Tag Archives: Comedy

VC Pick: Silver Streak (1976)

04 Sunday Sep 2016

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Planes are too risky, and cars are too slow,
And don’t get me started on cruises and ships.
It seems that the safest conveyance for trips
Is travel by train; ‘tis the best way to go.

The scenery passes in hurtling flashes,
And movies have proven how romance can bloom.
But murderers too ride the train, I assume,
And safety is sometimes as rare as a crash is.

If you beware of endangered females
And manage to somehow remain on your train
Or if you fall off, to get on it again,
Then maybe your travels won’t go off the rails.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG (should be PG-13 for innuendo and language)

In honor of the late Gene Wilder, I thought I’d review one of my VC’s favorite films of his. Murder on a train has certainly been seen before, like in 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express, but Silver Streak two years later milks the concept for sheer entertainment rather than mystery. Wilder plays George Caldwell, an editor in search of the boredom of riding a train, who meets his flirty room neighbor Hilly (Jill Clayburgh) and shares some garden-related pillow talk with her. And then a dead body appears outside the window. Talk about a mood killer.

Wilder isn’t quite as neurotic as his Leo Bloom in The Producers, but he’s likably nervous while he uncovers the conspiracy on board the Silver Streak, which connects L.A. and Chicago. There are shoot-outs and FBI agents and hidden evidence and a spear gun, and even if the plot gets a bit convoluted, the intrigue never falters.

The humor tends to stick with innuendo and mild amusement, that is, until Richard Pryor as the helpful criminal Grover joins the party. Silver Streak was the first partnership between Wilder and Pryor, and while I haven’t seen their other films together, they were no doubt striving to recreate the buddy chemistry on display here. There’s no real depth in their relationship, no moment of bonding, but they get along so well that it’s not needed. Their black-and-white appeal delivers some of the best moments, such as Wilder’s attempt at acting black to avoid the police.

The rest of the cast also get their memorable moments, including Ned Beatty, Scatman Crothers, Patrick McGoohan, Clifton James, Ray Walston, and Richard Kiel, playing a metal-toothed thug a year before he played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me. Perhaps the most memorable scene is the big unstoppable climax, which has been echoed in other train scenes like that in Hugo. While it’s not the best or funniest of Gene Wilder’s films (those would be Willy Wonka and Young Frankenstein for me), Silver Streak is an entertaining ride combining the American countryside, conspiratorial mystery, excellent casting, and a reminder of its star’s inimitable talent. RIP Gene Wilder.

Best line: (Grover) “I’m a thief!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
404 Followers and Counting

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

31 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Once upon a time there lived a boy named Charlie Brown,
Who everybody liked until he gave them cause to frown;
For Charlie Brown was quick to frown and sadly slow to smile,
And had the same effect on all his class’s rank and file.

Whenever his attempts at triumph went from bad to worse
And friends would laugh about his gaffe, he’d blame the universe.
Yet those who knew him well enough had faith in Charlie Brown
And knew that there would come a day he wouldn’t be let down.

Every foolish down-and-out and football-missing goof
Believes the talk of failure, thinking they are living proof.
Yet even then the heavy-hearted, unimpressive mourner
Should know that every failure still has Someone in his corner.
____________________

MPAA rating: G

With so many old properties being revamped and rebooted in ways no one ever asked for or wanted, it’s easy to imagine a modern version of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip going off the rails. I shudder at the thought of some misguided writer combining Charlie Brown and Linus with smartphones and hip hop in a sad attempt at making them accessible to today’s youth. Yet, thankfully, someone thought better of it; that’s why The Peanuts Movie is such a wonder. Not only is it extremely faithful to its source material, but it effortlessly captures the charm of the classic cartoons. Like them, its appeal seems timeless, and there aren’t many animated films these days that fit that description.

Blue Sky Studios has found a nice balance between the original 2D and more recent 3D animation; it allows the same character appearances and comic-strip-style reaction lines while adding depth to their surroundings. The updated look is both vintage and current, working well for the everyday antics of the kids and bringing Snoopy’s WWI flying-ace dream sequences to a thrilling new level.

Luckily, though, the animation is really all that has been brought into the 21st century. There’s still the gentle pessimism of lovable Charlie Brown, the wise counsel of Linus, the goofy antics of Snoopy and Woodstock, the bossy hostility of Lucy, the distinct quirks of their various friends. While Linus’s religiosity has been dropped and the humor is more fast-paced, it all feels of a piece with the classic cartoons of the ‘60s and ‘70s, capturing their spirit better than the more recent 2D attempts on TV. Yet, as episodic as it seems at times, the filmmakers created a perfect connection among Charlie Brown’s misadventures: his attempts to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl in his class. I don’t remember the old Charlie Brown ever being as industrious (reading War and Peace in one weekend?!) or as kind as he is here (Snoopy too for that matter), but even with his classmates’ teasing, it’s clear what a role model the movie’s Charlie Brown is.

