Reviews

Okay, so it's just a simple, utterly Hollywood love story with little new to offer in terms of plot, but it's disarmingly affable in an An Affair to Remember style. This movie is a charming little fairy tale with believeable characters with believable chemistry portrayed by more-than-competent actors. Particularly appealing is Jeanne Tripplehorn in one of her first chances at a star turn; she does not disappoint. A simple, but delightful movie.

Joseph Vasquez' portrayal of the lives of four friends as they prowl the night in search of good times predates the ubiquitous Swingers by four years. Hangin' is similar to its more popular cousin in its sweetness and incisiveness as it deals with the heartaches and fatal flaws of its protagonists. However, these nocturnal wanderers also have to deal with some of the more sublime facets of race relation as Nestor Serrano as Fernando, aka Vinnie, a Puerto Rican gigolo tries to convince everyone, including himself, he's Italian, or Doug E. Doug as Willie blames every one of his problems on the fact he is black and moreover accuses other black people he meets of "selling out" or "ignoring {their} African roots" while he has never participated in one rally or learned a single fact about African Nationalism. The film also features one of the earliest hints at the talents of comic/playwright John Leguziamo as sweet, introspective supermarket stock boy Johnny, a subdued, endearing performance by a man who's now known for extravagance. It's just a matter of time before Leguziamo gets that role which will make him a superstar. Mario Joyner completes the foursome as a lovelorn, less confident than he tries to exude, struggling actor, nee telemarketer, in a solid, if not spectacular performance. While this wonderful film rarely lets up on the laugh, it's also intelligent and inspiring, while at times heartbreaking. What's most heartbreaking is what came after this film; after the promise of his debut, Vasquez was given a ton of money and backing for his next feature, but the film had to be shut down after a week of shooting as Vasquez was walking around the soundstage proclaiming himself Jesus, among other insane ramblings. Within a year, Vasquez died of AIDS in relative obscurity, a tragic end to a man who showed signs of genius. Who knows what that genius might have led to, but while this film will never balance off what might have been, at least he was able to leave his mark with one great film. Hopefully more people will get to see it.

This is the film that made the film world (well, a tiny corner of the film world, anyway) sit up and take notice of an up-and-coming filmmaker named Hal Hartley. Trust exists as a unique little motion picture, a movie which creates a world which manages to be both ridiculous and real at the same time, a mixture mirroring the absurdity which, often times, dominates the structure of actual life. The most remarkable thing about this movie, though, is its ability to craft a charmingly sweet love story in the center out of what seems to be utter emptiness. Martin Donavan and Adrienne Shelley portray two characters, the likes of which I would challenge you to find carbon copies of anywhere in celluloid history. They are real, honest sketches of humanity, and with them Hartley is able to explore why and how we fall in love, and whether you agree with his interpretation of what is love, his love story comes across loud and clear. I once had a professor who claimed there are no new stories to be told. Well, I think Mr. Hartley may have stumbled across one...no, make that, calculatedly made one.

An under-appreciated film (as many Canadian films are), Double Happiness expresses brilliantly the tightrope one often has to walk between pleasing others and pleasing oneself. Jade Li, portrayed masterfully by neophyte Sandra Oh, must choose between her desires for love and stardom and her desire to please her demanding, suffocating, ultra-traditional Chinese father. Her life complicates when she meets a sweet English major named Mark, played by Callum Keith Rennie, a hidden treasure of an actor; the scenes between Jade and Mark dynamically reflect the most uncertain nature in love, an uncertainty which often makes love all the more worth fighting for. Yet, there is a subtlety in the way writer/director Mina Shum presents Jade's nervous breakdown of a life, a subtlety which craftily creates the effect of slowly drawing the viewer into the spiralling life of Jade. With its powerful, yet simplistic (in the Hal Hartley vein) direction and tremendous performances, Double Happiness stands as a remarkable film which deserves more attention. Pity!