So the other night (lucky me!) I won the chance to see a preview screening of the upcoming HBO film entitled Grey Gardens. For those of you not familiar, there is a documentary of the same name in existence that was filmed in the early 1970s. The documentary films and interviews a mother and daughter who are in fact aunt and cousin to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Bottom line? These two ladies have gone a bit mad living together with virtually no other human contact (and an excessive amount of feline contact).
The HBO film takes the idea a bit further than the doc and explores the lives of these two women before they went crazy, so to speak, and intertwines it with reenactments of the documentary. Drew Barrymore plays the daughter, "little" Edie (Edith) Beale, and Jessica Lange plays the mother, "big" Edie Beale. Both play their parts very well; Barrymore is surprisingly good, in fact (surprising because although I like her, her strive to accomplish dramatic roles is always a bit amusing to me). In spite of my skepticism, Barrymore plays little Edie with passion, compassion and life.
The Edies made for a very intriguing and somewhat appalling news story soon after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The world learned that these two women, once wealthy and pampered by Mr. Beale, were living in squalor in their formerly beautiful summer home, Grey Gardens. It was quite the scandal because Cousin Jackie was such a prominet American figure. However, the film reveals that it was Jackie who helped them out of their state and to survive from then on.
What is most provocative about this film is its exploration of wealth and being "kept." Big Edie was a woman of the 1920s, very accustomed to her husband's money and status and confident that she was indestructible. What she did not count on, however, was the Great Depression coupled with the fact that someday she may have to fend for herself--which in fact she had no idea how to do. Little Edie, as a result of her mother's overprotection, found herself much in the same boat. Their relationship is a dysfunctional but loving one, somewhat like a married couple who has spent entirely too many years with one another.
I don't want to give the entire story away--any of this you could read in a summary--but the film is very well done and interesting. It's a great story and I highly recommend the documentary as well. (Side note: believe it or not, the story of little and big Edie has also been made into a musical!) Grey Gardens premieres on HBO this Saturday, April 18th, at 8pm.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Prodigal Reviewer Returns!
At long last, I am back for your reading pleasure! So sorry for the absence--life has just gotten in the way lately. But now, here I am to inform you of new movies on DVD that you should definitely check out (and a couple to avoid) as well as a bit of thoughtful perspective on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...
Cadillac Records: I have to say that I am seriously tired of the worn-out musical biography film. I keep hoping that one is going to sweep me off of my feet like Ray did but, unfortunately, Cadillac Records is not the one. Not that it isn't worth a watch--it goes through the history of Chess (aka Cadillac) Records, starting with the discovery of Muddy Waters to Chuck Berry and finally Etta James. Mos Def gives a fun, quirky performance as Berry and Beyonce Knowles is descent as James, although the story of Etta seems lacking. In fact, because the film only touches the surface of each singer's life story, all of the history seems a bit lacking. The audience just begins to get to know each character when the story moves to the next singer. The story of Cadillac Records is an interesting one and the filmmakers tried to do it justice but...unfortunately it ends up being just so-so.
Seven Pounds: I had heard mixed reviews about this Will Smith vehicle but, I gotta say, I love Will Smith--even when he's making a mediocre zombie movie like I, Legend. So I watched it in bed last night and was also a bit mixed in my own response. It is definitely not one of Smith's best films or performances--however, the film presents the viewer with an interesting concept of a good man so plagued by guilt about a mistake that took lives that he feels he must give of himself to gain redemption. Even if the redemption means he must let go of love. It is about sacrifice and penance and it is a film that sticks with you long after the credits have rolled and you've taken the dvd out of the player. Rosario Dawson is good in this film as a woman suffering from congenetal heart failure. The plot is somewhat predictable--it pretends to be a big mystery but for the most part, you know what's going on before the film tells you--but the concept, like I said, sticks with you. Worth a watch.
Let the Right One In: This was supposed to be Twilight but awesome...??? Not so much. Same old tired vampire myths, a boring and slow pace, nothing that cool and unique here. Very disappointing from the director of Nightwatch. Personally, I'm no Twilight fan but at least writer Stephanie Meyer came up with a new idea: vampires glitter in the sun. Cutsie but new rather than boring and cliche. I was so looking forward to this one, too!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: I watched this one yesterday for the first time (I know, it's crazy that I haven't seen this one yet, right?) and all I could think about was the significant number of movies about drugs that came out in the late 90s (Vegas, Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream, Traffic). This was common practice around then, discussing the perils of doing drugs and trafficking drugs...Why did it stop? These movies were well-done, well-made and, well, effective--so where did they go? It's a subject that perhaps has been worn out, much like the musical biography that is irritating me so much right now...Actually, by the time Traffic came out, I was tired of the drug stories, I have to admit. I didn't care for Traffic at all but I felt films like Vegas, Trainspotting and Requiem told stories that remained with the viewer a long time after seeing them, years even.
