The Movie Guru: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ a love letter to fans, while ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’ entertaining but silly

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (in theaters)

Super Mario fans are getting a return ticket to their favorite galaxy.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is once again designed as a love letter to fans, jam-packed with beloved characters, references, sights and music. The sequel expands the love even further, bringing in other Nintendo characters and references from other classic games. The plot gets too overstuffed at times trying to fit it all in, and non-fans will be completely lost. But for people who love the games, and loved the first movie, it’s definitely a galactic journey worth taking.

The movie starts soon after the first movie, with Bowser (Jack Black) in tiny jail and Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) now at home in the Mushroom Kingdom. Things get shaken up when Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) shows up looking for his father, kidnapping another princess (Brie Larson) to power his weapon. Can the brothers and their friends save not only their world, but everyone else’s?

Black’s Bowser is once again the most delightful character in the movie, though Donald Glover’s Yoshi is also a fun addition. Larson’s Princess Rosalina and Day’s Luigi don’t get enough to do, sadly, but it turns out Glen Powell is the absolutely perfect voice for Fox McCloud (from the “Star Fox” game series).

They have thrown in some nods to popular movies, including a nice moment from the “The Lord of the Rings” movie series, but it’s still not enough to pull in non-Mario fans. Love letters aren’t meant for strangers, and “Galaxy” is best when it focuses on the people it wants to talk to most.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

Grade: Three stars

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (Hulu)

Everyone has a certain silliness threshold. We can appreciate silliness up to a certain point, but once a movie crosses that line, it’s lost us.

If you’re someone with a higher silliness threshold and a fondness for action movies, you might enjoy “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice.” At its heart, the movie is an enjoyable action romance with an interesting sci-fi twist. However, there’s a heaping dose of comic goofiness on the top, brimming with 1980s and general pop culture references that fly so thick and fast you can barely keep up. Some of them land surprisingly well – if you remember “Alf” fondly, keep an ear out – but many of them don’t. Someone not in the mood for silliness won’t be able to handle it.

The sci-fi twist is spoiled in the trailer, but I’ll let you decide for yourself whether to go find it. What I will say is that Mike (James Marsden) and Nick (Vince Vaughn) are both mobsters, and Alice (Eliza González) is Nick’s wife. Mike and Alice are in love, one Nick wants Mike dead, and another Nick wants to save his life. Chaos, naturally, ensues.

Vaughn does one of his best performances in awhile, subtly but convincingly distinguishing between both versions of himself. González makes sure her character is more than just a love interest. Marsden brings a wonderful dry common sense that plays off them both wonderfully. Among the supporting cast, Keith David is clearly having so much fun that the feeling is infectious.

As long as you enjoy silliness, you’ll have plenty of fun, too.

Grade: Two and a half stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com.