Archive for April, 2001
72 – Finding Forrester
Posted by frothy in Finding Forrester on April 28, 2001
Grumpy Old Man helps out Gifted Young Writer. It’s kind of like Good Will Hunting, only without the crisp script or the gorgeous Boston scenery. Sean Connery plays William Forrester, a J. D. Salinger-like recluse who published one book in the distant past. (Salinger published the English-class standard Catcher in the Rye way back when, and has done little since, choosing the life of a hermit instead.) He lives in a tenement building in the Bronx in New York, always peering out from his small apartment at the pickup basketball games below.
One of the kids who plays in those games near Forrester’s apartment is Jamal Wallace (Robert Brown), a talented high schooler who carries a C average. Well, “carries” is the right word, because Jamal is apparently a lot smarter than his grades would indicate; he’s well-read and articulate. But having great grades in an inner-city school is apparently not cool, so Jamal holds back.
So the boys playing their games see Forrester watching them, and they make up stories about the place – it’s the domain of a ghost, of course. And on a dare, Jamal climbs up the side of the building to check out the mysterious ghost – and winds up leaving his bag. Naturally, Forrester goes through the bag and reads Jamal’s latest compositions and marks them all up. And that’s how the two meet – Jamal comes back after getting his bag tossed down at him and seeing the critical comments from Forrester, and they strike a deal: Forrester will help the young lad with his writing, and Jamal won’t mention Forrester’s identity to anyone.
Jamal, on the advice of school counsellors, begins to attend a private college (on a scholarship, of course), and he runs into Professor Crawford (F. Murray Abraham). Anyone who’s attended college has had a teacher like this – pompous, arrogant, snooty. And of course, since Forrester is acting as Jamal’s muse, problems ensue about that oldest of college problems – plagiarism, not alcoholism.
Will the recluse stand up for his friend and leave his apartment building? Will Jamal be vindicated? Will Jamal help the school win the basketball championship? Geez, all this film was missing was a sick mother or a wisecracking best friend. Oh wait – we DID have the best friend, played (and played very well) by Busta Rhymes.
This movie is absolutely exploding with cliches, and most of the characters seem to be one-dimensional. But it’s Brown who stands above everyone else, who makes this more than just another mentor-student movie. His timing is impeccable, his delivery astonishing, and his talents should – repeat, should – take him miles from this movie. He’s so good he makes even Connery look like just another old fart, but I think Connery mailed this one in. Even so, his character is too coarse to be interesting, and I wound up not giving a rat’s ass about him. Unfortunately, his situation is supposed to be one of the driving forces of the movie.
Finding Forrester: 5
71 – Billy Elliot
Posted by frothy in Billy Elliot on April 26, 2001
An 11-year old boy from a working-class British family is torn between his desire to learn ballet and his father’s wish for him to learn boxing. Billy’s father is headstrong and medieval in his worldly outlook, as he only wants manly things for his son. But Billy sees something more in the poetry of ballet, and he wants more than anything else to be as fluid and graceful as those sinewy dancers.
Having established the conflict of the story from the outset, the movie takes us through Billy’s struggles to complete his ballet training privately (under the tutelage of Mrs. Wilkinson, played by Julie Walters). It’s a great idea for a movie, really, because of the stark contrast between the outside world of Billy’s neighborhood (which exists under the spectre of an ominous protracted workers’ strike, of which Billy’s father participates) and the inner workings of Billy’s decidedly unmanly mind.
However, the film is hit or miss. If the viewer allows himself or herself to become fully wrapped up in Billy’s predicament, much as one would approach a soap opera, then one will fall for this unabashed schmaltz-fest with no problems. But for the more cynical among us, the movie fails in that it plays out virtually every Hollywood cliche imaginable; the only true original notion in the movie is the basic “boy wants to be a ballet dancer” ideal.
