Movie Movie Podcast

I made a Romantic Comedy.  Why?  Because they are easy as hell to make, and do well.

Kiss Cam is the latest romantic comedy from  Nicholas Stoller.  Kiss Cam stars Jason Segel and Natalie Portman.

The film opens up with a split screen shot of two couples, Ben and Michelle (played by Jason Segel and Elizabeth Banks), and Jane and Mike (played by Natalie Portman and Mike Vogel).  They are both rushing to get ready to go somewhere and we don’t really know where exactly.  Michelle doesn’t really want to go, and we see that Mike doesn’t either, but Ben and Jane are both pushing them to get ready faster.  Anyway they both get in the car and you can see they are both heading to Yankee Stadium.  When they arrive, Ben throws on a Derek Jeter jersey and Jane put on her green Red Sox cap and David Ortiz t-shirt.  It is clear these two are die-hard fans.  Anyway as they find their seats in the nosebleeds the split screen merges into one as they all sit down simultaneously next to each other.  As the game is going on we can see that Michelle and Mike really don’t have a lot of interest in the game.  Michelle thinks it’s boring, and Mike is texting and laughing at the response to the texts (we think he might be cheating).

As the game wears on, it’s tied 1-1 and Ben and Jane are razzing each other like fans do in the nosebleeds.  As this is going on, Mike says he has to leave in a hurry, kisses Jane and heads out.  Michelle leaves to go to the bathroom and grab a drink.  Then the Kiss Cam goes off and we see a humorous mini montage of couples kissing.  Ben and Jane start critiquing all the people making out and making fun of them (old people, young people, people kissing with all tongue etc), but then the camera locks onto the two of them.  And people see that they are talking and laughing and start cheering for them to kiss.  Just to shut the crowd up they kiss for like 5 seconds and end up winning.  Everyone cheers for them and right as Michelle comes back from the bathroom, the Stadium reporter Jerry, played by an over the top John Michael Higgins comes up to their seats and offers Ben and Jane two prime tickets to the season ending series of Yankees/Red Sox in September.  You can see them both try and fumble around the fact that they aren’t really a couple, but Jerry says things like its great that they can put aside their differences and keep the spark alive.  While he’s saying this, Michelle is trying to get to her seat but keeps getting butted out by Jerry and gets her beer spilled all over her.

Ben and Jane both try and give the tickets to the other one, but then Michelle, finally able to sit tells them to just go together, cause theres no way shes going to another game.

Anyway, a few weeks pass and we can see that Mike is clearly cheating on Jane.  She knows it too, but for whatever reason doesn’t leave him.  He’s works in Finance and is a douche.  Ben and Michelle seem to be heading closer to the altar (they are engaged), but Michelle is so overbearing and annoying.  The only respite either of them have is heading to McGilligans on the Upper East Side to watch baseball.  One night they both end up at McGilligan’s, and Jane is by herself, while Ben is there talking to his bartender buddy Matt, played by Chris Pratt.  Ben is talking about how he’s nervous about getting married to Michelle because she’s always bossing him around and wonders if that will be his whole life.  Matt says something stupid, but then poignant about how all the bros are jealous of him.  He should just hold on to what he has.  Then Jane walks over to him and reintroduces herself.  At first Ben doesn’t remember her, but she says “Kiss Cam” and he remembers.  They share a quick laugh and they sit down and start drinking together.  At first they are talking about baseball and stuff, and then Ben asks about Jane’s boyfriend and how they are.  He can tell from her response of “good, I guess” that things aren’t exactly perfect.  She goes on to mention that he might be cheating on her, or Ben says that she should be honest with him and ask instead of wondering.  Jane asks about Michelle and Ben shows his ring saying they’ll be married in a few weeks, she says she’s happy for him.  We see over the course of their evening they have a really good time together and when it’s closing time and Matt mentions they’re the only ones left, Ben offers to walk Jane home.  They talk about how excited they are for the game next month as the teams are both tied for the wildcard.  At her doorstep, they have an awkward goodbye where Jane goes in for a hug, and Ben goes in for a handshake.  They end up fist-bumping and go their separate ways.  Jane comes home to a note for Mike, that he’ll be “working late”, and Ben mutters to himself, “FISTBUMP?”

