June 28, 2004
Back to the Frivolity of Film
Very special thanks to those who sent such kind words in the wake of my mother's sudden and untimely passing on May 24th. The family deeply appreciates the outpouring of support, particularly the severely needed financial gestures.
A Book That Can Be Judged by Its Cover
I try not to judge a film before seeing it, but the poster tagline "Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans are WHITE CHICKS" cannot help but instill a certain feeling--namely, that of dread. There's nothing here to sway opinions in the opposite direction. From frame one, the screen is populated with broad, unfunny caricatures and no one resembling an actual person--which is then taken to the nth degree when, after many painful contrivances, a pair of inept brother FBI agents (the Wayans duo, who share writing credit with older bro/director Keenen Ivory Wayans and--yes--a few other scribes) decide to go deep undercover as the two spoiled "white chicks" of the title. Never mind that none of the jokes (mostly of the obvious culture/gender clash ilk) elicit more than a faint giggle, nor that Shawn Wayans continues to prove to be the family genetic aberration in that he shows no affinity for comedy whatsoever. It's simply impossible to get past the creepily inhuman sight of brothers' caucasian female drag; to call their makeup on the level of grocery store Halloween costume masks is to be overly charitable--a shame, since it does a disservice to the one effective piece of work in the film: the hilarious performance of Terry Crews as the slick pro athlete hopelessly smitten with white chick Marlon. To be both funny and convincing in such an impossible role? That is acting.
Books That Cannot Be Judged by Their Covers
THE NOTEBOOK is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, and with that morsel of information comes expectations of weepy romance. Nick Cassavetes's film does indeed fit that bill--but in a good way. In the wrong hands, this plot could have borne a soggy mess of a movie: an elderly gentleman (James Garner) dutifully reads the story of a pair of star-crossed young lovers (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) to a woman (Gena Rowlands) in a nursing home. The manner in which these two stories intertwine and ultimately intersect will not come as a surprise, nor will each melodramatic twist. What is surprising, however, is how affecting the shamelessly sentimental package is. Credit goes to Cassavetes and his understated hand, but most of all to his highly impressive cast. Gosling (who strangely resembles Jason Lee when sporting a beard) and McAdams prove they deserve their shared status as It faces to watch, but the best work comes from the seasoned pros Rowlands and Garner, whose unforced rapport with themselves and the audience elevate the story from basic tearjerker to genuine heartbreaker.
With two tiger cub protagonists (played by Kumal and Sangha), TWO BROTHERS feels almost like a children's picture book come to life, right down to its subtle-as-a-trowel messages about the bonds of family and the preservation of nature. As such, Jean-Jacques Annaud's latest animal-centered film may hold limited appeal beyond its target audience of children and families, but this simple tale of brothers separated in youth and reunited in adulthood is the very definition of harmless, watchable entertainment. Despite the presence of Guy Pearce as a hunter, the film considerably dulls down whenever the human cast is front and center, but the stunningly photographed animal footage is certainly compelling enough to compensate.
Sights Unseen
A kind and gentle little film called FAHRENHEIT 9/11 opens on over 800 screens. I applaud Lions Gate's bold release strategy of Michael Moore's Palme d'Or winner, but I can't help but wonder if the appeal has been a tad overestimated. Granted, there is a huge curiosity factor, but setting up special websites for advance ticket sales seems a bit much; after all, this isn't THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, a film that catapulted into the record books in large part to its appeal to middle America. No doubt FAHRENHEIT will fare well on the coasts and big metro areas, but the Heartland? Not so much.
At the Video Store
The sci-fi thriller PAYCHECK (Paramount Home Entertainment) seemed like it would mark a commercial comeback for both star Ben Affleck and director John Woo, but the Philip K. Dick adaptation was largely met with indifference and the middling box office grosses to match. The home market should be much kinder to this stylish and diverting adventure in which a computer programmer (Affleck) tries to rediscover the secrets of three years he had erased from his memory. The collector's edition DVD includes deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentary by Woo and screenwriter Dean Georgaris--alas, the affable Affleck is nowhere to be found.