Throughout the film, I felt it was charming and likable, but it wasn’t until the end that I realized how much I truly admired The Peanuts Movie. Fans of the original specials will surely feel more of a connection with it, but it’s a film with all the earmarks of an instant classic, perhaps not a laugh-out-loud favorite, but a bit of warm nostalgia worth watching for years to come. It’s easily the best film Blue Sky has ever created and one I would feel proud to watch with kids of my own someday.

Best line: (Charlie Brown) “You’ve got to help me, Linus! I’m not sure I can handle being partners with the Little Red-Haired Girl! How will I support her? I can’t afford a mortgage! What if I’m put into escrow?”   (Linus) “Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can turn a simple book report into a lifelong commitment.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
404 Followers and Counting

 

Monsters University (2013)

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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“When I was in college,” the old monster said,
“We didn’t use laughter but screaming instead
To power our civilization, and so
Each monster who scared was a public hero.

“And where did they go hone their scaring art,
To learn how to quicken a young child’s heart,
To grasp the best method of siphoning screams
While working alone or together as teams?

“Where did they practice their skulking and creeping
And sneaking for when their young target is sleeping
So when the time’s right for the roaring and leaping,
They know that it’s just the right scream that they’re reaping?

“Where did they go? But of course, you all know.
The campus of MU, where scarers went pro.
Those were the days,” sighed the monster named Ed.
“Yeah, what he said,” said his own second head.
____________________

MPAA rating: G

After the disappointment of Cars 2, I was wary of any further Pixar sequels, or prequels in the case of Monsters University, a recounting of Mike and Sully’s wild college days and how they became friends. Even though I enjoy Monsters, Inc., I skipped its prequel at the theater, and the college concept didn’t give me much desire to see it. When I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it’s Pixar. Shame on me for doubting Pixar. It may not be their very best, but it’s a rare spinoff film that surprisingly holds its own with the original. My VC, who isn’t too fond of the original, actually loved Monsters University more.

Monsters, Inc. ended with a more or less satisfying conclusion so I see why they opted for a prequel. First, we go all the way back to an elementary field trip where little Mike gets to visit the scare floor from the first film, reinforcing his hero worship and attracting him to MU, Monsters University, the premier place for the next generation of scarers. When he finally arrives to the colorful campus, there’s a pleasant wink-wink of nostalgia with the arrival of Randall and Sully; we know that Randall will end up the bad guy and Sully the devoted friend, but seeing them in opposite roles that change over time is both intriguing and entertaining. Friendships aren’t always as straightforward as “Hi, let’s be friends” and neither are enemyships (yes, it’s a fake word), and Monsters University develops both in believably gradual fashion.

Mike and Sully are polar opposites, it seems. Mike is the underdog, forced to study hard to keep up with the more natural scarers, while Sully is the carefree frat boy content to coast on his family name and obvious talent. After a disastrous run-in with Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), the two are thrust together to reclaim their place at the school, which entails joining a loser fraternity called Oozma Kappa and competing in an intramural scaring competition.

Rarely does Pixar aim for the predictable, and this is no exception. Honestly, I highly doubt that the unexpected climax would have been the same had Dreamworks been in charge of production. All manner of animated and family films contain the message of believing in yourself and achieving your dreams with enough effort, and while Monsters University does too, there’s also the rare suggestion that not all dreams are feasible if your true talents lie elsewhere. In addition, it ignores the unspoken assumption that doing something good or impressive somehow washes away past transgressions; that’s a fairly common problem with many films (like how Captain Kirk from Star Trek has been in danger of court-martial more than once but always redeems himself with his heroics), and Monsters University doesn’t fall into it, making the result more realistic in the process.

I don’t know why I assumed Monsters University would be inferior. Perhaps the collegiate setting just didn’t interest me at the time, but it actually provided quite a bit of humor, from the various scaring studies to the madcap fraternity sports. Characters as lovable as Mike and Sully should only be revisited with a worthwhile story, and Pixar succeeded in that. It’s not a game-changer in animation like some of their best films, but it’s second-tier Pixar rather than third-tier. Compared with many of the animated movies out there, that’s certainly good enough for me.

