billyweeds Reviews

Damsels in Distress (2011)

One of the all-time worst

[1/10 · 4 April 2012]

I was very much looking forward to this movie, having admired all of Whit Stillman's previous films, especially his latest, the 1998 "The Last Days of Disco." So I was beyond disappointed to discover that "Damsels in Distress" is virtually unwatchable. Is it pretentious? Hard to describe it that way since it doesn't seem to be trying for anything. People sit around or walk around or dance around and chatter in a kind of language that appears to be spawned on an alien planet. Greta Gerwig, whom I have liked in a couple of other movies, is completely lost and inept spouting the idiot dialogue she's given, and the problem extends to the entire cast. I laughed out loud exactly once. Most of the time I cringed and groaned. The movie is absolutely awful and a must to avoid unless you have been losing sleep and need to catch up. No, scratch that. Insomnia is preferable to this debacle.

The Best and the Brightest (2010)

A must to avoid

[1/10 · 24 June 2011]

This is the worst movie of 2011 so far and unlikely to be challenged. The first ten minutes are excellent, setting the stage for a lovely dramedy about a middle-class couple braving the horrors of NYC private kindergarten, with an attractive Neil Patrick Harris and Bonnie Somerville filling the bill nicely. And there's Amy Sedaris--such a winning comedian. But noooooo. Before you know it, this charming human comedy devolves into one of the unfunniest, loudest, crudest, lewdest movies imaginable. The actors are lost--Sedaris becomes monotonous, Harris a snooze, and all the rest of them unbearable. The very idea that pornographic IMs could be mistaken for poetry by sentient New Yorkers is so unbelievable that the whole premise falls apart, and it just gets worse and worse by the nanosecond. This is one of the most inept films in memory.

Bridesmaids (I) (2011)

In a class by itself

[10/10 · 24 May 2011]

This movie is one of a kind--the only screamingly funny comedy which also makes you really care about its characters. It's one of the best comedies in the history of movies, and certainly the best comedy of the last decade...and beyond.

How often has a movie made you fall out of your chair with laughter and then, not ten seconds later, tugged at your heartstrings? This great film has that effect.

Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy deserve starring and supporting Oscars respectively, and Wiig deserves a writing award to boot. The whole cast, from Rose Byrne to Chris O'Dowd to Maya Rudolph to Jon Hamm, deserves outspoken praise. The movie is quite indescribably wonderful.

To Heal a Nation (1988 TV Movie)

A crime this is not available on DVD

[9/10 · 4 April 2010]

I completely agree that this wonderful film should be available on DVD. Not only does Eric Roberts hit his career peak in a searing and unforgettable performance, but the movie commemorates the monumental achievement Jan Scruggs made in devising and funding the Vietnam memorial. I was a fierce anti-Vietnam War protester, but I was thrilled that the memorial was created. This is an important movie despite certain melodramatic excesses, and deserves to be made viewable by a large audience. It amazes me that so many useless movies are on DVD when essential films like this one gather dust and wait for the very occasional television showing. In any case, here's hoping "To Heal a Nation" survives.

Four Christmases (2008)

Hilarious and just cynical enough

[8/10 · 29 November 2008]

This very funny, very sharp little comedy is fast becoming the underrated cult film of the year. Though a couple of high-profile critics have embraced its sophisticated blend of funny lines, great performances, and occasional forays into dumb-ass slapstick, the majority of folks seem to reject it. It will be a classic in years to come, however. Vaughn and Witherspoon are an odd couple for the ages, and the all-star supporting cast boasts at least two incredibly accomplished performances, Sissy Spacek's and Jon Favreau's. Seth Gordon fulfills the promise of "The King of Kong." I expect fantastic things from him in the future.

The movie is a criminally underrated gem. Not great, but very, very good. And a keeper for sure.

Guest in the House (1944)

Baxter as bad as "Eve"

[2/10 · 31 October 2008]

Anne Baxter is one of the most unsubtle and--why mince words?--worst actresses ever to gain fame in Hollywood. Her performance in "All About Eve" ranks as one of the most overrated on record. An Oscar nomination for making the supposedly convincingly sweet Eve as obviously dangerous as a cobra? The same problem exists in "Guest in the House." The moment Baxter's Evelyn (almost the same name as "Eve") appears, we know she's bad bad bad. Baxter is so transparent as to be laughable.

