Tag Archives: Comedy

VC Pick: Mamma Mia! (2008)

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

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

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(Best sung to ABBA’s “SOS”; there be spoilers)
 
When Sophie plans to wed, she wants to meet her dad,
But from what she has read, her mom loved a triad.
So she invites the trio there,
To their hotel in Greece.
Sam, Bill, and Harry show; will wonders never cease?

When Donna meets her lovers there, it eats her.
What a mess!
Though they intrigue her, Sophie isn’t eager
To confess.
Donna’s stressed,
And the beaus play it close to the vest.
Sophie tries
To sightsee with all three of the guys.
 
The wedding closer draws, and she is still unsure
Which of the three it was that really fathered her.
As all three come to know the truth
And Sophie’s plans collapse,
Old griefs and tensions rise that once were under wraps.

With Sophie’s wedding, things come to a heading.
No more stress!
With all the bother, why choose just one father?
Take a guess!
And instead,
It is not who we thought would be wed.
And the throng
Celebrates and hydrates with a song!
________________

 

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sexual dialogue)

 

It’s been a while since I let my VC pick a movie (although Flash Gordon was sort of hers) so I finally let her talk me into seeing Mamma Mia! again. There are so many fantastic musicals out there, and then there are those in which the plot is so flimsy that it only serves as a framework for musical numbers. Mamma Mia! definitely fits into the latter category, stringing together a number of 1970s hits amid a convoluted and loose-moralled story of uncertain identity. The catch is that this is all it tries to be, and it does it very well.

Let’s start with the plot. After reading her mother Donna’s youthful diary, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) discovers that her father is one of three men who hooked up with Donna (Meryl Streep) about twenty years ago, all around the same time. Since Sophie is soon to be married, she wants her real father to walk her down the aisle and so invites all three to the Greek island where she lives. What could possibly go wrong? This setup is implausible and more than a little silly, and it goes nowhere fast as Sophie and Donna are both frazzled, while little side-plots with their friends chip away at ABBA’s discography.

But, as I said, the plot is secondary to the music, and there’s no shortage of great ABBA songs. While I was aware of the Swedish pop quartet before this movie, the only songs I associated with them were “Dancing Queen” and “Super Trouper,” but there are far more memorable tunes than I had given them credit for. Some I’d heard but didn’t really know (“Honey, Honey,” “Our Last Summer”), and others I had never even encountered before (“Lay All Your Love on Me” and the title song “Mamma Mia”). The way that all these disparate pop songs are combined into a barely cohesive whole is rather impressive, and if anything, it introduces whippersnappers like me to an uber-band from the ‘70s that deserves to be remembered.

The other reason to see Mamma Mia! is the privilege(?) of seeing famous actors play against type. It’s no secret that Amanda Seyfried sings beautifully (Les Miserables), but who would expect Meryl Streep to belt out surprisingly good vocals while wearing overalls or in a duet with James Bond? Plus, Julie Walters and Stellan Skarsgard are entirely different in “wild-and-crazy-old-people” roles, Dominic Cooper sounds nothing like the MCU’s Howard Stark, and Colin Firth is a far cry from Mr. Darcy. These uncharacteristic castings are also a problem, though. As much as he tries, Pierce Brosnan is simply not a singer, and every song with Julie Walters is uncomfortably grating. In fact, Walters and Christine Baranski as Donna’s friends are consistently grating as two overly frisky cougars whose attempts at not being old aren’t exactly flattering.

As if that didn’t sound negative enough, I also take issue with the ending. Not to give away specifics, but the overall message that the finale pushes is that love is for everybody but marriage is just for old people. I may be old-fashioned (in fact, I know I am), but why does marriage always seem to come after the honeymoon in movies, if it comes at all? Sophie’s choice at the end implies that she didn’t learn very much from her mother’s mistakes.

With the last two negative paragraphs, I was planning on ranking Mamma Mia! as a dishonorable mention, but my VC’s fondness for it tipped the scales. She says that “yes, it’s immoral and silly and all, but I like it.” The music, the exotic Greek scenery, the choreography, the appeal of good actors having fun with roles that might have gone to has-beens – these are what she enjoys, and I can’t really say I disagree. The truth is that I do love the music, which should understandably be the star of a musical. ABBA’s songs make up for the film’s abundant flaws so that its groovy appeal still shines through.

Best line: (Sophie) “I want the perfect wedding, and I want my father to give me away.” (Ali, her friend) “Better be a wide aisle!”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput

362 Followers and Counting

 

The Book of Life (2014)

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

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Life is full of love and song
For those with both within their hearts;
But why must death and sleep be different
From their former counterparts?