The holiday 2003 box office was equally unkind to Affleck's partner in crime Matt Damon, as his teaming with Greg Kinnear and the Farrelly Brothers, STUCK ON YOU (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment). Perhaps audiences were expecting this tale of conjoined twin brothers to be in the gross-out vein of the Farrellys' DUMB AND DUMBER, KINGPIN and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY when in fact it was more like their kinder, gentler SHALLOW HAL--not that this sweet tale of brotherly love isn't without its fair share of laughs, thanks largely to the game performances by Damon, Kinnear, Eva Mendes and Cher. The DVD includes commentary by the Farrellys, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and an informative documentary feature on the Farrellys and their previous films.
Another high-profile box office disappointment from last fall--and a far more surprising one at that--was the all-star British romantic comedy LOVE ACTUALLY (Universal Studios Home Video). Perhaps the underachievement had to do with the older demographic skew and writer-director Richard Curtis's shattered focus on well over ten different storylines and even more characters (played by acting heavyweights such as Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Laura Linney, for a start) during one stressful holiday season. But such a slick, easy-piecemeal-digestible story will likely win this shamelessly sweet crowdpleaser the larger audience it deserves on video. The DVD includes a number of deleted scenes; a featurette on the film's music hosted by Curtis; Kelly Clarkson's "The Trouble with Love Is" music video; and commentary by Curtis and stars Grant, Bill Nighy and young Thomas Songster.
But even those films aimed squarely at the youth market late last year also didn't quite take off as had been expected or hoped. There wasn't too much financially at stake, though, with the urban-skewed update of the '80s teen comedy CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, LOVE DON'T COST A THING (Warner Home Video), in which Nick Cannon stands in for Patrick Dempsey as the socially-awkward high schooler who pays a popular beauty (Christina Milian) to pose as his girlfriend. Unfortunately, the low budget also translated to general laziness in this case, as this listless and largely laughless (Steve Harvey's as Cannon's self-professed loverman dad, is good for a couple of chuckles) too tediously proves. The DVD includes an alternate ending, deleted scenes and a making-of documentary.
Far more energetic was HONEY (Universal Studios Home Video), which failed to catapult luscious starlet Jessica Alba into the stratosphere. It wasn't necessarily her fault; she's likable and convincing in both performance and dance as an aspiring choreographer who teaches her moves to youths at an inner-city community center. She and a criminally underused Mekhi Phifer (as the token love interest) are ultimately defeated by a trite screenplay that goes through the motions in the most cookie cutter fashion imaginable. A little more adventurous spirit went into the making of the packed DVD platter, which includes commentary by Alba and director Bille Woodruff, deleted scenes and outtakes, a number of music videos and--best of all--a little instructional featurette to learn one of Honey's routines, hosted by the film's choreographer, Laurie Ann Gibson.
Maybe HONEY would have fared better had it been released a few weeks later in January, considering the success that month has brought hip-hop dance films such as SAVE THE LAST DANCE and, earlier this year, YOU GOT SERVED (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment). No doubt the film's rousing dance battle sequences propelled the box office, for the story stringing the numbers together is overbaked, takes-itself-too-seriously urban melodrama poorly performed by a green young cast (led by IMX's Marques Houston and B2K's Omari Grandberry). Wisely, the special edition DVD's supplements focus largely on the dancing: multi-angle views of the opening sequence, a quick-cut montage of the film's best moves and a video-enhanced feature-length commentary by director Chris Stokes, choreographer Dave Scott (even more my new hero after choreographing the dance routines for the Greatest Reality Show of All Time, THE WB'S SUPERSTAR USA) and his dance crew; there are also more traditional extras such as another (audio-only) commentary by Stokes, Houston and Grandberry and the token making-of featurette.
Nonetheless, the extras and the film themselves feel like a warm-up for YOU GOT SERVED: TAKE IT TO THE STREETS (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment). Never mind that this is basically one of those dance instruction videos; with the involvement of stars Houston and Grandberry, choreographer Scott and various dancers from the film, this disc delivers a much stronger dose of the hot hip-hop numbers without all that pesky melodramatic padding.
