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.

Ishtar

Ishtar
May 15, 1987
Columbia
Comedy, Action
VHS
C-

This isn't as terrible as you've heard, but that's not saying much.  It starts out fine, with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as two talentless musicians who dream of the big time.  (Hoffman thinks they can surpass Simon & Garfunkel, a nice little sort of reference to Hoffman's break-through movie, directed by Elaine May's former comedy partner, Mike Nichols.)  The songs, mostly cowritten by Ms. May and Paul Williams, are so bad they're good.  But then writer-director May, in the form of the guys' agent, played by Jack Weston (27 years after Please Don't Eat the Daisies) sends them to the title country, on the border of Morocco.  And I lose almost all interest in the movie.

In a way, May was trying to make an '80s answer to the Road to movies, but she set this in sort of the real world.  (Hoffman thinks Kaddafy is another country.)  And there's none of the fourth-wall-breaking we got with Bob and Bing.  Also, their Dorothy Lamour is a left-wing revolutionary who flashes her breasts when she's pretending to be a boy.  May could've done some astute political satire (this was released in the midst of Iran-Contra after all), but what we get is no sharper, or funnier, than in Warren's sister's John Goldfarb.  Also, if I can't decide whether I wish there was more of Carol Kane or I'm grateful for her sake that her character breaks up with Hoffman's and disappears from the movie, that's not a good thing.  Even the whole reversed expectations of Beatty being a loser with women doesn't really have any kind of pay-off.

My advice: watch the first twenty minutes or so and then maybe the last three.  (If you need to see Isabelle Adjani's breasts, they're fairly early on.)

Fred Melamed had small roles in both Hannah and Her Sisters and Radio Days, and here he plays Caid of Assari.  Bill Moor plays U.S. Consul here and would be Duke Vermont in Tune in Tomorrow....

Tootsie

Tootsie
December 17, 1982
Columbia
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B+

Late in the movie, Jessica Lange's Julie tells one of Dustin Hoffman's characters, "I love you but I can't love you."  I think that sums up how I feel about this movie.  I've treasured it since I first saw it at 14, but I don't think it holds up quite as well as Nine to Five does.  Ironically, this is because it's a farce that plays out realistically, while 9to5 is a farce that is inspired by real-life issues but exaggerated on a grand scale.  9to5 ends just as it should, with every character getting what he or she deserves; while Tootsie's ending abandons characters we've grown to care about.

Like 9to5, this was a huge hit and remains a "comedy classic."  But just in case you don't know or have forgotten the situation, here we go:  Forty-five-year-old Dustin Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, an actor who doesn't have Hoffman's success but does have Hoffman's pain-in-the-ass-ness.  His agent George Fields, played by the film's director Sydney Pollack, tells him no one will hire him.  So out of a desperation that's somewhere between Joe & Jerry running from the mob in Some Like It Hot and Kip & Henry needing an apartment in the early '80s sitcom Bosom Buddies, Michael passes himself off as Dorothy Michaels, a sweet but tough Southerner, in order to get a role on a soap opera.  He succeeds but, yes, complications ensue.  Some of these are romantic, with Michael bedding his long-time friend Sandy (Teri Garr) but falling for Julie, meanwhile attracting the attentions of the lecherous male lead on the soap (George Gaynes) and of Julie's old-fashioned but good-hearted father Les (Charles Durning).  Julie is involved with the soap's director Ron, whom, since he's played by Dabney Coleman, we know is going to be, as Dorothy puts it, "a macho shithead."  Roommate Jeff (Bill Murray) is the only one besides George who's in on Michael's secret.  When everything is a mess, including that Dorothy's contract is going to be extended, Michael decides to reveal his gender, on national television!  (No, it doesn't get explicit, it's enough for him to take off his wig.)  This doesn't exactly improve any of the situations, so he has to deal with the fall-out.

I have to say, the cast is wonderful:

• Hoffman shines in all four roles (Michael, Dorothy, her soap character Emily, and briefly Emily's brother Edward).  Dorothy in particular is a memorable, likable, and even believable character.  We agree with Julie at the end when she says she misses Dorothy.
• Jessica Lange got an Oscar for this movie, as a consolation prize for not winning the Lead Actress in Frances.  She's one of the few characters who's not there for humor, instead bringing sweetness and wistfulness to the part.
• Teri Garr was also nominated for Supporting Actress, with more grounds.  She manages to pull off the insecure role without getting annoying.  (It's not unlike Diane Keaton's Annie Hall, although we never get to see her come into her own, as Annie does.)
• Bill Murray is a scene-stealer with his partially improvised role.  Whether he's doing one-liners about his roommate's drag or pontificating on the meaning of The Theatre, he's great!
• Sydney Pollack is spot on as the agent, with so many good lines, the popular "a tomato doesn't have logic" one possibly the best.  In a different way than Murray, he provides a crazy New-York-y kind of sanity to contrast with Michael's dead-serious outrageousness.
• The supporting cast are solid, with Coleman playing Ron as more intelligent and less crude than Mr. Hart but still "sexist, egotistical, lying, and hypocritical" (although not bigoted per se).  Special praise goes to 26-year-old Geena Davis as April, making her debut in what was just supposed to be a role for a tall actress whose "tits" would line up with Hoffman's eyes, but she adds what would later be recognizable as a Geena Davis specialty, that wide-eyed quirkiness.

