Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with the workhorse of AICN, the man who sees everything I opt out of subjecting myself to, like ARE WE THERE YET?. Capone's a machine, I tell ya'! A machine with a tommy gun... that he uses to obliterate COACH CARTER rather brutally with below, actually. Enjoy!!!
Hey Harry. Capone in Chicago here, cleaning out my closet of stuff I saw toward the end of 2004/beginning of 2005. The first few films are technically releases for last year, but are getting a wider release in the coming week or two. The last two are prime examples of why January sucks for movie goers (unless you're catching up on late-2004 releases). Got it? Good. Please continue.
IN GOOD COMPANY
This is a real easy movie to like. All the elements are there: three charming lead actors; a modern thoughtfully told story that combines a slightly complicated love story with a cautionary tale about corporate greed; and a writer-director (Paul Weitz of ABOUT A BOY fame) who excels in bringing his characters to life through a series of believable and sometimes awkward circumstances. In other words, IN GOOD COMPANY is an excellent first film of 2005 to seek out (technically the film is a 2004 release, but in most parts of the country it's being issued this year). And trust me, there are plenty of movies to avoid in the first month of this year (see below).
Dennis Quaid is Dan Foreman, a 51-year-old ad salesman for a top sports magazine. His publishing company is bought out by a conglomerate that is only interested in turning an inflated profit. The company assigns 25-year-old Carter Duryea (Topher Grace, whose quirky acting style is growing on me) to take over Dan's job and eventually downsize the sales staff to help make the bottom line. If you've ever worked for a corporation (or read Dilbert), you should be familiar with the process. Because he knows he is unliked and in way over his head, Carter assigns Dan the task of firing staff members who love and respect him. Obviously Dan resents the assignment, but is glad to still have his job, especially since his daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) is about to start at NYU and he needs the steady paycheck. Obviously the situation is strange with Dan having a boss half his age who has no clue how to do much more than crunch numbers, but the two form an uneasy alliance.
The glimpses we get into Carter's life show him to live alone after a recent break up, and he becomes so desperate for company that he invites himself to Dan's house for dinner one night, where he meets Alex. Despite about 57 reasons not to, Carter and Alex begin secretly dating. Cue the ticking time bomb. The best part about IN GOOD COMPANY is that it never quite goes where you think it will, especially toward the end. The strong supporting cast by the likes of Marg Helgenberger, Philip Baker Hall, David Paymer, Selma Blair, and Malcolm McDowell (as the company's cliché-spewing CEO) only enhanced my level of strong like (love is such a strong word) for this movie. Quaid, Grace, and Johansson blend so well together in a series of uneasy dances that eventually gels into something quite comfortable. Other than greed, there aren't any real villains here, which doesn't mean there isn't wagon-load of tension and drama. IN GOOD COMPANY is a strong film about adults and those becoming adults.
LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
Compared to IN GOOD COMPANY, this movie is a lot less easy to embrace but no less compelling thanks, again, to a winning turn by Scarlett Johansson. Here, Johansson plays Pursy Will, a high school girl who finds out her long-gone New Orleans jazz singer mother has died and that she has inherited a run-down house currently occupied by two less than reputable men. John Travolta is Bobby Long, a former English professor turned happy drunk who was intimately good friends with Pursy's mother and now lives in her house with former student Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht, who has appeared in supporting roles in such films as BEHIND ENEMY LINES and THE RECRUIT). The two men have a symbiotic relationship fueled by drinking, writing (at least on Lawson' part) and criticizing the writing (Bobby's main function). The three end up living an uneasy life in the house, which Pursy attempts to clean and decorate between attending school and doing homework. Not surprisingly the two men eventually get used to having Pursy around and vice versa, and Lawson even takes a shine to Pursy despite having a sometime girlfriend played by Deborah Kara Unger. But what the two men haven't told Pursy is that her mother's will says that Pursy takes full control of the house after one year, meaning she can force the men out whenever she wants.
LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is filled with exactly the kind of local New Orleans color you'd expect. Writer-director Shainee Gabel (whose only previous film was the excellent road-trip documentary ANTHEM) has created a rich character-driven tapestry on which to weave this tale of a young woman trying to find her identity and that of her mother's. She listen to Bobby and some of the musicians that worked with her mother tell her stories about the old days in the clubs and bars. Pursy isn't sure who her father is, but it's suspected by most that he's one of her bandmates, and clues to his identity are dropped none to subtlely. How much you enjoy BOBBY LONG will more than likely depend on how you feel about Travolta's performance. His accent Cajun accent is a little forced, but at least it's consistent. His character is both likeable and worthy of contempt at times. I feel for the guy; he's a great personality captured by an actor whom we all know can be hit and miss on his best day. But it's such a different kind of character than Travolta usually plays that you have to give the guy credit for even attempting something like this. He worked for me and so did the movie. Perhaps more importantly, it's great to see Johansson personify, in both these films, women who want desperately to be respected and taken seriously but occasionally let their guard down for the right (or wrong) person. LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is a great character study that will creep its way into your head with too much effort.
