Dogma

Dogma
November 12, 1999
View Askew
Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
DVD
C+

I said of Chasing Amy that it was a weaker film than Clerks, in part because it attempted more.  Well, this entry, which Kevin Smith spent years on, attempts even more, no less than an examination of Christianity, specifically Catholicism, but with, yes, a comedy/horror/fantasy slant.  And it just doesn't work.  It's not without interest and it does have some nice cameos, notably Janeane Garofalo as Liz and George Carlin as Cardinal Glick, but the leads are too given to speechifying, and mixing this with jokes about shit and acts of bloody slaughter does not help.  The best of the major characters is Jason Lee as Azrael.  Yes, he's doing his Banky thing, but it works for an annoyed demon.  Alan Rickman, as Metratron (the Voice of God) looks like he'd rather be somewhere else, and I can't tell how much of this is just the character and how much of it is Rickman.  (He is well cast though in the sense that in the following decade his voice would sway a fandom.)  It's always nice to see Bud Cort, but the plot renders him immobile for most of the movie.  Ben Affleck as Bartleby and Matt Damon as Loki, yes, once again besties playing besties, speechify and commit the aforementioned acts of bloody slaughter.  And Kevin Smith manages to pull a Thalberg on himself and "hetero life-mate" Jason Mewes, since Jay and Silent Bob are supposed to be heroes in this one, while still being low-lifes.  In fact, there are scenes where Bob is so MGM-Harpo-ized that he starts communicating in pantomime (though he can actually talk in this and other movies).

Verdict: I'm unlikely to buy any more K. Smith movies, but if someone gave me one, I'd probably keep it.

Among the View Askew regulars are Dwight Ewell (Kane), Walter Flanagan (Protestor #2), John Launder (Priest with Buddy Christ #1), Kimberly Loughran (Woman in Elevator), Scott Mosier (Smooching Seaman), Ernest O'Donnell (Reporter), Vincent Pereira (unknown character), Ethan Suplee (Voice of Noman), Guinevere Turner (Bus Station Attendant).  Also Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran, Randal and Dante of Clerks, here play respectively Gun Salesman and Grant Hicks.  Joe Shelby, who was a doctor in Bob Roberts, is a Bus Rider here.

So, wait, you're smart enough to cast me and then you drop me from the rest of the movie?

Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate
April 22, 1999
British Columbia Film etc.
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This Canadian movie, with an appealing cast that has no overlap with any other movie in my collection, remains a little gem.  I don't want to oversell it because I think the writing is a little weak.  Even by the U-haul standards of some lesbians*, Kim and Maggie get involved and "in love" very fast.  And the ending is a bit rushed, although I suspect that the "Where are they nows" are somewhat tongue-in-cheek.  But the movie is undeniably chocolate-like, in that it's sweet and likable.  It's also sexy in a non-exploitative way, unlike Different Strokes.  This film wasn't made for straight male porn-consumers, although it appeals to people of various sexes and sexualities.  It's also one of the few "queer" movies, particularly for its time period, to have a sympathetic trans character and a somewhat sympathetic bi character (well, Carla is "omnisexual," but close enough).  The soundtrack is good, especially the songs that are lip-synced, like "Sexy" and "Julie Christie Makes Me Go Misty."  Most of all, the film is funny, especially the character of Frances the bookstore owner.  And Karyn Dwyer as red-haired protagonist Maggie is absolutely adorable.

Better than chocolate?  Well, no, but better than a lot of its big-screen peers.

*The U-haul joke as told me by a gay male housemate, a few years before this movie was released:
Q: What do lesbians bring on a second date?
A:  A U-haul.
Q: What do gay men bring on a second date?
A: What second date?

Never Been Kissed

Never Been Kissed
April 9, 1999
Fox
Comedy, Romance
VHS
D

I liked this movie at the time.  Otherwise I wouldn't have bought it, admittedly for under $1.  But when I last watched it, I was very disappointed.  And this time it seemed even worse.  On the surface, it seems like my kind of movie: it's the '90s but with '80s nostalgia, it's got Drew Barrymore, and it's a rom-com mixed with a teen comedy.  But it is in fact the worst movie in my collection in almost 30 years (since George Hamilton's Togetherness from 1970).

It's hard to know where to start, but let's talk about Barrymore and her character of Josie Geller, and the glaring anachronisms.  Barrymore was 24 at this point, so watching the movie again (I'd blocked out a lot) I was surprised that Josie had flashbacks with an '83ish soundtrack (e.g. Lauper's "She Bop").  This would make her my generation or maybe a bit older.  But then late in the film we find out that Josie is supposed to be 25, in 1999.  This means she graduated in '91 or '92.  I can see fudging things a bit in The Wedding Singer and Romy & Michele, because, let's face it, pop music was better in '83 than in '85 or '87.  (I've maintained, since the time, that "Say Say Say" was the last great pop song until the B-52s made their comeback with "Love Shack" et al.)  But come on!  If the script had made Josie older, or if they had wanted to contrast the early '90s with the late '90s, that would've been interesting.  But it's just one among many signs that the writers have no clue about teens of any generation.

Now, I'm not going to argue that Romy & Michele or 10 Things I Hate have a documentary-like realism about them.  They are pop fluff, but they're intelligent pop fluff that gets at some level of relatable truth.  This film in contrast does not have a moment in it that is believable even within its own poorly constructed world.  This might be OK if there was a surreal campiness about it, like in Grease 2, but the movie just isn't fun.  It's not even occasionally enjoyably unfun, like Different Strokes sometimes was.  I can't even hate it because I feel too sorry for it.