Best line: (Art, mentioning his strengths) “I’ve got a third arm. Not with me, of course.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining Monsters, Inc.)

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
400 Followers and Counting

 

Version Variations: Adventures in Babysitting (1987, 2016)

27 Wednesday Jul 2016

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A night on the town can be thrilling or fun,
When you know what you’re doing and not on the run,
But if you’re unprepared for the city at night,
I’d highly advise that you do as I write.

Don’t chitchat with strangers or pull someone’s leg,
Unless you need money, in which case just beg.
Do not leave your car, unless you have no choice;
Don’t take a stage unless you have a good voice.

Don’t steal magazines or pet cats you can’t see
And try to avoid any known felony.
And whatever you do in your probable mess,
Don’t bring kids along, unless you like stress.
__________________________

MPAA rating for 1987 version: PG-13
Rating for 2016 version: G

Adventures in Babysitting is one of those movies that could have well been on my original list, but it took a more recent viewing to remind me of this fun ’80s classic and convince me to add it to my list, which I updated all the way back at the beginning of the year. I do want to review all the films I added last year, and the recent Disney Channel remake gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit this one as a Version Variation.

Released by Disney’s Touchstone label, the original Adventures in Babysitting from 1987 was the first lead role for Elizabeth Shue, who plays Chris the babysitter, and I dare say it wasn’t just Keith Coogan’s Brad who had a crush on her. Singing along to “Then He Kissed Me” in the opening credits, she’s the ideal girl next door, soon thrust into extraordinary circumstances when her friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) begs for rescue from an ill-conceived attempt at running away. Forced to bring Brad, his sister Sara (Maia Brewton), and his friend Daryl (Anthony Rapp) along for the ride, Chris holds herself and her under-age entourage together surprisingly well as they ramble from one Chicago danger to the next.

A coworker of mine told me she doesn’t see what makes Adventures in Babysitting a classic, but while it isn’t on the level of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it’s a film in which individual moments outshine the whole. There’s the scary hook story and its unexpected punchline, the gang confrontation on the L train, the tense climax high on a skyscraper, and the disarming payoff for Sara’s obsession with Thor, long before anyone thought Marvel would give him his own movie. (It’s still hard to believe that hunky mechanic was Vincent D’Onofrio, you know, the scuzzy bad guy in both Men in Black and Jurassic World. No wonder he’s known as a chameleon.) And of course, the film’s high point is its impromptu musical number where Chris and the kids sing their own babysitting blues on stage. Even if you don’t see the film as a classic, that scene certainly is. Through all their risky ordeals, the easily likable main characters ensure Adventures in Babysitting is likewise easy to enjoy.

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As for the remake…. Perhaps to capitalize on the boom in ’80s nostalgia and to give its 100th Disney Channel Original Movie some name recognition, Disney decided to give Adventures in Babysitting a kiddie makeover this year, and the results were mixed to say the least. The film features Disney Channel stars such as Sabrina Carpenter from Girl Meets World, Sofia Carson from Descendants, and Kevin Quinn from Bunk’d, and like their shows, it’s a juvenile mix of humor and heart that will appeal far more to tweens than to anyone much older. I used to watch and enjoy Disney Channel Original Movies while growing up (I still love the High School Musical series), but having drifted away from DCOMs and now watching this one, my older self can’t help but wonder if the quality has gone down or my perceptions have simply matured. Maybe both.

Either way, this new Adventures in Babysitting comes up way short of the original even as it seemingly tries to outdo it. Instead of one babysitter, we get two, one a deeply responsible good girl (Carpenter) and the other an unreliable sitter-impersonator (Carson). Instead of three kids, we get five from two different families, ranging from an aspiring chef to a would-be fashionista. Instead of a car-stealing ring with genuine danger implied, we get a couple of bumbling smugglers doing something illegal with a spray-painted ferret.

Yet for all its changes, it’s still recognizably the same general story, hitting the same beats and notable scenes, yet mirroring my main complaint about Maleficent, every scene from the original that they try to recreate is consistently worse. Most atrocious of all is the “musical number,” which has morphed from a blues anthem to a rap battle with dreadful lyrics like “we ain’t no quitters; we’re the babysitters.” It’s enough to make me gag.

