Love Shack

If you want proof that romantic comedies aren't just for young, idealistic people, Enough Said ought to be enough to justify your argument. It's been quite the surprise over-achiever the past month, defying all expectations for a film starring a former Seinfeld alum (seriously, have you SEEN Jason Alexander's career?) and from a director whose name most people would never recognize. Sadly, the biggest reason this movie has seen such success has to be the unfortunate passing of star James Gandolfini, the talented actor dying of a heart attack this past June. Crude as it may seem, many theaters who otherwise might have passed on this indie title grabbed it for the sole purpose of making a buck on his name. I'm certainly not condemning that decision - it's a business after all, and as it is the most financially successful title of director Nicole Holofcener's career, it's certainly not hard to agree with their logic.

It's no movie about nothing...

Regardless, I'm glad Enough Said has stuck around long enough for me (and hopefully, you) to go see it. The story follows single mother Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as she goes day-to-day working as a masseuse, unhappy at the thought of her daughter (and best friend) moving away to college in just a few short months. At a party she is becomes acquainted with both professional poet Marianne (Catherine Keener), with whom she strikes up a friendship, and charming fellow divorcee Albert (Gandolfini), with whom she begins a romantic relationship. As she grows to know each person, she learns all the bad habits of their respective exes. But as she learns more and more about Marianne and Albert, she realizes that they have more in common with one another than she ever would have expected.

Eva forgot to turn off her phone before the movie.

What's probably most refreshing about Enough Said is its differing cast. We've seen this same brand of story dozens of times featuring younger actors and actresses learning about the past lives of their significant others, but rarely have we done so from the perspective of a single parent, and even less from an older perspective. Louis-Dreyfus has been acting on television for years, and witnessing her performance, it's surprising that this is her first major big-screen role since 1997's Deconstructing Harry. Sure, her work here will be familiar to anybody who has seen her during her decades-old career on television, but her easy charm and likable personality make for an easy leading actress. The supporting cast is full of familiar and appreciable sorts, from veterans Keener (a Holofcener regular), Toni Collette (rocking her native Australian accent for a change), and Ben Falcone, to a trio of talented young actresses - Eve Hewson, Tracey Fairaway and Tavi Gevinson - who all are given scene-stealing moments thanks to a script (also Holofcener) that makes great use of its supporting cast in propping up the romance between its two leads.

They know what makes a trip to the movies great.

And that's where the absolutely wonderful performance by Gandolfini comes in. He might not get as much respect as more handsome men with half of his talent (mainly because half of his post-Sopranos roles were remarkably similar), but here we have distinct evidence that this man is in fact one of the great actors of our era. As resident "giant teddy bear" and a hopeful romantic, Gandolfini's performance makes you fall as quickly as Eva, while making even his supposed faults endearing in their appearance. Albert is a role that many lesser actors would have gotten absolutely wrong, but not this man, who commands the screen by his mere appearance and surprising wealth of charm.

Because I needed a picture of somebody else.

The differences also extend to the story, which focuses on that limited time until your only child (and if you're single, your main companion in life) leaves you all alone to go away for school. Eva's difficulty with that event rests front and center, as she struggles to finish knitting a blanket and becoming closer to her daughter's best friend. Thankfully however, the film never tries to imply that Eva needs a man to complete her happiness, as it is pointed out that she has friends more than able to keep her occupied. Still, her loneliness and fear of not having anyone to share intimate items with is also present, and really complicates he relationships with Marianne and Albert, especially when it comes to the idea that she might have to sacrifice one relationship to be happy in the other. It's a nice twist on the genre, and one that Holofcener manages to tell without relying on added exposition, voice-overs or unnecessary dialogue. The director trusts her audience enough to understand what's going on without hand-holding, a move much appreciated by those tired of the overly-complicated cliches that make up the bulk of these kinds of tales.

In the end, it was the laugh that did it.

Even without the added attention from Gandolfini's untimely passing, Enough Said proves itself a funny, smart and unerringly sweet romance story geared towards an older generation but able to be enjoyed by any audience. Waitress is the last example of such a broad acceptability, although Holofcener's work never gets quite as dark as that under-seen classic. Instead, Enough Said is light-hearted enough to appeal to everyone, whether you're looking to recover from a bad day or simply want to keep those good feelings flowing. It's been silently running while bigger blockbusters have been taking up the bulk of everybody's attention, and while I wouldn't recommend this over absolute must-sees like Gravity or Captain Phillips, it's one you would be probably be surprised by should you give it a shot at your theater.