A pop music connection wasn't enough from saving the Mandy Moore starring vehicle CHASING LIBERTY (Warner Home Video) from box office failure. But then again, I doubt anyone, even the teenybopper pop tart's fans, really clamored to see her cloyingly traipse around Europe in a most unlikely revamp of ROMAN HOLIDAY, with Moore as a pampered, pouty First Daughter who falls in love with the undercover Secret Service agent (deserves-better newcomer Matthew Goode) watching over her. Goode confirms his effortless charm in his cheeky DVD commentary track with surprisingly good sport Moore; other supplements on the disc are deleted scenes, a gag reel and European travel tips from Moore (like she's an authority...).
A far more entertaining youth-appeal romantic comedy was also left in the dust in the early 2004 box office race: WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON! (DreamWorks Home Entertainment). Granted, Robert Luketic's frothy tale of a small-town girl (a glowing Kate Bosworth) who wins a contest to meet a self-absorbed movie star (Josh Duhamel) breaks absolutely no conventions and almost ridiculously old-fashioned, but it floats straight to the heart by the immense appeal of its stars: Bosworth, Duhamel, Topher Grace (as Bosworth's besotted friend) and Ginnifer Goodwin (as the de rigueur kooky sidekick). The DVD includes deleted scenes, a photo gallery and a gag reel.
I guess sweet and sincere is no match for sour and over-the-top, for the breakout hit of the January dump season was ALONG CAME POLLY (Universal Studios Home Entertainment), which finds Ben Stiller playing an uptight guy hopelessly in love with a free spirit (Jennifer Aniston). Per the norm, much humiliation ensues, but whatever wit writer John Hamburg (making his directorial debut here) brought to his previous Stiller-starring hit, MEET THE PARENTS, has been replaced with cheap gross-outs and pratfalls. The DVD includes commentary by Hamburg, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, outtakes and a featurette on the film's would-be breakout star, Rodolfo the ferret.
Far more amusing January entertainment, if not always for the best reasons, is TORQUE (Warner Home Video), THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS producer Neal Moritz's similarly overblown take on motorcycle culture. The difference here, however, is that director Joseph Kahn announces his awareness of its absurdity with its ridiculously cartoonish opening race scene--and then the rest of the way wallows in the shallow, over-the-top silliness of it all as biker Martin Henderson attempts to outrun and outsmart both a rival gang and the FBI. The DVD includes two commentaries, one with Kahn and the cast and another with Kahn and technical crew members; animatic and storyboard comparisons; a music video and the theatrical trailer.
Winning far more popular and critical acclaim--though far less enjoyable in my opinion--was February's MIRACLE (Walt Disney Home Entertainment). Despite a strong performance by Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, who coached the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team to its improbable underdog victory against the seemingly invincible Soviet squad in 1980, Gavin O'Connor's film is more or less glorified middle-of-the-road TV movie, with the formulaic sentimentality and aggressive patriotism. Disney's slickly-designed two-disc DVD offers a wealth of bonus material, from commentary by O'Connor and a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes, the most fascinating being footage of Russell and the filmmakers meeting with the real-life Brooks, who passed away before the film's release.
Also receiving strong critical marks this past February was SPARTAN (Warner Home Video), but the film's grosses didn't come close to matching the acclaim--not surprisingly, since scribe extraordinaire David Mamet's directorial efforts never quite jibe with mainstream commercial tastes. But for those who appreciate his crackling dialogue, cerebral plotting and storytelling economy, this thriller in which a covert government agent's (Val Kilmer, in his best performance in ages) obsessive quest to locate the missing daughter of a high-ranking politico will deliver the visceral goods while stimulating the mind. The DVD's primary supplement is a commentary by Kilmer, who unwittingly makes his intense, focused performance all the more impressive by coming off a little spacey on this track.
Ray Romano neither wowed critics nor audiences with his feature starring debut, WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), which wastes not only Romano's talent, but the likes of Gene Hackman and Marcia Gay Harden's as well in a plodding, laugh-free story about a small town New England hardware store owner (Romano) who challenges an ex-President (Hackman) for mayor. The DVD includes commentary by director Donald Petrie, deleted scenes and an outtake reel.
BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) also went virtually unnoticed when it came and went in theatres earlier this year, but in this case the film deserved better. But then again the skewed, relentlessly silly sensibility of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe is one that wouldn't be appreciated by the multiplex masses. As with their last film, the cult hit SUPER TROOPERS, this slasher spoof set at an island resort should pick up steam in the home market--not only because the non-stop silliness is good for quick laugh, but also because it actually works as a killer whodunit. The entire team--director/star Jay Chandrasekhar and his co-writers/co-stars, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske--split duties on two separate commentaries on the DVD.
Similarly unjustly ignored during its brief theatrical run--though it never played on enough screens nor received enough promotion to receive a real shot--was the indie THE BIG EMPTY (Lions Gate Home Entertainment). But the obvious reason why the project attracted a cast full of recognizable names and/or faces (Jon Favreau, Rachael Leigh Cook, Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah, Joey Lauren Adams, Sean Bean) is undoubtedly the same thing scared off the distributor: first-time writer-director Steve Anderson's quirky, twisted and altogether unpredictable vision makes it a ready-made cult item. The set-up doesn't sound so strange; formulaic, even: a struggling actor (Favreau, in likable everyman mode) agrees to deliver a mysterious suitcase in a desert town, setting up various encounters with typically colorful locals. What ensues, though, is an increasingly bizarre series of events whose audacious imagination and unusual humor counteracts any headscratching urges. The packed DVD platter includes commentary by Anderson; a collection of deleted, alternate and extended scenes; a gag reel; and a costume gallery.
With the glut of releases at the multiplex during the summer season comes a slew of tie-in releases on DVD. Sometimes these releases can work beyond the bald-faced cash-in, as in the case of THE STEPFORD WIVES. Paramount Home Entertainment's disc of Bryan Forbes's straight-faced 1975 take on the Ira Levin novel is nothing more than a re-issue of Anchor Bay's now-discontinued 2001 anniversary edition with a Paramount logo slapped onto it; look no further than the no-frills menu design and the lack of subtitles. However, the disc still holds up; particularly interesting is a featurette shedding light on this film's rocky production (coincidence that the 2004 production would suffer similar issues?), featuring frank interviews with the likes of Forbes and stars Katharine Ross and Paula Prentiss. Also holding up surprisingly well is the film itself. While it is undoubtedly a dated relic of the ERA era, the film still works as a quietly menacing and ultimately rather chilling little thriller--even if its central plot secret has since been so openly absorbed into the pop consciousness.
A more typical-theatrical tie-in release is Universal Studios Home Video's special edition reissue PITCH BLACK. The new disc retains all the supplements of the original DVD of the first screen adventure of Vin Diesel's Riddick released in 2001, right down to the separate unrated and R-rated editions. The supplements retained from the original disc--commentary tracks by Diesel, co-star Cole Hauser, writer-director David Twohy; various behind-the scenes featurettes--are about the only features on the new disc pertaining to the original film. Aside from a tossed-together feature called "Johns' Chase Log," featuring the voice of Cole Hauser reading his character's journal entries leading up to the first scene of PITCH BLACK, the new material is all thinly-veiled promotion for THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK and related merchandise: a visual encyclopedia for the new film; a new intro to disc hosted by Twohy from the RIDDICK editing room; and featurettes on the video game THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: ESCAPE FROM BUTCHER BAY and the direct-to-video animated feature THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK FURY.
Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment is going the extra mile with their SPIDER-MAN 2 tie-ins, releasing not one, but two, new editions of 2002's SPIDER-MAN. The Deluxe Edition is actually a three-disc box set containing the original two-disc special edition release of the original film and a third disc of new features. Unlike the new PITCH BLACK platter, there is a fair amount of new material on the original film in this latest release, namely featurettes on costume and production design and key sequences in the film. But, of course, it wouldn't be a theatrical tie-in release without some pimping of the new film, and so included among the new features is a "sneak peek" (the quotes being Columbia's own, on the box synopsis) at the sequel. Joining this set on the shelves is a new Superbit edition of the original film, and going against the long-stated Superbit policy of using every last bit of storage on the disc to the presentation of sound and image, this release includes a commentary track by Tobey Maguire and J.K. Simmons not included on any other SPIDER-MAN disc, new or old.
