It was a rainy Chicago weekend and after a little bit of cabin fever, I hit the movies for some warm, fuzzy, fluffy fun.

Sometimes, you just want to turn your brain off and have a laugh. That means it’s time for a romantic comedy!

And TC is likely going to be mad when I reads I went to see this without her, but when it’s lousy outside, your options of affordable entertainment are slim.

Let’s take a closer look.

Movie: The Back-up Plan

Rating: PG-13

Release date: April 23, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B

Summary: Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is a single woman living in Manhattan and after years of dating Mr. Right-Nows, she’s ready to forge ahead with motherhood sans man. And of course, as soon as she’s inseminated, she meets Mr. Right (Alex O’Loughlin). Does that actually happen?

My thoughts: In case you didn’t know, JLo is back and looks amazing after having twins. I know this because I got to see plenty of gratuitous shots of her flat abs (b*tch!), ample bosom and smoking hot curves during the 90 minute movie. Thanks JLo.

Overall, this was pretty good. Sure, it falls into Manhattan rom com stereotypes: gorgeous apartment (that normally she could never afford), endless fabulous wardrobe, endless hot friends that go to all the hot spots and everyday person job that likely doesn’t pay to withstand her insanely awesome lifestyle. Yes, there are cheesy lines, yes, JLo overacts at parts and bats her eyelashes and has sex goddess Barbarella hair that is perfect coiffed at every second, BUT there was actual heart and substance behind this that kept me interested, and *gasp* I related to.

Instead of JLo giving up her career to find love, she is already accomplished and went after her non-corporate dream to have a better life balance. She is persistent and knows what she wants and goes to get it without relying on a guy in her life. She also has trust issues with men, always waiting for the next one to leave her and avoiding emotional attachment to help mitigate the sadness when they do leave. Um, did JLo read my diaries?

It was nice to see this kind of character development for female rom com characters because most of them are the opposite, sacrificing their career ambitions for a guy. And because a lot of JLo’s character issues are similar to mine (minus the baby part), I felt like I could connect with her and even nodded along when she misbehaved, etc.

On the cosmetic side, the man candy from Alex O’Loughlin in this movie is pretty insane. He’s slightly damaged, smoking hot, loves cheese (WIN!) and works on a farm shirtless. Um…where you been all my life? I hope to see him in more movies coming up because abs and pecks like that should not go to waste.

Also on the superficial side, a nuance I liked about this movie is that I saw JLo repeat a lot of the same outfit pieces. Normally, rom com movies have a SATC-like closet where nothing is ever repeated. It was nice to see Jenny can be just like us :)

If you’re looking for a good rom com, I highly recommend Date Night, but this is a good…back-up option. PUN!

Did you see the movie? If so, what did you think?

Normally I would post a new movie review today but because I wasn’t in the mood for Kick-Ass or The Jonses, I have nothing new to report!

So I decided to take a look back at some of the worst, most painful movies I’ve ever seen. Trust me, these are hours of my life I will never get back. And that makes me sad.

Let’s take a look:

Because I Said So

I love Diane Keaton…in Annie Hall. I wanted to love the premise of this movie, meddling mom helps her youngest daughter (Mandy Moore) meet a guy but Keaton was so over the top, annoying, screeching and obnoxious that I wanted to pierce my eardrum. And the last scene of the movie sealed why this was so awful.

Stepbrothers

I know this came out when Will Ferrel could do no wrong and I loved him and John C. Reilly in Talladega Nights but this was just awful. I don’t mind gross humor but this was just gross. I laugh at anything and I barely laughed at this at all. Maybe I would like it more if I was a guy.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

The trailer for this movie lied. Flat out. What I saw in the theater previews and then saw on DVD rental for this movie were two TOTALLY different films. It was so bad, I got up and started cooking while it was playing. I could barely stand to finish it. Jeremy Piven, you did real wrong here.

Donnie Darko

I honest to god did not understand this movie. Friends adore it and my brother loved it but honestly, I just didn’t get it. It was a little dark and alternative for me and while I tried to keep an open mind, I just could not get through this. No thank you.

Rumor Has It

I had a feeling this would end up badly when Rob Reiner stepped in to direct this two weeks into shooting because the original director backed out. And I definitely know why. I love Mark Ruffalo but Jennifer Aniston in this movie…is awful. And whiney and screechy. There is one scene with Shirley MacLaine and Mena Suvari that was so awful, I put the TV on mute.

The Whole Ten Yards

Great example of a great movie (The Whole Nine Yards) that had to be made into a sequel and was made into one that was so awful, I actually fell asleep in the theater. Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis were great in the original but both are reduced to bumbling, screeching, intolerable versions of their original characters in this movie. I really hope they just did it for the cash.

