Semiquincentennial Movie Project #34: Short Circuit

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

 

 

Week #34: Oregon :

 

The state of Oregon became the 34th of the union on February 14, 1859.

Details about Oregon:

State bird: Western meadowlark

State flower: Oregon grape

State tree: Douglas fir 

Additional interesting facts: 

As pictured above, Oregon is the only state to have it's state flag with two different emblems, one on each side. 

The actual origin of the state name is inconclusive, but I find it interesting that one of the theories is it got it's name from the fact that oregano grew in lushly in the southern part of the state. 

Although the Springfield in The Simpsons is not exactly located in Oregon, a real town by that name was the inspiration for Matt Groening, the creator of the show.

The name of the city Portland, Oregon was decided by a coin flip. It was to be either that or Boston.

Oh, and one other thing I find extremely interesting: Oregon was the first state to establish a "state mushroom". (Think about it... it's almost like kismet... given that the state was a mecca for hippie back-to-nature advocates) It is the Pacific golden chanterelle.

Famous people born in Oregon: Matt Groening, Tonya Harding, River Phoenix, Sally Struthers, Doc Severinson (Johnny Carson's Tonight Show bandleader), Linus Pauling and Chief Joseph (of "I will fight no more forever" fame), 

 

 

 

Short Circuit  (1986): 

Preface (or possibly, a rant): As predictable in many movies of this stripe, the government (and the military by relation) is the big bugaboo. You might get the idea, reasonably I might add, that in times of conservative dominance in the White House, that Hollywood is decidedly anarchistic. To wit, this movie came out in 1986, right in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second term in the office of the President of the United States. During this, and other times, when the office was occupied by a Republican, quite a number of  Hollywood movies that had a dealing with government entities would show such entities in a negative light. Think E.T.: The Extraterrestrial (Reagan). Or Firestarter. (Reagan, again). Or V for Vendetta (George W. Bush). Or one of my favorites, They Live (George H. W. Bush), in which the government forces are not only evil, but they are also aliens from outer space. Don't get me wrong. I actually liked most of these movies, but I still find the Hollywood predilection for casting government in a negative light to be a bit off-putting. OK, rant over.

 

The film starts with some project in which the "evil" government is sponsoring a group of scientists involved in creating robots. (The government's plan is to use the robots to do soldier work, thus eliminating the necessity of using humans, which may be a good thing, but also putting thousands of men out of work if successful, so not ALL a good thing, if you ask me...) 

 

 

The main scientist, Crosby (Steve Guttenberg), would rather that the robots they are creating be used for more peaceful means, but, as usual, the idealistic scientist is trumped by the military in these situations.

 

At a display of the robots' power (there are 5 of these little beauties), they lay waste to an entire platoon of motorized vehicles, fortunately not manned by real people, just mannequins. At the after party, Crosby is reluctant to show his face despite the pressure of his boss, Dr. Marner (Austin Pendleton). 

 

 

Meanwhile, at the hobnob session, a smarmy general (Vernon Weddle) explains to a senator exactly what the point is behind these robots:

General: "The only way to secure the peace, Senator, as I'm sure you know, is to be prepared. See, we can parachute these robot guys behind enemy lines. They hide out till the first strike blows over. Then each one is able to just carry a 25-megaton bomb right up the middle of Main Street Moscow - like the mailman bringing bad news. We call it Operation 'Gotcha LAST!'"

(And you probably thought I was being overly critical of the way Hollywood portrays the military...)

Crosby, of course, questions the military applications of his robot. When his boss notes that Crosby has designed a machine that will keep people safe:

Crosby: "What's so safe about blowing people up?" 

There is a gremlin in the works, however, because while Robot #5 is on a charger a lightning bolt hits the transformer the charger is hooked up to, seemingly frying Number 5. But it is still functional. At least by initial appearances. But apparently that electromagnetic shock that the robot took scrambled it's operational wiring. And instead of going back to the lab, it hotfoots it out of the laboratory, off the grounds, and ends up in nearby Astoria.

