Rushmore

Directed by Wes Anderson (1998) Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams

So, awhile back I whined about not really understanding Wes Anderson hype.  I think I understand it a little better, to say the least.

Max Fischer’s (Schwartzman) only passion in life is to go to his prep school Rushmore.  However, he’s more interested in joining school clubs and putting on plays than doing well in school.  His sharp attitude helps him to befriend beleaguered Rushmore-Dad Herman Blume (Murray).  Added into the mess, he’s smitten with new teacher Rosemary Cross (Williams) and willing to go to extreme measures to get her affection.  Unfortunately, Blume and Rosemary have started dating on the sly.

There’s a lot to like about this movie, but its all the little things about it: the club montage, the elaborate stagings for Max’s plays, the falling-in-love over a Jacques Cousteau quote.  It’s all in a weird little world, where things tend towards whimsy and cleverness.  But you already know that.

I hate being last to the party on these sorts of things, but writing a movie-blog involves a lot of catch up to be done.  There are so many movies out there and only a lifetime to see them in.  That doesn’t even account that people have different lives, not even taking into account generation gaps.  I feel like Rushmore is a high school movie–that’s when people discover it the most and relate to it the best.

Max is earnest in both good and bad ways, much like the teenagers we’ve all been (or known).  He’s passionate, but stupid and really short-sighted.  But he is likable, if only for being clever and strangely charming.  Compare that to Herman, who’s really a man-child but is also kind, just more world-weary.  When it comes down to it, it’s the relationship between these two that bring the movie together.

 

Visual Films: Kamikaze Girls

Ah!  I went a little bit overboard with this Visual Films post.  But who cares, it’s Kamikaze Girls. Who doesn’t like Kamikaze Girls? Answer: No one.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Robert B. Weide (2008) Starring: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Megan Fox, Gillian Anderson

What had been rumored as a “meh” comedy proved it had earned its reputation, although admittedly, I did like Kirsten Dunst quite a bit (and the reference to The Apartment was a nice touch).

Sidney Young (Pegg) is an obnoxious journalist for his humor magazine.  When it catches the eye of media tycoon Clayton Harding (Bridges), Young is offered a job in New York, writing for a major periodical.  There, he tries to ingratiate himself to the next It-Girl Sophie Maes (Fox) while forming a reluctant friendship with fellow writer Alison Olsen (Dunst).

I feel like Pegg was given a role that was a lot like Tim on Spaced, except not nearly as likable.  Admittedly, Sidney has his moments usually when he’s bonding with Alison.  Dunst’s performance surprised me with how good it was, possibly because I had forgotten she was a good actress to begin with.  During the later half, when their settled into their roles as friends, the characters are sympathetic, funny, and interesting, but the weird quips and odd situations from the first half make it a little tiresome to get to that point.  However, when the plot shifts to an adaptation of  The Apartment between Sidney, Alison, and their boss Maddox it becomes a decent plot.

In general, movies and TV shows about the ugly sides of the entertainment industry are really boring.  The first time around, they’re revealing, but they are such a bore to slog through.  The material taken from Toby Young’s memoir are really frustrating, from the obnoxious mannerisms to the fact that celebrities and the cynics that cater to them are boring.  Luckily, the romantic plot tied it together for a satisfying end.

 

Matinee

Directed by Joe Dante (1993)

Starring: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin

Once upon a time, several years ago, I wandered downstairs one Saturday morning and stumbled upon my brother watching a movie about a movie theater that was full of interactive events.  In one scene, a boy and a girl have their first kiss in a fallout shelter.  The producer and lead actress ride off into the sunset in a white convertible.  I couldn’t remember the title of this movie for a long time, but then in came to me: Matinee. And lo and behold! It was on Netflix Instant Watch.

Matinee stars John Goodman as Lawrence Woolsey, the king of B-Horrors in Hollywood.  His latest films have all had some interactive element to them, culminating in the experience that is “Mant.”

For young horror fan and new kid in Key West, Gene (Fenton), life is a little rough, except when he’s at the movie theater.  His father is in the Navy, forcing his family to move around a lot.  Instead of having close friends, Gene has his monster movies and comics.  It would be tough as it was as another Navy kid in school, but it’s October 1962, and his father’s ship has just been deployed.  The movie handles its depiction of the Cuban Missile Crisis so well that the fear of Nuclear attack is palpable, especially for the Florida community.

In contrast, the playfulness of Woolsey’s technology for “Mant” is a relief.  He has managed to rig up the local theater for a full experience, including Rumble-Rama which shakes the theater and convinces the manager that a Nuclear bomb has been dropped, and the local hooligan dressed up in a rubber costume to terrorize the audience.