Grief will mark a soul’s departure
Here on earth where all lives cease;
But from grief comes celebration
In another life of peace.
__________________
 

MPAA rating: PG

 

While Pixar has been rumored to be working on a project called Coco about the Mexican Day of the Dead (supposedly for a 2017 release), Reel FX and 20th Century Fox Animation beat them to the punch with 2014’s The Book of Life. This inventively animated romance starts out with a frame story reminiscent of The Princess Bride, with a confident museum guide recounting a story to a collection of rowdy schoolkids, who interject their occasional thoughts and worries as the tale progresses.

While these kids have a more typical cartoon human appearance, the characters in the tale being told are intentionally modeled as wooden puppets, with visible joints but no strings. This aesthetic combines with the off-kilter animation to give the CGI film a stop-motion aspect, not unlike The Lego Movie. The story itself follows three childhood friends, Manolo Sanchez (Diego Luna), Maria (Zoe Saldana), and Joaquin (Channing Tatum), who are destined to grow up into a love triangle. Just as viewers often debate who will get the girl in any number of series, the trio attract the attention of the two rulers of the afterlife, the lovely La Muerte of the Land of the Remembered and the bitter Xibalba of the Land of the Forgotten. Ron Perlman as Xibalba seems knowingly reminiscent of Hades in Hercules as he makes a game-changing bet with his counterpart as to which boy will marry Maria.

The Book of Life has a lot of positives. The animation is frequently enchanting and the characters surprisingly personable. While the characterization sometimes falters, I liked how one suitor was clearly meant as Maria’s soul mate, but the other was still given a chance to be heroic rather than being turned into a villain. The film also offers a uniquely positive view of death, treating it not as the end but as a second stage to reunite with loved ones and join in one big fiesta.

On the other hand, these same themes of death strike me as problematic. The depiction of the afterlife rings with Mexican culture but is entirely irreligious, as is the notion that our departed loved ones live on in happiness only as long as we remember them. The film’s conflict makes a point of noting that, without anyone to remember them, the dead will pass into the hellish Land of the Forgotten, which makes me wonder why no one is bothered by the fact that this will happen anyway within a few generations. I don’t remember my great-great-great grandfather; that doesn’t mean he’s not in Heaven. This idea of the afterlife is meant as a secular comfort but not a lasting one.

The Book of Life is also marred by tired clichés about being oneself against an overbearing parent; some awkwardly out-of-left-field pop songs, as if it’s trying to emulate Shrek; and oddly by the same animation I praised earlier. When I first saw the animation style, it reminded me of the Nickelodeon show El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (picture below), and sure enough, director Jorge Gutierrez was also that show’s creator and apparently just translated the animation from 2D to 3D. While it works most of the time, certain scenes look strangely cheap with elaborate mustaches and protuberant noses that aren’t even trying for realism.

Here I go again, sounding all critical as if I dislike anything with flaws. Not so. The Book of Life rises as a delightful, energetic, and uniquely cultural change of pace from the usual stylings of Disney and DreamWorks while not coming off as low quality. Its themes of family and life and telling our own stories are commendable, and I enjoyed it, as I think most fans of animation will.

Best line: (one of the distraught schoolkids) “What is it with Mexicans and death?!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S. G. Liput

360 Followers and Counting

 

Ant-Man (2015)

10 Sunday Jan 2016

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Smaller, better, faster, stronger—
Now the world must wait no longer.
Here comes Ant-Man, skilled at shrinking;
Watch and try to keep from blinking.

Armed with ants and talents stranger,
He won’t shrink from wicked danger.
Shrink or grow for each endeavor,
Tiny minds can still be clever.

Though the Ant-Man may seem minor,
No insect-sized man is finer.
Maximizing, minimizing,
Heroes don’t depend on sizing,
________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

 

While Ant-Man was given an understandably smaller reception upon release last year, my dad helped make it a bigger film for us. For some reason, he connected to Ant-Man on some deep cosmic level, having read the old Ant-Man comics with Hank Pym back in the day. He was singing the praises of both the character and the film long before we finally got to see it, and while this might have raised my expectations too high (like with Guardians of the Galaxy), it instead piqued my interest and enjoyment for one of the silliest Avengers yet.