Number 5, as the robot chooses to call itself, is on the ultimate quest to acquire as much information as it can ("need input"). It ends up with an amateur local animal shelter enthusiast, Stephanie (Ally Sheedy). But upon discovering the robot, she is under the impression that it is an alien that somehow crash-landed on Earth. (Yeah, she IS pretty clueless...)

Stephanie: "Oh, my God! I knew they'd pick me! I just knew it!" 

(Yeah, Stephanie... like you're the paragon of intelligent life in the universe...)

 

 

Number 5 and Stephanie hit it off, mainly because Stephanie is oblivious and so is Number 5 (who is voiced by Tim Blainey).  Stephanie, at Number 5's request for input, introduces the robot to her set of encyclopedias. Which, since he (and I am going to refer to him from now on as "he" because I am wanting to dispense with the gender neutral "it") is a robot, can consume all the information in a matter of seconds. Number 5 is on his way to becoming a fully thinking entity. 

 

 

After reading the entire library that Stephanie has, and still demanding more input, she introduces him to that vast purveyor of intelligence... local TV programming. (Now there's something every inquisitive being needs to access...) 

Meanwhile Dr. Crosby and his assistant, Ben (Fisher Stevens) are trying to recover Number 5. You might wonder, watching these two in action, how they ever managed to get through high school, much less advanced collegiate studies. 

 

Eventually Stephanie does get clued in that Number 5 is not an alien, but a rbot and her demeanor changes, because after all that laboratory down the road is an arm of the evil militaristic government...

(See? Government equals evil. It's so straightforward even a monkey could see it...)

Stephanie calls up Nova and Dr. Marner sends out the marines, or rather the Keystone Kops who sit in as security for the laboratories, led by Skroeder (G.W. Bailey), who makes the real Keystone Kops look like the Mensa patrol. 

 

And, unfortunately, now Number 5 is on the loose, because he knows that the laboratory is now coming to get him and disassemble him (in other words, he will be "dead"). Which is not good. As he now tells Stephanie:

Number 5: "Number 5...is alive!" 

So now Stephanie is on Number 5's side, and determined not to let that evil Nova have him back. But Nova (and by association, Skroeder) have other ideas. Not only that, but somehow Stephanie has to convince the only person that can even remotely help her, Crosby, that Number 5 has transmigrated from just a simple robot to a rational self-aware entity.

 

The second half of the film involves some of the better scenes in the movie, which include Number 5 taking the other 4 robots out of the picture. (No, not "dead", just convinced that their Nova mission is not the best idea for survival, at least, the survival of Number 5...) 

So what happens? I'm going to leave you with the opportunity to find out. And for those of you with little rugrats crawling around the house, this is one of those rare ones on my blog  that I can wholeheartedly recommend as family friendly.

Short Circuit had a fair bit of success at the box office. On a budget of $15 million it garnered a $40 million in receipts. Maybe not blockbuster material, but still a decent turn around. It was received with a mediocre rating by the critics. The New York Times critic, Vincent Canby, claimed that it was "a cheerful, inoffensive fantasy in which such attractive live actors as Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy play second fiddle to machinery."  But, on the other hand, Roger Ebert, whom I don't find necessarily unsympathetic many times, said that it was "too cute for its own good."

Rotten Tomatoes has it at 62% Fresh, which makes it somewhere near the middle of the pack. And, despite its box office showing, it only gets a 6.6 on IMDb. Is is good? That depends largely on your ability to accept some of the cheesier aspects of it. It is probably going to be a bigger hit with your kids or grandkids, I admit. But I think it's not bad, given the climate of movie output for the time. 1986 was also the year that gave us such feel good movies as My Chauffeur, Flight of the Navigator, The Karate Kid, Part II,  Labyrinth, and Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home. (It also gave us some of my favorites that are NOT family friendly types, like Big Trouble in Little China and Ruthless People, but a lot of the films that came out that year are childhood favorites for kids that were young at the time...)

