Hey folks, Harry here... Well Massawyrm has been a busy filmgoer this week, taking most of my passes, while I've been taking it easy here at the house... And other than the massive head trauma he suffered this past weekend, which resulted in the following brain level that resulted in praising THE PRINCESS DIARIES... well all is as it should be...
Hola all. Well, the Wyrm crawled out of his indie watching hole this week to take a look around and slip into a few cineplexes to see what everyone else will be watching this weekend while he's locked up in his small little hovel watching indie after indie after indie. Over the course of three days I managed my way into 5 sneaks (although two were the same movie), and let me tell you, I was lucky not a one of them sucked.
So let's start with the movie I saw twice. The Princess Diaries...yes, the Princess Diaries. Okay, I know what your thinking: Twice? Twice? What substance was this guy on that would make him see a Disney movie once, let alone, twice? Well, let me start off by saying that I'm a sucker for a good kids movie. Beneath this chain-smoking, curses like a sailor exterior, I have the heart of an eight year old. He didn't really want to give it up, and he screamed and screamed when he unwillingly did, but I have it, and it beats for me now. And it was warmed by this cute little film.
Garry Marshall helms this one and gives this one all the magic of a 60's to 70's era Disney live action film. This movie literally feels like such greats as Freaky Friday, The Parent Trap and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. For the two hours I watched it each time, I was 8 again. I believed in a small non-existent country like Genovia and that a geek nobody could really be a princess. And I laughed, because well, despite the G rating, this film was funny. Really funny at parts in ways both adults and children could enjoy.
The Princess Diaries is cute, heartwarming and the best live action Disney film since Flight of the Navigator. It made me smile as I left the theatre both times I watched it. And odds are, I'll watch it again. Enough said.
Next on my list was Rat Race, the movie everyone can't wait to rip apart. And lord knows there will be critics o' plenty tearing this movie a new one. But you know what? It doesn't suck. Yeah, this movie lacks in a couple of places, but it is genuinely funny. Really funny at certain moments. There are some really classic jokes here that even the sternest critics will have a problem not laughing at. Everyone is great at their comic delivery and Jerry Zucker (of the famous Zucker Brothers, who, along with Jim Abrahms, are responsible for such masterpieces as Airplane, The Kentucky Fried Movie and the Naked Gun Trilogy) really knows his timing, milking every joke for what its worth.
So where does a movie like this go wrong? Well, plain and simple, they went overboard on the actors, weighing this film down with way too many big names to do most of them any justice. Just about every part in this movie went to someone at least vaguely recognizable, even to the least knowledgeable filmgoers. In my honest opinion, only two actors in this film were given the screen time and the characters necessary to really show what they were made of: John Cleese and Brecken Meyer.
Whoopi? A set piece without enough lines to make it worth having her on board. Seth Green? Well, he plays straight man to his brothers antics; not at all up to snuff as a role for someone as funny as he is. Rowen Atkinson? Imagine if Mr. Bean could talk, and he did so with a really weird accent. Amusing? Yes. Old hat? Very. Jon Lovitz? Simply reprising his Liar character from SNL. Even talents like Dave Thomas and Paul Rodriguez are wasted with such little screen time they're not really allowed to be funny. And that's really the problem here, too many characters with too little screen time for their talents to really shine.
Which leads to the second problem: the total lack of despicable characters. You see, this film really goes back to the days of Cannonball Run (1 &2) and Midnight Madness. A bunch of people run around, racing each other for a large sum of money. But what those films had that this one didn't was villains. Really awful cheating racers making life hard for the racers we were rooting for. There's none of that here. Rat Race tries so hard to make all the characters likable that we really don't end up caring who wins. They're all really nice people deep down. But that's not what a movie like this needs. This movie needs jerkwads, assholes and miscreants to shake things up; people we can boo and pray don't win (like the scary Christian lady in Hands on a Hard Body). By the time the movie comes to it's climax you really don't feel invested enough in anyone to hope they get the prize.
But in this movies defense, it is funny. There really are some good, solid, classic moments that made me about fall out of my seat. But its not memorable enough to be more than a Saturday afternoon couch movie. I'd recommend waiting for video on this one.
Note: I hereby nominate Rat Race for the most useless cameo award, going to Dean Cain, who the camera never bothers to even prove to us that it actually is Dean Cain. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen Dean Cain. Don't remember? Well, you won't after seeing the whole movie either. Every shot of his never bothers to show you his face from less than half a mile away. But it is good to know the Man of Steel is still working after that atrocious made for cable piece of crap, Future Sport, which I heard is currently being remade for MGM by John Mctiernan, with L.L. Cool J in Wesley "how the hell did I get in this crap" Snipes' role, under the title "Rollerball".
Next on my list was On the Edge, an Irish version of Girl, Interrupted meets 28 Days with a male lead. Despite the similarities, this film is solid in it's own right, delivering a healthy mix of laughs with some somber, morbid angst.
When Jonathan begins to lose his sanity and tries to commit suicide, he is checked into a mental care facility where he begins to fall in love with Rachel, a deeply messed up fellow patient. This movie really gains its power from Jonathan's humorous, tell it like it is, cynicism about who he is and the situation he's gotten himself into. This movie manages to equally mix dark, disturbing situations and really funny material without actually falling into the dark humor category. Jonathan really feels like an updated Jack Nicolson from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, but with enough originality as to not make it a direct lift of the material.
Stephen Rae, the only recognizable actor in the cast (at least to us American audiences) gives an okay, but not astounding, performance. To his credit, much like Rat Race, this film doesn't actually give him the chance to show us he stuff. He's essentially put in the Steve Buscemi role in 28 days, the serious but caring head of the facility that only seems to be around when the plot requires it.
The only problem here really is in the editing, where some really subtle, but crucial transitions are lost. Nothing too glaring to distract an audience, but enough that anyone who watches a bit of film is going to sit up and take notice and shake their heads, wondering how material this good had some sloppy editing (the most easily fixed of film problems). Overall it's not distracting in more than a handful of places, but never the less, it's there.
But this is a great film for those out there wanting something more than summer fare, for those praying for the fall to arrive with it's Merchant Ivory films and Oscar contenders. If the bulk of the box office has got you down, check this one out. It's an excellent little indie.
And finally, folks, I have to drop in a few words about Rush Hour 2. I know there's tons of reviews in already, but damnit if this isn't one of the most satisfying films I've seen this summer. Great action blended with some knock out humor. Imagine Lethal Weapon 2 meets Supercop and you've got the idea of this film. I honestly feel that Rush Hour 2 exceeds the original in both Humor and Action (where, believe it or not, somehow Chris Tucker's character managed to learn some moves of his own). Plus, this film has my favorite cameo of the summer, one of my deep fried favorite actors right now, but I won't spoil it for you. I'll let you discover this little treat on your own.
Yes, this is essentially the same fish out of water story with character reversal, and yes the plot really isn't all that inventive. But never the less, it works, and it works really well. This one is going to kill at the box office and make everyone out there complaining that there wasn't anything good out this summer shut the hell up for a few weeks, or at least until they can complain about how bad they think the fall is. Funny as hell, this one is, with what is in my opinion, the best gag reel of all time (at times it feels that the gag reel is better than the movie, which is saying a lot).
If I had to pick a movie to see again this weekend, I'd see Rush Hour 2 in a heartbeat. It just delivered in every way it should have. And with that being said, I'm returning to my hole now to watch a stack of indies the size of the rock of Gibraltar. Until next time, amigos, smoke 'em if ya got 'em. I know I will.
Massawyrm
Smoke crack if ya got it. I know I will.