It starts off in 1989, upholding the always cool Marvel continuity by mixing some familiar faces from past films with the latest S.H.I.E.L.D.-connected supergenius, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), a master of physics and entomology (since atoms and bugs just go together). Jump ahead to the present, and we find Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) getting out of jail and meeting up with his Latino ex-cellmate Luis (Michael Peña). However, Scott faces an uphill battle toward normalcy since his criminal record mars job opportunities, even as his ex-wife bars him from seeing his young daughter. Little does he know that he’s a potential pawn in the cold war between Pym and his former protégé, the power-hungry CEO Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who has grown ruthless from years of turning life forms into tiny piles of goo in an effort to replicate Pym’s fabled shrinking technology. Got all that?

Ant-Man isn’t as jam-packed as Guardians, but its convoluted plotline does require attention and may not entirely make sense. Yet, according to Marvel’s prized strategy, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Hank and his estranged daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly of Lost fame) may be wholly familiar with the concepts of quantum realms and communicating with ant armies, but Scott and Luis offer hilarious reactions to it all even as they embrace the role of hero over crook. Despite his history with raunchy comedies, Rudd manages to combine self-deprecating humor with relatable sincerity as he works to be with his daughter and, you know, save the world.

While on one level, Ant-Man may seem like just another brick in Marvel’s multimillion-dollar wall, it stands out in unexpected ways. For one thing, the origin story is more reminiscent of the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Phase 1 films like Iron Man, and features more of a Mission: Impossible-style heist tone, aided by Christophe Beck’s bombastic score. While the Avengers are present and even referenced, their involvement in Ant-Man’s covert operation isn’t as starkly missed as in The Winter Soldier or Thor 2, in which only one main Avenger seemed to care about the end of the world as we know it. Here, the fate of the world is at stake, since the propagation of Cross’s shrinking suits would change the balance of power and “the texture of reality,” but it’s on a much more personal level than just stopping the latest baddie from blowing up the world. These characters have history with each other, whether it be Cross’s resentment toward Hank or Hope’s need for reconciliation with her father, not to mention Scott’s concern for his daughter who becomes plot-relevant in the finale. Even Scott’s ex-con accomplices are different from the professional agents or warriors we’ve become used to; they’re his beer-and-waffle buddies who have useful skills but are still down-to-earth, like how Luis remembers to save the guy he just knocked out before the building is destroyed.

Another unique aspect is how Scott becomes Ant-Man. Rather than self-experimenting with newfound powers or tapping into latent heroism, he is actually trained by the previous wearer of the Ant-Man suit. I can’t recall seeing this different dynamic of passing the mantle from one generation of hero to the next since an aged Bruce Wayne did so in the futuristic Batman Beyond (and before that, The Mask of Zorro). It’s an advantage that most superheroes don’t get, and shows onscreen what the comic books have done for years in letting more than one character inhabit the super persona. I wouldn’t mind learning more about Hank Pym’s missions back in the ‘80s.

Technically, Ant-Man should have been in Marvel’s Phase 1, since Ant-Man and the Wasp were founding members of the original Avengers in the comics (along with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk). Yet I suppose it’s hard to take seriously a tiny guy in a mask who controls bugs. Like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man was a gamble that I think paid off. It offers a new hero, new history, new technology, and a new way of looking at things from an ant’s perspective, from a bathtub to a toy train set. The incredible special effects help to sell both the shrinking concept and the almost cute ants, and are just one strength in Marvel’s latest hit. I enjoyed Ant-Man. On a more muted level, my VC and my mom liked it too. But my dad loved it.

Best line: (Luis, about his girlfriend, in a line that my dad has made his own for anytime bad things pile up) “Ah, she left me. And my mom died too. And my dad got deported…. But I got the van!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

354 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Soul Man (1986)

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Being black and being white
Can form opinions, wrong and right,
Attitudes and points of view
Based solely on another’s hue.

Most get only one perspective,
Rarely totally objective.
Maybe, though, we’d change our views
If we were in another’s shoes.

Although we may be still behind
On growing fully colorblind,
Insight instead of reprimand
Might help us further understand.
_____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

When I watched Soul Man at my VC’s suggestion, I had no idea it was considered a controversial movie. After I’d seen it, I was surprised at the number of sites that listed it as shamelessly racist alongside films like The Birth of a Nation and Song of the South. It also seemed to impede C. Thomas Howell’s rise to stardom, since he’s mostly been resigned to TV and low-quality roles ever since. And yet, I liked Soul Man, which may be surprising too since I’m not a racist. I suppose, as a precaution, I should say up front that I am not black, and I apologize for anyone that this movie or my appreciation of it might offend. But I liked Soul Man.

