I am a big fan of Christopher Guest's movies. One of my favorite memories from college was seeing This Is Spinal Tap for the first time. The freshness of the comedy blew me away. Christopher Guest was a star of that film, and he went on to direct several of his own films. A handful of these films have a distinct style. They are all shot in documentary format, and they all follow a myriad of characters who are all part of a plot revolving around a certain theme. "Waiting For Guffman" follows a group of characters as they attempt to put on a community musical in a small town in Missouri. "Best In Show" centers its attention around a group of oddballs who all converge at once on a prestigious dog show in Philadelphia. "For Your Consideration" satirizes the movie award season. It seems to me that the movie I am writing on, "A Mighty Wind," sort of got lost in the shuffle. I don't really know why, for it is every bit as sharp and every bit as poignant as the other movies.
The movie satirizes 60's folk music. It follows three musical groups who all come together in New York City to honor a folk promoter who has just passed away. One group (The New Main Street Singers) is a group of 9 whose great contribution to the folk genre involves a child who is named after a sweet potato. The second group (The Folksmen-the same three actors who made up Spinal Tap) come together after many years only to be frustrated by the lack of purity of almost any of the other folk artists around them. And Mitch and Mickey (brilliant portrayals by Eugene Levy and Catherine O' Hara) were the darlings of the folk movement who still have baggage. When they all come together (with many other brilliant ensemble characters, especially Fred Willard as the Main Street Singers' agent), the laughs are great.
But there are other things that make this movie special. It shares with Guest's other films a propensity for depicting apparently normal people who become increasingly abnormal as their layers are pealed back. But what makes this film shine is how close to reality it really is. All of the folk artists in this film take their art and themselves seriously. One need only watch footage of Peter Paul and Mary to see how achingly close to reality the satire is. Also, the actors in this movie are so believable. There is a moment when all the actors are watching Mitch and Mickey from off stage, and Parker Posey's character blinks back tears. The line between comedy and heartfelt drama is blurred here, though it doesn't take long for the next song to start, and again we realize we are watching a comedy film.
Finally, I also must talk about the songs in the movie. All of them are written to sound like folks songs, but none of them are profound. They sound like songs written by struggling artists. In this, they are both sad and hilarious. They are sad because the performers put so much stock in songs that aren't so profound. They are hilarious because....well, listen to the lyrics and hear for yourself.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Inception
I haven't seen a movie recently that I had such high expectations going into my viewing. I'm happy to say that the movie lived up to the hype for me, even though I'm still not quite sure what it is I saw.
The movie is a sublime piece of postmodernism. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a man who makes his living infiltrating peoples' dreams to find out their secrets. He has been hired by a wealthy businessman in order to convince one of his rivals to split up his inheritance for his benefit (the benefit of the first wealthy businessman). If Cobb helps him, he will make it possible for Cobb to return home, where he is suspected in the murder of his wife.
It seemed to me that the whole point of the film is that the viewer is never sure of what they are seeing, You see, not only can the characters enter people's dreams, but the characters inside people's dreams can also go to sleep and enter into the dream within a dream. Since this can continue infinitely, the viewer is constantly disarmed, never knowing for sure what they are watching. The final sequence reminded me of watching a juggler who is being tossed more and more objects while juggling. It becomes a game to see how many balls can be kept in the air at once. In the same way (without giving away too much), the films climactic moments seem to constantly demand more of the film and its audience, but its success seemed effortless.
The cast here is great. Every actor and actress is believable and engaging. I was particularly impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Arthur. He is in a supporting role in every sense of that word, and he is believable and effortless in his portrayal.
I often have thought that action movies are among the hardest genres of film to do really well because often times the believability is called into question. Since this films action primarily takes place in the mind, the visions are otherworldly and the normal laws of the universe don't apply, so one can watch the movie with total abandon. Something tells me that people will be talking about this movie for years to come...I know I will be watching it again.
