We don't drink
Mojitos.
Clever vampire comedy, using the tropes of vampirism, intermingled with pop culture and modern technology, for the ipod age, set in NYC, has centuries-old vampire, Alicia Silverstone, and younger "bestie" Krystan Ritter (of Modern Family fame) trying to exist and maintain a level of secrecy within society, among humans, with a "stem" (Sigourney Weaver, an absolute blast) overcome by her overwhelming voracious appetite for human blood, her feasting becoming too out of control, certain to ruin any sort of anonymity successfully held over time. A stem is the "chief" vampire who feeds from certain humans, allowing those infected to live, "summoning" them when she so demands because of the control that comes with such power.
Regarding plot, that's about it. This is more about Silverstone and Ritter's episodic adventures in NYC, with a wealth of talent in the cast, such as Wallace Shawn (My Dinner with Andre & The Princess Bride, reuniting with director Heckerling from Clueless (1995) as a Van Helsing, no less!), Dan Stevens (as Shawn's son, falling head over heels for Ritter, and vice versa), Malcolm McDowell (as Vlad the Impaler!), Richard Lewis (as an old love of Silverstone's from the 70s), Kristen Johnson (Shawn's wife and Stevens' mother), Kak Orth (as Renfield, quite buddy-buddy with our leading ladies, always hoping they will turn him vampire) and Justin Kirk (as Vadim, a Ukrainian vampire always mistaken as Russian, much to his chagrin).
Weaver just gets lost in her part as a self-absorbed diva, totally irresponsible when it comes to not calling attention to "her kind", and her inability (she just doesn't care, to tell you the truth) to cease from drinking human blood (Silverstone and Ritter, along with many others attending a "Sanguinary Anonymous" meetings, feed from rats!) is becoming a nuisance to all vampires who want to co-exist with their mortal counterparts in the big city. Silverstone's adorable and recalls her old part as that cute (but pampered and oblivious to the hardships of the common man due to her affluence) princess in Clueless, except this time here she's an older woman in a lovely thirty-year old's body, from before "progress" and technology revolutionized America, living through it all and seeing such drastic change while generations lived and died, but unable, it seems, to keep up with the speed of the technological advancements such as computers and iphones.
There's a sense of Sex & the City fashion, with clubbing, importance in looking your best, and that search for romance here in the film, but Vamps has vampires occupying the city and follows how they inhabit the night-to-night (they can't very well inhabit "day-to-day", now can they?) social scene. While I love Silverstone in the film, Ritter is the real surprise as a zesty, fun, spirited, energetic, very sexy gal-pal totally involved in the happening night activities and social networking, her relationship with Stevens disrupting the usual animosity between vampire hunter Van Helsing and bloodsucking Nosferatu. Heckerling loves to have Silverstone nostalgically looking back in the past with an affection no longer felt in the current time she lives, pining for when life moved at a slower pace. Old movies and 80s references find their way often into this vamp comedy, much appreciated by me. It was nice to see Silverstone again with a comedy centered around her, even if she had to share the spotlight with the eye candy Ritter. NYC comes alive (well, mostly Detroit filling in for NYC) thanks to Heckerling's direction, and the film can be a bit violent (however, the CGI is terrible, especially Weaver's "chainsaw incident", along with a head on the skeletal remains of Ulysses Grant (!) coming after Wallace Shawn), containing dialogue in tune with the times (and characters).
The rat blood drinking is equal parts off-putting and absurdly comical. McDowell as a rehabilitated Vlad Tepish, and a voice of comfort to Silverstone and Ritter because of his experience as a vampire "down through the ages", is another brilliant piece of casting. The eclipse allowing the vampires to escape required day time commitments as "registered citizens" (jury duty, meeting with the IRS, etc.) by using ACLU attorney Lewis (who discovers that his former flame, Silverstone, is a vamp when she interrupts a robbery in a music store) accompanying them in order to help is also a really nicely cunning piece of comedy. The vampire tropes (garlic, crucifix, stake through the heart, thirst for human blood, etc.) are all gleefully usurped by Heckerling, especially when Silverstone and Ritter must inform the Van Helsings that they have it all wrong when it comes to successfully harming the undead. I have to admit this is probably about as guilty pleasure to me as possible because when you say "Sex and the City" to me, I cringe, but because I have a soft spot for Silverstone (and now Ritter), this was more easy to digest and enjoy.
