Most of the films I’ve covered here at The Sexy Armpit that have depicted A.C are much older and America’s playground was clearly nowhere near as impressive as it is now. If only Jersey had nicer weather year-round, A.C would be as big of a travel destination as Las Vegas. Look out for scenes in the Taj Mahal, the White House Sub Shop, the boardwalk, the A.C Expressway, and numerous mentions of The Borgata.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.64: Captain America

Photobucket
“Oh, you’re from Paramus now? You know it’s illegal to lie on your enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?” – Sgt. James “Bucky” Barnes 
Prior to becoming The First Avenger, the meek Steve Rogers lied on his enlistment forms in his many attempts to get into the army. His various physical issues disqualified him from serving military duty in World War II. I love that Captain America himself lied and said he was from New Jersey to get into the army. Captain Paramus just doesn’t have the same ring.

Prior to its release, the concept art and trailers for Captain America were enough to sell me on the Marvel Studios film. Still, that didn’t mean I would be motivated enough to actually venture out to the movie theater to see it! Unless it’s a huge event for me, I wait for Redbox or Netflix. Sure, Captain America looked awesome, but it didn’t get me as psyched as you would’ve thought. Last Friday I finally sat down to view the film on bluray, better late than never, right? It turns out that I didn’t fully agree with the majority considering it has a fresh rating of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes.

In my world, one of the cards stacked against Marvel is that I’ve always been a DC guy. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy Marvel characters, comics, or movies, but I’m just more into DC comics. Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk were both brought to the screen in a very cool way. Shit, I even liked Fantastic Four! Although, during the time Thor was in theaters, all I kept hearing was how bad it was from friends of mine. After I finally saw it, I thought it kicked ass! It was so much better than I had heard. It wasn’t the greatest super hero film ever, but it was definitely a fun movie. After seeing Thor, I got pumped for the upcoming Avengers film and wanted to make sure I saw Captain America next.

As exciting as it originally seemed, Captain America fell a bit short of my expectations. I was convinced that this would be Marvel’s best superhero film thus far, but Iron Man still holds that title. That’s not to say Captain America was bad at all, in fact, the more I think about it, the more it seems that it was everything it could have been. The fact that it’s an origin story held back the action. Just the thought of a sequel sounds more exciting than the first. The casting of the film was fairly dead-on. Chris Evans played Cap perfectly, Hugo Weaving was killer as Red Skull, and Stanley Tucci was awesome as Dr. Erskine. The only exception for me was Hayley Atwell who was pretty bland as leading lady Peggy Carter. All the elements were there, but it still wasn’t a complete home run for me.

Overall, the film lacked the high level of adventure that Iron Man and Thor had. Again, that was most likely due to the hindrance of having to tell Cap’s origin story. If you are comic geek like me then you can do without origins because we’ve heard them all before. Reintroduction of these iconic characters is a necessary evil though. Many folks in the country don’t even remember TV’s Captain America from the late ’70s and Albert Pyun’s take on the character from 1990. Finally, we have a definitive Captain America film that looks superb on bluray, so, mission accomplished Cap! Now onto The Avengers!

Friends With Benefits (2011) Review

Photobucket
Dylan and his father, pants-less, eating in Newark Liberty Int’l Airport

Friends With Benefits was just an excuse to maximize Timberlake’s on-screen butt time. Will Gluck really sold out. I expected a lot more out of him. Many of you are probably thinking, “Who the hell is Will Gluck?” and rightfully so. Unless you are film fanatic or someone who pays close attention to film director’s resumes, that name probably passed you by.

Sold out sounds so cliche, but it’s what Gluck did to a degree. The director was hired to make a larger budget movie with big name stars. Too many writers spoil the script and in the case of Friends With Benefits, it took 3 people to write the story, and Gluck and 2 other writers to write the screenplay. Seriously? And even with all those writers, it was all just a bunch of romps in the sack.

If a movie company was throwing obscene amounts of cash at me to make a movie exactly the way they wanted it, I’d do it too. Gotta make a living, right? Gotta pay for that new hot tub. Gotta buy that hot new Acura NSX. Gotta build that reputation in order to make more Hollywood crap. You go Gluck! I genuinely loved Fired Up, his cheerleading comedy, and Easy A with Emma Stone, but in terms of freshness I give this an Easy F. His previous films were creative and current, yet Friends is exactly what you’d expect from a romantic comedy…not much.

