Black & White World

You can tell by the lines I'm reciting, I've seen that movie too.

comedy

Monday, May 26, 2003

Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)

Plot outline:  A sailor on leave (Eddie Bracken) brings his buddies over to Paramount Studios, where he believes his Dad has a great job as a high-powered executive.  One slight problem, though:  his Dad (Victor Moore) is actually just a gateman; he’s exaggerated his position so his boy can be proud of him.  Assisted by one of the switchboard operators (Betty Hutton), who is smitted with the sailor, the Dad tries to pull off the role of a hotshot producer and gets the sailors on the lot—even promises them a big show full of all the big Paramount stars.

Okay, yes—the plot is just as silly here as in Hollywood Canteen.  There are two major differences, though.  The first is that since this movie is presented as a wacky comedy, the rules of believeability are stretched to their capacity.  The second is that there is only a small amount of flag-waving (in the closing number), and NONE of the self-aggrandizing.

Other plusses:  the songs (by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen) are a lot more fun (in particular, Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour and Veronica Lake do a fun number called “A Sweater, a Sarong and a Peek-a-Boo Bang,” about the roles they get typecast in) are great.  Eddie “Rochester” Anderson has a swingin’ number in a great zoot suit.  The comedy sketches are hilarious, such as a bit with Fred MacMurray, Franchot Tone, Ray Milland and one other guy I didn’t recognize.  They do a sketch about a group of men getting together to play cards, only they behave the way that ladies do when they get together and play cards.  It sounds like it would be sexist, but it’s a riot, especially when Milland sees a mouse and SCREAMS.

Betty Hutton and Eddie Bracken are great together, warming up for the killer Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (Preston Sturges also has a funny cameo).  Bracken is calmer than usual, but Hutton does some amazing physical comedy, trying to crash the Paramount Studio wall with the assistance of Walter Darewahl “and Company.

Monday, March 10, 2003

About a Boy (2002)

Will (Hugh Grant) is a shiftless, selfish layabout who sits around and watches TV all day (and don’t think I don’t envy him).  His father wrote a monster smash hit Christmas song in the late ‘50s (I guess something akin to “Jingle Bell Rock”), and the money has been enough for Will to live off of very comfortably.  Hence he occupies his time watching game shows, having his hair professionally mussed, and picking up chicks at single parenthood meetings.  That’s how he meets Marcus.  Marcus is the son of one of the single moms, a wacked out clinically depressed hippie named Fiona.  Despite Will’s protestations, Marcus worms his way into his life, and eventually Will begins to realize that he could have a positive effect on the boy—he can teach him how to be cool.  Of course, in the end, it’s Will who ends up learning from Marcus.

If you’re an actor, and you’re really lucky, you will get an opportunity once in your life to play a role that showcases all of your strengths. For Hugh Grant, the movie is About a Boy. Hugh will never win an Academy Award (unless he gets one when he’s 70 for some “distinguished old gentleman” role), but I doubt he’ll ever do a better acting job than in this movie.

Also, I have a confession: I am a sucker for any movie in which the characters sing in some pivotal scene. Even if they don’t sing all that well—sometimes because they don’t sing all that well. There’s something very cathartic about a sing-along scene, and I find that actors’ performances are always enhanced by them—particularly actors who don’t sing well as a rule.  Maybe it’s because they become so terrified at the prospect of singing that they forget to act.

Sunday, October 20, 2002

Office Space (1999)

Plot outline:  Peter Gibbons (Livingston) is a corporate drone, stuck in the all-too-familiar stagnancy of Life in a Cubicle.  When his company brings in consultants to improve office efficiency and productivity (i.e., lay a bunch of people off), Peter and his pals (Herman, Ajay Naidu) decide to take a little something back, and plan to sabotage the corporate bank account with a computer virus.

Office Space has a tendency to coast on the familiarity of its jokes and jabs at modern-day office life.  Anyone who’s ever had a cubicle job (or even a waitressing job at a TGIFridays) will either laugh out loud or nod knowingly at the humor, or even be prompted to say, “Dude, that exact same thing happened to me the other day!”  But if the script does coast through, at least it does so on good (if thin) material, and includes highly quotable lines such as:  “I cannot believe what a bunch of losers we are. We’re looking up ‘money laundering’ in the dictionary!”  And if nothing else, it’s the movie that introduced me to my new favorite putdown, “ass-clown.”