Granted, FRIENDS The Series Finale was neither one of the seminal sitcom's most memorable episodes nor one that offered anything in the way of surprises. But that latter fact is what made it oddly satisfying to a degree--no strained monkeywrenches of twists (looking at you, SEINFELD and ROSEANNE); just giving longtime fans what they wanted: nitpicky continuity references (e.g., what happened to the chick and the duck; the word "phalange" trotted out one more time); little bits of closure, both literal (Gunther's torch for Rachel) and symbolic (the destruction of Chandler and Joey's beloved foosball table); and, of course, the big romantic reunion between Ross and Rachel. For those who maintain that the finale did, indeed, suck, I direct you to the series' true nadir, FRIENDS The Complete Seventh Season, also recently released on disc. This season's major plot concern--the lead-up to Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Monica's (Courteney Cox Arquette) wedding--takes a back seat to desperate gimmicks, namely bloated "supersize" episodes and a generally unfunny parade of big-name guest stars (Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, et al.). Luckily the show would rebound the following season, with the Rachel pregnancy arc. The Complete Seventh Season extras closely resemble that from the season six set: a trivia game, interviews with recurring guest stars, and a pair of episode commentaries by executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. While no doubt a quick cash-in release, The Series Finale is not a completely barebones release; in addition to the broadcast version of the episode, there is an extended edition (which is actually quite noticeably different from minute one), a collection of all the opening credits sequences from the past ten seasons and the Rembrandts' music video for that highly annoying "I'll Be There for You" theme song.
Part of the reason for FRIENDS's desperation in the 2000-2001 season was CBS's rather bold decision to schedule the second installment of the reality TV hit SURVIVOR against that sitcom institution--a risk that paid off, as suddenly "Must-See TV" routinely lost to the strangers-stranded-on-an-island sensation (for the rest of that season, anyway). That said, that particular go-round set in the Australian Outback, nor any subsequent SURVIVOR season has quite matched the buzz of the original summer 2000 run, now collected in its entirety in SURVIVOR: BORNEO The Complete First Season (Paramount Home Entertainment). Relive winner Richard Hatch's naked machinations with this five-disc set, which includes many extras including audio commentaries by Hatch, fellow contestants Gervase Peterson and Rudy Boesch and host Jeff Probst on the first and last episodes; behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews; and the previously-released compilation disc SURVIVOR SEASON ONE: THE GREATEST AND MOST OUTRAGEOUS MOMENTS.
With SURVIVOR and even the far less widely popular critical darling THE AMAZING RACE soaking up all the buzz, it's easy to forget CBS has another reality franchise set to begin a new cycle this summer: the long-running but strangely buzz-less (in America at least) the voyeuristic, strangers-locked-in-a-house exercise known as BIG BROTHER. Last year's fourth go-round tweaked the "strangers" part of the concept by throwing in a few of the houseguests' former love interests to stir the pot. Memorable moments from the season as well as audition tapes and plenty more uncensored, never-before-seen footage is now collected in the two-disc, six-hour set The Best of BIG BROTHER 4: X-FACTOR (WinMedia).
Speaking as someone who regularly watched the show when it originally aired (and seen every episode numerous times thereafter in syndication), there initially seems to be no other reason to give WHO'S THE BOSS? the season-by-season DVD box set treatment other than to make the buying public feel old (can you believe it's been--gasp--20 years since the series premiered?); after all, it's neither a geek appeal show nor regarded as a TV comedy classic But in light of this especially rough patch in my life, I suddenly see why popular fluff like this '80s favorite would be a natural for DVD release: it's peerless comfort food. Plus, for all the contrived corniness of this male housekeeper (Tony Danza)/female boss (Judith Light) will-they-or-won't-they? saga, the recently released The Complete First Season (Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment) highlights--especially in a series of themed featurettes--the virtues that helped the series earn such a long run on ABC: particularly, Katherine Helmond's amusingly vivacious mother/grandmother Mona; Alyssa Milano's convincing tomboy turn (who knew she'd develop into such a sex symbol, let alone one with a lasting career?) and, above all, the terrific slow-burn chemistry between Danza and Light.
Next time...
...more reviews. As always, check out my home site, Mr. Brown's Movie Site, for additional reviews.
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