February 17, 2005
Get HITCHed
Will Smith has proven to be such an immensely charismatic, easily likable, and effortlessly charming star in a variety of media, I always wondered why no one ever thought to cast him as a romantic lead. Now, after finally seeing him extend these qualities and his impeccable timing in the vastly enjoyable HITCH, it's downright unfathomable that it took so long for someone to use him in such a capacity, as he is as much a natural handling romantic comedy as he is saving the world on Fourth of July weekend.
Smith also serves as one of the film's producers, and it's quite easy to see why he shepherded the project through his own company. The character of Big Apple "date doctor" Alex "Hitch" Hitchens seems just about tailor-made for him, playing off of his well-established, smooth screen persona while comfortably allowing him to stretch into new territory. But far beyond its leading man, HITCH distinguishes itself from its ilk by being remarkably well-cast down the line, and in refreshing and unexpected ways. While it's no surprise that Kevin James, in his big screen debut as Albert Brennaman, one of the common man clients who enlists Hitch's expertise to woo the woman of his dreams; is effective as a slapsticky schlub with a way with a one-liner; but he also makes for a highly endearing romantic figure. Similarly, Amber Valletta obviously looks the part for Albert's wealthy, high-society object of affection Allegra Cole, but she also projects a surprising warmth under her model exterior, lending authenticity to Albert's contention that he can see and feel more to her beyond the image. As Sara Melas, the gossip columnist who comes to bewitch Hitch, Eva Mendes mixes the grit and spunk that she lent to her long line of law enforcement roles with her STUCK ON YOU comic spirit, making for a rom-com leading lady of atypical edge.
At initial glance, first-time screenwriter Kevin Bisch's script does appear to be typical, as the scenario isn't particularly innovative by basic design. Slick guy who supposedly knows all the right moves falls for the one woman with whom everything goes wrong. Said woman is out to expose the mysterious "date doctor," not knowing that her new suitor is her target. The main subplot centers on an average joe pursuing a seemingly unattainable beauty. There are even trailer-ready set pieces such as the über-cool Hitch teaching hapless Albert how to dance and Hitch suffering a rather cartoonish, face-swelling allergic reaction.
It's a shame (though not exactly surprising) that Sony's marketing campaign emphasizes such broad bits of business as those, as these scenes are not a terribly accurate reflection of what is a far more witty and urbane whole. Bisch and Tennant seem less concerned with the by-the-numbers plotting than the personality of the piece, and the attention to character and performance make the plot machinations easier to swallow. The unlikely pair of Albert and Allegra proves to be anything but, as James and Valletta's gentle chemistry sells them as a viable couple regardless of Hitch's helpful hints. On the flip side, Hitch's dates with Sara predictably go wrong, but in more unexpectedly complex (and, hence, funnier) ways that stem from his character's penchant for overplanning and overthinking. From that, one can see how Sara would be more amused than annoyed when things go awry; naturally her cynicism about all things romantic would fuel snarky bemusement, but his genuine sincerity behind the missteps and unforeseen mishaps believably keep her if not exactly interested, then intrigued. Sara's mission to uncover the date doctor's true identity is the least interesting thread in Bisch's script, but when the situation inevitably comes to a confrontation, he has the smarts to let the characters retain theirs, figuring out the situation without blatantly underscoring with on-the-nose dialogue.
The smartest thing about HITCH, however, is its revelatory use of its headlining star Smith. Opening the film with Hitch directly addressing the camera could have been a harbinger of precious, obnoxiously strained would-be hipness, but the ever-affable Smith is able to sell the gimmick and everything else thrown his way. Raucously roughhousing with James? Exuding effortless cool? Sporting silly facial prosthetics? Verbally sparring with and earnestly wooing Mendes? Smith pulls off all of the tasks required of him while giving them his own unmistakable flair. To play off of the Heavy D/Aaron Hall classic that closes HITCH, now that Smith has found a love story, what is Hollywood gonna do with him? I look forward to finding out.
All About Ash
Similarly, I wonder where the future will take Indian film goddess Aishwarya Rai now that she has finally captured Tinseltown's attention. Her first English language film, the Jane Austen-meets-Bollywood musical comedy BRIDE & PREJUDICE, seems almost designed expressly for that purpose--and on that end, the film is undoubtedly a success. As someone who has long praised Rai's B'wood work in this column and elsewhere, it is gratifying to see her make the transition from east to west with amazing ease. Showing of her charisma, chops, and charm as headstrong and outspoken Lalita Bakshi, of one five daughters borne of a marriage-minded family in the Indian town of Amritsar, Rai shows that there's no language more universal than simple star quality.