Side note:  I was pleasantly surprised by Jennifer Aniston as Peter’s girlfriend, the chick who works at Happy McFuntimes or whatever the name of her restaurant is, a TGIFridays-type establishment where the employees are required to add to their uniform with “flair.”  You know, “the Nazis had pieces of flair they made the Jews wear.”

Sunday, October 13, 2002

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)

When Paul chose this film for Movie Club last week, he asked if I had seen it before and I said I hadn’t, but I knew the title.  Not more than two minutes into the movie I realized I had in fact seen it, but I didn’t remember it too well so I didn’t mind seeing it again.  I’m glad I did; this is a nice little character-driven comedy/drama with some very good acting.

Richard Harris is Frank, a retired sea captain, with a loud and filthy mouth, who fulfills just about every stereotype you’ve ever heard about Irishman.  Robert Duvall is Walter, a Cuban immigrant who lives a quiet life sticking to his daily routine, until this loudmouth Frank blusters into his life.  The film is the story of the unlikely friendship between these two very different men, who are also, as it turns out, very much the same.

The acting is all top-notch, and the script is simple and funny and touching.  If I have a criticism at all, it’s this:  Robert Duvall, while being a very fine actor who does a very fine job, is not Hispanic.  He does a great job aping the accent and speech patterns and mannerisms, but he’s not Cuban.  It seems to me that there are probably some very fine Hispanic actors in Hollywood, sitting around and not getting any work except that of the gang banger’s grandpa, who probably could have played the role just as well.  In fact, I find it curious that this film takes place in the city of Miami, FL and doesn’t include ONE Hispanic actor among the cast.  Maybe that’s being ultra-liberal, I don’t know, but it struck me, and such things normally don’t strike me.  Anyway, small point, nothing I would really argue about.

Saturday, October 05, 2002

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Bottle Rocket is another weird and wondrous comedy from Wes Anderson, the writer/director behind The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore.  The script, co-written by co-star Owen C. Wilson, follows the story of two hapless would-be criminals.  Dignan (O. Wilson) is the “mastermind,” Anthony is his easily-influenced pal who goes along for the ride, by all appearances just for the hell of it.

It’s a little short on plot, and like Anderson’s other films the comedy is quiet.  It’s often not laugh-out-loud funny.  It’s paced slowly and takes its time setting up the characters.  When they finally pull off their climactic big heist, things really get rolling and the laughs get bigger.

Something about Owen Wilson bugs me, though.  I can’t put my finger on it.  I think his writing is good, and his acting is good, too.  He’s funny.  But I’m bothered watching him on screen.  Maybe it’s his voice, I don’t know.  He’s certainly got all the best laughs in this movie.  Favorite line:  Dignan and Anthony go to a bar with Anthony’s Latina maid girlfriend, and a guy in the bar asks Dignan, “Hey, you’re in the Army, right?”  Dignan says, “No, I just have short hair.”

Okay, it’s funnier when he does it.  Knocked off a couple of stars because the pace struck me as slow in spots, but this is the kind of movie that I’m certain I would enjoy a lot more on subsequent viewings.

Saturday, September 14, 2002

Three Men on a Horse (1936)

Fastidious milquetoast Erwin Trowbridge goes off on a bat after an argument with his wife and finds himself in the company of three gamblers.  Erwin has the uncanny knack of predicting horse race winners, and the gamblers immediately swoop in on him as their golden goose.  Complications and hijinks ensue.

This film’s real problem is the staginess.  No real attempt is made to move the action away from three basic sets, and the lazy camera work adds to static feeling of the film.  Still, McHugh is fun in a rare lead role, and Joan Blondell is her usual wise-cracking self.  Sam Levene, who normally annoys me with his over-the-top, hey-listen-to-me-I’m-a-comedian schtick is well-suited to his broad comedic role of the head gambler/gangster.  Carol Hughes alternates between funny and grating in the role of Erwin’s emotional wife, but usually comes down on the funny side.

Plot problems, such as the gamblers suddenly thinking, after Erwin’s pickings have won them a bundle, that he’s not on the level, keep the story from being believable.  Overall, though, it’s charming enough fare.  If you come across it, watch it, but it’s not one you should seek out.

Monday, September 02, 2002

Defending Your Life (1991)

Daniel Miller (Brooks), a washout yuppie from L.A., dies in an auto accident and finds himself in Judgment City, where his life will be evaluated to see if he’s worthy to move on to the next plane of existence.  During his brief stay in Judgment City, he meets Julia (Streep), who has a much better chance of moving on than he does.

