We need to get some new games started up. At the moment we mostly have our Periodic Table of Smellements and Calendar, which puts us in a tough spot for the end of year cycle. Obviously none of the films on the Calendar are 2017 films, leaving us with trying to find a movie for the Table… which just wasn’t super fruitful in 2017. As a result we have a particularly small film to watch this week. That’s right! We’re populating the extremely rare 19th element with Table 19. Never heard of it? Don’t worry. No one else has either. Written by the Duplass brothers, this film somehow got a wide release to 868 films. We would have watched it eventually as there are no other films with a 19 in the title, but boy howdy I did not expect to have this show up in such a coveted BMT spot. Here’s to hoping we have a little Waiting for Forever magic in this one and it’s just off the chains… not super optimistic. Let’s go!
Table 19 (2017) – BMeTric: 31.2
(Actually kind of interesting. Basically nobody saw this film in theaters … and then once they did on VOD they disliked it a ton more than the rare few who seeked it out. We do not do films this small / recent though, so it is kind of new territory regardless.)
RogerEbert.com – 2.5 stars – “Table 19” is a movie for everyone who has ever felt deeply uncomfortable at another person’s wedding reception. … [T]here is such a thing as a under-served market, and this movie serves it. Maybe too well, as we’ll see. … [T]he more the movie tries to satisfy the conventional requirements of the Hollywood romantic comedy that ties everything up in a cute little bow, the more forced and unremarkable it seems.
(This is a shockingly solid review. It appears to perhaps fail colossally at being a romantic comedy, but perhaps is somewhat successful as a mumblecore suitcase film. It does seem to take place at a single table at a wedding which is interesting.)
Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVzyiM8Sgo
(Very rote romantic comedy based on the trailer. I do like all of the people at the table though … well Craig Robinson and Stephen Merchant and Anna Kendrick at least. But they should be fun.)
Directors – Jeffrey Blitz – (Known For: Rocket Science; BMT: Table 19; Notes: He has mostly directed television, including 11 episodes of The Office.)
Writers – Mark Duplass (story by) – (Known For: Creep 2; Creep; Blue Jay; Cyrus; Hannah Takes the Stairs; Jeff, Who Lives at Home; Baghead; Black Rock; The Puffy Chair; The Do-Deca-Pentathlon; BMT: Table 19; Notes: Star of The League on FX. Him and his brother signed a multi-picture deal with Netflix for a variety of off-beat comedies. I’m sure this one started that way, although this is not a Netflix production.)
Jay Duplass (story by) – (Known For: Cyrus; Jeff, Who Lives at Home; Baghead; The Puffy Chair; Outside In; The Do-Deca-Pentathlon; BMT: Table 19; Notes: I don’t really recognize him, but he’s been in a variety of television projects like The Mindy Projects. Works with his brother quite office.)
Jeffrey Blitz (story by & screenplay by) – (Known For: Rocket Science; BMT: Table 19; Notes: Wrote multiple episode of the Andrew Daly series Review for Comedy Central.)
Actors – Anna Kendrick – (Known For: Trolls; Pitch Perfect; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; The Accountant; Pitch Perfect 2; Twilight; Into the Woods; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2; End of Watch; Happy Christmas; Up in the Air; The Twilight Saga: Eclipse; 50/50; Mr. Right; Drinking Buddies; Cake; The Hollars; The Voices; Digging for Fire; The Company You Keep; Future BMT: The Twilight Saga: New Moon; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1; Get a Job; Rapture-Palooza; Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates; The Marc Pease Experience; BMT:What to Expect When You’re Expecting; Table 19; Notes: Probably most famous now as the star of Pitch Perfect. Was the second youngest person to be nominated for a Tony starting her career on Broadway.)
