[IMDB link] Carolyn & I are both big Arrested Development fans, and love the character G.O.B., played by Will Arnett. When we saw Janeane Garofalo at the Arlington Drafthouse, she made sure to emphasize that she thought Will Arnett was one of the funniest people right now, and that he was responsible for her back injury — from falling over laughing. Thus, we decided to get some Will Arnett movies. This is movie 2 of 3 for our Will Arnett Theme Week, which consists of The Solomon Brothers, Let’s Go To Prison, and Blades Of Glory. We are watching them in order of IMDB rating (lowest-to-highest; this movie received 5.6/10 on IMDB.)
PEOPLE: Bob Odenkirk directed this, and we are big fans of his comic sensibility (Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Tom Goes To The Mayor; Mr. Show). This was an added bonus to the whole Will Arnett angle that got us here in the first place. The main 2 characters were Will Arnett and Dax Shepard, who we just became acquainted with when recently watching Without A Paddle.
BAD STUFF: All-male cast. Extremely painful plot, mostly in prison. Painful in the sense that we were in disblief and horror as to how unrealistically destructive certain characters were to themselves and others. But it was a black comedy, so it was a good hurt. Even the threat of prison rape is made to be funny … and I don’t like laughing at that! So the movie hurt, but in a good way, like watching Steve Carell be a total douchebag in The Office. (Tangent: Carell is going to play the lead role in the Get Smart movie? That might actually be good.)
CONCLUSION: Despite being rated 0.6 higher on IMDB, I thought The Brothers Solomon was a funnier movie. Both, however, are utterly unrealistic. And that’s good — comedy is about escapism, not realism. This was a dark, dark, dark comedy about a bad, bad, bad place. All I know is that I do not want to go to prison! Even in a comedy, it sucks!
MOVIE QUOTE: John Lyshitski: “Our justice system sucks. You know, there are over two million Americans behind bars. That’s a little larger than the population of Houston. Every year, there are enough children born in prison to fill 250 Little League teams, and enough people are raped in prison to fill a stadium more than three times. Can you picture that? Three stadiums full of people raping each other? I know I can.”
Mood: annoyed
Music: Juror 13 – Burning Inside
Claire's blog 
February 6, 2009 at 2:31 AM
My friend JAW watched this based on my recommendation when she was seeking to watch “every prison break movie ever”:
“Let’s Go to Prison, underneath all the bad taste, was actually quite well done. It’s centered around some pretty good acting performances, an unexpectedly delightful soundtrack, and a brilliant escape plan. I like its Midnight Express allusion, but I especially appreciate the film’s totally unique portrayal of solitary confinement. Thanks, Clint!”