The Godfather

Once again, I come to a movie upon which everyone has written.  I just can't help myself.  Few films approach this one in their power to entertain and their power to enter your soul.  This is one of those movies that, despite its length, never seems that long.  Like movies such as "Star Wars","The Wizard of Oz" or "The Princess Bride", phrases from this movie have simply made their way into people's everyday discourse.  What makes this movie special is its immediate familiarity.  The first time I saw it, I was struck by how much of it felt like I had already seen it.  I was also struck by the slight of hand I was watching.  Somehow, Francis Ford Coppola was making these monsters in front of me sympathetic.

The story of the Corleone is partly so familiar because it is a classic American story.  It is the story of an immigrant family trying to integrate into the American culture.  In the sequel to this film, we see the background of the Corleone patriarch, Vito (Marlon Brando).  He is an immigrant who has worked hard to get to where he is, even though his fortune has been gained through crime.  As this film opens, he is giving an audience to several guests on his daughter's wedding day.  In the film, it is a Sicilian tradition for the father of the bride to grant favors to his guests on his daughter's wedding day.  The opening scene at the wedding is a wonderful example of narrative film making.  Coppola is able to introduce almost every major character in the film in the first few moments, and yet it feels totally natural.  The story moves ahead effectively yet never is in a hurry.  It allows the story to unfold naturally.  The evolution of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the youngest son of Vito, from idealist WW2 hero to mafia kingpin is one of the most effective and devastating falls from grace in the history of movies.  These two key characters, Vito and Michael, are the heart of the film, and their story is so watchable.

Yet there is so much more.  A supporting cast that includes James Caan, Robert Duvall, Abe Vigoda, Diane Keaton. Sterling Hayden, John Cazale, Talia Shire and others.  All of these characters add further texture to the story.  The most intriguing one to me has always been Robert Duval as Tom Hagen.  Hagen is the adoptive son of Vito and has become the family's legal counselor.  He is specifically kept out of the family's inner circle due to the fact that he is not Sicilian.  He always seems to want to be closer to the center, but the family's obsession with Sicilian blood and ties keeps at a distance.  The irony is that the Corleone family so much wants to be American, yet it is not seen as such by the WASPs in the movie.  When the Corleone family has the chance to make an outsider one of their own, they fail to do so.  The movie depicts the constant struggle between those on the inside and those on the outside.  For the Corleone family, they are on the inside in their own world, but they are still very much outside of "acceptable" American society.

As we get to know these characters and revisit them with multiple viewings of the film, the scenes in the movie begin to have a very familiar rhythm to them.  The first time I saw the movie, I found keeping the characters straight to be difficult.  With further viewings, the different characters along with their roles continue to become more familiar.  Only then can the viewer begin to truly appreciate the depth of the storytelling.  James Caan's Sonny is a doomed hot head who seems gifted but cannot control his rage.  John Cazale's Fredo is a weakling who seems completely outside of the family, but whose link to the family is still so important that it will eventually cost him everything when he doesn't take it seriously. 

One time, I watched this movie while consuming pizza from one of my favorite joints in SoCal (JoePeep's, for those keeping score).  As I watched it with my old friend Eric, I realized that pizza made the film even better.  Then I looked at the screen and I realized how big a role food played in this movie.  There is the scene in which  Clemenza is making pasta for all of the guys while they are in hiding.  There is the opening wedding scene.  There is the fateful murder scene at the Italian eatery.  Food plays such an important role in the movie, that I must say that I crave red sauce and dry red wine when I watch the movie.

So, if you are up for it, rent this movie. Order some pizza from the best local pizzeria (Domino's might not cut it).  Pour some Sangiovese if you are so inclined, or grab a root beer if you stay away from alcohol.  Dim the lights, and become lost in the engrossing story of this family.  You will see carnage, sex and betrayal.  But you will also see a family struggling to understand its place in this country.  You will see a young man who so much wants to be an upright citizen, but cannot escape his family's violent past.  As he stands to be Godfather for his nephew, we know the baptism symbolizes something more.  And while you weep for the man who chooses this path, you must admit to being inspired by the verve of the storytelling.  You are seeing an epic story which stands with some of the greatest tragedies ever put on screen or in print. 