Lisa Kudrow – (Known For: The Boss Baby; The Girl on the Train; Bad Neighbours 2; Easy A; Bad Neighbours; Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion; Analyze This; Hotel for Dogs; The Opposite of Sex; Dr. Dolittle 2; Bandslam; Happy Endings; Clockwatchers; Mother; All Over the Guy; Americano; Kabluey; Future BMT: Hanging Up; Marci X; Lucky Numbers; Analyze That; Powder Blue; Love and Other Impossible Pursuits; Wonderland; Unlikely Hero; BMT: Table 19; Razzie Notes: Nominated for Worst New Star in 1997 for Ed, Mother, She’s the One, and The Pallbearer; Notes: Most famous for Friends obviously. Has had a very successful post-Friends career with The Comeback and a variety of smaller projects.)
Craig Robinson – (Known For: Sausage Party; This is the End; Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters; Pineapple Express; Hot Tub Time Machine; Knocked Up; Night at the Museum 2; Zack and Miri Make a Porno; Tragedy Girls; Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story; Shrek Forever After; Get on Up; Morris from America; Future BMT: Hot Tub Time Machine 2; Post Grad; Rapture-Palooza; The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard; Daddy’s Little Girls; Peeples; Father of Invention; Fanboys; BMT: Dragon Wars; Miss March; Escape from Planet Earth; Table 19; Notes: Was a music teacher before breaking into acting. Often plays keyboard and sings in the movies and television shows he is in.)
Budget/Gross – $5 million / Domestic: $3,614,896 (Worldwide: $5,042,014)
(Didn’t even make back a $5 million budget. That isn’t too too surprising though, it was barely released to theaters.)
Rotten Tomatoes – 25% (26/103): Table 19 is marginally more entertaining than actually sitting with a table full of strangers at a wedding — although most screenings won’t come with an open bar, which makes it a wash.
(That is what the trailer looks like. Off-beat Duplass comedies sounds kind of like that … what did people expect again? Isn’t that the MO of mumblecore in the first place?)
Poster – Table Skogteen (B+)
(Like the pink color and clever visual joke with the fork kinda giving the middle finger to everyone. Simple and artistic.)
Tagline(s) – You’re invited to the wedding of the season. (D-)
Don’t Fit In? Take A Number. (A-)
(Just remove the first one from the poster. Why even have it. Only thing it does is indicate that it’s a wedding film. Otherwise bland. The second is actually quite good. Clever play on the title, hint of the plot, and straight to the point.)
Keyword(s) – drug use; Top Ten by BMeTric: 88.5 The Room (2003); 78.0 Superhero Movie (2008); 76.0 Junior (1994); 64.6 The Crow: City of Angels (1996); 62.1 Sliver (1993); 59.5 9 Songs (2004); 56.1 See No Evil (2006); 54.7 The Ten (2007); 54.5 Max Payne (2008); 54.1 Bachelorette (2012);
(We will be watching … most of these actually. How haven’t se watched any of these films? Half are classics.)
Notes – Co-stars Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson previously worked with each other in an episode of Friends (1994). Robinson’s character was the one who enabled the possibility for Kudrow’s character to change her name from Phoebe to ‘Princess Consuela Bananahammock’. (There is an entire video about this actually. She doesn’t remember it and seems quite embarrassed that he found he to be so “kind” merely by suggesting he try and get his joke in the film)
Jeffrey Blitz’s first feature since Rocket Science (2007), which also starred Anna Kendrick. It was one of her first film roles.
Brothers Mark and Jay Duplass were originally set to direct the film. Jeffery Blitz took over the project in 2011 although the Duplass brothers get story credits. (That is interesting. At the time they weren’t necessarily booked with anything else so it is interesting they would drop out for whatever reason).
The fourth collaboration between actress Anna Kendrick and cinematographer Ben Richardson.
Craig Robinson and Anna Kendrick have both starred in Rapture-Palooza (2013).
Craig Robinson, Jeffrey Blitz and Stephen Merchant all work on The Office.
Both Amanda Crew and Andrew Daly have appeared on the series Silicon Valley.
Bad Movie Twins 