10 Things I Dislike About This Movie

1. Garry Marshall, as the publisher who sends Josie on the assignment to pretend to be a high school student, shows he hasn't exactly grown as an actor in the three decades since How Sweet It Is!
2. There are a lot of other unfunny and unappealing staff at the Chicago Sun-Times.  (Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars, because he thought Barrymore was great.  Well, I guess I did, too, at the time.)
3. Josie is supposed to be a highly intelligent person but she does remarkably stupid things throughout.
4. Her "romance" with the teacher is generic and annoying, especially the big countdown to a public kiss.
5. The only other teacher featured is the subject of an unfunny menopause joke.
6. The popular kids are either forgettable or miscast, especially the interchangeable popular girls and the emo boy pretending to be the BMOC.
7. As in Zapped Again, there is a beautiful "plain" nerd-girl, but instead of getting her soulmate nerd-boy, she pines for the utterly unappealing B-emo-C.  (Lucy wouldn't put up with this shit!)
8. Josie's brother Rob (David Arquette in an almost likable performance) decides mid-movie to attend the same high school, even though he's 23, in order to help make her popular and win himself a baseball scholarship.  (The school has security check-in but anyone can enroll at any age.)
9. Everyone gets mad at Rob for lying to them, but they all forgive Josie when she writes a fawning, un-bitter article about how wonderful high school was this time around.  They even root for her to get with the teacher!
10. The soundtrack, whether oldies or then newbies, is tired and blah.

Molly Shannon as Josie's friend Anita would have better material to work with in Wet Hot American Summer.   Carmen Llywelyn plays Rob's Girlfriend and was Kim (the girl Alyssa kisses at the club) in Chasing Amy.  Pretty Brunette High School Student Priscilla Cory was Pretty Brunette Hostess in The Wedding Singer, although she was in fact 38 by this point.  Allen Covert, Roger in Op-Ed here, was Sammy there.  Derek Morgan was a CIA Agent in Wag the Dog and is Armcast Henson here.  Lucas MacFadden (of the band Ozomatli) plays himself here but would be Chemistry Teacher in the far superior teen comedy Juno.


(Any resemblance to high school is purely imaginary.)

10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You
March 31, 1999
Touchstone
Comedy, Romance
VHS
B

This is a very '90s teen rom-com, based on The Taming of the Shrew, and even that inspiration is very '90s.  (Cf. not only Clueless, but She's All That, She's the Man, etc.)  Because it's the '90s, the "shrew" is refreshingly the most sympathetic character and she's not so much tamed as gentled by being treated with respect and affection, as well as a marching-band-backed serenade.  It helps that "tamed" and "tamer" are played by a charismatic and intelligent pair, Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger (before he hit it big and then died young).  Also the dialogue and acting are above average for the genre.  (Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith would also co-write Legally Blonde.)  I would've of course liked to have seen more of Allison Janney as Ms. Perky, the guidance counselor who writes bodice-rippers on her office laptop.  The Seattle setting and the soundtrack are also uber-'90s, from the sight of the Space Needle and the sound of Bare Naked Ladies' "One Week" onward.  There are a lot of Renaissance/Shakespeare touches in the film, from sets to dialogue to last names.  If I can't rate the movie higher, it's that it never reaches the dizzy heights of Clueless or Romy & Michele.  However, it will look like, well, Shakespeare compared to the next movie....

Different Strokes

Misleading video box.  There is no threesome, despite Jack's hopes.  There is a picnic though.

Different Strokes
June 25, 1998
Coastline Films
Porn, Romance, Drama
VHS
C-

This was released less than a year before Dana Plato died tragically at 34.  And, yes, the title is a cash-in on her sitcom (which was "Diff'rent").  So, yes, even watching the movie feels like exploitation.  That said, it's not as terrible as you might think.  OK, the sound recording is awful, the budget is low, the acting ranges from godawful to passable (sometimes within one performance), and the writing is, well, porn-level.  But there's something almost endearing about the cheesiness of it all, whether it's Jill #1 and Jill #2 (Plato) cavorting naked like dolphins in the swimming pool, or Jill #1's boyfriend Jack setting photos on fire in the BBQ grill after she's rejected him for Jill #2  (no one even mentions the negatives), or Jack calling Jill #1 a "muff-diver" and her retorting, "Takes one to know one!"

You've probably noticed by now that my porn collection, such as it is, is not exactly based on eroticism, but I found the sex scenes, well, hotter than in the X-rated Pinocchio or Fairy Tales.  There's both straight and lesbian, including a totally gratuitous (as in its relationship to the plot) scene of Jill #2's girlfriend cheating on her.  There's also a lot of eye-sex (long lingering glances), as a substitute for character development.  We do learn that Jill #2 is a feminist and Jill #1 is shy, but that's about the extent of it.  I may have more to say about this movie when reviewing the authentically lesbian Better Than Chocolate, but then again, how much is there to say?

The Object of My Affection

The Object of My Affection
April 17, 1998
Fox
Romance, Comedy, Drama
VHS
B+

Based on a book, this is smarter and more complex than the average rom-com.  Yes, it has a happy ending (for just about everyone), but the journey there is different than you might expect, particularly in a mainstream film (even of the late '90s).

It's tempting to say that straight guys got Chasing Amy, and straight girls got this movie.  That is, in the former an apparent lesbian falls in love with and has sex with a man (only to have their romance threatened by his inability to deal with her bisexual past), while this film has a straight (and pregnant) woman get lots of ballroom dancing, talk, laughs, and cuddling, as well as a potential "mate" to raise her baby with that she gets along with much better than the baby's father.  Their romance is broken by the realization that he will never be sexually and romantically involved with her, although they love each other dearly.