Here are some tried-and-true portions of the movie: Boy wants to do something against dad’s wishes. Boy’s dad is a tough-as-nails cretin, stolidly stupid but somewhere, deep inside, he loves his boy. Then there’s the unforgiving teacher (Mr. Miyagi, anyone?). And the Impossible Dream. The list goes on and one.
When I first popped this in the ol’ DVD player, I accidentally set it to play in French (at least I think that’s what that was…) Then I stopped it and switched the settings. Guess what? The overwrought Cockney accents are, at times, absolutely indecipherable. It’s like watching a foreign film, only not as full of deep meaning.
In short, this can be a real snorefest if you’re not ready to become one with the plight of poor Master Elliot. If you are, more power to you; time for you to dust off that old copy of Love Story. But if you’re like the rest of us, skip it unless you’re suffering from sleep deprivation.
Billy Elliot: 5
70 – The Yards
Mark Wahlberg (Three Kings) plays Leo, an ex-con car thief who’s trying toget his life back together with his ailing mom (Ellen Burstyn), but he finds himself drawn back into a nasty web of deceit and murder. Yeah, aren’t they all? Just once, I’d like to see a movie in which the guy leaves prison a changed man and then actually DOES stay straight. What’s that? It wouldn’t be interesting? Touche, mon frere.
All would be wonderful if Leo could just go straight, but those things never work out that way. Hey, Michael Corleone couldn’t go straight in Godfather III, so why should this loser? He’ll be good, he promises. He’ll get a job at the railroad station with his uncle Frank (James Caan). Only that doesn’t quite work out, either; his old pal Willie (Joaquin Phoenix, wooden as always) wants him to work with HIM in the railroad yards. With all this tugging going on, our boy Leo’s feeling a bit overwhelmed. Where will he go? (Does it matter?)
In brief, there’s murder and stuff. Cops get involved. The boys from the old neighborhood, those knockabout toughs of yore, involve Leo in bad things. The funny thing is, Wahlberg plays him as this innocent naif who seems as clueless as Little Orphan Annie might have been in the same situation. There are times when he appears crime-savvy, but for the most part, a wide-eyed state, mouth agape, is the character’s trademark.
Wahlberg seems to be sleepwalking through this escapade, and his supporting cast – strong as it is on paper – is no better. Burstyn has a thankless dying-mom role; Faye Dunaway plays her sister. You’d be hard-pressed to see a lot of life from either actress. Caan is becoming more of a caricature of his old-time tough-guy self; he’s still fun to watch, but his performane is a little too one-note for me. And we also have Charlize Theron as Willie’s fiance. Could someone please tell me WHY this young lady took this role? She looks horrid, and the role’s not nearly meaty enough for her to enjoy. In short, anyone in the world could have performed the character, and Theron herself didn’t add anything to it.
With that tremendous cast, and with a small amount of hype involved, I expected a far better film. This one is moody, somnabulent, and dull; a vapid pastiche of overwrought and underwhelming performances.
The Yards: 4
69 – Space Cowboys
Posted by frothy in Space Cowboys on April 18, 2001
Take four elderly acting legends, add the space program (a good hot-button topic in the movies, as always), sprinkle in some action and romance (however unbelievable), and you have yourself the genesis of Space Cowboys, a movie that veers a little from broad comedy to gut-wrenching tension.
Frank (Clint Eastwood), Hawk (Tommy Lee Jones), Jerry (Donald Sutherland), and Tank (James Garner) were supposed to be the first men in space in 1958, but they were screwed over by a petulant supervisor, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell), in favor of a chimp. Imagine the slight! You’ve worked extra-special hard at your job for so long, preparing for a Great Big Important Job, only to have your promised position handed over to a monkey! You can see why Frank might be a tad upset over this.
More than 40 years later, the boys are long in the tooth and are doing just about anything but working for NASA. Frank’s enjoying retirement. Hawk is a cropdusting pilot. Jerry designs roller coasters. And Tank’s an ordained minister. Ah, but NASA needs them! Seems Russia has this old satellite orbiting Earth that’s going to fall to terra firma in about a month. And since it’s such an old beast, it has design plans that came from Skylab – which, conveniently, Frank designed. And, also conveniently, he’s the only one who can fix this satellite and bring it in safely, rather than have it crash to Earth. (Apparently, that would be bad. Don’t ask why.)
