The plot doesn't matter much, although it is fairly important to understanding the ending (which I failed to pay attention to.) But it isn't necessary in order to enjoy the classic performances from some of the 1940s biggest acts, my favorite being Nat King Cole's silky melodies with his early King Cole Trio. But the Clark Brothers are showstoppers, and their tap routine here is no less entertaining than the Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather, another personal favorite. Some of the comedy material may be extremely dated, but I couldn't help but think if "Moms" Mabley's set was performed by my Grandmother...now THAT is what killed me. What surprised me most amidst all the notable performances was that any of the humor survived these 57 years, making it a barely hour-long curiosity for the brave jazz, dance, or history buff.
Reviews
7 Reviews
It's Alive
(1974)
Stewie Phooey!
4 November 2004
I thought of Baby Stewie from The Family Guy and that made me laugh, I thought of the killer bunny from Monty Python's Holy Grail and that made me laugh too, but when I think of this movie, it makes me cry, and not because of the butchering it delivers to Rosemary's Baby.
I prayed for the Holy Grenade of Antioch to blow It to tiny bits, but no such luck. I pleaded for a Solomonic choice to be made, a threat to split the baby in 1/2 and then see if the meddling parents object to giving It up. I begged for the merciful end of the chase, but the cops were about as useful as baby toys - wound up, moving about aimlessly, and eventually chewed to pieces.
Nevertheless, I find this movie (like the baby) hard to hate. The editing of the first 20 minutes that seemed to squander the tension of the hospital scene can be forgiven. As can the explanation of major plot holes by character dialog, rather than by filming action. On a shoestring budget, Cohen can be forgiven for a lot.
But one thing gnaws at me with great gnashing teeth, and that's the Davis' parenting of their school-age son. For the love of Pete (or Chris, in this case), what the hell are you doing ignoring the boy during family crisis?! Mr. Davis goes to Chris' school when psycho-baby is on the rampage, but wouldn't consider accompanying Chris to go fishing?or even talk to him on the phone?! The Davis' are wack - not kitsch, not cheezy, not cliché - they're wack. What's the big diff with a baby out-of-whack, when the parents are just one of many even SCARIER examples of humanity gone wrong!
Baby Stewie would have something clever to say right now...or maybe he'd just sport fangs and claws from an It baby costume and embark on a bloody campaign of world domination. If he makes people afraid enough, he might even get elected President. After all, the American people seem to go for petulance and visions of conquest in their leaders...Phooey!
I prayed for the Holy Grenade of Antioch to blow It to tiny bits, but no such luck. I pleaded for a Solomonic choice to be made, a threat to split the baby in 1/2 and then see if the meddling parents object to giving It up. I begged for the merciful end of the chase, but the cops were about as useful as baby toys - wound up, moving about aimlessly, and eventually chewed to pieces.
Nevertheless, I find this movie (like the baby) hard to hate. The editing of the first 20 minutes that seemed to squander the tension of the hospital scene can be forgiven. As can the explanation of major plot holes by character dialog, rather than by filming action. On a shoestring budget, Cohen can be forgiven for a lot.
But one thing gnaws at me with great gnashing teeth, and that's the Davis' parenting of their school-age son. For the love of Pete (or Chris, in this case), what the hell are you doing ignoring the boy during family crisis?! Mr. Davis goes to Chris' school when psycho-baby is on the rampage, but wouldn't consider accompanying Chris to go fishing?or even talk to him on the phone?! The Davis' are wack - not kitsch, not cheezy, not cliché - they're wack. What's the big diff with a baby out-of-whack, when the parents are just one of many even SCARIER examples of humanity gone wrong!
Baby Stewie would have something clever to say right now...or maybe he'd just sport fangs and claws from an It baby costume and embark on a bloody campaign of world domination. If he makes people afraid enough, he might even get elected President. After all, the American people seem to go for petulance and visions of conquest in their leaders...Phooey!
