I went into The Kitchen with low expectations. Seriously
low. The reviews online had not been kind, but I figured I’d give it a shot
anyways. It turns out the critics were wrong. At least in my opinion.
In 1978, three gangsters in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen get busted and sentenced
to three years in prison. Their wives are left behind to navigate the gritty
Irish neighborhood alone. Kathy (Melissa McCarthy) is the heart of the group.
Mother of two, sweet, and friends with everyone in the community. Ruby (Tiffany
Haddish), a black woman, has basically been iced out by her white in-laws. Especially
her nasty mother-in-law (Margo Martindale). Claire (Elizabeth Moss) is actually
thankful for her husband’s sentence because he has been abusing her for years.
The women are given little financial assistance and can’t get real jobs. So, they
decide to go into the business, seeing a chance to outmaneuver the head of the
mob and usurp his territory. The money flows in along with the problems.
Murder, backstabbing, and twists come flying fast.
The theme of women’s empowerment runs through the film. It was
written and directed by a woman (Andrea Berloff) and has three formidable
female characters. For years Kathy, Ruby, and Claire depended on men to take
care of them. But when their safety net is taken away, they discover they can
do a better job of running things. It’s not that they don’t need men. They come
to rely on a few tough guys, especially brutal executor-turned boyfriend,
Gabriel (Domhnall Gleeson). But they needed the men to get out of their way so
they could stand on their own. As their husbands’ equals. The tenacity was inside
them all along. They just needed the opportunity.
Berloff and her cast successfully capture the evolution of these
former mob wives in a changing landscape. Yes, there are some weak plot points
in the script. And certain characters
could have been fleshed out more. But in the end, I walked out of the theatre
feeling more entertained than I would have thought going in. Sometimes you have
to ignore movie reviews. Just, not mine.
I recently watched Weekend at Bernie’s for the first
time since I was a kid for two reasons. One, it was the 30th
Anniversary this year. And, two, I wanted to see if I still liked it as an
adult. Yes, I laughed at certain parts. But you can enjoy something while recognizing
how utterly stupid it is. And this is a very stupid movie.
Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are co-workers at an insurance company. They discover a scam going on and report it to their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser). Little do they know that Bernie is behind the insurance swindling. He asks his mafia buddy, Vito, to kill his employees that weekend at his beach house. But instead, Vito orders his hitman, Paulie, to whack Bernie. Not a good idea to screw a mob boss’ girlfriend, Bern. Cut to Richard and Larry showing up at Bernie’s house and finding him dead. What does a sensible person do? Fools, there are no sensible people in this movie! Instead of going to the cops, the guys pretend that Bernie is alive so they can still hang at his beach house. Hijinks ensue.
For the rest of the movie, Larry and Richard bumble around
with Bernie’s body. There’s Bernie hanging at the cocktail party, being taken away
by the tide, and even waterskiing. He’s also “killed” again. And again. Paulie
really is the dumbest hitman of them all. And let’s not even talk about Bernie’s
girlfriend having sex with his corpse. For 30 minutes. No words.
The good things about Bernie’s? Well, Silverman and
McCarthy make for a good comedy duo. Any other actors would have made this a more
painful experience. But these two are likeable and they seem to be having a
good time. Their characters are idiots, but they’re nice idiots. Lister is also
well cast. Even though he spends 90% of the movie just being thrown around or
falling over things, he excels at it. I have to give points to Bernie’s beach house
too. It’s the 80s-ist house there ever was on film. Crazy colors, enormous
couches, and glass block walls. It really is a character itself. The title
character, if you think about it.
So, this movie doesn’t hold up so well. Not that it had much
to work with. But it’s still kinda fun. Also, what’s more absurd than Weekend
at Bernie’s? The fact that there was a Weekend at Bernie’s 2!
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
takes you on a winding ride back to 1969. Along the way you meet actor Rick
Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his best friend/stunt
double. Rick was once a popular star, but his career has declined significantly.
This doesn’t have the best effect on Cliff’s job prospects, but he takes it in
stride. The film also focuses on Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). You see her interacting
with her husband and friends. The beginnings of a young actress’ life. Other
characters are interwoven into the story, with stars like Kurt Russell, Al
Pacino, and Bruce Dern making appearances.
