Mini-Reviews
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1988 Jeff Meyer
Sheesh. I haven't written a movie review in four months, and the Seattle Film Festival is coming up in three months. Time to leap back in the middle of things and get a few comments out.
Decided to take a look at what's playing in the Friday paper and give you a quick run-down on some of the stuff that's still playing.
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BROADCAST NEWS: To paraphrase Monty Python, "Witty, James, very, very witty." There are several awards I'd like to see this film win come Academy Award time (not that I hold out any hope that The Academy could pick a good film on its merits), but best screenplay should really be reserved in advance. I'm one of those curmudgeons who found TERMS OF ENDEARMENT sloppy and over-sentimental, but Brooks seems to have learned his lesson in BROADCAST NEWS. This film avoids making *any* of its characters stereotypes; no Uncle Ben's off-the-shelf easily-identifiable people-icons here. And, of course, the three main characters (Hurt, Brooks and Hunter) take the entire film to even delineate; I gave up trying to second-guess anyone in this movie after the first fifteen minutes. Do you have any *idea* how refreshing it is *not* to know what's going to happen next?
The actors are fine: Brooks and Hunter come off a bit better because they have these amazing lines coming out of their mouth all the time (as soon as things calm down, I'm going to go see BROADCAST NEWS a second time, armed with a night light and a pen to write down quotes with). Hurt comes off a bit cold, but that is part of his character; he seems to have sunk into his part, which is about par for the course with him. All in all, I'm wondering if Brooks can make another one like this; if he does, he might just find himself with a reputation as the current Lubitsch of Hollywood.
One of my 10 best for 1987.
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EMPIRE OF THE SUN: Fantastic cinematography. Skillful acting. Beautiful music (best thing John Williams has done, and I *love* his SUPERMAN and COWBOYS -type music). Marvelous direction. But, ladies and gentleman, children in the audience, where the hell is the story? This thing is about two-and-a-half hours long, and there is just not enough meat on the plot to feed one of those starving prisoners-of-war the film features. Yes, everyone is totally convincing, but the characters are so underplayed that you never become intrigued with *anyone* in this film, which leaves you as nothing more than a disinterested observer. Hey, that's probably how people react to being in a POW camp; it may well be the most accurate, unromantic view of how people live under this type of imprisonment. But it leaves the audience to its own devices through much of the running length, and you walk out with a surrealistic taste in your mouth.
A great movie for those of you who study the mechanics of film; anyone looking for entertainment should search elsewhere.
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HOUSE OF GAMES: Let's face it, no one actually *talks* like a real person in a David Mamet film or play (I could argue THE UNTOUCHABLES either way). Nobody talks like a real Dane in HAMLET, either, but you're not attending it to catch regional dialogue tips, are you? This film is built to fuck with your head, and it does it beautifully -- you're never sure who's who in this film sometimes, much like SLEUTH or DEATHTRAP, but not nearly so contrived (or if it is, the contrivances are masked by the wonderful dialogue). Joe Mantegna just walks away with the scenes he's in; Lindsay Crouse, while playing the victim, turns out to be as much a mystery as Mantegna's character by the end of the film. And that's as much of a tip as you're getting from me about the ending of the film. You won't be disappointed, believe me.
Tres entertaining, tres engrossing. One of my 10 best for 1987.
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THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN: Not to start the back-and-forth "Suck Rocks!" "Tastes Great!" arguments that the net had about THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN, but I saw it with great trepidation and was surprised to find myself really enjoying it. It starts very slowly, and the ending was never much of a surprise, but there is some very inventive slapstick here, and DeVito steals the show with a completely against-type character, a genuinely simple man who literally grows on one. Everyone else is up to snuff (if not exceptional) and the script is fine.
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THREE MEN AND A BABY: Please. I just ate. I admit that it's better than the French version, but that's like saying Lyndon LaRouche is a more palatable fascist than Adolph Hitler.
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GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM: Frankly, if you're going to watch Robin Williams, rent the "Live at the Met" HBO tape. While they let his character go here, it's still a watered-down version of his comedy act. Other than the classroom scenes, though, none of the non-comedy stuff held together very well, or had any spice. One or two great lines, though, and I did laugh like a crazy man through much of it -- Robin Williams is about the most immediately funny man I've ever seen.
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MOONSTRUCK: Now, *these*...these are *nice people*. They may bicker a little, rub each other the wrong way, ahhh...but they're not the sitcom sludge that gets tracked into nice clean living rooms all across America. These people got life, feelings, and they're sweet people. You get caught up in this family immediately, and if you're laughing at some of the circumstances that befall them, you're hoping for a good outcome at the end, too.
Have you gotten the point that I LIKE THIS MOVIE? Good, 'cause I did, and if I'd seen it in 1987, it would have been on the top 10 list, no question. Every frame in this film is made to let some very fine character actors and actresses have a ball, and they take you along for the ride every step of the way. Along with SUSPECT, Cher seems to be picking films very well these days (and even if THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK stunk, it was still a prestige film [prestige film: any film with Jack Nicholson or Robert Duvall in it]). RAISING ARIZONA seems to have been the starting gun for Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter; Hunter's work in BROADCAST NEWS is terrific, and Cage is just as good in MOONSTRUCK. Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello and others are a pleasure to watch, and Vincent Gardinia puts in his best performance in years (he also has the film's best line (which is saying something here), and he delivers it with an absolutely perfect comic buildup: "Okay." I hope he wins a best supporting actor nomination for that line...).
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Well, that's taken care of. What's on for this week (Vat ist dis "Action Jackson"?)?
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
INTERNET: moriarty@tc.fluke.COM
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