Bob Gerson reluctantly asks his old nemesis Frank to help him out, and Frank says he’ll fix the problem – but only if he can go up. Oh, and his team. Gerson agrees, and the Daedulus team – Frank, Hawk, Tank, and Jerry – train for their mission. Did I mention they’re really, really old? So you get your share of Ensure jokes and false-teeth hee-haws. Granted, it’s a one-joke premise, but it’s such a darn good one.
And the characters are fun, too. Hawk’s a devil-may-care tough guy, a persona Tommy Lee Jones has played many, many times. Frank’s a cranky old man, cantankerous and crotchety ,but a true leader. Jerry’s a womanizer – and my goodness, he’s gotta be over 70. Only the character of Tank seems a little less detailed than his compatriots, although I’m not sure if this is just slacker writing or an intention of the screenwriter.
The plot is a little predictable, and if you’ve seen any movies over the past 20 years or so, you’ll recognize a lot of twists before they become twists. See Armageddon, Deep Impact, Mission to Mars, and Red Planet for some ideas – or go into this one a little fresher, with wide-open eyes. Either way, you’ll be entertained. The four leads in this movie are a LOT of fun to watch, and if you’ve followed their careers at all, it’s a hoot to see how the actors have evolved since their early days. They have gone from iconoclasts of society to plaster icons (a phrase that was once used to describe The Beatles, only in reverse). Sutherland played a lot of rebellious sorts during the turbulent 1960s-1970s, and had achieved leading-man status by the time Klute came out in 1974; now he plays authority figures, such as in JFK and The Puppet Masters. Eastwood got his start with spaghetti Westerns, then shot to the bigger time as Dirty Harry – but he remains a tough guy, doesn’t he? Revered by society, but he still looks like he doesn’t give a damn. Garner went from Maverick and innocuous Doris Day movies to the tough but urbane stylings of Jim Rockford; now he plays dignified, intelligent characters. And Tommy Lee? Ok, so he’s still the barnstorming, hell-raising fool he’s always been. I didn’t even think he was old enough to be in this movie, although he sure had me convinced by the time the film was over.
In short, good solid fun.
Space Cowboys: 8
68 – Wonder Boys
Posted by frothy in Wonder Boys on April 5, 2001
Grady Tripp is a washed-up author. Well, washed-up is a little harsh, perhaps, but he’s written exactly one book – five years ago. And he’s had writer’s block ever since. At present, he’s a shambling, shifty, scruffy, sloppy, disheveled college professor in the field of creative writing. In the morning, his wife leaves him. “I lost a wife today,” he later tells his agent Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.). To which Crabtree responds, “You’ll find another. You always do.”
Grady has a student living at his house (she was there before the wife left, so yes, it’s platonic). Another student, James Lear (the ineffectual Tobey Maguire) is obsessed with death and can recite in alphabetical order the names of famous celebrity suicides. Then there’s Grady’s mistress, the chancellor of the college (Frances McDormand). Oh, and there’s a blind dog who hates Grady, too. And a transvestite. And so it goes.
Anyone who’s ever written something, whether they’ve been assigned to do so or just want to do it of their own volition, has at sometime or another had a problem getting started. With this review, in fact, I didn’t know where to begin. Once you get started, you’re ok. Well, Grady’s problem is quite the opposite. He has a different kind of writer’s block, you see. He has diarrhea of the mind. He’s been working on this book for five years. He has accumulated over 2,000 pages. “The ending keeps getting further and further away,” he says in voice-over narration. Grady can’t seem to finish his novel not because he can’t figure out what to write but because he can’t stop writing.