BEYOND THE SEA
Aside from a handful of catchy tunes, I knew absolutely nothing about actor/singer Bobby Darin going into this love letter to him from co-writer, director, and star Kevin Spacey. What struck me most about BEYOND THE SEA was that its structure is remarkably similar to that of DE-LOVELY, which I didn't particularly like. The difference is that rather than trying to be clever in its depiction of an artist looking back on his life--as Cole Porter does in DE-LOVELY-BEYOND THE SEA is a celebration of Darin. It may not be as sweeping and all-inclusive as RAY or THE AVIATOR as a biopic, but it hits the highlights and lowlights of a man who wanted nothing more than to entertain, and later in life, give up almost everything to end the Vietnam War. By all accounts, Spacey can is actually a better singer than Darin, and he's got his moves down perfectly. Spacey doesn't camp it the lounge lizard act, but he does perfectly capture the Vegas-esque swarthiness for which Darin became popular. There are actual musical number too, with singing, dancing, the whole package. These "fantasy" sequences are joyous and clearly the memory of a man who is glorifying the good times in his life.
As a child, Darin believed he's be lucky to see his teenage years because of a weak heart he was born with. Obviously that wasn't the case, although the man did die in his late 30s. The fact that Spacey is older now than Darin was when he died doesn't really change the fact that he's utterly convincing in this part. Also quite good is the supporting cast, including Brenda Blethyn as the woman who raised him, Bob Hoskins as Darin's uncle and closest friend, John Goodman as his manager, and the stunning Kate Bosworth as Darin's first wife Sandra Dee. They were the perfect Hollywood couple, but they were so obsessed with their individual careers that trouble arises early in their marriage. There's a sweet scene set on their wedding night that may have been the moment I fell for this film.
And then, of course, there's the amazing music. I was genuinely surprised how many of Darin's songs I knew quite well. "Mack the Knife" may be the song that has the most lasting impression, but there were so many others. BEYOND THE SEA isn't necessarily concerned with accuracy or timelines; it's goal is to capture the lifestyle, the persona, the spirit of Bobby Darin. Perhaps the most fascinating time in his life was his transformation from nightclub superstar to folk singer when he decided to devote his life to ending the Vietnam War, thus risking everything for his ideals. In many ways, Spacey is doing the same on a smaller scale. He's been in a bit of a creative drought lately (with such duds as PAY IT FORWARD, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE, and K-PAX to his credit), but BEYOND THE SEA is a small and worthy triumph. Spacey will return to form, I'm sure of it. Perhaps the recent announcement of his playing Lex Luthor in the new SUPERMAN movie will prove that, but BEYOND THE SEA heralds his mini-comeback. I enjoyed the hell out of this movie, and no one is more surprised by that than me.
THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON
All Samuel Bicke wanted in life was to regain the heart of his wife and lead as normal a life as possible; maybe even start his own auto parts business with his best friend Bonny. The setting is 1974, the story is true, and when you hear that Sean Penn is playing Sam, you know nothing in his life will be as simple as he'd like. I need to learn to stop being so amazed when Penn blows my mind by creating characters that are so unique and complicated. Without knowing a thing about Sam's life before this movie begins, we see from his mannerisms, his ill-at-ease speech patterns, and his lack of social skills that he's not quite right in the head. He probably didn't start out that way, but as his life's disappointment stack up, his already fragile mind gives way to paranoia and troubling behavior (thus the title).
Sam gets a job selling office furniture, and his boss gives him ever book under the sun written about communicating with people and salesmanship. But this guy is too far gone. His wife (played by Penn's 21 GRAMS co-star Naomi Watts) grows weary of Sam's frequent unannounced visits to see her and their children. His desperate pleas just to talk to her turn into whimpering begging to get back together. These scenes are uncomfortable to watch, and prove that Penn can do pathetic just as well as he does tough. In an effort to stabilize the rest of his life, Sam attempts to convince his friend Bonny (Don Cheadle; all hail!) to start a tire business with him, but when Sam's request for a loan is rejected (after weeks of him pestering the loan manager), he believes it's because Bonny is black and his resentment of the establishment grows and grows. You can almost see the world chipping away at Sam's mind, and Penn's performance is astonishingly meaningful. This man is no monster, but he makes unwise decisions based on his desperation. First-time director Niels Mueller shows a remarkable gift for pulling exceptional performances from his actors. And for all the plotting that Sam does, this isn't a film about action; it's about the world's torments taking their toll on one sad man. The film is probably not for everyone, but if you've think you've explored the depths of Penn's talents, think again and give THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON a try.
