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Why has it taken this long for Tina Fey and Steve Carrell to get together? Unfortunately, why couldn’t it have been in a better project. They’re two of the funnier, smarter comics working in entertainment today and I don’t quite understand why they agreed to finally combine forces in such a broad, middling comedy as this one.

These two comedians have become stars by being part of whip smart, incisive, and often brilliant, TV shows and movies. (Although I really believe that “The Office” has been in a slow, truly disappointing tailspin for about a season and a half now, maybe longer.) I dearly wanted this movie to be as sharp and rapid fire as their previous material, they have set such a high bar (I’m ignoring “Evan Almighty”); instead it’s broad and inconsistent. To be fair, I laughed frequently and hard at certain points, but it was mostly when it felt like Tina and Steve were riffing and going off script. Of particular note are some loopy sequences at a hipper-than-thou restaurant and when a perpetually shirtless Mark Wahlberg is with them. But between the slapstick action scenes (including cops who shoot guns worse than an ‘80’s GI Joe cartoon) and goofy encounters, it sags and there’s some pretty serious discussion of stagnant marriages and love that seems shoe-horned in from another movie to give the whole thing some “heart.” There are a number of empty cameos and unnecessary bit parts too, that are wasted on a list of respectable actors like Mark Ruffalo, Ray Liotta, lead player in where-have-I-seen-him-before-games William Fichtner; and Taraji Henson; not too mention some funny comics like Kristen Wiig and Bill Burr in unfunny parts. However, James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Wahlberg do generate some genuine laughs.

Additionally the story of needing to “romantically jump-start a stalled, but good marriage, with action shenanigans” feels stale and familiar. Again, I was hoping, maybe dreaming, that the pairing of Fey and Carrell could bring somtehing fresh to this sub-sub-genre. It starts of promising enough but by the time the whole case of mistaken-identity-and-crooks is sorted out I had a “who did what to what know?” moment followed quickly by an “awwh, who cares anyway” moment. Without the leads considerable talents and charm the whole movie would probably have sunk into “Wild Hogs” territory. It’s easy to see these same roles being done, too much less success but much louder results, by some pairing of Kevin James and Sarah Jessica Paker or Ashton Kutcher and whatever vapid blond is hot at the moment. Really, though, what was I expecting from the director of such comedic gems as “Night at the Museum” and “The Pink Panther” remake.

I’m not going to flat out recommend this because it’s just too disappointing, maybe a matinee to see Fey and Carrell together, but more like a Red Box weekend in the pj’s; or if you thought “Old Dogs” was HI-sterical. It’s like cotton candy, looks pretty and has a flash of fizzy, sugary fun but once consumed it dissolves away and leaves you still hungry. Here’s to hoping Tina and Steve get together again, and soon, in a vehicle much better suited to their respective talents.

In 1954 a woman who drowned her three children is missing. She’s escaped from her cell in a maximum-security prison for the criminally and violently insane. Ashcliffe Prison is situated on an imposing island in the outer reaches of Boston harbor. Two federal marshals are called in to search the island and interrogate the staff about the woman’s disappearance. And a hurricane is approaching. Obviously, this being a Scorcese movie based on a Dennis Lehane novel (writer of Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone), dangerous, twisty shenanigans ensue.

I had read the book previous to seeing this film and will admit that my knowledge of the book colors my review of the film. Not to say that it is not true to the book or divergent from it (it’s actually a very faithful adaptation), just that in a story such as this, knowledge of the events previous to viewing them changes ones perception. I’d love to know what someone who hadn’t read the novel thought of the film.

Leo DiCaprio has his detractors, (chiefly, the namesake of this site) some of which criticism is valid, some of which I don’t understand. Regardless, as Teddy Daniels, the senior marshal called to deal with the disappearance, DiCaprio gives a stellar performance, quite possibly his best to date. Nightmarish WWII memories and a dead wife (an excellent Michelle Williams – she needs to be in more movies) haunt Daniels as he investigates the disappearance and he is deeply troubled by what appears to be an ever-expanding web of collusion and secrecy. The guards are on edge, the patients are rehearsed and there are rumors of Mengele-like experimental procedures being performed on the patients. The weight of which is masterfully relayed in DiCaprio’s shifty eyes and hitching mannerisms.

Mark Ruffalo (his new partner – Chuck Aule) and DiCaprio have an easy, compelling chemistry (and fit the characters book-wise too) playing well off each others supicions and skepticisms. As the rabbit hole of Ashcliffe deepens and more and more secrets and scares and dangers ensue Scorcese suitably ramps up the gothic visuals, of particular note is the atmospheric, doom-laden lighting and camera work. Every frame is filled with dread and paranoia that only increases as the film progresses. Daniels flashback riddled nightmares are particularly unnerving in their abstracted reality. And if you’ve ever wanted to know what a migraine felt like – wait until Teddy experiences his in the film, it’s uncomfortably like having one without all the pain involved.

There are scene-stealing turns around ever corner too, by a veritable who’s who list of of superb character actors – Max Von Sydow and the ever-reliable Patricia Clarkson, as well as a chilling monologue by the always creepy Ted Levine (aka – Buffalo Bill…gah). Jack Earley Haley also shows up and executes a perfect turn as a particularly disturbed patient.

This bendy psych-thriller is well worth your time and money and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t stick to your bones and last with you into the night. Recommended. So too is the book – just try putting that down. I don’t know which you should do first – but they’re both worth the effort.