As a whole film, however, this take on Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is less effective, but it's not for lack of ambition on the part of director Gurinder Chadha, whose recent effort was another East-meets-West entertainer, the global sleeper BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. Translating Austen's weighty and very British tome and all of its various characters and entanglements to a multi-national cast and setting, not to mention to the music- and dance-filled Indian film language, is no small task--and one that Chadha proves to be unable to totally pull off. Chadha's familiarity with Bollywood conventions is readily apparent, following the formula so closely that unfamiliars may be a bit confused with some touches, such as the inclusion of an "item number," which is a narrative-unrelated dance number centering on a name star cameo appearance (in this case, Ashanti). But familiarity doesn't exactly equal finesse, and the Bollywood bread-and-butter of song sequences generally fall flat in Chadha's less experienced hands. The only song picturization that strikes a memorable chord is Lalita and her sisters' infectious pajama-clad romp "No Life Without Wife," but it succeeds despite Chadha's unimaginative staging and the rather rote choreography (which plagues every number, all the more disappointing given Rai's justly-celebrated dancing abilities) due to Anu Malik's catchy melody, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar's tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and--above else--the exuberance of its performers.
The best way, then, to look at BRIDE & PREJUDICE is less as an Austen adaptation or a Bollywood musical than as its own uniquely cheekily affectionate homage to the source novel and Indian popular filmmaking. Surprisingly, Chadha and co-scripter Paul Mayeda Berges do stay close to Austen's narrative blueprint, whose most primarily track centers on the clashing prides and prejudices, both class-related and cultural, of Elizabeth Bennet stand-in Lalita and the wealthy Will Darcy (Martin Henderson), here an American businessman. As the various plot threads go about their byzantine business and Lalita and her family indulge in the occasional song and dance, Chadha's mind is wisely and primarily focused on her strong suit of light comedy. Rai is appealingly feisty during Lalita's verbal sparring sessions with Darcy, and all of the gifted Indian supporting players playing her family and friends get their moments to shine, but nearly stealing the show outright is Nitin Chandra Ganatra as Mr. Kohli, Lalita's obnoxious Indian-born, American-raised suitor who is not nearly as slick as he thinks he is.
If the film has a huge failing, it's Henderson as Darcy. His casting falls perfectly in line with his apparent occupation in Hollywood as the go-to dud used expressly to further amplify the already-obvious star qualities of his leading lady (see also: Naomi Watts and THE RING), but Rai is such a silver screen natural that she deserves an equally formidable leading man. But it speaks of the power of Rai, and the fleet-footed appeal of the whole of BRIDE & PREJUDICE that not even he can spoil the frothy, feel-good fun.
At the Video Store
Lessons to be learned from last fall's blink-and-you-missed-it indie drama AROUND THE BEND (Warner Home Video): (1) not every fact-based story is worth making into a film, such as this dull tale of a son (Josh Lucas) and his estranged father (Christopher Walken) healing during a long road trip; (2) not even the combined acting might of Walken and Michael Caine (as Walken's father) can save a creaky script (by director Jordan Roberts); and, above all else, (3) when traveling the American southwest, there are bound to be many KFC locations to feed you along the way. The DVD includes commentary by Roberts, deleted scenes and a making-of featurette.
With the near-concurrent DVD releases of RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) and AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), viewers can now "enjoy" a Paul W.S. Anderson suckfest in the comfort of their own home. Anderson isn't at the helm of APOCALYPSE--that dishonor goes to puppet Alexander Witt--but his fingerprints are all over it from the production and writing end, as dainty Milla Jovovich's impossibly superhuman Alice opens various cans of whoop-ass on all the undead infesting the streets of Raccoon City. Action films are no fun when your hero is someone as blandly invincible as Alice and even worse still when the action is so poorly staged and haphazardly edited. While Witt was busy hacking it up on APOCALYPSE, Anderson was busy ruining not one, but two science fiction franchises with the deservedly maligned AVP, which somehow made a years-in-the-making faceoff between two of the most iconic feature creatures... boring. Both DVD's feature more insight on these shoddy productions than most would really care to hear about. APOCALYPSE is a two-disc affair featuring commentaries by a variety of participants including Witt, Anderson, Jovovich and co-stars Sienna Guillory and Oded Fehr; deleted scenes; outtakes; and well over an hour of behind-the-scenes/making-of documentary footage. AVP's single-disc release includes commentary tracks by Anderson, stars Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen, and the effects crew; deleted scenes; a standard making-of documentary; and a gallery of Dark Horse's AVP comic book covers.