The two Stephen Bishop songs, the droll title tune and the love song "It Might Be You," are both used twice, which might be a bit much but they work all those times and add to the moods of their respective scenes.  The costumes are less memorable than you'd expect, except for some of the garb Dorothy wears during the photo-shoot montage.  The sets are workman-like, not really calling attention to themselves, except when the walls of "Emily's party scene" match her dress.

The main weakness is the script, which I realize sounds funny because in some ways this is one of the best comedy scripts ever.  But it's that darn ending.  And I'm going to try to distinguish between what is my Teri Garr bias, and related Michael/Sandy shipping over Michael/Julie shipping, vs. the need for a full resolution.  I don't have anything against Jessica Lange, and she is lovely here, and I totally believe that Michael would fall for her.  However, I'm more drawn to the Teri Garr type (personality and looks), and the truth is we see her with Michael, including the before & after of their bedding, while with Michael and Julie we only see him "being a better man with her as a woman" etc.  Michael doesn't have to end up with Sandy, but we don't see him making amends to her, as we do with Les, whom he has hurt and betrayed much less (no pun intended).

Michael tells his agent, "These are good people," meaning he doesn't like deceiving them, but Julie and Les aren't the only people he's hurt.  There's no real closure to the Sandy thread, other than she decides to go ahead and do Jeff's play with Michael, as planned.  And after his classic "That is one nutty hospital" line, Jeff disappears from the movie, too.  I like the scene of Michael pushing over the mime, and I do like his scenes with Les and Julie, but the fact is the movie feels incomplete.  If it hadn't made me invested in the characters, I wouldn't feel so let down.  Even with Julie, I can only accept her forgiving him because one, she and Dorothy really did become best friends, and two, we know she's used to making bad choices about men.  Let's hope that this time she will, as Jerry told Sugar Kane, get the sweet end of the lollipop.

Richard Whiting, who plays a priest here, would be "Other Doctor" in Zelig the next year.  Anne Shropshire, who plays the scary nanny Mrs. Crawley, would be " ' A Certain Age' Cast Member" in The First Wives Club.  Elaine May did then uncredited work on the script (including giving Michael a sounding-board roomie) and would reunite with Hoffman later in the '80s for the infamous Ishtar.

The Graduate

The Graduate
December 22, 1967
Embassy
Drama, Musical
DVD
B-

Thirty-six-year-old Anne Bancroft seduces 30-year-old Dustin Hoffman, who then pursues 27-year-old Katharine Ross in this generation-gap comedy that's actually a drama.  Confused?  I think this movie has confused a lot of people over the decades.  Is Hoffman's character Benjamin a hero or an antihero?  Neither?  Is he a stalker, and if so, why is Elaine encouraging him somewhat?  Is Mrs. Robinson sexy or deranged, or both?  Neither?

Watching it this time-- and I did buy the DVD specifically for this project, although I had it on VHS-- I was most struck by how joyless the three main characters are.  The only moments of delight are when Benjamin "carries Elaine off" from her wedding, and when Benjamin is amused by the details of Elaine's out-of-wedlock conception in a Ford.  (Honestly, they couldn't come up with a funnier car?)  Is the message that upper-class suburbia is unsatisfying?  If so, why are Ben's parents and most of the other characters generally content?

I review the 1963 book here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/07/graduate.html.  I just want to add a few things.  One, I do consider the movie superior, although not great.  (I'd probably give it a B if not for the last half hour, when everyone goes off the rails.)  We do see more of the emotions of the characters, including Mr. Robinson's.  The soundtrack isn't as good as I remembered, mostly due to the songs being repeated too often, although they're integrated well, especially the way the beats and scatting of "Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson" are used for humor when Ben tries to find the church and his car runs out of gas.

Aside from its relatively explicit sexual themes for its time, and the way it shows alienated youth, I think the film is most remarkable for its cast.  Even if you're bored (which I don't think you will be), you can at least have fun spotting familiar faces.  Buck Henry cowrote the script and has a nice little cameo as the desk clerk in what's probably the funniest sequence, showing Ben's nervousness about checking into the hotel.  Later, that's director Mike Nichols's comedy partner Elaine May as the girl bringing Elaine's note to Benjamin.  Mike Farrell plays one bellhop, while little person Buddy Douglas plays another.  (Douglas would go on to Pufnstuf, the show and movie.)  Two Bewitched ladies appear in a reception line, Alice Ghostley (Esmeralda) and Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara).

Arthur Tovey was an onlooker at the soap factory in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number, is a hotel guest here, and would be a club patron in The Love God?  Another hotel guest, Frank Baker, was Bearded Gentleman in Bank in Mary Poppins.  Walter Brooke, who plugs plastics as Mr. McGuire, would be Haskell Wax in How Sweet It Is!  Brian Avery, who plays Elaine's WASPy groom Carl Smith, would be a more ethnic Herald Cohen in Sleeper.  Elizabeth Fraser, who plays Second Lady, would do 9 to 5.  Elizabeth Wilson, who plays Ben's mother, would still look young enough (at almost 60) to play Roz in that movie.  William Daniels, most famous for St. Elsewhere, I think doesn't show up in any of my other movies until The Blue Lagoon.  As Norman Fell would point out on It's Garry Shandling's Show a couple decades later, Fell was not only Jack & Janet's landlord but Dustin Hoffman's.  One of his other tenants, the one who suggests calling the cops, is 20-year-old Richard Dreyfuss, who would have a much larger and sillier role in Hello Down There.

Hoffman, Dreyfuss, Fell