Aside from some story points, there isn’t a lot of plot
here. In fact [*spoiler alert*] it isn’t until the last 30 minutes where Tarantino
really hits you in the face with some major development. Like, some really gruesome,
yet hilarious, development.
The crux of the movie is following these characters around
for a few days. DiCaprio does a fantastic job portraying a washed-up star
desperately clinging to his past fame. Pitt is great as an easy-going, fun guy
who’s happy just to be living in Hollywood. And Robbie brightens the film with
her sunny effervescent portrayal of Sharon.
Speaking of, Sharon will always be associated with Charles
Manson and his “family”. But I’m glad that we see very little of the cult
leader. Just one scene, actually. Yes, there is a lot of time spent on his
followers, including a particularly tense sequence with Cliff. But this isn’t a
movie about them thankfully. There was more to Sharon than her death and I’m
happy that Tarantino shows that.
The director also showcases the beauty and grittiness of Hollywood
in the late 60s. Seeing the town transformed into its former self is a huge
draw for the film. All that neon. And the music choices are spot on, adding to
the experience. The one con is the length of the film. 2 hours and 45 minutes is
a stretch, especially since it meanders quite a bit. It comes off as indulgent.
But this is a movie worth seeing if you want to flashback to an iconic period
in Hollywood history.
The documentary Making Montgomery Clift aims to paint a
more accurate picture of the classic Hollywood actor. I feel like most people
only know a few facts about him. And some of those facts are quite shaky. But
if you don’t want to dig deeper about a subject, you tend to go with the basic
things out there. Co-directors Robert A. Clift and Hillary Demmon set out to
fill in the details that previous movies, books, or TV specials left out.
Robert, Montgomery’s nephew, is especially invested in correcting the stories
that have been told about his uncle over the years.
The biggest misconception that the film sets out to dispel is
that Montgomery was a tragic figure. Supposedly he was a self-hating homosexual
who was slowing killing himself with heavy drinking and pills. The film doesn’t
try to skip over his vices, but it’s clear that he didn’t have a death wish
either. He seemed to have enjoyed his life. In terms of his sexuality, he was
open as one could be at that time about being into men. His friend Jack Larson
speaks of how Montgomery was affectionate with him, going so far as to kiss him
in a restaurant. He refused to play the game, like other gay actors in that
period, by getting married to a woman. In addition, many interviewees in the
film talk about his light-hearted jovial spirit. Definitely not the walking
tragedy he was reported to be.
A lot of attention was paid to Montgomery’s appearance. He was
an exceptionally beautiful man and his talent often gets overshadowed by his
looks. The documentary goes into detail about how serious he was about acting. He
was very choosy about which movies he made turning down many prominent roles,
like the lead in Sunset Boulevard. Montgomery also refused to sign a
contract with a studio. He wanted to be a free agent and avoid being controlled
by the system. In the middle of his career, he was involved in a horrific car
accident that altered his appearance dramatically. It was alleged that this
contributed to his downward spiral. But a talking head in the film says Montgomery
actually preferred how he looked after the accident. The focus wasn’t on his
looks anymore and he could become more of a character actor.
The one flaw in this valuable history lesson of a film is the
focus on Montgomery’s brother William Brooks Clift Jr. Like his son, Robert, William
was invested in correcting the false information that had been put out about
his brother. He was a bit obsessed with his brother’s career actually. William
horded pictures, home movies, newspaper clippings, and audio recordings
featuring Montgomery. The film devotes a lot of time to this obsession. It
makes sense that Robert would want to mention his father. He certainly
influenced the movie. But so much detail slows down the narrative and the focus
is taken away from Montgomery. It all could have been trimmed down more.
I felt like I walked out of Making with a better
understanding of who Montgomery was as a person. And, it definitely made me
side-eye previous reports about him. In a voice-over, Robert speaks of wanting
to give back the dignity that past tabloid tales took away from his uncle. I
think he definitely achieves his goal with this film.
