Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Quick reviews. Quick intro. Let’s go!
Ahoy, squirts! The one and only crusty seaman, Quint, here to give my opinions on two flicks coming out in the next week or so. I'm extremely lazy and pretty tired, so I'm just going to mini-review these suckers. You folks probably don't want to read some long winded, shoddily written reviews anyhow...
Let's start with ANALYZE THAT. I didn't like ANALYZE THIS that much. It had some funny bits in it and it was certainly better than DeNiro's turn in the amazingly bad ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE that immediately followed it... But I kinda saw it late in the game after hearing it was the funniest movie ever created by mankind. I didn't quite think it was that exactly. I prefer MEET THE PARENTS of the current DeNiro being funny movies.
So, with that in mind I will say that ANALYZE THAT is 10 times funnier and a better overall movie. Maybe it was because I expected to like it about as much as the original film and my expectations were low. It could be that. Maybe it's because the jokes hit me better personally. Could be that, too. Seeing DeNiro go crazy-nuts in prison, breaking out in WEST SIDE STORY numbers at the drop of a dime... That shit makes me laugh. Maybe part of my enjoyment of the film can be attributed to the luxury of watching a filthy mouthed, R rated comedy starring really funny people and directed by Egon himself, Harold Ramis... A comedy that doesn't pull the punches to keep that very lucrative PG-13 rating. Whatever the case, I really laughed my ass off watching ANALYZE THAT.
Story is: DeNiro's avoiding hits from prisoners in jail. He starts breaking down, cracking up. The authorities don't believe it, but are finding themselves coming up short resolving the heavy mobster activity going down, so they let him out in the custody of his old therapist, Billy Crystal, to watch what he does, who he meets, what he sets up. Hijinks ensue.
I enjoyed myself at this movie. I'm not sure what a hardcore fan of the original will think, but coming from somebody who didn't care much for the original, I'll give it a matinee recommendation. It's not a classic, but it's also not as shitty as, say... SHOWTIME. Plus it's got Anthony LaPaglia starring in the TV show within the movie spoof of the Sopranos. Good stuff.
ABOUT SCHMIDT
Now on to a totally different movie. ABOUT SCHMIDT is really more of a character study than a comedy. It's about life, so naturally it has its fair share of comedy, but also tragedy. It's about creating real people in the real world saying real things. Jack Nicholson himself once said that people go crazy for making films centered totally in reality, but what they don't realize is that reality is boring. He's right, but somehow Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor wrote a script about real people that is also very entertaining.
This is not a laugh a minute flick. Think more towards the pacing of PUNCH DRUNK LOVE. It takes its time, but is always showing us something important about Nicholson's Warren Schmidt. We're never needlessly just mulling about. We get to know Schmidt. We see him at his best, at his average and at his worst. Schmidt doesn't always say what's on his mind, he doesn't always do the right thing... he actually quite frequently fucks things up. He lets it all build up until it breaks out in a stream of interior monologue as he's writing to Ndugu, his $22 a month TV adopted child.
Nicholson turns in a great, subtle and nuanced performance, sure to find its way into those clip reels they show at the Oscars or whenever he's given Lifetime Achievement Awards... That's saying a lot considering how many great performances he's turned out in his career. Within movie lover circles Warren Schmidt will be mentioned along with RP McMurphy, Jack Torrance, Jake Gittes and Melvin Udall. Whether or not this film will catch on with big audiences, I don't know. I doubt it'll hit big, but it will find its following, of that I have little doubt. If the studio pulls it after a few weeks, then the following most likely will come on video or DVD.
Between SCMIDT and ELECTION, Alexander Payne's previous flick, I think I prefer ELECTION, but think ABOUT SCHMIDT is a better movie. I know that doesn't make much sense, but I prefer a film that I can watch over and over and over again and ELECTION is much higher on the rewatch scale, but SCHMIDT is a better film, one to bring out once every year or so and remember.
I highly recommend seeing this film at all costs. It opens limitedly December 13th and wider a bit later. Seek this one out.
That's it from me, squirts. I'll be back soon with some interviews... if I ever get off my lazy ass and transcribe them. hehe. 'Til that (hopeful) day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
