I swear I don’t know how this happens: I receive a movie from Netflix, and I have no idea why I ordered it. Sometimes I think the little chipmunks that keep the wheels of Netflix rolling get a bit bored and randomly hurl those little red envelopes into somebody else’s queue. I can hear ‘em now, “You want ““Annie Hall?”” screw you, you’re gettin’ “”The Exorcist!”” That or I’m just losing it, which is the most logical explanation (Oh god, now I sound like Spock).
Anyway, I opened one of my red envelopes the other day and gazed in wonderment at what I saw: “Blast from the Past.” What? After damn near hurling the thing across the room like a miniature Frisbee, I read the synopsis; it sounded pretty entertaining and boasted an impressive cast: Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Brendan Fraser, and the deal closer, Alicia Silverstone.
If you haven’t seen “Blast from the Past,” it’s a quirky comedy set during the Cold War, specifically The Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Walken character (Calvin) is a “mad” scientist who’s anticipated a total nuclear (or nuuklar, as George W. would enunciate it) holocaust and has built a bomb shelter under their house. Except this is not your father’s bomb shelter; it’s literally a replica of their house, and is stuffed to the gills with supplies.
In short, after Calvin forces pregnant wife, Spacek (Helen) into the shelter, his “holocaust” happens in the form of an airplane that crashes on top of his house. That’s enough for Calvin, as he activates the locks, and the two are shelter-bound for the next thirty-five years (that’s when the locks are programmed to disengage). A few months after the couple enters the shelter, Helen gives birth to Adam (Brendon Frasier).
Calvin and Helen raise Adam as if time has stood still and by Adam’s 34th birthday, the locks unhinge, and Adam eventually makes his way to modern society (the ultimate fish out of water). One of Adam’s desires is, of course, to get married and in a very well-done meet cute, Adam runs into Eve (Alicia Silverstone), and, as one would expect, they eventually fall in love.
As I was watching “Blast,” I sat there and realized how much I miss Alicia’s presence from the movies. For starters, she’s one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Heck, while only six-years-old, her father took some pictures of her, and the next thing ya know, she’s doing commercials. And she isn’t the product of LA; she was born in San Francisco.
After some minor TV appearances, she made a splash in the 1993 movie “The Crush.” Although reviews for the flick were tepid, Silverstone was a standout, and won “Best Villain” and “Breakthrough Performance” at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards; her career was about to take off. She caught the collective eyes of rockers Aerosmith and quickly became a star in a slew of incredibly popular MTV videos (back when MTV actually had an iota on influence in the MUSIC business) that pretty much put her on the radar of the Hollywood elite, including one Amy Heckerling. Amy was writing a little movie at the time titled “Clueless,” and Silverstone was perfect for the role of the popular, materialistic, daddy’s girl (Cher), who is hell-bent on transforming Tai (the brilliant, late Brittany Murphy) into a popular chick, among other things.
“Clueless” is, well, I don’t have to tell you what the movie is, except that it rocketed Alicia to big time stardom, and she was hailed as the spokeswoman for an emerging young generation. It nabbed her the role of Batgirl in the Batman franchise of the day, and the icing on the cake; she signed a deal with Columbia Tristar worth $10 million for her own production company, First Kiss Productions. In 1997, her first release under First Kiss was “Excess Baggage,” which critics didn’t warm up to. I read half of the screenplay and saw the movie; the critics got it right on this one.
It’s not like Alicia’s been stuck in a bomb shelter for the last 10 years; she’s done movies and TV, such as a spot on “Children’s Hospital” and “The Art of Getting By,” and she’s completed filming for “Vamps,” which teams her up with Amy Heckerling once more. She’s also completed “Butter” and “Ass Backwards” is in post-production.
So, all of us Alicia fans can rest assured, she’ll be hitting the big screen soon with what looks to be some pretty solid material.