The movie is a sublime piece of postmodernism. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a man who makes his living infiltrating peoples' dreams to find out their secrets. He has been hired by a wealthy businessman in order to convince one of his rivals to split up his inheritance for his benefit (the benefit of the first wealthy businessman). If Cobb helps him, he will make it possible for Cobb to return home, where he is suspected in the murder of his wife.
It seemed to me that the whole point of the film is that the viewer is never sure of what they are seeing, You see, not only can the characters enter people's dreams, but the characters inside people's dreams can also go to sleep and enter into the dream within a dream. Since this can continue infinitely, the viewer is constantly disarmed, never knowing for sure what they are watching. The final sequence reminded me of watching a juggler who is being tossed more and more objects while juggling. It becomes a game to see how many balls can be kept in the air at once. In the same way (without giving away too much), the films climactic moments seem to constantly demand more of the film and its audience, but its success seemed effortless.
The cast here is great. Every actor and actress is believable and engaging. I was particularly impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Arthur. He is in a supporting role in every sense of that word, and he is believable and effortless in his portrayal.
I often have thought that action movies are among the hardest genres of film to do really well because often times the believability is called into question. Since this films action primarily takes place in the mind, the visions are otherworldly and the normal laws of the universe don't apply, so one can watch the movie with total abandon. Something tells me that people will be talking about this movie for years to come...I know I will be watching it again.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Airplane
"Surely you can't be serious...I am serious, and don't call me Shirley..."
"Don't tell me which zone is for loading and which zone is for unloading..."
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking!"
It's like call and response for me. Drop one of these lines in mixed company, and someone is bound to show a knowing smirk and join in. If there is one way I can be sure to illicit a roll of the eyes from my wife, it is to suggest that we watch this movie when we are trying to decide a movie to watch. There are movie comedies, and then there is Airplane. Don't get me wrong, there are other comedies which are every bit as funny or every bit as clever. There are other comedies that seem to make significant cultural contributions. This one stands on its own.
Watching this movie now can become almost liturgical for me. There is almost a comforting order to its pranks and its pratfalls. I read somewhere once that one of the reasons this movie works so well is that it did not cast comedic actors in its roles. That really does go a long way toward explaining why this movie is so funny. Since the genre being parodied is disaster drama, it helps to have its characters deliver their lines in a completely dead pan way. Also, there is the almost vaudeville approach to the jokes, where so many jokes are tried that even if some of them don't work, they are still funny merely due to the volume.
Waxing on about this movie misses the point. It makes me laugh when I watch it. It makes me laugh when I talk to others about it. It makes me laugh when I think about it. There aren't too many movies that have that kind of payoff. There are so many jokes and sight gags that it is pointless to talk of the plot or of anything higher regarding this movie.
Put in the dvd and enjoy the ride.
"Don't tell me which zone is for loading and which zone is for unloading..."
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking!"
It's like call and response for me. Drop one of these lines in mixed company, and someone is bound to show a knowing smirk and join in. If there is one way I can be sure to illicit a roll of the eyes from my wife, it is to suggest that we watch this movie when we are trying to decide a movie to watch. There are movie comedies, and then there is Airplane. Don't get me wrong, there are other comedies which are every bit as funny or every bit as clever. There are other comedies that seem to make significant cultural contributions. This one stands on its own.
Watching this movie now can become almost liturgical for me. There is almost a comforting order to its pranks and its pratfalls. I read somewhere once that one of the reasons this movie works so well is that it did not cast comedic actors in its roles. That really does go a long way toward explaining why this movie is so funny. Since the genre being parodied is disaster drama, it helps to have its characters deliver their lines in a completely dead pan way. Also, there is the almost vaudeville approach to the jokes, where so many jokes are tried that even if some of them don't work, they are still funny merely due to the volume.
Waxing on about this movie misses the point. It makes me laugh when I watch it. It makes me laugh when I talk to others about it. It makes me laugh when I think about it. There aren't too many movies that have that kind of payoff. There are so many jokes and sight gags that it is pointless to talk of the plot or of anything higher regarding this movie.
