Groovy Movie
Selector
February 3rd, 2000
by Max Power
PLAY IT TO THE BONE
- 
Wow, if I didn’t get to see this at a free screening, I would demand
my money back. Ron (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump, Tin
Cup) Shelton, a pro at sports Dramedies has gotten so punch drunk
that he didn’t realize that he made a really awful film. The movie
centers around two boxers: Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas. They
have a certain amount of time to make it to Las Vegas in order to be in
a match and make a lot of money. The mixture of road picture, buddy
comedy and boxing should have worked, but the jokes become stale and the
film deteriorates into a mess. The one shining one in the bunch is Lucy
Liu ("Ally McBeal").
DOWN TO YOU -
Critics usually lambaste romantic teen films like this one, and I’m
not going to be any different. Despite what I may say about this movie,
the intended audience is still going to go see this rehash of every
recent teen love story. It stars teen-movie staple Freddie Prinze, Jr.,
Julia (10 Things I Hate About You — which was actually fairly
good) Stiles, Shawn (Varsity Blues, In & Out) Hatosy
and Selma (Cruel Intentions) Blair. Prinze likes Stiles and they
have to overcome the hardships of life to be with each other. Nietzsche
meets Norman Mailer.
ANGELA’S ASHES
-
No, it’s not about my friend and her addiction to cigarettes. This
cinematic adaptation of Frank McCourt’s memoir about growing up poor
in Ireland captures an amazing visual portrait of life in the slums.
Although veering towards melodrama at times, it keeps a fairly steady
course as it follows young Frank and his family as they struggle to stay
healthy and fed both in Ireland and in New York City for a brief spell.
McCourt endorsed the movie as a faithful adaptation of his book. Gifted
director Alan Parker has had another successful adaptation of an Irish
novel in The Commitments. Some of his other films include: Fame,
Evita, Birdy, Midnight Express, Pink Floyd: The
Wall and Mississippi Burning. Not a party movie, but
certainly well made and not difficult to sit through.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
-
With a wildly diverse cast, including Ashley Judd, Ewan McGregor,
Geneviève Bujold, Jason Priestly and k.d. lang, and a decent plot line
of a British intelligence agent (McGregor) who is following a serial
killer/blackmailer/naughty girl, (Judd), becomes obsessed with his her,
this should have been a much better film then it turned out to be. While
it shows great promise in the beginning and it features a strong cast,
it descends too quickly into hokum that has been played out many times
before to better effect. Still, the actors are worth watching, even in
sub par works like this.
ISN'T SHE GREAT -
Funnyman writer, (The In-Laws, Soapdish, Fletch), and director (The
Freshman, Honeymoon in Vegas), Andrew Bergman is back with a light
and witty fictional take on the life of famous writer Jacqueline Susann,
(Valley of the Dolls), played by Bette Midler and her husband
Irving Mansfield (Nathan Lane). The film follows her failed attempts at
being talented. Written by Paul Rudnick (In & Out, First Wives
Club, Addams Family Values), and also starring David Hyde Pierce,
Stockard Channing, John Cleese, Sarah Jessica Parker and John
Larroquette, the film isn’t able to reach the highest comic levels
that it should, but it comes close many times. After watching this,
rediscover the subtle brilliance of Bergman’s The Freshman with
Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick.
BIG TEASE -
Craig Ferguson, (Mr. Wick on The Drew Carey Show, who co wrote
and co produced this film), plays a Scottish, (which he is), hairdresser
that goes out to L.A. thinking he is going to be in a hairdressing
competition (which he isn’t), and then starts a campaign (while being
followed by a film crew) to be able to join the competition and show
everyone what he’s made of. For a hairdressing movie, they sure didn’t
know when to cut. It might have worked better as a short, but stretched
out to feature movie length, it just doesn’t work and the humor falls
flat like so much humidified hair.
|
147x50.gif)