The documentary Halston tells the story of the famous fashion
designer who made a huge mark on the industry in the 70’s and 80’s. Halston started
out as a hat designer for Bergdorf Goodman, going on to create Jackie Kennedy’s
iconic pillbox hat for JFK’s inauguration. Hats soon evolved into an entire
women’s line. His style was effortless chic. Simple, but stunning pieces that
flattered a women’s body. Soon he branched out into perfume, menswear, bedding,
and even flight attendant uniforms. It seemed like everything he touched made a
profit. Of course, his precipitous rise led to an even bigger fall. Three
things did him in: drugs/partying, selling his company/name to a corporation,
and partnering with JC Penny for a more cost-friendly line. The documentary
focuses a great deal of time on that last one. Soon Halston found himself shunned
by the fashion world and kicked out of his own company. Six years later he was
dead at age 57 from AIDS-related complications. An incredibly sad end for such
a towering man.
My main issue with the movie is that director Frederic
Tcheng could have presented a more well-rounded look at Halston, the man. His
personal life gets so little airtime. There are about two sentences devoted to
his relationship with illustrator Victor Hugo. Leaving the viewer to wonder
exactly how this love affair began and ended. Then there’s the missing chunk of
time between losing his company in 1984 and his death in 1990. Did he keep on
designing? Were there any hopes of staging a comeback? All a mystery. Similarly,
the years after he died, when the Halston line was revisited by other designers
in the late 90s and 2000s, is given zero play. Tcheng missed out on an
opportunity to go further into the story. I could have also done without the
filmmaker’s fictional narrator framing device. The interludes featuring her
were fairly corny and unnecessary.
On the plus side, there are several great moments in the
film. For starters, seeing Halston’s stunning designs in all their 70s/80s
glory. He had such a talent for making simplistic clothing seem very glamorous.
He really put his stamp on that era in fashion. All of the archival footage is captivating.
The Battle of Versailles, a grand China trip, and his many television
appearances. I enjoyed the scenes featuring him and his troupe of beautiful
models, the Halstonettes. So campy. The talking head interviews are also well
placed. I especially liked hearing from Liza Minelli, model Pat Cleveland, and Halston’s
niece Lesley Frowick. You can tell that they all loved him deeply. At one point
Liza refuses to speak negatively of her friend or dish any dirt. And that’s the
last you see of her.
Even with a few flaws, Halston works as an homage to
a brilliant designer. He may have made some missteps, but he will be remembered
as someone who shaped the fashion world and the American culture.
And now, just because, here’s Sister Sledge’s “He’s the Greatest Dancer”, which gives Halston a shout out…
After the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, a second movie
about a flamboyant larger than life rockstar in the 70s and 80s might fall in
the shadow of what came before it. But I think it’s unfair to lump Rocketman
in with that other film. Especially because this movie is ten times better than
Bohemian Rhapsody. Like, glaringly better. But let’s move on.
Rocketman focuses on the personal life and career of
Elton John (Taron Egerton). He grows up in working class England in a very
unhappy home. His father is never around and when he is, he’s cold and distant.
His mother (Bryce Dallas Howard) isn’t much better. She thinks of her son as a
burden she must carry. Young Elton escapes his harsh reality through music.
He’s a piano prodigy, perfectly imitating any piece he hears. He pursues a
career in music as he matures, playing in a band and backing other artists. Elton’s
life changes dramatically when he meets Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). Bernie has the
lyrics to match up with Elton’s music. It’s a perfect partnership. Fame,
fortune, and amazing songs soon follow. And just as quickly comes the spiral,
with alcohol and drugs.
Even though Rocketman is considered a biopic it’s
really more than that. Much more fantastical, for sure. Elton and other
characters break into song and dance numbers all over the place. And his music
is used to establish the mood and further the plot of the movie. It feels like
an existing Broadway musical that was adapted for the screen. I was already a
big fan of his songs, but it was interesting to see them staged and performed
in new way here. “Tiny Dancer”, “Amoreena”, “Pinball Wizard”, and “Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road” are standouts. Director Dexter Fletcher creates a fun,
exciting spectacle for the viewer. The whirlwind of Elton’s life is captured
beautifully through his lens. And hats off (no pun here) to the fabulous costumes
designed by Julian Day. So many sequins!
I also enjoyed the fact that this was an R-rated movie.
