Gideon24 Reviews

Whatever Works (2009)

Woody finds one of his best sounding boards...

[7/10 · 10 November 2016]

Woody Allen goes the "romantic comedy for people who hate romantic comedies" route with 2009's Whatever Works, a quirky and challenging comedy that provides solid entertainment, thanks to an extremely likable leading character who is absolutely not written that way and some interesting supporting characters who provide constant surprises.

Writer/comedian Larry David gets a shot at leading man status as Boris, the original grumpy old man, a former physicist and intellectual, who hates everyone and everything, angry at the world, and determined to inhabit it by himself...think Ebeneezer Scrooge without the money. Boris finds his life changed by Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a runaway from Mississippi who Boris takes in and what begins as a Pygmalion kind of relationship actually morphs into a marriage.

Things get stickier with the arrival of Melody's mother (Patricia Clarkson), a contemporary reincarnation of Blanche DuBois, who tries to break up her daughter's marriage and discovers a new person inside of herself in the process.

As always, the real star of this film is the Woodmeister's script, which is angry and no-holds barred, offering unpopular opinions on every aspect of pop culture and politics that you can imagine, but also offers a relationship at the center of the storm that is just really hard to swallow...Melody's attraction to Boris is a mystery because other than a razor sharp mind, Boris has no redeeming qualities and actually marrying the man almost threw me off the film altogether. I was also troubled by the character of Melody herself...the character appears to be a total hayseed when we first meet her, but she soaks up everything Boris teachers her and remembers every single word that he ever taught her, even if she doesn't always remember what it means.

We've seen a lot of actors channel Woody over the years and some worked better than others (John Cusack in Bullets Over Broadway and Kenneth Branaugh in Celebrity were standouts), but no one did it better than Larry David does here...David is comfortable with this unappealing character and his performance alone makes this film worth investing in. He especially seems to enjoy when Woody allows him to break the fourth wall and talk to directly to the camera, a technique which is not groundbreaking but leave it to Woody to take it to another level and let us all in on the joke. Wood is a talented actress but the inconsistencies in her character made it difficult to invest in her performance, but I loved Patricia Clarkson as her mother, a character who goes through an entertaining transformation, another staple of Woody's writing, one character who goes through a significant change and Clarkson appears to be having a ball.

Woody's attention to production values is flawless as always...special nod to the set designer (Boris' apartment is awesome) and cinematographer Harris Savides photographs Woody's beloved New York with loving care and of course the music is wonderful, have always loved Woody's ear for music, but this movie is worth checking out for Woody's challenging script and direction and for his choice of a very unconventional leading man that pays off in spades.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

An unsettling but riveting story with a disturbing ending...

[8/10 · 10 November 2016]

The kidnapping of a little girl named Amanda McCready is the genesis for a dark and unapologetic drama from 2007 called Gone Baby Gone that offers disturbing surprises at every turn, rich with unsympathetic characters involved in an ugly story that literally had my stomach tied in knots for most of the running time.

Set in the sleepy little hamlet of Dorchester, Massachusetts, we learn that Amanda has been missing for 36 hours and the police investigation seems to have stalled. Amanda's aunt (Amy Madigan) hires Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan), investigators specializing in missing persons to aid in the investigation. Amanda's mother (Amy Ryan) is a drug addict who has been working as a drug mule to support her habit and her actions may have been directly behind Amanda's disappearance, but this is only the beginning of one of the most bizarre criminal conspiracy involving addiction and police corruption. This is another one of those movies that is very difficult to review without major spoilers.

More than anything, this film is a triumph for director and co- screenwriter Ben Affleck, who has mounted a story of stark realism where nothing is as it seems, most of the characters have hidden agendas and are not necessarily likable...this is the first film centered around a kidnapping that I recall where absolutely NO sympathy is evoked for the victim's mother...this woman appears to love her daughter and takes responsibility for what happens on the surface, but when we first meet her, she seems blissfully unconcerned and the picture of a woman who has no business being a parent.

As I've mentioned in other reviews, actors turned directors seem to have a knack for getting great performances from their actors and this film is no exception. Ben puts a lot of trust in brother Casey in a complex role and he absolutely commands the screen here and works well with Monaghan, a relationship we are on board with as we meet them but this story tears them apart. Solid support is provided by Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Titus Welliver, and especially Amy Ryan, in a gutsy and uncompromising performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

This film is not an easy watch, but it's worth the trouble and I promise that when you've finished watching this, if you're a parent, you will run immediately to your child and hug him forever.

Written on the Wind (1956)

A solid cast in a classic 50's melodrama

[7/10 · 10 November 2016]

Douglas Sirk, the King of 1950's melodrama, hit another bullseye with 1957's Written on the Wind, a soapy but extremely entertaining film that still works, despite some dated elements.

The film stars Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley, a wealthy alcoholic playboy who instantly falls for a secretary at his father's company (Lauren Bacall), who has also caught the eye of Kyle's best friend Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), who is also the lifelong obsession of Kyle's trampy sister, MaryLee (Dorothy Malone).

Based on a novel by Robert Wilder, George Zuckerman's screenplay makes all the moves expected from melodrama in the 1950's...we have best friends torn apart by a woman, a man who thinks he can buy a woman's affections and learning that all the money in the world is ineffective next to a wedding ring and that obsession can drive people to destroying people they care about.

The primary quadrangle that makes up this story is constructed in a way that we know immediately there's no way things aren't going to get messy, but the slow reveal of how the destruction commences keeps us guessing and throws in a couple of curves we didn't see coming that during 1957, probably had some censors squirming, but probably attracted audience in droves as word of mouth spread.

There are some really interesting casting choices made here...Robert Stack probably had the most significant role of his movie career as the self-destructive Kyle and he makes the most of it, forcing Rock Hudson to underplay his role in order to make Stack's performance viable. I have to admit though, that as I watched this film, I couldn't help but think of how different this film might have been if Hudson and Stack had switched roles. Kyle reminded me a lot of Hudson's character in Magnifcient Obsession and I definitely could have seen it, but Stack was surprisingly solid. Lauren Bacall's stylish work brought a richness to her character that really wasn't in the screenplay and Dorothy Malone's delicious scenery chewing in the film's showiest role won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress of 1957. Malone's role required her to invest in some things that would be laughed off movie screens today, but in '57 audiences ate it up and so did the Academy.

Director Douglas Sirk proves once again that he understood the melodrama genre and the emotions that it is supposed to produce, giving the intended audience exactly what they wanted. If you like your soap against glamorous Ross Hunter-like-trappings, you will love this.