Friends really wants to mean something to the teens and twenty-somethings of this generation, but it’s ultimately just corporate garbage. It’s another “insert hot young star here,” and “insert another sex scene there.” Why was there 2 flash mob scenes? TWO!!! The film’s finale desperately wanted to be poignant and as memorable as when Lloyd Dobler held up his boom box in Say Anything. There’s a reason why you know that scene even though you may never have seen the movie and that’s because because it was a meaningful scene that reflected the time and has since been parodied to death. Is wooing a girl via flash mob going to be looked at the same way 20 years down the road?

Mila Kunis is certainly hot and Timberlake is truly talented but commingling them didn’t ignite any spark. Much like the embarrassing Love and Other Drugs, if you watch Friends With Benefits in mega high speed it would just look like a series of awkward sex scenes. If your Grandparents saw this movie they’d say “What are ya watchin’, porno ya pervert?!?!” It’s the typical Hollywood formula featuring a hot male actor to grab the girl moviegoers and a sexy young female star to lure in dopey guys like me. They had me at Jackie from That ’70s Show. Boy did I fall for it.

It wasn’t all boner pissing though, Friends with Benefits did deal with some serious issues. Although I had a barf bag next to me the whole time, I appreciate how the Alzheimer’s angle was handled. Unfortunately, it seemed conveniently shoehorned into the script in order to give some human qualities to its characters. The best scene of the movie is when Timberlake takes his pants off and joins his father (who’s afflicted with Alzheimer’s and has his pants off) at a restaurant for a steak dinner in Newark Liberty International Airport. I can watch Mila Kunis stare blankly into space and be content for an hour, but this scene actually had some depth.

Photobucket 
DYLAN: “You have a boat?!?!”
TOMMY: “I live in Jersey and I ain’t takin’ no ferry…unless it’s out to dinner and a show!”

I always enjoy Woody Harrelson and this time around was no exception. He excels in random supporting roles and here he played a gay online sports journalist who constantly advertised his love of men’s genitalia. He also takes his boat across the river back to New Jersey where he lives which kicks ass because he doesn’t have to sit in traffic.

Friends with Benefits should be a sequel to The Breakup where Vaughn and Aniston really do just become friends after their breakup and one thing leads to another and they each lose their jobs at different times while the other is still working and since they aren’t dating anyone they have to angle to get put onto the others health benefits. Listen, it may sound ridiculous now, but when Universal green-lights it in 2 years you’ll be having deja-vu. But, in all seriousness, I spent the whole movie wishing that it turned into the kooky love story of Andy Samberg and Emma Stone who actually appeared in the beginning of the film. It would’ve been so much more Glucking awesome.

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 91: How I Met Your Mother

Photobucket

More than a year before MTV’s Jersey Shore began giving New Jersey a bad name, How I Met Your Mother was innovating the prevalent “NJ on TV” trend.

A slew of episodes mention the Garden State, but “I Heart NJ” is one of the best. It originally aired in October of 2008 and in this episode Ted’s been complaining about having to travel to New Jersey to visit his girlfriend Stella. (In the picture above, Ted’s t-shirt summarizes his thoughts about the state.) Both he and his friends hate New Jersey, well, not counting Marshall – he secretly loves it.

Photobucket

Marshall especially loves the “dog t-shirts” that he found at the local wholesale club. Apparently one of the show’s writers thought dog t-shirts are big in New Jersey. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone ever wear one of them, but the jab didn’t offend me since Jason Segel makes everything funny.

Regardless of the fact that it’s just over a few years old, “I Heart NJ” is a real classic episode. In it, the gang gets into a heated debate of New York vs. New Jersey, Barney just can’t seem to get props in the form of a fist bump, and Robin finds herself pulling some Evel Knievel type stuff while racing to get her old job back. If you haven’t seen this episode and you don’t feel like waiting for the rerun, How I Met Your Mother is streaming on Netflix.

Card Subject To Change Review

PhotobucketHave you ever passed by a barber shop or a dry cleaner and noticed a poster for a local independent wrestling event? Out of the nearly 20 wrestlers that appear on the poster, occasionally you’ve heard of at least a few. Events like this are usually much more reasonable than going to a WWE event, and a lot closer, there may even be one this weekend at your local VFW hall. OK, so you won’t see John Cena, CM Punk, or Zack Ryder, but it will still be a lot of fun. Even as a lifelong, hardcore wrestling fan, the dedication of indy promoters and wrestlers never ceases to amaze me. What keeps these guys performing at these events? It’s definitely NOT the wrestlers paltry payout at the end of the night, it’s the devotion for the business.