What do ya think, “Clueless II?” Nah, some classics need to be left alone; I think Alicia would agree with me on this one.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Bridesmaids: A bit befuddling
“Bridesmaids” is somewhat of a dichotomy in my humble opinion. The movie is co-written and stars everybody’s new comedic genius, Kristen Wiig. Wiig’s credited writing partner is Annie Mumolo, who has a cameo appearance as Wiig’s fellow airplane passenger (they both desperately need to find a 12-step program for aviatophobia – fear of flying). The film is directed by TV veteran Paul Feig of “Freaks and Geeks” and “Arrested Development” fame.
The plot line is benignly straight forward: Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married and asks her childhood best friend, Annie (Wiig) to be her maid of honor.
As we meet Annie in the setup, we realize her bakery business has folded due to the struggling economy (as the movie progresses, one wonders if there were other reasons); she’s desperately lacking in the self-esteem department, as she’s basically a sex doll for a guy who literally kicks her out of bed after a tryst; she’s on the brink of financial disaster; and shares a house with two oddball British roommates that have no respect for her or her privacy.
Even though Annie’s life is literally falling apart, she agrees to be Lillian’s maid of honor. To the chagrin of Annie, it seems Lillian has found a new “best friend” in bridesmaid Helen (Rode Byrne), who has married into a wealthy family, and her tastes are far more upscale than Annie’s meager budget can handle. The rest of the movie revolves around Annie screwing up at every turn and after a plane ride that goes seriously awry, Annie’s booted as maid of honor, and Helen gladly steps in.
“Bridesmaids” has some very funny scenes. The episode on the airplane is definitely a highlight as Annie’s fear of flying gets the best of her. Wiig’s slapstick comedic chops are spot-on. There’s a scene where Annie attempts to snag the attention of a police officer (who, at this point, wants nothing to do with her) by attempting some tactics that would land any of us in the pokey. The relationship between Annie and her mother (the late Jill Clayburgh) is done very well, and Annie has quite an amusing scene with a rather large cookie (ironic, given she was once a baker).
One of the main issues with the movie is, well, Annie’s character. Sure, she’s funny, kind of. In my estimation, Wiig’s funniest scene is on the airplane, but she has to get bombed to really show her comedic potential? Quite honestly, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, when Wiig isn’t wasted on an airplane, she’s just there, and her co-stars actually pick off the comedic elements like apples from a tree. One bridesmaid in particular, Megan (Melissa McCarthy), steals each and every scene she’s in, leaving everybody else in the dust. Think Peter Griffin “Family Guy” with boobs.
Judd Apatow produced, and in Megan he let his signature foul mouthed, obnoxious, character lose with her cursing and just plain off the wall mannerisms. In my estimation, Megan absolutely stood out as the character I wanted to follow, and not Annie. As for the rest of the bridesmaids, they were shallow; almost cliché characters that really had no redeeming value whatsoever.
Also, Annie is so self-absorbed in her own pity that she literally almost blows it with a male character that’s a great guy and obviously interested in her, and she blows him off like lint from a blouse. She’s nothing but a bitch to customers at her job, which her mother set her up with. Three quarters into the movie, I was thinking that this woman is totally and completely responsible for her own problems, and that, to me, is not what I want to see in character development.
This movie has been bantered about as “The Hangover” for women. Not even close. “The Hangover” is a nonlinear plot line, and its tempo chugged along like a locomotive. Every scene in that movie has multiple gags going on and is humorous on some level. “Bridesmaids” is linear as can be (not a bad thing), and is only comparable to “The Hangover” in that Apatow shoved in some pretty gross out material with chicks swearing like drunken sailors. Other than that, it’s basically a chick flick with episodic scene structure: Funny scene, mildly funny scene, serious scene, etc.
Also, I was amazed at how long some the scenes lasted. Sure, the airplane scene was funny, and perhaps hilarious at points, but it’s like Apatow (if you saw “Funny People” you know what I’m talking about here) and Feig saw the comedic potential and ran a marathon with it. The scene was so long and drawn out, it kind of lost its luster. Many of the scenes in this movie have a similar problem with length and impact, which contributed to its bloated running time of over 2 hours.
