Box Office Outlook: Jerry Seinfeld is Master of This Domain

By Katey Rich

This weekend, "B" is for "Box Office," at least in the case of one movie that seems to "B" everywhere and has "bee"-n getting on my nerves with its nonstop ads since September. I'm talking, of course, about Bee Movie, that little movie you might have heard of starring a washed-up sitcom actor from the '90s.

Yeah, pretty much nothing stands a chance against Bee Movie this weekend, even with middling reviews (more on that later) and a strong outlook for American Gangster. When it comes down to it, a period crime drama about smuggling heroin in the coffins of dead soldiers just isn't the fun-for-the-whole-family kind of thing that rakes in the bucks.

BEE MOVIE. Nine years after the end of his sitcom, Jerry Seinfeld is hitting the big screen for the first time as Barry B. Benson, a worker bee who escapes the hive in search of a better life in the big world. He befriends a florist (Renee Zellweger) but runs into trouble when he discovers that humans have been appropriating the bees' greatest product--honey--for their own uses. Barry decides to take the matter to court, but discovers the importance of human-bee cooperation along the way. Patrick Warburton, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Kathy Bates, John Goodman and plenty of others also lend their voices to the effort.

While some critics enjoyed themselves, many are frustrated with Seinfeld's first attempt at a screenplay. "The film labors too hard for its comic moments and never discovers a cartoon logic that will allow bees and humans to interact," writes Kirk Honeycutt at The Hollywood Reporter. He adds, "When Bee Movie opens, honey will equal money for the first week, but repeat business, so vital for animated films, is not likely to be heavy." "Enough already," writes the succinct Associated Press. Rex Reed, on the other hand, points out a number of the film's flaws but is still compelled to add a "LOL" (seriously) to his review: "You have to laugh. You also have to go away from Bee Movie with a revitalized respect for bees." Owen Glieberman at Entertainment Weekly was charmed too: "Seinfeld, voice rising to that nifty incredulous whine, perfectly channels our hero's dismay." And our Kevin Lally chimes in, "There's just enough of [Seinfeld's] singular personality to engage fans and enough buzzy action to delight the holiday kid audience."

AMERICAN GANGSTER. In Harlem in the 1970s, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) changed his method of drug-dealing by circumventing the Mafia and getting his drugs directly from Thailand, using coffins of American soldiers coming back from Vietnam to transport the goods. Lucas became a kingpin and attracted the attention of the authorities, who sent straight arrow detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) on Lucas' tail. Roberts deals with a corrupt police force as he tracks down Lucas, who flies under the radar even when his drugs turn out to be so pure that junkies constantly overdose. Ridley Scott directs a huge cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Cooding, Jr., Josh Brolin and Ruby Dee.

Reviews are overwhelmingly positive for American Gangster, with a number of the Oscar horse race blogs already putting it in the running for the top prize. "Denzel Washington dazzles in his best screen performance to date," writes the New York Post, calling the film "one of the year's best movies." Peter Travers at Rolling Stone is similarly enchanted by the performances: "Washington and Crowe clash like titans -- they're something to see. Ditto the movie." "Ruby Dee, now in her feisty 80's, is alone worth the price of admission," adds Andrew Sarris. Our Rex Roberts goes so far as to compare the film to the killer drugs it features: "American Gangster, like a packet of "Blue Magic," guarantees a rush�pleasurable and ephemeral." Manohla Dargis at the New York Times, while praising much of the film, is a bit more cautious: "Greatness hovers just outside American Gangster, knocking, angling to be let in."

MARTIAN CHILD. The third wide release this weekend is a family drama with a distinct sci-fi twist. John Cusack plays a science fiction writer who, after the death of his wife, adopts a young boy (Bobby Coleman) with a unique eccentricity: he believes that he's from Mars. As father and son adjust to each another, the rest of the world weighs in, with a disapproving sister (Joan Cusack) and social worker (Richard Schiff) saying "nay" while a beautiful friend (Amanda Peet) says yes. Eventually the boy learns to live like an Earthling and the man learns how to be a father. Sniffles are included.

Well, that's the idea at least. Martian Child left a majority of critics cold, myself included: "An entirely ordinary film featuring an entirely ordinary performance from Cusack, who may as well be on autopilot." The Associated Press isn't falling for the tearjerker either: "Martian Child can squeeze out Hollywood sniffles, the gooey sort that'll be gone and forgotten by the time you reach the theater parking lot." "Pure pop-psychology pablum," accuses Time Out New York, adding that Cusack's "fine performance [is] undercut by banal storytelling." Manohla Dargir says it pretty well: "[Meyjes] lets Mr. Cusack cut loose and go lazy, while the support team (Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Amana Peet) smilingly basks in the star's glow. You might think that Bobby Coleman wouldn't stand a chance, but this kid bats his lashes like Joan Fontaine. The audience wept; I just cried uncle." My only question is, which press screening did Dargis attend where they actually shed tears?