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Reviews
Comedian (2002)
An Uplifting Tale of Rebirth and Triumph of the Human Spirit
Follow the construction of this film closely and you will see that it is much more than a documentary of stand-up comedy. Notice, for example, how the ending is a beginning. The final word, "thanks" is precisely the advice given to Orny--the anti-Jerry of this story. Notice the film move directly into the credits, accompanied by Susannah McCorkle's heart-wrenching version "Waters of March", itself Jobim's testimony, from the perspective of early Autumn, that life is a journey. The photos that rotate under the credits, like an iPhoto photo album, are close-up studies of scenes that any comic would immediately recognize as "Comedy Club". Preceding this was Steely Dan's "Deacon's Blues" a song about a suburban New York kid who dreams of leaving the suburbs for the exciting life of show business in the city. Indeed, the choice of soundtrack numbers is worthy of Woody Allen. This movie is worth watching a few times to see how adeptly the film-makers juxtaposed Jerry and Orny in order to make this tale of rebirth. This is very, very good film-making. I only give it 9 out of 10 stars because throughout the film the dialog recording is not as clean and clear as my old ears require. Perhaps this would have been an impossibility, given the documentary nature of this film. Nevertheless, I had to go back and watch it with "English for the hearing impaired" selection in order to catch the dialog.
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956)
An honest man tries to make ends meet AND keep his integrity in the American rat race
the reviewers who found the plot overly complex and disjointed seem to have missed the point of the film, i think. this is the story of a decent guy, straight out of a Frank Capra story (this could've been a Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly), who finds that it is difficult to raise a family and keep ones integrity in the American rat race, i.e. life IS complex and problems come from all angles. maybe it helps to be able to identify with the main characters, married with kids, mid-life, struggling to stay above water, suddenly realizing that any dream other than getting out of debt seems to be slipping beyond the reach of this lifetime, disreputable rats around each corner trying to take advantage of you. no clear way to tell the rats from people with honest concerns, etc. i thought this movie hit the nail on the head, and the scariest part was that it was made FIFTY years ago (sort of like watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and realizing it was made almost SEVENTY years ago), and we know the rats have honed their methods in the interim. in fact, my only disappointments were the twin deus ex machina's in the form of the judge and the boss. thus, Tom Rath's (Gregory Peck's) solution is not an entirely intrinsic one, but one that benefited heavily from a couple of good-hearted people in key positions. that might be too much to hope for in today's America where guys like George Bailey would be labeled as "unpatriotic liberals" and anybody who succeeds in the system seems to pay nothing more than lip service to the morals of Tom Rath. nine out of ten.
There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
BIG musical with a highly contrived plot
this is a film for people who love big song and dance numbers (as well as Marilyn Monroe and Mitzi Gaynor fans). it almost is 'pre- reminiscent' of Bollywood in how it moves from one song to the next, with only the most meager connections between song and storyline. the storyline itself is thin enough, that in slow moments i was struck by how contrived the plot was. the purpose of this movie seemed to be to have several Irving Berlin songs choreographed into vaudeville-like song and dance numbers. what better way to do this than by following the lives of a couple of old vaudeville stars who met, married, had babies, and stayed on the road all the while. it all leads to the climactic scene (here's the spoiler, if this film can be said to have one) of ethel merman paying homage to herself and her role as Annie Oakley by singing 'there's no business like show business'. pay attention to how they managed to jigger the storyline such that ethel got her solo for that number (remembering that the family had five members plus a confounding love interest at that point, and the script writers had to somehow get all of them but ethel off the stage). another number, where johnny ray sings a gospel tune, has 'vehicle' written all over it. and as mentioned by the reviewer above, Marilyn Monroe was hot enough property that she was given two 'vehicle' numbers--although her character does not appear to have been penciled into an otherwise completed script, as suggested above. Marilyn's character is critical to the unfolding of the plot, such as it is. notice also how the script writers cleverly played upon Marilyn's reputation for a breathy, contrived diction.
so if you like BIG musicals with huge song and dance production numbers and little plot, this is for you (9 or 10 stars). if you do not, skip this one (1 or 2 stars, this is a bomb). averaged out to about a 6, but really more likely a 'love it' or 'hate it' movie. but then again . . .
there was something in the 'exposed ducts' construction that made me curious enough about how and why it was made the way it was, that i looked up the answers to many of my questions. were the songs composed specifically for this, or a jumble of odds and ends? (the latter). why was ethel merman given the climatic solo? (as mentioned, she was reprising a big number from her signature role as Annie Oakley in 'Annie Get Your Gun', which was one of the most successful Broadway shows ever at the time). who was that guy who played Steve Donahue, and please explain the strange juxtaposition of his commanding stage presence when singing, and that effete concealment of androgyny when not--as well as the 'cast-to-type' plot twist that sends him into the clergy . . . ? (look up a biography of johnny ray). so, if you want a peek into the movie-making process at the tail end of the studio-system era, this movie has a barely concealed super-structure that reveals how a hoped-for 'blockbuster' was constructed in those days.