Listen, I’m going to advise readers to go see “Bridesmaids.” It’s got enough chops to make it a somewhat enjoyable viewing experience, but I’m not buying the hype of “this is the best comedy that will come out all year.” Ladies and gentlemen “The Hangover Part 2” could possibly be the highest grossing comedy of all time, and if it’s not funnier than “Bridesmaids,” I’ll shut up, sit down, and let Annie shove a piece of wedding cake in my face.
The plot line is benignly straight forward: Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married and asks her childhood best friend, Annie (Wiig) to be her maid of honor.
As we meet Annie in the setup, we realize her bakery business has folded due to the struggling economy (as the movie progresses, one wonders if there were other reasons); she’s desperately lacking in the self-esteem department, as she’s basically a sex doll for a guy who literally kicks her out of bed after a tryst; she’s on the brink of financial disaster; and shares a house with two oddball British roommates that have no respect for her or her privacy.
Even though Annie’s life is literally falling apart, she agrees to be Lillian’s maid of honor. To the chagrin of Annie, it seems Lillian has found a new “best friend” in bridesmaid Helen (Rode Byrne), who has married into a wealthy family, and her tastes are far more upscale than Annie’s meager budget can handle. The rest of the movie revolves around Annie screwing up at every turn and after a plane ride that goes seriously awry, Annie’s booted as maid of honor, and Helen gladly steps in.
“Bridesmaids” has some very funny scenes. The episode on the airplane is definitely a highlight as Annie’s fear of flying gets the best of her. Wiig’s slapstick comedic chops are spot-on. There’s a scene where Annie attempts to snag the attention of a police officer (who, at this point, wants nothing to do with her) by attempting some tactics that would land any of us in the pokey. The relationship between Annie and her mother (the late Jill Clayburgh) is done very well, and Annie has quite an amusing scene with a rather large cookie (ironic, given she was once a baker).
One of the main issues with the movie is, well, Annie’s character. Sure, she’s funny, kind of. In my estimation, Wiig’s funniest scene is on the airplane, but she has to get bombed to really show her comedic potential? Quite honestly, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, when Wiig isn’t wasted on an airplane, she’s just there, and her co-stars actually pick off the comedic elements like apples from a tree. One bridesmaid in particular, Megan (Melissa McCarthy), steals each and every scene she’s in, leaving everybody else in the dust. Think Peter Griffin “Family Guy” with boobs.
Judd Apatow produced, and in Megan he let his signature foul mouthed, obnoxious, character lose with her cursing and just plain off the wall mannerisms. In my estimation, Megan absolutely stood out as the character I wanted to follow, and not Annie. As for the rest of the bridesmaids, they were shallow; almost cliché characters that really had no redeeming value whatsoever.
Also, Annie is so self-absorbed in her own pity that she literally almost blows it with a male character that’s a great guy and obviously interested in her, and she blows him off like lint from a blouse. She’s nothing but a bitch to customers at her job, which her mother set her up with. Three quarters into the movie, I was thinking that this woman is totally and completely responsible for her own problems, and that, to me, is not what I want to see in character development.
This movie has been bantered about as “The Hangover” for women. Not even close. “The Hangover” is a nonlinear plot line, and its tempo chugged along like a locomotive. Every scene in that movie has multiple gags going on and is humorous on some level. “Bridesmaids” is linear as can be (not a bad thing), and is only comparable to “The Hangover” in that Apatow shoved in some pretty gross out material with chicks swearing like drunken sailors. Other than that, it’s basically a chick flick with episodic scene structure: Funny scene, mildly funny scene, serious scene, etc.
Also, I was amazed at how long some the scenes lasted. Sure, the airplane scene was funny, and perhaps hilarious at points, but it’s like Apatow (if you saw “Funny People” you know what I’m talking about here) and Feig saw the comedic potential and ran a marathon with it. The scene was so long and drawn out, it kind of lost its luster. Many of the scenes in this movie have a similar problem with length and impact, which contributed to its bloated running time of over 2 hours.
