Hey folks, Harry here.... Our man Flint has seen the Holiday film coming out by Penny Marshall. No it isn't a Christmas story, it's just scheduled to come out around then... and yes, this is May... and the film is in an incredibly rough first cut state... but even in this state our man Flint, who was hoping to be seeing PLANET OF THE APES... was pleased as punch by the film... Can you imagine? It has to be really good! Read on... but beware of Spoilers!!!
Well Harry, once again one of your favorite spies was able to infiltrate yet another studio preview tonight. This particular one was held at the Mann Marketplace in Thousand Oaks out here in sunny, shallow Southern California.
There was really tight security and all I heard was that we'd be seeing the first ever showing of a "major studio release" and that it was still very much "a work in progress." My hopes that it would be either "Planet of the Apes" or even "Tomb Raider" were dashed early on in the lobby when I overheard the "work print" being shown tonight starred none other than Mrs. Tom Green... Drew Barrymore.
All right, I don't really mind Drew, but unless she's got Lucy Lui and Cameron Diaz flanking her... it's all like "Never Been Kissed 2" to me. I catch her stuff on HBO and never rent her. To the matter at hand: The film is called "Riding In Cars With Boys" and believe me, the title made my eyes roll. I thought about walking out before it started, and I'm really glad I didn't.
The movie is directed by Penny Marshall, so that did give me some hope. You know, I like the ex-Laverne's films, especially "Big" and "A League Of Their Own." Beware of some mild spoilers: I'd call "Riding In Cars With Boys" a comedy / drama that cuts back and forth between the sixties and the eighties. Drew plays a character named Beverly that we meet as a teenager who has the proverbial really bright future.
One thing that was cool: Drew plays her character at all the different ages throughout the piece... even at age fifteen, instead of having some other teenage actress portray the role. Beverly's promise goes awry when she meets a young guy at a party named Ray.
The scene in which they first encounter each other was really funny, especially since the loser she falls for is played by the great Steve Zahn. (I almost felt like I was watching the high school life of the same character he played in "Out Of Sight".) They're in a bathroom and Zahn mistakes the bidet in there for a drinking fountain which had the audience going crazy. He makes playing losers an art form. Zahn uses that weird charm of his on Drew and she falls in love with him. I found this all very believable since compared to Tom Green... Zahn seems like Brad Pitt. Almost immediately, Drew's character gets knocked up by the dude and her parents are shocked, embarrassed and outraged. I was surprised to see James Woods playing Drew's father. Next to Christopher Walken, I can't think of another father I wouldn't want to face in a situation like this. He's both funny and scary and I haven't seen him SCREAM this much in a movie ever. His wife is Lorraine Bracco, that shrink from "The Sopranos" and a few people applauded when she showed up on screen. (I was happy to see her too. Just like Tony Soprano... I fantasize about Ms. Bracco.)
The character of Beverly is now forced to marry this world class bum Ray, and the movie becomes serious as she tries to adjust to not only young motherhood -- but living in public housing, studying because she still wants to get ahead in life as well as attempting to make her hastily arranged marriage work. Ray is a world class screw up and totally irresponsible. Everytime Beverly takes a step forward, he ruins whatever she's achieved. The stuff that's usually funny about Zahn's characters soon turns maddening. When their kid is three years old, Drew's character is forced to drag her son along to a college scholarship review when Ray flakes out and it's truly a great scene.
What else was great: As I was watching the movie, I forgot I was watching Drew Barrymore. I'd never seen her totally become a character like this before. This is the sort of role you'd expect to see Julia Roberts play, but amazingly Drew was able to take this character from a teenager to a woman in her thirties and was totally believable throughout (although she had an east coast accent which wasn't entirely consistent). Also, this film really can't be called a "chick flick" because it's a lot darker and edgier than you'd ever expect, especially when Zahn's Ray gets involved with drugs and his sleazy friends enter the scene. I really, really loved Zahn in this movie. Even though he plays a guy who is borderline homeless, Zahn still makes him someone you can relate to ... especially if you've ever spent too much time on the Internet. Because I've never seen work like this before from Drew Barrymore, I have to give credit to Penny Marshall for getting this kind of performance from not only her, but also every member of the cast. (Another actor from "The Sopranos" makes an appearance in the film, the dude who played "Big Pussy" and I wanted more of him. There's also one cameo that I didn't expect to see from an actress who might have done it as a favor to Drew. The thought about spoiling it, but why?)
The young actor who eventually plays Drew's kid when he gets into his twenties is Adam Garcia. (Some women behind me reacted to his first appearance and said they recognized him from "Coyote Ugly", which I didn't see.) He was very good, especially since I was able to believe he was Drew's kid.
The movie was way, way too long in this version -- almost two and a half hours! Still, this was only a first preview and it was very easy to gauge where the audience got restless or bored at times. Still, they were into this movie and stayed with it. I don't know when "Riding In Cars With Boys" is expected to come out. I have to admit, I was surprised how much I liked it and most amazingly, Drew Barrymore could find herself with an Oscar nomination from this. If she gets it, she's got Penny Marshall to thank.
Now, if only someone could persuade her to dump that idiot Tom Green. Anyway, I'm back to hunting down more covert screenings. I'm hoping to see some monkeys chasing Dirk Diggler real soon.
Your man,
Derek Flint
