The bottom-line for comedy is whether it makes you laugh, "Thank Your Lucky Stars" made me chuckle, roll with Eddie Cantor's stupid song-and-dance routine under the palms, and wish I could go back in time so I could hang out by the pool in 1943 Hollywood. As a native Californian I loved the shots from East L.A., the palm trees, and California gardens before they became Californicated. The film has a serious laugh at the star wannabees of the time. I love the absurd sense of humor. The loose plot drags, ebbs and flows, and sometimes runs at an annoying pace, like a toilet that won't stop. But the film has classic moments, like when the producers let Eddie Cantor's ego fly, the song-and-dance straw hat routine with the guy from "Gilligan's Island", and spots by many familiar faces -- all stars. As a story, it's episodic, loses dramatic tension, and steps from one bit to another. It's a 1943 "Entourage" story, without Entourage's decadence.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Albino Alligator
(1996)
Albino Alligator written by Christian Forte
2 February 2006
The interesting dilemma of a woman having to kill an innocent man in cold blood so that she and her son could survive a hostage situation maximizes the tension in this thriller. Despite the talent of a host of great actors, Dillon's weak performance led to this movie only showing in a few theaters before being put out to video in my opinion. Kevin Spacey's other big mistake, besides casting Dillon, made to avoid looking vain, is not casting himself as one of the two brothers. On the positive side, Faye Dunaway is outstanding. The fast-paced opening, however, slows to a crawl after the set-up, which put the audience to sleep. The twists and turns inside the bar, and the character's reactions to them, don't seem like how real people would react. For a young writer that doesn't read the "how-to" books on screen writing, however, Forte wrote a well-structured, derivative, but innovative thriller. I was one of the few people that saw this movie in the theater, and the light was too dark. Best wishes to Christian and his new wife, from the uncle of his old girlfriend from CAL BERKELEY.
Tell Your Friends