Reviews

The sitcom is a dying art. There's hardly any narrative TV left in general, and there are way fewer quality comedies than dramas. Girlfriends deserves way more attention, and though it is good for their ratings to be herded in with the rest of the "urban" comedies on UPN, I think it's heads and shoulders above any of the other shows. In fact, and no offense to fans of other UPN fare, I think this show is surrounded on all sides by just plain awful programs - the writing on the other shows is a notch above Saved by the Bell. (maybe that's a *little* too harsh).

The dialogue and the acting on Girlfriends is sophisticated and natural at the same time. The five leads have great chemistry and timing. I think it's taken a few seasons (and the smart decision to get rid of Joan's lame voice-over fantasy bites) for the comedy to become less broad and for the characters to develop past "types", but that's always the case when you have to set up a sitcom world. Every sitcom I can think of starts out with stereotypes and builds character depth as the seasons goes on.

Even in my position as a white chick (maybe a little more attuned to African American culture than the average), I think I can say that most shows about middle-class black people are terrified of seeming "too black", they've got Cosbyitus. Girlfriends seems to be more on the inside-track.

Maybe the show isn't representative of every woman in the black community, or the black everywoman, but who says it has to? Sex in the City sure as hell wasn't representative of 30something white women in New York. We want a little escapism, and Girlfriends offers all the pretty people and the pretty houses and the pretty clothing (the BEST-DRESSED show on TV by far! Who is their stylist??), *and* the polished writing and performances.

Oh, yeah, and it's ***hella funny***.

I am *shocked* at how many people commenting are panning this fantastic film, where are the folks who made up the overall 8/10 rating?

Anyway, this is the kind of movie that no one is making anymore, and is a hallmark of the "Golden Age" - bubbly and sweet on the surface, but dark and demented underneath. In fact that's pretty much the theme of the movie itself - the persona we show to the world never tells the whole story. Staunch bachelors are true romantics, pastors daughters are sex kittens (*subtly* suggested of course), cops are playwrights, and sweet old aunties are... well, you'll see. (But truly evil people seem to be pretty much grotesque inside and out - does that add or detract to my theory?)

First off, the film is *&$#ing funny. Cary Grant is brilliant, and anyone who thinks he is overacting or over the top simply doesn't get this particular brand of comedy. The aunts are absolutely adorable and seriously sick. The fabulously choreographed physical frenzy is matched by the fabulously choreographed quick-witted and often overlapping dialogue. And the real villains are *genuinely* frightening and disturbing. I've seen this film maybe 5 or 6 times, and I'm always a little shocked by just how dark it really is.

It's not a perfect movie, of course, but film geeks like me can hardly ever see a movie without picking it apart while we're watching it - and I can honestly say I am always totally taken in by this one every time I watch it.

You poor people who think this flick is all treacle don't recognize the bitter taste underneath - and then it's too late, so sad...

This horrendous remake takes a takes a clever, warm, ebullient film - Wings of Desire - and turns it into a big budget version of a Lifetime Original Movie.

The plot of both films is simple : Angels are all around us, they are the invisible recorders of human history, they do not get involved in human life. But one angel decides he wants to become human, in this version it's simply because he falls in love with a woman, and falls to earth. It goes on from there...

The ironic thing is that American remakes usually redo rather dark European films as big dumb action flicks and/or lighthearted romances. But City of Angels redoes a joyous, sweet film as the penultimate cheesy melodrama. Here the classic American overkill is not with more explosions and sex, but with more desperate, gaudy, manipulative solemnity and pretension.

In the original, Bruno Ganz plays Damiel, the angel, with a kind of casual elation. He falls to earth not simply because he falls in love, but because he wants to enjoy human life, the simple pleasures - coffee, cigarettes, the circus, children, color, smell, singing, sex, etc... And he doesn't have to have a freakin' epiphany with each discovery of a small part of human existence, part of the point is that he becomes acclamated because he is already more human than angel to begin with. Nicholas Cage plays Damiel like a terrified alien, most of the time feeling very very sorry for us sad humans, and occasionally shedding profound tears of wonder at our potential for good. Honestly I felt like punching Nicholas Cage in his poignantly wistful face every five minutes.

An even more blatent example of the needless overdramatizing comes in the form of the leading lady's role. In the original, the object of Damiel's affection is Marion, played by lovely and talented Solveig Donmartin. Marion is a trapeze artist who lives life to the fullest, but is dreamy and aimless, searching to find a true connection. In the remake, Meg Ryan is a *heart surgeon* trapped in the depths of a horrific depression over the meaninglessness of life and the pain of death. Can I get an oy veh? The love story in the original is quirky and fresh, the lovers spent the majority of time searching for each other, and when they do get together, it is one of the most beautiful and satisfying moments ever caught on film, totally totally devoid of shmaltz. The love story in the remake is ALL SCHMALTZ. Every moment they spend together is meant to be utterly profound, the height of joy and the height of despair - totally maudlin and manipulative. ICKY.

All the problems with the remake stem from these misguided attempts to make the film serious and meaningful. It's bad high-school poetry.

The real tragedy is that because Wings of Desire is a German movie, because it has a reputation for dealing with a lot of very profound and intellectual ideas, because it is very *complex*, people are turned off. I am here to tell you that, yes, Wings is more profound, more intellectual, more complex than City of Angels, but if you give it a chance, it is also lighter, funnier, more joyous, more entertaining, more beautiful, and more magical than City of Angels. Go see the original!!!

You must all see this film, on pain of death!

Comparing Rock & Rule to Heavy Metal is like comparing cheetos to cheesecake. Rock & Rule is really good cheese. Luscious, decadent, really bad for you. The animation is much better, the plot is much better, and the music is immeasurably better. The score and soundtrack consists of *original songs* by IGGY POP, LOU REED, BLONDIE , and CHEAP TRICK!!! Even more incredible, the songs don't just underscore the movie, they are written in the voice of and "performed" by the animated characters!

The short version of the plot summary is this: In a postapacolyptic world, an Evil Rock God Magician named Mock (a fabulous mix between Bowie, Iggy and Mick) needs the voice of this chick singer named Angel (totally Deborah Harry) in a struggling rock group (very much Cheap Trick) to raise a demon from another dimension. Will Angel be wooed into this evil plot? Or will she stay with the band, and more importantly, with Omar, the prick lead singer with whom she shares a love/hate relationship?

Rock & Rule is totally campy, acerbic and funny, and while it''s full of Sex Drugs and Rock& Roll, it''s not the film equivilent of your 15-year-old geek brother's air-brushed Livinia of Orgasmitron poster. It's more like the film equivilent of your 30-year-old hip brother's Max's Kansas City poster, put in a time capsule and taken out in the year 2432, or something...

See it with many many people, it can be enjoyed sober, but is even better under the influence. You will THANK ME!!! BTW It''s really hard to buy, but should be available to rent at most places with a big Arthouse/Underground collection.