Gideon58's Reviews

In my review of A Little Night Music I called it one of the five worst screen adaptations of a Broadway musical and another film that falls in that five is Mame.

This was the 1974 film version of the 1966 Broadway musical that made Angela Lansbury a Broadway icon, which in turn was based on the 1958 comedy starring Rosalind Russell, which was based on a novel by Patrick Dennis (everybody got that?).

This lumbering dud of a musical finds Lucille Ball inheriting the title role, which should have been played by Lansbury, well-concealed by those cinematic filters utilized to cover up the fact that Ball was way too old for this role. These were the same filters that were used to cover up Doris Day's wrinkles and freckles but they don't disguise the fact that Ball is sleepwalking her way through the role of the wacky Greenwich Village socialite who unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her young nephew when her brother dies. Even Ball seems to realize that she was wrong for this role and looks suitably embarrassed throughout and I'm not even going to talk about her singing. Suffice it to say that all of Mame's songs were transposed DOWN about a fifth to accommodate Ball's gravel-voiced warbling.

On the plus side, we do have Beatrice Arthur recreating her Broadway role as Vera Charles, Mame's alcoholic best friend and Robert Preston is charming as Mame's romantic interest, Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside. Preston makes the most of a song written especially for him here called "Loving You."

Other numbers from the classic Jerry Herman score include the title tune (memorably staged here by Onna White) "It's Today", "Open a New Window", "We Need a Little Christmas", "If he Walked into my Life" and the hilarious "Bosom Buddies."

Unless you're one of those who thinks Lucy can do no wrong, I would definitely skip this one, a pale imitation of a classic Broadway musical.

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The same year he delivered his Oscar-nominated performance performance in Big, Tom Hanks delivered another powerhouse performance in a film that was definitely overshadowed by BIG. Punchline was David Seltzer's witty and incisive look into the world of stand-up comedians and the deep irony of how as funny as these people are onstage, a lot of them are extremely unhappy and, to put it bluntly, screwed-up people.

The serious tone which Seltzer takes with the subject matter is addressed in the opening scene where a character is seen secretly purchasing jokes, staged as if it were a drug deal. Director and screewriter Seltzer wants us to know from the opening scene that the world of stand-up comedy is a very serious business.

Hanks plays Steven Gold, a talented stand-up with serious father issues, who may not be as talented as he thinks he is, but is so serious about being a comedian that he has not told his father that he flunked out of medical school in order to pursue his dream.

Sally Field plays Lilah Kritsick, a housewife and mother of 3 little girls who, despite a loving husband (John Goodman) and a secure home life, wants more than anything to be a stand-up. It's when the worlds of Steven and Lilah collide during preparations for a comedy competition where the prize is a shot on The Tonight Show, where we see what each of these people have given up or are not willing to give up in order to pursue their dream. The film also exposes how Steven confuses the mutual passion for comedy that he and Lilah share with genuine romantic feelings.

Field and especially Hanks are first rate. Hanks has two standout scenes that are heartbreaking: an onstage breakdown when he realizes his father is in the audience and a breakdown in a rainstorm when Field's character rejects his romantic advances. These two scenes alone are worth the price of admission.

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Glad to see a mention of Smokey and the Bandit, a major childhood favorite of mine. I also love Happy Gilmore. Big and Best in Show are a lot of fun.

After their triumph together in the 1944 musical Meet Me in St. Louis, Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland brought us a lovely little comedy-drama called The Clock, the story of a soldier on leave in New York and a secretary who meet, date, marry, separate and reunite all in a 24-hour period.

Many people think that the romance that developed between Minnelli and Garland happened during Meet Me in St. Louis...that's where they met but they really fell in love while making The Clock. The love that Minnelli felt for Garland shines through in every frame of this film. Once again, Minnelli declares his love for Garland through celluloid. He also wanted to prove to audiences that Judy was as gifted an actress as she was a singer, something that was confirmed later with her work in A Star is Born and Judgment at Nuremburg.

The story is simple, straightforward and played with charm and sincerity by Robert Walker and Garland. This film also has a niche in cinematic history as the first film in which Garland appeared and did not sing a note. Garland wanted a chance to prove that she was more than just a singer and it paid off...her performance here is absolutely enchanting.

Minnelli's sensitive direction, solid support from James Gleason and Keenan Wynn, and the lovely performances by the two leads make The Clock worth a look.

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Al Pacino's charismatic, Oscar-nominated performance is the centerpiece of the 1979 comedy-drama, And Justice for All, the story of an idealistic young attorney named Arthur Kirkland, who desperately wants to make a difference and loves defending the true underdog who finds the ethical challenge of his career when he is asked to defend a judge (John Forsythe) who had a hand in the death of one of Kirkland's clients and has now been accused of rape.

Aided by Norman Jewison's energetic direction, Pacino is solid, as always, and he is backed by a first rate supporting cast...Forsythe is effectively cast against type as the slimy judge, Jack Warden plays an eccentric judge and friend of Kirkland's who seems to have some sort of demented death wish and there's an exceptional turn from Jeffrey Tambor as a fellow attorney and friend of Arthur's who has a mental breakdown. Sadly, Christine Lahti is wasted as a love interest for Kirkland. but she makes the most of an underwritten role. There is also a brief appearance from the legendary Lee Strasberg as Kirkland's dying grandfather.

But Pacino is definitely the primary attraction here perfectly conveying the conflicted emotions of an attorney whose own visions for his career seem to have somehow gone awry, but his career spark is reignited in the climactic final scene, which, by now, has almost reached iconic status. The film sometimes wavers between uncomfortable laughs and gut-wrenching drama, but it all comes across as vividly real. Jewison's direction and Pacino's performance make a somewhat skimpy story a lot more interesting than it deserves to be.

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I haven't seen many of these movies.

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Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake!
-Daniel, There Will Be Blood

Lethal Weapon was the 1987 action-comedy-drama that redefined the cop-buddy movie, spawned three sequels, and made a genuine movie star/sex symbol out of an on-the-cusp of stardom actor named Mel Gibson.

The film stars Danny Glover as Detective Roger Murtaugh, a veteran police detective who is just a few days from retirement when the child of an old friend overdoses and goes over the edge of a skyscraper. At the same time that this case falls in his lap, Murtaugh is assigned a new partner, a rogue cop named Martin Riggs (Gibson), a former military assassin turned cop who is still messed up over the death of his wife, the combination of which makes Riggs to appear to have some kind of death wish, often throwing away the police rule book and taking unnecessary chances in catching the bad guy. We then find ourselves watching these two completely different kind of cops trying to forge a palatable working relationship.

This film redefines the buddy movie because Murtaugh and Riggs are two completely different kinds of people: Murtaugh is a veteran by-the-book cop who has been married forever to the same woman and is the devoted father of three children. Riggs lives in a trailer with his dog and spends the lion's share of his time, feeling guilty about his wife's death with a loaded gun at his temple. Watching these two people find common working ground is what brought a different shading to the traditional buddy movie.

Shane Black's intelligent scripting and Richard Donner's polished direction are also huge assets here. The chemistry between Glover and Gibson is surprisingly strong and they somehow make you want them to get along. Gibson makes some bold choices as an actor that really pay off here. His quasi-suicide attempt scene over the death of his wife was apparently so powerful that it moved director Franco Zefferelli to offer Gibson the lead in his remake of Hamlet.

Mention should also be made of a flashy supporting turn by Gary Busey as a bone-chilling villian named Mr. Joshua, whose knock down drag out with Riggs at the climax of the movie is one of cinema's greatest fight scenes.

An instant classic that became a franchise and introduced a brand new movie star named Mel Gibson.

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After winning an Oscar for her film debut in Mary Poppins, most thought Julie Andrews had nowhere to go but down, but Andrews proved them wrong with her enchanting lead performance in The Sound of Music, the 1965 Oscar winner for Best Picture, based on the final Broadway musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Director Robert Wise won an Oscar for his beautiful expansion of the stage musical, a fact based story of a young woman named Maria, contemplating life as a nun, who is sent from the convent to the home of a widowed former naval captain in order to be governess to his seven children.

Andrews is absolutely magical in the starring role, a performance which earned her a second consecutive Best Actress nomination (this time losing to Julie Christie for Darling), from her iconic performance of the title song, being goosed by a pine cone during her first dinner with the von Trapp family, berating the Captain for ignoring his children, or helping the Captain escape from his new appointment in Hitler's Third Reich, Andrews is captivating and her rich, clear soprano is absolutely breathtaking.

Christopher Plummer is all stone-faced authority as Captain von Trapp, a lonely widower who finds love and music a part of his life again through the slow burn of his relationship with Maria and her connection to his children. The chemistry between Andrews and Plummer is strong and you will find yourself rooting for them to be together from the moment they meet. Andrews and Plummer attempted to recreate said chemistry several decades later in a television remake of On Golden Pond, but failed to do so.

Richard Haydn scores as Max Detweiler, the Captain's friend with mixed allegiances and there is a deliciously bitchy performance from the fabulous Eleanor Parker as the Baronness Schraeder, a wealthy dowager who tries to come between the Captain and Maria.

The classic score, in addition to the title tune, includes "Do-Re-Mi", "Maria", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Climb Every Mountain", "My Favorite Things", "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and two songs written especially for the movie by Richard Rodgers, "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good".

Gorgeous Austrian location photography is the icing on the cake of this classic family musical that was the number one musical money maker at the office for decades until the release of Grease. Family entertainment at its zenith, pure and simple. The film was remade for television in 2013, a review of which will follow this one.

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The 2013 television remake of The Sound of Music premiered in a live broadcast on NBC and received a critical lambasting that it didn't really deserve.

First let me say that the 1965 version of the film is near the top of my list of films that NEVER should be remade. Technically, this is not a remake of the film but a filmed presentation of the 1959 Broadway show and for those who have never seen the show onstage, the show is a different animal that was re-thought for transfer to the movie screen to fit the talents of Julie Andrews, the hottest movie star on the planet at the time, due to her Oscar-winning performance in Mary Poppins.

This was not the first time this has happened either. The stage version of Cabaret was completely revamped for the screen in 1972 with Liza Minnelli as the star. When Bye Bye Birdie was brought to the screen in 1963, the show was completely re-written as a showcase for the studio's up and coming star, Ann-Margret. Mary Martin, who originated the role of Maria, was never a movie star and when Julie Andrews was signed to the role, the show had to be re-thought.

This 2013 presentation was a filmed presentation of the play and I think this is why it was panned by the critics and the public. People tuned in expecting to see the 1965 movie recreated and when it wasn't they just called it bad. They expected AMERICAN IDOL cast-off and country music superstar Carrie Underwood to reproduce Julie Andrews' performance and when she didn't, they said she was terrible and that's not fair.

If the truth be told, Underwood's performance doesn't really work, but not because she didn't imitate Julie Andrews. Underwood's singing voice actually worked for the songs; unfortunately, Underwood is no actress and this is where the performance suffered. Her line readings were wooden and uninspired and when she wasn't singing, the performance does fall flat.

On the positive side, Stephen Moyer was excellent as Captain Von Trapp, the lonely widowed naval captain that Maria falls for and the children were charming. As a matter of fact, I have to say that the children were much better singers/actors than the children in the '65 film. Laura Benanti, who won a Tony award for playing Louise to Patti LuPone's Mama Rose in GYPSY, is somewhat effective as Baronness Schraeder, though she doesn't bring the bitchiness to the role that Eleanor Parker did in '65. Christian Borle is also fun as Max.

If the truth be told, the best thing about this movie was the performance of five time Tony award winner Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess, whose breathtaking soprano made "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" the musical highlight of the evening.

Yes, it is a little jarring hearing these songs re-interpreted and seeing them sung in different places in the story than they were in the '65 movie, but if you are sincerely interested in seeing the genesis of the Julie Andrews classic, you might want to give this a look.

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I have no idea what this means.

Exactly.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Steven Spielberg's meticulous skill at cinematic storytelling and a charismatic lead performance by Leonardo DiCaprio are the prime selling points of the 2002 comedy-drama Catch Me if You Can.
This deliciously entertaining movie is based on the real activities of one Frank Abignale Jr., a teenager, prompted by his father's financial difficulties and his mother's infidelity, to carve out an independent life for himself through the cashing of two million dollars in fraudulent checks and actually impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney.

Spielberg's casual pacing of this story is irresistible and somehow makes us really care about this central character and be on his side the whole way, even after his illegal activities merit the attention of the FBI and one detective in particular named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), whose obsession with nailing our hero sets off one of the most riveting cat and mouse games we have seen in a movie.

With the aid of a strong screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, Spielberg has mounted one of cinema's greatest examples of storytelling on film. Spielberg and Nathanson allow the story to unfold slowly in order to evoke sympathy for the central character, despite the fact that he is a criminal who deserves to be punished for the crimes he has committed. Not to mention the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in the starring role, a performance that makes us totally fall in love with Abignale even though we shouldn't.

Spielberg's hand-picked cast works for the most part. Hanks works very hard in the role of Hanratty, though I personally found the accent he utilizes here very distracting. Christopher Walken won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for his performance as Frank Abignale Sr., Frank's loving and sympathetic father, a salesman whose best days are behind him and even after learning what his son has become, remains completely loyal to him and refuses to betray him or condone his actions. Walken has rarely been so likable and endearing onscreen. Amy Adams is charming as a nurse Frank Jr. meets during his time as a doctor and Martin Sheen is fine as her father, an attorney who inspires Frank's move from medicine to the law. Nathalie Baye makes a rare appearance in an American film as DiCaprio's mother and Walken's wife, an unsympathetic character who she does play with sincerity.

The story doesn't really surprise as it begins with the ending and flashes back but what it does do more than anything else is entertain, from opening to closing credits. Bouquets to Spielberg, DiCaprio, and everyone else involved in bringing this richly entertaining story to the silver screen. Later turned into a Broadway musical.

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I used to think Lethal Weapon was one of the all time best action flicks. After seeing it recently, I wondered how I could ever think that.

What turned you off about LETHAL WEAPON after re-watching it?