It’s a love letter to the B-movies from decades ago and the creative means needed to scare an audience in a way that would also distract them from the horrors of the world at that time.  More than anything, it’s a fun movie, one that captures the angst in coming-of-age with humor and sympathetic wink.

 

Fido

Directed by: Andrew Currie (2006) Starring: Kesun Loder, Billy Connelly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker

As a spin off of the zombie tradition, Fido depicts a world post-zombie apocalypse.  Here, everyone becomes a zombie when they die, unless they were given an expensive burial (including a coffin for the head).  Zombies are used for help around the house, controlled with collars designed by ZomCon, a company that seemingly controls everything.  Timmy (Loder) has started questioning whether zombies are dead or alive when his mother purchases one.  She wants to maintain a good image for the new neighbors across the street, but her husband’s been afraid of zombies, as a veteran of the war.

Bill (Baker) does not get close to his son.  He had to kill his father and seems to avoid developing attachments to anyone, instead going golfing with someone he hates.  When Timmy tries to reach out to him, he bonds with the family’s zombie instead, naming him Fido and treating him like the new puppy.  They play in the park one afternoon, but an unfortunate encounter with one of Timmy’s neighbors damages Fido’s collar, causing him to kill her and spread the zombie virus in the safe community.

The crux of the film centers on Bill’s resistance to human relationships, even though the key relationship is around Timmy and Fido.  Bill is obsessed with the expensive funerals ZomCon produces and has taken out Funeral Insurance polices for everyone in the family.  He is oblivious to the fact that his wife, Helen (Moss), is pregnant claiming economics as the problem, where it’s obvious that he’s afraid of forming a bond with his children.  That frightened disinclination leads Fido to become Timmy’s main friend and defender against bullies as well as the sympathetic man in Helen’s life.

Fido doesn’t play around with crossing boundaries in its plot. Mr. Theopolis, Timmy’s neighbor and former employee of ZomCon, is obviously romantically involved with his zombie Tammy.  The zombies are clearly brought into households as a kind of easy slavery, but it becomes clear that the zombies can think and express emotions.  Just not in a verbose or clear way, and not even for all of them.  Fido doesn’t attack Timmy, even when his collar isn’t working, but it’s only after becoming Timmy’s friend.

Fido takes the end of Shaun of the Dead, spins it in a 50s American suburb and expands it into the scenario for what happens to life with zombies.  So many other zombie movies present them as an apocalypse story that it’s really fun to see a functioning society develop around the horror-plague.

 

God is Brazilian

Deus e Brasileiro

Directed By Carlos Diegues (2003) Starring: Antonio Fagundes, Wagner Moura, Paloma Duarte

Taoca (Moura) has dreams that he is being hunted by a loan shark at Heaven’s gate.  One day, as he lays about in his boat, he runs into an old man, claiming to be God (Fagundes).  God is sick of dealing with the mistakes humans make on earth and is looking for a saint in Brazil while he takes a little vacation.  He’s chosen Quinca of the Mules, but the guy is hard to track down, so he enlists Taoca on a journey through the country.  On the way, they meet Mada (Duarte), a virtuous woman who became lost when her mother left for Sao Paulo.

Taoca complains almost the entire time he is with God and God complains back, always harking back to his vacation and finding Quinca.  Taoca is responsible for lying, creating an alias for God as a Professor from Sao Paulo doing research.  Mada initially follows them in order to see where her mother escaped to, but she becomes devoted to the Professor as they make their way further into the interior.

Something I Really Appreciated: The film showed a lot of Brazil, from the tropical island where Taoca lives to deserts, forests, slums, and small towns.  Most films will focus just on one of the big coast cities, usually Rio, so seeing so much of Brazil’s landscape was pretty amazing. God insisted that he couldn’t do miracles without some kind of consequence, which I thought was an interesting spin and also complicated how they got from place to place.  Usually, they would conveniently be able  to earn money through “Magic Tricks”, which through a loophole, aren’t miracles or hitch rides.

While Taoca’s character was mostly annoying, he often had some great insights on the human condition, including his own critique of how God saw the world and humans, which was a nice counter to all of the negative viewpoints that God had.  That said, there was a lot of evil shown in the movie, which was usually pointed out by Mada.  Every character they meet usually has some flaw, whether big or small, but it usually stemmed from their conditions.

The movie is funny and unique with it’s twists on the God Coming to Earth theme, though it is very Catholic-centric, if that’s the sort of thing you worry about in a Religious film, from a Catholic country.  Lord knows, that was one of my biggest concerns.

 

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Directed by Bharat Nalluri (2008) Starring: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Mark Strong, Lee Pace, Tom Payne

After watching Pushing Daisies, I got in a mood for Lee Pace.  (That man is adorable– Stick him in more pictures, Hollywood!  C’mon now!)  Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day seemed like just the ticket.

Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) is a capable governess who loses her job for being too harsh.  She’s rejected from her employment agency, but before she leaves, she overhears that a Miss Lafosse needs some help.  When she heads to her apartment, Pettigrew is stunned to realize that a governess wasn’t wanted, but a social secretary for the flighty Delysia (Amy Adams), who is busy juggling three men while furthering her career as a singer.

The three men being: Phil Goldman (Payne), young son who is launching a new musical that needs a star; Nick Cordorelli (Strong), rich nightclub owner; and Michael Pardue (Pace), her pianist, best friend, and would-be fiance.  Would be, if he hadn’t gotten drunk and tried to steal the crown jewels for Delysia.

While at a underwear fashion show, Guinevere becomes involved in the affairs of Edythe Dubarry (Henderson) and Joe Bloomfield (Hinds), who have recently split up.  Dubarry is conniving to marry Bloomfield for his fashion connections, while he is sick of her.  He compliments Guinevere and they hit it off, though she shies away, due to her frumpy outfit and unemployed state.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is cute, but doesn’t have too much that makes it unique.  Possibly my favorite part of the plot was the constantly circling around the impending war–with everyone from the younger generation ignoring it.  The only time it ever becomes apparent to Delysia & Co. was when they had a siren go off while at the night club.

Other than that, it’s a pretty sweet, rather formulaic romance comedy.  I liked that Guinevere went back and forth between being rather shy, but then very commanding when the scene needed it.  I have a feeling I would have hated the Delysia character, if it wasn’t for Amy Adams.

And just as I wanted it: Lee Pace is wonderful.

Better off Dead

Written and Directed by Savage Steve Holland (1985) Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Wyss, Demian Slade, Diane Franklin

Lane Meyer (Cusack) wants to die after his girlfriend (Wyss), dumps him for some dude named Stalin, who happens to be a good skier.  Interspersed with his suicide attempts are some bizarre scenes from the town, including the enigmatic French exchange student who’s moved in across the street.

Better Off Dead is not what I was expecting.  Every scene has something so strange happening in it that it became futile to guess what would happen next.  At the same time, it’s pretty formulaic: Lane is the down-and-out hero, his ex-girlfriend Beth is the Hot Bitch, and Monique (Franklin) is the girl he doesn’t notice because he’s too focused on the ex.

The strangeness of the family, the obsessive Paperboy, and the awesome asides to the basic plot made the movie unique and enjoyable.  And there’s always something weird going on, even with Lane’s suicide attempts.  Mostly, in that they never work out.

Better off Dead is a fun bit of a cartoon world meeting 1980s teen movie.  While I cheer all of the weirdness, scenes like the school dance played themselves off more generically.  I would say that the climax was even formulaic, if it wasn’t so entertaining, plus it breaks with conventions at the very end when Lane confronts his neighbors.

 

Visual Movies: Down With Love

Directed by Peyton Reed (2003) Starring: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson, David Hyde Pierce

I really love this movie.  It’s the right amount of ridiculousness and retro-charm.  Down with Love is a parody of the comedies starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson.  It also has innuendo dripping off the screen.  The art department on this movie had a lot of fun with the costumes and set design. Plus, Ewen McGregor and David Hyde Pierce make everything better, case closed.

And hey, Peyton Reed’s from NC! Love love love.

 

Postcards from the Edge

Directed by Mike Nichols (1990) Novel & Screenplay by Carrie Fisher

Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss

Suzanne Vale (Streep) overdoses on pills and cocaine.  She’s sent to rehab, and once she gets out it’s written in her contract that she must live with a responsible party for her next film.  She moves in with her mother, Doris Mann (MacLaine), an alcoholic in denial.

The movie is centered around the mother-daughter relationship, while Suzanne works on her movie.  Her mother is bombastic, and Suzanne switches between loving her and hating her for it.  It’s a film built off performances, and Streep is a knock out. While she’s tempted by her co-star’s prescription drugs, hesitatingly starts a relationship with Jack Faulkner (Quaid), and is told three times over that her acting while off drugs isn’t top-notch.

It’s a very Hollywood movie, with scenes of Suzanne in costume moving from set to set.  While she’s walking to her car, she see seemingly talks to Jack on a suburban street, until a crew comes by to take the houses and white picket fences away.  Doris Mann is a vestige of Classic Hollywood, and MacLaine gives her best poise in that arena, replete with a song and dance number at Suzanne’s coming home party.  All of these items set the movie in a particular time and place, and while we could have another Postcards from the Edge in our time, I don’t see it done half as well or with the same kind of wit.

What the film makes plain is that recovering from addiction depends on the people there for support.  While a nagging mother and three picky executive producers can make turning back to drugs desirable, a fellow addict and a director who’s as much a friend as a cohort can help make life easier.