Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (B) is a veritable steam engine of a film showcasing the life of junkies from the other side of the tracks. Ewan McGregor charges onto the scene in a star-making performance, and Boyle’s grim, swirling visual odyssey gives viewers a one-way ticket to the human abyss. There’s a whole lot of surreal locomotion as the film alternates from comedy to surreal drama, all in an original, efficient tale.
Tag Archives: Comedy
“The Mirror Has Two Faces” is Enjoyable Streisand Romance
Barbra Streisand stars and takes the director’s chair for The Mirror Has Two Faces (A-), a superb romantic comedy about the modern myths of beauty and relationships. Paired with Jeff Bridges as dating professors, it’s an intellectual look at the modern rituals of romance. Lauren Bacall is a hoot as Streisand’s character’s sassy mom. The two Streisands – actress and director – score a triumph with comedy and drama in this story about a couple courting chaos and confusion.
Show Me the Emotion! “Jerry Maguire” is a Knockout
The man who played America’s top gun, a cocky race car driver, an acrobatic bartender, a brooding vampire and a covert operator is now on the sidelines as Tom Cruise plays the agent behind the sports superstars. Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire (A) is about a man who comes down to earth and discovers what truly matters when he finds romance, discovers a sort of surrogate parenthood and finds a client who can count on him regardless of his prestige. To paraphrase a famous line, the film “had me at hello” with superb performing performances by Renee Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. as the agent’s loyalists. Crowe uses lovely pop music including Bruce Springsteen’s “Secret Garden” to trace the emotional and romantic journey. Cruise has never been better and gives one of his most restrained and generous performances.
“Scream” (1996) Rewrites the Rules of the Horror Film
Wes Craven deconstructs scary with Scream (B+), a smart comedy/horror hybrid that features characters who are in the know about the rules of horror movies and still fall into their wicked traps. Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, David Arquette and Neve Campbell are strong in the ensemble, and Kevin Williamson’s witty screenplay is truly the star. Craven is the perfect veteran director to both amplify the body counts and multiply the laughs as the proceedings get more and more horrific.
Unfunny “House Arrest” is Grounded for Life
Kevin Pollack and Jamie Lee Curtis star in Harry Winer’s preposterous comedy House Arrest (F) about a bunch of kids who lock their bickering parents in the basement until they resolve their disputes. Billed as a family film, this pitiful exercise in annoyance wastes the talents of both its adult and child stars. It’s kind of the opposite of a night out (or in) at the movies.
“Toy Story” an Animated Breakthrough
The classic toys that come to life in John Lasseter’s Toy Story (A-) are among the most endearing new creations developed for the screen. Pull-string cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) and rival-turned-pal astronaut toy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) preside over a pixel playroom of great characters including Mr. Potatohead, Slinky Dog and other favorites come to life. When there’s trouble in toyland, it’s time for teamwork, and the saccharine sweetness never gets too much to turn off adult audiences who are watching with kids. The Randy Newman ballads are a little treachly, but everything else is super-fresh, and Pixar Studios shows why it’s the high-tech hotshot on the scene with 110,064 frames of computer animation that translate into absolute enjoyment.
Rob Reiner’s “The American President” is Brilliant Comic Romance
Politics make strange bedfellows in Rob Reiner’s The American President (A) which tells a charming tale of a widowed president (Michael Douglas) who falls in love with a political operative (Annette Bening). The leads are remarkable and sink their teeth into Aaron Sorkin’s snappy screenplay. This in a rare romantic comedy that gets a very high approval rating.
Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats” Crude, Sometimes Funny and Fairly Aimless
Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith makes a change of venue to cover the food court jesters inhabiting the world of Mallrats (C), a slightly more mainstream and less funny offering from the indie auteur. Upgrading to Hollywood talent such as Jason Lee and Shannen Doherty and reverting to sight gags that sometimes seem more in-your-face than flat-out inspired, the film works best when the characters get to flex their comic muscles with wry observational references and hilarious pop culture pronouncements. The dazed dialogue goes a long way to cover up the convoluted storyline in a bit of a sophomore slump from a promising player on the scene.
“Babe” (1995) is a Highly Recommended Family Film
Look who’s oinking! Chris Noonan’s Babe is a delightful fable featuring a talking pig protagonist and his human companion (James Cromwell) who enters him into a sheepdog championship. It’s a vividly colorful, sunshiny look at finding your place in the world.
“Clueless” is an Inspired Comedy
Amy Heckerling’s Clueless (B+) is a hybrid of Ferris Bueller and Jane Austin’s Emma and is one of the most perceptive and entertaining comedies about teens in the 90’s. Alicia Silverstone commands the screen as the high school matchmaker who finally finds a little love for herself. The film’s ribald vocabulary and elaborate fashions make it fun and flashy, and it’s a surprising treat from beginning to end.
“Bullets Over Broadway” is a Smart Insider Comedy
As the main characters mounting a theatrical spectacular in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (A) toast to a world without compromise, deep inside they know they will have to sell out for a sellout performance. Allen’s showstopping exploration of art, deals and the art of the deal is a comedic bonbon with John Cusask in the lead, Dianne Wiest as a grand diva, Chazz Palminteri as a gangster producer and Jennifer Tilly as a sublimely untalented gangster moll and wannabe singer. The mounting verbal, sight and character gags that emerge as opening night for a doomed show coalesce seal the deal for the film’s appeal. And Allen has rarely made a film this striking in its visuals, with vivid pop colors, art deco posters, glitzy marquees and gorgeous iconography of the Great White Way providing a rich palette.
“Bad Boys” is Not Particularly Funny or Exciting
Director Michael Bay could have projected the coming attractions trailer over and over for the full running time of the full-length duration of Bad Boys (F) with the same result. The film is nothing more than a calculated marketing ploy pairing two popular TV stars – Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) and Martin Lawrence (Martin) – as buddy cops with car chases and product plugs. The dialogue ranges from “Hey baybee” to “go girl” and misses all chances to leverage the chemistry between two talented actors.