Add the constant "Liebestraum" on the soundtrack and the fact that Evelyn comes on to Ruth Warrick's husband Ralph Bellamy (read: Bette Davis and Gary Merrill) and you have a perfect trial balloon for "Eve." In many people's opinion, Baxter improved by the time she played Eve in 1950. For me, it's "been there done that" all over again.

Someone else has alluded to the ending being unsatisfying. I'll echo that. Evelyn does rotten things, but she's a very mentally disturbed person. Aline MacMahon's character deliberately drives her to fall off a cliff. This is considered the right thing to do. Huh? We've come a long way since then.

Must add that Warrick and Bellamy are aces. Their relationship--complete with typical 1940's denial of Bellamy's alcoholism--makes the movie almost worth watching.

My favorite moment: Bellamy and Marie McDonald return home after hours of drinking themselves blind. Warrick asks what's been going on. Bellamy answers, "We took a drive to sober up." Warrick doesn't bat an eye. Unbelievable.

Year of the Dog (I) (2007)

Amazing!

[10/10 · 6 May 2007]

The beauty of this film is that for the first time in my movie-going history someone has actually made a case for the possibility of mental disease being channeled into worthwhile activity. At the end of the movie, in an incredibly gutsball move by Mike White, the leading character discovers her bliss and realizes that she doesn't have to live and interact with the normal run of people in order to do some good in this world.

I understand how the completely unique story arc has left some viewers in the dust. But for me this is an absolutely great, unmissable, cataclysmic achievement, one which should (and probably won't) garner Oscar nominations for White and Molly Shannon.

Peggy isn't even someone I'd ever care to know in the real world. But her story is unforgettable--tinged with genius in the writing, and fearlessly, selflessly portrayed by the who-would-have-thought-she-had-it-in-her Shannon.

All My Sons (1948)

Much better than I expected

[8/10 · 24 March 2007]

Since this movie had no particular reputation, I expected a somewhat ho-hum adaptation of Arthur Miller's play. In fact, the movie somewhat improves on the play. It's not afraid to be a little more "superficial" than the play, opting less for profundity than for solid melodrama, and I do mean solid. Robinson is superb, but the real surprise for me was the unshowy, very subtle (for him) performance by Lancaster, never a favorite of mine in his latter-day, hammy period. Here he seems content to be an ensemble player, supporting Robinson and playing a relatively quiet, Gary Cooper sort of role, and therefore he comes off more of a genuine star than usual. When he does finally explode in physical violence, the effect is truly shocking.

Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011)

One of the best!

[10/10 · 17 October 2006]

Jon Robin Baitz has created one of the finest family dramas in the history of network television. This marvelous multi-drama is as well written as "The Sopranos" and "Hill Street Blues." And Sally Field gives a truly transcendent, brilliant performance as the aggravating, lovable, hip, square, completely believable matriarch of a huge family. Field has managed to top her own best--well, maybe not "Norma Rae," but everything else she's ever done. What an actress! She is joined by a superb ensemble including top New York stage actor Ron Rifkin and class actresses Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths. The scripts by Baitz and others are literate, touching, funny, and more, and the direction gives the audience credit for intelligence, a quality in rare supply on network television. This one enters the pantheon!

Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)

I could watch "Over and Over Again" over and over again

[9/10 · 3 April 2006]

This is a genuinely heartfelt and lovely entertainment with a great cast and a marvelous score. Seeing Durante and Raye together is a rare treat, and Stephen Boyd acquits himself quite well in the unfamiliar musical genre. But the crown jewel is the magnificent Doris Day, who is in fine voice and adds grit and gleam to the proceedings.

The high point of the movie is the opening number, "Over and Over Again," whose final shot is a supreme moment among musical movies, when the camera pulls back and reveals simultaneously all the things we've been seeing individually throughout the number. In addition to being a truly beautiful shot, it amounts to a "surprise ending" for the number. Add to that the fact that the song is sung memorably by Day, and you have a classic movie moment.

Julie (1956)

Absolutely hilarious

[1/10 · 3 April 2006]

This film rivals "Caprice" as the low point of Doris Day's remarkably uneven career. The above post detailing the unintentionally funny voice-over narration by Day sort of sums it up. Talk about every emotion and action being completely underlined! "Desperately scared, I ran breathlessly through the door..." Not a direct quote, but you get the idea. Worth seeing for the camp value--but for no other reason I can think of.