Until nest time, drive safely, folks. And watch the roads. There may be some inexperienced robot trying to escape the evil government out there.

Quiggy

 

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #33: The Long Riders

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #33: Minnesota -

 

A note on the state flag: The above design was adopted in 2024. For much of my life it was different:

 

 

The state of Minnesota was established on May 11, 1858 

Details about Minnesota:

State bird: common loon

State flower: lady slipper

State tree: red pine

Additional historical trivia:

(The obvious first fact I have to include...): A local Minneapolis station was the first place we saw the classic TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K).

The L.A. Lakers basketball team originally played in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (thus explaining the origin of "Lakers").

Minnesota is the origin point of the Mississippi River and runs 681 miles or so through the state. (Compare that to Mississippi which only has about 400 miles of the river... so why not Minnesota River?)

The first pop-up toaster was invented in Minneapolis. It cost $15. (In 1920 the average wage was about $40 a week...)

The former stadium called the Metrodome in Minneapolis is the only place where there has been held a Super Bowl and a World Series and a NCAA Final Four. 

Famous people born in Minnesota: Prince, Judy Garland, Bob Dylan, Charles (Peanuts) Schulz, F, Scott Fitzgerald, J. Paul Getty, Roger Maris and Vice-President Walter Mondale.

 

 

The Long Riders (1980):

A unique film in the annals of Hollywood film history, The Long Riders brought together not one, not two, not three, but four sets of brothers on screen. Not only that, but it brought together actual acting brothers to play the roles of the brothers in the film's story. 

 

Over the years there had been numerous attempts to bring the story of the James-Younger gang to the big screen. Beginning in 1921, with the real son of Jesse James playing his legendary father, Jesse had been played by the likes of Tyrone Power, Audie Murphy and Robert Duvall. His brother Frank had been played by the likes of Henry Fonda, Jeffrey Hunter and Bill Paxton. The Younger brothers had been played by, among others, Alan Hale, Jr and Frank Gorshin (which, despite the familiar comedic names, was NOT a comedy) and Cliff Robertson. 

But in 1980, one of my favorite directors, Walter Hill, managed to bring together four acting families of brothers together to play characters that were actually brothers themselves. The Carradine family, three guys, David, Keith and Robert (whose father, John Carradine, was an acting legend himself ) played Cole, Jim and Bob Younger. James and Stacy Keach played Jesse and Frank James. Dennis and Randy Quaid played Ed and Clell Miller. And to round out this family outing, Christopher and Nicholas Guest played Charley and Robert Ford.

The Keaches as the James brothers

 

The Quaids as the Miller brothers

The Carradines as the Younger brothers

 

 

 

 

 

 

The result was this film, which was Hill's follow up to what is what I unabashedly claim as my second favorite movie of all time, The Warriors.  Continuing a theme of making "heroes" out of outlaws, the movie delves into the lives of the James - Younger gang in the late 1880's. The story begins, as is fitting, with the James boys, Frank (Stacy Keach) and Jesse (James Keach), along with the Younger brothers, Cole (David Carradine), Jim (Keith Carradine) and Bob (Robert Carradine) robbing a bank. With them are the Millers, Ed (Dennis Quaid) and Clell (Randy Quaid).

During the robbery, Ed, who is a bit of a loose cannon, shoots one of the tellers, for no apparent reason other than he thinks the teller is lying when he tells Ed the bank doesn't have a safe. Even though Ed is told by Cole that the teller is not lying. In the end, after the robbery, Jesse is disgusted with Ed and kicks him out of the gang. (At this point, I, for one am disappointed, not because it is not historically accurate... it is. What I am disappointed in is that it looks like I won't be seeing Dennis Quaid any more in this picture, and I like DQ...)

