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Leave It to Beaver (1997)
Learn from the Mistakes Made in This Film
Filmed on location in a drab real world setting instead of on an artistically designed backlot, this production, like many a remake, suffers by comparison to the original hit show and other better remakes, such as the Little Rascals or Dennis the Menace. The narrow focus of the dull witted producers seems to have been on production design and the issue of how to tastefully update from the golden age 50's to the 90's. In so thinking, they have put style above substance and altogether fallen short of the achievement of the original. The mise en scene moves from the idealized small town suburb of Hollywoodland to the gloomier landscape of an authentic 90's exurb, with the occasional camp fast food sign and ugly parking lot thrown in for ironic documentary effect. This is meant to make the audience believe the remake is more realistic, yet it drains the beloved TV favorite of iconic appeal. The bland characterization and lackluster acting suffer from a similar shortcoming--a missing sense of drama or a lack of imaginative expressiveness, all in the service of verisimilitude. There's unfortunately also "studied anachronism." 50's cars are randomly thrown onto the set together with more modern makes, a fumblingly inappropriate attempt to capture nostalgic 50's feeling. Probably the lead headed film makers thought they were being clever but it fell flat like the rest of the movie. A good remake may still be made. Until then, watch the reruns.
Network (1976)
Reactionary Travesty of a Political Satire
"Network" is the politically motivated poisoned fruit of a decades long right-wing attack on television begun during the anti-Communist witchhunt of the '50's and brought up to a high pitch by JFK's FCC Chairman Newton Minow of the "Vast Wasteland" speech, and far right-wing Judge Lewis F. Powell, best known for agitating against a non-existent liberal "monopoly" of the medium from the '60's on. The reactionary premise of the movie is that TV is a corruptly commercial medium which produces innately inferior artistic and socio-political content--the so- called "idiot box." To illustrate this fraudulent claim, the film-makers have created a straw man of mindlessly liberal network executives who are willing to promote on-the-air so-called left-wing terrorism and even murder, simply to promote ratings. By any stretch of the imagination, nothing even remotely like that ever happened. The satire has absolutely no basis in fact, making "Network" a singular example of a film that is completely disconnected from reality for the time it was made. The only televised content of the day even remotely similar to what appears in "Network" was right-wing content, such as former Marine Joe Pyne's small network on-the-air diatribes against kooks and left-wingers, and William F. Buckley's far right-wing "Firing Line," a show made possible by Newton Minow's politically motivated advocacy for public television as an alternative to commercial TV. Coverage of the Left by network TV was strictly on a news basis, entirely legitimate, and could only be avoided by a policy of censorship. The simple fact is that liberal, not terrorist ideas, had to be aired by the media because of their great popularity with the public. And so Network is 180 degrees in the wrong direction, or a malicious libel against the medium of television. Today, if you want to see the type of nut depicted, check out a right-winger like Hannity, not Anderson Cooper, who is the mainstream of the liberal TV establishment that Network so falsely condemns. The movie was written by Paddy Chayevsky, a vulgar anti-populist hack, who previously in "Marty" created what is remembered by many Golden Age fans, including the editors of Mad Magazine, as the most boring movie ever made by Hollywood.
Lenny (1974)
Terrible Casting
There were a load of great standup comedians active at the time anyone of whom would have made a better choice, such as Frank Gorshin who was a great impressionist and wickedly funny too. Hoffman gave a dry as dust performance, which completely let down Bruce's legion of countercultural fans. What's more he was too short for the part.
At the time, the movie industry had abandoned its tried and true approach, moved its headquarters East from Hollywood, and was producing a series of pretentious and often tasteless pictures, influenced by the European art-house film industry. In a misguided attempt to score with college educated moviegoers, the New York school ignored the proved popular taste of the audience in favor of a phoney attempt to culturally legitimize American movies by making them less commercial and more like their (usually less popular and less well-made) European counterparts.
Laura (1944)
"Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?"
"Laura" is one of the most ironic treatments of the theme of chivalry ever put on screen, a passionate love poem in the form of a noir movie.
