Greetings All,
Before I write anything about movies, please read the attached
review of "The
Ladies Man" from LA's New Times. It's very funny in
it's...um...detail.
But, please, did ANYONE see "Superstar" and just beg for THIS movie
to be
made?!?! Look, Saturday Night Live is Dead, can we at least
respect it's
heritage in death?:
The Ladies Man
It's perfect timing that this travesty should come
out at the
same time as Spike Lee's Bamboozled, since it makes all of Lee's
points for
him. Perhaps Lorne Michaels conceived this film as "satire," but
the KKK
could probably recruit new trainees with his image of the black man
(represented by long suffering and unfunny SNL cast member Tim
Meadows) as
semiretarded, idiotically grinning, massively endowed, large afroed
seducer
of mostly married white women. If racial stereotypes don't offend
you,
perhaps Will Ferrell as a mincing repressed homosexual who sings
show tunes
and wrestles in oil will. As an angry cuckolded husband, the
brilliant
British physical comedian Lee Evans (There's Something About Mary,
Funny Bones
) is completely wasted, as are a couple of former Kids in the Hall,
Billy Dee
Williams (malt liquor commercials looking for younger pitchmen
these days,
Billy?), and Julianne Moore, the latter apparently attempting
career suicide
in a small role as a horny circus clown. Director Reginald Hudlin
(of the
vastly superior House Party) lifts half of his gags from Austin
Powers, while
the script -- credited to Meadows, Dennis McNicholas, and Andrew
Steele -
regales us with endless repetitions and variations on the word
"butt," while
expecting us to believe that the FCC would actually fine a DJ for
saying it.
The only laughs to be had here are based on the sheer absurdity of
the idea
that no one involved ever seemed to realize just what a horrible
film they
were making. Easily the worst and most misguided major studio
release of the
year -- beating out Battlefield Earth, which at least had a lunatic
charm
that made it strangely appealing -- The Ladies Man is a disaster on
every
level. The only thing good about its release is that we won't have
to see the
damn preview ever again.(L.Y.T.) Opens Friday.
Good stuff.
I've also finally seen some good stuff at the movies. Here' the
scoop:
- MEET THE PARENTS (***) That's 1 star for the script, and two for
DeNiro
and Stiller. These guys just work great off each other. I LOVE to
watch Ben
Stiller squirm, he makes a GREAT loser. Think of this and "There's
Something
About Mary". The poor bastard just has the worst luck, but we get a
bit of
empathy and/or sweetness from him that carries the day. He almost
made
"Keeping the Faith" good, but I thought it was too long. So, see
"Meet the
Parents" for some quality laughs. It's DeNiro's best pairing since
Charles
Grodin.
- BEST IN SHOW (***1/2) Funny, funny, funny. Some CLASSIC
characters show up
in this film, from leads like John Michael Higgins (who played
Letterman in
"The Late Shift") as a gay dog owner who treats his dog like a
princess (and
acts like one!) to bit parts like Larry Miller, KILLING as an ex to
Catherine
O'Hara, who is inappropriate practically all the time. Fred
Willard -
EVERYTHING he says is funny. Everything. It may be the first role
in
history to have a funny line in EVERY line he says. He's
EXCELLENT. You
really do end up rooting for a winner, too. Karen and I wanted two
different
people to win Best in Show. Besides a character parade that can't
be beat,
Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy do lampoon the event of a dog
show as well,
by giving us so many cross-sections of this off-the-beaten-path
sporting
event. Funniest movie of the year thus far.
- ALMOST FAMOUS (**1/2) There was something about the arc of the
main
character's story that never drew me in to this film. It's openly
likeable
and undeniably charming. But I had a more visceral response to
Cameron
Crowe's earlier films like "Say Anything" and "Singles". No doubt
there were
great performances (Frances McDormand & Billy Crudup, for example)
and great
music, but, I don't know...there was just something...not in place
for
GREATNESS. And GREATNESS is what many other people are calling
this flick.
One effect it did have on me was the high quality of the music
scene in the
'70s. It really was event-oriented, with worshippers and an
overall sense of
"cool" about it. Rock stars, as evidenced in the film, do act like
asses a
majority of the time, but they were LIVING IT, you know? Today's
music scene
is a weak JOKE. Pathetic by comparison. And it was great to live
in that
world for a couple of hours. Just needed a better travelling
companion.
- THIS IS SPINAL TAP (****) Just go see it while it's re-released
in
theatres. Just go.
- THE EXORCIST (***) While much of the film is compelling
(especially Jason
Miller's priest character's guilt over his mom's death), much is
too
confusing (the opening?), or too '70s (supporting players giving
BAD
performances). It all adds up to something I wanted to enjoy more,
but it
was nice to see a film where the director took his time. I think
that's a
quality shared by alot of '70s directors (except Scorsese, who
ALWAYS kept
things moving). But look at Coppola and Lumet back then. Their
films eased
through the exposition. That's refreshing, but the payoff wasn't a
great
whole (the parts, great scenes were fun, though). The tacked on
ending was
weak, too. There are good performances (Miller especially, plus
Ellen
Burstyn and Linda Blair). So, to me, it's a mixed bag. I was
scared more
by Alien.
I also recently saw "House of Wax", the 1953 classic with Vincent
Price at
the Silent Movie Theatre for a special "talkie" Halloween
presentation. I'm
going to more and more movies that have been made at least 10 years
ago if
not more. Spinal Tap, Blood Simple, The Exorcist, House of Wax,
The General.
This year's still not got alot going for it. More proof, next up
for me is
"The Legend of Drunken Master" - a movie released elsewhere in
1994.
Later,
Paul