The thing is, George is arguably bi as well, since he does seem aroused when he and Nina make out.  He may well be more oriented towards men, but it's not as if he doesn't have feelings for women, or at least Nina.  The issue is complicated by the undeniable chemistry between 29-year-old Jennifer Aniston  and Paul Rudd (a couple months younger).  The two would pair up again, as a married couple, many years later in the disappointing Wanderlust, but they remain a believable "couple" in this movie.

The script and direction never quite resolve this, but ambiguity is OK.  As for that happy ending, George is (six years later in the epilogue) a sort of uncle figure to Nina's daughter, and George and Nina are still good (maybe best) friends.  He's with the younger man he left Nina for, while she's with the sympathetic black cop she met after what has to be the mildest mugging in film history.  (The one in Clueless is more of a nail-biter to watch!)  True, the young man's sort of lover Rodney seems to be romantically alone, but he's still part of this "family."  (The daughter's father is happy, too, and not really villainized in the movie, which is refreshing.)  Rodney is well played by Nigel Hawthorne, who brings out the poignancy of what it's like when the Object of Your Affection cannot return that affection as you'd like.

Other notable supporting cast members are 38-year-old Allison Janney as Nina's stepsister Constance, the first of at least three does-amazing-stuff-with-this-role characters that Janney plays in my film collection  Her dry delivery is a treasure!  She's paired with Alan Alda, at 62 (and 20 years after Same Time, Next Year) too old for the role (especially since he's playing the father of Nina's six-year-old niece), but still fun in his name-dropping.  And there's a fairly early role for 30-year-old Steve Zahn as George's repeatedly engaged brother Frank.

Todd Stockman was an Audience Member in In & Out and plays a dad here.  Alba Albanese was a New Yorker in As Good as It Gets and is Woman in Central Park here.  School Child George Gearhart King III would be RV Son in Two Weeks Notice, while Iraida Polanco is Carmelita here and would be Rosario there.

The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer
February 13, 1998
New Line Cinema
Comedy, Romance, Historical
VHS
B

I'm not an Adam Sandler fan and I don't think this movie particularly captures the '80s, especially 1985.  (It's like they threw the decade into a blender, with JR's shooting here and Miami Vice there, and a soundtrack that sounds mostly like '83, admittedly not unlike Romy & Michele.)  And yet, this is one of the better rom-coms of its era, still holding up well, although more time has passed since '98 than there had between '98 and '85.

While not all the credit is due to 22-year-old but already very experienced Drew Barrymore (John's granddaughter), I do think the teaming of her and Sandler brings out his sweetness, which affects the whole movie.  By the time an entire planeload of strangers (including Billy Idol as himself) is rooting for Sandler's Robbie to win Barrymore's Julia away from her scummy fiance, you have to have a heart of stone (or at least an aversion to rom-coms) to not yourself tear up at the "Grow Old with You" song.

This is not to say that the movie doesn't have the usual tasteless Sandler humor.  (I could've done without the ass-grabbing slow-dance, especially since it includes pubescent-adult pairings.)  There are children (the youngest about four) and old people saying allegedly hilarious and outrageous things.  Many of the '80s jokes fall flat.  Still, there is enough to enjoy here that it's worth viewing, and re-viewing.

I want to give shout-outs to three supporting cast members.  Former Marcia Brady imitator Christine Taylor is almost unrecognizable but equally good as Julia's slutty but kind cousin Holly.  Alexis Arquette is fun as Robbie's friend and bandmate George (who idolizes Boy George).  Arquette was Dick in Threesome and in a way these films show part of the the queer timeline of his/her life, since the performer would transition to female around 2006.  The absolute best cameo in the movie is Steve Buscemi's  David Veltri, two scenes (one at the beginning and one at the end) that he absolutely steals.

Incredibly, 78-year-old Sid Newman, who plays Frank, was Boy on Trolley in 1944's Meet Me in St. Louis, so I guess he beats George Burns, Groucho Marx, and Debbie Reynolds for longevity, although he's nowhere near their level of fame.  Marc Lonow, who's the Father of the Bride (I think the one who beats up Robbie), was Dave (the uptight married guy) twenty years earlier, in Thank God It's Friday.   Carmen Filpi, who's Old Man at Bar, had a small but pivotal role as Old Man Withers in Wayne's World.  Angela Paton was much more memorable as Mrs. Lancaster in Groundhog Day than she is as Faye here. Jason Cottle and Jenna Byrne, who play Scott and Cindy Castellucucci here, were in Wag the Dog as A.D. and Sharon respectively.

Nearly all of Priscilla Cory's credits read "Pretty Brunette" something, so she's Pretty Brunette Hostess here and would be Pretty Brunette High School Student in Barrymore's Never Been Kissed.  Allen Covert, who plays Sammy (Robbie's friend who idolizes Fonzie and Michael Jackson), would appear there as Roger in Op-Ed.

I don't have any other credits for rapper Ellen Albertini Dow, but she just passed away, at 101!

Nice day for a white wedding.

Wag the Dog

Wag the Dog
January 9, 1998
New Line Cinema
Comedy
VHS
B-

This was released the same day as Good Will Hunting, but it has dated worse, partly because it became dated almost immediately.  Yes, the writers are not to blame that Clinton would be involved in a sex scandal (with an over-21 intern rather than a teenage Firefly Girl), but the timing could've been better.  The main problem is that the movie generally is never as incisive and clever, or for that matter as impressively outrageous, as it thinks it is.  2009's In the Loop would be better on all these counts, as well as have an actual war result within the film rather than a "pageant" of war.  That said, I think Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman work well together.  (They would later be in-laws in Meet the Fockers, which I've seen but don't own.)  Anne Heche isn't bad but makes less of an impression.  And the less said about Woody Harrelson's psycho rapist comic relief character, the better.