Put in the dvd and enjoy the ride.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The King's Speech
As this movie captured the Oscar for Best Picture last night, I thought about why it resonated with me so much. I am hardly a lone voice on this one. Nearly all the critics adored this movie, and its victory did not come as a surprise last night. Many movies over the years have ridden a great wave of hype through the award season, only to be relegated to the "good movies" file. But I think this is a special movie. I am only one man, but here's why I think it is special.
If there is one thing that most folks would agree upon, it is the fact that royalty (throughout history) have led very insular lives. The lives they live are immensely privileged. This level of privilege is often met with great disdain and even hatred from the masses. Those of royal blood have sometimes not helped their own cause. Marie Antoinette famously showed her insensitivity by expressing that the poor should eat cake since they had no bread to eat. In this movie, the drama of the movie is seen in the fact that the person of royalty seems so much like one of the rest of us. He hates this position in which he finds himself. He resents the enormous responsibility that he now has. In this man of wealth we see ourselves. We think of our own struggles to overcome basic obstacles that we face every day. Here, the filmmakers have given all of us an extraordinary gift by stripping this royal figure of his regal attire and leaving us with one man's naked soul.
Colin Firth is great, as always. The relationship between him and his therapist is a classic dichotomy of British manner and Greek phileo. These two men love and respect each other, but they would never put it that way. The other touching portrayal is how the king is seen with his family. Here, all of the kingship is put aside, and we see a man who is both a loving husband and gentle father. As the king begins to face his own struggle with his speech, he shows utter determination. He knows that his country is going to war, and he knows that his country needs him to speak to them. He meets the challenge.
The depiction of the speech itself is nothing short of brilliant. The director chooses the ominous second movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony as a musical backdrop for the speech. Beethoven's 7th symphony is a brilliant choice. This symphony is a great work, but it is made more dramatic by the fact that it was the first symphony Beethoven completed as his hearing loss really took over. Both figures in this moment of cinema (King George VI and Beethoven) are struggling with a tremendous physical affliction. Their works both show struggle and work in their achievement. And both figures rose above their weaknesses to do something tremendous.
It is an astounding achievement to bring such gravity and humanity to humans whose lives seem so inhuman. The life of the person in this film is an inspiration.
If there is one thing that most folks would agree upon, it is the fact that royalty (throughout history) have led very insular lives. The lives they live are immensely privileged. This level of privilege is often met with great disdain and even hatred from the masses. Those of royal blood have sometimes not helped their own cause. Marie Antoinette famously showed her insensitivity by expressing that the poor should eat cake since they had no bread to eat. In this movie, the drama of the movie is seen in the fact that the person of royalty seems so much like one of the rest of us. He hates this position in which he finds himself. He resents the enormous responsibility that he now has. In this man of wealth we see ourselves. We think of our own struggles to overcome basic obstacles that we face every day. Here, the filmmakers have given all of us an extraordinary gift by stripping this royal figure of his regal attire and leaving us with one man's naked soul.
Colin Firth is great, as always. The relationship between him and his therapist is a classic dichotomy of British manner and Greek phileo. These two men love and respect each other, but they would never put it that way. The other touching portrayal is how the king is seen with his family. Here, all of the kingship is put aside, and we see a man who is both a loving husband and gentle father. As the king begins to face his own struggle with his speech, he shows utter determination. He knows that his country is going to war, and he knows that his country needs him to speak to them. He meets the challenge.
The depiction of the speech itself is nothing short of brilliant. The director chooses the ominous second movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony as a musical backdrop for the speech. Beethoven's 7th symphony is a brilliant choice. This symphony is a great work, but it is made more dramatic by the fact that it was the first symphony Beethoven completed as his hearing loss really took over. Both figures in this moment of cinema (King George VI and Beethoven) are struggling with a tremendous physical affliction. Their works both show struggle and work in their achievement. And both figures rose above their weaknesses to do something tremendous.
It is an astounding achievement to bring such gravity and humanity to humans whose lives seem so inhuman. The life of the person in this film is an inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)