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Yet even with all the ways the newer version of Adventures in Babysitting falls short of the original, it’s hard to totally disparage. It’s likely far more engaging to its target age group than to me and, for them, probably captures some of the same fun that ’80s kids felt in 1987. For the most part, it’s decent; perhaps someone someday might consider it a classic, but I doubt it. The most the remake has going for it is its kid-friendliness (i.e., “Don’t mess with the babysitter!” as opposed to the original version), since the original was more intended for teens and up with its occasional language and talk of Playboy. If it has to exist, I suppose the latest version of Adventures in Babysitting can act as an introduction to younger audiences before they see the far better original. Now enough already with the lackluster remakes!

Best line (from the original): (Brad) “Where we gonna get 50 bucks?”   (Sarah) “We could sell Daryl. You think?”

 

Rank for 1987 version: List-Worthy
Rank for 2016 version: Dishonorable Mention

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

Paper Towns (2015)

21 Thursday Jul 2016

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A paper town stands as a dot on a map,
The mapmaker’s special distinguishing mark
To make it his own and to fool any sap
Who happens to visit the place on a lark.

You may well have hopes for that fake little dot,
Which only arrival can fully repeal.
When maps are affirmed by a town that is not,
The rest of the dots become all the more real.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars was translated into such a successful young-adult film in 2014, the same studio heads apparently hoped that lightning could strike again with a second Green adaptation, this time Paper Towns. Since Paper Towns was written in 2008 without all the hype of Fault in Our Stars, the film version was an understandably lesser release, and mixed reviews didn’t help. And yet…I enjoyed it a lot, perhaps not more than Fault but on something of a more personal level.

After playing Gus’s friend going blind in Fault, Nat Wolff steps up to lead character status as Quentin Jacobsen, or Q, one of those awkward, easily relatable high-schoolers that tend to be YA protagonists. As a kid, he befriended his adventurous neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne), but as the years passed, he settled into mundane normalcy while she became an ever more reckless local legend. His crush on Margo doesn’t diminish with their lack of contact, though, and when she unexpectedly asks for his assistance on a daring night of revenge, he tags along with sheepish compliance and has one of the best nights of his life. And then she vanishes, apparently to satisfy her wanderlust, but Q finds clues to her whereabouts and feels compelled to follow her.

Paper Towns has identifiable ingredients from other recent YA films, from The Fault in Our Stars (Green’s subtly profound dialogue, an urging to live life to the fullest) to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (the sex-obsessed friend, the quirky family details). Whereas both of those dealt with the serious issue of cancer, Paper Towns keeps itself lighter, transitioning from enigmatic mystery to memory-making road trip, peppered with endearing character interactions. It was these small moments between the characters that left me with a smile more often than not. Q’s pals Radar and Ben are archetypal buddies, the former a slight nerd with girlfriend anxiety and the latter a swaggering goofball, but their conversations felt realistic and fun, like when they all segue into a Sean Connery accent. I do that myself sometimes! Probably my favorite moment came when a suggestion to sing leads the three to start in on the Pokémon theme song with growing exuberance. I know not everyone is into Pokémon (and I couldn’t care less about the recent Pokémon Go fad), but that original theme song is an ever appealing source of nostalgia for my generation. After all, how many people still remember the words to some show’s opening that they grew up watching? For me anyway, it was a terrific scene.

Despite the enjoyable moments, including a great little cameo, the end of the film’s journey is almost sure to disappoint the audience as much as it does the characters. It’s meant to be disappointing, and yet it still finds an uplifting message through it all. Q’s course seems analogous to that of Tom in (500) Days of Summer, keeping romantic hope alive until reality makes him recognize his target girl is someone not meant to be followed. It’s rather jarring, but the breaking of Q’s obsession helps him to see what he’s been missing and, as cliché as it may seem, to value the journey over the destination.

Paper Towns is by no means perfect or free of annoyances. I was frustrated, for instance, with how not one, but two characters bemoan how others see them when they themselves promote that very image. While the performances in Paper Towns are worthy all around, The Fault in Our Stars is probably the better film, if only for its more sober subject matter. Yet, as I said, I found myself enjoying Paper Towns more than its film predecessor, and since they’re both John Green adaptations, I don’t mind putting them on the same level in my esteem.

Best line: (Q) “What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with The Fault in Our Stars)

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
399 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Waitress (2007)

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

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A pie on a plate is worth two in the sky,
So if your life’s sucking your happiness dry
With an unloving spouse
Or a big lonely house
Or the latest annoyance you greet with a sigh,

Don’t run off and have a clandestine affair,
Not even with someone with Mal Reynolds’ hair.
Just sit yourself down
And flip over that frown
With a big piece of pie to suspend your despair.