George Gaynes, who kept hitting on Hoffman in Tootsie, here has a much smaller role, as Senator Cole.  Kevin Furlong was Dennis Riday in Hot to Trot, and is Jockey #2 here.  Phillip V. Caruso is primarily a still photographer, but he played photographers in this and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.  Jenna Byrne plays Sharon here and would be Cindy Castellucci in The Wedding Singer, while Jason Cottle is A.D. here and would play Byrne's husband Scott there.  Derrick Morgan is a CIA Agent here and would be Armcast Henson in Never Been Kissed.

As in In & Out, Jay Leno appears as himself.  Craig T. Nelson plays the President's opponent, Senator John Neal.  This time, Kirsten Dunst plays Tracy Lime, the young actress pretending to be Albanian.  Andrea Martin isn't given much to do as brainstormer Liz Butsky, but she does it flamboyantly of course.

At least it has a better title than "Good Will Hunting," even if it does need an explanation.

Good Will Hunting

Good Will Hunting
January 9, 1998
Miramax
Drama, Comedy, Romance
VHS
B

This is generally well-written and well-acted by real-life best friends Matt Damon (as the title character) and Ben Affleck (as Chuckie Sullivan).  They are ably supported by Minnie Driver as love interest Skylar, Ben's brother Casey as Morgan O'Mally (providing much of the comic relief), Stellan Skarsgård as Prof. Gerald Lambeau, and of course Robin Williams as Sean Maguire, the tough but kind therapist.  This film got much acclaim (including awards) on first release and it holds up well.  But there's just something missing that keeps it from crossing over into greatness.  Maybe it's the way that the therapy is presented as an act of both friendship and rescue.  Maybe it's that we're never actually shown the reunion between Will and Skylar.  Or maybe it's that awful title.  No, really, even at the time, I thought it was dumb, like it's about the hunt for goodwill, or Goodwill.  And do we need to be told that Will is good?  I guess if it was just Will Hunting, we'd think it was about an inheritance.

Daniel Olsen was a Wounded Soldier in Little Women and is an MIT Student here.  Steven Kozlowski is Carmine Friend #1 here and would be Lump in Holes.

Two guys from Southie

As Good as It Gets

As Good as It Gets
December 25, 1997
TriStar
Drama, Comedy, Romance
VHS
B-

Although this won critical acclaim and I remember it as being pretty well liked, including by my almost 30-year-old self, it has, in a different way than Spice World, not aged well.  Not that it's embarrassingly '90s or anything, but I just think the whole idea that a man whose obsessive-compulsiveness is the least of his problems can be cured by love and friendship is a bit much.  I could sort of buy him turning human under the influence of one of the all-time cutest movie dogs (a Brussels Griffon), and I could even believe that he would be changed by getting to know a single mom waitress and his gay artist neighbor.  But when he starts playing Santa Claus and winds up with the girl, plausibility is stretched to breaking point.  And that's ignoring the facts that the "hero" is not only about 25 years older than the girl, but an incredible bigot.

That said, the performances remain strong, not just by the three leads-- Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear-- but by such supporting players as Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Yeardley Smith as Kinnear's friends, and Shirley Knight as Hunt's mother.  And, yes, the three dogs playing little Verdell are incredibly expressive.

Frank Slaten had been a henchman in Johnny Dangerously and is Miffed Partygoer here.  Alba Albanese is a New Yorker here and would be Woman in Central Park in The Object of My Affection.  Oriana Nicole Tavoularis is uncredited as a Restaurant Patron here and would be uncredited as Rocker Girl in 200 Cigarettes.  Maya Rudolph who has a very small role as a Policewoman here would have a major role in Bridesmaids, as Lillian.  One of the other waitresses in the cafe is played by 25-year-old Missi Pyle, who would go on to be the one and only Alexandra Cabot in Josie and the Pussycats.

Harold Ramis has a small but pivotal role as Dr. Bettes, while Brian Doyle-Murray is a Handyman here.

Is this as good as it gets?

Spice World

Spice World
December 15, 1997
Columbia
Musical, Comedy
VHS
C+

This movie has of course dated badly, but let me first offer you some background on where I'm coming from, because my criticisms are probably not the usual ones.  My housemate of the time (still one of my dearest friends) was then a 21-year-old gay man who loved the Spice Girls and he'd play their music a lot.  Since I like pop music, I soon grew to like them.  I was never a great fan, but I could tell them apart.  (Well, to this day I can't remember which is Mel B. and which Mel C., but I knew their Spice identities.)  He, I, and another of his besties went to see this movie.  At almost 30, I was the oldest woman there who wasn't accompanied by a preteen daughter.  We had a blast, with the goofiness and the music.

Watching it now, when the Girls breaking up is no longer a plot complication and it's hard to remember their international popularity, what's left is a movie that did not exactly do for the Spices what A Hard Day's Night did for the Beatles one-third of a century earlier.  I want to like this movie more, at least on a camp level, but the problem is that it does not in fact present a "Spice World."  They don't dominate the screen like the Beatles did.  There are too many sideplots and side characters, with the girls offscreen too much of the time.  Even when we get to see them perform or joke around, there are too many interruptions and cuts away.  And there's a scene where the girls play dress-up, as each other and as various female icons, but much of the impact is lost when I can't tell most of them apart in long-shot.  I will say that the music remains catchy, but I'd rather watch a set of their videos, where their energy isn't thwarted as it is here.

