Movie Breakdown: R.I.P.D.

People are doing traditional-style reviews all over the web, so we decided to try something different.  In each “breakdown” we’ll take a look at what a film’s marketing lead us to believe, how the movie actually played, and then what we learned from it all.  Read on!

The Impression:

Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges pay tribute to characters they’ve played in other movies while also starring in what looks like a Men In Black rip-off.  Or something.

The Reality:

R.I.P.D. is certainly one of the outright goofier movies I’ve seen this year, but I found it to be a solid piece of summer fare that moves quick (the run time is barely an hour and a half) and genuinely wants you to have a good time.  Just make sure you leave your brain somewhere else while you watch it.  I didn’t, and I was constantly distracting myself with real world questions.  For example, why is Jeff Bridges re-hashing his take on Rooster Cogburn?  Or, who did Kevin Bacon piss off to get cut out of all the trailers?

Anyhow, R.I.P.D. isn’t going to win any awards and no one will blame you for seeing Mary Louise Parker’s other movie this weekend, but it’s not a bad choice come matinee time.

The Lesson:

It can always be worse.