 

There are several long (and sometimes seemingly interminable)  scenes that involve what is basically character development. The lives of several of the characters become intertwined with relationship struggles as the robbers try to develop romantic entanglements with female counterparts. Of course, these guys being robbers, "good girls" are not part of it. There is Cole's love relationship with Belle (Pamela Reed), for instance. Belle is a prostitute, but maybe that's the best Cole could ever hope for, given his line of work. He even tells her that's the main reason he loves he, because she is a fallen woman. 

Jim doesn't have much better luck. He's kind of hooked on Beth (Amy Stryker), who is a much more reputable woman.  But it turns out that Ed (who wasn't just an early "one scene and done" character after all... thank God...) has stolen her from out of Jim's world.

 

In between the several opening sequences of character studies we do get some of the action that was the initial draw for people like me, who look to the western as a good old shoot-em-up. The gang rob a stagecoach, with a humorous scene involving the boys taking the clothes of a high and mighty character leaving him standing there in his skivvies with his wife. They also have a train robbery sequence. 

 

All this does is really piss off the Pinkerton men, the hired law enforcement group, led by a man named Rixley, played by James Whitmore, Jr. (Whitmore, Jr is the son of James Whitmore, whom many of you will probably remember as the trustee Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption). Rixley is almost as much a villain as the outlaws in this outing, exhibiting an obsessive drive to capture the James - Younger gang.

 

The story includes some memorable scenes, one of my favorite being when Cole Younger goes head to head in a knife fight with the half-breed that Belle had married while Cole was out doing his thing. The actor who plays Sam Starr is vaguely recognizable, but it was only when I read the credits that I found out it was James Remar. Remar is a veteran of Walter Hill films. His first big role was as Ajax in the previously mentioned The Warriors, and would be the bad guy that Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy were trying to track down in 48 Hrs. 

 

Eventually we get to what is the ultimate downfall of the gang when they try to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota.  (Note: this is the reason this film is counted as my Minnesota entry in the Semiquincentennial Movie Project, even though much of the action occurs elsewhere...sue me...) The problems mount during the robbery as nearly everything goes wrong, including the fact that the Pinkertons had been aware of the planned robbery and set up an ambush.

 

The appearance of the Guest brothers as the Ford brother, Charley and Robert, is minimal, at best. I think the only reason they were even included was to set up the final denouement as (spoiler alert, but is a part of history, so you may already know...) Charley shoots Jesse in the back a few years later.

And Christopher hardly even resembles the character some of would remember, Count Rugen, "the six-fingered man" from The Princess Bride...

The Long Riders was not a huge success. It budgeted at $million and only managed to pull in $15 million during it's initial run. But then, the number of movies that were financial boons for Walter Hill as director were not that many. And the big successes, financially speaking, involved the fact that major box office draws were cast in the leading roles; 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs. (Eddie Murphy), Red Heat (Arnold Schwazenegger) and Brewster's Millions (Richard Pryor). Hill still had enough success that he continued (and still continues) to make movies, of varied success. As I stated in my review of The Warriors and Streets of Fire, I consider him to be one of the best directors for what I call "guy movies".

The film has an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It got mostly positive reviews upon it's release. Roger Ebert has referenced it as "as a prime example of Hill’s strong visual energy, atmospheric tension, and mastery over kinetic action and male camaraderie."  Ebert's counterpart, Gene Siskel, gave the movie 3 ½ stars, saying  "the Western will live as long as directors make Westerns as fresh and exciting as The Long Riders, which tells an oft-told story uncommonly well."

My personal view is that the action makes up for those frequent, rather dull, character establishing scenes involving the gang's trials and tribulations with their female counterparts. Could the movie have done without them? Maybe not. The point of these scenes is to present the characters as some kind of "anti-heroes", I think, and probably are needed so we don't have a film of an entire cast of unlikable characters. It goes without saying that the Pinkertons are not exactly presented as paragons of justice. But the James - Younger gang has very few really sympathetic members, either. Even Frank, who is probably the most likable candidate for the guy you want to root for is not entirely without his bad side.