Leonard Part 6
(1987)
Betrayal & Redemption
9 April 2004
I saw this pus-filled boil on Cosby's rump while on vacation in Florida as a kid. I asked to see it - How was I to know? - I was only 6 years old. I think it was being shown at a theater at Universal Studios, and it had been a long, hot day of walking. Hell, I was glad just to be off my feet and out of the sun...that is, until the movie began.
I was confused from the start, thinking I must have missed a lot in the first 5 parts. But I thought it's gotta get better, Bill Cosby wouldn't allow this garbage to be shown to millions of kids like me as "entertainment" unless there was something funny in it. Then the meat patties - I don't remember much about the movie, I've left the nightmares in my past, but I can still remember how I nearly wretched at this grisly mess of a scene. It was no longer worth being in a comfy theater with AC, it was more like being in agony, trapped by a 6-yr. old kid's optimism that "Mr. Huxable" would be funny! Never happened.
An utter horror of a movie! It ruined a little kid's day, and I'm sure it ruined many others'. When I found out from my folks soon after that Bill Cosby himself had told people not to see it, I was hurt and betrayed. I have since gotten over it, so LP6 is purged from my nightmares, and I applauded Cos for removing this celluloid pollution from our airwaves. Redemption at last.
I was confused from the start, thinking I must have missed a lot in the first 5 parts. But I thought it's gotta get better, Bill Cosby wouldn't allow this garbage to be shown to millions of kids like me as "entertainment" unless there was something funny in it. Then the meat patties - I don't remember much about the movie, I've left the nightmares in my past, but I can still remember how I nearly wretched at this grisly mess of a scene. It was no longer worth being in a comfy theater with AC, it was more like being in agony, trapped by a 6-yr. old kid's optimism that "Mr. Huxable" would be funny! Never happened.
An utter horror of a movie! It ruined a little kid's day, and I'm sure it ruined many others'. When I found out from my folks soon after that Bill Cosby himself had told people not to see it, I was hurt and betrayed. I have since gotten over it, so LP6 is purged from my nightmares, and I applauded Cos for removing this celluloid pollution from our airwaves. Redemption at last.
Havana
(I) (1990)
Havana like this movie more, but it fails to fulfill its promise.
24 December 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Havana was dealt a good hand with a cast featuring Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Raul Julia, and Robert Redford; Sydney Pollack at the helm; and a beautiful set shot in an expansive, exquisite style. However this hand was somewhat misplayed by the screenwriter and the headliners (Redford and Pollack).
What a romantic story line Havana boasts: a jaded poker player seeks out "the big game" amidst the turmoil of the Cuban Revolution but is diverted from his plans by an enchanting, married revolutionary.
I was particularly intrigued by the undercurrent of conspiratorial communist plots and sinister CIA schemes. Unfortunately, the film failed to derive much tension from these elements...
Spoilers. Was smuggling explosives into Batista-era Cuba really as easy as switching drivers in plain sight? Why is the CIA spook so blase about his cover that he seeks Jack out to say good-bye? And wasn't it obvious that Jack's "rainy day" diamond was going to be used to purchase Arturo's release? Plus, would it even be worth enough at a time when (as the film noted) fleeing refugees flooded the markets with their valuables? Spoilers end. ...neither does the film build tension to a satisfactory crescendo using other plot elements: the poker fell flat (Redford does not deliver in these scenes) and thus left me wondering what was so compelling about the "big game" anyway; the language/cultural barrier was strangely never a challenge to Jack, neither when facing the military police nor in finding his way along unfamiliar roads in a war zone; and the revolutionaries did not seem at all threatening to Joe or Jack (or to the card players as someone has mentioned.)
Nevertheless, I liked Havana for it's alluring visuals and romance reminiscent of Casablanca. If not for the botched handling of the various tensions (mainly political) swirling around in Havana, I might have felt the same sympathetic release of emotion for the lovers and the freedom fighters that I do when I watch Curtiz' classic. But Redford's voice-over narratives do make wonderful first and last impressions.
