scott_mores-1 Reviews

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Another indie triumph over Hollywood garbage

[9/10 · 29 August 2006]

Hollywood needs to wake up. It has been generally decided that this summer film season has been predominantly disappointing, but I am going to have to disagree. Not because I think that any major studio has pumped out anything remotely respectable, with the possible exception of the beautifully photographed Miami Vice, but because I saw some of my favorite films of the year this summer, it just took some looking.

That said, I have added Little Miss Sunshine to my list of films released this summer that not only should have made more money than every major studio release, but should also have been played in every theatre in the country.

I have waited months to see this comedic gem. Released on July 26, following the Best Feature award from the 2006 Sydney Film Festival and a standing ovation at the renowned Sundance Film Festival, it has been one of the most talked about and critically acclaimed films of the year.

The Hoovers are a deranged family that, because of personal issues, can barely handle spending dinner together. Their tolerance for each other is tested when Olive (Abigail Breslin), the younger of the two siblings, qualifies for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, California. Because of financial and personal complications, the entire family is forced to embark on a two-day road trip in their clunky yellow VW bus so that Olive can follow her dream of winning the pageant.

While this may sound like the beginning of your ho-hum family adventure flick, the foul- mouthed drug-addicted grandfather (Alan Arkin) alone is enough to make Clark Griswold blush.

That is where the film succeeds. Because of its unrestrained vulgarity and general absurdity, it is not only personally relatable but also satirical towards the films that it calls to mind.

Any time that the film is tempted to get overly touchy-feely, it restrains itself gracefully and reminds the viewer of its ludicrous bearing.

Especially notable is the way the family is forced to work together every time that its bus needs to start moving. Because of some complications with the gears, the bus must be pushed until it is moving fast enough to be put into third gear, whereupon said pushers must sequentially run ahead and jump into the opened side door.

A superb cast could only have pulled off such acts of both physical and emotional comedy. As the strongpoint of the film, its spot-on cast carries it above and beyond an otherwise failed attempt at a wonderful script.

Greg Kinnear perfectly portrays Richard Hoover's capricious personality as he fights back his shortening nerves with the advice of his own nine-step program on how to be a winner. Steve Carell delivers his most touching and subtly hilarious performance of his career as Toni Collette's post-suicidal relationship-troubled homosexual brother.

Every scene of Little Miss Sunshine humbly and hysterically leads to the incredible final sequence, which will no doubt be remembered as a classic moment in film.

It's about time that a truly great film this summer is starting to get national recognition and distribution. Sadly, generally dismissed achievements like A Scanner Darkly and Scoop will probably get lost in the shuffle, and we can only hope for the best for the unlikely success of the wildly funny Strangers With Candy. Hopefully, Little Miss Sunshine can act as a wake up call to the film industry to recognize the ever-present superiority of independent films.

Kika (1993)

Frustrating disappointment from a superb director

[5/10 · 20 July 2006]

When a film begins with a keyhole bordered image of a woman undressing, sufficient precautions should be taken. When Pedro Almodóvar begins a film in such a voyeuristic fashion, everything seems right in the world.

Such is the opening sequence of Almodóvar's 10th full-length feature, Kika. A twisted tale of murder, rape, incest and just about every other adjective describing a vulgar or sinful act, Kika is at times hard to watch but usually even harder to turn away from. But while its tangled web of intertwining characters and story lines is compelling enough not to lose interest, the manner through which it maintains that interest does not prove to be worth the entertainment.

You're probably wondering why I would be driving you away from a film that sounds so engaging. If you are familiar with Almodóvar's work, it will be much easier for you to both grasp and handle this film. If you are not familiar with Almodóvar's work, this is not the place to start. If you have heard of Almodóvar's reputation but have never seen his films, this is not the place to start. In any other remotely similar situation, this is not the place to start.