Summer Shenanigans

With the Summer full of typical, audience-hungry blockbusters vying for your attention, it can often be difficult for an arthouse independent to gather much traction. I think that's why, when truly special ones are coming out, critics will give them platitudes such as "This year's Little Miss Sunshine", referring of course to the 2007 Hollywood darling that was a dark horse candidate at several awards ceremonies after its mid-July release. That could certainly be the upside for The Way, Way Back, the directorial debut of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (Oscar winners for their screenplay of 2011's The Descendants). While there's certainly no shortage of quality indie films this year (many of which could be considered outside-shot Best Picture contenders), there's just something immediately special about this "Best Summer Ever" picture, which comes complete with an all-star cast, raging emotions, and a sufficient number of water slides.

Fourteen year-old Duncan (The Killing's Liam James) is miserable, forced to spend his summer at the beach house of his mother's pig-headed boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) instead of being able to visit his dad, who lives across the country. While mother Pam (Toni Collette) goes along for the ride, Duncan's anguish is compounded by the embarrassing behavior of Trent's friends, the disdain he gets from his nemesis' teenage daughter, and his own inability to reach out and make new friends. That begins to change when he meets girl-next-door Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and chances into entrepreneurial slacker Owen (Sam Rockwell), who runs the Water Wizz amusement park. Soon, Duncan is able to ignore all his problems and enjoy growing up for a change. But when things escalate at the home front, the list of good things in Duncan's life might become much, much shorter, and his sometimes-excellent Summer may come crashing to an end.

 Quite the motley crew.

First of all, this is an excellent acting core that Faxon and Rash have assembled, starting with the relative newcomer James. His general morose demeanor throughout the film would suggest that the young man was playing a relatively one-note character, but it's the moments when he smiles or otherwise changes tack, the glimpses of a good time had, that the audience gets a feel for the veracity of his performance. While there are a number of talented actors in this cast, only James has the opportunity to truly carry the film, and that such a young man can do so is a testament to his ability. Rockwell and Carell also do wonders as the two father figures in Duncan's life. Rockwell is generally within his "likable goofball" wheelhouse, but also shows a tender and protective side when it comes to his new ward, again showing his (at times) surprising versatility as a performer. Carell, meanwhile, lets us thank the heavens that he can play something other than cheap Woody Allen knockoffs, and brings an excellent showing to this movie, his most impressive performance in years. What's interesting is that both characters are essentially imparting the same message to Duncan - get out there and do something - but while Trent wants nothing to do with Duncan outside that, Owen is more accepting and inclusive to the young man. The cast is rounded out by good-to-great performances by the likes of Robb, Collette, Maya Rudolph, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet and the always-excellent Allison Janney. Even Faxon and Rash get in on the action, playing minor comedic roles along the way.

I've never hated Carell so much... and that's a good thing.

But these actors also have a great story to work with, one penned by the directors and dripping with Duncan's easily identifiable personality. It's quite effortless to sympathize with the young man as he searches for his own path through life, and Faxon and Rash exquisitely tap into that vein to tell a story that feels not like a cliched coming of age tale, but a true slice of the American experience. Yes, things do develop a little predictably, and it doesn't possess the sheer volume of surprise and heart that Little Miss Sunshine brought with it in spades. But in The Way, Way Back we see a realistic, down-to-Earth recounting of youth and innocence in a way rarely done right on the big screen. Duncan's life-changing summer might be a little bit calculable, but through its performance never is it dull or anything less than promising and encouraging.

Yup, this is where C.J. Craig vacations...

That's where The Way, Way Back stands, as a great but not groundbreaking acting tour-de-force that in reality is no more remarkable than the excellence of Mud or The Place Beyond the Pines but will still be remembered over those entries by viewers and critics this winter simply because of its effort in counter-programming the likes of Man of Steel, White House Down and Pacific Rim. It certainly worked for A Better Life, the 2011 film that had only a modest theatrical run but netted Demian Bichir a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. Whether that will be the same fate for this film is anybody's guess, but there's no good reason to skip this movie when it soon makes its nation-wide expansion in the coming weeks. It may seem like I'm giving this title a ho-hum review, but I promise you that - while it's no Sunshine - if you give The Way, Way Back a chance, you won't be disappointed by your decision.

Didn't anybody ever tell you to never eat amusement park food??

Getting Hitched

Put together a list of your Top 10 all time film directors. Don't worry, I'll be here when you get back.

Now I'll say a name I bet is on almost every one of those lists: Alfred Hitchcock. A legend of the horror and suspense genres (where legends are remarkably rare), the director is responsible for many of the greatest movies of all time; The Birds, North by Northwest, Vertigo and Rear Window are all renowned classics. But his most famous work, the one for which he is chiefly remembered, was one of his last, the 1960 horror masterpiece Psycho. In it, Hitchcock changed the faces of both horror and Hollywood and laid much of the groundwork in which his fans and contemporaries have followed in droves since its inception. Now Hollywood delves into its own dark shadows in Hitchcock, the pseudo-biographical story of Hitchcock, Psycho, and the struggle to create one of the most enduring thrillers of all time.