I can recommend Havana for fans of love stories but not for fans of poker or political thrillers. Too bad that a film with all the elements plays out so poorly that it went bust with audiences.
What a romantic story line Havana boasts: a jaded poker player seeks out "the big game" amidst the turmoil of the Cuban Revolution but is diverted from his plans by an enchanting, married revolutionary.
I was particularly intrigued by the undercurrent of conspiratorial communist plots and sinister CIA schemes. Unfortunately, the film failed to derive much tension from these elements...
Spoilers. Was smuggling explosives into Batista-era Cuba really as easy as switching drivers in plain sight? Why is the CIA spook so blase about his cover that he seeks Jack out to say good-bye? And wasn't it obvious that Jack's "rainy day" diamond was going to be used to purchase Arturo's release? Plus, would it even be worth enough at a time when (as the film noted) fleeing refugees flooded the markets with their valuables? Spoilers end. ...neither does the film build tension to a satisfactory crescendo using other plot elements: the poker fell flat (Redford does not deliver in these scenes) and thus left me wondering what was so compelling about the "big game" anyway; the language/cultural barrier was strangely never a challenge to Jack, neither when facing the military police nor in finding his way along unfamiliar roads in a war zone; and the revolutionaries did not seem at all threatening to Joe or Jack (or to the card players as someone has mentioned.)
Nevertheless, I liked Havana for it's alluring visuals and romance reminiscent of Casablanca. If not for the botched handling of the various tensions (mainly political) swirling around in Havana, I might have felt the same sympathetic release of emotion for the lovers and the freedom fighters that I do when I watch Curtiz' classic. But Redford's voice-over narratives do make wonderful first and last impressions.
I can recommend Havana for fans of love stories but not for fans of poker or political thrillers. Too bad that a film with all the elements plays out so poorly that it went bust with audiences.
Friday After Next
(2002)
Cube's quips ain't as hip, but ghetto gags right the ship
5 December 2002
If you're looking for a slice of ghetto life like Friday, you'll get a whole pie in the face because Friday After Next (even more than Next Friday) is overloaded with jokes. Not that that's a bad thing if you're in the theater just to see a series of well set-up ghetto gags. But, if you thought the original was funny because of its context ("a lazy day in the life of a couple of pot-heads"), then this 2nd sequel will disappoint even more than the 1st.
FAN flows more quickly than its predecessors. It takes on the rhythm of the animated opening credits, a fast-paced cartoon that introduces the running gag of the movie--a skinny, kleptomaniacal, ghetto Santa. After the opening credits roll, live-action "ghetto santa" is seen stealing presents from Craig and Dede. But he wakes them up... well, Craig anyway. This sets "ghetto Santa" running, and this Santa can really book. The rest is sumpin' like Martin Lawrence's RunTelDat...a ni**er's always gettin' chased. If you see ghetto Santa takin' some s&!%, soon he'll be runnin' from somebody. If another brother is runnin' from somebody, look in the background and there's skinny-a** ghetto Santa stealing some mo' s&!%. Like an episode of Cops--there's a whole lot of scared brothers running in this movie.
Cube and Epps don't roll with the punchlines like Cube and Tucker did, but they're on their respective games--no better, no worse than we're accustomed to. You can expect good laughs from this third installment in the Friday series. Just don't expect much of a plot or the usual plodding pot-head pacing from this 90 min. running gag because if you do, FAN will steal your time faster than ghetto Santa on his "magic" sleigh.
Try to catch this one sometime when you need a laugh. Not concise or compelling, but still a funny movie. 6/10
FAN flows more quickly than its predecessors. It takes on the rhythm of the animated opening credits, a fast-paced cartoon that introduces the running gag of the movie--a skinny, kleptomaniacal, ghetto Santa. After the opening credits roll, live-action "ghetto santa" is seen stealing presents from Craig and Dede. But he wakes them up... well, Craig anyway. This sets "ghetto Santa" running, and this Santa can really book. The rest is sumpin' like Martin Lawrence's RunTelDat...a ni**er's always gettin' chased. If you see ghetto Santa takin' some s&!%, soon he'll be runnin' from somebody. If another brother is runnin' from somebody, look in the background and there's skinny-a** ghetto Santa stealing some mo' s&!%. Like an episode of Cops--there's a whole lot of scared brothers running in this movie.