‘Tis the good kind of guilt when you pick from the shelf
A pie (if you want; I’m a cake man myself).
__________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After seeing Waitress recently for the first time, my VC liked it enough that she insisted I review it as one of her picks. Directed, written, and co-starring the late Adrienne Shelly and recently adapted into a Broadway musical, Waitress might have had one main draw at first glance, my VC’s beloved Nathan Fillion, but as we watched it (two nights in a row actually), its overall appeal became more apparent. It’s an unconventional love story full of wry small-town charm and a craveable passion for pie. Seriously, there’s a lot of delicious pies on display, though they make them look far easier to prepare than in reality.

Keri Russell plays Jenna, whose waitress job at a Southern pie diner is one of the only things her cloddish husband Earl (Jeremy Sisto) will let her do. He’s so needy and controlling that Jenna feels positively smothered and eager to leave him, even dreaming up pies named in his dishonor, and thus she’s none too thrilled when she discovers she’s pregnant. On her first prenatal visit to the gynecologist, in comes Nathan Fillion as Dr. Pomatter, certainly no Mal Reynolds (his character from Firefly) but a likably nervous sort, and one can see his awkward chemistry with Jenna a mile away. In a predictable version of this story, there would probably be an affair with passionate smooching and a confrontation between the men and maybe a breakup before a final tearjerking declaration of love, but Waitress only borrows a few such aspects, clinging to cynical honesty before yielding to surprising sweetness. My VC was glad they kept the passionate smooching with Fillion, though.

Films aiming for quirk don’t always come off as realistic. I love the provincial antics in Doc Hollywood, for instance, but it’s full of movie characters rather than people I might expect to find in a real Southern town. Waitress has some of the same earnest loopiness but toned down to believable levels. (Okay, that may not apply to the ridiculously love-struck date of one of Jenna’s coworkers, but hey, it’s still a comedy.) The dialogue often reaches gentle amusement rather than big laughs, not only because of the dramatic side of Jenna’s depressing life but because real life isn’t always full of zingers. Sometimes, eloquence is found in frank simplicity, such as an unexpectedly straight answer about life from Jenna’s surly boss.

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Aside from the underplayed pro-life aspect of Jenna respecting her baby’s “right to thrive” despite not really wanting it, I admired how the characters were gradually developed. Most come off rather unlikable at first, whether it be Jenna’s demanding boss or the diner’s schadenfreude-prone owner Joe (Andy Griffith). Only over time are their more sympathetic facets revealed without undercutting their prickly exteriors. Even Earl with all of his loathsome clinginess shows a few glimpses of affection that could have once convinced Jenna to marry him. In addition, an important scene toward the end speaks to the immediacy of meeting someone face to face. Jenna sees two previously unseen characters for the first time, completely changing her opinions of them and the direction of her life. While what follows isn’t the fairy tale ending that one might hope or expect, it’s sweetly realistic and mature on Jenna’s part.

By the end of Waitress, my VC and I weren’t quite sure how to feel about it, but after thought, a rewatch, and some craving for pie, we both agreed in the simplest of terms: we liked it. (Did I mention, though, that she loved watching Nathan Fillion? Women.)

Best line: (Dawn, played by Shelly, speaking of her awkward beau) “They are poems that just occur to him on the spot. Last night, he said to me, ‘Dawn, your face is a brilliant moon in my empty room. Your love is like a beating drum. Ba bum ba bum ba bum ba bum.’”

VC’s best line: (Jenna, writing to her unborn baby) “Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for twenty minutes straight, and that’s all they do. They don’t pull away. They don’t look at your face. They don’t try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness to it.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
394 Followers and Counting

 

Zootopia (2016)

10 Sunday Jul 2016

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To stay in good graces,
Most stay in their places,
Their happy, expected, and preordained spaces
Among their preferred and familiarized faces.
It’s fine, and it’s true,
But in some special cases,

We aren’t just contented
With life as presented
But strive to be more and to live reinvented.
Such paths can be ridiculed, feared, or resented
But that’s nothing new
When you’re unprecedented.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG
Disney has certainly been on a roll lately. Rising from the lameness of Chicken Little and The Wild, it’s been delivering consistently original CGI gems, films like Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, and now Zootopia (also called Zootropolis in Europe, supposedly to avoid confusion with an actual zoo over there). A box-office hit on par with Frozen’s success, Zootopia takes the idea of a world of anthropomorphic mammals and fills it with a winning blend of colorful characters, outstanding animation, and a universal moral message, three prime ingredients at which Disney excels.