Vegas doesn't have much of a plot, it mostly follows two guys around and shows the audience what they saw while hopped up on a variety of drugs over a couple of weeks time in Las Vegas which eventually ended up compiled in a book by Hunter S. Thompson (one of the said guys). However, the film reveals a "drug reality," visually taking the audience on the trip with them which is sometimes amusing and other times a bit scary as Thompson's attorney (Benecio del Toro) acts pretty psychotic. Anyone who has ever been under the influence of a substance, even alcohol, can relate to the disjointed reality of this influence--but hopefully not to the extent of the characters in Vegas! Nonetheless, the film presents multiple reasons for one to avoid drugs, as do Requiem, Traffic and especially Trainspotting (the dead baby scene, anyone?)
So where have they gone? Are we so numb to the drug problem in America that the subject is no longer relevant? Or perhaps these films are enough to assuage us for now--these films were substantial and impactful and they did the job right, so to speak.
I guess now we've moved into the era of the music biography...sigh...personally, I'm ready for a something new and unique!! I get so frustrated and tired of the way Hollywood has success with one film and then tries to replicate it over and over.
We'll see if my next up films can do something different! Slumdog Millionaire, I Love you, Man and Grey Gardens are up. I hope they're up to the challenge. 'Til next time--
Cadillac Records: I have to say that I am seriously tired of the worn-out musical biography film. I keep hoping that one is going to sweep me off of my feet like Ray did but, unfortunately, Cadillac Records is not the one. Not that it isn't worth a watch--it goes through the history of Chess (aka Cadillac) Records, starting with the discovery of Muddy Waters to Chuck Berry and finally Etta James. Mos Def gives a fun, quirky performance as Berry and Beyonce Knowles is descent as James, although the story of Etta seems lacking. In fact, because the film only touches the surface of each singer's life story, all of the history seems a bit lacking. The audience just begins to get to know each character when the story moves to the next singer. The story of Cadillac Records is an interesting one and the filmmakers tried to do it justice but...unfortunately it ends up being just so-so.
Seven Pounds: I had heard mixed reviews about this Will Smith vehicle but, I gotta say, I love Will Smith--even when he's making a mediocre zombie movie like I, Legend. So I watched it in bed last night and was also a bit mixed in my own response. It is definitely not one of Smith's best films or performances--however, the film presents the viewer with an interesting concept of a good man so plagued by guilt about a mistake that took lives that he feels he must give of himself to gain redemption. Even if the redemption means he must let go of love. It is about sacrifice and penance and it is a film that sticks with you long after the credits have rolled and you've taken the dvd out of the player. Rosario Dawson is good in this film as a woman suffering from congenetal heart failure. The plot is somewhat predictable--it pretends to be a big mystery but for the most part, you know what's going on before the film tells you--but the concept, like I said, sticks with you. Worth a watch.
Let the Right One In: This was supposed to be Twilight but awesome...??? Not so much. Same old tired vampire myths, a boring and slow pace, nothing that cool and unique here. Very disappointing from the director of Nightwatch. Personally, I'm no Twilight fan but at least writer Stephanie Meyer came up with a new idea: vampires glitter in the sun. Cutsie but new rather than boring and cliche. I was so looking forward to this one, too!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: I watched this one yesterday for the first time (I know, it's crazy that I haven't seen this one yet, right?) and all I could think about was the significant number of movies about drugs that came out in the late 90s (Vegas, Trainspotting, Requiem for a Dream, Traffic). This was common practice around then, discussing the perils of doing drugs and trafficking drugs...Why did it stop? These movies were well-done, well-made and, well, effective--so where did they go? It's a subject that perhaps has been worn out, much like the musical biography that is irritating me so much right now...Actually, by the time Traffic came out, I was tired of the drug stories, I have to admit. I didn't care for Traffic at all but I felt films like Vegas, Trainspotting and Requiem told stories that remained with the viewer a long time after seeing them, years even.
Vegas doesn't have much of a plot, it mostly follows two guys around and shows the audience what they saw while hopped up on a variety of drugs over a couple of weeks time in Las Vegas which eventually ended up compiled in a book by Hunter S. Thompson (one of the said guys). However, the film reveals a "drug reality," visually taking the audience on the trip with them which is sometimes amusing and other times a bit scary as Thompson's attorney (Benecio del Toro) acts pretty psychotic. Anyone who has ever been under the influence of a substance, even alcohol, can relate to the disjointed reality of this influence--but hopefully not to the extent of the characters in Vegas! Nonetheless, the film presents multiple reasons for one to avoid drugs, as do Requiem, Traffic and especially Trainspotting (the dead baby scene, anyone?)
So where have they gone? Are we so numb to the drug problem in America that the subject is no longer relevant? Or perhaps these films are enough to assuage us for now--these films were substantial and impactful and they did the job right, so to speak.
I guess now we've moved into the era of the music biography...sigh...personally, I'm ready for a something new and unique!! I get so frustrated and tired of the way Hollywood has success with one film and then tries to replicate it over and over.
We'll see if my next up films can do something different! Slumdog Millionaire, I Love you, Man and Grey Gardens are up. I hope they're up to the challenge. 'Til next time--
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