Family Film Friday: Shrek

Last week, we had the kids watch Shrek for the first time.  I remember seeing it and liking it when it came out.  I found it interesting that my kids didn't really care for the movie.  What I found even more interesting is why they didn't care for the movie.  Here's what they had to say:

Joel:  "Last night, while Mommy was on a walk and Daddy was writing, you watched another movie...what was it called?"
Corrie: "Shrek."
Joel:  "You didn't seem to have the same opinion about this movie as you do about others...what did you think of this movie Corrie?"
Corrie:  "Um...I thought it was like OK, but it wasn't...I've liked other things better.  I didn't really like the fairy tale...well...the way to say it is that they make jokes out of the fairy tales, and I really like these fairy tales and I don't like it when they mess it up."
Jack:  "Yeah, I don't like it either.  I already told you about this, but I really didn't like the ending."
Joel:  "What didn't you like about the ending?"
Jack:  "She doesn't turn back into what she's supposed to be!"
Joel:  "What did you think of the donkey?"
Jack:  "He was the only part that I liked.  He was so funny."
Corrie:  "What I liked about him was the way that he was toward Shrek...in the middle, he's setting up sticks and stones between it, and Shrek says 'What are you doing?'  And he says, 'Well, I was thinking a wall around my swamp, not through it.'  And then he says, 'Well, this is my half of the swamp and this is your half...I did half the work and get half the swamp, and he tries to tell Shrek that friends forgive each other, and then Shrek is still yelling at him , and the donkey is trying to tell hi the truth about the princess, and Shrek says maybe you should ask her."
Joel:  "So Jackie, you were kind of upset at the end of the movie last night, cause you really didn't like it.  You mentioned that you didn't like how the lady ended up.  You said some other things about why you didn't like it, what else didn't you like?"
Jack:  "The Robin Hood thing!  That is not Robin Hood!"
Joel:  "You really didn't like that they took stories that you knew really well and changed them."
Corrie:  "Pretty much!"
Joel:  "Was there other ones they did that with."
Corrie:  "Well, there definitely was Robin Hood and Pinocchio was a little weird...whenever he says something untrue his nose grows 5 feet and then goes back."
Joel:  "Well it was kind of interesting for me because when I first saw the movie when it came out, I actually liked the ending because it was sweet because the lady is supposed to be beautiful, but then she turns into the ogre at night.  But, in order to be the ogre's true love, she has to turn into another ogre.  I thought that was sweet, but you guys didn't care for that?"
Corrie:  "Actually, that was the part I like!  I just didn't love the movie because of the messing up of fairy tales, like, the pigs were just acting like triplets...the 3 little pigs...and at the end they're doing rock and roll moves and I'm just like...uh uh.  The pat I didn't like the most was just the uh...was when he was Robin Hood...I think that's Robin Hood but not the one I know.  And they kind of mess up the stories, and that's pretty much it.  Is there someone else in another movie that does donkey's voice...I feel like I've heard his voice."
Joel:  "Well, the guy who does his voice, but have they seen anything with Eddie Murphy in it?"
Stephanie:   "I don't think so..."
Joel:  "All right guys, you've given me some good comments...thanks a lot!"

10 Movies That Made Me Laugh Out Loud

In making this list, part of it comes from the gut, but part of it comes from the mind.  We all think different things are funny, and we all think different things are funny for different reasons.  As I went through each of these movies, I started realizing that they all made me laugh for different reasons, and some of them made me laugh more on the second or third (or more) viewings than on the first.  The films upon which I have already blogged are linked by their title to my original blog entry about them.  I have included the year of their original release and the director.  Enjoy and let me know your favorites!


This is Spinal Tap, 1984, Rob Reiner

There are comedies, and then there are works of genius.  I first saw it in college at a friend's house, and it was one of those rare times when I laughed so hard that it hurt.  This movie began a whole new genre of the mockumentary.  It follows the misadventures of a washed up rock band who are touring and circling the drain at the same time.  The part that made me laugh until I cried the first time I saw it involves the film maker interviewing the band on the deaths of all of their drummers ("He died in a bizarre gardening accident...").  Many other films in this style have been made, and they are good.  However, none of them can hold a candle to this one, a unique work of film, and a satirical moment in time.