Creed (II) (2015)

Stallone's screen legacy really sell this one...

[8/10 · 10 November 2016]

In my review of Grudge Match, I mentioned how the filmmakers effectively mined the history the characters created in the past to strengthen a contemporary story. This concept works to even greater extent in 2015's Creed, an elaborately directed drama which specifically mines the legacy of the Rocky franchise but from a different direction and comes up with gold, respecting the legacy being saluted and keeping the legacy untarnished but utilizing it for creating a credible story.

This film introduces us to Adonis Johnson, who turns out to be the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, a young man full of anger and apparently full of passion for the sport of boxing, which has him leaving a very cushy life in Los Angeles to move to Philadelphia in order to seek out his father's former nemesis, Rocky Balboa, so that he can train him. Adonis has been using his mother's name because he wanted to make it in the ring without trading on his father's name and, ironically, when he gets a shot at exactly what he wants, that is exactly what he has to do.

This multi-layered story has so much going on that at times it's hard to drink it all in and I found myself literally having to let certain things go and keep my eye on the prize, which is a compelling second generation story that once it grabs the viewer with its on target respect for the Rocky legend, grabs us almost immediately and never lets go.

It's really lovely as we watch Rocky and Adonis enter Mickey's old gym and as we watch Rocky use a lot of the training techniques on Adonis that Micky used on him...I have to admit I was a little disappointed that Rocky and Adonis didn't visit a meat locker but I guess that was covered in Grudge Match.

What I liked about Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington's slightly padded screenplay is that it provides a new character for us to get behind connected to a proved legend, but unlike Rocky Balboa and Grudge Match, this story respects the fact that Rocky Balboa is no longer a kid and has no business stepping into the ring, instead he is in the corner of a young man with whom a connection inspires him to share his experience. The padding comes in the form of an underdeveloped romance for Johnson which just slows the film down.

Coogler as director also managed to pull a star-making performance from Michael B. Jordan in the title role and a powerhouse performance from Sylvester Stallone that restores the dignity the character was stripped of in Rocky Balboa and earned the actor a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Phylicia Rashad even demands attention in her brief role as Adonis' mother, but this is really Stallone's show...a fitting last hurrah for the character he created some 40 years ago

The Tender Trap (1955)

Sinatra shines and sings a fabulous title tune

[8/10 · 27 September 2016]

Despite some dated ideas about dating and relationships, the 1955 romantic comedy The Tender Trap is still sparkling adult entertainment thanks to a proved rom-com premise and some terrific performances.

Charlie Y. Reader (Frank Sinatra) is a theatrical agent and confirmed bachelor who lives in an elegant Manhattan penthouse complete with hot and cold running women, parading in and out of the place 24/7 much to the shock and jealousy of Charlie's best friend, Joe (David Wayne), who has come to New York from Indianapolis after leaving his wife. Joe finds himself attracted to Sylvia (Celeste Holm), who only has eyes for Charlie.

Enter Julie Gillis (Debbie Reyolds), a young wannabe actress who gets cast in a show that Charlie is involved in, but acting is just a time-filler for Julie. Julie wants to be a wife and a mother and knows exactly what kind of man she wants, how many children she wants, and where they will all live and won't even sign a run of the play contract for the show because she's afraid show business might interfere with her plan, but that's nothing compared to the fight she has to put up to keep Charlie at arm's length, who stands for everything that Julie is against.

Adapted from a stage play by Max Schulman and Robert Paul Smith, Julius J. Epstein's screenplay does contain some dated elements, but the screenplay does offer some surprising adult touches I really didn't see coming...the fact that Joe falls in love with Sylvia and actually proposes to her, even though he technically is still married, had to be a bit of an eye-opener in 55, not to mention the fact that Charlie actually proposes to two different women in a 24 hour period. We see from the opening frames, that Charlie is a player and in the beginning he claims to hate it, even though it's clear that he doesn't. Charlie does slimy things during the course of the story, but one thing I noticed is that he never actually lies to anyone, which I found refreshing for a romantic comedy.

Charlie is not in this alone though...none of these characters had time to polish their halos, they all make wrong moves at one point or another, causing some very tangled relationships, which has been the genesis for classic romantic comedy forever and though the characters do wrong, we see where it's coming from and we forgive.

Sinatra has rarely been as charming and sexy as he was here and Reynolds proved to be a surprisingly solid leading lady for him, despite their difference in age, which is addressed in the screenplay and they get brilliant support from Holm and Wayne in the second leads. Carolyn Jones and Lola Albreight are decorative as members of Charlie's harem and the film features a fantastic title song by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Husen that received an Oscar nomination for Best Song. Lovers of classic romantic comedy don't have to look any further than here for some silly sexy fun.

We're Not Married! (1952)

A sparkling all-star cast in a comedy classic

[7/10 · 27 September 2016]

A sparkling all-star cast and a clever cinematic concept are the primary selling points of a surprisingly fun 1952 comedy called We're Not Married.

Nunnally Johnson, who wrote the screenplay for How To Marry the Millionaire, also penned this story of a dotty old justice of the peace (Victor Moore) who receives his appointment papers before they actually go into effect and marries five different couples without realizing that he wasn't an actual justice yet. Two years later, the snafu comes to light and the five couples are all sent a letter informing them they are not legally married. What is so fun about this movie is that the news that they're not legally married anymore brings unexpected reactions from the various couples and the lives they have built together in two years.

Ginger Rogers and Fred Allen play a couple who have a radio show together but they hate each other; however, their continued employment makes being married a contractual obligation; Marilyn Monroe plays a housewife and mother who is the breadwinner in her household by entering beauty contests for married women; Louis Calhern plays a wealthy businessman about to be taken to the cleaners by his hedonistic wife (Zsa Zsa Gabor); Paul Douglas and Eve Arden play a couple who are just in a rut and Eddie Bracken plays a soldier who learns his bride (Mitzi Gaynor) is pregnant and goes to extreme measure to make sure his child will be born legitimately.

Despite the multiple story lines, this movie is surprisingly economic and moves along at a very nice pace, making each story just long enough to make the audience care but not become bored with them either.

The performances are terrific with standout work from Rogers, Allen, David Wayne as Monroe's husband, and especially Calhern, who is absolutely brilliant in his vignette with Gabor. The film doesn't provide a lot in terms of production values, but what it does is provide solid entertainment that is still watchable some 60 years later

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

The Apatow Rep Comedy delivers the goods for the most part.