Since the hype started hitting the Internet a couple of years ago for the indy wrestling documentary Card Subject To Change: Pro Wrestling’s Underground, I wanted to see it desperately. I went so far as to email the addresses listed on their official site to find out more info on the film or if I could somehow review it. I never heard back from them. You’d think a mere mention of The Sexy Armpit would elicit some sort of response after the several moments of snickering and confusion clears the air. I forgave the filmmakers since the operation was headed by a fellow Kean University graduate, Tim Disbrow. He directed, produced, and edited Card which is now streaming on Netflix. George “The Animal” Steele had his plush creature “Mine,” and Tim has his documentary. Creating a documentary that’s actually entertaining and not boring is quite an accomplishment and I have to hand it to Tim for producing a film with such reverence for the business.

Lots of places around the U.S claim to be exclusive hotbeds for professional wrestling. Actually, the truth is that aside from Madison Square Garden, the state of New Jersey has cultivated so many superstars and continues to have tons of indy wrestling shows all throughout the state. This made it easy for Tim to capture scenes with promoter Johnny Falco who runs shows all over New Jersey.

While The Wrestler illustrated the end of Randy “The Ram” Robinson’s career, Card Subject to Change shines the spotlight on a broader look at the indy wrestling scene. From the outset, Tim Disbrow’s film establishes that there are literally thousands of active professional wrestlers in the country, but probably only around a hundred are signed to full time contracts with the large companies. So DVR the glitz of Smackdown for one night and power up your Netflix. Update your status as “watching a documentary” so they think you’re very cultured and intelligent. Meanwhile you’ll be seeing the local exploits of some of the most well known indy wrestlers.

Appearing in the film are NJ’s Rob Eckos (now Robbie E. in TNA), the late Trent Acid, Kamala, Kevin Sullivan, the late Sensational Sherri in her last interview, ROH’s Rhett Titus (Also from NJ),

Necro Butcher (whom you may know from his appearance in The Wrestler), Corvis Fear, and Sabu among others.
At times, Card shows aspects of the indy scene that are far from glamorous. There are a few wrestlers interviewed who are no longer with us and some actually shoot steroids on film, but the train keeps rolling. The show must continue and every now and then you’ll come across a kid at one of these VGW halls with a dream who is doing everything in his power to make it big. He or she will be the one to look out for…the next one snatched up by the all mighty Vince.

New Jersey’s Great Pop Culture Moments Vol.58: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3
Woody, Mr. Pricklepants, Buttercup, and Trixie in Toy Story 3
WOODY: “…Hey guys look I don’t know where I am!”
TRIXIE: “We’re either in a cafe in Paris or a coffee shop in New Jersey…”

I’m all for a company who milks their properties for all they are worth. Sometimes though, Disney really scrounges. For instance, I had no idea there was a third installment of Cinderella, let alone a sequel! Yes indeed, you can look it up for yourself, Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time went straight to DVD, and so did Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea. There’s also a Little Mermaid prequel, Peter Pan 2, Fox and the Hound 2, Lilo and Stitch 2, Tarzan 2, Mulan 2, Lady and the Tramp 2, Pocahontas 2, 101 Dalmations 2, and perhaps the most baffling…The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. Seriously? Journeying into Pixar territory we have Cars 2, and today’s movie: Toy Story 3.

When the original Toy Story was released in 1995, I thought it was an incredibly imaginative film, and I still do. The Toy Story franchise is one of those Godfather type instances where the sequel may actually be better than the original, or at least funnier. I never thought I’d see a follow up to TS2 10 years after the sequel was released, but leave it to Disney! While I still love TS2, part 3 was pretty friggin’ great also. 
Although I thought it was released too long after Toy Story 2, there were a couple of things I loved about Toy Story 3. First, the story continued in a perfect way. In case you haven’t seen it I won’t spoil too much, but I identified with the film because when I was a kid my Dad broke it to me that I was growing up and I needed to part with my toys because I wasn’t a kid anymore. We gave a lot of my toys and action figures to the local day camp – a catastrophic event that I’m sure a lot kids endured. It was pretty frigging devastating for me, but as we see in Toy Story 3, it’s more devastating for the toys! 
The casting of Michael Keaton as the Ken doll scored major points with me. The world always needs more Michael Keaton. I miss seeing him star in movies and we need him back in a big way. His voice role as Ken allowed him to go back to his comedy roots and really do what he does best. When I first watched the movie I wasn’t even aware that Keaton was going to be the voice of Ken so it was a cool surprise. There’s nothing like hearing Michael Keaton play one of the most famous dolls of all time. He plays Ken very vain, but with a wink. He brags about his dream house having an entire room just for trying on clothes and compliments Barbie on how much he loves her legwarmers. I’ll tell you one thing: Taylor Lautner couldn’t have pulled that off!

Toy Story 3 is streaming on Netflix now!