Cube and Epps don't roll with the punchlines like Cube and Tucker did, but they're on their respective games--no better, no worse than we're accustomed to. You can expect good laughs from this third installment in the Friday series. Just don't expect much of a plot or the usual plodding pot-head pacing from this 90 min. running gag because if you do, FAN will steal your time faster than ghetto Santa on his "magic" sleigh.
Try to catch this one sometime when you need a laugh. Not concise or compelling, but still a funny movie. 6/10
Eight Crazy Nights
(2002)
Like a whimsical bender on antabuse.
4 December 2002
Maybe it's just because I'm a Sandler fan, but this movie is so hilarious, it has replaced Dumb and Dumber as the funniest movie of all time. However, in the defense of 8 Crazy Nights--
From the start you will recognize if this movie is for you because during the preliminary Meatball short (home video about his dog), you will either laugh at the poopin' pea-brained pooch, or you'll be thinkin', "Let's just get to the family entertainment, already!"
Sorry folks. It ain't comin'.
This flick will leave a booger on your face and then laugh at you. It makes light of the elderly(for Whitey's voice think a less-annoying Fatty McGee), the obese(for gym scene think Fear Factor meets Bart Simpson), the physically deformed(for one "triple goddess" think Total Recall), and holiday spirits(like me!) Plus, it has more potty humor than you can shake a stick at. And oh yes, it shamelessly flaunts its corporate sponsorship. BUT...
(if you're still with me), it makes you laugh uproariously at every outrageous turn. It's like one of those conservative propagandists that love to say outlandish things to liberals (like myself!) to provoke a response. In short, it's childish, it's crude, and it's target demographic may only be slightly larger than me (no one I know would join me to see it and my lonely peals of laughter filled an utterly empty theater).
OK, maybe I'm apologetic for the anti-social, has-been athlete Davey Stone (Sandler's main character). Well, that's also me--I'm like a gentile Davey sans $&!%-faced, stone-hearted outlook on life. But if you "get" Adam Sandler's humor, you may "get" Davey like I did.
Look at it this way--a movie that constantly makes you recoil at the offensive nature of its humor, yet has you rolling in the aisles laughing in spite of yourself is darn impressive. This comedic gem is being ignored by far too many true Sandler fans who dismiss it as "just a Hanukkah family film." It is nothing of the sort. Don't let haters make you feel self-conscious about seeing it or liking it.
On the menorah scale, 1 flame faintly flickers (for the lame romantic cliche ending), leaving 8.5 candles lit. For the uninitiated, that's 9/10. 8 P
From the start you will recognize if this movie is for you because during the preliminary Meatball short (home video about his dog), you will either laugh at the poopin' pea-brained pooch, or you'll be thinkin', "Let's just get to the family entertainment, already!"
Sorry folks. It ain't comin'.
This flick will leave a booger on your face and then laugh at you. It makes light of the elderly(for Whitey's voice think a less-annoying Fatty McGee), the obese(for gym scene think Fear Factor meets Bart Simpson), the physically deformed(for one "triple goddess" think Total Recall), and holiday spirits(like me!) Plus, it has more potty humor than you can shake a stick at. And oh yes, it shamelessly flaunts its corporate sponsorship. BUT...
(if you're still with me), it makes you laugh uproariously at every outrageous turn. It's like one of those conservative propagandists that love to say outlandish things to liberals (like myself!) to provoke a response. In short, it's childish, it's crude, and it's target demographic may only be slightly larger than me (no one I know would join me to see it and my lonely peals of laughter filled an utterly empty theater).