There are lots and lots of cameos, most of them wasted, e.g. Roger Moore doing a Blofeld satire that seems feeble after Dr. Evil.  Jonathan Ross plays himself, as he did in The Tall Guy, but that's pretty meaningless to an American.  And having Barry Humphries appear out of Dame Edna Everage drag seems a little pointless.  (This is 19 years after his brief appearance in Sgt. Pepper by the way.)  On the other hand, I realize that most people don't care that I was happy to see Neil Mullarkey show up, even if it's just for one line.  Bob Hoskins is in a brief sight gag, pretending to be Ginger.  (Don't ask.)  Elvis Costello appears 18 years after Americathon, but much more briefly.

Another Americathon survivor, Meat Loaf, is, no, not a roadie, but a bus driver for the Spices.  Alan Cumming, who's usually entertainingly awkward (as he was in Emma and Romy & Michele, and as he would be again in Josie and the Pussycats), is just awkward here.  Hugh Laurie does the best he can in one scene as Poirot (where Baby Spice gets away with murder), but his old friend Stephen Fry almost steals the movie in his scene as a stern judge.

Note, the joke about a potential Clinton scandal of him tucking his shirt into his underwear became ironic by the time this film hit America.

Like animals in the zoo, as baffled by us as we are by them.

Wilde

Wilde
October 17, 1997
BBC (among many others)
Historical, Romance, Drama
DVD
B+

This is an adaptation of the Ellman biography, reviewed here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/search?q=ellman.  Yes, this is certainly a case of the movie being better than the book, helped along by strong performances and uncanny casting.  Witty, gay Stephen Fry (then 40) is of course typecast as the title character, but he also brings out Wilde's vulnerability and kindness.  As Bosie, Wilde's great love, 24-year-old Jude Law brings not just blond beauty but a mixture of arrogance and charm.  (Forgive me, but I kept thinking it was like watching Draco Malfoy's great-great-grandfather.)  Jennifer Ehle, who was perfect as Lizzy in the TV adaptation of Pride & Prejudice a couple years earlier, somehow manages to play Wilde's wife Constance without making her a saint and shows us why Oscar did in some sense always love her.  I also must mention Michael Sheen as Robbie Ross, who matures from Wilde's first seducer to a true friend.  (Sheen would go on to the scenery-chewing role of Aro in the Twilight series, which I've watched for the lulz but don't own.)

If the movie has any weakness, it is that there is so much focus on Wilde's love life and not enough on his writing.  Still, there is enough of his works, particularly The Selfish Giant (which becomes a motif for the conflict between his family life and his "nature," i.e. homosexuality), that I can tag Wilde.  (I suppose Wilde was arguably bisexual, but much more oriented towards men.)  Needless to say, this movie is much more explicit than In & Out was, although never pornographic.  However, unlike the Kevin Kline movie, it does end tragically, because Wilde's life ended tragically.

Tom Wilkinson, who's quite good as Bosie's father the Marquess of Queensberry, played a very different father, Mr. Dashwood, in Sense & Sensibility.  Ironically, Gemma Jones is again playing his wife (well, ex-wife here), although they don't have scenes with each other in either film.  She would become Madam Pomfrey in the Harry Potter series, while Zoe Wanamaker, who plays Wilde's supportive friend Ada Leverson, nicknamed the Sphinx, would be Madame Hooch in the first Potter film.

In & Out

In & Out
September 19, 1997
Paramount
Comedy, Romance
VHS
B-

Screenwriter Paul Rudnick had appeared as himself in Celluloid Closet, a documentary that showed that for gay characters onscreen, their fates were often tragic, or overly comic.  While this movie is exaggerated (and directed by Muppet veteran Frank Oz), it places its gay stereotypes in a small-town full of stereotypes.  And the twist is that the Kevin Kline character, Literature teacher Howard Brackett, must be gay because he's so smart, nice, and well-groomed.  By the time most of the entire town stands up and says that they're gay, too, in his support, "gay" is definitely a compliment.

But along the way there are of course farcical complications.  The trouble starts when stupid yet Oscar-winning actor Cameron Drake outs his former teacher during an acceptance speech.  (Cam is played by Matt Dillon, 17 years after Little Darlings but passing for his early 20s.  The blond hair helps.)  This comes as a shock to everyone, including Howard, who's engaged to Emily Montgomery, played by 34-year-old Joan Cusack.  And his mother tells him she doesn't care if he's gay, she still wants the big wedding.  (Now 65-year-old Debbie Reynolds, ties George Burns for the longevity record, 45 years after Singin' in the Rain.)  Meanwhile, reporter Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) wants the real story (and more), and principal Tom Halliwell (Bob Newhart, his stammering and discomfort used to fine effect) wants to avoid scandal, with graduation coming up.

The timeline is all screwy, with the Oscars presented on a Wednesday and graduation the following Monday.  (In what month?)  I have to wonder if this is carelessness, or if it's meant to add to the air of unreality.  It's almost like the story couldn't quite take place in our world.  (That the small town is in Indiana has recently become ironic.)  And it is very much a gay comedy for straight people.  I remember the dismay and then amusement in my theater when Selleck kissed Kline.  I don't think it would be as shocking now.  Although only 18 years have passed, this movie is already a relic, and I suspect that even a few years later we wouldn't have got the trick ending, where it looks like Howard and Peter will get married, but it's actually Howard's parents renewing their vows.  (His dad is played by Wilford Brimley, and I kept thinking, "Because it's the right thing to do.")   As a movie, I think it's still cute, sweet, and sometimes funny.  (The straight guys debating Barbra Streisand films will never get old.)  Kline is a good moral and narrative center for the film.  Everyone else is doing what they're hired for, although this is far from my favorite Joan Cusack role.

