FilmFan Recap: Cars 2 Is Just For Kids, Bad Teacher Could Be Badder

MSN’s web series FilmFan, hosted by Sami Jarroush, wrapped up their coverage of Pixar’s latest film, “Cars 2” and the Cameron Diaz raunchy comedy “Bad Teacher”.

First, “Cars 2” was discussed. In the show, Jarroush mentions that Lasseter has said that because of the technological difficulties, “Cars 2” became one of the most challenging films he’s ever worked on. However, all of that technological wonder doesn’t make up for the lack of a gripping story. When compared to other films like “Wall-E”, “Up”, and “Ratatouille”, “Cars 2” doesn’t have that same depth of character or story to keep diehard Pixar fans happy. The most that can be said for the film is that it looks beautiful.

But, what hasn’t been accounted for, in either “Cars” film, is the idea of how a world of cars actually works. I’ve mentioned this before, but the “Cars” universe is creepy. Notice in the stills from the film that you see sidewalks, human architecture, food, etc. 1) Why do cars need this, and 2) How does one watching the film account for the fact that there’s human-made architecture and sidewalks? And let’s not even mention the “alternative fuels” sub-plot of the film. There’s an actual mention of dinosaurs in the film when it discusses fossil fuels vs. alternative fuels. You know what all this adds up to, right? It means that the world was, at one point, inhabited by humans, but something happened (a nuclear event, further advancements in car production similar to how computers are now being put in cars today) which allowed for cars to become self-aware, and then after getting rid of us, they adapted our culture. This is the only way this makes sense. However, these plot holes, as well as the basic storyline, is why the film, as Jarroush points out, is strictly only suitable for children.

“Bad Teacher” was also discussed in the show. The consensus was that the film didn’t make good use of its punchlines and that while the film was indeed deserving of the R rating, it could have been even raunchier. I suppose the ideology of the statement is that if the film is going to be about a hardly redeemable person, the movie should be as hardcore as possible.

Also mentioned was a compare-and-contrast section between “Bad Teacher” and “Bridesmaids”. Jarroush stated that while both movies feature women in the leads, the women of “Bridesmaids” aren’t relying on men for happiness, whereas Diaz’s character is solely looking for a man to get rid of her depression about being jilted at the altar.

You can watch this week’s episode of “FilmFan” below. What do you think about both of these movies? And if it was made, would you watch a version of “Cars” that featured an apocalyptic story about us humans? Sound off below.