[7/10 · 14 March 2016]

Judd Apatow's position as producer probably had a lot to do with Forgetting Sarah Marshall being greenlighted, a fairly entertaining romantic comedy which provides fairly consistent giggles for most of its running time.

Jason Segel, who also wrote the screenplay, plays Peter Brettner, a musician who has just broken up with his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall(Kristen Bell), a television star, who is now involved with a rock musician (Russell Brand). In an attempt to forget about Sarah, Peter vacations in Hawaii, and in true romantic comedy fashion, Sarah and her new guy are vacationing there as well. We then watch poor Peter running into Sarah wherever he goes while taking the attention of an attractive hotel desk clerk (Mila Kunis) for granted.

Segel presents a very flawed and believable character in Peter, who is painted as this tortured sad sack while Sarah is painted as this cold-hearted bitch, which is not surprising since Segel did write the screenplay and if you're OK with that, you will probably be OK with everything that goes on here, even if it goes on a little too long, which is something I've come to expect from the Judd Apatow rep company.

Segel and Kunis make a nice couple and Russell Brand is very funny as Aldous Snow, the arrogant but not as dumb as he looks rock star. Segal has provided some funny moments along the way for Jonah Hill as a waiter obsessed with Brand, Bill Hader as Peter's stepbrother, Kristen Wiig as a yoga instructor and especially Paul Rudd as a perpetually stoned surfing instructor.

There are definitely some slow moments here and there, but Segel and company will hold your attention for most of the running time.

The Exorcist (1973)

An instant classic that redefined its genre...

[9/10 · 14 March 2016]

The Exorcist was the 1973 instant classic that broke box office records, broke all the rules about the horror/terror genre, angered religious leaders all over the world, made theatergoers physically sick, generated some innovative techniques in the art of visual effects, and IMO, was robbed of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1973.

The film is based on a novel by William Peter Blatty from which Blatty fashioned the screenplay and was directed by William Friedkin, fresh off his Oscar-winning work on The French Connection.

This is the story of an actress named Chris MacNeill (Ellen Burstyn) who has recently moved to Georgetown with her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) in order to make a movie. Seemingly out of nowhere, Regan begins exhibiting bizarre behavior which Chris finds out that doctors and a barrage of tests cannot properly explain. Chris is dumbfounded when it is finally suggested to her that Regan is the victim of demonic possession and the only way to help her is an exorcism, a religious ceremony that hasn't been performed in decades. Enter Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller), the priest who is going through a crisis of conscience due to the death of his mother, which the demon inside Regan seems to know about and uses it against Karras to fight being driven from Regan's body.

This film terrified film audiences all over the world, even though most of the scares in this film are more repellent than actually scary. Friedkin and Blatty do know how to tell a compelling cinematic story that unfolds slowly without playing all its cards right away. It starts with noises in the attic and then Regan's urinating on the floor in front of Chris' party guests as clues that things are not as they should be, but doesn't really foreshadow what's going on either.

Ellen Burstyn was robbed of the Oscar for Best Actress for her bewildered and angry Chris MacNeill and playwright Jason Miller made an impressive acting debut as Karras, a performance that earned him a supporting Actor nomination. Linda Blair became a movie star and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her Regan, a performance that a lot of people thought was cosmetically constructed through makeup and special effects and that might be why she didn't win. Max Von Sydow is properly creepy as Father Merrin, the priest who helps Karras with the exorcism and Lee J. Cobb is fun as Lieutenant Kinderman, the detective who becomes involved with the story when the director of Chris' film (Jack MacGowran, who actually died during production) is actually murdered by the demon inside of Regan. The voice of the demon is provided by Oscar winner Mercedes Macambridge.

This is a once-in-a lifetime cinematic experience that has to be seen to believed. It spawned many clones and imitations but this is the granddaddy of them all. Followed by two sequels.

The Wonderful World of Disney: Annie (1999) Season 3, Episode 5

My Favorite Version of this Musical (So far)

[8/10 · 14 March 2016]

ABC/Disney mounted an elaborate and entertaining remake of the 1977 Broadway musical Annie for television in 1999 which, for my money, was vastly superior than the theatrical version released back in 1982. This version was directed by Rob Marshall, whose next directorial assignment was a little thing called Chicago. Marshall knows what a musical should look like and having him at the helm as director and choreographer made a big difference in making the piece work, as opposed to the 1982 version which was directed by John Huston, a competent director but clueless where musicals are concerned.

For those who don't know, this is the story of a little girl named Annie living in an orphanage during the depression, run by a cruel and sadistic witch named Miss Hannigan, who is chosen to spend a week in the mansion of a billionaire named Oliver Warbucks, a publicity stunt arranged by Warbucks' secretary Grace Farrell. We then watch as a relationship develops between the lonely philanthropist and the little girl and how Miss Hannigan sees Annie's good fortune as a ticket to Easy Street (which is, BTW, the name of one of the show's best songs).

Kathy Bates is deliciously evil as Miss Hannigan. I found Bates' interpretation of the character much richer than Carol Burnett's take on the role in 1982. Burnett played Miss Hannigan as a drunk, but Bates brought the greed and viciousness back to the role that Dorothy Loudon introduced to the character back on Broadway in '77. Bates also surprised as a competent vocalist. Her version of my favorite song in the score, "Little Girls" is just superb.

I have to admit that I found Victor Garber a little bland as Daddy Warbucks. I actually preferred Albert Finney in the '82 version , though Garber's solo, "Something was Missing" was lovely. Alicia Morton is competent as the title character and Audra McDonald brings a substance to the role of Grace that has been missing in previous versions of the show. Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth are brilliant as Rooster and Lily, Miss Hannigan's brother and his girlfriend, who are Hannigan's cohorts in extorting money from Warbucks through Annie. Cumming, Chenoweth, and Bates bring down the house with "Easy Street".

Other songs in the Charles Strouse/Martin Charnin score include "Maybe", "It's a Hard Knocks Life","I think I'm gonna like it here", "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile", and, of course, "Tomorrow". During the production number, "NYC", there is actually a cameo appearance by Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie in the original 1977 Broadway production.

For me, this is a much richer version of this musical, that takes the show back to the basics, remaining faithful to the original piece while benefiting from strong direction and choreography from Rob Marshall and some on-target casting.

Candy (2006)

Brilliant performances frame an unsettling story of addiction.

