She-Hulk #37

The penultimate issue of She-Hulk was released wednesday, and as the She-Hulk fan of this brigade, I find myself dreading each issue to its final release next month. I'm just not willing to give up my monthly She-Hulk.

Spoilers within...

She-Hulk #37 features the emerald empress right after her stint with the Lady Liberators from the previous arc. Mallory Book (incorrectly called Malloy Book at her entrance... come on, editors!) saves the day by getting Jennifer out of trouble with the law for her actions.

All the while, Jazinda is feeling left out and abandoned by Jennifer, and the Man-Elephant returns as the evil Behemoth! A fun issue, which seems to be setting up for a quiet dismissal of the series. My guess is She-Hulk will return to the law firm (though not before saving Jazinda from Behemoth), and her partner Jaz will go off to do her own thing (aka limbo).

The writing was pretty good, though I found Mallory Book to be slightly out of character. And I still can't get over "Malloy." Man-Elephant is as lame as can be, PAD could've used Ultima and her daddy Voice, or Doc, or even effin' Grappler, yet he chose to bring back the fat old guy in an elephant costume. Still, his Cyttorak-powered Behemoth persona is slightly interesting...

The art was spectacular. I've grown used to Vincenzo Cucca's art style, which was glamorously cartoony and very fitting for She-Hulk, in my opinion... but the artist (Steve Scott) drew She-Hulk just as she should be... a muscular beauty. I really look forward to more work by Scott in the future.

Good Dick....good film?

Despite the obvious sexual title of this film, underneath you'll find an indie romance story with a twist.

The plot involves a homeless man (Jason Ritter) who remains nameless working at an adult video store. On what seems like a normal day of work, an also nameless sex-deprived woman (Marianna Palka) decides to rent a few movies without penetration...specifically. The film follows the male as he pursues the young woman continuously. What seems as though he's stalking her quickly turns into a love-hate relationship that blossoms.

Without giving too much away, I can say that the film is not for the movie goers who like the typical romance story. It relies heavily on it's directing, which was done by Palka. While the writing is nothing short of mediocre at most points, I have to admit that the excellent acting done by Palka and her real-life boyfriend of 9 years, Jason Ritter, had me wanting to hang on until the end. The real life romance definitely plays off on screen as the two having chemestry.

The "comedy" in the film lies within the group of co-workers that Ritter socializes with. Amongst the friends are Martin Starr (Knocked Up), Mark Webber & Tom Arnold. The ongoing joke between the friends of Starr's character not being able to find a clitoris is once again, something fans of the typical romantic comedies will not find amusing. Being a fan of those movies myself, I found that the joke would be found in something Seth Rogen would star in.

While this review may or may not help you in deciding to watch the film, I can give it my approval with 3/5 stars. If you're a movie goer who likes the typical romantic comedy (27 Dresses, A Lot Like Love, etc) then you probably won't enjoy this as much. But if you're willing to give a good indie film with an awkward, sexual plot a try then you might find yourself enjoying this.