Note, there is never a moment when someone says, "Um, Howard, maybe you're bi," although admittedly he's much less sexual than Chasing Amy's Alyssa Jones.  The mainstream was definitely not ready for that kind of complexity.

Joseph Maher was Gridley in Going Ape! and is Father Tim here.  (He's got one of those faces where you feel like you've seen him somewhere before.)  Richard Woods was a Board Member in The Hudsucker Proxy and is Reverend Morgan here.  Marla Sucharetza was Exercising Woman in The First Wives Club and is a School Reporter here, while Debra Monk was Jilted Lover there and is Mrs. Lester here, and J-Smith Cameron was Miss Sullivan there and Trina Paxton here.

Audience Member Todd Stockman would be Dad in The Object of My Affection the following year, while Audience Member Jeannette Gould would be Senior Center Woman in Two Weeks Notice (all uncredited).  John Cunningham, who almost steals the movie as the Be a Man Tape Instructor, would be Justice of the Peace in Two Weeks Notice.  Wally Dunn is Cousin Lenny here and would be Gym Teacher in School of Rock.  MacIntyre Dixon, who was Cole Oyl in Popeye, has a small role as a Bachelor Party Guest here and would be the bus driver in School of Rock.   

This time, Dan Hedaya plays a Military Attorney in the film within a film on Oscar Night.  Jay Leno appears as himself, 18 years after his role in Americathon.  Selma Blair, then 25, has an early role as Cousin Linda.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
May 2, 1997
New Line Cinema
Comedy
DVD
B-

At the time I reviewed Wayne's World, I didn't yet own this movie, also starring and written by Mike Myers.  I wasn't sure about buying it, because although I enjoyed it very much the two or three times I saw it in the '90s, I had a feeling it wouldn't age well.  Also, the sequels had gotten progressively worse.  (I nearly walked out of the third movie.)  But I found it on sale at a low price, so I decided to take a chance.  Verdict: some of it hasn't aged well, but it's still entertaining.

The things that felt so fresh in '97, like the homage/parody of the cinematic version of Swingin' London, still look good.  The bathroom humor was never that great to begin with, and now it looks not only unfunny but quaint, having been outdone by not only its own sequels but the likes of There's Something About Mary (which I haven't seen but know of) and the American Pie movies (I've seen three).  Even some of the cute parodic devices, like the couple walking through local sites and sights, had been done better in Purple Rose of Cairo or would be done better in Down With Love (which more consistently creates the world of the '60s).  Also, that Mike Myers annoyance factor is there, although still far from the days when just the poster of The Love Guru could make me cringe.

That said, there's some funny stuff here, with Dr. Evil's "The details of my life are quite inconsequential" monologue as the real stand-out.  (I think Myers is more entertaining as the villain than the hero.)  There's also a bit of poignancy, as Austin realizes that times have changed and he may have to change, too.  It's fun to see how many people (most of them, alas, untaggable) show up, from Burt Bacharach to Patrick Bristow from Ellen Degeneres's then current sitcom.  Michael York is best of all, as the aptly named Basil Exposition.

Rob Lowe has a much smaller role here than he did in Wayne's World: Decapitated Henchman's Friend.  Carrie Fisher has a nice little scene as the Therapist.  By then 23-year-old Seth Green plays what would turn out to be a recurring role, as Scott Evil.

Neil Mullarkey, who's the Quartermaster Clerk here, would be Barnaby in Spice World, though I know him best for the British impro troupe The Comedy Store Players and their various endeavors on TV.  Ted Kairys, Eastern European Technician here, would be Gerard in Legally Blonde.  Steve Monroe, who plays one of the sons at the father-son therapy group, would be Frank Tobin in Miss Congeniality.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
April 25, 1997
Buena Vista
Comedy
VHS
B+

While this has its flaws (borderline racism and homophobia, a very meandering plot), this remains a delightful, joyous film, in the tradition of Earth Girls Are Easy and Clueless.  That is, there's sort of a deeper message beyond the bright colors, bouncy soundtrack (here heavy on early to mid '80s pop), and "dumb" heroines.  But mostly the movie is a lot of fun with many quotable lines.  The leads are a I-can't-place-it-but-I-love-it accented Mira Sorvino and a Phoebe-era Lisa Kudrow.  Whether they're mocking Pretty Women or claiming that they invented Post-its (Sorvino as Romy does something amazing to her O's, while Kudrow as Michele reels off a formula for glue), they are very funny.  (And the "I've got a phone" brag by Romy, a flip-phone no less, has only gotten funnier with time.)

Also, their best friendship is touching and believable.  It's sort of a sismance, a female version of a bromance, something not seen enough in movies.  Yes, they're both given romantic prospects--Michele's is a still nerdy but now rich Alan Cumming--but the focus is on their relationship.  (They consider becoming lesbians if they're still single in a couple years, although Romy is disgusted by the idea of having sex with a woman.)  It is entirely fitting that when Cumming (as Sandy Frink) asks Michele to dance, they have to include Romy.  (It's to "Time After Time" and is worth the price of admission/rental in itself.)  It's quite clear that Romy and Michele are each other's favorite person in the world.

But the real gem here is a gaspingly hilarious Janeane Garofalo as the hostile but vulnerable Heather Mooney.  It's a very different role than Abby in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, much more out there, but in its own way just as lovable.  Michele has a line late in the film, "For me, it's like I've just given birth to my own baby girl, except she's like a big giant girl who smokes and says 'shit' a lot.*  You know?"  Meanwhile, Heather decides to buy a non-black dress that "exacerbates the genetic betrayal that is my legacy."  That there was never a 20th-year reunion sequel is one of the minor crimes of Hollywood.