[8/10 · 14 March 2016]

After his Oscar-nominated performance in Brokeback Mountain and before his posthumous Oscar win for The Dark Knight, the late Heath Ledger turned in another award-worthy performance in Candy, a searing and intense 2006 drama that was the most harrowing look at the horror of drug addiction since Requiem for a Dream.

This is the story of Dan (Ledger), a talented poet who is doing nothing with his gift and Candy (Abbie Cornish), a struggling artist who has also put her talent on the back burner due to her relationship with Dan and their addiction to heroine and how it has completely dominated their lives. All of the questions related to addiction are addressed here in an in-your-face manner that is quite disturbing. Not only do we get to see Candy prostitute herself in order to support t heir habit, but we also see Candy challenge Dan to do the same. It's aggravating as we watch the hypocritical Dan get high with money that Candy earned on her back but he's unwilling to do the same.

There is one surprisingly clever vignette where Dan happens upon a wallet on the front seat of a car and when it contains no cash, goes through an extremely elaborate ruse in order to extract the information he needs from the owner in order to use the credit cards that were in the wallet. As clever as Dan is here, it is also a little pathetic because you find yourself wishing that he could be this resourceful doing something positive or productive.

What is so riveting about Dan and Candy's story is that we can tell from the beginning of the film that their relationship is doomed, but it doesn't keep the viewer from becoming completely enveloped in their story. We watch as they actually marry (the camera smartly pans the guests during the vows and the various reactions are telling) and watch the intensely mixed emotions from Candy's parents when Candy announces that she is pregnant. Her father's reaction to the new is just gut-wrenching. It's sad watching how Candy's parents can see that Candy's relationship with Dan is beginning to destroy their lives, but hold their tongues so long that when they finally confront the truth, it's too late.

The most telling and most pathetic aspect of Dan and Candy's story is their constant talk about changing their lives and their half- hearted attempts to stop using so that they can. The scenes of Dan and Candy trying to quit cold-turkey, documented in days, is not an easy watch, but a realistic depiction of the physical effects of heroine and how the body craves it like medicine. Director Neil Armfield does not shy away from these scenes and the camera-work from above their bed is extremely effective.

Ledger delivers a brilliant and intensely unhinged performance as Dan, which includes a credible British accent. Ledger pulls out all the stops here, making Dan a dangerous combination of smart and sexy and pathetic. Abbie Cornish is blistering and explosive as Candy, the addict who wants to blame Dan and anything else she can think of for what she's going through, in deep denial about the depth of her own addiction. Geoffrey Rush does a small but flashy turn as Dan and Candy's friend/dealer/enabler, whose willingness to help Dan and Candy feed their addiction seems to be stemmed in his sexual attraction to Dan.

This is a bold and uncompromising look at drug addiction that pulls no punches and offers no easy answers, but is riveting entertainment for those who are game, thanks to evocative direction and brilliant performances from the stars.

The Sting (1973)

Terrific entertainment with charismatic stars and a riveting story.

[8/10 · 14 March 2016]

The Sting was the feel-good hit film of 1973 that won the Oscar for Best Picture of the year and documented that the chemistry Paul Newman and Robert Redford created in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid wasn't a fluke.

Set in Chicago in the 1930's, Redford plays Johnny Hooker, a second rate con man who finds out that a criminal banker named Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw) was indirectly responsible for the death of his long time partner. Determined to avenge his partner's death, Hooker enlists the aid of veteran con man Henry Gondorff (Newman), who has his own issues with Lonnegan and, together, they set up an elaborate con, a "sting" if you will, to get Lonnegan where he lives...in his wallet.

One of the strongest aspects of this film is the Oscar winning screenplay by David S. Ward, who has chosen to let this story unfold very slowly and with serious attention to details in story execution. This is one of those stories that if you miss five minutes of the movie, you won't have a clue what's going on, so have that pause button poised if you're interrupted. I have always felt that this was the sign of a really great screenplay, that every single detail presented on screen is germane to the story.

George Roy Hill's meticulous direction and the chemistry between Redford and Newman are the other things that make this film work. Hill has mounted an elaborate story here with striking attention to period detail and to serving the story. Newman and Redford are a well-oiled machine here. Redford actually received his only Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his work here, which I think was also in recognition of his other big performance the same year in The Way We Were. There is also a first rate supporting cast including Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, Dana Elcar, and Dimitra Arliss.

Hill won his only Best Director Oscar for his work here, Edith Head won her fourth and final Oscar for her costumes, and Marvin Hamlisch's musical scoring also won, based on the music of ragtime icon Scott Joplin and believe me, after seeing this movie, you will be humming "The Entertainer". A wonderful film, to be sure, but was it really better than The Exorcist?

Romantic Comedy (1983)

Even the stars can't save this one

[3/10 · 14 March 2016]

Romantic Comedy was a 1983 comedy that is about as predictable and generic as its title and the stars definitely deserve better.

The film stars Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen as Jason and Phoebe, a pair of writers who start writing together and become a very successful writing team while fighting an attraction to each other, despite the fact that they're married to other people.

I don't know what even moved me to review this film because this was one of my most forgettable experiences at the movies. Arthur Hiller's pedestrian direction does no justice to Bernard Slade's screenplay, based on his own play. It's amazing that a playwright actually came up with such a dull movie about playwrights.

The fact that Moore and Steenburgen have little or no chemistry with each other or with Janet Eiber and Ron Leibman, who play their respective spouses, who are both in deep denial about the fact that their married to people who are not really in love with them.

I'm trying to think of something positive to say in a way of recommending this film, but I'm drawing a blank. Only hardcore Moore and Steenburgen fans should even bother.

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Woody Strikes Gold Again!

[8/10 · 14 March 2016]

Woody Allen scored another comedic bullseye with 1994's Bullets over Broadway, another delicious comic romp from the Woodmeister that takes the accustomed loopy characters that we are accustomed to from Woody and puts them in a more structured story and a period setting.

Set in Manhattan during the 1920's, the film follows a playwright named David Shayne (John Cusack), who is having trouble getting his latest work on Broadway until his agent (Jack Warden) informs he has found a backer for the show, a dim-witted mafioso (Joe Vitrelli) who has agreed to finance the show as long as his girlfriend, Olive (Jennifer Tilly) gets a role in the show. Things get complicated when the don sends a bodyguard named Cheech (Chazz Palminteri) to keep an eye on Olive, but he ends up making life for our hero even more complicated when he starts making suggestions regarding the play and they make it better.