Judy Hopps (chipper Ginnifer Goodwin) dares to be the first bunny cop, against her family’s worry and conventional wisdom, since most police officers are rhinos or elephants or something big enough to combat crime. When she actually realizes that dream and joins the force in the multi-species metropolis of Zootopia, her naïve idealism clashes with her chief (Idris Elba) and with the con artist fox Nick Wilde (smug Jason Bateman). Soon, Judy and Nick must form an uneasy alliance to solve a slew of missing mammal cases with unseen repercussions.

Right from the start, as Judy sees the city for the first time through a train’s observation deck, there’s enough visual detail and creative imagination to rival the world-building of Pixar. There are boroughs designed as habitats, from the lush rain forest to the frigid tundra, and a plethora of animalized modern conveniences: hamster-tunnel hallways, drink elevators for giraffes, sloths at the DMV (okay, that’s an inconvenience). So many scenes are full of varied pedestrians and fast-paced activity that the backgrounds alone are worth watching. Luckily, the script never lets its humorous potential go to waste, making Zootopia the funniest Disney movie in recent memory. I especially love how Alan Tudyk has become the John Ratzenberger of Disney, to the point that he’s now getting his own gags in reference to past roles (specifically, the Duke of Weselton in Frozen).

Aside from the vibrant animation and consistent jokes, there’s a layered message to Zootopia, a familiar one of tolerance and embracing differences over prejudice, in this case between prey and predator. Some may consider it preachy or heavy-handed, and I can understand why; one misunderstanding in particular seemed overly sensitive, like many perceived offenses nowadays that aren’t really that bad when you think about it. After all, unintended “insults” are often less offensive than people’s reactions to them. Despite this, Zootopia takes its lesson seriously. The finger isn’t just wagged at insensitivity; it’s also aimed at anyone stuck in complacency or those seeking to create problems where there were none. It isn’t all negative either; Judy herself is a wholly admirable female role model, not content to live under others’ expectations but rising to her dream and urging others to do the same. Now that’s a message worth lauding!

All in all, Zootopia is a fun buddy-cop mystery that plays to Disney’s non-musical strengths, even with a few weaknesses. I could have done without an awkward scene at a nudist spa, and it’s still a bit unusual to see modernized animated animals playing with cell phone apps. There are also a few unanswered questions, such as what exactly do predators eat if they’ve evolved past their carnivorous tendencies. Ice cream? I also couldn’t help wondering where all the non-mammals were, fish, birds, reptiles, and such. “Try Everything,” the catchy theme song sung by Shakira, even mentions birds but I never saw any. Have they not become sentient, or are they perhaps enslaved by their mammal overlords? My VC says I’m overthinking this, and I hope so. (She loved the movie too, as did my parents.)

Regardless, ever since John Lasseter was put in charge, Disney Animation continues to impress and entertain with a consistency only Pixar has shown thus far. Talking animals are nothing new, but Zootopia gives them a fresh spin that hits its intended message without ever forgetting to stay amusing. Like Big Hero 6, it’s also a film for which I can easily envision sequels, and based on the talent that created this original, my hopes are high.

Best line: (Judy, calculating Nick’s income to blackmail him) “Two hundred dollars a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year since you were twelve; that’s two decades, so times twenty which is… one million four hundred sixty thousand – I think, I mean I am just a dumb bunny, but we are good at multiplying.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
393 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Music and Lyrics (2007)

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

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Music alone can be grand in all kinds,
For banging of heads or relaxing of minds,
And lyrics alone, whether plain or highbrow,
Can be poetry, like what you’re reading now.

But lyrics can caper and dance with the notes
When coupled and wed by the truest of throats,
And music can whisk up the words in its pull
And render fair splendor from mere doggerel.

Just one by itself could exist happily
Alone, on its own, not unlike you and me.
But if they can merge as a unified song,
We still will be humming it all our life long.
_______________

MPAA rating: PG-13

I love a good rom-com, and there aren’t nearly as many as I’d like that could actually be described as good. So many fall flat, whether because they’re more crude than romantic or because they’re just not funny, and their success always hinges on two key ingredients: chemistry and the script. One without the other leaves the film wanting, but when both are present, it’s magic, like the blissful merging of words and music. For me, When Harry Met Sally… and You’ve Got Mail rule the genre, but Music and Lyrics takes a comfortable spot not too far beneath them, thanks to (you guessed it) the script and its two leads (Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore).