With AVP, the ALIEN and PREDATOR franchises are one step closer to the direct-to-video dustbin, whereSPECIES III (MGM Home Entertainment) makes its debut after two theatrically released installments. But then this franchise, with its B-level casts (with the exception of paycheck-cashing Ben Kingsley in the first film) and shameless (not that I'm complaining) female nudity, always seemed like straight-to-tape exploitation thrillers dressed up with big-screen-ready effects budgets. With the move to the small screen comes the loss of franchise star Natasha Henstridge, who cameos here just long enough to give birth to a new libidinous alien babe played by unknown Sunny Mabrey. Throw in direct-to-video sequel journeyman Robin Dunne (CRUEL INTENTIONS 2, THE SKULLS II, AMERICAN PSYCHO 2) into the male lead, and--voilà--easy cash-in for MGM. The DVD actually includes an unusual amount of supplements for a direct-to-video sequel, from commentary by Dunne, director Brad Turner and writer Ben Ripley; to a number of making-of featurettes.
It's easy to loathe the ALADDIN sequels THE RETURN OF JAFAR and ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES for the Pandora's Box of crappy straight-to-video Disney animated sequels they opened, but the two films, making their DVD debut in Walt Disney Home Entertainment's ALADDIN II & III COLLECTION, are both simply substandard entertainments on basic terms. JAFAR, released in 1994, is easily the worse of the two, with not-ready-for-Saturday-morning-let-alone-big-screen artwork and animation, forgettable songs and a throwaway storyline (a vengeance-seeking Jafar is freed from his lamp; Aladdin and Jasmine try to stop him with the help of Genie and--surprisingly--a reformed Iago). A game Dan Castellaneta does his best to fill Robin Williams's shoes as the voice of Genie, but he tries too hard in a film that overall doesn't try at all. Williams returned to the role for 1996's THIEVES, in which Aladdin finds his father; this installment is a step up in just about every respect from the misbegotten JAFAR, but it commits the sin of neglecting beloved characters (in this case, Genie and Jasmine) in favor of newcomers (Aladdin's father). But then these movies are not made for serious Disney or animation fans but easy-to-please kids whose parents cave too easily, and the supplements on both the JAFAR and THIEVES discs--games and educational features--support that fact.
Although Disney direct-to-video sequels have certainly improved on the visual level since those two early efforts, crap is still crap no matter what pretty gloss you throw on it, and MULAN II (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) is the latest evidence of that. While far from the striking spectacle that the 1998 original is, the polished art and smooth animation are a clear cut above what airs at any time on the tube--some lesser theatrical features, even. But for all the talk about story development the producers and directors rattle off on the disc special features, there is no disguising that this is one long exercise in wheel-spinning, as there is really nowhere left to go with the titular female soldier (again spoken by Ming-Na, sung by Lea Salonga) once she's won the nation's respect and true love with General Shang (B.D. Wong). As such, the film instead focuses on Mulan and Shang's three obnoxious military buddies and a trio if even more annoying newcomers to the story: three princesses whom the gang must escort across dangerous territory to their pre-arranged weddings. No prizes for anyone who guesses how that turns out, and most definitely not for anyone with the misfortune to watch this utter waste; it's no surprise that Eddie Murphy does not return as the voice of loudmouthed dragon Mushu (voiced by veteran Murphy stand-in Mark Moseley), who is simply unpleasant this time around. Extras include some deleted scenes, a brief featurette on the voice cast (which conspicuously makes no mention of Moseley) and a music video.
There's no better way to cleanse the bad taste of those recent Mouse animated efforts than a spin of any of the four releases in Walt Disney Home Entertainment's new CLASSIC CARTOON FAVORITES line, which collects a selection of vintage shorts starring beloved Disney characters. While a number of the shorts included on the DONALD, MICKEY and GOOFY discs overlap with some previous releases in the limited issue WALT DISNEY TREASURES line, the CHIP 'N DALE disc features all new-to-DVD shorts starring the chipper chipmunks.
