The All Laughed
Part detective story, part screwball comedy, part romance, part Woody Allen movie, and part navel gazing. In what he confesses is his favorite of the films he's directed, Peter Bogdanovich here indulges himself with pet cinematic proclivities. He'd always wanted to make a movie that had a long opening sequence so he does that, he'd always wanted to make a movie with Audry Hepburn so he does that, he likes Ben Gazzara so he's in the movie, as is Jon Ritter, and a diverse cast of Bogdanovich associates whose characters are often modeled on themselves, including screen writer Blaine Novak as a rollerskating private eye.
The plots not really that important, and becomes obscenely complicated in the standard screwball manner, and I must confess this is on of the most precisely constructed screwballs since the 1940's. The movie is a love song to New York as well (hence the Allen reference) and captures the city at a moment of transition, the end both of the gritty seventies, and a sub strata of formality and class that had endured beneath it. The films a little jarring at first, its hard to get a handle on all of what's going on, but it was designed to be that way and if you can get passed the initial discombobulation then you'll have a good time. I get the sense that this movie improves on re-peat viewing, but despite its strengths I don't feel that there's really that much here, maybe when I see it again my assessment will improve, but for now its a Fair.
Model Dorothy Stratten makes her debut in this movie as a young women with an obsessive husband, ironically and tragically Stratten was killed by her real husband before this movie could be released, it is dedicated to her.
Battle: Los Angeles
Think Independence Day, only concentrating on one theater of the war. SSgt. Micheal Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is haunted by the death of men under his command in Iraq, no back in the States as a Marine instructor Nantz just wants to quietly retire, but this is not to be. You so those meteors the press keeps on talking about aren't really meteors at all, there alien space craft bringing a race of invaders to our shores (literally) in an effort to steel our precious water.
After the death of there young commander (Ramon Rodrigues) Nantz must lead his reluctant and appropriately racially diverse charges in an effort to rescue civilians in Santa Monica. When a tough air force intelligence TSgt (Michelle Rodriguez of course) gets separated from her unit and joins Nantz, there mission changes to an effort to cut of the aliens conveniently located, and conveniently only central command center. Wait, I don't want to spoil the surprise ending.
Nothing here we haven't seen countless times before from Roland Emmerich. Likable enough, but completely derivative, and director Jonathan Liebesman doesn't really seem to be trying. I hesitate to call it poor because I guiltily kind of liked it, but it is. Poor
The Assassination of a High School President
Think Brick, but less serious. Bobby Funke (Reese Thompson) is a sophomore and aspiring reporter for the student newspaper at his Catholic High school. Assigned to do a fluff piece on the schools popular, basket ball star, student body president Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor), Funke who idolizes Woodword and Bernstein stumbles across a possible connection between Moore and the recent theft of SAT tests from the office of the schools gum hating, Gulf War veteran principle Kirkpatrick (Bruce Willis, in what's suppose to be a self parody).
Some how the school newspaper lets him run his muckraking story, Kirkpatrick finds the tests in Moore's locker, Funkie is vindicated and secretive and arrogant vice president Marlon Piazza (Luke Grimmes) ascends to the presidency. All of this is accompanied by the sudden interest beautiful senior and Piazza step-sister Francesca Facchini (Mischa Barton) takes in Funkie. What's Femme Fatal Francesca's true interest in Funkie, what goes on in the secretive recesses of the student council, why are some of the schools smartest students doing so poorly on their SAT's, and will Funkie really get that coveted scholarship to Northwestern's summer writing program? Only the films conclusion and possible Internet spoilers will tell.
This film is rated R, and surprisingly sexual in content. Thompson's kind of annoying at first, but you get to like him. There's nothing that original in the characters of the various students, and the film makers are trying too hard with Willis's character, who acts like his days in the Gulf where as traumatic as Nam (he did lose a leg there however, so maybe there's some warrant). Barton, who I've never watched much has a strong presence, and gives probably the best performance among the films limitedly talented key players. I liked the groups of misfits who befriend Funkie, and the depiction of in-school suspension being run like a prison is funny and Brick like. Funkies final driving school sequence, in which his performance greatly improves when hung over is pretty fun as well. Brick broke this territory first, but as I inferred above this movie is less rigid and self serious. Both films feature drug themes and a lack of parents. Not for high schoolers. Assassination, though it has some moments (particularly the evolution of Barton and Thompson's relationship), too often falls back on vaguely annoying cliche and thin characters. Fair
Garbo Talks
I've wanted to see this little film for some time, turns out it was as sweet and likable as I had hopped, and also boastes a dryer sense of humor then I'd expected. Though I haven't seen him in many things I like Ron Silver, though I'd always gotten the impression that he was something of a tough guy, in Garbo Talks he plays anything but. A quite, unassuming, even shy accountant, Silver's Gilbert Rolfe is at first a rather passive character. His wife (Carrie Fisher) loves him, but hates New York and longs to move back to California to be near her rich parents. His mother Estelle (Ann Bancroft) is an over sized character, its easy to see how she might raise a timid son. She means well though, and they truly love each other, though Gilbert wishes she'd just dial it down a notch.
Estelle loves three things, her son, standing up for social justice (she has a life long marked proclivity towards protesting and getting arrested), and Greta Garbo. The Garbo movie she's across the years watched often coincided with important moments in her life, and it is the actresses strong, self-willed persona, that proved a life long source inspiration. When Estelle is diagnosed with terminal cancer she mentions that she would like to meet Garbo before she dies, and so Gilbert sets out on a quest to contact the reclusive star (who was then in New York, where she had lived most of the latter half of her life). Gilbert tries everything, hiring a paparazzi who once got a picture of Garbo, taking on a second job as a delivery man to get in the building where she lives, hunting down an obscure actress who's a friend of hers, and trying to find her place on Fire Island.
Gilbert becomes so obsessed with finding Garbo that he starts neglecting his work, strains his already faultering marriage, and doesn't get to see his mother as much as he would like. Amidst this a relationship slowly starts to bloom with co-worker Catherine Hicks, an aspiring actress who takes a liking to Gilbert and with whom he becomes fascinating. Carrie Fischer's leaving him, and Hicks work helping him track down that obscure actress (Hermione Gingold) brings the couple together, and as Gilbert comes more and more out of his shell a new lease on life opens up to him. Then after three months of searching Gilbert tracks the notoriously bargain savvy Garbo to a flee market, makes his case, and fulfills his mothers dream.
A likable, sweet natured film, with a beautifully breezy and enchanting score. A low tempo movie with a sense of romance, it revels in its shear pleasantness. The movie also boasts a number of veterans of the classic film era in small supporting roles, including the above mentioned Gingold, as well as Howard Da Silva in his last role, and cameo's by Adolf Green and George Plimpton. This simple, unasumming movie is simply Good in almost every way.
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