COACH CARTER
I don't make a habit of mentioning other reviewers in my writeups of films, but in this case I must. I saw Samuel L. Jackson's latest, COACH CARTER sometime in mid-December, and kept putting off writing a review because I had so little to say about it beyond the fact that's overlong and it leaves no sports movie or high school movie cliche unturned. But then I saw Ebert & Roeper's T.V. show over the weekend, and I just about spit up the contents of my sippy cup when they both recommended the film. Wha-huh?! I guess it's time for me to chime in in more detail.
At this point Samuel L. Jackson is capable of two things as an actor. He is still completely capable of creating authoritative, meaty roles any day of the week, as he does quite often. And he can phone in his standard-issue Sam Jackson routine. Yelling, looking like the bad-ass we know he is, and being convincing doing so. COACH CARTER is Jackson's first totally phoned-in performance. He doesn't fool me for one second on this one. I know he doesn't care a bit about this film, these characters, his character, or who sees this movie. That makes two of us Mr. Jackson. Jackson plays Ken Carter, who takes over as coach for an inner-city high school basketball club that is disorganized, full of criminals and would-be criminals, and can't stand the fact that Carter is going to make the study and attend class as passionately as he's going to drill them as players. Since this is an MTV production, the young cast is filled with good-looking actors and even a few hip-hop and R&B singers who think they can act. I seem to remember seeing Ashanti batting her eyes in a few scenes.
It would be tempting to blame the ridiculous, paint-by-number script he had to work from, but hey, Sam the Man picked this script to do, so I blame him. But I'll take a swing at screenwriters Mark Schwahn and John Gatins anyway. SPOILER ALERT!!! There is a subplot involving the girlfriend of one of the players that handles the issue of abortion so ham handedly as to be offensive. I'm no great moralist, but I do at least acknowledge the fact that the subject of abortion upsets some people. This script treats it like the character is deciding what her next hair style should look like. END SPOILER ALERT. Director Thomas Carter (whose previous masterful efforts include the forgettable Eddie Murphy film METRO and the classic musical SWING KIDS) adds nothing to either the sports movie genre or the ever-growing pool of troubled-teen films. After being exposed to films like BULLY or ELEPHANT, the kids in COACH CARTER come across as having troubles akin to the Little Rascals. I've seen episodes of "Boston Public" with more drama than this junk.
I know it's not fair to slam a film for its running time, but at about 2 hour and 25 minutes, COACH CARTER is not only bad cinema, it's a torture device. Seriously, the basketball sequences felt as though they were rolling out in real time. And by the time, the team gets its shot at the big time, I wanted a catastrophic event to happen to end the movie sooner and spare us whatever words of wisdom Carter had for his kids, win or lose. While I respect any sports coach that puts equal weight on education and team events, I would have appreciated it more if he could have sped things up a bit. And make no mistake: this film will be Number 1 at the box office opening weekend. After seeing MEET THE FOCKERS and WHITE NOISE at the top of the charts, it's clear that crap is king, which is par for the course in January. Enjoy.
ARE WE THERE YET?
And the hits of January just keep on coming. This is how the ads for the new Ice Cube kids comedy ARE WE THERE YET? should begin: "From the director of SNOW DOGS, JINGLE ALL THE WAY, BEETHOVEN, PROBLEM CHILD 2, and both FLINTSTONES movies and the star of BOYZ N THE HOOD and THE PLAYERS CLUB..." What I just wrote is funnier than anything in this pandering slice of nonsense from producer-star Ice Cube (more like Ice Cute and Lovable here) and director Brian Levant. Cube plays Nick Persons, a sports memorabilia store owner who falls hard for a woman working across the street from his shop (Nia Long). The problem is, she has two of the most obnoxious screen children in history (Aleisha Allen and Philip Bolden). They are also two of the worst child actors I've ever seen. They do everything in their power to dissuade potential suitors from dating their mother, and when Cube is stuck driving them from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle in his brand new car, you just know that sassiness will ensue. Not even the presence of Jay Mohr (as Nick's co-worker) or Lt. Uhura herself Nichelle Nichols (as the kids' regular babysitter) adds anything to this attempt by Ice Cube to be more family friendly. You don't have to family friendly, Cube. We like you as the down and dirty soldier or as the struggling shop owner in BARBERSHOP. That's friendly enough for us. In ARE WE THERE YET?, we see Cube hiding behind his friendly facade wanting to simply beat the stuffing out of these brats. And the only thing worse than these kids' behavior, is the ultra-sappy ending this film forces down our collective throats. I didn't buy any of this movie. If the question is "ARE WE THERE YET?," the answer is absolutely not.
Capone
