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“Gran Torino” Beyond Self-Parody
Jan 28th
Beyond Self-Parody
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
GRAN TORINO is the latest film directed by Clint Eastwood, he also stars in it, and he has said that it might be his final acting job.
That would be a shame, because it doesn’t represent his best acting work, nor does it show his best directing, either.
Clint plays Walt Kowalski, and the film opens at the church ceremony for the funeral of his wife, Dorothy. Walt is clearly uncomfortable, and he also makes it obvious that he doesn’t approve of the way his teenage granddaughter dresses and acts.
However, one of his sons says something to the other one that gives us an insight into Walt. He says, “There’s nothing anyone can do that won’t disappoint the Old Man.”
Walt is retired, after having worked for the Ford Motor Co. for 50 years, and his prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino, which he tells people he even helped assemble. He doesn’t drive it, but keeps it clean and pristine in his garage.
I don’t believe that it is a coincidence that 1972 was also the year that DIRTY HARRY was released, and later we will see Walt use some mannerisms that an old, retired Dirty Harry Callahan might use.
Walt lives in the same Detroit neighborhood that he and Dorothy always lived in, only now it is almost unrecognizable with the influx of immigrants.
A family of Hmong people live in the house next door, and Walt reluctantly gets to know them better.
One night he catches their teenage son, Thao, trying to steal the Gran Torino out of Walt’s garage, which was to be the initiation requirement for Thao to get into the gang his cousin runs with.
When the gang tries to take off with Thao, Walt points his rifle at them and actually says, “Get off my lawn!”
However, Thao was being forced to join the gang, and when Walt prevents it, Thao’s family bring Walt food and flowers out of appreciation, which Walt doesn’t approve of one bit.
Walt becomes a hero in the neighborhood, and Thao is sent to Walt to work off the debt he now owes Walt.
Whatever humor is in the film is Walt teaching Thao how to be a man like him.
GRAN TORINO has loose directing, poor acting, not very good writing, and sinks to beyond self-parody.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“The Wrestler” Nothing New Is Old Again
Jan 21st
Nothing New Is Old Again
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
THE WRESTLER is a comeback film that has caused a lot of attention, has already won some awards, will likely win some more, but you could very well be disappointed when you see it.
Starring Mickey Rourke as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a professional wrestler who was at the top of his profession 20 years ago, the film shows how Randy struggles today with his so-called sport, his relationships, and just making enough money to keep up with the lot fees for the trailer he lives in.
In other words, the theme is “Down and out and struggling to get up.” Sound familiar?
Most of the attention is on Rourke, who gained weight and beefed up for the role that mirrors his own Hollywood career, but Marisa Tomei is also very good as an aging stripper named Cassidy who befriends Randy, but isn’t willing to become romantically involved with him.
We see Randy struggling to make a little money on the independent wrestling circuit and how the matches are choreographed beforehand, as well as how Randy hides a razor blade to cut himself for more dramatic effect.
And we see how Randy tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood, telling her, “I’m an old broken-down piece of meat, and I deserve to be alone. I just don’t want you to hate me.”
So, we see a few tender moments with Randy, such as when he plays with the neighborhood kids, a lot of gruesome moments in the wrestling ring, some scenes with Randy working in a supermarket to make some extra money, and some scenes with Cassidy and Stephanie as Randy tries to reconnect with the human race.
And then Randy has some serious health issues as well, which puts him in the hospital at one point.
So, this is definitely not a “feel good” movie, and the only reason to see it is to watch Rourke try to redeem his own career or Tomei, who is always watchable, even more so without any clothes on.
There is even some trite philosophizing about the difference between the phony worlds of professional wrestling and erotic dancing and the “real world” “out there,” where people can get very hurt.
THE WRESTLER just shows that nothing new is old again, and even the ending is disappointing.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Bride Wars” First Thing Women Want
Jan 14th
First Thing Women Want
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
BRIDE WARS is a silly chick flick that is NOT a romantic comedy, just a comedy.
However, the only people laughing in the audience when I attended were women, and some of them were laughing hysterically. (No pun intended.)
Starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway, the story is about two best friends from childhood for the past 20 years who have been inseparable ever since they saw a wedding together at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
So, all their lives they have dreamed and planned to have their own weddings at the Plaza and that each of them would be the maid of honor for the other one.
And then the complications ensue.
They both get engaged at about the same time, and so they meet together with Marion St. Claire, the most sought-after wedding planner in Manhattan, played by Candice Bergen.
Earlier, they had criticized a wedding, one of them saying, “It ain’t June,” and the other one adding, “And it ain’t the Plaza.”
So, they settle on two of the only three available dates in June, which is 3-1/2 months away, and here is where the complications ensue.
Marion’s assistant mistakenly books them both on the same date, and let the forced comedy for women begin.
I know what you’re thinking: “Are there any men in this movie?”
Yes, there are. Two fiances, a brother, and an assistant, but except for the assistant, the men are so nondescript that you can’t even tall them apart, and they have almost no role in the story.
And any men in the audience will start losing interest when the two women start fighting with each other. You see, guys would just split the check down the middle, have two separate weddings, order pizzas, and turn on the ball game.
Now, men would ask what is so funny about two brides fighting. Or sympathetic about their making up?
But then the movie isn’t over when you think it’s over. We get an added scene that is a ho-hum setup for a sequel.
BRIDE WARS is a chick flick times 2 that is apparently all about the first thing women want, which in the end might not be anything more than leading to a sequel that would be a chick flick times 4 about the second thing women want and named BABY WARS.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