Overall, I like this film. Not nearly as much as those gang films mentioned above, but still it is an entertaining piece.

Until next time, drive safely, folks!

Quiggy

 

  

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #32: Car Wash

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

Week #32: California -

 

 

The state of California was established on Sept. 9, 1850.

Details about California:

State bird: valley quail

State flower: golden poppy

State tree: redwood

Additional historical trivia:

The name California came from a novel by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo about a fictional island.

It's the only U.S. state to ever host a summer AND a winter Olympics. 

Fortune cookies originated in either Los Angeles or Chinatown area of San Francisco.

California has an official state "ghost town". It's Bodie and it's an official state landmark.

California has a bigger population than many independent countries in the world.

San Bernadino County clocks in as the biggest county in the whole country.

Famous people born in California: U.S. President Richard Nixon, Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Robert Redford, Ray Harryhausen, Madonna, Sammy Hagar, Randy Rhoads and way too many more to name...

  

Movie (1976): 

Note: In my previous reviews of Dazed and Confused and 200 Cigarettes I took a different approach to reviewing the films because, like today's film, those other two didn't really have a coherent straight forward plot. Each of these movies is more along the lines of a series of character studies. Therefore, instead of a review of the plot I chose to focus a brief overview of some of the characters that show up throughout the film (which, BTW, takes place over the span of only one day, much like those other two films).

The setting for the film is the Dee-Luxe Car Wash in Los Angeles. I did a little research, out of curiosity. The car wash that was used to film the movie was one located near MacArthur Park. Unfortunately it was torn down in the 80's and there is a strip mall on the site. (See? OCD does have some uses...)  And notice the buildings in the background... still the same 50 years later.

circa 1976

circa 2026

So the cast includes these. And these are listed in order of my favorites, not necessarily the order of their appearance in the film.  I also include a smattering of what I call Check Him Out In, which is a list of some other films in which to find the actor, as well as a favorite line from the film for each.

T.C. (Franklin Ajaye):

T.C. is a free spirit who sports an afro that the local planes flying in to the airport must have to have clearance warnings for. T.C. has only two abiding interests; disco music and Mona, a waitress at a local dive. His main goal, at least today, is to combine them both. That is he wants to win free tickets to a disco show that the local radio station is giving away, and then get Mona to go with him.

Best line (in response to Mona telling him the special at the restaurant for the day is ribs and wings):

"I've always been a breast and thigh man, myself." (Me too, T.C., me too...)

Check Him Out In: (Convoy, The Wrong Guys)

 

Lindy  (Antonio Fargas):

 

Lindy is the token "gay" character of the film. In as much as he is a caricature of what was typical at the time, Lindy may be problematic for the homosexual community, I don't really know for sure.  I think it's done with at least a modicum of taste. Lindy is always looking good, somewhat like Klinger did when he wore women's clothes on M*A*S*H*.

Best line (in response to a disparaging remark about his masculinity from Abdullah):

"Honey, I'm more man than you'll ever be and more woman than you'll ever get."

Check Him Out In: (The Starsky and Hutch TV series, Foxy Brown, Across 110th Street)

 

Abdullah (a.k.a. Duane) (Bill Duke): 

 

Abdullah is a new convert to Black Muslim theology, and is the essence of a disgruntled black man who has nothing but hostility towards the white race, and by association, anyone of the black race that he thinks of as an "Uncle Tom". As such Abdullah doesn't get any respect from his coworkers, except maybe Lonnie. I like Duke's performance here more than the character he is playing, and I think that is a credit to Duke. He stands out as one of the more memorable characters. And it was Duke's film debut!

Best line (to Daddy Rich):

"You talkin' just like a pimp!" 