Doris Day is one of my favorite movie stars of her era, and the perfect Nellie Forbush ("South Pacific") who never was. But in "Julie" she just comes off silly, silly, silly.

Born to Dance (1936)

Cole Porter + Jimmy Stewart = GREAT!

[10/10 · 17 March 2006]

There have been some really favorable comments made about this wonderful musical, but in my opinion none has really done it justice. It contains one of the most inventive scores Cole Porter ever composed, fully up to his great Broadway shows. Such standards as "Easy to Love" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" everyone knows, but the unknown gems include the fantastic "Hey, Babe, Hey," the delightful "Rolling Home" and "Rap Tap on Wood," and the insane and memorable "Love Me, Love My Pekingese." Aside from the great score, there's the terrific dancing and personality of Eleanor Powell, the funny supporting cast, and most of all the unique musical style of the greatest of all movie stars, James Stewart, who gives one of his most charming performances.

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)

Guilty? Sort of. A pleasure? Indubitably!

[8/10 · 21 August 2004]

This is my ultimate guilty pleasure. All my critical faculties tell me it's a trashy action flick with no particular value. But critical faculties don't mean a thing when chemistry is as kinetic as that between Rourke and Johnson, who for my money have Newman and Redford beat by a mile in one of the best "buddy" teamings ever. Moreover, the movie is beautifully cast down the line and the pace is always great. Everything from the costuming of the lead characters to the atmosphere in the bar to the performances by Tom Sizemore and Daniel Baldwin are right on target. But mainly it's Johnson and Rourke's connection that makes the movie. They're terrific. I've seen this movie several times and it never loses me for an instant. Yeah!

Mind the Gap (2004)

A correction, and agreement

[10/10 · 30 March 2004]

There are actually FIVE stories told in this movie, each one emotionally valid and moving. The form is a multi-comedy-drama, on the order of "Magnolia" and "Short Cuts" but better than either by quite some distance. The fifth story (not mentioned in the earlier review) is about a singer-songwriter with a heart condition, played very solidly by real-life singer-songwriter Jill ("I Kissed a Girl") Sobule.

The movie represents a quantum leap for writer-director Schaeffer, who truly comes into his own with this one. Not only is the writing excellent, but he does wonders with his cast, including the redoubtable Alan King, never better on screen. And Schaeffer's own performance is by far his best to date--hilarious beyond his previous work and satisfyingly emotional, too.

A Christmas Carol (1951)

By far the best Scrooge

[10/10 · 1 December 2003]

Alastair Sim's portrayal of Scrooge is so much better than any other screen incarnation that there really is no contest. He makes Scrooge a real human being in every way--hateful at first, intensely sympathetic later. The movie itself is wonderful, too, with every single part being played to perfection, down to the silent bit by the servant girl at Fred's house. This is not only one of my favorite holiday films, but one of my favorite films, period.

Gigli (2003)

Intermittently but definitely entertaining

[10/10 · 3 August 2003]

This movie has been given the shaft by a million dumb critics and sheeplike audience members who jump on the buzzwagon for dear life. The movie is far from great; it's not even "good," in the most literal meaning of that word. But it has some scenes which are indelible and literate and beautifully acted, most notable J.Lo's "vagina monologue," which is the best acting she's ever done and one of the most delightful movie scenes of the year. The movie as a whole is uneven but more entertaining than most movies in the unholy cinema year of 2003. If I could have the two hours I spend with "Bruce Almighty" back again, I might spend them reseeing "Gigli."

Three Amigos! (1986)

An okay movie with one great scene

[7/10 · 21 July 2003]

This comedy is uneven, to put it mildly, and only mediocre on balance. But the song-and-dance routine by Short and Martin ("accompanied" by Chase on piano) to the song "My Little Buttercup" is a classic. It deserves to be included in excerpt reels as an example of great comedy.

Never Again (2001)

Must-see romantic comedy

[8/10 · 9 July 2002]

Hilarious and touching in equal measure, this romantic comedy stars Jill Clayburgh in a comeback that really deserves that overworked word and Jeffrey Tambor in a leading role that redefines the definition of a leading man. The direction and writing by Eric Schaeffer is wonderful, there is a supporting performance by Bill Duke that soars, and for dessert there is the single funniest slapstick comedy sequence since the days of silent films. Jill Clayburgh the second coming of Buster Keaton??? Sounds unlikely...sounds incredible...but it's true.