Josie and the Pussycats

Josie and the Pussycats
April 11, 2001
Universal
Comedy, Musical
DVD
B+

This movie was much misunderstood at the time, but I found it delightful then and I find it delightful now.  In fact, I still laugh really hard at the opening scene of boy band Du Jour greeting the crowd at the airport, as they lip-sync to their hit "Backdoor Lover," which is about exactly what you think it's about.  Although the movie can't sustain this giddiness, the tone of slyness and irreverence has been set.  Based as this is on an Archie comics spin-off (and two '70s Saturday morning cartoons), this really shouldn't be any better than Spice World, but it includes-- along with very catchy pop music and brightly colored costumes and sets-- the following:

• A cute and charismatic trio as the leads: Rachel Leigh Cook as Josie, Rosario Dawson as Valerie, and Tara Reid as Melody
• A very nice sismance between Josie and Val
• The aforementioned Du Jour, with Seth Green and two guys from Clueless (Donald Faison and Breckin Meyer), one of whom has a monkey named Dr. Zaius.
• Parker Posey and Alan Cumming as the scene-chewing villains
• Missi Pyle coming close to stealing the movie, even if she's playing a character (Alexandra) who is only there because "I was in the comic."  Her delivery on the line accusing Josie of sleeping with Mr. Moviefone is classic.  (And now I guess it's one of the more dated jokes, since no one calls up to find movie times anymore.)
• Over-the-top product placement, which the film-makers didn't make a dime on
• A Eugene Levy cameo (as himself, "the actor") at a time when he seemed to be in every other movie out there
• A hip/nerd sensibility with music jokes for more than one generation, not just about then current pop but about the Captain & Tennille (and Chief)
• A subliminal-message message that is itself mocked
• A reference to Cumming's character in Romy and Michele 

Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan co-wrote A Very Brady Sequel as well, but this time they also direct.  Corinne Reilly, who's the Aquarium Tour guide here, would be a Reporter in Legally Blonde.

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.

Radio Days

Radio Days
January 30, 1987
Orion
Comedy, Historical
VHS
C+

This is the movie that prompted Pauline Kael to say that Woody Allen had become the curator of his own childhood.  And this is not an interactive museum.  Yes, Allen kept us at a distance in Zelig, but that was a mockumentary.  There's no reason that his memories of his childhood have to be overly narrated.  After awhile, I wanted the Annie-Hall era Woody to snap, "Jesus, wouldn't it have been better to write a New Yorker essay?"  It's like Allen didn't trust his cast, including Seth Green as his sort of alter ego Joe (older than Allen would've been in the late '30s to mid '40s) and the potentially great Julie Kavner as Joe's mother, and had to keep hovering over them, presenting anecdotes, interjecting comments, and then drawing up the morals.  Yes, Alvy Singer jumped into his childhood memories, but to riff on them, and it was a free-for-all MSTing that others could join in on.

The movie is an ironic follow-up to Hannah and Her Sisters, with Dianne Weist again playing the sister who's the biggest screw-up.  (Renee Lippin as the other sister is utterly believable as being related to Kavner, and it doesn't hurt that she was Michelle on The Bob Newhart Show around the time Kavner was Brenda Morgenstern on Rhoda.)  This time Mia Farrow is cast against type as Sally, a dumb-blonde cigarette girl who rises to the top of radio.  For her, along with Tony Roberts, Jeff Daniels, Diane Keaton, and most of the other Woody-ites, this movie is only a reminder of better moments.

Not that the movie is bad.  It's just inoffensive and episodic, and even when you think there's going to be a pay-off (like that all the radio stars will end up trapped on the roof when Sally leads them up there), there isn't one, or not much of one.  I would recommend the movie for the cast and the way it sort of captures a time, but lower your expectations.  And I will note that this is the last Woody Allen movie I own; the next and last I saw was 1997's Deconstructing Harry and I found it hostile and unfunny.  This is comparatively warm, if luke-warm.

Hy Anzell, who's Mr. Waldbaum here, was Joey Nichols in Annie Hall, while Martin Rosenblatt, Mr. Needleman here, was Alvy's uncle there.  Among the unnamed radio voices, Norman Rose voiced "Death" in Love and Death, Wendell Craig was the Universal Newsreel Announcer in Zelig, and Dwight Weist was the Hearst Metronome Announcer in Zelig.  Kuno Sponholz plays a German in both Zelig and here, earlier as specifically ex-Nazi Oswald Pohl.  Also, Dimitri Vassilopoulos was Martinez in Zelig and Perfirio here (yes, even with that Greek-sounding name).

Sydney Blake, the Variety Reporter in The Purple Rose of Cairo, plays Miss Gordon here.  Of Purple Rose's penny pitchers, Peter Castellotti is Mr. Davis here and Paul Herman plays a burglar.  Michael Tucker, by this time on L.A. Law, is Joe's father Martin and had been Gil's agent in Purple Rose.  This time, Danny Aiello plays Rocco, a more sympathetic tough guy.  Ivan Kronenfeld was Lee's husband in Hannah and is On-the-Spot Newsman here, while Ira Wheeler was Dr. Abel there and the Sponsor here.  Mia's son Fletcher was a Thanksgiving Guest there and plays Andrew here.  Helen Miller was not only in the Purple Rose movie audience and played Mickey's mother in Hannah, but she's Mrs. Needleman here.