"Good evening."

After releasing the brilliant North By Northwest in 1959, the legendary Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) is going through both career and personal crises. He's sixty years old and beginning to worry if he has reached the peak of his talents, and is desperate to discover his next project, to prove to himself and studios that he can still work. He finds that inspiration in Robert Bloch's novel Psycho, itself based off of the heinous crimes of real-life killer Ed Gein. Forced to mortgage his home to self-finance the picture as major studios don't want to take a risk on it, Hitchcock also is going through a period of conflict with his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren), a former film editor and his biggest supporter who nevertheless aches to get back into a business that seems to respect her talents more than her husband does.

"Quick show of hands: who here did NOT work on Total Recall?"

What perhaps surprised me most about Hitchcock was how well rookie director Sacha Gervasi balanced two disparate conflicts: that between the director and the studios who did not want to make his next movie, and he and his wife Alma. You certainly get the idea how Hitchcock was a trouble-making individual, with obsessive tendencies that often made him appear standoffish or aloof, and he always liked to do whatever he thought he could get away with. An unhealthy fixation with his leading ladies also raises the stress levels between the embittered director and his wife, whose own forays into screenwriting for old friend Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) manage to raise his own suspicions. Hopkins and Mirren are both top-notch performers, and their interactions (or lack thereof) make for some wonderful storytelling, as each tries to dominate the scene and manage to settle into a contested draw. Hopkins will of course garner most of the attention thanks to his pitch-perfect mimicry of Hitchcock and his perfectly-shaped fat suit, but Mirren is of course the sum of her multiple talents. She manages to take a generally unknown woman from Hollywood's past and turn her into the perfect embodiment of what it takes to be Alfred Hitchcock's better half.

"Cut here, and here... oh, and a little exercise wouldn't kill you."

Unfortunately, I could have used a little more on the filmmaking aspect of the movie, which Gervasi steps away from to give more attention to the interactions between his stars. Though the director takes pains to show Hitchcock acting like "a perfect gentleman" towards leading lady Janet Leigh (Scarlet Johanssen), I would have loved more than the occasional behind-the-scenes drama, especially with the snubbed Vera Miles (a surprisingly underused Jessica Biel), the timid Anthony Perkins (James D'Arcy) and a bevy of actors that includes Toni Collette and Michael Stuhlbarg fighting for screen time. Little and less are said about Hitchcock's crew, with the one exception of the man who engineered the shower scene music. One question I had was whether Hitchcock truly imagined killer Ed Gein as his spirit guide (a perfectly creepy Michael Wincott), and whether he was ever haunted by his subject matter in the past. It certainly would have explained his personality and his manic obsession for getting Psycho onto the big screen.

The scene 14-year-old boys have been waiting for.

But despite any seemingly lost information, this is a movie that benefits greatly from it's leading pair. Hopkins and Mirren are fantastically well-suited to one another, the screenplay rife with fun and funny bits that will draw you deep and deeper into the world of Hollywood filmmaking. While I wish they had done less whitewashing in painting the famed director in a good light (he had a history of sexual harassment and other difficulties on the set), it doesn't hurt the film as a whole. You can point to Gervasi's experienced crew as a sign for why the whole thing turned out so well, as Jeff Cronenweth's (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) cinematography, Pamela Martin's (Ruby Sparks, The Fighter) film editing and Danny Elfman's music play a huge part in the final product. But it's still Gervasi's show, and he proves that he can make an entertaining movie when given the chance. Not just a lead actor/actress love-fest, this is definitely a movie you should be watching in preparation for the upcoming awards season.

Twilight, Meet Fright Night

Wow, I can't believe how much is out that I need to catch up on. Okay, NEED is a strong word. This past weekend marked the release of two titles that may play major roles in setting up the 2011 award season, the old-school biological scare film Contagion and the Fighter-meets-Rocky-meets-Mixed Martial Arts slow burn Warrior. Two other titles, Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star and Creature, were also released, but will only be seen by me ironically if at all. That being said I've yet to watch any of them. These last few weeks have had me see fewer movies than usual, and as such I'm still catching up on films released in the past few weeks. It's getting to the point where Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Apollo 18 and Shark Night might end up as eventual DVD releases after I'd expected to see them in theaters. But while newer titles beckon, I've still got time for a little catching up, and Fright Night was the best (or at least best timed) option on the table. A remake of the 1985 vampire film starring William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall, Fright Night looked to perhaps be the weakest of 2011's wide-release horror titles. Looking too campy, too silly, and too repetitive to live (not to mention pointlessly made in 3D), I didn't expect much from this title except for perhaps strong acting performances from the renowned Colin Farrell, David "Dr. Who" Tenant and Toni Collette.