Check Him Out In: (Predator, Menace II Society, Payback) 

 

Daddy Rich (Richard Pryor):

 

Daddy Rich is a local bigwig preacher, but not the kind of preacher that spouts hellfire and brimstone. Daddy Rich is a black version of someone like Joel Osteen, a preacher who spouts an entitlement theology (take the money because it's a God-given right to take the money). Except for Abdullah most of the employees look up to Daddy Rich, because he is successful (monetarily). 

Best line:

"There is a good place in this world for money and I know where it is. It's right here in my pocket!" 

 Check Him Out In: (Seriously? There are lots. But just to name a few. Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling, Uptown Saturday Night)

 

Scruggs (Jack Kehoe):

 

 

Ostensibly the "token white guy" in an all-black comedy, Scruggs is adorable. He plays a guy who is stressing out over the previous night's festivities. Apparently he had stayed out all night partying, failing to show up at home. He still hasn't shown up and is sick to death over what his wife is going to do. And apparently he participated in some extramarital adventures and is now worried he has a memory of the night he'd prefer not to have. (If I have to be more explicit, you are in the wrong theater...)

Best line (while on the phone to a clinic):

"Well, it's just kinda hangin' there, lookin' sick..." 

Check Him Out In: The Sting, The Untouchables, Serpico. 

 

Car Wash is replete with other characters who don't get enough screen time to really make an impact. I particularly like Geronimo (Ray Vitte). Vitte had a very short career. He died at age 33 from, I think, sickle cell anemia. But he was memorable whenever he showed up in film and TV. He was a friend and band member of Pedro (Cheech Marin) in Up in Smoke and he played a DJ in Thank God It's Friday. Lloyd and Floyd are pretty good as a pair of wannabe singers. Lloyd, BTW, was played by De Wayne Jessie, who had a separate career as a singer with Otis Day and the Knights. Otis and the band were created for a couple of scenes in Animal House, but went on to perform for real (much like Spinal Tap). Richard Brestoff is pretty good as the son of the car wash owner, who would rather be a Communist following Mao than be the son of a member of the white establishment. But even the people he really wants to connect with, the black working men, don't take him seriously. And I can't forget to mention Ivan Dixon as Lonnie. Ivan was most memorable as Kinchloe in the TV series Hogan's Heroes. He had retired from acting by this time to direct and produce films, but came out of retirement specifically for this role.

There are numerous other cameo roles throughout the film. Lorraine Gary, who played Chief Brody's wife in the Jaws movies, has a bit part as an overly hysterical upper crust woman worried more about what damage her Mercedes is going to take as a result of her kid throwing up on it than she is about the kid himself. Carmine Caridi, whose biggest impact was as gangsters in movies like The Godfather movies and Bugsy, shows up as a rather loser of a father who leaves his Doberman in the car, apparently just to mess with the attendants.

There is one minor complaint as far as it goes. I think they underused George Carlin, who makes several appearances in the film. But his sole purpose is kind of lame. He plays a cab driver, and his sole impact is he's just wandering around trying to find a girl who ditched him mid cab ride without paying her fare. That fare girl, as well, is not entirely all that interesting. The movie describes her character as a hooker. She hides out in the restroom changing her outfit for most of the movie and doesn't really have much to do once she finally comes out of it.

Car Wash made a pretty decent profit at the box office, bringing in $14 million against a $2 million budget, and currently holds an 86% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Our old buddy Roger Ebert actually liked the movie, giving it 3½ out of 4 stars, and his cohort Gene Siskel granted it 3 out of 4 stars. 

Interestingly enough (and here's a shocker for you highbrow readers who think Citizen Kane is high art and movies like this are only for the lowbrow masses...), Car Wash was actually a candidate in the final running  for the Palme d'Or  in the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, To be considered along the likes of Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's Padre Padrone, the winner of that year's prize, as well as Wim Wender's The American Friend, Robert Altman's 3 Women and Ettore Scola's A Special Day I think is pretty significant. It even won two awards, for Best Music and the Technical Grand Prize.

