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francofile02
Reviews
The Comfort of Strangers (1990)
Blech
Still trying to figure out the point of this movie. The cast, setting and music were all the best that can be had, but the dialogue was as stilted as Mamet on a bad day, there was zero chemistry between Everett and Richardson, and Walken and Mirren were stuck in silly, unfathomable roles. I don't mind talky movies with slow dénouement but this didn't even have the merit of shedding light on human nature's dark spots. It amounted to a lurid headline with no information in the report. Why do Walken's and Mirren's characters act the way they do? I didn't even care enough about Everett's and Richardson's characters' relationship to wonder why it went from lukewarm to supercharged overnight and then back to lukewarm. Their relationship reminded me of Sheltering Sky - puzzling and sad, but not worthy of much interest. So I'm back to my initial question: what was the point?
Falling in Love (1984)
Gimme a break.
Obviously the director picked up on Streep & DeNiro's outstanding chemistry in The Deer Hunter and wanted to capitalize on it... but this movie was the wrong vehicle. So much talent wasted, including all the supporting players. There is not a single truly compelling moment. It's all kind of halfhearted and washed-out. How do you make adultery boring, and on top of that make the top two stars of their time unlikable? No wonder I never even heard of this movie before it hit cable.
(Now I know why all the other comments are so long! It's because they have to be ten lines. Wow, this reminds me of padding essays in school. Well, phooey.)
Caddyshack (1980)
It's aged well.
Only in my 30s have I started to even think this movie is funny. Direction is definitely hands-off at best, but the delivery (both scripted and improv) is so dead-on, it just gets funnier every time I see it.
If you've spent any time around these kinds of people, your skin crawls while you're laughing. Ted Knight is brilliant, Chevy Chase never looked hotter, Bill Murray is my idol... and the young hero has bad teeth -- now that's democracy.
(Apparently I have to write at least 10 lines for this to show up at all. Now this reminds me of padding essays in high school. Where's the reward for being concise, people?!)
Les invasions barbares (2003)
Génial.
Achtung, sweeping generalization: The purpose of cinema, as of any art form, is to snap us out of the hypnosis of the everyday. We don't, and we can't, understand and appreciate the weight of life every moment or else we'd be too overwhelmed to do what we have to do get through it with our reason intact. So the pact between those who make art and those who witness art is that just for a little while, the blinders come off. Far too few films tackle death with anything like respect, especially in the U.S. where it's fine to watch 150 people killed in the course of a movie but there's no aftermath, no feeling and God forbid, no mourners... and on top of this "Barbarian Invasions" (can we call it "BI"?) is hilarious, and only wrings out real pathos at the very end and not excessively. I found myself not wanting to cry because I'd miss another wry comment. So maybe it's a little ribald but the fresh air of that is welcome. I don't know any of the actors and oh, that is nice. I'm so tired of watching known quantities playing themselves playing something else. Yawn. This movie's not perfect but it is genius.