OPENING FRIDAY

Cheri (**) Stuffy if beautifully filmed turn-of-the-century costume drama from director Stephen Frears (The Queen) about an aging Parisian courtesan (Michelle Pfeiffer) who is considering retirement about the time she begins a passionate affair with an impetuous young aristocrat (Rupert Friend). It’s good to see Pfeiffer back on screen, but she lacks sufficient chemistry with Friend and their relationship maintains an emotional distance. A mildly provocative misfire. Rated R, 92 minutes. At the Magnolia. — Todd Jorgenson

My Sister’s Keeper (**) Earnest tearjerker based on the Jodi Picoult novel about a family torn apart when a teenager is diagnosed with leukemia, causing her mother (Cameron Diaz) and sister (Abigail Breslin) to go to unusual lengths to try and save her. It raises some intriguing moral dilemmas, but is compromised by an uneven narrative structure and an aggressively sentimental approach that’s more exhausting than poignant. Directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook). Rated PG-13, 109 minutes. — T.J.

Whatever Works (***1/2) At 73, Woody Allen continues to break new ground with this abrasive comedy about a brilliant misanthrope whose life takes a dramatic turn when he falls for a young bimbo. In a perfect marriage of director, actor and script, Larry David plays grumpy yet wizened physicist Boris Yellnikoff, one of Allen’s more outlandish characters. Rachel Evan Wood makes a difficult role believable as the Mississippi beauty queen who finds a home in the wilds of NYC. With Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr. and Michael McKean. Rated PG-13, 92 minutes. — Boo Allen

NOW PLAYING

The Hangover (**1/2) This so-foul-it’s-funny comedy sees four male friends spending the weekend in Las Vegas for the obligatory bachelor party. After the first night, three wake up with a hangover and one is missing and no one knows what happened. Rated R, 100 minutes. — B.A.

Imagine That (**) Eddie Murphy mugs his way through another cutesy, shopworn premise as a divorced financial consultant whose workaholic nature takes away from time with his 7-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). But when the youngster’s imaginary friends begin giving spot-on stock tips just as he is in line for a promotion, dad suddenly becomes close. Rated PG, 107 minutes. — T.J.

Land of the Lost (**1/2) Will Ferrell stars in this loose re-imagining of a ’70s kid TV show in which three would-be explorers (Ferrell, Anna Friel and Danny McBride) find themselves in an alternate universe with T. rexes and feuding alien clans. The spoof offers cheesy special effects with Ferrell’s trademark childish pranks and over-the-top buffoonery. Rated PG-13, 93 minutes. — B.A.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (**) Sequel to the 2006 original sees more of the same, just duller. Ben Stiller returns as Larry Daley, who travels to Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian museum, where it looks like all his pals are about to be stored away. They become entangled with an ancient Egyptian potentate (Hank Azaria) and Daley must save the day. Routine retelling, marginally similar to the first. Rated PG, 105 minutes. — B.A.

The Proposal (**) Generic romantic comedy reverses the gender roles from what you might expect, with Sandra Bullock as a ruthless publishing executive who is forced to play nice with her personal assistant (Ryan Reynolds) after a visa problem puts her in need of a quick arranged marriage. A weekend with his eccentric family in Alaska allows Betty White to steal a few scenes, but star appeal can carry this uninspired, mechanical script only so far. Rated PG-13, 107 minutes. — T.J.