In addition to Red Dawn and Gettysburg, I would even go so far as to call it one of C. Thomas Howell’s best movies. In it, he plays Mark Watson, a spoiled white guy whose father seeks to teach him a lesson by cutting off his funds right on the eve of his freshman year at Harvard Law School. Faced with giving up his college plans, Mark applies for and gets a scholarship…an African American scholarship. He does so by overdosing on tanning pills, an improbable and inadvisable method which doesn’t make sense, is never further explained, and serves merely as a superficial reason for Mark passing himself off as black.

With just his one friend Gordon in the know (Arye Gross), he goes in with several presumptuous, perhaps racist ideas of what being black is all about, such as assuming a black professor (James Earl Jones) will give him special treatment. “This is the Cosby decade,” he says. “America loves black people.” It doesn’t take long, though, for him to get a taste of other people’s racism, whether it be the prejudiced jokes of the local school bigots or the overly suspicious eye of a policeman (and those kinds of reports are still in the news). Over time, his perspective changes, based on both his own experience and his gradual relationship with fellow classmate Sarah (Rae Dawn Chong, whom Howell later married…for a year). Of course, this is a comedy, so the drama usually gives way to Mark’s hilarious attempts to avoid detection as his ill-conceived plan spirals out of control, and I must say that Soul Man had me laughing harder than I have in a long time, particularly when Mark does his Stevie Wonder impression.

So beyond whether I enjoyed it or not, I suppose the main question is this: is Soul Man racist? No, I don’t believe it is. Yes, there are racist stereotypes present, such as when Mark visits a girlfriend’s family (including an underused Leslie Nielsen), who all have ridiculously prejudiced views of Mark just because he appears black. Yes, most of the white characters have biased opinions of African Americans, from assuming they must all be good at basketball to automatically expecting to be robbed by them. Yes, the N word is uttered, though not nearly as much as in other movies. And yes, C. Thomas Howell wears black face to pretend to be black. If that in and of itself offends you, then steer clear of Soul Man.

Yet I have to believe that a film can present negative elements without endorsing them. The film could be compared to Arye Gross’s rather overblown legal argument toward the film’s end, offensive and derogatory if taken at face value but actually with the opposite meaning for those willing to see it. Viewing racism through a comedic lens may not carry universal appeal, but Soul Man is not meant to be a comprehensive critique of the subject, and even Mark admits that he couldn’t possibly understand what it means to be black. Characters and their viewpoints can be absurdly racist, but the movie intends for us to laugh at them and perhaps consider our own views and assumptions about others at the same time. Some jokes also happen to be funnier in retrospect, such as Mark’s white girlfriend suggesting an erotic novel called Shades of Gray. Very interesting…. Soul Man may be anathema to the politically correct, but if not for the controversy, I bet it would be an ‘80s classic by now.

Best line: (Gordon to his roommate, with impeccable timing) “We should get an ocelot!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

347 Followers and Counting

 

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

19 Thursday Nov 2015

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While Iron Man, Thor, and the heroes we know
Are saving the planet from many a foe,
Way out in the cosmos, a misfit or five
Are trying to stay on their toes and survive.

One’s seeking revenge, two are out for the loot,
One’s plotting betrayal, and the last’s in pursuit
Of a powerful stone that is death’s guarantee
If it falls in the hands of a villainous Kree.

Five mavericks not fitting the hero-type mold,
Five pasts black as sin and five hearts made of gold,
May find that a battle alongside a friend
Can give them a reason to bond and defend.
_______________

MPAA Rating: PG-13

 

Everyone seems to love Guardians of the Galaxy. Coworkers, friends, critics, and random bloggers were singing its praises last year, and I was eager to see it in the theater. Unfortunately, I knocked a sideview mirror off my dad’s car, and the movie money went elsewhere. So when I finally got to see it on DVD, I was ready to be impressed, and though I wanted it to be the best Marvel movie yet, well, it wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s an enjoyable space ride of an origin story, yet perhaps my expectations were a bit too high. I had hoped for constant laughs, but the script seemed to be trying too hard at times (the fake laugh, for example). I can’t help but wonder if my appreciation might have been heightened by seeing it in the theater, where I could have shared in that unique experience of an entire audience laughing out loud (like how my mom has described her 8-½ screenings of Star Wars back in 1977). The story was also so crammed full of unfamiliar information with Xandarians and Ravagers and varied motivations that I couldn’t completely keep up, and my VC was totally lost at times. I know we’re supposed to just roll with it and enjoy it and let future viewings show how layered and intricate it is, but being confused can detract from a film’s enjoyment.