MARRIED... WITH CHILDREN The Complete Third Season (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) collects the historic 1988-1989 broadcast year which first put the raunchy Fox sitcom on the media map and forever on the pop culture radar, thanks to one little episode: "Her Cups Runneth Over," in which Al (Ed O'Neill) and Steve (David Garrison) venture to an out-of-town lingerie/erotic gift shop to buy Peggy (Katey Sagal) a new bra. An offended busybody housewife named Terry Rakolta then launched a campaign against the show, which (as is nearly always the case with such self-righteous protests) ended up drawing curious viewers--who ended up sticking around, paving the way for an 11-season run and a long syndicated afterlife. Given the significance of this season, it's disappointing that there isn't a featurette on the controversy featuring interviews with at least the creative team; instead, the only supplements are hidden outtakes from the 2004 reunion/retrospective special, which Sony has somehow managed to milk for three straight season sets. Also, due to rising music licensing fees, the traditional, Sinatra-sung "Love and Marriage" has been replaced with a new instrumental theme (though the original tune is still credited in the closing crawl); needless to say, the effect isn't nearly the same.
A memorable--actually, downright iconic--theme song is the big pop culture contribution from Stephen J. Cannell's tongue-in-cheek early '80s superhero series THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, and indeed "Believe It or Not"--a true contender for The Greatest American Television Series Theme Song--is fully exploited in Anchor Bay Entertainment's three-disc The Complete First Season set. Not only does the song indeed play in the credits, the menus play the song in its entirety. As for the show itself, it's still the silly, lightly entertaining yarn about an everyman teacher (William Katt, whose 'do unfortunately dates the show) given a super-powered suit from an alien race--fun to watch for an hour here and there but not for marathon DVD viewing. The set includes all eight season one episodes as well as the unaired pilot for the distaff spinoff THE GREATEST AMERICAN HEROINE and new interviews with Cannell, Katt and co-stars Robert Culp, Connie Sellecca and Michael Paré.
Similarly, cousins Bo and Luke Duke are simple, country good ol' boys, but put them behind the wheel of the mighty General Lee, and they are capable of superheroic automotive stunts. THE DUKES OF HAZZARD The Complete Second Season (Warner Home Video) serves up 23 more episodes of the Dukes as they evade the evil Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on four double-sided discs. Also included are extensive featurettes on the 25th Anniversary DUKES Festival held in Tennessee and, most intriguing of all, stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider's initial screen tests.
With intensely serialized series such as 24 and LOST currently among the most popular series on network television, Steven Bochco's mid-'90s flop MURDER ONE would have probably enjoyed Nielsen numbers on par with its critical acclaim on today's airwaves. But the many who missed the show when it originally aired now have a chance to catch The Complete First Season (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), which follows one single murder trial through its 23 episodes. The six-disc set also includes commentary on a pair of episodes by star Jason Gedrick and director Randy Zisk as well as a retrospective documentary which fails to address the massive, theoretically more user-friendly format changes (for one, a shift to three trials for the season) the series underwent in its second and final season (maybe that's to come with a season two set--but is there a demand for it?).
Back in the summer of 1990, one of my all-time guilty pleasure television shows premiered: DANGEROUS WOMEN, a low-budget, first-run syndication, prime time soap opera set in and around a women's correctional facility somewhere in the American southwest. With its low-rent production values, amateurish performances (the cast included a pre-STARSHIP TROOPERS Casper Van Dien--'nuff said) and wildly outlandish plots, it was truly addictive trash. Alas, a DVD release of the series is not in the works now (at only 52 total episodes, it's entirely doable--what are you waiting for, Reg Grundy Productions?!), but in the meantime I and the five other DANGEROUS WOMEN fans have to content ourselves with A&E/New Video's 25th anniversary collector's edition set of the long-running Australian hit that served as its model, PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H. This three-disc set collects 12 pivotal episodes from the series' 692-episode run from 1979 to 1986, and the wild, addictive antics ranging from tunnel escapes, fires, riots and a big terrorist siege leave one clamoring for the release of the 680 other episodes. Interviews with cast and crew members as well as still photo galleries are also included--but the high drama and (surprisingly) violent action in the dozen episodes here are more than enough to satisfy.
Next time...
...more reviews. As always, check out my home site, Mr. Brown's Movie Site, for additional reviews.
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