Threesome

Threesome
April 8, 1994
TriStar
Comedy, Drama, Romance
DVD
B+

This movie's racy title may be misleading.  Yes, it's about sex, including sex within and among three close but very different college roommates (guys named Eddy and Stuart, a girl named Alex), but it's also about love and friendship, and how those get mixed up with sex and with each other.  Appropriately enough, I first saw it the Fall after its initial release, on cable, in a dorm room.  In fact, I (by then a divorced 26-year-old) and two of the friends I watched it with went on to experience a more innocent version of the entanglements in the film.  So I can swear to you that the view of hijinks and pizza and sexual confusion is incredibly real.  (The "It's three in the morning!" "Shut up!" exchange is what would've occurred if anyone in our dormitory actually cared about us playing pranks on each other in the middle of the night.)  That the movie is set to a late '80s/ early '90s soundtrack (I lit up when Jellyfish's "My Best Friend" first played, and I still smile now), only further captures that time.

Even if you've never lived in a dorm, I think you'll be entertained.  The dialogue is witty in a college way.  That is, sometimes crude and sometimes pseudo-intellectual, but almost always funny.  There is also true poignancy in Eddy's dilemma.  (Josh Charles is perfect.)  He is a virgin but mostly identifies as gay, and yet he loves both his roommates.  (The word "bisexual" is never uttered by the way, which is a sign of the times.)  The romance is odd because I honestly don't like either Stuart or Alex (Stephen Baldwin and Lara Flynn Boyle) most of the time, and I don't desperately want any pair or triad of them to form.  But each time I watch the movie, I like seeing how it plays out.  I have watched the movie with a roomful of bisexuals by the way, and everyone fell silent during the ultimate sex/ love scene.  (It's not very graphic, but it is very erotic, tactile.)

Considering the small cast and budget, it's a very impressive movie, even today.  The lack of a strong plot (especially the ending) and some confusion about when Alex might've gotten pregnant (we know she usually uses condoms with Stuart, but the lack of graphic detail makes it unclear if they were forgotten during the three-sided sex), as well as the aforementioned not exactly sympathetic characters (even Eddy is insensitive to one poor girl Stuart brings "home"), weaken the film for me.  Still, there are things I like noticing, like how Alex does variations on '50s "costumes" in her everyday wardrobe, including a housewife when Stuart's date comes over for dinner.  My recommendation, watch the movie, unless the basic premise offends you.

Ironically, considering the name SNAFU (which by the way is also realistic, as I had to provide my college with proof that I was female and not subject to the draft), Dick is played by an Alex, Alexis Arquette, who is now a trans woman.  While still identifying as male, Arquette appeared as George in The Wedding Singer.  Writer/director Fleming (whose DVD commentary is well worth listening to) would appear as a doctor in Easy A, which has its own unique take on adolescent sexuality.

This is by the way, the 200th comedy on my blog, although like many of them, it's not simply a comedy.

The Hudsucker Proxy

The Hudsucker Proxy
March 11, 1994
Warner Bros.
Comedy, Drama, Historical, Sci-Fi
DVD
B-

It's a little odd that I own this movie at all, let alone on DVD.  The simple answer is that a friend regifted it to me several years ago at Christmastime.  I like the movie but it never quite gripped me.  I find it a little distant and forgettable.  It's well-made, but I'm not particularly a Coen Brothers fan.  I respect them and get some entertainment out of their comedies (and dramedies), but, no, I'm not drawn in.  I have similar feelings about the three leads here: Tim Robbins, Paul Newman, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  It's no coincidence that I don't own any other movies with Newman or Leigh.

The movie presents a highly fictionalized account of the invention and promotion of the Hula-Hoop.  However, although it's set in 1958, the feel is closer to the mid-'40s, with homages to (among others) Preston Sturges and Frank Capra.  (I'm sure that Robbins's character being named Norville is a nod to Morgan's Creek.)  The film has the same themes of time and redemption as Groundhog Day, but with a much heavier touch.  (Its Magical Negro is also much more obviously controlling time.)  The look and sound of the movie are well done, including such touches as a businessman named Bumstead, as in Dagwood.  But not only did I find myself at times wishing I actually was watching Sturges and Capra, but I also started looking forward to the much giddier (and wiser) Down with Love.