Okay, complaints aside, I’m glad to say that I saw it again, and my opinion has improved. I still don’t believe it’s Marvel’s best film, but it is up there. For some reason, the humor was much more appealing this time, and I was able to follow the plot more fully, and I can admit that Guardians of the Galaxy is a small miracle. Iron Man was never as popular as Batman or Superman, but at least people had heard of him. When Marvel gambled on an entire film dedicated to a rebooted superhero team from as recent as 2008, most non-comic experts went “Who?,” a joke the film itself toys with right from the start. Without widespread knowledge of these characters, the filmmakers were able to flesh them out in their own way, with lots of quick-mouthed humor along the way.

The film is full of strengths, from the nostalgic, retro-cool soundtrack of 1970s tunes to spot-on performances from the main cast: heroic rogue Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), assassin with a heart Gamora (Zoe Saldana, continuing her apparent attempt to star in every major franchise), literal-minded avenger Drax the Destroyer (wrestler Dave Bautista), experimental raccoon Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and lovable living tree Groot (Vin Diesel, who could probably have been replaced by anyone who could say three words in a deep voice). The special effects are phenomenal, particularly the final battle and the CGI creation of Rocket and Groot, who are both surprisingly endearing. As I said, there is a lot, and I mean A LOT going on, but my second viewing allowed me to recognize the impressive balance between nonstop action, spitfire wit, and sweet character moments, like Groot’s flower gift or Drax’s comforting of Rocket. (Who didn’t want to pet him after all?) I also noticed a potential recurring gag when Quill states he has 12% of a plan; remember the beginning of The Avengers, when Tony offers 12% of the credit for Stark Tower to Pepper? Hmm.

It’s true that it’s not perfect. The villains Ronan and Nebula (Lee Pace and Karen Gillan) are generic baddies, people can somehow survive exposure to space, the bigger names like Benicio del Toro as the Collector (also Glenn Close and John C. Reilly) are vastly underused, and it might have been more kid-friendly considering it’s gotten its own animated spin-off series. Yet these gripes matter little amidst the fun of escaping a weightless prison or dive-bombing an attacking spaceship. Guardians of the Galaxy throws a lot at the screen, and most of it sticks to provide a fun space adventure that’s part Star Wars, part Marvel, but mostly its own unique adventure.

Best line: (Gamora) “I’m a warrior, an assassin. I don’t dance.” (Peter) “Really? Well, on my planet, we have a legend about people like you. It’s called Footloose. And in it, a great hero named Kevin Bacon teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is.”  (Gamora) “Who put the sticks up their butts? That is cruel.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

344 Followers and Counting

 

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

08 Sunday Nov 2015

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One hundred feet can be a wall if those on either side of it
Insist the other is a foe too slow or stubborn to submit.

One hundred feet can be a window hewn by wisdom through the wall,
To let the foes perhaps perceive a new perspective to it all.

One hundred feet can be a door where friends once foes come face to face,
Where worlds combine to mix and dine, and fresh potential finds a place.

One hundred feet can be a line between suspicion and respect;
One hundred feet can separate or help two cultures to connect.
_________________

Rating: PG

There aren’t too many food-centric movies that get special advertising on the Food Network (Julie and Julia was the last I can recall), but The Hundred-Foot Journey warranted it. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, this story of Indian restaurateurs immigrating to the world of French cuisine hits all the right flavor notes of a cinematic feast, more low-key than some blockbuster or awards contender but no less satisfying.

Not unlike Life of Pi, the film starts in India, where a food-loving family is forced to flee from civil unrest, and instead of cruising to Canada, they voyage to the lovely French highlands. Led by the unflappable Papa Kadam (Om Puri), they renovate and open their own Indian restaurant, just one hundred feet from an esteemed haute cuisine establishment with a coveted Michelin star. The transplants are immediately seen as a threat by the French restaurant’s owner Madame Mallory (Golden Globe nominee Helen Mirren), and a series of sneaky skirmishes between her and Kadam make them seemingly permanent enemies. Yet when racism rears its ugly head and Kadam’s cook son Hassan (Manish Dayal) displays his culinary talent, both Kadam and Mallory reconsider their biases for the sake of this budding star, food, and friendship.

Hassan’s development in French cuisine brought to mind Remy’s parallel journey in Pixar’s Ratatouille, another story of a culinary superstar “from the gutter,” as it were, who achieves success despite the antagonism between French cooking and his hesitant family. Like Ratatouille, the food is gorgeously rendered and treated as a silent character, whether it be the Indian dishes with curry and garam masala, the petite and elegant portions of Mallory’s Le Saule Pleureur, or the chic molecular gastronomy of Paris. All of the actors evoke a passion for food, and Puri, Dayal, and especially Mirren provide enjoyable performances that grow more endearing with time.