Elton recently said, “I haven’t led a PG-13 life”. So, his movie shouldn’t shy
away from those elements. You get to see him exploring his sexuality, complete
with gay sex scenes. There’s also the heavy drug use. Sometimes a bit too
heavy. His downward spiral felt like it went on for far too long. But that was
the truth of his experience.
The heart of the film is Egerton. He’s in almost every
scene, carrying it all on his back. He doesn’t just slap on a wig and do an
imitation of Elton. He offers up his own interpretation of the icon. It’s a
strong performance. Huge points for actually using his own singing voice and
not lip synching…unlike other actors in recent biopics. Bell and Howard also
shine in their roles. Howard has a particularly tough job of making a heartless
woman seem human.
I walked out of the theatre with a renewed appreciation for
Elton and the path he took to get to where he is now. It’s an inspiring story
of highs, lows, self-acceptance, and perseverance. With a fantastic soundtrack
to accompany it.
Midnight Cowboy is celebrating it’s 50th
Anniversary this year. Despite being a half a century old, though, it holds up.
I think that’s mainly because the heart of John Schlesinger’s Oscar winning movie
is a friendship. An unlikely one. One that starts off on the wrong foot, with a
lie. But in the end, it’s the only thing that really matters. Jon Voight and
Dustin Hoffman deliver terrific performances as two outcasts who find some sort
of solace with one another.
Joe Buck (Voight), a virile young man in a small Texas town,
heads to New York to make it as a hustler. Not exactly #careergoals, but that’s
his dream. He’s going to service rich Park Avenue ladies and make a fortune. So,
he quits his dishwasher job at the local diner and hops on a bus for NYC.
What’s interesting is how optimistic and joyful he is about this move. He just
knows everything is going to turn out his way. He’s young, good looking,
dressed like a cowboy, and can make love for hours. It just occurred to me that
this could be the premise for a porn flick. No wonder this film was rated X. Anyways,
things don’t go quite as planned for Joe. And his hustling career gets off to
the rocky start.
Meeting Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman) doesn’t help things. Ratso is
the complete opposite of Joe. Unattractive, sickly, and run down. Compared to
hopeful Joe, Ratso is jaded and hardened. He doesn’t see any opportunity in NYC.
Not unless he’s conning it out of someone. Poor naïve Joe doesn’t see the con
coming. Ratso promises to introduce him to
a man who can basically be his pimp. The intro comes for a fee of course. The
pimp turns out to be a crazed religious fanatic who scares the hell out of Joe.
And the audience. Soon after Joe hasn’t made any progress with his hustling. He
ends up broke, kicked out of his hotel, and desperate. So desperate that he
picks up a gay man and allows the guy to give him a blow job. Since Joe has the
worst luck, it turns out the john has no money to pay him. Always ask for the
cash up front, man.
Enter Ratso…again. Joe runs into the con man and basically
wants to beat the crap out of him. Ratso doesn’t have his money, but he can
offer a place to live. In a condemned building. Joe can’t be choosy and accepts.
Ratso isn’t just trying to avoid a beating with this invitation. He doesn’t
want to be alone. Even though he barely knows Joe, he’s somebody. And Joe is
probably thinking the same. Ratso even offers to be Joe’s pimp. During this
time the two get to know each other more as they struggle to get by. They get
into a debate about Joe’s cowboy getup. Ratso thinks the look is stupid. Joe
defends his clothes and says they make him feel good. I like the vulnerability
Voight shows in this scene. Later in the film, Ratso and Joe break into a shoe
shine stand. Ratso shines Joes shoes and talks about how his father had this
same job for years until it basically killed him. Ratso is determined not to go
out like that. There’s another great sequence with the pair dancing around
their icy apartment to keep warm. They’re listening to a jingle on Joe’s
beloved radio. The one he’s had with him throughout the film. They dance all
the way to the pawn shop where he sells it. It’s depressing, but necessary for
their survival. On a sunnier note, one
of my favorite JoeRat (just made that up) scenes is when Ratso daydreams about
moving to Florida with Joe and hitting it big with the rich ladies down there.