I am only so relentless because Almodóvar is one of the greatest Spanish filmmakers of our time. He has a stunning catalog of films and is somewhat of a hero of the art's counter-culture. With a reputation for pushing the limits, Almodóvar is usually successful in delivering even the most perverse films in a tasteful manner.

That is where Kika fails: It is full of content but lacking delivery. If the film took itself seriously there would be much more to work with. But with the direction it chose, trying to be a dark (pitch dark) comedy, the subject matter is too tasteless to work.

To prove my point, let's do a little role playing. I will be the enthusiastic screenwriter pitching my story to you, the money-hungry studio executive half-heartedly listening to my idea for the next screwball comedy:

OK, so Ramón is a young man whose mother commits suicide for reasons that may or may not point to her unhappy marriage with Ramón's stepfather, Nicholas. Three years later, the stepfather and son move in together. One day while Ramón is presumed dead, a young woman named Kika is sent to apply makeup to his corpse, only to witness his miraculous revival. Kika and Ramón soon begin dating and she moves in with him. Eventually, Kika decides to make it a family affair by secretly having sex with Nicholas, Ramón's womanizing stepfather.

This is when it gets good.

The witness to everything is Ramón's lesbian housemaid, Juana. She has an insane brother who, as an adolescent, had sex with all sorts of animals but then moved on to raping the neighborhood girls. Being the great sister that she is, she started having sex with him so that he could "let off some steam" instead of pursuing his new hobby. His destructive path soon leads him to jail.

This is when it really gets good.

Years later, Juana's brother escapes from prison and tracks her down to the apartment at which she works. The fugitive plans to pilfer a few cameras from the apartment until he discovers the sleeping Kika. Against his sister's pleas, he rapes Kika for what seems like hours. The rape is called in by a peeping-tom across the street and an investigation ensues to find out who was involved, or rather who wasn't involved.

Sound funny? I didn't think so. And with such despicable characters, it is nearly impossible to find anyone, or anything, to laugh at. The most frustrating part about the film is that Almodóvar could have made this into a powerful drama, as he did with Talk to Her and Bad Education. All the elements are there, it's just in the completely wrong genre. It's like trying to turn Schindler's List into a sitcom.

But turning Kika into a drama would involve a few changes, especially Verónica Forqué as Kika. She is completely over-the-top and not once convincing. She adds nothing to her part and is especially painful to watch during her emotionless and even smart alecky rape.

The rape scene itself is the film's biggest red flag. No matter how hard you try, even if you are Pedro Almodóvar, making comedy out of such an emotionally charged issue as rape will prove improbable if not impossible.

With that said, Kika is a blow to Almodóvar fans who find themselves defending his films as artistic not licentious. Instead of an earnest film by a standout director, we are given an indecent soap opera with questionable direction. But we'll forgive you Pedro, nobody's perfect.

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Hilarious mix of fantasy and real-life drama, literally

[8/10 · 18 July 2006]

Even from the opening credits, there is something uniquely different about The Purple Rose of Cairo. Allen's familiar white on black text reveals the film's cast and crew, but the music strikes another familiarity, Allen aside.

The song is "Cheek to Cheek," a number made famous by the singing/dancing/acting duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the popular RKO production Top Hat (1935). But what is a song that was made popular in a film doing in another film made 50 years later?

The answer lies in Cairo's plot. Cecilia, played marvelously by Mia Farrow, is a waitress struggling to get by in the midst of the depression. As if the constant nagging of her frustrated boss isn't enough, she goes home to a physically and emotionally abusive husband who is out of work and doing nothing about it.

Cecilia's only escape from her drudging life is the theater that she frequents. She finds solace in the romance and happy endings that films typify. These films become the only true loves of her life, but who says films can't love you back?