Listen, I’m going to advise readers to go see “Bridesmaids.” It’s got enough chops to make it a somewhat enjoyable viewing experience, but I’m not buying the hype of “this is the best comedy that will come out all year.” Ladies and gentlemen “The Hangover Part 2” could possibly be the highest grossing comedy of all time, and if it’s not funnier than “Bridesmaids,” I’ll shut up, sit down, and let Annie shove a piece of wedding cake in my face.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Get Low: Mildly enticing, extremely slow.
Movies are like personalities, some seem derivative of others, but in the long run, each has its own quirks, peculiarities, and oddities. But, we all know that no two are exactly alike (and that’s a good thing. I can’t imagine unleashing another “me” on society. God help us all).
“Get Low” released in 2009, was the directorial debut of longtime cinematographer Aaron Schneider, who was cinematographer on TV movies such as “Miss Miami” and “Drift.” If you’ve actually heard of these movies, contact your local psychotherapist, because you officially have no life. Anyway, “Get Low” is a folksy story about an old hermit, Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), who resides, in utter isolation, on 300 tree-filled acres in Tennessee during the 1930’s. Evidently the movie is based on a true story. After an obvious flashback that is the opening image, we meet the curmudgeon. (Think Shrek in the flesh). One afternoon, a brave soul arrives at Felix’s shack and notifies him that an old acquaintance of Felix’s has passed. This is the incident that gets the story dawdling along.
Even though Felix would rather slice off his left foot than show an iota of emotion, this news penetrates the gruff exterior of the man, and one can tell this is the final straw that must push Felix to face his own mortality. So, Felix rolls into town (evidently something he hasn’t done is quite a while) and pays a visit to the town’s funeral parlor and owner, Frank Quinn (Bill Murray). It seems Felix desires his funeral while he’s still alive, so he can hear all the “stories” (gossip) that have been told about him for the last forty years. This is actually a subplot that is stated in a brilliant line by the Pastor (Gerald McRaney) to Felix: “Gossip is the Devil’s radio.”
Quinn is more than happy to oblige Felix as business is slow, “What do ya do when people don’t die,” Quinn moans, and Felix plops down a wad of cash we’d all be envious of. (How he made it, we never learn). When in town, Felix runs into an old “girlfriend,” Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek). The rest of the movie revolves around these characters, plus Quinn’s new salesman, Carl (Scott Cooper) and then the eventual buildup to the climactic “funeral”.
The acting in this movie is superb by all, as should be expected given the cast. The screenplay is very sparse. There’s something to be said about brevity and the power of words, and writers Chris Provenzano and C. Gabby Mitchell penned excellent dialogue and some very powerful, conflict-ridden scenes. Bill Murray is basically playing himself and is the lowbrow comic relief a story like this desperately deserves. The main theme is basically a question we all ask ourselves at some point in time: “what is my legacy?” As to not give away any spoilers, the script has some unusual plot twists, which manage to keep the viewer engaged throughout.
The problem with the script (the movie’s personality) is the tone. It’s like a guy who’s sitting courtside at game seven of the NBA Finals with the game tied and only 2 seconds left, and he’s falling asleep. Sure, not every movie needs car chases, bombs exploding or human limbs flying every which way, but some excitement might enhance the experience. I could feel the ever so slight build up to the climactic “funeral” but man, it was like, “anybody got some amphetamines? I could really use some right about now!” And if Bill Murray wasn’t in this movie with his natural charm and wit, the flick would have put an insomniac out for days.
Let me just say this: this movie is for grownups or total movie geeks that love to love a movie that they know most of the general movie going population is going to slam. Of course it rated in the 80’s on RottenTomatoes; I knew the critics would slobber all over it.
My main problem with the movie is that I really didn’t care for Felix. I didn’t feel he was worthy of my empathy, and that, my friends, is a huge no! no! Sure, he has his elixir moment at the end, as he finally releases his secret that’s kept him in isolation for all those years, but the nature of what he did made me feel even more distain for the character, not forgiveness.
Also, I’m huge on the way screenwriters structure the ending of their story. A powerful, emotion-filled ending can literally elevate a movie from OK status to extremely well-done. If the writer’s of “Get Low” had a really killer ending, they obviously left it in one of the other drafts of the script, because it sure as hell didn’t make it into the shooting script.