My VC and I both agreed that The Hundred-Foot Journey was among the best films we’ve seen lately, leading to my frustration that it didn’t receive more exposure. It thankfully earned money and reasonably favorable reviews, yet I believe it deserves far more attention. Lasse Hallström’s direction, paired with cleverly subtle special effects and succulent cinematography, made for a delightful culture-spanning watch, though it was wholly snubbed by the awards (except for Mirren’s Globe nomination). The worst thing critics could complain about was that it was predictable, but sometimes the familiar can be just as surprisingly fresh and gratifying as the food with which you grew up. So what if the awards judges can’t seem to recognize a clean, feel-good family drama? It won some stars in my book.

Best line: (Hassan, reminiscing) “Food is memories.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2015 S. G. Liput

342 Followers and Counting

Almost Famous (2000)

30 Friday Oct 2015

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Rock and roll was on a roll,
Exciting body, heart, and soul.
They played it loud to please the crowd,
Sublimely out of all control.

These kings of cool were glad to rule,
And much too groovy to be cruel.
Their fame would rise amid the highs
And make it wise to play the fool.

Each touring band that spanned the land
Had rabid fans at their command.
The highs and lies were some disguise
From what they did not understand:
The value of what’s close at hand.
_________________

MPAA rating: R (for much language and brief nudity)

This review is a last-minute addition to Rocktober, hosted by Carly Hearts Movies, celebrating the best (or worst) in rock-and-roll cinema. Being a big fan of Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown, I thought it was about time to explore one of his earlier films, and Rocktober helped decide which one it would be.

Rock and roll is a hard thing to quantify. Some love any reason to bang their heads and party; some are excessively picky about how they discern good music from populist trash; and some turn their noses up at its very nature of sex and drugs. Almost Famous captures all three viewpoints and so much else that makes rock both diverting and dangerous, all through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old fan based on Crowe himself.

Young William Miller (Patrick Fugit) loves rock music to the dread of his high-strung mother, whose overprotective opinions already drove away his rebellious older sister. Though teased for being the youngest in his grade, he listens and writes and eventually gets noticed, first by Creem Magazine (thanks to music critic Lester Bangs, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), then by Rolling Stone, and William is whisked into the radical world of the backstage rock scene. His ticket in is the up-and-coming quartet Stillwater, led by Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), whom he accompanies on a cross-country tour.

Though William knows and admires the music, he is still an outsider and a journalist, “the enemy” as the band nicknames him, and he is able to objectively watch the world of rock music unfold before him, much like an uninitiated viewer. In addition to his trusty notepad, he is always “taking notes with his eyes,” as Russell says, observing the inner squabbling among the bandmates, the wild lives they lead while on tour, the frequent drug-induced stupidity, and the inner workings of these “swill merchants,” who talk frankly about the chicks and then wax philosophical about the brain vs. instinct.

Yet for all the talk of the music and the fans being everything, he also experiences firsthand the dark, false side of this world, in which not even William can remain clean. Everyone seems to be pretending they’re something better than they are. Stillwater grows to enjoy William’s tagging along, but they trust that he’ll clean up their messy shenanigans when it comes time to actually write the article about them. An entourage of dedicated fangirls called the Band Aids accompany the band everywhere they go, and despite their focus on sex and drugs rather than the music, they insist they’re not just ordinary groupies. One in particular known as Penny Lane (Oscar nominee Kate Hudson) puts much effort into her enigmatic persona, sure to be the life of the party. While William sees through most of these facades, even he pretends in order to be taken seriously by Rolling Stone. As much as everyone wants to be loved, too often people are used for the sake of “lifestyle maintenance.”

All this may make Almost Famous sound overly heavy, and while its dramatic moments are perceptive, there is just as much appealing comedy, from the eccentricities of William’s backstage acquaintances to the seriocomic emergency that prompts some unexpected honesty. I especially got a kick out of William’s mother (Frances McDormand), whose increasingly worried phone calls to check up on him are priceless.

Cameron Crowe obviously knows the ins and outs of the rock scene, and despite its dark side, he found the right balance of honesty and feel-good drama, along with a classic rock soundtrack that includes five original songs by Crowe, then-wife Nancy Wilson, and Peter Frampton. With his insightful, Oscar-winning screenplay, Crowe brings to life a world of “drunken buffoons” and making something “poetic” out of it. I still prefer Elizabethtown, but Almost Famous is an entertaining inside look at “the industry of cool.”