His agent, Crabtree, is in dire straits. Grady’s all he has left, and in New York the other literary agents laugh at him. He comes to Grady’s school during Word Week, an English Department-sponsored gathering designed to be a way for some of the brighter writers to sell their works to attending agents. Crabtree is a well-developed figure, too, and it seems to me that Downey Jr. was probably the wisest choice to play him. Downey Jr. turns in a magnificent, understated performance that’s the backbone of the film.
Maguire, as the critical character James, takes underplaying to a new level. He delivers his line in an almost-catatonic, droll monotone. Granted, there are several scenes in which this makes sense, but not all the time. Maguire’s mannerisms are as deep as a puddle, and this is nothing new for the so-called wunderkind. I saw him in Pleasantville and The Cider House Rules, to name a couple, and in neither was he more than mildly interesting. With that in mind, I was not disappointed in his work here.
McDormand is excellent in her brief scenes as the chancellor. She’s assuredly one of the best actresses working today, as her work here and in Almost Famous attests. She’s strong, iron-willed, charming, angry, petulant,and loving. A perfect foil for Douglas’ Grady.
And Douglas himself is a lot of fun. He’s so much the victim in here, but so much is also his own doing. He’s not a bad guy, and he tries his hardest to make things right, but as happens so often with guys in movies, what he tries fails, and what he doesn’t try haunts him.
Wonder Boys: 8
67 – Almost Famous
Posted by frothy in Almost Famous on April 5, 2001
Almost Famous is about the travails of a 15-year-old reporter for Rolling Stone magazine during the 1970′s. Based loosely on the early life of director Cameron Crowe (who also brought us Jerry Maguire and Fast Times at Ridgemont High), the story follows young William Miller (who claims at times to be 18) as he tags along with second-level, up-and-coming rock band called Stillwater. Stillwater has it all: a dynamic, egotistical lead singer, a mysterious, laid-back lead guitarist, groupies, and teen angst.
William’s (Patrick Fugit) dream is to become a rock journalist. Now mind you, this is during a time when such things hardly existed. Even Rolling Stone was still in its infancy. He gets his break when a renowned writer with Creem Magazine (played by the inimitable Philip Seymour Hoffman) assigns him to write a story on Black Sabbath. But of course William can’t get into the backstage area to conduct his interview – he’s 15 and looks about 12. Also hanging around outside, trying to get in, are some very young groupies – ahem, friends of the band – who call themselves Band Aids; their exuberant leader is Penny Lane (Oscar-nominated Kate Hudson).
Through quick wits and a sharp mind, William gains access to the band. He doesn’t interview anyone from Black Sabbath, but gets to talk to – and eventually befriend – the opening act, Stillwater. And thus William’s odyssey begins; his writings catch the eye of an editor at Rolling Stone, and William is assigned the task of doing a full article on Stillwater. Naturally, the band likes him – he’s so wide-eyed and innocent, after all, and not as sharklike as many other music journalists – and they take him along. William immediately breaks the first rule of rock journalism – don’t be friends with the band.
The story is one long coming-of-age-tale for William. His eyes are open, but so is his mind. He is not just some dumb kid who lucks into the spoils of rockdom – he comes off as a serious, but not too serious, kid with a crackerjack brain and unyielding, newfound emotions.
It’s hard to say who comes off best in this movie. Is it Hudson, who manages to play vampish, slutty, sincere, honest, and mysterious all at once, and convincingly? Is it Frances McDormand, also Oscar-nominated, who’s a tower of strength as William’s doting mom? How about Crowe’s Oscar-winning script? There’s nary a hole in it, and it’s so rich with detail and life of
seventies culture that if you had been there before, you were there again, and if you weren’t there then, you’re there now. But it’s not soaked with so much detail that it’s a story unto itself – too many movies are based on atmosphere. This one has the atmosphere, but it acts as a background, not as a character.
The movie is charming, bittersweet, delicious, and absolutely delightful. Great fun all the way, and some great music, too!
Almost Famous: 8
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