This is another example of classic Woody, where Woody brings his own personality to the leading role and Cusack does an admirable job of channeling Woody (only Kenneth Branaugh did it better in Celebrity). Dianne Wiest won her second Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her over-the-top, but totally hilarious turn as Helen Sinclair, a melodramatic Broadway diva who pretends to be in love with Shayne in order to improve her role in the play. Palminteri and Tilly both deliver star-making performances that earned them both Oscar nominations as well. Jim Broadbent has some very funny moments as a hammy actor in the play who has a problem with overeating and Tracy Ullmann is funny as another cast member who is driving Helen crazy with her dog.

Woody's screenplay with Douglas McGrath provides all the fun twists and turns we expect from Woody and his sharp direction and flawless ear for music are also assets to a grandly entertaining comedy that Woody's fans will eat up.

Django Unchained (2012)

Tarantino's Uncompromising views about race relations in a period setting.

[8/10 · 14 March 2016]

Quentin Tarantino again displays his propensity for cinematic storytelling with Django Unchained, an engrossing and bloody epic that establishes new credentials for Tarentino in the fact that he utilizes a period setting and the fact that he actually tells his story mostly in sequential order, but manages to keep the viewer riveted to the screen completely to an extremely satisfying conclusion.

Set in pre-Civil War Texas, the story follows a dentist turned bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) who purchases a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx), ensuring his freedom in exchange for his help in getting to his former employers, who are Schultz' latest bounty. This leads to a partnership where Schultz trains Django in the art of bounty hunting and eventually agrees to help Django retrieve his wife(Kerry Washington), who is still the slave of a wealthy plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is obsessed with Mandingo slaves, slaves who are purchased in order to fight each other to the death purely for the white man's entertainment.

In addition to the unaccustomed period setting for Tarantino, this film even took a politically sensitive subject like slavery and put a twist on it by providing an insightful look into the difference between the slave and the black man who wasn't a slave. It was rather unsettling to see Django not really interested in helping the slaves he encounters and the resentment that the slaves seem to have for a black man who is actually free which, sadly, rang true. And even though the film does have a period setting, it does provide the accustomed losers, wannabes, and scumbags that we expect from a Tarantino movie.

As always, Tarantino's casting is on the money, led by Waltz, who won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his charismatic and strikingly original King Schultz, Foxx's quiet intensity as the title character and DiCaprio, who has rarely been better in a very unsympathetic role. Mention should also be made of Samuel L. Jackson, who scores as DiCaprio's house man, a character you like one minute and hate the next. All of the actors somehow tap into the tongue in cheek aspect of Tarantino's Oscar winning screenplay in a way that keep the viewer riveted to the screen and not feeling the film's near three- hour length at all.

Tarantino's direction is just as compelling as his screenplay. His eye for cinematic carnage is startling...there is some inventive camera work here that includes a unique use of slow motion and the art of the zoom. His offbeat song score simultaneously conjures images of Sergio Leone and Tupac Shakur.

Tarantino fans should eat this up and for those who are not, you might want to consider this slightly more traditional story, told with the accustomed Tarantino cinematic panache, that is right up there with Scorsese.

The Catered Affair (1956)

Warm family drama with some rich performances.

[7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Despite some dated plot elements and some performances that are a matter of personal taste, 1956's The Catered Affair is a warm and engaging family drama that, if caught in the right mood, can definitely tug at the heartstrings.

The story revolves around the Hurley family, who live in a cramped Brooklyn apartment. Daughter Jane (Debbie Reynolds) comes home one day and quietly announces to her parents Tom (Ernest Borgnine) and Agnes (Bette Davis), that she and her fiancée Ralph (Rod Taylor) are getting married in a week. Jane explains to her parents that they want a quiet simple ceremony with no frills and no reception. Tom has no problem with this since he has been saving his money to buy his own cab, but Mama Agnes is another story...Agnes' obsession with saving face because friends and neighbors suspect they can't afford a fancy wedding and Agnes' personal disappointment at her own no- frills wedding has her pressuring Jane into an elaborate wedding with all the trimmings that the family can't afford.

Gore Vidal's screenplay, based on a play by Paddy Chayefsky, provides believable characters and realistic situations that can arise from the story presented. The issues confronted in this film regarding wedding expenses are just as timely today as they were in 1956, though the prices have definitely changed. The film does come off like a photographed stage play, but a watchable one.

Ernest Borgnine is strong and sincere as Tom and despite a questionable Brooklyn accent, Bette Davis offers one of her most understated yet effective performances as Agnes...critics were sharply divided regarding her performance at the time of release, but I liked it...Davis keeps scenery chewing to a minimum and creates a character who we don't always sympathize with but we completely understand. Debbie Reynolds' performance as the pressured bride-to-be is surprisingly rich.

Director Richard Brooks creates a warm family atmosphere and pulls some very effective performances from his cast, including a fun turn from Barry Fitzgerald as Agnes' brother Jack. Classic film buffs should eat this one up.

Love & Other Drugs (2010)

Gyllenhaal create mad chemistry here...

[7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Love & Other Drugs is a 2010 romantic comedy that combines all the best elements of some contemporary love stories, as well as some classic love stories and takes some effective digs at the medical profession and the commercialism that invades some aspects of same.

Jamie Randall is a charming and gregarious womanizer who can sell a stereo as effectively as he can talk a woman out of her panties, who gets fired from the stereo store and becomes a pharmaceutical rep for Pfizer, on the fast track to leading all other reps in the sales of prozac and zoloft.

Maggie Murdock is a 26 year old woman who is very bitter about the fact that she has contracted Parkinson's disease at her young age and is afraid to become romantically involved with anyone because she's afraid that her medical condition will scare suitors away or that she will become a burden to them someday.

It is the accidental meeting of these two very different people that forms the crux of this unconventional but winning romantic comedy that provides laughs, warmth, and the occasional misty moment without ever becoming cliché or maudlin. This is the real anti- romantic comedy that movies like Friends with Benefits profess to be, but weren't.

Jake Gyllenhaal is slick and sexy as Jamie and Anne Hathaway offers one of her most affecting performances as Maggie...I don't think I have ever enjoyed Hathaway on screen as much as I did here...Hathaway creates a character of strength and vulnerability, who tries and mostly fails to disguise her anger about her medical condition and is convinced she can never have a normal life or a normal relationship. And together, Gyllenhaal and Hathaway create mad on screen chemistry that was only hinted at five years earlier in Brokeback Mountain.

