SPANGLISH

GENRE:  Romance/ Drama/ Comedy
MADE:  2004
CAST:  Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega
DIRECTOR:  James L. Brooks
WRITER:  James L. Brooks

PLOT:  John Clasky is a newly celebrated chef with a family and an insecure wife.  They hire a woman recently emigrated from Mexico to handle the house-hold chores.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Fun with Dick and Jane, About A Boy, As Good As It Gets

SCORE:

MURDER BY DEATH

GENRE:  Comedy/ Mystery/ Thriller
MADE:  1976
CAST:  Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Truman Capote, Maggie Smith
DIRECTOR:  Robert Moore
WRITER:  Neil Simon

PLOT:  A group of literary detectives find themselves guests at a dinner in a mansion when the butler is found murdered.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Clue, Gosford Park, Evil Under The Sun

SCORE:

FIRST WIVES CLUB

GENRE:  Comedy
MADE:  1996
CAST:  Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton
DIRECTOR:  Hugh Wilson
WRITER:  Olivia Goldsmith, Robert Harling

PLOT:  Brenda, Elise and Annie all have one thing in common, their husbands left them for younger women.  In an endeavor to get even with their husbands, they scheme together on how to make it happen.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  The Women, Legally Blonde, The Birdcage

SCORE:

BEETLEJUICE

GENRE:  Fantasy/ Comedy
MADE:  1988
CAST:  Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder
DIRECTOR:  Tim Burton
WRITER:  Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, Warren Skaaren

PLOT:  When Adam and Barbara Maitland die in a car accident a family of three, the Deetz, move into their home from New York.  Adam and Barbara now ghosts trapped in their home try to scare the Deetz to move out with the help of Beetlejuice.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Alice in Wonderland, The Addams Family, Delicatessen

SCORE:

SWINGERS

GENRE:  Comedy/ Drama
MADE:  1996
CAST:  Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau
DIRECTOR:  Doug Liman
WRITER:  Jon Favreau

PLOT:  Aspiring actors become regulars in the social scene when Mike needs to get back in the game and find himself a girl, with the help of a few close guy friends he is sure to nab a girl quick, or so he thought.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Go, The Break-up, Couples Retreat

SCORE:

BRIDESMAIDS

GENRE:  Comedy
MADE:  2011
CAST:  Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne
DIRECTOR:  Paul Feig
WRITER:  Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

PLOT:  Annie and Lillian have been friends since they were children but when Lillian gets engaged and the bridesmaids are picked things begin to tear them apart.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Superbad, The Hangover, The Women

SCORE:

THE TRIP

GENRE:  Comedy
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan
DIRECTOR:  Michael Winterbottom
WRITER:  N/A

PLOT:  Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as themselves in this food tour comedy.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  2 Days in Paris, Before Sunrise, Julie & Julia

SCORE:

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

GENRE:  Action/ Adventure/ Comedy
MADE:  2003
CAST:  Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
DIRECTOR:  Gore Verbinski
WRITER:  Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert

PLOT:  Jack Sparrow finds himself in a misfit adventure when he finds his way off a deserted island and has plans to take back the ship, The Black Pearl, leads him to a gold coin, the last gold coin a group of pirates rumored to be "dead" are looking for.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Hook

SCORE:

EVERYTHING MUST GO

GENRE:  Drama/ Comedy
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Christopher Jordan Wallace
DIRECTOR:  Dan Rush
WRITER:  Dan Rush, Raymond Carver

PLOT:  When Nick Halsey falls of the wagon he loses his job of 16 years and his wife, who leaves everything he owns on the front lawn.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Stranger Than Fiction, Cedar Rapids, The Beaver

SCORE:

ANYWHERE BUT HERE

GENRE:  Comedy/ Drama
MADE:  1999
CAST:  Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner
DIRECTOR:  Wayne Wang
WRITER:  Mona Simpson, Alvin Sargent

PLOT:  A mother and daughter move to California to follow the mother's dream, but not every move is all roses.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Where The Heart Is, Garden State, Now and Then

SCORE:

SPACEBALLS

GENRE:  Adventure/ Comedy/ Sci-Fi
MADE:  1987
CAST:  Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga
DIRECTOR:  Mel Brooks
WRITER:  Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan, Ronny Graham

PLOT:  A spoof on Star Wars.  The president of Planet Spaceball sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal air from Planet Druidia when he comes upon Lone Starr who is hired by the king of the Druids to stop him.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Young Frankenstein

SCORE:

EURO TRIP

GENRE:  Comedy/ Adventure
MADE:  2004
CAST:  Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg
DIRECTOR:  Jeff Schaffer, Alec Berg, David Mandel
WRITER:  Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer

PLOT:  Now graduated from high-school a group of friends take a trip to Europe.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Road Trip, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Can't Hardly Wait

SCORE:

GUN SHY

GENRE:  Crime/ Comedy/ Romance
MADE:  2000
CAST:  Liam Neeson, Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt
DIRECTOR:  Eric Blakeney
WRITER:  Eric Blakeney

PLOT:  An undercover DEA agent has one last assignment and a case of uncontrollable bowels, which leads him to group therapy, love, friendship and happiness... on his own terms.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Snatch, The Whole Nine Yards, Miss Congeniality

SCORE:

ABOUT SCHMIDT

GENRE:  Comedy/ Drama
MADE:  2002
CAST:  Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates
DIRECTOR:  Alexander Payne
WRITER:  Louis Begley, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

PLOT:  Warren Schmidt has just retired, his wife has just suddenly died, now he embarks on a trip to his daughter's wedding that will also become a trip of self-reflection.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Broken Flowers, Sideways, The Squid and the Whale

SCORE: