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Art Garfunkel was in Mike Nichols' previous film, Catch-22, so this is his second movie. 
Gideon58's Reviews
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CALAMITY JANE
Doris Day made fifteen movies before striking gold with the vehicle that officially made her a movie star. I'm talking about 1953's Calamity Jane, a colorful and exuberant musical comedy that is a lot better than it really should be, thanks to the dazzling performance from its leading lady.
This richly entertaining musical based on real Wild West figures, was Warner Brothers' answer to Annie Get Your Gun...it even borrowed that film's leading man (Howard Keel). Set in the western town of Deadwood City, the title character is an Indian scout/sharpshooter/gambler/saloon owner whose love/hate relationship with BFF Wild Bill Hickok is turned upside down when she travels to Chicago to persuade an actress named Adelaide Adams (Gale Robbins) to headline at Jane's saloon. Upon arrival, Calamity mistakes Adelaide's maid, Katie (Allyn MacLerie) for Adelaide and brings her back to Deadwood City. Katie's ruse is quickly revealed but a romantic quadrangle develops as Katie develops feelings for an army lieutenant (Phillip Carey) who Calamity thinks she's in love with while Bill thinks he's in love with Katie while Calamity and Bill remain in denial about their true feelings for each other.
This fictionalized musical based on real historical figures is fresh and entertaining from start to finish despite some conventional musical comedy plotting. It is clear from the opening frames that Calamity and Bill have feelings for each other despite all their external sniping at each other...Bill is always telling Calamity how pretty she could be if she dressed like a girl and Calamity lights up when she explains her friendship with Bill to Katie. We know that these two are going to be together by the time the credits roll, but we can't wait to see exactly how it's going to happen.
Doris Day turns in one of the most vivacious and entertaining performances of her career as the tomboy who discovers her inner girl, despite her fighting it all the way...I love when Katie mistakes her for a man and she looks in the mirror and realizes this is not a good thing. Howard Keel provides solid support with his rich baritone and MacLerie does a star-making turn as Katie, perhaps the most significant role of her career.
The documentary The Celluloid Closet, which is a history of homosexuality in cinema, cites a homoerotic undertone to the relationship between Calamity and Katie. I think homoerotic is in the eye of the beholder here and I can definitely see an argument, but there is no arguing that the relationship that develops between Calamity and Katie is the best one in the film, beautifully realized in a duet they have called "A Woman's Touch".
The film features a tuneful score by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster including a soon-to-be pop standard called "Secret Love", which won the Oscar for Best Song of 1953 and was a big hit for Day. The film is beautiful to look at too with realistic looking western settings and costumes, but the biggest attraction here is Day, who really seems to be having a ball in this role and it is clear why she has always claimed in interviews that this is her favorite movie. Musical lovers will be in heaven here.
Doris Day made fifteen movies before striking gold with the vehicle that officially made her a movie star. I'm talking about 1953's Calamity Jane, a colorful and exuberant musical comedy that is a lot better than it really should be, thanks to the dazzling performance from its leading lady.
This richly entertaining musical based on real Wild West figures, was Warner Brothers' answer to Annie Get Your Gun...it even borrowed that film's leading man (Howard Keel). Set in the western town of Deadwood City, the title character is an Indian scout/sharpshooter/gambler/saloon owner whose love/hate relationship with BFF Wild Bill Hickok is turned upside down when she travels to Chicago to persuade an actress named Adelaide Adams (Gale Robbins) to headline at Jane's saloon. Upon arrival, Calamity mistakes Adelaide's maid, Katie (Allyn MacLerie) for Adelaide and brings her back to Deadwood City. Katie's ruse is quickly revealed but a romantic quadrangle develops as Katie develops feelings for an army lieutenant (Phillip Carey) who Calamity thinks she's in love with while Bill thinks he's in love with Katie while Calamity and Bill remain in denial about their true feelings for each other.
This fictionalized musical based on real historical figures is fresh and entertaining from start to finish despite some conventional musical comedy plotting. It is clear from the opening frames that Calamity and Bill have feelings for each other despite all their external sniping at each other...Bill is always telling Calamity how pretty she could be if she dressed like a girl and Calamity lights up when she explains her friendship with Bill to Katie. We know that these two are going to be together by the time the credits roll, but we can't wait to see exactly how it's going to happen.
Doris Day turns in one of the most vivacious and entertaining performances of her career as the tomboy who discovers her inner girl, despite her fighting it all the way...I love when Katie mistakes her for a man and she looks in the mirror and realizes this is not a good thing. Howard Keel provides solid support with his rich baritone and MacLerie does a star-making turn as Katie, perhaps the most significant role of her career.
The documentary The Celluloid Closet, which is a history of homosexuality in cinema, cites a homoerotic undertone to the relationship between Calamity and Katie. I think homoerotic is in the eye of the beholder here and I can definitely see an argument, but there is no arguing that the relationship that develops between Calamity and Katie is the best one in the film, beautifully realized in a duet they have called "A Woman's Touch".
The film features a tuneful score by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster including a soon-to-be pop standard called "Secret Love", which won the Oscar for Best Song of 1953 and was a big hit for Day. The film is beautiful to look at too with realistic looking western settings and costumes, but the biggest attraction here is Day, who really seems to be having a ball in this role and it is clear why she has always claimed in interviews that this is her favorite movie. Musical lovers will be in heaven here.
Last edited by Gideon58; 06-10-16 at 11:18 AM.
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Loved your review! I've been meaning to see more with Allyn MacLerie in it...but like you said this is probably her best work. I really liked her and Doris Day and Howard Keel too.