Clever vampire comedy, using the tropes of vampirism, intermingled with pop culture and modern technology, for the ipod age, set in NYC, has centuries-old vampire, Alicia Silverstone, and younger "bestie" Krystan Ritter (of Modern Family fame) trying to exist and maintain a level of secrecy within society, among humans, with a "stem" (Sigourney Weaver, an absolute blast) overcome by her overwhelming voracious appetite for human blood, her feasting becoming too out of control, certain to ruin any sort of anonymity successfully held over time. A stem is the "chief" vampire who feeds from certain humans, allowing those infected to live, "summoning" them when she so demands because of the control that comes with such power.
Regarding plot, that's about it. This is more about Silverstone and Ritter's episodic adventures in NYC, with a wealth of talent in the cast, such as Wallace Shawn (My Dinner with Andre & The Princess Bride, reuniting with director Heckerling from Clueless (1995) as a Van Helsing, no less!), Dan Stevens (as Shawn's son, falling head over heels for Ritter, and vice versa), Malcolm McDowell (as Vlad the Impaler!), Richard Lewis (as an old love of Silverstone's from the 70s), Kristen Johnson (Shawn's wife and Stevens' mother), Kak Orth (as Renfield, quite buddy-buddy with our leading ladies, always hoping they will turn him vampire) and Justin Kirk (as Vadim, a Ukrainian vampire always mistaken as Russian, much to his chagrin).
Weaver just gets lost in her part as a self-absorbed diva, totally irresponsible when it comes to not calling attention to "her kind", and her inability (she just doesn't care, to tell you the truth) to cease from drinking human blood (Silverstone and Ritter, along with many others attending a "Sanguinary Anonymous" meetings, feed from rats!) is becoming a nuisance to all vampires who want to co-exist with their mortal counterparts in the big city. Silverstone's adorable and recalls her old part as that cute (but pampered and oblivious to the hardships of the common man due to her affluence) princess in Clueless, except this time here she's an older woman in a lovely thirty-year old's body, from before "progress" and technology revolutionized America, living through it all and seeing such drastic change while generations lived and died, but unable, it seems, to keep up with the speed of the technological advancements such as computers and iphones.
There's a sense of Sex & the City fashion, with clubbing, importance in looking your best, and that search for romance here in the film, but Vamps has vampires occupying the city and follows how they inhabit the night-to-night (they can't very well inhabit "day-to-day", now can they?) social scene. While I love Silverstone in the film, Ritter is the real surprise as a zesty, fun, spirited, energetic, very sexy gal-pal totally involved in the happening night activities and social networking, her relationship with Stevens disrupting the usual animosity between vampire hunter Van Helsing and bloodsucking Nosferatu. Heckerling loves to have Silverstone nostalgically looking back in the past with an affection no longer felt in the current time she lives, pining for when life moved at a slower pace. Old movies and 80s references find their way often into this vamp comedy, much appreciated by me. It was nice to see Silverstone again with a comedy centered around her, even if she had to share the spotlight with the eye candy Ritter. NYC comes alive (well, mostly Detroit filling in for NYC) thanks to Heckerling's direction, and the film can be a bit violent (however, the CGI is terrible, especially Weaver's "chainsaw incident", along with a head on the skeletal remains of Ulysses Grant (!) coming after Wallace Shawn), containing dialogue in tune with the times (and characters).
The rat blood drinking is equal parts off-putting and absurdly comical. McDowell as a rehabilitated Vlad Tepish, and a voice of comfort to Silverstone and Ritter because of his experience as a vampire "down through the ages", is another brilliant piece of casting. The eclipse allowing the vampires to escape required day time commitments as "registered citizens" (jury duty, meeting with the IRS, etc.) by using ACLU attorney Lewis (who discovers that his former flame, Silverstone, is a vamp when she interrupts a robbery in a music store) accompanying them in order to help is also a really nicely cunning piece of comedy. The vampire tropes (garlic, crucifix, stake through the heart, thirst for human blood, etc.) are all gleefully usurped by Heckerling, especially when Silverstone and Ritter must inform the Van Helsings that they have it all wrong when it comes to successfully harming the undead. I have to admit this is probably about as guilty pleasure to me as possible because when you say "Sex and the City" to me, I cringe, but because I have a soft spot for Silverstone (and now Ritter), this was more easy to digest and enjoy.