Sex and the Summer

Caught the 12:40 matinee of Sex and the City at the local multiplex. The theater was packed with women who all seemed to be acquainted. They knew each other’s names. They shouted merrily. It was odd.

I wondered, what do these people ordinarily do at lunchtime on weekdays?

The ticket taker was enjoying the commotion. “Theater 14 for Sex!” he shouted happily, tearing stubs.

The HBO series featured Carrie and Miranda and Charlotte and Samantha looking for love; in the movie, they’ve found it, and they have to figure out what to do now. They get kind of lost, and so does the film, with a painful plotline that only occasionally makes sense. It’s the kind of story that falls apart if you talk about it too much on the way home in the car.

Nevertheless, the movie delivers, mostly in the second half, with lots of emotional confrontations and reconciliations and romantic moments that arrive without any subtlety exactly when you expect them. This pleased the audience, they sighed and applauded on cue; it was what they came for, like the series finale all over again.

But what’s missing here is the supporting cast, the friends and lovers who created the challenges that made the show interesting; most of them have little to do in the film besides show up. Instead the writers fill all that screen time with fashion – Sarah Jessica Parker gets to play model through two long montages – and glittering Manhattan locations, and oddly graphic sex scenes that take you right out of the lighthearted tone of the film.

But never mind. If that matinee audience was any indicator, this film will make fans of the show very happy. The ticket takers will have fun too.

Princes and Odd Couples

The big opening this weekend is the second Narnia installment, Prince Caspian. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened in December 2005 and grossed nearly $750 million, which makes it a hit. Expectations are pretty high for this sequel; it’s playing in a whole heck of a lot of theaters around the country. Reviews are generally positive, although a lot of the critics feel the need to discuss the “dark” tone of the film, but it’s rated PG, how dark can it be? Plan on sharing the theater with families and middle school girls. Still going strong: Iron Man, Speed Racer, What Happens in Vegas, Made of Honor. Inexplicably, Vegas and Made of Honor are adding theaters this weekend. This can only mean people are going to see them.

If you’re looking to avoid the summer glitz, see if you can find The Visitor. It’s a small film but it is holding steady against the blockbusters. On DVD, check out Juno, The Savages, or Michael Clayton.

Thresholds of Goofiness: Made of Honor

My older daughter is home from college, distracting the ReelFan from the important business of blogging. The good news is that she likes to go to movies, but she has a low threshold for goofiness; this explains why I recently saw Made of Honor.

A truly dumb movie, Made of Honor features Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan as “best friends” who everyone who has ever seen a romantic comedy knows will get together in the end. This sort of ruins the suspense. The set up is straight forward: Hannah (Monaghan, showing a genuinely confusing resemblance to Liv Tyler) leaves town for six weeks, leaving Tom (Dempsey) bereft enough to finally figure out that he has “feelings” for her. But she returns engaged to a Scottish guy and promptly asks Tom to be her maid of honor, and right away the movie quits making any sense. Tom is expected to do all kinds of traditional “girly” things, like plan bridal showers, and make gift baskets full of smelly soaps; if this was supposed to be funny it pretty much missed the mark. Hannah (apparently a brilliant art historian) is saddled with lines like “I’ve looked forward to my bridal shower my whole life.” Excuse me? The only redeeming part of the film is Tom’s friendship with a bunch of guys; they mostly play basketball together but their relationship feels authentic and those scenes are pretty entertaining. Patrick Dempsey is generally fun to watch, but if you must see him in a show like this, rent last summer's Enchanted on DVD. Similar role, much more entertaining movie. Incidentally, in spite of my insightful opinion of this film it does seem to be making money; this means someone likes it, possibly Gray's Anatomy fans. I'm not one of those.

Superheroes hit the multiplex: Iron Man

Break out the popcorn, the superheroes of summer have arrived. First out of the box: Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, a supremely intelligent, extraordinarily wealthy, world class playboy. Sort of like James Bond, without any English gentility. Tony runs a high-tech weapons manufacturing firm, kind of a family business, but he experiences a crisis of conscience when he goes to Afghanistan on a sort of sales call and gets ambushed by evildoers using Stark brand weapons. Apparently he thought only the good guys were getting his stuff. The menacing Afghanis throw Tony into a cave (that’s where they always put their prisoners, right?) and insist that he build them a high tech bomb. They tell Tony, once the bomb is built, he can go home. Tony doesn’t buy it; he uses the supplies they give him for bomb building to create an iron flying suit, and then he busts out of there. After a few months, that is, and also after his Afghan prisoner buddy gives up his life so Tony can escape. A chastened Stark returns to America and tries to get out of the weapons game, but all the folks making money off of him don’t like the plan; mayhem ensues.