Best line: (Russell and a hotel clerk, to William) “Your mom kind of freaked me out.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2015 S. G. Liput

342 Followers and Counting

VC Pick: Cousins (1989)

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Her husband cheated with his wife,
The ruiners of married life,
So Larry and Maria planned
To let them suffer doubt firsthand.

A walk and talk or two or three
Let friendship flourish fluently,
And is not romance at its best
When friendship fully has progressed?

A marriage undermined by lies
Will likely lead to compromise,
But truer love is worth a chance
To lose the doubt and share a dance.
______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

This is a film my VC adores so I couldn’t put it off any longer. Seriously, it’s in her top 50, and while I’m not as much of a fan, I do agree that Joel Schumacher’s Cousins deserves more recognition. Based on the 1975 French film Cousin Cousine, this growing romance seems to both condemn and embrace marital infidelity while balancing the heavy stuff with playful interactions among an extended Polish-French family.

At Phil and Edie Kozinski’s middle-aged wedding, all manner of quirky relatives pour in, from a pair of overly critical slobs to an old lady who thinks Edie killed her last husband by feeding him too much butter. Among the extended kith are two couples, Larry and Tish (Ted Danson and Sean Young) and Tom and Maria (William Peterson and Isabella Rossellini). Larry and Maria happen to meet while looking for their respective spouses, and what could have remained familial rapport is strengthened by the mutual belief that their spouses are cheating with each other. Hoping to “get back” at Tish and Tom, Larry and Maria take walks, break fish, and revel in the knowledge that their spouses must be seething with jealousy. Nothing happens, but that’s not to say they don’t want it to. When their marriages are further strained, propriety finally takes a back seat, and a romance born from conversation and a personal connection is able to blossom.

Marriage is very much at the forefront. The progression of Larry and Maria’s relationship plays out against the diverse spectrum of their large family, from wedding to funeral to wedding. Charming subplots provide detached vignettes that still hold an air of romance, such as Larry’s father (Lloyd Bridges) in search of love with the help of his weird grandson (Keith Coogan). Ultimately, though, Larry and Maria must face the fact that they love each other and weigh that love against the strained marriages they already have.

My VC finds this film entirely romantic and enjoys the different kinds of marriages depicted, from the wedded bliss of the older couples to Larry and Tish, who share a bohemian spirit, to Tom and Maria, whose uneasy awareness of infidelity doesn’t foster the most loving home for their daughter. My VC also loves the lesson that you’re never too old to fall in love and get married, and she admires the fact that the protagonists actually care enough about their marriage to hesitate, unlike their unfaithful spouses.

As much as I wanted to love, love, love Cousins as much as my VC, it never rose above charming in my estimation. Thanks to a clever script and their unmistakable chemistry, Danson and Rossellini do make an appealing couple, and I had no problem with their initial plan against their unfaithful spouses. It all seemed rather innocent at first, but as much as I believed they were better off with each other, it’s hard for me to fully agree with cheating on cheaters, especially when their marriages might have stabilized without the added doubt. Even so, in the end, this is a film in which we recognize who is meant for whom, and we might as well enjoy watching the characters figure it out. If you don’t focus too hard on the failed marriages, the successful romances will leave you smiling.

Best line: (Aunt Sofia, who has been talking with Larry’s strange son Mitch throughout the film) “You still want to kill people?”   (Mitch) “Nah, they’re too stupid.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2015 S. G. Liput

342 Followers and Counting

Being There (1979)

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Being there is everything,
To look and listen silently,
Even if you may not understand or feel the need to ponder.
Whether poor or richest king,
No good came from an absentee,
And though the wise may disagree, mere presence makes the heart grow fonder.
_________________

MPAA Rating: PG (PG-13 would be better)

Some actors trade in great early roles for lackluster later ones, but Peter Sellers went out on a high note in his last film released during his lifetime, Being There. A heavy mix of absurdist comedy and social drama, Being There seems to foreshadow Forrest Gump fifteen years later in placing an apparent moron in ever more unlikely and beneficial positions, even meeting the President. Whereas Forrest, though, was self-aware and achieved his status through action in addition to luck, Sellers as Chance the gardener goes literally from rags to riches through a series of ridiculous yet effective coincidences.

Kept in seclusion within a large townhouse, Chance knows nothing about the world except gardening and what he sees on television. He’s been cared for his entire life and is as helpless as he is oblivious. The reasons for his isolation and care by the wealthy “old man” are never made clear, but Chance is an afterthought when his benefactor dies. Thrust into the wilds of Washington, D.C., one would expect him to be either beaten up by punks as a weirdo or ignored to the point of death. (He can’t even prepare his own meals.) Yet against all probability, he ends up the guest of aging businessman Ben Rand (Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas), who sees unexpected wisdom in Chance’s clueless silences and vague gardening tips. With his passive demeanor and assumed sophistication, Chance captures the attention of the nation and of Rand’s wife Eve (Shirley MacLaine).