Pat Cranshaw, who portrayed old men for decades in movies and on TV, including in Sgt Pepper (1978), here plays the Ancient Sorter.  Richard Whiting, the Ancient Puzzler here, was a priest in Tootsie and a doctor in Zelig.  Robert Weil, who's the Mail Room Boss, was Co-Op Member #2 in Who's That Girl.  Barbara Ann Grimes, who plays Mrs. Cardoza, was a Flat Tire Lady in Groundhog Day.  Of the board members, Gary Allen was a school teacher in Annie Hall; Jerome Dempsey was Sam and Sid in Tune in Tomorrow...; and Richard Woods would be Reverend Morgan in In & Out.

Charles Durning plays Waring Hudsucker, before and after death.  This time Peter Gallagher is Vic Tenetta, the crooner.  Steve Buscemi has a nice little cameo as the Beatnik Barman.

"You know, for kids!"

Clerks.

Clerks.
January 1994
View Askew/ Miramax
Comedy
VHS
B

The low-budget film that launched a franchise, this Kevin Smith debut (as writer, director, and of course performer as Silent Bob) holds up very well.  Yes, it's dated-- how could such a mid '90s twentysomething movie not be-- but that has added to its bittersweet charm.  That Dante (as in circles of Hell) Hicks (Brian O'Halloran with his goatee and defeatist attitude) and Randal Graves (no need to explain that last name, played by a mostly straight-faced Jeff Anderson) are still stuck in their dead-end jobs a dozen years later (and apparently even beyond, since Shooting Clerks is in production), adds to the poignancy.  I haven't decided which Smith movies I don't yet own I want to get, but this movie is the then unintentional basis of them all, in the way that Sinclair Lewis didn't know he'd be returning to Winnemac when he wrote Babbitt.

There are continuity errors, including within just this movie.  (A heck of a lot of things somehow take place around 4 p.m.)  The movie is '90s proud of its budget, from the black & white simple shots to the sometimes off line delivery.  (I was surprised that Marilyn Ghigliotti has had the most mainstream success, because she's easily the worst of the leads, as Veronica.)  It has the nerve and cynicism of Generation X.  It is also college-age crude in its humor and sometimes characterization.

It is appealing in its What You See Is What You Get attitude, although I can also picture people hating it for those reasons.  It's also very witty, far too witty for its documentary-like feel.  (Juno would later be criticized for similar reasons, that no one, especially this young and working-class, could be that clever.)  But I don't think we're meant to take the movie that literally.  It's more like one day of Worst Customer Ever anecdotes, and if you've never found yourself thinking I'm not even supposed to be here today!, well, you're lucky.  It's an implausible version of relatable reality.

Besides the two pairs of bromantic friends (Smith and a raw 19-year-old Jason Mewes as Jay are of course the other duo), the movie has a number of supporting players who would be in either Chasing Amy and/or Dogma, as well as some other Smith movies I don't own at the present time.  Scott Mosier, who plays William the Idiot Manchild/Angry Hockey-Playing Customer/Angry Mourner; Vincent Pereira, who's Hockey Goalie and Engagement Savvy Customer; and Ernest O'Donnell, who is a Trainer, would all be in both sequels, as would the very versatile  Walter Flanagan (here Woolen Cap Smoker/Egg Man/Offended Customer/Cat-Admiring Bitter Customer).  Virginia Smith, who's the Caged Animal Masturbator here, would be a Con Woman in Chasing.  Kimberly Loughran, who plays Alyssa Jones's little sister Heather, would be Woman in Elevator in Dogma.