Director and co-screenwriter Edward Zwick scores points for presenting a realistic look at Parkinson's Disease and reminding the viewer that it is a condition that can be lived with. Zwick also provided the leads with a solid supporting cast including Oliver Platt as a co-worker of Jamie's; Hank Azaria as a doctor of questionable ethics, and Joshua Gad as Jamie's brother. Mention should also be made of a brief cameo by George Segal and the late Jill Clayburgh as Jamie's parents.

I have to admit I was on board with this film almost immediately because I happen to think Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the sexiest men on the planet and those who don't might want to take a point off my rating. but there are other rewards to be found here for most fans of romantic comedy.

Toy Story (1995)

Sparkling family entertainment

[8/10 · 16 December 2015]

Disney/Pixar initiated a new sophisticated form of animation with the 1995 box office smash Toy Story, a richly entertaining and imaginative animated adventure that not only spawned two sequels, but became a merchandising dream.

The film opens in the bedroom of a little boy named Andy who is moving in a couple of days. The central characters are Andy's toys, who are led by a cowboy action figure named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), who is apparently Andy's favorite toy. Woody and the other toys feel seriously threatened when Andy receives a space action figure called Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) for his birthday. Immediate antagonism materializes between Woody and Buzz when Woody feels he might be replaced in Andy's heart, but Woody and Buzz are forced to bond and actually become friends when they become prisoners of Andy's next door neighbor, Sid, a sadistic little kid who likes to torture toys.

This deliciously imaginative story works thanks to a brilliant screenplay that brings vivid and believable emotions to toys, effectively showcasing the world from a toy's point of view. The jealousy and resentment between Woody and Buzz rings completely true and is actually the glue that keeps this story moving. Though the story provides consistent laughs, there are a couple of poignant moments as well...watch when Andy stops sleeping with Woody, who gets demoted from Andy's bed to the toy box or watch when Buzz sees a commercial for himself and finally realizes that he is a toy and is not real.

As always with Disney animated films, the voice casting is perfection, with standout work from Hanks, whose work here rivals the voice work of Robin Williams in Aladdin...he makes us love and care for Woody and puts us in his corner from jump. Mention should also be made of Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, Jim Varney as the Slinky Dog, Wallace Shawn as a very insecure toy dinosaur, John Ratzenberger as a piggy bank named Ham, and R. Lee Ermey as a toy soldier. Really liked Annie Potts as a Little Bo Peep doll too, though I just couldn't get past my trouble with the fact that a little boy would own a Little Bo Peep doll, but I did not allow this to deter my enjoyment here.

Randy Newman contributed a couple of nice songs to the film, one of which, "You've Got a Friend", received an Oscar nomination. John Lasseter's direction and his contribution to the Oscar nominated screenplay are the final touches to this entertaining adventure that actually conjured up images of Spielberg work like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future, and though the story does have a couple of extra endings, it is a richly entertaining fantasy adventure that had me laughing and smiling throughout the entire running time.

21 Grams (2003)

An Undeniably powerful story

[8/10 · 16 December 2015]

An undeniably powerful motion picture experience, 21 Grams is a blistering and mesmerizing look at the lives of three people whose lives are affected by faith, power, courage, addiction, the consequences of moral choices and above all, the power of guilt.

This 2003 film centers on three characters: Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is a mathematician who has had a heart transplant which has affected his decision to have a child with his wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg) via artificial insemination; Cristina Peck (Naomi Watts) is a suburban housewife and mother of three struggling with cocaine addiction; Jack Jordan (Benicio Del Toro) is an ex-con trying to start his life over again through his discovery of born again Christianity. The story brings these three characters together through a horrible accident, which affects all three people in profoundly different and surprising ways. Reviewing this film without including major spoilers is difficult.

Director Alejandro Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga have constructed an initially confusing story because in the style of Quentin Tarantino, the story is told out of sequence and the screenplay takes a little too long letting us in on what parts of the story are the past and what parts are the present. But as the story begins to come into focus, we can't help but become completely invested in this tragic story. Another effective storytelling tool is that the accident that is the linchpin of the entire story, is never really seen, just giving the life-altering event even more power. Every scene of the film provides importance information, no superfluous waste of screen time here.

This film had my stomach in knots for most of the running tine, had me on the verge of tears, but most important of all, never allowed me to take my eyes off the screen.

This gritty and uncompromising drama is anchored by three superb lead performances. Watts and Del Toro both received richly deserved Oscar nominations. Del Toro is especially brilliant, in a performance that easily trumps his Oscar-winning work in Traffic. Penn actually won the Oscar for Lead Actor the same year for Mystic River, but I am now wondering if he should have won for this film instead. Not for every taste, but fans of Tarantino and Robert Altman will have a big head start.

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Williams and Branaugh make this worth watching

[7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Despite a fact-based story that strains credibility, an insightful look at the cinematic phenomena that was Marilyn Monroe makes the 2011 docudrama My Week with Marilyn worth watching.

This film centers on an aspiring English show biz hopeful named Colin Clark who has been hired to be the Third Assistant Director to Sir Laurence Olivier during production of the film The Prince and the Showgirl and how Colin inexplicably becomes the only person that Marilyn trusts on the set of the film, and that includes her acting coach Paula Strasberg, who was a permanent fixture in Marilyn's life during this period.

Director Simon Curtis has mounted an expensive, fact-based drama that so accurately brings to the screen the mania behind Marilyn and though it provides some mixed messages regarding the woman vs the myth, the messages are convincingly projected here. We always think that there's nothing new to learn about Marilyn at this point and this film doesn't really provide any new insight into the sex symbol, except for the possible fact that like a lot Marilyn's handlers, Marilyn was also aware that Marilyn Monroe was a "product" and that she was somebody else...someone else who whose deep-rooted sadness stemmed from the lack of strong parenting and that the feeling no one really loved her, including current spouse Arthur Miller.

As expected with any film about Marilyn, the film documents the production schedule delays due to Marilyn's chronic lateness, the constant interference from Paula Strasberg, the inability to remember very simple lines, and best of all, Olivier's conflicted feelings about his leading lady...we see Olivier's aggravation with the actress' work ethic combined with his fascination with the woman who makes him feel young again and has wife Vivien Leigh more than concerned. I love the scene of Olivier sitting alone in a screening room being captivated by dailies of Marilyn. What I did find hard to believe here is that a movie star like Marilyn Monroe would become so completely enamored of a Third Assistant Director that she would forsake everyone else around her, including Olivier, Paula, and Arthur Miller.