17-year-old William R. Phillips, who's Man at Diner here, would still look young enough to play a student in Kudrow's Mean Girls seven years later.


*Yes, there is profanity in a Buena Vista release.  Also a lot of cleavage.  I'm sure Uncle Walt was rolling over in his grave.

Chasing Amy

Chasing Amy
April 4, 1997
View Askew/ Miramax
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B-

I don't think has held up as well as Clerks, ironically because it attempts more.  Clerks was a surreal day-in-the-life story, while this attempts to say things about love and life.  Also, when you're making a rom-com, even an indie rom-com, it helps if the main couple is likable, and Holden and Amy aren't really, separately or together.  Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how many ways they can screw things up, and I like the supporting performances, in particular Dwight Ewell, who was part of the He-He-Hello Trio in Party Girl but has a much more substantial role as Hooper X.  Alyssa (the "Amy" equivalent) is played by Kevin Smith's then girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams.  There are times when the character shows wisdom, but other times when she is as stupid as main character Holden, played by 24-year-old Ben Affleck, who would soon break through in Good Will Hunting among other movies.  Jason Lee is actually more intriguing, as Holden's conflicted best friend Banky.

This movie has narrative and casting connections with Clerks and Mall Rats.  (E.g. Alyssa had a crush on Caitlin Bree in high school.)  I still haven't seen the latter movie, and I still don't know if I will be adding it or anything else to my View Askewniverse collection.  I like Kevin Smith, but I'm just not a super-fan.  That said, if I saw Clerks II marked down, I'd probably get it.

I should also note that I saw this movie the summer after it came out (I think when it went into wider release), at a time when I was meeting more bisexuals.  (Until that point, I knew two: myself and my best friend.)  The film never uses the B-word, and it is misleading how Alyssa describes herself to Holden as a lesbian.  I get that it's a political/personal label choice, but a more LGBT-savvy writer/director could've brought up the whole "bi-dyke identity thing," which was a real issue in the mid to late '90s.  (I don't know about these days.)  Still, Smith gets points for trying to deal with the complexity and fluidity of sexual orientation, from the perspective of a tolerant straight man.

Affleck's real life bestie, 26-year-old Matt Damon, plays Shawn Oran.  This time, Brian O'Halloran plays Jim Hicks, presumably some relation to Dante Hicks in Clerks.  (He'd be Grant Hicks in Dogma.)  Since it's a Kevin Smith movie, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) return.

Walter Flanagan, who was Woolen Cap Smoker/ Egg Man/ Offended Customer in Clerks, is simply Fanboy here and would be Protestor #2 in Dogma.  Bar Patron John Launder would be Priest with Buddy Christ #1 in Dogma.  Ernest O'Donnell was a Trainer in Clerks, is a Bystander here, and would be a Reporter in Dogma.  Vincent Pereira, Startled Pinball Player here, had been Hockey Goalie and Engagement Savvy Customer in Clerks, and would have an uncredited role in Dogma.  Virginia Smith (Kevin's sister) was Caged Animal Masturbator in Clerks and plays Con Woman here.  Ethan Suplee, who's a Fan here, would be the voice of Noman in Dogma.  Guinevere Turner, who's a Singer here, would be a Bus Station Attendant in Dogma.  Smith's producer Scott Mosier, who was William the Idiot Manchild/ Angry Hockey-Playing Customer/ Angry Mourner in Clerks, is a Collector here and would be Smooching Seaman [!] in Dogma.

Carmen Llwelyn, who's Kim here, would be Rob's Girlfriend in Never Been Kissed.  Affleck's 21-year-old brother Casey plays Little Kid [sic] and would be Morgan O'Mally in Good Will Hunting.

A more unsolvable triangle than in "Threesome" or "Design for Living."

Twelfth Night or What You Will

Twelfth Night or What You Will
October 25, 1996
Renaissance Films
Comedy, Romance, Historical
VHS
B-

My review of the play is here: http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2011/11/twelfth-night.html.  No, I wouldn't put this movie on that level-- it just doesn't build to anything-- but it is somewhat entertaining.  There are some puzzling choices for setting.  Why is it set in the Victorian period and filmed in Cornwall?  (When I saw the movie the Fall after a trip to England, I immediately recognized St. Michael's Mount on the screen.)  Not that this interferes with my enjoyment, but it is distracting.  I thought the movie did a nice job balancing the queer subtext of the original, even with women in the women's roles.

The cast is overall solid and I think Imogen Stubbs does well with Viola and Cesario, very different from her duplicity as Lucy Steele in Sense & Sensibility, since she has a reason for her deception here, and she makes both characters likable.  (Her Cesario is actually quite handsome and charming.)  As I said in my "book" review, 30-year-old Helena Bonham Carter is lovely as Olivia, and I like how she adds some sweetness and a sense of humour to the character.  Her maid Maria is played by Imelda Staunton, who had been Lucy's cousin and several years later would debut in the Harry Potter series in the same installment (fifth) as Carter, the two of them playing two very different villaineses.  Mel Smith plays Olivia's drunken uncle and does it with more subtlety than he showed in his brief self-direction in The Tall Guy.  Nigel Hawthorne, who plays Malvolio, would be Rodney Fraser in The Object of My Affection.