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I just looked at Allyn MacLerie's IMDB page...she hasn't worked since 1993...a guest appearance on Brooklyn Bridge was her last acting job.
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It's nice to see another fan of Calamity Jane here. (Sadly, it doesn't seem to be doing well in the Westerns HoF.)
I've seen Annie Get Your Gun many, many times, and I've only seen Calamity Jane a few times, and I prefer Annie Get Your Gun over Calamity Jane, but they're both great movies, and Calamity Jane seems to get better with every viewing.
I've seen Annie Get Your Gun many, many times, and I've only seen Calamity Jane a few times, and I prefer Annie Get Your Gun over Calamity Jane, but they're both great movies, and Calamity Jane seems to get better with every viewing.
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I would agree that Annie Get Your Gun is better too, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Annie was an MGM film, and musicals were their specialty...the MGM gloss was something very special that no other studio could match where musicals were concerned.
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THE SKELETON TWINS
Former SNL regulars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig finally proved they have what it takes for a feature film career with a promising little indie called The Skeleton Twins that doesn't provide anything innovative in terms of filmmaking but presents two actors who have great respect for each other playing characters who, when all is said and done, do the same.
The story cleverly opens with Maggie Dean (Wiig) receiving a phone call to inform her that her twin brother Milo (Hader) has just tried to commit suicide, just as Maggie is about to swallow a handful of sleeping pills, proving I guess that the alleged psychic connection between twins has some merit. Maggie flies to LA and asks Milo to come stay with her in New York while he recovers where it revealed that not only Maggie has issues and that handful of pills we saw her with were no accident and Milo runs into a big issues from his past that he thought was dead.
Director and co-writer Craig Johnson pretty much seems to be just a supervisor to make sure this thing came in under budget, because this appears to be a Wiig and Hader production, showcased to their abilities and to highlight their versatility as performers and on that level, it works...especially with Hader, who gives a real movie star performance as the gay twin, a frightfully unhappy man who speaks to his twin without filter but is not always so forthright with a man from his past (Ty Burrell).
Wiig works very hard at keeping her character likable, a woman who is lying to her husband (Luke Wilson) about wanting to have a baby while having an affair with her scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook) while trying to protect her twin brother all at the same time and it just turns out to be more than she can handle. Luke Wilson has rarely been so likable onscreen as Wiig's sensitive husband and Burrell is an eye-opener as well. Fans of Hader and Wiig will probably add a rating point to this.
Former SNL regulars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig finally proved they have what it takes for a feature film career with a promising little indie called The Skeleton Twins that doesn't provide anything innovative in terms of filmmaking but presents two actors who have great respect for each other playing characters who, when all is said and done, do the same.
The story cleverly opens with Maggie Dean (Wiig) receiving a phone call to inform her that her twin brother Milo (Hader) has just tried to commit suicide, just as Maggie is about to swallow a handful of sleeping pills, proving I guess that the alleged psychic connection between twins has some merit. Maggie flies to LA and asks Milo to come stay with her in New York while he recovers where it revealed that not only Maggie has issues and that handful of pills we saw her with were no accident and Milo runs into a big issues from his past that he thought was dead.
Director and co-writer Craig Johnson pretty much seems to be just a supervisor to make sure this thing came in under budget, because this appears to be a Wiig and Hader production, showcased to their abilities and to highlight their versatility as performers and on that level, it works...especially with Hader, who gives a real movie star performance as the gay twin, a frightfully unhappy man who speaks to his twin without filter but is not always so forthright with a man from his past (Ty Burrell).
Wiig works very hard at keeping her character likable, a woman who is lying to her husband (Luke Wilson) about wanting to have a baby while having an affair with her scuba instructor (Boyd Holbrook) while trying to protect her twin brother all at the same time and it just turns out to be more than she can handle. Luke Wilson has rarely been so likable onscreen as Wiig's sensitive husband and Burrell is an eye-opener as well. Fans of Hader and Wiig will probably add a rating point to this.
Last edited by Gideon58; 05-20-16 at 04:37 PM.
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I liked it enough, wasn't too thrilled with aspects of it. I don't get why Wig is on this depressed indie genre so much.
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Suspect's Reviews
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I thought Skeleton Twins was a pretty solid film. Glad you liked it, Gideon.
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I just put that on top of my DVD queue for next weekend. I have a hard time picking out something my wife likes, and that looks like something she'd enjoy.
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The balance of comedy and drama is drastically way off base. Both performances are mediocre at best, but we're suppose to hail it as "great" because they're comedians. Both are basket cases, but Hader had me rolling my eyes more than once with his sad face.
The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.
The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.
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I liked it enough, wasn't too thrilled with aspects of it. I don't get why Wig is on this depressed indie genre so much.
The balance of comedy and drama is drastically way off base. Both performances are mediocre at best, but we're suppose to hail it as "great" because they're comedians. Both are basket cases, but Hader had me rolling my eyes more than once with his sad face.
The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.
The drama is simply too miserable. It left me wondering why I bothered to subject myself to such stuff.
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I just finished watching The Skeleton Twins. Hmmm... do I wanna talk about it here.... or do I wanna write a full review in my thread since I haven't done that in awhile? The ending was very disappointing. I feel like there was absolutely no real closure. It felt fake. There were actually a lot of good moments in the movie, and some meh ones, but the movie ended on a huge meh note. I'm disappointed. It relied a lot on, shall we say, a BOGUS "feel good" attachment to the brother/sister storyline without really advancing into anything else past that, which would have been more mature and interesting to explore. The film was stunted in its developments.
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