From an interesting video I found on Car Wash:

If you saw this on commercial TV,  you saw a slightly different version. There were deleted portions, that focused on the gay character, Lindy, taken out, and instead inserted scenes that had been originally deleted from the theatrical release. These involved, believe it or not, Danny DeVito and Brooke Adams as a couple who owned a diner next door to the car wash. I couldn't find any clips online of the deleted scenes, so I don't even really know how DeVito made out in the role, but I bet he was pretty good.

Another interesting fact in that video. The producers created the soundtrack prior to actually filming the movie. Thus, when the characters are on screen dancing and jigging to songs on the soundtrack they actually ARE dancing and jigging to the actual songs, not just faking it to a music that would be added later. This was at the time a new development. Most movies would only add the soundtrack AFTER production had wrapped. This created a scene that was real, as opposed to just having the people dance to a song that wasn't even there.

And finally: this movie was originally written to be a stage play for Broadway. The writers envisioned a full blown stage play, complete with some working stage props to give it an authentic look. (Imagine all those people in the first few rows getting wet from the on stage action... I don't know about you, but it sounds somewhat like being front row for a Gallagher concert. Google "Gallagher" if you don't get it...) 

Well, folks, that's it for this time. Drive safely. And preferably in a nice clean car... 

 Quiggy

 

Stranger Things Have Happened

 

This is my entry in the It Grew On Me Blogathon hosted by Taking Up Room

 

 

Note: This is actually a stretch for the theme of the blogathon, but I have Rebecca's OK for it...

I don't like Will Ferrell movies. I gave him a shot with Anchorman, which I thought was just stupid and not at all funny. I tried again with A Night at the Roxbury. Still no go. Old School was just a waste of my time, as I didn't even crack a smile. When he was on Saturday Night Live, he was only slightly funny. I admit I like the Jeopardy! parodies, but his Alex Trebek persona had help or it wouldn't have worked for me either. (Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery and Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds both saved his ass from being a one and done character in the role of Trebek). I like the Austin Powers films, but only the parts where Ferrell isn't on screen. In fact I came to a conclusion that Farrell needs to have somebody of far greater talent to blur out his lack of such.

In 2006, when Stranger Than Fiction was released on home video, I was having a conversation with an employee, Mark, at my local video rental place and told him that the concept of the movie intrigued me, but I was reluctant to take the plunge since I thought it would end up being the same old same old stupid output that I had seen in previous Ferrell movies. Mark said something I will never forget, and something that I am grateful to him for saying. He said that I ought to check it out because he had discovered that "people who like Will Ferrell don't like this movie, but people who don't like Will Ferrell have been saying they like it."

Based on just that I decided to give it a whirl. And what do you know? I actually found a Will Ferrell movie that I can stand, nay, even like. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Ferrell wasn't trying to be funny, at least not in the usual sense of his attempts when he was doing his standard comedies. So, no, the movie doesn't necessarily qualify, in the strictest terms of this blogathon. I didn't hate the movie at the outset, and then gradually change my mind about it on repeat viewings. And I still will avoid most movies which Will Farrell is the star. But, given that fact, I guess you could say Ferrell "grew on me" in one respect, since I will recommend Stranger than Fiction, especially if you are, like me, rather dismissive of his usual output.

 

 

 

Stranger Than Fiction (2006):

Do you hear strange voices?

Unless you are David Berkowitz (the infamous "Son of Sam"), it's probably not a serious problem if you do.

But for Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), this voice he hears is somewhat problematic. It is not telling him to go out and kill random strangers like the voice that spurred Berkowitz, but it is infringing on his sanity. 

The premise of the movie is that Harold, who works as an auditor for the IRS, begins hearing a woman's voice who seems to be narrating his life, as if he is a character in some novel rather than a normal functioning human being. So how would you react if suddenly it seemed like someone was writing your life? This bizarre story plays out as Harold tries to discover just what the hell is going on.