When I first saw it, I just thought it was thrilling with some great action. I just didn't feel that the action was anything special anymore-maybe because of what has come out since. It seemed very dated.

No argument that there's nothing groundbreaking about the action in the film, I think it's the relationship between Murtaugh and Riggs that makes the film special. And you have to admit that final fight between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey is awesome.

There's definitely good things about it, I didn't think it was bad. I just didn't think it was close to awesome, like I used to.

Road Trip is a raunchy yet amusing 2000 comedy that starred Breckin Meyer as Josh Parker, a college student who cheats on his longtime girlfriend and freaks out when he learns that the encounter was videotaped and has been mailed to his girlfriend, so he and three pals actually decide to drive 2000 miles in order to try and beat the U S mail to his girlfriend.

Framed against a college tour led by a student named Barry Manilow (Tom Green), the story unfolds as a series of vignettes as we watch the guys deal with an exploding vehicle, a wild evening with an all-black fraternity, and an overnight stay with Barry's grandparents.

I must confess that this comedy is a guilty pleasure of mine. Something about Josh's predicament made me care about Josh getting to that video, even more than Josh sometimes, because Josh and his pals definitely lose focus on their mission and get WAY off track, but it doesn't really matter because everything that happens to these guys is so funny that lack of focus on the mission at hand can be forgiven.

Meyer is charming as Josh and Seann William Scott steals every scene he is in as EL, Josh's best friend. Paolo Constanzo and DJ Qualls also have their moments as the two guys traveling with Josh and EL. Qualls has some real scene-stealing moments during the scenes at the black fraternity.

Fred Ward is very funny as Qualls' father, who bullies the police and anyone else who stands in the way of locating his son. Edmund Lyndeck and Ellen Albertini Dow are also amusing as Barry's grandparents. Mention should also be made of Amy Smart as Beth, the girl of Josh's dreams who is on that videotape with him.

Directed and co-written by Todd Edwards, Road Trip is silly, sleazy, outrageous and filled with off-the-wall sexual entendres and toilet bowl humor and attempts to offend with every frame, but you know what? It's funny as hell and I never get tired of watching it. Bit of trivia: The pot-smoking dog is voiced by Jimmy Kimmel.

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I liked Road Trip; I seem to be in the minority of people who actually like Tom Green.

Despite her smashing box office success in The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe was discontent and unhappy with her career and wanted to play roles with more substance.

She decided to forsake Hollywood and moved to New York and enrolled in Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio, the birthplace of the Stanislovski Method Acting principle that was the training ground for actors like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters. Marilyn returned to Hollywood with a new confidence, some new mentors, and was able to negotiate a new contract with 20th Century Fox, which included director approval. Her first project under her new contract was the 1956 film Bus Stop.

Directed by Josh Logan and based on a play by William Inge, this is the story of a naive young cowboy named Bo Decker (Don Murray) who walks into a run down saloon and sees a fourth rate chanteuse named Cherie (Monroe) onstage, falls instantly in love with her and is determined to make her his bride, whether Cherie is interested or not.

Logan has done an admirable job of expanding Inge's play onto the big screen, taking the action out of Grace's Diner, where the entire play takes place after Bo has met Cherie and has literally kidnapped her and brought her to the diner. Unlike the play, we get to see how Bo and Cherie met and how Cherie's graciousness towards Bo when he quieted an obnoxious crowd for her, is mistaken for love and affection.

Logan clearly worked magic with Monroe here, lifting the performance of her career out of her, a performance that should have earned Monroe an Oscar nomination. Monroe is warm, vulnerable and heartbreaking as Cherie, creating a character who is simultaneously lovable and slightly pathetic...the sight of Cherie on that handmade stage, flicking lights with her foot from the floor of the stage while badly belting out "That Ole Black Magic", is an image that will haunt. This scene alone was proof positive what a talented actress could do with a competent director's sensitive guidance. For me, this is the movie that finally PROVED that Marilyn Monroe could act.

Don Murray had the role of his career as Bo Decker and ran with it, delivering a star-making performance that earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Never understood why he wasn't nominated in the lead category since he has more screentime than anyone else in the film. Perhaps the studio thought, as a relative unknown at the time, that he had a better chance of winning if he was submitted as supporting. Admittedly, there is no way he would have won over Yul Brynner in THE KING AND I.

Arthur O'Connell is wonderful as Bo's surrogate dad, Virgil as are Eileen Heckart and Hope Lange as a co-worker of Cherie's at the saloon and a waitress at Grace's diner who tries to help Cherie out of her predicament. Ironically, Murray and Lange fell in love while making this movie and were later married.

For those who thought Marilyn Monroe was just a dumb blonde who couldn't act, I defy them to watch Bus Stop and tell me that their opinion of her has not been altered. Alternate Title: THE WRONG KIND OF GIRL.

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