The film is well-cast with a nicely understated performance from Eddie Redmayne as Colin Clark, a young man who falls under the spell of Marilyn without even realizing it is happening. Kenneth Branaugh is charismatic as Laurence Olivier and mention should also be made of Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh and a lovely turn from Dame Judi Dench as Dame Sybil Thorndyke, a co-star of The Prince and the Showgirl, who becomes Marilyn's onset Savior, but what this film has above everything else is a luminous, Oscar-nominated performance by Michelle Williams as Marilyn, a richly complex performance that nails Marilyn's vulnerability, insecurity, and best of all, her intelligence.

The film boasts some impressive production values, including first rate cinematography and a lush music score and helps to make this film lovely to look at...along with the incredible Michelle Williams.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

If you liked the first one...

[5/10 · 16 December 2015]

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is Will Ferrell's 2013 return to the character that made him an official movie star in a sequel that provides nothing in the way of originality, realism, credibility, continuity, but still delivers laughs.

This time around, we find our hero being fired from his network job while wife Veronica (Christina Applegate) is made sole anchor and within a year, is asked to be part of a new media concept called 24- hour news, which prompts Ron to reunite with his news team: Champ Kind (David Koechner), who is now running a chicken-fried bat fast food joint, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) is now a kitten photographer and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) has just risen from the dead (don't ask) and how they eventually rule Global News Network from the 2:00 am to 5:00 am slot.

As mentioned, the film does deliver laughs but that's primarily because the laughs are laughs that we have been privy to before this movie. Ferrell and Adam McKay's screenplay borrows liberally from the first film, as well as other Ferrell films like Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights. I guess Ferrell and McKay thought they did enough tweaking to the original ideas that we wouldn't notice.

There are some odd casting choices here, primarily Meagan Good, miscast as the young head of Global Network News and Dylan Baker as the slick GNN executive who recruits Burgundy, but Ferrell, Koechner, Carrell, and Rudd are still a well-oiled machine, though the character of Brick has been reduced to a level of retardation that is hard to swallow and his so-called romance with a female version of himself (Kristen Wiig) is a serious waste of screen time. James Marsden has some funny moments as GNN's lead anchor who has it out for our hero. And cameos by Tina Fey, Sacha Baron Cohen, Liam Neesom, Will Smith, Jim Carrey, Vince Vaughn, Marian Coitillard, and Amy Poehler don't help either. But despite the lack of originality here and the fact that the film really doesn't fit any of my criteria for a good sequel, I found myself laughing in spite of myself.

Flight (I) (2012)

Outstanding direction and a solid lead performance make this one work.

[7/10 · 16 December 2015]

Despite a preachy screenplay delivered with sledgehammer-like intensity on a well-worn cinematic subject, 2012's Flight is a riveting and emotionally manipulative drama that effectively showcases the horrors of addiction on a surprising canvas and delivers the goods, thanks to polished direction and a powerhouse lead performance as a very unlikable character.

This uncompromising drama stars Denzel Washington as Whip Whitaker (terrible character name), a veteran airline pilot who we meet the morning after an evening of sex, booze, and cocaine with a flight attendant who is glanced snorting a huge line of cocaine and then seen boarding a plane that he is actually scheduled to fly. After navigating the plane through some brief initial turbulence, Whitaker actually has another drink while assuring the 102 passengers aboard that everything is going to be all right. Whitaker then returns to the cockpit and the plane malfunctions and is forced to glide to an emergency crash landing. Thanks to Whitaker's expertise and experience as a pilot, the crash only produces six fatalities, four passengers and two flight attendants and Whitaker is initially proclaimed a hero until the toxicology report reveals that he was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine while flying, which could result in four charges of manslaughter and the rest of his life in prison.

This film angers almost immediately because it seems like we are supposed to sympathize with Whitaker, but I found that impossible. What is made clear here is the denial, rationalization, and justification that goes through the mind of an alcoholic, but there is no excusing it here because Whitaker's actions resulted in the loss of life. It is further exacerbated by the fact that Whitaker knows he is wrong and and actually tries to cover up what he did. We watch in horror and disgust as Whitaker is released from the hospital, escapes to his family hideaway and spends hours throwing away all of the liquor that he has hidden in the house, a lengthy and effective scene filmed with a hand-held camera that shows the lengths an alcoholic will go to cover up what he's doing. We then watch Whitaker try to save his own ass when he realizes it is on the line by looking for crew members, including the co-pilot who may never walk again because of the crash, to have his back when they are asked to testify against him. Any sympathy the character might have evoked disappears during the scene where he asks the head flight attendant (Tamara Tunie) to lie for him.

Director Robert Zemeckis has mounted a familiar story on a unique canvas that will make the viewer give pause for a myriad of reasons...watching Whitaker's story is properly disturbing as it makes us think twice, not only about drinking and drugging, but about ever boarding a plane again without seeing the pilot's toxicology report that an airline's attorney (Don Cheadle) actually tries to bury in an attempt to save Whitaker's undeserving ass, but even those actions turn out to be pointless and Whitaker eventually must suffer the consequences of his actions, which seems to be the underlying theme of this story, but the really disturbing aspect here is how long it takes for these consequences to surface and the deep denial of Whitaker's addiction.

Zemeckis directs with a master hand again...the plane crash he presents here is as harrowing as the one he mounted in Cast Away. The shots of the plane completely inverted are dizzying and frightening. Washington completely invests in a completely unsympathetic character and delivers a performance of such power it merited him an Oscar nomination. Cheadle is solid as the attorney as are Bruce Greenwood and John Goodman as professional and personal allies of Whitaker and mention should also be made of Kelly Reilly as Nicole, a pathetic heroine junkie who becomes Whitaker's enabler up to a point. Yes, the message here is delivered with a sledgehammer but it works and the climax doesn't quite ring true considering what we have witnessed prior, but the denouement is somewhat satisfying as we do see Whitaker pay for his actions, though his alleged redemption implied near the ending is a bit much. Still a riveting film experience thanks to a harrowing story and one of our greatest actors delivering the goods.

A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

A Powerhouse Cast makes this one watcable

[7/10 · 16 December 2015]

A powerhouse ensemble cast is the primary selling point of the 1961 version of A Raisin in the Sun.