The next morning Michelle asks him where he was last night and he says McGilligans with Matt, and that he ran into Jane there.  Michelle makes it clear that she found Jane obnoxious with her cheering and wearing Sox clothing and being into sports and stuff.  Ben disagrees and says that she was just being a fan.  He kinda liked it even though it was Red Sox, and Michelle says “well then why don’t you marry her then!”

In the next scene Jane finally confronts Mike about cheating after he comically comes home with lipstick all over him.  He tries to cover it up but then admits that he was cheating, but only because he wanted to surprise her with a three-way or something douchy like that. She kicks him out, but he’s still trying to make a play for the three-way.  It’s a funny scene I guess.

Then we see Ben at home writing an article for his sports column, when Michelle comes home and says that they have to move their wedding date up a week, and Ben says that it’s the same week as the Yankee/Sox series and Michelle goes full blown Bridezilla on him.  He was just saying that it was the same week is all.  Then Michelle gives him an ultimatum that it’s either the Yankees or her.  If he marries her, then she is done with all the stupid baseball stuff, but if he keeps going to games and dressing in jerseys etc, then she’s leaving him (that’s kind of ridiculous considering that he’s a sports columnist).  Anyway he goes Jane’s just as Mike is leaving from picking up his stuff and he gives the extra ticket to Jane.  He mentions that he’s getting married that week, and Jane says she’d never get married the week of a season ending series.  He agrees, but says it’ll be better this way.  Besides she can go with Mike now.  She says they just broke up, and he apologizes and they have an awkward goodbye again.  We can see now that Jane likes Ben.

In the next scene Jane goes to McGilligans to see Matt and get Ben’s number.  She calls Ben to meet her for a drink and he goes.  She tells him that she wanted to tell him that even though he’s a dirty Yankees fan, she thinks he’s a really good guy, and even though he’s getting married, she wanted to tell him that she has feelings for him.  She says that he said the other day that she should be honest instead of wondering.  Ben fumbles around and says he thinks she’s really great, and if they met years ago, he could see them being together, but he’s getting married to Michelle.  She knows, but she didn’t want him to get married without knowing how she felt, and that one way or another she’ll be at the game with a spare ticket for him if anything changes.

We can see in a later scene between Ben and Matt that Ben is having cold feet.  Matt says it’s probably because of Jane.  Ben says that when he’s with Jane, he feels like himself, and when he’s with Michelle he feels like he’s always trying to be whoever she wants him to be.  The camera pans out and we can see that Ben is dressed in capris and man sandals that he hates.  Matt says that Ben has always done what other people wanted and that’s awesome, but sometimes he’s gotta do something for himself.

In the next scene it’s the day of the game and the wedding in Westchester.  Michelle is being a total bridezilla and even goes to Ben’s room to make sure he’s dressed properly (even though the bride shouldn’t see the groom), and shortly after than Ben runs away.  He gets into his beatup car and drives to Yankee Stadium.  Everyone at the chapel is wondering where he is, and Matt is trying to stall as the best man.  Ben gets to the Stadium but for whatever reason they aren’t letting him in.  He sees Derek Jeter, who in a cameo says “He’s with me!” Derek lets him into the stadium and gives him a pass and tells him the only guy who comes to a stadium on his wedding day must really love the girl.  Ben says he does, and he goes to the seats where Jane is, but she isn’t there.  He waits for her and eventually sees her coming down the stairs, when she smiles and comes over to her, he gets down on one knee, and tells Jane that he know he barely knows her, but will she marry him?  She says yes, and then Jerry from the opening scene says he’s also a  Justice of the Peace and marries them right on the spot.  The film ends with Jerry saying you may now kiss the bride. The kiss cam comes on.  Fade to black.

As the credits roll we see that Ben and Jane come down to the field after the game and get the field and hit balls with the Sox and Yankees players and it’s adorable, and then we see that Matt and the guests at his other wedding watched all of that happen on TV at Ben and Michelle’s reception.  For whatever reason, Mike from earlier in the film is there and he swoops in on Michelle and they hit it off.  Mike winks at the camera.  Then the regular credits start.