 

It is complicated by the fact that only Harold hears this voice. Everyone around him reacts as if he is just some nutcase talking to himself. But hearing this voice is indeed happening, even if Harold is the only one who realizes it.

 

It turns out that somewhere else in the city is a frustrated writer who is going through a case of writer's block. Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) has written several novels, most of which ended with the death of her protagonist. 

 

But she has been struggling with her current novel, because she really has no idea how to kill him off. The character in her novel?

Harold Crick. 

Eiffel: "Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death." 

Harold ends up going to a psychiatrist who diagnoses him with schizophrenia. But Harold insists that he is NOT schizophrenic. For some reason, possibly just to get him out of her office, she suggests he see a literary professor, since Harold thinks he is somehow involved as a character in someone's novel.

 

He goes to see Professor Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), who takes him seriously (or maybe just tries to humor him). Hilbert runs through various scenarios and determines that he is not Hamlet, or a golem or any of the various literary characters that might possibly be a solution. He even tries to determine whether Harold is in the middle of a comedy or a tragedy:  

Harold: "I just met a woman who told me to get bent."

Prof. Hilbert: "Well, that sounds like a comedy..." 

 

The woman that Harold is referring to is a woman. Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is currently under investigation for not paying enough taxes. She is initially openly hostile to Harold (as probably any one who is trying to skirt regulations on their taxes with the hope of getting away with it would be). But Harold finds Ana intriguing, even if he is a bit reserved in his development of a relationship.

 

Eventually Harold figures out that Karen is the culprit behind it all and tracks her down. Needless to say she is just as shocked as Harold is that the situation exists, that Harold is a real person, not just a figment of her writer imagination.

 

She ends up giving him a copy of the novel she has written, which he takes to Hilbert. Hilbert tells him that it is the greatest novel he has ever read, but that Harold's death at the end of it is the only way the novel could end with a satisfying conclusion.

 

I won't tell you how this all wraps up. I will tell you that, aside from Old Yeller, this is only the second movie that has ever brought me to tears at the end. And, despite the fact that I think Ferrell is still a subpar comic actor, he pulls off what I think is his absolute best ever performance.

Ferrell was recognized in the critical community for this role, which in my mind goes a long way in redeeming himself as an actor. Ferrell was nominated for a Golden Globes Award in the category of Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy (which he lost to Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat). He was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor- Musical or Comedy (which he lost to Joseph Cross for Running with Scissors). And, once again, he was nominated for a Best Actor Saturn Award (and that one he lost to Brandon Routh for Superman Returns). 

Could he also have qualified at least for a nomination for an Oscar? Hard to say. With the competition that year I find it difficult to find a spot for him. His competition would have included Forest Whitaker (the ultimate winner for Last King of Scotland), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness) and Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson). I don't say he would have won that either because, if you haven't seen Whitaker's performance, it was outstanding. But like Jim Carrey's performance in an earlier role in  The Truman Show, I think Ferrell's role at least deserved a nod. (Maybe substitute him for Ryan Gosling...)

Whether it was because Ferrell was playing against type, or there were other factors involved, the movie only did moderately well at the box office. With a budget of $30 million it only pulled in $54 million in ticket sales. It got some good reviews, however. It has a 73% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. My old standby critic Roger Ebert gave it 3½ out of 4 stars, saying it proves that "he has dramatic gifts equal to his comedic talents". (Obviously Ebert had a better opinion of his comedy than I do...)

So, to sum up, I will leave you with this. Perhaps it is a good idea to take my friend Mark's advice: if you like Will Ferrell then approach this film with an open mind, but be expecting a different Ferrell, and if you don't like him, by golly, you are missing out by NOT watching.

Time to fire up the old Plymouth and head back to the house. Drive safely.

Quiggy