Airplane, 1980, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker

The jokes and sight gags keep coming in this movie, and they keep being funny.  This was the first big time movie that David and Jerry Zucker made with Jim Abrahams, and it is filled with laughs.  The thing that makes this movie work so well is how almost everyone in the film is the straight man.  With the exception of the  festive air traffic control assistant, everyone in this film plays it straight, and the drama in their acting makes the comedy absolutely golden.  On a side note, the DVD commentary for this movie by Abrahams and the Zuckers is also very funny.  They talk a lot about how low budget the movie is, and they also point out some bloopers.  All in all, this is a movie that still makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, 1988. David Zucker

I don't think my parents know this, but I saw this movie for the first time when I was in Junior High.  Not during the Junior High years, but actually at my Junior High school.  Many of the jokes and sight gags in this movie cater perfectly to the Junior High crowd.  What I remember about the first time I saw it was how hard all of the 13 year olds were laughing.  Leslie Nielsen truly established himself as a comic actor with this movie.  True, he had already been in "Airplane", but after this movie, I don't think he ever took a serious role again.  This is another entry from the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams.  Like "Airplane", the jokes are everywhere and the actors all take themselves appropriately seriously.  This style of movie would continue to be made, but this one and "Airplane" still make me laugh the hardest.

Raising Arizona, 1987, Joel Coen

Some movies don't make you laugh until you have seen them more than once.  This movie was like that for me.  The first time I saw it, the tone of the movie and its sense of humor alluded me almost totally.  However, it has become one of my favorite movies to quote, and the Coen brothers have gone on to be true movie making originals.  The story of an ex-con married to a cop who kidnap a quintuplet due to their own infertility is genius on every level.  The camera work is fluid and alive, the performances all have the same eccentric tone, and the dialogue is one brilliant line after another.  If you can find a scene more filled with comic genius than Nathan Arizona's interrogation after his son has been kidnapped, please tell me about it, because I need to break me off a piece of that.

What's Up Doc?, 1972, Peter Bogdanovich

This movie appeals to me for three basic reasons.  First, it is a family favorite.  My parents showed this movie to my sister and I for the first time when we were quite young.  My dad had fallen off his chair laughing when he first saw this movie at Grauman's Chinese Theater, and he and my mom loved sharing it with my sister and I.  Second, as a movie lover, this movie has so much in it that is an homage to other movies.  Because of that, if one loves movies (especially slapstick comedies of the 30's and 40's), there is a lot to love here.  Third, and most important, the movie still makes me laugh out loud.  The dialogue is rapid fire and crackles with wit.  However, the movie also has prat falls and pie fights.  I don't care how old or sophisticated you get, a pie in the face is solid stuff.

Tootsie, 1982, Sydney Pollack

"Tootsie" has some of the most ingenious comic situations ever put on film.  That is a testimony to good script writing and to the great acting in this movie.  Add to that a wonderful gimmick (struggling actor begins to cross dress to land a soap opera part) and an amazing cast (Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, Geena Davis, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Sydney Pollack and Bill Murray) and you have absolute comic gold.  The situations are what make the movie so funny.  What makes the movie great is what Hoffman's character has to learn as he begins to fall in love with Lange's character.  It is best put by Hoffman's character himself: "I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man...I just got to learn to do it without the dress."  There is a real depth and humanity to this movie.  However, it is on this list because it is hilarious.

Notting Hill, 1999, Roger Michell

Good romantic comedies are tough to find, just like a good partner.  My wife has continually bemoaned the drought of good romantic comedies.  The good news for us is that we can always go back to our old favorites.  In this movie, Julia Roberts plays herself by a different name.  She plays a world famous movie star who falls in love with an every day travel book shop owner, played by Hugh Grant.  Some of the scenes with the two of them are a bit stiff, but there are two things that truly make this movie work.  First, the script by Richard Curtis sports hilarious and quirky dialogue.  Second, the ensemble cast is truly remarkable.  The situations that are created in this movie are good for both of those reasons.  For cinema magic, look no further than the scene in which Grant's William brings world famous actress Anna Scott to his sister's birthday party without anyone at the party knowing it.  The humanity and humor of the characters in that scene is a good example of why this movie works so well, even with some of the music that sounds dated.