Seeing the two of them frolicking on the beach is worth the price of admission
alone. It’s manic and weird and wonderful.
After a random encounter takes them to a crazy Warholesque
party, things take a turn. Not so good for Ratso, who is getting sick and takes
a header down a flight of stairs. But Joe ends up meeting Shirley (Brenda
Vaccaro), a rich woman who wants to sleep with him. And pay! I’ll skip over the
erotic cribbage game and get to Shirly offering to introduce Joe to her friends
who also want to partake in his services. His luck is finally turning around.
Well it was for a second. Joe gets back home to find Ratso
is deathly ill. He can’t even walk, but he refuses to go to the hospital.
Instead, he begs Joe to get him to Florida. Hoffman does an amazing job of
conveying Ratso’s dread and weakness in this scene. The hardness he had is
gone. After a disturbing encounter where Joe beats and robs a john, he and
Ratso board a bus to Florida. They’re off to a brand-new life. And then Ratso
dies on the bus. It’s heartbreaking. They were so close to finally winning. The
bus driver says they’ll carry on since there’s nothing they can do for him. Joe
puts his arm around Ratso, holding him. It’s an incredibly sad and sweet moment.
The film ends with an amazing shot, looking in thru the bus window at the two
friends in their final moment together.
**BONUS**
Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin” is the perfect
soundtrack to this story. As beautiful and haunting as the scenes it accompanies.
Going to church has never been my thing. When I was a kid, I
would use any excuse to get out of going. Right down to the “put the
thermometer on the light bulb to fake a fever” trick. Church didn’t interest
me. All that preaching, testifying, and bible verse reading. I thought it was
extremely boring. Except for one thing: the music. Once the organ started
playing and the choir stood up to sing, I perked up. That was the good stuff.
The songs that made me want to clap along. I wouldn’t really sing though. I
mainly wanted to listen to the pros do it. People like Aretha Franklin. No, I
never actually got to hear Aretha sing live. She wasn’t visiting my church
anytime soon. But with the new movie, Amazing
Grace, I get pretty close to attending a service featuring the Queen of
Soul.
In 1972, director Sydney Pollack captured the live recording
of Aretha’s gospel album, Amazing Grace, as she performed at the New Missionary
Baptist Church in LA. It would go on to become the best-selling gospel album of
all time. The film didn’t fare so well. Due to technical problems, it was never
released. Even after these issues were resolved, decades later, Aretha blocked
the film from coming out. But, after her death, her family finally gave their
blessing.
I’m grateful that this film was able to be salvaged. You are
getting peak Aretha here. Her voice fills the auditorium wrapping itself around
you. Over two nights she sings a collection of standard hymns like, “Mary Don’t
You Weep”, “How I Got Over”, and my favorite here, “Wholy Holy”. There’s also
an interesting mashup of “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” and Carol King’s ballad “You’ve
Got a Friend”. Surprisingly, the songs blend perfectly together. The greatest
moment is the finale with “Never Grow Old”. Aretha works the entire room into a
frenzy. At one point, she’s so overcome with emotion that she has to sit down.
But she gathers herself and is able to deliver a final wail, much to the
delight of the crowd. And the viewers. It’s truly wondersome.
Even after remastering the film it’s still not that
polished. At times the camera is out of focus. Or you can see crew members in a
shot. At one point, the camera is shaking as if the person holding it was
dancing along to the music. Perhaps he got caught up in the moment. I actually
like that this isn’t a slick production. It feels more real and raw. And New
Mission isn’t very fancy either. This a simple place where people gather for
worship and fellowship. Before “mega church” became the norm. I also enjoyed
the crowd reactions. These aren’t paid extras. You can tell they’re feeling
Aretha and the spirit as if they’re not being filmed. A few times you catch
Mick Jagger making a cameo in the pews. But he’s really just another
parishioner moving to the beat.
The thing I appreciate most about this film is that it’s focused on Aretha and the music. Yes, it’s set in a church and she’s signing about Jesus, but you don’t have to be a believer in any particular religion to enjoy it. For some the message and the word of God is important. For others, not so much. But all can agree that they are moved by Aretha’s voice. This speaks to the power of music to bring all walks of people together. And the greatness of the Queen who delivers it.