In "Laura," the detective hero becomes obsessed with the portrait of a beautiful lady in distress whom he has never met and never expects to meet, because he believes she has been murdered.
"Did it ever strike you that you're acting very strangely," says the main suspect in the murder case to Detective Mark McPherson, "you'd better watch out or you'll end up in a psychiatric ward." McPherson is as bitter as a jilted lover. And anyone who crosses his path had better watch out.
Seen through his cynical eyes, every one of the sophisticated phonies who infested Laura's life is guilty -- guilty just for knowing her and not keeping her out of harm's way. They try to put on a show of seeming dismayed at her murder, but the dogged gumshoe won't believe a word. He gnaws on them till the ugly truth comes spraying out like sewage:
Spoiled rich boy Shelby Carpenter turns out to be a feckless liar who's proposed to Laura to advance his career as a gigolo.
Two-faced society dame Ann Treadwell has only been pretending to be Laura's best friend so that she can betray her with her fiancé.
Literary poseur Waldo Lydecker is a malicious gossip, a snob who parades his love for Laura but very obviously loves only himself.
And McPherson would like to send them all to the electric chair.
Then Laura shows up alive!
She makes her shocking reappearance when McPherson is alone in her apartment. She's even more beautiful than the painting over her mantle piece, desperately in need of his protection and unable to resist his charms.
For once, the neurotic knight errant is confused. He doesn't know whether to be angry or overjoyed. Here's the woman he loves and she's waiting for him to prove his love! But who's the cadaver lying in the morgue? The silly swain is just happy it isn't his Laura!
When his wits return to him, McPherson rapidly finds the missing pieces to the puzzle, waxing wise and philosophical:
"I must say, for a charming intelligent girl, you've certainly surrounded yourself with a remarkable collection of dopes," he says, heedless that he's been acting like an incredible dope himself, while ignoring the deadly danger that still lurks nearby.
Well, I won't give the ending away, in case like me, you believe in surprises.
There's just one thing though about the realism of "Laura." Although most of the scenes seem very true to life, I simply can't make myself believe a real-life detective would ever really fall in love with a lady's picture, no matter how beautiful it might be. Impossible!
Cadillac Records (2008)
Listen to the Original Music Instead
"Cadillac Records" trades in vulgar racist stereotypes that demean and defame the real life persons upon whom the film allegedly is based. The evil formula in use is one familiar to anyone who has heard the type of misleading, underhanded and backstabbing gossip whose polish is camouflage for malice. Each character is given a seemingly admiring build up, only to be savaged by a scurrilous and scandalous focus on such vulgar vices as foul-mouthed language, fornication, drug addiction and avarice. The film-makers, who are much less talented than their subjects, seem to be saying that the price a great artist must pay for his gift is to be thought of as a guttersnipe. The lurid images presented are a blight upon the memory of some of the great blues artists of all time.
I've met several of the named individuals depicted and don't see any connection between the real life persons and the ones presented on screen. To give you an idea of how far off the mark the film is, in over 40 years of being a devoted blues fan I have never once heard a blues musician or another fan use profanity of any kind, while in the dialogue of the film profanity is closer to being the rule rather than the exception. The film-makers had the option of highlighting any dramatic aspect of their subject's lives that they could think of, and chose to devote an enormous amount of attention to ugly, unimportant and possibly non-existent details, showing incredibly poor artistic judgment.
I don't doubt that the makers of "Cadillac Records" had the advice of attorneys before they put their travesty on screen and that they will claim, if challenged, that the incidents presented are all true to life. But I very strongly doubt that they'd be able to present convincing proof of some of the more objectionable content, which I believe may have been based on questionable rumors, mere anecdotes or unsubstantiated gossip. One thing at least is terribly clear: whatever the facts are, the emphasis is entirely wrong. The great Chess recording stars were not stupid, lecherous, violent or greedy; they were popular geniuses beloved of millions of people all over the world, which is how they must be remembered. Don't see this awful film if you can possibly avoid it.