Upon one of Cecilia's numerous viewings of a new film, also titled The Purple Rose of Cairo, the main character, Tom Baxter, played by Jeff Daniels, walks right out of the big screen and into the real world. Chaos ensues as the fictional world is irreversibly altered and the film's production team tries to save not only its reputation but also that of Gil Shepherd, the actor who played Tom Baxter, also played by Jeff Daniels. A love triangle is born, as Cecilia must choose between the perfect but fictional Tom Baxter and the not-so-perfect but real life Gil Shepherd.

Few people but Woody Allen could have pulled off such an ambitious plot that still held on to its message…and its humor. Not a stranger to comedy, romance, drama or fantasy, Allen has successfully mixed a few if not all of these genres in many of his previous films.

In the same vein as Love and Death, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and Stardust Memories, Cairo is a surreal comedy with something to say. It addresses both the important role stories, in particular film, have on providing an escape for real-life and the danger of becoming so wrapped up in fiction that it is hard to face reality.

Given Allen's intensive filmography, directing nearly a film a year for almost 20 years upon Cairo's release, it is hard not to assume the film is at least semi-autobiographical. Allen himself seems to be entranced by the fictional world to the same degree Cecilia is.

While a meaningfully deep comedy, Cairo is still a comedy, and a great one. Baxter's ignorance to the real world gives way to some hilarious scenes, in particular when a whore unknowingly leads him to a brothel.

Especially funny is how quickly the characters of the film get over the bizarre circumstances and begin to worry about themselves, particularly Shepherd's quick transition from disbelief that his character has entered the real world to anxiety about his reputation. Similarly, there is a classic scene in which the audience members in the theater and the fictional characters on screen bicker back and forth and even end up insulting each other.

As Allen's 13th directorial release, The Purple Rose of Cairo proves to be one of his greatest achievements, and also his self-proclaimed favorite film to date. As the opening song cues, it is a movie about movies made by a guy who lives his life through movies. As only the second film in which he is not in, Cairo can even appeal to non-Allen fans. While not gracing his presence in the film, it is quintessentially Allen in every other way, and rightfully so.

Superman Returns (2006)

Superman saved by Spacey and special effects

[6/10 · 30 June 2006]

The man of steel has returned to the big screen with his first motion picture in over 20 years. But with a borderline corny script and head-scratching casting choices, will he have enough strength to save this movie from despair?

In short, yes. Superman Returns is an exciting film with quirky moments of comic (no pun intended) relief and not-so-cheap thrills. The seemingly limitless abilities of the special effects team serve as much of the life support for the film. In what would be an otherwise laughable attempt to showcase Clark Kent's ability to fly, see through walls and lift airplanes, the effects team proves to be the real hero of Superman Returns.

The real hit-or-miss part of the film is its cast. In an awkward attempt to flex his dramatic muscles, Kal Penn plays Stanford, one of Lex Luthor's partners in crime. With little to no lines (give or take 2 words), Penn nonsensically draws attention to himself if not only for his post Harold and Kumar fame, for a few long takes that, even if not on purpose, continue to stress the fact that he is in the film.

With the choice of the relatively unknown Brandon Routh as Clark Kent, it is a wonder how they could find a virtual no name to play Superman but refused to for Lex Luthor's goons. In any event, Routh is a perfect example of being able to look but not play the part. His best moments come when he isn't saying anything at all. While his acting seems somewhat forced as Superman, he plays Kent's awkward antics with relatively comfortable ease.

Rough casting aside, Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Lex Luthor outshines most of the cast put together. He is at once calm and vengeful, and not the least bit sympathetic. Bringing life to much of his scenes, his mere presence on screen puts the viewer on edge.

Even with its flaws, the film doesn't cease to stay interesting...until the end. At least a half hour could have been cut out of its 154 minutes. Don't be surprised to find yourself arguing with your friends about when it SHOULD have ended.

But if you cut out the lagging last portion, what is left is a film that accomplished what it set out to do. It is a simple and fun film that will have your heart racing at Superman's every attempt to save the world. While not always pleasing to the ears, Superman Returns is surely a feast for the eyes and is worth seeing once, but probably only once.