I can always count on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to
introduce me to interesting films. I like to go thru their lineup each week and
search for new (to me) titles. This happened recently with the 1970 drama Tick…Tick…Tick.
In Tick, Jim Price
(Jim Brown) is elected as the first black sheriff of Colusa, a small southern
town. Not surprisingly, this doesn’t go over well with the white population.
They don’t want this “boy” as their sheriff. They’re lined up outside the
police station on his first day, ready to attack. His deputies promptly quit on
him. And things get worse when Sheriff Price has to arrest John Braddock
(Robert Random) a rich white man charged with committing vehicular manslaughter.
Luckily, Jim has John Little (George Kennedy) the former sheriff on his side, as
well as Mayor Parks (Frederic March).
It would be easy to dismiss this movie as a knock off of In the Heat of the Night. The Best
Picture Oscar winner came out two years before Tick and it explores similar themes: black men placed in roles of
authority in a racially divided south are met with challenges and have to prove
themselves. In a funny coincidence, Tick’s
screenwriter, James Lee Barrett, went on to create the TV version of In the Heat of the Night in 1988.
But Tick isn’t
trying to be ITHOTN. It stands out on
its own with a compelling story. There are also three strong leading men.
Brown, a former professional football player, easily makes the transition into
acting. Kennedy plays the hurt and disappointment of a man who has suddenly
been ousted from a job he truly cared about. And veteran film star, March, provides
both comedy and a masterful presence as the cantankerous Mayor Parks.
Director Ralph Nelson does a wonderful job of creating the
feel of this tense overheated southern town. The sweat practically drips of the
screen into your living room (or theatre, if you’re lucky to catch a
screening). I also appreciated the fantastic chase scene where Sheriff Price
has to run down an elusive Braddock. The camera stays with Brown as he practically
flies across the screen.
If I have a complaint about the movie, it would be that the
story wraps up a little too easily. I wouldn’t have minded a couple of more
beats before we got to the conclusion. I’d also say the roles for the women are
very limited. They don’t have much to do and are portrayed as nagging wives,
screeching harpies, or worse, victims. But these faults don’t take away from an
overall enjoyable film.
**BONUS**
Big points for the soundtrack, made up of Tompall and the
Glaser Brothers songs. They contribute to the flavor of the film. The best of
the bunch is “California Girl (And the Tennessee Square)”. A pure toe tapper
with a Thoreau reference tossed in!
It’s helpful to go into The
Best of Enemies with few expectations. This won’t be the best movie you see
all year, but it won’t be the worst either. It’s just…adequate.
The film, set in 1971 North Carolina, focuses on a civil
rights activist and a local KKK leader who form a highly unlikely friendship.
Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson) and C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell) are called upon to
co-chair a community summit (aka a charette) about school desegregation. Of
course, from the start they hate each other. Slurs are thrown around by both
sides. But over the course of the summer they grow to sorta kinda like each
other. Big emphasis on sorta.
If this wasn’t a true story, I’d say it could never have
happened in a million years. And really, the wild premise is the best thing
about the movie. I had no idea this small part of history existed. Too bad the
script doesn’t help to flesh it out better.
This could have been a great historical drama with equal
focus on Ann and C.P. I would have liked to learn more about Ann and her life,
beyond being an activist for her community. Instead, so much of the movie is
devoted to C.P.’s journey. This means a lot of focus on the Klan. Which
translates to several scenes with racists being racist. What’s the point? You
don’t have to convince me that these are disgusting people. One Klan meeting
would have sufficed. Also, the film feels very long, moving at a glacial pace. Not
playing the same bigoted beat over and over would have gone a long way to help
that.
Henson and Rockwell are fantastic as usual. They both deliver
strong performances. Anne Heche also stands out in her role as C.P.’s wife. But
I wish they had better material to work with here.
Some are going to argue that this movie is another Green Book or The Help. There are similar themes for sure. But The Best of Enemies can’t live up to the
movies that came up before it. And it will surely be forgotten by the time award
season comes around, unlike its counterparts. But if a moviegoer is looking for
a fairly entertaining film to fill their matinee slot, again, this will be
adequate.
NostalGeoff 