Few people play the neurotic, guilt-consumed schlub as well as Albert Brooks.  This is a fun comedy that has a great take on the afterlife.  Rip Torn has a ball as Miller’s defense attorney, and Meryl Streep is very charming and down-to-earth in a pretty rare “regular gal” role.  She has a gift for comedy that we don’t get to see often enough.

Couple of things I didn’t get:  Buck Henry has a random cameo as a defense attorney who takes over for Rip Torn on one day of the trial, does a lousy job (even though everyone keeps telling Miller that this guy’s “the best”), and then never comes back.  Why?

I would have liked to see Streep’s character be a little less perfect.  While I get the juxtaposition of her selfless life vs. Daniel’s neurotic mess of a history filled with mistake after mistake, it actually annoyed me that she was incapable of any error in judgment.

Friday, July 12, 2002

Vivacious Lady (1938)

A college professor (Stewart) from a long line of stuffy college professors falls in love at first sight with a chorus girl (Rogers), dives into a whirlwind courtship and marriage (the kind that only seems to exist in the movies).  It’s not until he brings her home that he considers the precarious task of explaining his sudden marriage to his uptight father (Coburn) and nervous mother (Bondi).

There’s only one good catfight in this movie (between Rogers and Stewart’s supposed fiancée), but it’s a goodie.  It happens at the college prom, and includes a lot of slapping, a brief hair-pulling stymie, an attack with a hairpin and a nice karate-style throw.

The movie’s weak on plot and believability (nearly twenty minutes in I was already saying, “Oh, just TELL them already), but has some nice moments between Stewart and Rogers.  And Beulah Bondi (who played Stewart’s mom in no less than five films) simply sparkles as the cowed wife who fakes heart failure every once in awhile to get attention (and avoid confrontation).

The Women (1939)

This movie portrays women as:  gossips, back-stabbers, fools, shrews, bitches and whores.  It portrays men as liars and cheats—ALL of them.  Its central message appears to be that that a woman’s prime objective is to hold on to her husband, no matter how much of a lying, cheating, abusive ass he may be.  This movie sets the Women’s Lib movement back about 98 years.

And I LOVED it.

I laughed my ass off.  This is the first movie I’ve seen in a long time that’s made me actually laugh out loud—not just chuckles, but full-throated belly laughs of surprise and delight.  George Cukor (fresh from his firing from Gone With the Wind) assembled a fantastic (all female) cast, took a lousy play by Claire Booth Luce (trust me, I’ve seen a stage production) and turned it into magic.

Actresses that I have previously never been partial to (Crawford, Fontaine and Shearer in particular) suddenly come to life and sparkle, and give me a chance to see what all the fuss is about.  Rosalind Russell nearly steals the whole film as the gossipy busybody Sylvia.  Most importantly, everyone involved seems to be having the best time.  Maybe that’s why I’ve never enjoyed actresses like Fontaine and Crawford before—they always seem to take everything so seriously—here they just let themselves go with reckless abandon, and the result is absolutely joyous.

Even a scene that I would normally object to, the completely-out-of-nowhere color fashion show in the middle of the movie, was fascinating.  In fact, I, who almost never wear dresses, caught myself saying, “Gee, that’s a sharp little number—Oooh, I like that red and white one!”  That’s getting caught up in a movie, folks.

Highlights:  the exercise scene with Russell and Fontaine, the knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out catfight between Goddard and Russell (and the aftermath where Russell goes apeshit and has to be carted away), and Virginia Weidler’s (Dinah in The Philadelphia Story) touching performance as little Mary.

Highly entertaining.  Go rent it now.

Friday, June 21, 2002

Double Wedding (1937)

Margit Agnew (Loy) has got her younger sister Irene’s wedding all planned out.  She’s picked out the perfect husband (Beal), the perfect dress, the perfect date, everything.  Only thing she didn’t count on is Charlie Lodge (Powell), a bohemian who promises to make Irene a big Hollywood actress.  Complications ensue when Margit tries to keep Charlie away from Irene.

I liked this movie a lot better the second time around.  Like a lot of screwball comedies, it’s light on plot, but the laughs come regularly.  John Beal as Waldo, Irene’s lackluster fiancé, provides some of the biggest laughs as Charlie tries to coax him into being more forceful.

Production note:  Production of Double Wedding was halted for six weeks when Powell’s fiancée Jean Harlow died suddenly of uremic poisoning.  Myrna Loy, who was also a good friend of Harlow’s, said later that she couldn’t bear to watch this film because it brought back such sad memories.