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Virilene-Manly
Reviews
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Hype vs. Reality
Satisfied to have finally seen this film, some 37 years after it first came out. Viewing the film fills in a gap of my pop-cultural understanding at least. The content, however, is extremely dated, reflecting the fact that it is a product of its time. Not at all surprising to hear that the film was based on a reactionary, anti- feminist, quasi-misogynist novel, which is made manifest by the total subordination of Streep's Joanna to Hoffman's Ted. Don't be fooled by the false hype of two great actors going head-to-head. The very, very young Streep is hardly in the film at all, and the character Joanna's motivations are only thinly alluded to, never fully explained. This is strictly a vehicle for Hoffman to project as hot-shot advertising executive transitioning into a put-upon father. For his part, with the exception of Marathon Man and Tootsie, Hoffman never fails to remind me how much I'd really rather be watching Al Pacino in the same role.
The supposedly climactic court scene is so cheesily melodramatic and utterly false. that it can only be viewed as some misogynist wet dream, complete with ridiculous shouting and badgering by conspicuously male divorce lawyers. Joanna's speech, supposedly penned in a fit of brilliance by Streep herself, is cringe-inducingly nebulous. Streep can be forgiven, she was only 27. The director/"screedwriter" Robert Benton shouldn't be let off so easily, however.
In the end, this is fairly typical 70s schlock that turned out to be quite profitable. Good for the business of "movies", bad for the art of cinema. My curiosity was more killed than satisfied.
Viva (2015)
Ugly Plastic Drag Queen Cliché
Really nothing to recommend about this film. Another clichéd drag queen flick, this time set in Cuba, which implicates a particular flavor of overwrought shrieking and wailing by unappealingly masculine drag performers. Bleak settings, bleak lives, with a paint-by-the-numbers narrative, and unconvincing performances. This film even managed to make Hector Medina unattractive, which is something of an accomplishment. The longer the film went on, the worse it got. 1 star for a few good drag queen insults, 1 star for Hector Medina's potential. But this was almost unwatchable the first time, definitely not something I'd sit through twice.
Margin Call (2011)
One Star For Three Handsome Faces
The screenplay for this film was as fraudulent as the mortgage-backed securities about which it purported to be. Imagine some cheesy acting class where the actors are told to stand in a circle and improvise dialog about a nonexistent object in the middle of the circle. (They are allowed to pepper their dialog liberally with the expression "Eff me!") The actors continually refer to The Thing and the Impending Doom that it will bring, though it is clear that not one of them has any idea what The Thing is, nor do any two of the actors have the same idea.
The only thing clear is that Chandor had zero understanding of the mechanics of the financial crisis. The film itself almost works as a metaphor for the fraud perpetuated on the investing public. Chandor attempts to promote the false narrative that it was Youthful Genius in the financial industry who first and most fully understood the global economic implications the fraud. Plenty of blame to go around, and plenty of blind greed to condemn, but the Young Turks were as guilty of lack of understanding, lack of context, and unbridled greed as the Old Heeds.
A lot of alleged star power in this film, but I lose regard for anyone associated with this fraud of a production, despite a couple of genuinely handsome faces in the cast.
I will probably revise my rating at some point in the future, but I feel so cheated right now by the unfulfilled promise of this film that I'm in a bad mood at the moment. So, "Eff me!", Chandor? No, "Eff you."
Carol (2015)
Beautiful. Slow. Dull.
I'll try to be brief, since the film wasn't.
Visually, this was a satisfying film to watch. Like looking through an old photo album from the 1950s, beautifully shot.
Narratively, it was an utterly predictable story, without a single twist, every plot point telegraphed and seen miles in advance.
Rooney, reminiscent of a beautifully boyish young Demi Moore, was quite good, though her character's relationship to the boyfriend Richard was not particularly nuanced. A little more ambivalence on her character's part toward the relationship would've created some needed tension.
Blanchet was interesting, but in a one-dimensional kind of way. She was beautiful, but her manner and delivery seemed superficial and artificial. I'm a bit undecided as to whether these were traits with which she was intentionally trying to imbue the character of Carol, or whether this is how she plays all her characters.
This is a mainstream drama, a vehicle for the stars to garner Oscar nominations. A far cry from Haynes' far superior Far From Heaven, however. Watchable, for sure, but for me only once.