This is the first film version of the play by Lorraine Hansberry that centers on the Younger clan, a black family living in a cramped Chicago tenement whose lives are about to be altered because of a financial windfall. Lena Younger (Claudia McNeil) is the strong, God-fearing matriarch of the family who is patiently awaiting the arrival of a $10,000 insurance check she is receiving because of the death of her husband. Walter Lee Younger (Sidney Poitier) is Lena's son, a chauffeur who wants to change his life by getting his mother to give him the money so that he can invest it in part ownership of a liquor store. Ruth Younger (Ruby Dee) is Walter Lee's level-headed wife and family referee, who has just learned she is pregnant with her second child; Beneatha Younger (Diana Sands), Walter Lee's sister, is a radical-thinking college student, , who wants to be a doctor someday and torn between her comfortable relationship with George (Louis Gossett) and an African student (Ivan Dixon) who is turning Beneatha's head by exposing her to her African heritage.

This film sizzles primarily due to the conflict created between Lena and Walter Lee from Lena's belief that liquor is just a tool of the devil and Walter Lee's belief that his father would have wanted him to use the money to be more than a chauffeur and be the captain of his own destiny.

As expected, a 1961 film with an all-black cast was filmed on a shoestring budget, but the powerhouse performances make this film appointment viewing. Next to To Sir with Love, this is my favorite Poitier performance...he is intense and riveting despite the fact that Poitier's screen persona is so much more intelligent than the character he is playing and yet he doesn't make a single false or affected move on screen. McNeil, Dee, and Sands provide solid support to Poitier, who completely dominates this film, but they never allow Poitier to blow them off the screen either. Loved Gossett as Beneatha's tight-ass fiancée too.

The film works due to a compelling story and a charismatic performance from Poitier that makes this film still watchable after all these years. This film was remade for television twice with Danny Glover and Sean "Puffy" Combs taking over Poitier's role. It was also turned into a Broadway musical during the 1980's called Raisin.

Surviving Christmas (2004)

Somehow Gandolfini and O'Hara rise above the muck that is this movie

[4/10 · 12 December 2015]

Surviving Christmas is a lame and offensive comedy that suffers from a silly and unbelievable story and a really obnoxious lead character.

This 2004 comedy stars Ben Affleck as Drew Latham, a young and extremely wealthy businessman who, after being dumped by his fiancée, travels to his hometown where he plans to spend Christmas. He goes to the actual house he grew up in and offers to pay the family currently residing there a stupid amount of money to allow him to move into his old bedroom for Christmas and for this family to actually pretend to be HIS family for the holidays. We watch as Drew butts head with the family patriarch (James Gandolfini), brings Mom (Catherine O'Hara) out of the shell she didn't even realize she was in, and begin a very rocky romance with the daughter (Christina Applegate) home from college who is adamantly against this whole arrangement.

This film grates on the nerves from jump, primarily because the leading character has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. We see the way he runs his business and the way he throws money at anything that doesn't go his way and you just want to punch the guy in the face. Affleck's performance doesn't help matters, which can best be described as uneven.

What the film does have going for it is a pair of first rate performances from Gandolfini and O'Hara as Tom and Christine Valco, the couple who agree to this charade despite the effects it has on their holiday season and their marriage. Gandolfini's dry and understated delivery is a perfect compliment to Affleck's scenery chewing and almost makes the proceedings bearable...almost. Strictly for hardcore fans of the late James Gandolfini.

She-Devil (1989)

Streep does make it worth your time

[5/10 · 12 December 2015]

Some delicious, over-the-top scenery chewing by the divine Meryl Streep is the primary reason to check out a bizarre black comedy from 1989 called She-Devil.

The film stars Roseanne Barr as Ruth, a frumpy and insecure housewife and mother who is crushed to learn that her accountant/husband, Bob (Ed Begley Jr.) has begun to have an affair with a glamorous romance novelist named Mary Fisher (Streep). When Bob finally decides to leave Ruth, she then sets out on an elaborate plan to exact revenge on her scummy husband, beginning with burning their home to the ground and sending her children to live with Bob and Mary.

This film was made during Roseanne's hiatus from the first season of her classic sitcom and was intended to make a movie star out of her, but failed dismally, primarily due to the fact that the character Roseanne plays here is not as smart or appealing as Roseanne Conner and it's hard to get behind a lot of Ruth's actions in this movie. It's a little hard to believe that a wronged wife would actually destroy her children's home merely as a way of getting back at her husband, which is also hard to buy because the character of Bob is really a jerk and why Ruth cares about his feelings or why Mary finds herself attracted to him are a mystery as well, which for me was the primary problem with this story...the character of Bob was just not worth these two women fighting over.

Director Susan Seidleman, who scored a bullseye five years earlier with Desperately Seeking Susan really misses here, but she is hampered by a screenplay that is kind of all over the place and some really unlikable characters, especially Barr's Ruth, who is supposed to evoke sympathy from the viewer, but does just the opposite.

What this film does have going for it is a perfectly executed comedy turn from the fabulous Meryl Streep, who manages to mine every bit of humor out of her character that the screenplay provides. As for the rest of the cast, Ed Begley Jr. is miscast as Bob and some minor laughs are provided along the way by Sylvia Miles as Mary's mother, who loves to tell anyone who will listen what a loser her daughter is and A Martinez as Mary's manservant/boy toy, but this is Streep's show all the way and without her, this film would be impossible to get through.

Parenthood (1989)

A warm family comedy with a first rate all-star cast

[8/10 · 12 December 2015]

Director Ron Howard nailed family dysfunction and the difficulties of parenting with a warm and entertaining 1989 comedy called Parenthood.

This episodic comedy centers on the Buckman family, led by one Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his wife Karen (Mary Steenburgen), who serve as the centerpiece for a dysfunctional family that includes Gil's hard-drinking father (Jason Robards), who took Gil to baseball games as a child and used to leave him alone and pay ushers to watch him. Dianne Wiest plays Gil's divorced sister, Helen, who is the mother of two teenagers, one a horny high-schooler (Martha Plimpton) sleeping with her boyfriend (Keanu Reeves) and the other (Joaquin Phoenix) wants to live with his father.

Tom Hulce plays the proverbial black sheep brother who has returned home with an illegitimate son and a get rich quick plan. Rick Moranis is effectively cast against type as a stuffed shirt married to Gil's other sister (Harley Kozack) who is raising his toddler like she's a sophomore in college.

The screenplay by longtime Howard collaborators Lowell Ganz and Babloo Mandel might play like an extended sitcom, but it is a very entertaining one, that provides consistent laughs without sacrificing realism or realistic situations. The screenplay is insightful and clever and well-served by Howard's hand-picked cast, who give uniformly fine performances down the line, with a standout performance from Wiest that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Thanks to a smart screenplay, sensitive direction, some offbeat casting, and some fun performances, this is a very special comedy that got by a lot of people but is worth checking out. Later turned into a television series.