Alex Fletcher (Grant), formerly of the popular ‘80s band PoP!, is content to coast on his past fame, a “happy has-been” whose career consists mainly of state fairs and throwback nights. When his manager (a welcome Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond) urges him to salvage his career by writing a song for megadiva Cora Corman (Haley Bennett), he grudgingly agrees to the music but needs a lyricist. Enter Sophie Fisher (Barrymore), a mousy substitute plant waterer, who accidentally lets her talent for lyrics show and is drafted to assist Alex in writing a hit song.

As far as the plot is concerned, Music and Lyrics is wholly predictable, with Alex and Sophie’s relationship budding and rollercoastering exactly as you’d expect in such a film. Alex has confidence issues and an ego; Sophie has a painful past romance. They need each other professionally and then on a deeper level. It’s all stuff we’ve seen before, but what could easily be written off as clichéd is enlivened by amusing character quirks, some surprisingly catchy tunes, and clever dialogue that ensures frequent chuckles. Grant’s dry wit mixes well with Sophie’s slight neurosis, and rare chemistry is the result.

In addition, many modern romances manage to turn me off with some kind of boundary-pushing crudity, but Music and Lyrics is a pretty clean affair. While Cora delights in her “steamy and sticky” dance routines, she actually serves as a reminder of how a lot of modern music has degraded from Alex’s good ol’ days of the ‘80s and acts somewhat as a critique of overly sexualized pop stars with fans far too young for their on-stage gyrations. Heck, Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” sounds exactly like something Cora Corman would sing. Ugh. (Not to offend Katy Perry fans; I do love “Wide Awake.”)

I’d rather have PoP’s “Pop Goes My Heart” any day; played at the beginning and end, this little earworm perfectly recreates the cheesy charm of ‘80s pop, and though Alex himself derides it as “dessert,” the song and film alike are my kind of dessert. I convinced my VC to watch Music and Lyrics after a rough day at work when she was in the mood for some undemanding fluff, and she ended up enjoying it even more than I, even insisting I review it as a VC pick. Sure, it’s not the most original of rom-coms, but when clichés are done this well, it doesn’t detract from the entertainment one bit.

Best line: (Sophie’s sister Rhonda, calling to her kids in the bedroom) “Okay, okay, everybody goes to bed. I’m sending your father in there.”
(one of the kids, giggling) “Whoa, we’re so scared!”
(Rhonda) “And then I’m coming in!”
[giggling immediately stops]
(Rhonda’s husband) “I’ll just go check to make sure they’re still breathing.”

VC’s best line: (Sophie) “How was the movie?”
(Rhonda’s husband) “I enjoyed it.”
(Rhonda) “He fell asleep.”
(her husband) “I enjoy sleeping.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput

388 Followers and Counting

 

School of Rock (2003)

03 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by in Movies, Music, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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(Best sung to AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)”)

Knowing next to nothing,
Except for rock and roll
May well get you nothing
Resembling a goal.

Roll the rock,
Rock the roll,
If the music’s
In your soul.
Getting paid
For it, though—
It may be rare, but that’s the way to go.

It’s a grand gig worth a song,
Teaching what you know the best.
It’s a grand gig, just as long
As it’s legal and you’re dressed.

If you want to try and buck “the Man’s” control,
Takes passion to go make your own goal.

It’s a grand gig when you rock
To the rhythm of your soul.
________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Don’t you love it when you expect very little from a movie and end up enjoying it far more than you thought possible? I found that the case with School of Rock, a comedy that many seem to consider a classic and yet I never have had any desire to see. I suppose it’s Jack Black that turned me away; I’ve always considered his comedy odd and lowbrow, akin to Adam Sandler’s, and yet what little I’ve seen of his, I’ve liked. He was good in Shallow Hal and The Muppets and the Kung Fu Panda movies, quite good in King Kong, and more charmingly low-key in The Holiday. I should really check out more of his movies, since both my VC and I thoroughly enjoyed School of Rock.

Black starts out as the kind of slobbish loser he seems to enjoy playing, a jobless rocker named Dewey Finn, who is kicked out of his own band after a pathetic concert. Living with his former bandmate Ned Schneebly (screenwriter Mike White) and Ned’s overbearing girlfriend (Sarah Silverman), Dewey’s life and career are going nowhere fast, and when Ned “demands” the rent he’d owed, there’s only one reasonable thing to do. Dewey impersonates Ned as a substitute teacher at an elite prep school, which strangely checks neither his references nor his ID. Faced with a class full of fourth-graders better educated than himself, Dewey trains them in his one area of expertise – classic rock – and prepares them to participate in a “Battle of the Bands” while trying to keep everything secret from their parents, Ned, and the uptight school principal Ms. Mullins (Joan Cusack).