The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club
October 29, 1993
Buena Vista
Historical, Drama, Comedy
VHS
B

As I said in my review of the novel--http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-joy-luck-club.html--I believe that the movie adaptation is better than the book, although it's not as drastic an improvement as with (The) Enchanted April.  The story is tighter and flows better.  Also, I liked seeing the very expressive faces, with a mostly unfamiliar, mostly Asian cast.  Rosalind Chao was already familiar to me in the mid-'90s, from Diff'rent Strokes and AfterMASH on television, but she does well stepping outside that sitcom environment.  The writing, acting, and direction are generally solid.  (The actresses who portray the mothers as children were much better than you'd expect.)  I didn't cry on this viewing, but I have in the past.

Why not a higher grade?  Two things.  One, I found the music and some other touches to be a bit manipulative.  It made it hard to just submerge myself in the world of the film, no matter whether in China or America, the 1930s or beyond.  And two, well, I had trouble keeping the various characters straight, despite previous viewings and readings.  Perhaps this is racism on my part (although the performers definitely don't "all look alike"), but I've had similar problems with, for instance, Gosford Park.  I'm not at my best with a cast where there are so many main characters.  Also, while there is more sense than in the book how the characters relate to each other-- the Waverly & June rivalry for instance is well done, and we can see how their mothers create it-- I only rarely got a feeling of how this group works as a whole.

Still, the movie holds up well, saved from being dated in part because it's about how things change and don't change across the generations.  There are certainly universal themes (such as the mother-daughter relationship), while at the same time we get to know a particular culture a little better.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day
February 12, 1993
Columbia
Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
DVD
A

This is a modern classic, the only movie I can think of that is on a level with Some Like It Hot.  Like that Billy Wilder movie, this Harold-Ramis-directed-and-cowritten movie has wonderful leads and great supporting players.  (Stephen Tobolowsky is the clear stand-out, as adorably obnoxious Ned Ryerson, but I also enjoy all the little touches Robin Duke adds to her role of Doris the waitress.)  This movie also shares with Wilder, and with Preston Sturges, a successful blend of cynicism and sentiment, although I think this '90s film is ironically much more positive about human nature than many older films.  It goes dark at times-- including in a funny but disturbing suicide montage-- but it also argues that even the most self-centered, miserable man can change his life and the lives of others, if given enough time.

The movie is obviously about time, how it can be an enemy or an ally.  I wasn't sure whether to go with sci-fi or fantasy as the label for one of the film's genres (comedy and romance were easy), because we're never given a definite reason why weatherman Phil Connors keeps repeating the same February 2nd.  There are many theories out there, ranging from the Magical Negro Bartender with his knowing looks to a whack on the head with a snow shovel.  I decided that a time warp is more of a science fiction motif than fantasy, but in the end it doesn't really matter why it happens.  It just matters what Phil does with it.

He does a lot with it, some of it illegal and immoral and fattening, and some of it uplifting.  Over time, Phil falls for his producer Rita and has to figure out how to win her.  He can't just manipulate her, like he does with other women.  She's too smart for that.  So he becomes a better person in every way.

I can't think of any movie that is so simultaneously funny and thought-provoking.  It appropriately improves on repeat viewings.  You know what's coming but you need to see it play out, watch all the variations.  Also, you grow fond of the town, as Phil does, with its Sturges-like eccentrics.

Bill Murray is perfectly cast as Phil, because, as Ramis points out on the commentary, he's got that blend of sweet and nasty.  Also, his ability to improvise serves Phil as well as the humor.  I've never been 100% happy with Andie MacDowell as Rita, but she's grown on me, and this last viewing I appreciated her little reactions when she's not the focus of attention.   I'm not sure if she's why I can't give the film an A+.  I guess a hypothetical A+ movie would have to have all the qualities of both this and Some Like It Hot, like a more memorable soundtrack here.  (Though the Ramis-penned "Weatherman" is cute.)

Bill's big brother Brian Doyle-Murray plays Buster, "the head groundhog honcho."  Rick Overton, who's Ralph here, was Dr. Rick in Earth Girls Are Easy.