In the world of superhero, comic book based movies, this one stands out. Robert Downey Jr. is great in the Tony Stark role, deftly balancing the smooth operator with the computer geek. He is ably supported by Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Stark’s extremely competent, but slightly awkward assistant. Jeff Bridges is also fine as a kind of mentor colleague to Tony; he boasts a completely shaved head for the role, and some of the folks who came with me couldn’t figure out who he was. It’s tough to avoid pointing out (I choose not to try) that the man has a big head – but it fits the character. Terrance Howard, Oscar nominated for Hustle and Flow, plays Tony’s only real friend, and he is charming, managing to appreciate Stark’s genius while showing gentle exasperation with his idiosyncrasies. Kind of like Wilson and House. There are also a bunch of R2D2 like machines that surround Tony like eager metal pets. Cool, amusing stuff. If you like superhero movies, I recommend this one; if you don’t, you’ll still have a pretty good time. Remember the popcorn.

Waiting for Indy

Not much new at the multiplex this weekend, with the big gun (Indiana Jones) holding out for Memorial Day and everybody else giving Iron Man a wide berth. Everybody, that is, except the Wachowski Brothers and their latest entry to summertime fun: Speed Racer. But this ain’t The Matrix – Speed Racer is targeted to the younger set, and early reviews by grownups say it is a nearly incomprehensible mess of colors, light, and noise. It does have some hip stars – Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci – plus the venerable Susan Sarandon. Not expected to take the box office crown away from Iron Man. Also on the docket is What Happens in Vegas, an attempt at screwball comedy featuring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as an unlikely couple who get married by accident during a drunken night in Vegas. Critics are lukewarm but some sneak preview attendees are enthusiastic. Theaters will be dominated by these two entries plus Iron Man this weekend, although Baby Mama and Sarah Marshall are holding steady.

Then She Found Me and Lars and the Real Girl (DVD)

Looking for something a little low key, films that don’t feature highly respected independent film stars going to the bank playing superheroes?

THEN SHE FOUND ME

Helen Hunt comes unadorned into this film, abandoning Hollywood glamour for her role as 39 year old April Epner, an elementary schoolteacher in the midst of several life crises: her husband left, her mother died, and she is childless with a loudly ticking biological clock. Popular theme this season, but unlike Baby Mama there is precious little humor in Then She Found Me. These characters worry a lot, there are many close ups of concerned faces, and lots of betrayals. Bette Midler brings some energy and levity to the story in her turn as April’s birth mother, and the film brightens up considerably whenever she is on screen. Colin Firth is a pleasure in his usual role as the steadfast lover in waiting, but here he also gets to show anger, frustration and actual cynicism. Makes you think that there might be more to Firth than the Darcy roles allow. Didn’t sense much chemistry between Colin and Helen (oddly, she had more with Jack Nicholson) but never mind, he’s still Colin Firth. Helen Hunt’s directing debut, this was a labor of love for her, and while it seems a little flat at times, it is a worthy effort.


Also out on DVD:

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

A painfully shy, withdrawn young man (Lars) shows up on his brother Gus' doorstep one day with a life size blow up doll that he introduces as his new girlfriend, "Bianca." Assuming his brother has lost his mind, Gus and his wife consult a doctor, who suggests they play along with Lars' delusion. "You won't be able to change his mind, anyway," she tells them.

The movie is set in a remote rural town, and the heart of the story is in how the community sets about accepting Lars' new friend, so he can work through whatever inner demons led him to bring Bianca around in the first place. It's charming and quirky and absurd and funny, and for those of you who are thinking "chick flick' well, there's bowling in this movie, and some funny office cubicle politics reminiscent of a certain Thursday night sit-com.