The implausible setup alone is ripe with comedic opportunities, and the film rarely misses a beat. From Dewey’s rant against “the Man” to his students’ faking a blood disease, the dialogue finds the right balance between funny and believable. Aside from the general humor, though, School of Rock’s greatest appeal is to anyone who has ever banged their head to AC/DC or Fleetwood Mac or Led Zeppelin; not only are many classic rock songs played and sampled, but Black praises and explains them with such infectious gusto that both audience and class are won over, despite his quirky ineptitude.

Another plus is how Dewey manages to “touch” his students (figuratively): encouraging the shy boy who’s convinced himself he’s uncool, sympathizing with an overweight girl, showing some maturity by enforcing discipline with one kid who takes his reckless teaching to heart. There’s a bit of smart-mouthing by the kids, but both they and Dewey manage to grow while still remaining uniquely themselves. It was also nice to recognize young overachiever Summer as Miranda Cosgrove, who went on to play evil sister Megan on Drake and Josh. (I grew up with that show. I know she can sing, so it was odd that she pretended to be a poor singer here.) Even the final concert delivered on the expectations that had been growing throughout the movie, only making me wish that the performance could have been longer.

School of Rock is still popular today, spawning a Broadway play and a Nickelodeon TV series just this past year, and I now see why. Since she’s a bigger rock fan than I, my VC enjoyed it even more; she even started watching it again as soon as it was over. It’s not often that a film totally exceeds my expectations, but if you’ll forgive the pun, School of Rock rocks!

Best line: (Frankie) “Ms. Mullins, you’re “the Man.”   (Ms. Mullins) “Thank you, Frankie!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput
386 Followers and Counting

 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

25 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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The future looms before our eyes,
A tunnel to the next unknown.
It’s too well-traveled to surprise,
And yet we worry and postpone.

For some, the future is a wall,
A bricked-up tunnel, barred and firm.
A grim prognosis cancels all
And makes their fears of shorter term.

Small comfort ‘tis to pray and stay
With those whose lives too soon conclude,
But when our future’s underway,
Distress should yield to gratitude.
________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Who would have thought that two young adult novels about friendship and teen cancer would be published within months of each other and both would get their own movies within three years? John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is the more celebrated and, in my opinion, the better film, but Me and Earl and the Dying Girl does well finding its own messages and style that never feel like rip-offs of something else.

Any film set in high school is bound to have clichés, particularly the introduction to cliques and colorful characters, but this film freshens its more familiar aspects with some wildly inventive camera work. The camera zooms and flips and rushes through crowded rooms, and the drily comical narration caused my VC to compare it to the Coen brothers’ style in Raising Arizona. The eccentricities are many, as Greg (Thomas Mann) explains his school, his survival tactics, and his hobby of making ultra-low-budget parodies of classic movies (like The 400 Bros or Senior Citizen Kane) in collaboration with his friend/coworker Earl. When his mother literally nags him into submission, Greg agrees to befriend Rachel Kushner after she is diagnosed with leukemia and even tries to make a film for her benefit.

The first half of the movie has some great clever humor, such as the best hipster cat name ever, but also a good deal of casual crudity. Greg’s inherent awkwardness often manifests in crassness, Earl is impenetrably passive for the most part, and the film often feels like it’s trying too hard to sustain its quirkiness. With all the weirdness on show, Rachel is the most normal character by default; like me, she’s turned off by Greg at first but ultimately won over, and their friendship grows subtly over time, though without the romance of The Fault in Our Stars. As the title suggests, her condition worsens over time, and the film’s tone shifts into dramatic gear. After so much manipulation of the camera, one pivotal emotional scene settles in one perfect angle and is the more powerful for it.

Like Ruby Sparks, in which an off-kilter plot culminates in a perfect ending, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ends on the right note. Does it matter that I don’t understand the movie that Greg makes for Rachel, which is as inscrutably avant-garde as some of the films he parodies? No, because like much of the “I don’t get it” art out there, it could mean anything or nothing, but it meant something to the right person at the right time. Films like this and The Fault in Our Stars can easily be seen as emotionally manipulative, but Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is at least honest about it, and as the final scenes reveal, there’s more subtlety to admire than first meets the eye.

Best line: (Earl, who after adding little to the story gets the line that inspired my poem, to Rachel) “It’s just crazy how patient you’ve been. You know, I know if it was me that had cancer, uh… I’d be upset and angry and trying to beat everybody’s a** half the time. So I’m just, I’m just amazed at how patient you’ve been. You, you make me feel blessed.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput

386 Followers and Counting