Rent It! - The Green Hornet

Now, I like a good action flick, just like every other girl out there. I know we all may seem like we want to watch some mushy romantic comedy but there is the alter ego inside each of us girls that want to see some Jackie Chan, blow-em-up, opening of whoop asses on the bad guys. I, for sure, am one of those and was bummed that I was not able to see "The Green Hornet" when it was in the theaters. So, after a sensible Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred home workout, I decided to treat myself to an On-Demand flick. I am partial to Seth Rogen and feel like he plays the same type of slightly arrogant, smart-ass guy in every film - ummm, like in "Knocked Up", "Superbad" and "Pineapple Express" - oh, need I go on? Nonetheless, I often forget that out of this typical character stereotype that he plays, he is also a pretty damn good writer. Yes, he co-wrote "The Green Hornet" and has an impressive resume such as writing for the hit show "Da Ali G Show", "Drillbit Taylor", "Superbad" and even an episode for my old employer, "The Simpsons".

I enjoyed this film because of the genius-ness of what the co-star's (Jay Chou) character brought to the table. Of course an asian guy can build a machine to make a spectacular cup of coffee, then create and build the most technically advanced, hidden weaponed, batallion-type car which was reminiscent of a more humble version of the Batmobile. However, I was curious to see how Jay Chou would do as I know his English is or was limited when he shot this. And I know that from personal experience as I had produced a photo shoot where he was the lead talent for a Sprite ad. Unbeknownst to me at the time, he is considered the chinese Justin Timberlake.

This film was based on the original radio series, self-titled "The Green Hornet". Makes sense! I was surprised to find out that Michel Gondry directed this film which seemed such a departure from his indie, emotionally driven films such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Be Kind Rewind". But it kept it's pace and even had some very cool special effects during the action scenes.

One of my favorite character actors in this film was Christoph Waltz, who does an amazing job of playing menacing, evil characters. I'm not even sure I would believe him if he were in a "good guy" role as he does such a good job playing a nasty scoundrel. Remember him as the abusive husband and circus owner in "Water for Elephants" or as the vindictive Nazi Colonel Hans Landa in Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds". He can play such vile characters and still retain his native German accent, does that add to his dark sided characters? Perhaps.

Let's not forget that we have the sassy, smarty pants Cameron Diaz in this film, who plays a no-nonsense secretary to Seth Rogen's character. There was even a small role for ex-police chief in Miami Vice, Edward James Olmos. And if you blinked, you might have just missed them, which I nearly did - Edward Furlong AND James Franco were in this film. Guess Franco and Rogen have that "Pineapple Express" bond. Or it could be that mary jane connection that brought them closer together.

So, enjoy this film and allow it to take you on "The Green Hornet" ride.