Hey, look! Mr. Anderson is paying attention to us!

When people start disappearing from the insular neighborhoods outside Las Vegas, most people don't pay any attention. After all, nobody stays in Vegas, with the exception of Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) and his mother, real estate agent Jane (Collette). Charley's life is going pretty well these days. A former geek, Charley has grown into one of the :"cool kids", having abandoned his old life and entered into a new one, including a relationship with formerly untouchable hottie Amy (Imogen Poots). Soon, Charley is approached by his old friend "Evil" Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and told to his disbelief that his new neighbor Jerry (Farrell) is in fact a vampire, feeding on the people coming and going from the neighborhood. While Charley doesn't at first believe this (and seriously, would you?), events occur which shake his resolve and force him to believe the unbelievable. And when Jerry's reign of terror hits home, Charley finds himself battling a creature with centuries of experience in survival on his side.

Jerry? What an AWFUL name for a vampire!

Let's get this out of the way right now: 3D is the most overrated technology introduced to film in the past decade. I know I must sound like a broken record by this point, but seriously? Every film seems to want to be in 3D, thinking that it's what people want. It's not. It never was. People wanted more films like Avatar to be in 3D, sure. With the outstanding visuals presented in that 2009 Oscar contender, that makes sense. There have even been a few films that have successfully used 3D as a vehicle for improving the overall quality of their product. Those films have been very few, however, as most titles simply do not need 3D to be "better". Horror is possibly the last genre that can use the technology, and for Fright Night, that is no exception. While some horror films can use 3D to at least some effect (Final Destination 5, for example), in Fright Night it is completely without use, as even the film's few action scenes don't make great use of the imagery. Only the occasional rays of sunlight are remotely impressive, and while that is likely intentional, it's not worth the added cost of admission.

Awkward moment will end with much blood

But once you get past the silliness of parading this title in 3D, Fright Night actually surprises with a clever story, interesting characters, and dark humor that raises the occasional smile. The biggest reasons are among those that brought me to the theater in the first place, Colin Farrell and David Tenant. Farrell's suburban vampire is effectively both scary and amusing. It's as if Farrell took inspiration from Ghostbusters's demon-infested Louis Tully and made him the straight man, as Jerry appears at times torn between his human-like and animalistic sides. Tenant, meanwhile, is at first unrecognizable as a Chris Angel-like "vampire expert", who is really a television performer who specializes in the undead. Tenant is at times hilarious and never worse than plain funny, stealing each and every scene. I know a young couple for whom Tenant is the only reason to see this title, and I can safely say that they will not be disappointed. Unfortunately, the final piece of my talent trifecta, Collette, is underused and unappreciated. I know that as Charley's mom she's just a secondary character, but since I know she has the talent to be better than that I still feel she was not given enough to work with.

The best part of Fright Night, hands down

As for the younger actors, they have their moments, but pale in comparison to the adults, which is a shame since they turn out to have more to do with the story. Imogen Poots is the best of the bunch, hands down. I loved her small role in last year's Centurion, and while the girlfriend/victim role she plays isn't quite as satisfying here, she is good enough to overcome the character's limited range. The same cannot be said for Yelchin, who seems to prove himself more a poor man's Shia LaBeouf with each successive films appearance. And since LaBeouf is already a poor man's Charlie Sheen, that's not much credit given. I'm still hopeful for his upcoming Like Crazy, but only because it's supposed to be amazing and not because he's in it. Christopher Mintz-Plasse has only a minor part, but he like Tenant has the ability to steal multiple scenes, not bad for a young man nobody heard of five years ago.

...Aaaand the cross is on fire. Good going there, Van Helsing

The film covers more than a few vampire retreads, but for a completely unoriginal film Fright Night is a lot better than it has any right being. Sure, the ending is a bit sudden, but between the good acting and decent pacing, there's an enjoyable film in there. I might not recommend it for the theater, but it'll be a must-see on DVD, which thankfully will have the option to turn off the groan-inducing 3D for your home viewing pleasure. Certainly not a bad film from director Craig Gillespie, whose previous effort Lars and the Real Girl probably stands much higher (I never saw it), but it's obvious he's still in his formative years creatively, as the future shows us the film adaptation of teen horror parody Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but no potential Oscar favorites. Still, we can still be entertained by Fright Night, and put it on our sleeper lists for a fun night out this month.