Reni Santoni, whose voice was dubbed for the State Trooper, would be a Police Officer in The Brady Bunch Movie.  One of the Flat Tire Ladies, Barbara Ann Grimes, would be Mrs. Cardoza in The Hudsucker Proxy.  Stephen Detherage, who's a News Intern here, would be Al the Concert Shirt Vendor in Music and Lyrics.

Aladdin

Aladdin
November 25, 1992
Disney
Children's, Comedy, Romance, Musical
VHS
B

I had fallen off the Disney bandwagon by the time their late '80s/ early '90s comeback came along.  Seeing most of these movies years later, I was not overly impressed.  But this one stood out.  It's funny, sweet, action-packed, and has strong voice performances, with Robin Williams's genie of course the stand-out, although I'm fond of Gilbert Gottfried as the evil parrot Iago.  The movie is also borderline racist and there are parts where things start to drag out.  The main characters aren't terribly sympathetic, although they do have much more personality than your average Disney "prince" and princess.  But for the most part it's a fun ride.

When Williams killed himself, this was one of the movies people thought of most.  Although we don't see him, we hear him, that very versatile voice playing so many roles within one.  His two show-stopping numbers remain amazing (and more worthy of an Oscar than "I Can Show You the World"), but it's not all laughs.  There's pathos, too, which was always there inside Williams, although we tried not to see it.  But, yes, it's still possible to watch this as a kids' movie that adults will delight in, too.  And, yes, the anachronisms and Disney references are very '90s.

Linda Larkin (Joanne in Zapped Again!) voices Princess Jasmine.  Hal Smith does the voice of Jafar's Horse.  Frank Welker, who specializes in animal voices, here does Abu (the monkey) Rajah (the tiger), and the cat-like Cave of Wonders.  Ron Clements and John Musker would also collaborate on The Princess and the Frog.

Peter's Friends

Peter's Friends
November 13, 1992
BBC
Comedy, Drama
VHS
B+

This is sort of an autobiographical film, in that the cowriters Rita Rudner (who plays Carol) and Martin Bergman are married and he's British and she sometimes felt out of place with his friends from university.  And much of the cast, including director Kenneth Branagh (who plays Andrew, Carol's husband), met at Cambridge and remain friends to this day.  Branagh was then married to Emma Thompson (who plays Maggie), and Thompson's mother plays housekeeper Vera.  Hugh Laurie (Roger) and Stephen Fry (Peter) were such good friends that they would often team up on television shows together at the time.  Even Tony Slattery, who's appearing as outsider Brian, was at Cambridge.  Oh, and there are lots of Harry Potter and/or Jane Austen points on this one, but I'll get to all that in later reviews, except to say that Laurie and Imelda Staunton (here as Mary) would again play a married couple.

This discussion of the "incestuous" background is not out of place.  The movie is about bonding and quarreling and flirting in a tight-knit group, and how (not) to deal with outsiders.  It is a witty if sometimes crude movie, very quotable (especially Andrew's lines).  The drama sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, but the film never ceases to be watchable, which is saying a lot for something that is almost solely dialogue.  The cast works well together (with Thompson probably the stand-out), although I will say that Slattery fan though I was and am (it was a pretty big thrill to see him be both goofy and naked), his later scenes don't really work.  Also, the script is a bit cliched and Peter's big reveal (at midnight on New Year's) doesn't pack the wallop it did twenty some years ago.

But there is an added poignancy, seeing the cast when they were relatively young (mostly mid 30s).  When I first saw the movie at 24, I couldn't relate to the feeling of not having accomplished all you'd imagined in your youth.  And I laughed my head off at the opening credits, seeing all those faces of '82 to '92 (yes, including Salman Rushdie), while now it's a time capsule, no longer a look at the recent past.  Similarly, the soundtrack was then filled with the hits of a few years before, and now (while still as good as ever) it is more definitely golden oldies.  In short, the movie doesn't mean what it did before, but then nostalgia never does.

Remembering