Reviews

This movie is not only a solid, spellbinding thriller; it is a rare example of Hollywood taking on truly powerful forces. The issue of police brutality has gone viral since this movie was made in 2004- one can see new, horrifying examples of it every day on You Tube.

What makes this film so daring, so bold, and so unique is the fact it doesn't follow the normal mainstream media mantra of ignoring police corruption. It certainly doesn't glorify the police, as so many insipid television shows and movies do. It postulates a believable premise; that these corrupt officials would resort to killing an innocent family who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Looking at the writers and the Director (who died early this year at a premature age- no cause listed that I could find), there is not much to suggest a piece of work like this. But they certainly deserve credit for exposing a very real problem and creating an entertaining drama.

I highly recommend this film to everyone.

"Meet John Doe" would be the finest movie ever made, in my opinion, except for the ending. Director Frank Capra filmed several different endings, and probably chose the best one, but ultimately found them all lacking in some way. I share his view, but even without a satisfying climax, "Meet John Doe" represents the motion picture industry at its absolute best.

Gary Cooper is perfect as Long John Willoughby, a homeless ex-baseball pitcher with a bum arm. Walter Brennan turns in perhaps his greatest role, as "The Colonel," a grumpy fellow who calls people "Healots" and utters the memorable line, "I know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber." Barbara Stanwyck, as always, turns in a compelling performance. Capra invariably supplied his movies with a wealth of strong background characters, and "Meet John Doe" is no exception. Regis Toomey, at one time a leading man in the early talkies, is particularly good as Bert the Soda Jerk.

The script sets up one of the most intriguing premises imaginable; reporter Stanwyck, in a bid to save her job and build circulation, invents a character, "John Doe," who threatens to jump off the roof of the highest building in town on Christmas Eve, if people don't start being nicer to each other. His column "I Protest," becomes so popular that the newspaper has to produce an actual "John Doe," and Cooper wins the part. Gradually, the naive, well meaning Cooper begins to believe in what "John Doe" is saying, and falls in love with Stanwyck, who has been co-opted by powerful forces, led by the dastardly Edward Arnold, playing the evil tycoon Norton.

James Gleason is great here, as the drunken editor who tries to warn Cooper that Stanwyck is a phony. He's perfect for Capra's type of movie, so it's a surprise that this is the only one he ever appeared in. The drama in this film is everywhere; Cooper's affection for Stanwyck, whose hard boiled heart begins to melt, the burgeoning populist "John Doe" political movement, and the uncertain resolution to "John Doe's" dilemma.

As it becomes obvious that people are not going to start treating each other better, the question becomes- will Cooper actually jump on Christmas Eve? Does he still believe in an ideology that Stanwyck created, for dishonest and cynical reasons? "Meet John Doe" features Capra's typical dark look at humanity, as exemplified by Stanwyck's deviousness, and the ugly mob mentality of the "John Doe" supporters as they turn on Cooper. However, again as always, Capra turns that pessimistic view into a fairy tale-like optimism, as Stanwyck comes to believe in Cooper and thus her own philosophy, and the mob realizes realizes the error of its ways.

In Capra's films, no matter how extensive the corruption appears, justice always triumphs and the little guy always wins. Thus, it was predictable that Capra would choose the happiest ending possible, with Cooper being saved from jumping at the last minute, by an ill Stanwyck and the mob, represented by Toomis's soda jerk and his wife, as Gleason utters the line, "There you go, Norton- the people! Try and lick that!" I suppose there was really no adequate way to resolve a plot line like this, and Capra did the best he could. Regardless, "Meet John Doe" is head and shoulders above almost any other film Hollywood has ever produced.

I must sound like a broken record, but once again this horrid film proves that Hollywood simply cannot make a decent comedy anymore. This one has the same things they all do now- tons of juvenile potty humor, gratuitous male nudity (and in a rarity, a brief topless female), and a predictable, disastrous message. The male nudity, by the way, includes a close up view of a male's penis.

As usual, the males in the film are made out to be the bad guys. Two hapless husbands, who are guilty of nothing more than ogling women here and there, are granted a "hall pass" by their wives. This idea comes from their friend, played by the odious Joy Behar, who is no actress and can barely recite her lines. The men are told that for one week, they can do whatever they want, and pretend they aren't married, while the wives take the kids out of town.

In an utterly foreseen twist, the guys turn out to not even be capable of talking to girls, let alone sleeping with them, while their wives are partying up a storm with hot younger athletes. Meanwhile, we are treated to a running gag that could have been penned by most third graders, of the guys' fat friend constantly uttering "I have to poo." In a truly artistic scene, we are treated to this man's fat bare bottom taking a dump in a sand trap on a golf course. Talk about hilarious!

Owen Wilson eventually turns down the hot 21 year old who had been his children's babysitter, her hot 40 something aunt, and the gorgeous blonde Australian chick who had been the object of his fantasies. He doesn't even get to kiss any of them. His hapless friend is similarly unlucky. Meanwhile, Christina Appelegate, as the other husband's wife, does sleep with a younger guy. Afterwards, she says "this can't happen again- I love my husband."

This is the message that has been coming out of Hollywood for some time now- a wife can have an extramarital affair, but the husband cannot, or at least if he does, the marriage is over. We saw this even in Family Guy, when Lois slept with Bill Clinton, but Peter inexplicably backed out of sleeping with his date, so the writers solved that by having Peter sleep with Bill Clinton, too. Ugh.

When the hapless other husband reunites with Christina Applegate, he gets down on his knees and apologizes. "For what?" the audience might ask. He didn't really do anything wrong. But his wife sure did. And does she admit this, or apologize herself? Nope. Guess again- she accepts his ridiculous apology with a canary-that-ate-the-kitten smile. Nice message there for everyone.

This movie was not as awful as the Judd Apatow stuff, or quite as unfunny as most of Adam Sandler's and Will Ferrell's "gems," but it is still thoroughly offensive.