Starring Ryan Gosling as Lars; he was nominated for an Oscar last year for Half Nelson, and he got a lot of buzz for this performance as well. Patricia Clarkson is wonderful as the doctor. Rated PG-13, but I would say better for older teens, since Bianca is, after all, a giant sex toy, although that doesn't come up much in the film.

Forgetting Tough Times (and Sarah Marshall)

The local multiplex was hopping over the weekend, with hourly showings of Iron Man and a special sneak of What Happens in Vegas, the Cameron Diaz/Ashton Kutcher we-got-married-but-we-didn’t-mean-it comedy. If there is a recession on the way, moviegoers haven’t noticed yet. Iron Man brought in nearly as much as the original Spiderman, which came out the same weekend a few years back; this would explain Robert Downey Junior’s smug expression sitting courtside at the Lakers playoff game on Sunday.


I didn’t see Iron Man, loyally waiting for my traveling husband to return, but I did see

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

Not as good as Forty Year Old Virgin, but more believable than Knocked Up. Jason Segal (one of the slacker buddies in Knocked Up, regular on How I Met Your Mother) plays Peter Bretter, a composer who gets dumped by his TV star girlfriend and tries to recover on a therapeutic trip to Hawaii. Thing is, his ex-girlfriend is vacationing at the same resort with her new rock star boyfriend. In a simpler time (like the 1950’s) this may have been a madcap comedy, but these characters are far too earnest to be madcap; you get the feeling that at any moment they might all agree to group therapy. The highlight of the film is Mila Kunis, Peter’s new love interest; she confirms with gentle grace that she has acting chops far beyond what we saw on That Seventies Show. There were some good laughs in this picture but I don’t remember any of them, it’s that kind of a film, but it’s diverting and lighthearted, and has no special effects. A month from now, that might seem refreshing. Final note: several times in the film, Segal faces the camera full length and completely naked. This appears to serve no purpose except to elicit nervous giggles from the young teen set. Fair warning.

Summertime (Baby Mama, The Visitor, Smart People)

This weekend brings us Iron Man and the start of the summer blockbuster season. I plan to see Iron Man – I would watch Robert Downey Jr. read the phone book; I am sure he would perform it with excellent timing and appropriate comic irony. Also due out is Made of Honor, which seems to be a remake of a dozen other movies, only this time starring Doctor McDreamy. Early reviews say Iron Man good, Made of Honor bad.



If neither of those interest you, here are some thoughts on a few older entries still playing in theaters:

BABY MAMA
Good natured story about a career woman trying to answer the call of her biological clock. The plot line is predictable but the talented cast makes the well trodden material mostly entertaining. Steve Martin and Sigourney Weaver are particularly good in wacky supporting roles. It’s beyond me how this film won the weekend box office derby, but I can happily cheer for Tina Fey and Any Poehler; hopefully this will give them the clout to do something a little riskier next time.

THE VISITOR
The interesting thing about this film is that just when you think you know where it’s going – at the moment when you’re expecting, say, a moving montage of character growth – the story takes an abrupt turn, and all your assumptions fly out the window. Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is a lonely widower who is pulled from his sadness and mourning by Tarek Khalil (Haaz Sleiman), an upbeat young Syrian living in New York City. Tarek teaches Walter to play the African drum, but just as their odd couple alliance appears to be jelling, the young man is detained by Immigration, and roles shift as Walter becomes the advocate for his young teacher. The film trips lightly along the political questions raised by post 9/11 immigration policy, focusing on the personal aspects of the story. The ending is inconclusive, and this may be troubling, but it is believable and satisfying in a sad sort of way.

SMART PEOPLE
There are really no completely likeable characters in this film, although Dennis Quaid has a remarkable ability to charm even when he’s playing a dull curmudgeon, and even, it must be said, when he has been made up to look frumpy. Sorry, female Quaid fans, I only speak truth. Tension between characters is the norm here, although it often goes unexplained, and there are key scenes that seem wildly improbable. Nevertheless, the film has its moments: Thomas Hayden Church provides much needed comic relief, and Ellen Page is very entertaining, although she is really just playing a harsher, smarter, Juno. Nothing wrong with that, though, and it is the performances that make this picture worth giving up a couple hours to spend time in the dark – if you aren’t having a very busy day.