“Get Low” is a story teller’s movie for an audience that can hang in there with, for the most part, some pretty boring characters following a very slow-moving plot line. I guess in my final diagnosis, “Get Low” is able to function in society but has some serious personality disorders. Next patient!
“Get Low” released in 2009, was the directorial debut of longtime cinematographer Aaron Schneider, who was cinematographer on TV movies such as “Miss Miami” and “Drift.” If you’ve actually heard of these movies, contact your local psychotherapist, because you officially have no life. Anyway, “Get Low” is a folksy story about an old hermit, Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), who resides, in utter isolation, on 300 tree-filled acres in Tennessee during the 1930’s. Evidently the movie is based on a true story. After an obvious flashback that is the opening image, we meet the curmudgeon. (Think Shrek in the flesh). One afternoon, a brave soul arrives at Felix’s shack and notifies him that an old acquaintance of Felix’s has passed. This is the incident that gets the story dawdling along.
Even though Felix would rather slice off his left foot than show an iota of emotion, this news penetrates the gruff exterior of the man, and one can tell this is the final straw that must push Felix to face his own mortality. So, Felix rolls into town (evidently something he hasn’t done is quite a while) and pays a visit to the town’s funeral parlor and owner, Frank Quinn (Bill Murray). It seems Felix desires his funeral while he’s still alive, so he can hear all the “stories” (gossip) that have been told about him for the last forty years. This is actually a subplot that is stated in a brilliant line by the Pastor (Gerald McRaney) to Felix: “Gossip is the Devil’s radio.”
Quinn is more than happy to oblige Felix as business is slow, “What do ya do when people don’t die,” Quinn moans, and Felix plops down a wad of cash we’d all be envious of. (How he made it, we never learn). When in town, Felix runs into an old “girlfriend,” Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek). The rest of the movie revolves around these characters, plus Quinn’s new salesman, Carl (Scott Cooper) and then the eventual buildup to the climactic “funeral”.
The acting in this movie is superb by all, as should be expected given the cast. The screenplay is very sparse. There’s something to be said about brevity and the power of words, and writers Chris Provenzano and C. Gabby Mitchell penned excellent dialogue and some very powerful, conflict-ridden scenes. Bill Murray is basically playing himself and is the lowbrow comic relief a story like this desperately deserves. The main theme is basically a question we all ask ourselves at some point in time: “what is my legacy?” As to not give away any spoilers, the script has some unusual plot twists, which manage to keep the viewer engaged throughout.
The problem with the script (the movie’s personality) is the tone. It’s like a guy who’s sitting courtside at game seven of the NBA Finals with the game tied and only 2 seconds left, and he’s falling asleep. Sure, not every movie needs car chases, bombs exploding or human limbs flying every which way, but some excitement might enhance the experience. I could feel the ever so slight build up to the climactic “funeral” but man, it was like, “anybody got some amphetamines? I could really use some right about now!” And if Bill Murray wasn’t in this movie with his natural charm and wit, the flick would have put an insomniac out for days.
Let me just say this: this movie is for grownups or total movie geeks that love to love a movie that they know most of the general movie going population is going to slam. Of course it rated in the 80’s on RottenTomatoes; I knew the critics would slobber all over it.
My main problem with the movie is that I really didn’t care for Felix. I didn’t feel he was worthy of my empathy, and that, my friends, is a huge no! no! Sure, he has his elixir moment at the end, as he finally releases his secret that’s kept him in isolation for all those years, but the nature of what he did made me feel even more distain for the character, not forgiveness.
Also, I’m huge on the way screenwriters structure the ending of their story. A powerful, emotion-filled ending can literally elevate a movie from OK status to extremely well-done. If the writer’s of “Get Low” had a really killer ending, they obviously left it in one of the other drafts of the script, because it sure as hell didn’t make it into the shooting script.
“Get Low” is a story teller’s movie for an audience that can hang in there with, for the most part, some pretty boring characters following a very slow-moving plot line. I guess in my final diagnosis, “Get Low” is able to function in society but has some serious personality disorders. Next patient!
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