Cougars, Inc. (2011)

The greatest movie ever made..!

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

'Cougars Inc.' is about a teenage boy who uses his friends as 'escorts' to older women, who then pay for their 'services.' On the whole, a neat idea which has potential. However, it's executed pretty strangely. First of all, if you see it billed as a 'comedy' then think again. I managed to sn*gger about three times in the ninety minute run-time. I would almost call it a romantic teen drama instead.However, the main problem is the sheer believability of the situation. On the one hand, I'm sure there are more 'mature' women (or 'cougars' as they're called here) who may be bored with their marriages etc and, with their disposable income, are ready and willing to pay to date younger men. But, in the film, the problem lies with the fact that the 'mature' women are all incredibly attractive, almost to the point of having model looks. Are we seriously to believe that Denise Richards (yes, she may be in her early forties now, but, let's face it, she's still 'Hollywood' quality when it comes to looks) is having problems finding one-night-stands? And, if we're in some parallel universe where that is the case, she chooses to pay young nerdy teenagers for their company.The central character's friends are portrayed as the 'geek squad.' They're not the fit, sporty, cool 'jocks' of their school, they're the ones who hide away in the computer rooms, playing Dungeons & Dragons. The whole film comes across as some teenage boy's fantasy about him and his mates being seduced by scores of beautiful women (and, they're ALWAYS beautiful - the boys never have to 'perform' for some tired-looking fifty-something with drooping body parts and stretch marks!).Then, to add final insult, the film strays into the moral compasses of escorting and how it affects 'real' relationships and treats us to a particularly preachy final act. I wanted to like this. If they had kept it more like some sort of daft, zany 'American Pie-esque' type comedy, at least it would have had a few more chuckles. Sadly, it's a film that tries to take on too much and basically fails on all levels.

Like a few of the other reviewers, I thought this might have been one of those films I'd turn off in the first 5 minutes but to my surprise I really enjoyed it and if anything wanted the story to continue. It certainly stands out from the crowd and if you like strong characters then this won't disappoint.Also interesting to see one the leads from Cold Case in another role, which Kathryn Morris excelled The film is engaging because of the way the main actor speaks to the screen and the 20 or so lead in questions posed. So if you think this is just another light weight, American comedy film, don't be fooled, it's much better than that.So take a look at it and hope you enjoy it.

Maybe the posters where made shallow and uninteresting on purpose. Maybe the name of the movie was intended to be just plain. I won't lie; I thought it was going to be a shallowness festival in the form of a strange spin-off of a 'Fitch trying to score Stiffler's Mom' film. I was pleased to see it wasn't.The movie has a strange timing that's sort of uncomfortable in the first ten-fifteen minutes, but once you get used to it and you find out the reason of the strange configuration of the movie (It's just a bunch of notes of a quite too smart teen), you can go with it. I really end up liking it, it make sense to me how it was told. It's not pretentious, it is what it is.Performances where nice: Kyle Gallner, in the skin of witty and kind of sweet Sam, fits perfect in this casually messy kid who finally finds his place in the world and will do anything to stay in his little personal paradise. In addition, his chemistry with James Belushi and Kathryn Morris is not forced at all. Belushi plays the role of cool school teacher with elegance, and accomplished some nice moments just by staying quiet and staring into others' eyes like trying to figure them out. I love Denise Richards too: She's not trying to be nice, but you end up kind of liking her.It's classy and nice when it could be a mess, and way better that what it seems. Just like Sam learned in the movie, not everything is what it looks like, and this film certainly isn't.

I decided to give this one a shot after seeing James Belushi and Denise Richards on the credits. That, and the fact that there was no review for this title on IMDb; it kinda felt like a "virgin" territory to explore.And I don't regret it, because I ended up liking it. The acting was believable without any of the forced over-the-top or wooden performances that you see in crappy movies where you are constantly reminded that some people are trying to act and the results are painful to watch.The lead character which plays Sam was natural, the role fit him like a glove and in the end it felt like he pulled it off with style; and the other characters delivered good performances too.I wouldn't know where to classify this but it certainly isn't a comedy. The story is somewhat original (at least I haven't seen another movie about high-school kids doing escort services for older women) but it doesn't fall into cheap clichés, not a little bit and all the little side stories are neatly weaved into the main one.It has a sweet-sad tone all through, however, it also has a sort of light feeling of hope to it and the music helps building and keeping that up.All in all, I didn't end up regretting the time I spent on it (as I do with a lot of movies, lately) so what I can tell you is, give it a try and make up your own mind about it. This isn't your garden-variety blockbuster but I think you'll find it a quite good way to spend one and half hours on a stormy afternoon.