While the Oscar went to Douglas for his thoughtful performance as a dying millionaire, this is Sellers’ film. His presence is uncanny in its earnest simplicity. He smiles, he nods, he provides basic responses, and he remains entirely unmoved by his effect on others. While people are praising him or reminiscing to him or throwing themselves passionately at him, he stays placid and blank. Of course, this is where much of the humor comes from. Probably the funniest scene is a series of outtakes that play over the end credits, in which not even Sellers could utter his droll lines with a straight face. (He supposedly blamed this scene for his failure to win Best Actor, but I think Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer deserved to edge him out.) Indeed, Douglas and MacLaine turn in excellent performances as well, the latter offering a semi-explicit sex scene that is both awkward and hilarious. The film also stands out for its location shooting at the lavish Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, which I recognized from my own visit to the grand property.

Being There becomes something a bit deeper in its final scenes, in which Chance begins to take on almost messianic qualities. With this, the filmmakers seem to be encouraging debate over the meaning of it all. Is it that the most important people achieve their status by their mere presence rather than their actions? Is it that simplicity and gentle innocence are so refreshing that they can get you further in life than the opposite? Shakespeare’s Macbeth said that life “is a tale told by an idiot,” so is Being There implying that only a complete idiot can effectively traverse it? Does the film mean to expose the inanity of business and power by comparing politics with nonsense? Yes to one or all, the film remains ripe for whatever interpretation you please. Films with this kind of ambiguity are rare and rarely as good as Being There.

Best line: (Chance, who is naturally misunderstood) “I like to watch.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2015 S. G. Liput

340 Followers and Counting

VC Pick: My Bodyguard (1980)

21 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Schools have plenty, I suppose,
Of classmates easy to befriend,
The kind that never give you cause to fret,
But schools are also home to those
Who like to bully and pretend
That they’re the toughest kids they ever met.

If you are having troubled days
With greedy bullies on the prowl,
Get yourself a bodyguard to sturdily defend,
But difficulties still can faze
The biggest bodyguards that scowl,
And even they could use a caring friend.
___________________

Rating: PG

My VC has a habit of recommending films from the 70s and 80s I’ve never heard of, and this is only the most recent. My Bodyguard is a respectable high school film, sometimes cute and sometimes hard to watch.

After starting at a new school and antagonizing the local bully Moody (Matt Dillon), young Clifford (Chris Makepeace) sees a way out of this abuse by enlisting the local scary kid Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) as his bodyguard. While Linderman is the subject of murderous gossip and does the least he possibly can for Cliff, Cliff recognizes him as a boy deeply in need of a friend and reaches out when no one will. Throughout the film, I kept thinking how much this reminded me of a feature length episode of Hey, Arnold!, the Nickelodeon show about a good city-dwelling kid who helps people. The movie shares certain similarities with the show such as the boy’s eccentric grandmother (Ruth Gordon in the film), his family’s business (a hotel in the film vs. a boarding house in the show), and a plot about bullies and misunderstood potential friends that easily could have been shortened to episode length. This comparison isn’t a complaint since I’ve always liked Hey, Arnold!, and it’s interesting to think how films like this might have influenced it.

Having had a little experience with them in the past, I personally can’t stand bullies, the kind who lord their toughness over the weak and ambush the helpless. My Bodyguard doesn’t show bullying at its worst, but there are still several scenes that made me angry at cruel intimidators whom no one will stop. Of course, this is meant to make their just desserts sweet for everyone else, and though the comeuppance was slow in coming, it was realistic enough to be satisfying and encourage viewers to fight their own battles.

My Bodyguard isn’t quite a high school classic, but it incorporates some realistic darker elements to make the friendship between Clifford and Linderman difficult but rewarding. It also serves as one of those before-they-were-famous films, with recognizable young faces like Dillon and Joan Cusack, as well as the debut for Jennifer Beals (in a very small role) and Adam Baldwin (known as Jayne Cobb to us Firefly fans). Baldwin is perhaps the best here, turning in a quietly damaged performance that anticipated good things to come.

Best line: (Moody) “You broke my nose!”   (Linderman) “It looks better that way!”

Ranking: List Runner-Up

© 2015 S. G. Liput

337 Followers and Counting