Horse Feathers, 1932, Norman Z McLeod

Other Marx Brothers' movies always seem to get more accolades, but none of them make me laugh as hard as this one.  Whenever you watch a Marx Brothers movie, you feel like you are watching a vaudeville show.  That's appropriate, since the brothers made a name for themselves on the vaudeville circuit.  Here, the situation of Groucho taking over as a college president is hilarious, while Chico and Harpo keep the hijinks coming nonstop.  There's really not a whole lot of further explanation needed---the movie makes me laugh every time.

Modern Times, 1936, Charlie Chaplin

The reason I include this is because this movie had my kids falling out their chairs laughing.  When this happens, I can't help but laugh as well.  The movie is a comic political statement made by Chaplin.  He uses the increasingly harsh work conditions in factories to make points about the wealth gap.  He also uses the increasingly mechanical nature of work to make the same statements.  But he also uses those things to create uproarious comedy.  Watch the scene in which the owner of the factory is trying out a new lunch feeding machine out on Chaplin's character.  That scene had my kids howling, and me too.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

I wonder if it is a coincidence that this movie feels like liturgy to me.  The movie has a rhythm in its scenes that reminds me of church.  This group of men who were raised in a church culture must have had that in their veins.  The movie is brilliant in its iconoclastic structure, its wacky play on Arthurian legend, and in its brutal comedy.  The disregard that the characters have for human life in the film is funny, but also shocking (Sir. Gallahad's response when he has butchered dozens at a wedding?  "Sorry").  In the end, the scenes are hilarious, and there are so many quotable moments that all you have to do is find the right person, and you can act out entire scenes.

There are many other comedies I love, but these came to mind right away.  What some of your personal favorite comedies?

We Bought a Zoo

"Sometimes, all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage.  Just, literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery.  And I promise you, something great will come of it."

This quote represents to me both the success and the shortcoming of this latest film by Cameron Crowe.  There are a handful of film makers who, when a film of theirs is released, I will see it without fail.  There are two documentaries that he directed that I have not yet seen, but I have seen all his feature films.  The quote above represents something that is the hook of his films.  Crowe is an anti-cynic, and it shines through in his work.  In his best films, this lack of cynicism always comes across as spontaneous and natural.  In this film, it feels less spontaneous and more manufactured.  That is not to say that this film is not worth seeing.  It is a charming and fanciful film, complete with a heartbreaking depiction of loss and a man who finds a way to rebuild his family after that searing loss.

Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee.  He is a recently widowed father of two who is in the midst of moving his life along after losing his wife.  His son is a teenager with whim he is having constant power struggles.  His daughter is a 6 or 7 year old who worships him.  When his son gets expelled from his school after one too many missteps, Mee decides to move out of the house that is haunted by his late wife and move to a new place.  They happen upon an old two story house that seems perfect for them.  The catch is that the land is a zoo, and if he buys the land he will become the zoo's owner, and all of the responsibilities that come with that will follow.  Scarlett Johannson plays the zookeeper (only in Hollywood) with whom Mee becomes attached, and the whole crew rushes to reopen the zoo and make it a success.

There is so much here to admire.  Cameron Crowe captures genuine human emotion on film better than anyone.  However, as I watched, I was reminded how rare truly great films are.  Some of the dialogue here comes across as overly aware of itself.  When we come to the quote found at the beginning of this review, we know that it is the cornerstone quote of the movie.  That is confirmed when the quote is referenced later in the film.  My wife also made an astute observation.  Cameron Crowe seems to be able to write better about the troubles of love than about being in love.  In "Say Anything", "Almost Famous" and in "Jerry Magurie", the main characters are all dealing with trying to deal with the pains of love lost or the struggles of heartbreak and disappointment.  Here, the falling in love process between Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson feels a bit forced.  On the bright side, the love story between Mee's son and the young 13 year old who lives on the land (Ellie Fanning) is genuinely sweet and poignant.  This story line shows how strong Crowe is in writing about young love with all of its trials and drama.

All in all, this is an enjoyable movie.  It has its weaknesses, but some of that may come from the fact that Cameron Crowe has set his own bar so high.  He is one of those few film makers that I would genuinely like to get to know, because he is so in love with life, and his sentimentalities always come through on the screen.  This movie still communicates that tone.

Funny Back to the Future Stuff...

Funny stuff...hat tip to Twenty Two words....

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/05/11/tom-wilson-aka-biff-from-back-to-the-future-carries-around-an-faq/