The other burglar, Mike Starr, would be Shipping Co-Worker in Who's That Girl.  Fred Melamed was Dr. Grey in Hannah, is Bradley here, and would be Caid of Assari in Ishtar.  Crystal Field was part of the movie audience in Purple Rose, is half of the Abercrombie Couple here, and would be Josephine Sanders in Tune in Tomorrow....

Having featured Mia's mom and the Marx Brothers' ex-co-star in Hannah, it seems appropriate that we here see A Night at the Opera's Kitty Carlisle, then 76.  Richard Portnow, playing Sy here, was First New York Wino in Roadie.  Wallace Shawn, who has a nice little role as the voice of the Masked Avenger, would shortly be more prominent in Nice Girls Don't Explode.

"My family liked to pose for pictures in the living room...."

Something Special

Something Special AKA Willy/Milly AKA I Was a Teenage Boy
November 14, 1986
Concorde Pictures
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
VHS
B

Yes, this is something special, and yes, it's also something-like-a-Bizarro-Universe-ABC-after-school-special.  Like my other '86 movies, there's something both even-more-offensive-than-intended-at-the-time and kind of sweet about it, although the balance here is more towards sweet than offensive.  It obviously most resembles Soul Man, although the differences are enlightening.  In the C. Thomas Howell movie, the title character wanted something that he couldn't have, so he changed physically to get it, but ended up learning a lot about himself, and others, including the falsity of stereotypes, which yes, also somewhat resembles Tootsie, although Dustin Hoffman didn't do any more extreme body changes than a lot of plucking and shaving.

The title character here, played by Grease 2's  by-then 18-year-old Pamela Segall (who easily passes as 14), doesn't rely on non-FDA-approved drugs, but on magic from the mysterious red-haired little boy next door, Malcolm.  That's an early, although not the earliest, role for twelve-year-old Seth Green.  Among other things, he'd been in The Hotel New Hampshire and Billions for Boris, the latter as Ape-Face to Mary Tanner's Annabel, and Tanner is his big sister here, too, as Stephanie, Willy/Milly Niceman's best friend.  I'd argue that it is in fact a very Seth-Green role, as calmly quirky as anything I've seen him in as an adult.  And unlike the mysterious friend with the tanning pills who disappears once the scene changes to Boston, Malcolm hovers at the edges of this movie, like a pint-sized Prospero, master-minding the plot.

Which makes the movie even weirder than you'd expect for a PG-13 gender-bender.  Things get more explicit than they did in 1940's Turnabout, but never as explicit (or tasteless) as you might expect for an '80s teen comedy.  That's particularly an accomplishment, what with Stephanie seeming intrigued by her friend's new equipment, and Willy's new male friend's fear of being a "faggot," not to mention the airhead who likes Niceman's Scott-Baio-like charm.  (One thing that's never explained is why, in what is apparently Atlanta, GA, everyone has a generic American accent, except for our hero[ine] whose male hormones only bring out more of Segall's New-Yorkiness.)  But even when Milly shows her "willy" to her parents, perfectly played by Patty Duke and John Glover, it's not offensive.  (It happens offscreen.)

The movie might offend LGBT folks, considering how everything is resolved in a relentlessly heterosexual happy ending.  (Stephanie gets the Matthew-Perry look-alike, played by JD Cullum.)  Personally, for its time, and even now, I think it holds up well, and you have to remember that it is basically about a straight teenage girl who wants to be a boy because she thinks boys have things easier.  The acting, writing, and directing are generally solid (if sometimes cheesy).  I don't want to oversell the movie, because I kind of like that it's this obscure little comedy.  But I hope that it will win you over, just like it did me when I saw it on about 25 years ago on cable, from the uber-catchy-'80s opening song, "One Change in My Life," onward.

And, no, I haven't read the book, but I'd really like to.

Once again, don't believe the poster, or video-packaging.  For one thing, the Nicemans don't even have a dog.

Another thing that's special about this movie, is it's the 200th I've reviewed.  In the twenty years covered since Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, I've added no D-s (still the lowest grade), but there's now a D and two more D+s (for three total).  The C-s have increased from 8 to 14, the C's from 10 to 18, and the C+s from 29 to 47.  The B-s have blossomed from 26 to 58, while the B's have also more than doubled, from 12 to 27, and the B+s almost tripled, from 9 to 22! There's still only one A (no A+s of course), but now 5 instead of 3 A-s.  (I realize this only comes to 197 total, but I can't figure out which are the movies I forgot to label.)

Comedy still dominates the genres of course, even with genre-benders like this, with 83.5% of the movies falling totally or partially into that category.  Groucho's 17 appearances (most recently in the Duck Soup clip of Hannah and Her Sisters) keep him at the top of the list of stars of my movies, perhaps permanently.  Paramount produced 31 of my movies, so they're still the top studio, although that may change as we move into the more modern era....