The First Wives Club

The First Wives Club
September 20, 1996
Paramount
Comedy
VHS
C+

I really liked this movie at the time, as did many others, including Katha Pollitt, but that doesn't mean we were blind to its faults, faults that are more obvious a couple decades later.  As directed by WKRP's Hugh Wilson, it is very much a cinematic sitcom, with easy resolutions and cardboard characterizations.  Although it's based on a book (which I've never read), the most serious flaws have to do with the writing, many of the implausibilities and inconsistencies centering around Brenda (Bette Midler).  To begin with, is she Italian or Jewish?  If both, why isn't this established earlier?  And how is ir that her husband (Dan Hedaya, for a change in my movies actually typecast) fails to recognize her boss, even the name?  Also, the whole timeline is screwy, from Yellow Submarine coming out in '69 (rather than '68), to the central trio of first wives (Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton) all about 45, although this seems to be contemporary and they've been out of college for about 27 years.  I'm not even clear how much time is passing in the main story, although there's a vague time pressure (even vaguer than in Don't Tell Mom).  Maybe this is all clearer in the book.

The movie is of course notable for its presentation of the exes, particularly the ex of their suicidal friend Cynthia, as being shallow, insensitive, and ruled by their lust for younger women.  (Sarah Jessica Parker is playing against type as a dumb and tasteless blonde.)  But the wives don't come across as much better and, as in The Women almost 60 years earlier, it's unclear why they regret the loss of such awful men.  Yes, I like seeing the cast, and the theme of female friendship and empowerment is good, but it's often lost in slapstick and stereotyping.  And this isn't 9 to 5, where the stock characters are given believability.  There are nice little moments (like how accepting Keaton is of her lesbian daughter), and even occasional insights about how aging women are viewed, and Maggie Smith proves she can do a lot even with a tiny role, but it just doesn't add up to much.

I don't have any other movies with James Naughton but it's a nice touch to make him Cynthia's cheating ex-husband, since he was Angela Bower's ex on Who's the Boss?  (Cynthia is played by Stockard Channing.)  Victor Garber, who plays Goldie's ex, would be Professor Callahan in Legally Blonde.

Anne Shropshire, who's an A Certain Age cast member, was Mrs. Crawley in Tootsie.  Peter Frechette, who plays the Broadway Director, had his big-screen debut as none other than Louis DiMucci in Grease 2.  (He found a lot of other work in between of course.)  Aida Linares also played a maid in Clueless.

Marla Sucharetza, who's Exercising Woman, would be School Reporter in In & Out, while Debra Monk is Jilted Lover here and would be Mrs. Lester there, and  J. Smith-Cameron is Miss Sullivan here and would be Trina Paxton there.  Rob Reiner plays Hawn's plastic surgeon.  And, yes, that's 41-year-old J.K. Simmons in the small role of a Federal Marshall.

Emma

Emma
August 30, 1996
Miramax
Comedy, Romance, Historical
VHS
C+

While on the surface this may seem like a faithful adaptation of the Austen novel, I find it much less in the spirit than Clueless, not to mention the contemporary Kate Beckinsale TV-movie.  I'm going to have to blame writer-director Douglas McGrath for the main flaws: general miscasting (especially of Harriet), a cutesy device of a sentence being started in one scene ("So then I said....") and then finished in the next ("How delightful!"), and the shafting of the Frank Churchill/ Jane Fairfax subplot.  (Enchanted April's Polly Walker and 25-year-old Ewan McGregor both do their best, but they're given little to work with and are misdirected in most of what they do get.)

That said, there are moments when the film forgets its own unnecessary flourishes and focuses on Austen's still great dialogue and plotting.  Even if the cast isn't quite right, it is an interesting assemblage, including 23-year-old Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role (sufficiently British but too pouty), 31-year-old Alan Cumming as Mr. Elton, and of course Emma Thompson's mother and 34-year-old sister as Mrs. and Miss Bates.  I have to note that Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley and Greta Scacchi as Mrs. Weston are both much more interesting and attractive than anyone else in the movie, and I would've actually rather have watched a far from canonical backstory of them being in love ten or fifteen years earlier.

A Very Brady Sequel

A Very Brady Sequel
August 23, 1996
Paramount
Comedy, Musical
DVD
B+

Yes, the sequel is better than its predecessor.  It's funnier, more focused, more musical, and yes, more Brady.  (Bradier?)  Even the youngest kids seem to have more to do here, although again the Marcia-Jan rivalry is the highlight, with Jan going to great lengths to convince her popular older sister of the existence of George Glass.  This seems to have struck a chord in recent months, with even "Sure, Jan" having gone viral.

The main plot though is about a conman who pretends to be Mrs. Brady's not actually dead husband.  He's played by Tim Matheson who had done his share of '60s TV and movies, notably as the college-age dad in How to Commit Marriage (then spelling his last name Matthieson).  This makes his horror at the Bradys, particularly their tendency to burst into bright, cheerful songs and choreography, all the better, with the Brady Kids mushroom trip a high comedically and otherwise.  His "return" also means that Greg and Marcia realize they're not actually related (even by marriage), which leads to some borderline incestuous lust that you're either going to find disgusting or hilarious.  (I'm in the latter camp of course.)

There are again a lot of in-jokes for Brady fans, and this time a pay-off that involves Gilligan's Island.  Also, we get a cameo from Barbara Eden, who seems hardly to have aged in the almost 40 years since she was Miss Carstairs in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? However, neither she nor Groucho now holds the longevity record, because Art Patron Sue Casey turns up 43 years after she was Tall Girl at Arcade in Band Wagon.  (And I know her best as the MILFy Anne Duval in Catalina Caper, but the MST3K version will be discussed on my TV blog someday.)  Steven Gilford and RuPaul reprise their roles as respectively Mr. Philips and Ms. Cummings.

Two of the four writers, Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, would also co-write Josie and the Pussycats, which they would co-direct as well.  In a different way than Bonnie & Terry Turner, they've got a love for garish but bubbly pop-culture kitsch.