OK, maybe I'm apologetic for the anti-social, has-been athlete Davey Stone (Sandler's main character). Well, that's also me--I'm like a gentile Davey sans $&!%-faced, stone-hearted outlook on life. But if you "get" Adam Sandler's humor, you may "get" Davey like I did.
Look at it this way--a movie that constantly makes you recoil at the offensive nature of its humor, yet has you rolling in the aisles laughing in spite of yourself is darn impressive. This comedic gem is being ignored by far too many true Sandler fans who dismiss it as "just a Hanukkah family film." It is nothing of the sort. Don't let haters make you feel self-conscious about seeing it or liking it.
On the menorah scale, 1 flame faintly flickers (for the lame romantic cliche ending), leaving 8.5 candles lit. For the uninitiated, that's 9/10. 8 P
The Business of Strangers
(2001)
It turns a cold shoulder to its audience, leaving me slightly put off
1 December 2002
Warning: Spoilers
The Business of Strangers keeps orbital characters underdeveloped from the central character's (Julie's) standpoint so that these acquaintances never feel more familiar than strangers.
Julie(Stockard Channing)is an insecure corporate climber and new CEO, made paranoid by the singular emphasis she has put on career advancement. Paula (Julia Stiles) is the brash young ingenue seeking direction, yet ever-so-willing to demonstrate her own manipulative power over others. Paula's power resides in her feminine wiles and disregard for convention while Julie's power resides in her position atop the corporate ladder achieved by virtue of a cutthroat mentality.
Julie and Paula treat each other like means to an end while treating others like mere playthings...
*Spoiler*...Paula is Julie's expendable underling and later her companion to celebrate the big promotion with; it is implied that Julie is the subject of ambitious writer Paula's next non-fiction work. Paula says she likes "the messiness of real life"; she manipulates Julie into providing a more salacious story. Julie and Paula do some wicked strange things, and in so doing treat corporate headhunter Nick Harris like a worthless object. TBOS leaves both of their motives vague. Presumably, Julie acts because she just gets carried away as Paula manipulates her. But what of Paula's motive? Is she acting for retribution or simply for the thrill of it? *Spoiler end*
TBOS doesn't let the audience in on the secretive business of these stranger's innermost desires (with the exception of Julie). Instead we are given a look behind closed doors in a business traveler's world of cancelled flights and one-night hotel stays. What goes on between strangers is disturbing enough to elicit our concern, but the audience never gets to find out what goes on inside the strangers' heads.
I liked TBOS for making me think, but it left me with an empty feeling to be given so little insight into the characters. Slightly above average.
Julie(Stockard Channing)is an insecure corporate climber and new CEO, made paranoid by the singular emphasis she has put on career advancement. Paula (Julia Stiles) is the brash young ingenue seeking direction, yet ever-so-willing to demonstrate her own manipulative power over others. Paula's power resides in her feminine wiles and disregard for convention while Julie's power resides in her position atop the corporate ladder achieved by virtue of a cutthroat mentality.
Julie and Paula treat each other like means to an end while treating others like mere playthings...
*Spoiler*...Paula is Julie's expendable underling and later her companion to celebrate the big promotion with; it is implied that Julie is the subject of ambitious writer Paula's next non-fiction work. Paula says she likes "the messiness of real life"; she manipulates Julie into providing a more salacious story. Julie and Paula do some wicked strange things, and in so doing treat corporate headhunter Nick Harris like a worthless object. TBOS leaves both of their motives vague. Presumably, Julie acts because she just gets carried away as Paula manipulates her. But what of Paula's motive? Is she acting for retribution or simply for the thrill of it? *Spoiler end*
TBOS doesn't let the audience in on the secretive business of these stranger's innermost desires (with the exception of Julie). Instead we are given a look behind closed doors in a business traveler's world of cancelled flights and one-night hotel stays. What goes on between strangers is disturbing enough to elicit our concern, but the audience never gets to find out what goes on inside the strangers' heads.
I liked TBOS for making me think, but it left me with an empty feeling to be given so little insight into the characters. Slightly above average.
Tell Your Friends