What are some of the worst movies you’ve ever seen?

Fact: I love Tina Fey on 30 Rock. Fact #2: I love Steve Carell in just about anything, hello Anchorman?

So I was eagerly waiting for Date Night to come out to see if Michael Scott and Liz Lemon would hit it off. God I hoped so because reviews were pretty mixed.

But then again A.O. Scott said he loved Hot Tub Time Machine and we severely disagreed on that so his dislike of this made me think this could be really good.

Let’s take a look if I was right.

Movie: Date Night

Rating: PG-13

Release date: April 9, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: A

Summary: After years of marriage, the Fosters are in love but in a rut (Steve Carell and Tina Fey). To give the marriage a boost, they go to dinner in New York and a case of mistaken identity takes them on an adventure that includes a shirtless Mark Wahlberg. I would gladly go down that road to run into him. Rawr.

My thoughts: I was SO relieved that I liked this after the Hot Tub Time Machine incident last weekend. PHEW! First, the chemistry between Carell and Fey is hot…and relatable. Relatable in the sense that they are like so many couples you would know who have been married for awhile and are stuck in a routine. You can see them going through the motions, almost like they’re asleep at the wheel. And hot in the sense that, well that chemistry is just leading to some hot naughty action. But again, because they play parents, I don’t want to see that because well…I don’t want to think that for people I know. Plus, Carell/Fey are more subdued than their TV characters, which was nice to see too.

Anyhow, the thing I like about this is that there is a little of everything: humor (seriously, I was almost crying at one part), honestly (Carell/Fey’s characters having tough talks about the state of their marriage), hot men (Mark Wahlberg, HELLO!) and action. The movie rotates enough between all of these pieces that you don’t get bored and you start to feel like you’re along for the ride with them.

Plus, great cameos again in this by James Franco, Ray Liotta, Mila Kunis, Leighton Meester (Blair!) and, yes, Mark Wahlberg. I hate to keep bringing this up but holy sh*t the man eye candy in his scenes are totally worth it. His acting is good too.

Shaun Levy (Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther, What Happens in Vegas) does a nice job directing, putting Carell/Fey in actin scenes that while outlandish aren’t totally extreme and making you say, “oh come on!”

And of course, there is one really sweet moment that makes you kind of say “aww.” The man behind us even said (at a quiet moment), “god that is really beautiful.” And it was :)

Anyhow, I recommend checking this out. It’s a funny, easy movie to go see without feeling depressed as you walk out of the theater.

Plus, stay around for the credits, there is a nice little treat after the final scene.

Did you see Date Night this weekend or do you plan to see it? What did you think? Are you a Tina Fey/Steve Carell fan?

Even though the Oscars are over, I’m still trying to catch the movies on EW’s 25 Movies to See Before the Oscars list. I came close before the show but still want to finish it.

And one of the movies I missed is the Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson. I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, I loved The Royal Tenenbaums, Darjeeling Limited and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He has a really creative style and I just adore it.

Movie: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Rating: PG

Release date: Available on DVD March 23, 2010

Everyday Adventures’ grade: B

Summary: I’ll be honest, I had no idea this was a book before it was a movie. Apparently, my parents focused more on Berenstein Bears or Ramona books for me because I’ve never heard of this. But apparently, it’s a classic book. Mr. and Mrs. Fox (George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live a happy life, trying to stay on the straight and narrow, but Mr. Fox’s chicken thief background eventually gets them, their family and the animal community in some serious trouble.

My thoughts: Considering I’ve never read the book, I had no idea what to expect but this movie is pretty cute :) And no, it’s not just because it’s 90 minutes of George Clooney talking (seriously, he makes everything sound sexy). I’ll be honest, I didn’t totally follow every piece of the story but what entertained me the most was the visual element of this film. It was primarily shot using stop-motion, which means, the characters and scenes are shot as individual images and manually moved in between shots to make it look like the item is moving itself. And to see an entire feature-length film using that technique is…amazing. Visually, it just blows your mind to realize each and every movement was manually arranged and then strung together to make the movie.

I also love that Wes Anderson continues to use his regular players in this movie. Jason Schwartzman is Mr. Fox’s son, Ash, and Owen Wilson is the coach. During half of the movie, I was trying to guess who voiced each character and that was perfectly fine with me. I thought the story dragged in parts and could have been trimmed back, but it was still enjoyable.

I definitely need to watch this movie again to catch everything I missed, but it was much better than I thought, and honestly, I didn’t even know what to expect!

Disclosure: 20th Century Fox provided me with a DVD screener copy of the movie to watch and review. All opinions about the film are my own.