You will probably recognize former United States Marine turned actor/comedian Rob Riggle from his time as a correspondent on The Daily Show, and as a cast member of Saturday Night Live but he is quickly gaining attention for a string of roles in some of the most popular films in recent years. Riggle is best known from his role as Officer Franklin in one of the most successful comedies of all-time, The Hangover, but he’s also been featured in such high profile films as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, Going the Distance, The Other Guys, Larry Crowne, and most recently Big Miracle. In fact, the busy actor has not one, but two films opening this month including the big screen adaptation of the classic ‘80s TV series 21 Jump Street, and The Lorax, which opens on March 2^nd and is based on the popular children’s book by the legendary author Dr. Seuss.

In the film, Zac Efron plays Ted, an idealistic twelve year-old boy that lives in “Thneed-Ville,” a city that is completely artificial. He eventually embarks on a journey to find the one thing that will win him the heart of the girl of his dreams, Audrey (Taylor Swift), who only wants to see a real tree. While searching for a tree, he discovers that their city has been closed off from the outside world, and meets the reclusive Once-ler (Ed Helms), who recounts the story of how he met the Lorax (Danny DeVito), a grumpy yet charming creature who serves as guardian of the land. But when a young businessman introduces a revolutionary invention from the native Truffula Tree’s tufts, it tragically spirals into a mass overproduction leading to the depletion of the forest, and the creation and isolation of Ted’s town. With the Once-ler’s blessing, and the last Truffula Seed, Ted sets out to remind his town of the importance of nature. Riggle plays O’Hare, the evil mayor of Thneed-Ville and the head of the O’Hare Air Company, which supplies fresh air to Thneed-Ville residents and has no intention of leaving any traces of the Lorax’s world behind.

I recently had a chance to sit down with the absolutely hilarious Rob Riggle to discuss his voiceover work in The Lorax. The comedic actor talked about the new film, his evil character, creating the right voice, working with the directors, Dr. Seuss, the film’s environmental themes, comparisons between his character’s appearance and a certain fellow cast member, singing and “not telling jokes when the whales are dying.”

The Labor Day weekend brought a face-off between George Clooney's The American and Danny Trejo's The Mexican - I mean, Machete. Looking to play spoiler, the lightweight comedy Going the Distance would try to sneak in and take some dough away from the two feuding badboys. So how did things turn out?

Going the Distance is directed by Nanette Burstein, who created the wonderfully charming documentary American Teen and The Kid Stays in the Picture. With ‘Teen’ she was able to create likable characters around five teenagers who seemed to fit together like a modern day The Breakfast Club. It was a documentary that was able to make these kids relatable and yes, likable. With her latest, a narrative feature, she tackles the hellish theme of long distance relationships, with real life (on and off again) couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long.

Going the Distance is a rom com with balls. Dirty jokes, foul mouth and some rocking good tunes, the film tells the long distance story of two people in love. The couple happens to be Drew Barrymore and Justin Long who meet, spend time together and fall in love. The problem is, one lives in New York, the other lives in San Francisco.