Reviews

This documentary focuses on the annual "World's Ugliest Dog" contest held in Petaluma, California. Like a lot of offbeat competitions, it started out as a quirky bit of fun for owners of strange-looking, so-ugly-they're-cute canines. But the subject matter, while funny on the surface, ultimately turns disturbing.

For one thing, as in many contests, there are always a few competitors who take the whole thing way too seriously. In this case, one dog owner in particular comes across as an obnoxious self-promoter who attempts to monopolize all the attention at every contest. His aggressive campaigning tactics start off as funny, then become tiresome. He eventually comes off as one of those pushy stage parents in children's beauty pageants.

More disturbing, though, is the exploitation of some of these dogs. Granted, some breeds of dogs, such as Chinese Cresteds, are simply more bizarre-looking than the average pooch. But many of the entrants have disabilities that contribute to their "ugliness"--missing eyes, blindness, visible tumors and warts, goiters, missing teeth, spinal and limb deformities, etc. It raises the question of whether some of these dogs are the victims of medical neglect by greedy owners who are more interested in allowing their dogs to remain "ugly" rather than seek medical attention for their illnesses and deformities.

What starts out as a lighthearted look at strange, funny-looking creatures turns sour. Maybe a closer look at some of these overzealous dog owners is warranted.

Imagine a remake of The Diary of Anne Frank in which all of the dramatization of Anne's hopes and dreams, her relationship with her family, and her views on life are skimmed over, and the bulk of the film concentrates on her miserable last days at Bergen-Belsen. That's pretty much what this film is like. Based on Laura Hillenbrand's moving biography of the former Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, who spent over a month lost at sea after his plane crashed into the sea during a failed rescue mission during WWII, only to be "rescued" by enemy Japanese soldiers and thrown into a POW camp, where he suffered horrific brutality at the hands of a sadistic officer, this would seem to be a story that would be nearly fool-proof in its potential to honor Mr. Zamperini's courage and spirit, as well as bring audiences to tears. Yet it fails to do so. While the movie documents the desperation of the survivors lost at sea, and the physical torture inflicted upon Japanese POWs during WWII, it loses sight of what made Mr. Zamperini's life story truly remarkable. Those who were fortunate enough to read Ms. Hillenbrand's book are more likely to be irritated by this film in that it stops immediately after Zamperini's return to the U.S. It's his postwar life, including years of post- traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, which threatened his marriage, his sanity, and his soul, which is fully half the story in the book. His turning to religion and his triumph over alcoholism enable him to save himself, and his decision to forgive his captors, to the point of seeking out the guards who brutalized him and personally express his forgiveness, are a major part of the book and of Zamperini's redemption and triumph over his tragic experiences. Jolie glosses over all of that in this adaptation, relegating it all to a slide show of on-screen text at the end of the film, as if his postwar struggles were little more than an afterthought. Instead, the film concentrates largely on the beatings delivered to Mr. Zamperini in the camp--over and over again, we see scenes of him him being punched and struck with sticks until he's beaten bloody and stunned. But this isn't what made Zamperini's story so remarkable--it's how he was able, after years of anger and bitterness and nightmares, to rise above it and repair his spirit. Too bad Jolie treated this aspect of this great man's life so negligibly.

In a too-short documentary on Louis Zamperini's life that's included on the DVD, some of the details of his later years are filled in--his trip to Japan to meet with and forgive his captors; his meeting with Billy Graham which helped turn his life around; the camp for boys that he helped establish; his enjoyment of skateboarding and skiing which continued into his 80s and 90s; his joy for living in his later years. This bonus feature seems to capture the real Louis Zamperini, as documented in the book, much better than the movie ever does. Jolie mentions that she showed a rough cut of her film to Zamperini as he lay in a hospital bed in his final days. It makes me shudder to think of him watching a blow-by-blow reenactment of his suffering in a POW camp as he lay dying, but nothing depicting his spiritual triumph over adversity. Both Jolie and the movie were "snubbed" for Oscar nominations; it's easy to see why. Mr. Zamperini was a great American hero, not for what he suffered, but for how he survived and ultimately thrived, and he deserved a much better tribute than this.

A year prior to this, another film, The Railway Man, depicted a similar true-life story which was more successful in dramatizing the postwar trauma and eventual redemption of a former POW. That film was more successful in doing justice to its hero. Seek out that film instead. Otherwise, for the real story of Louis Zamperini, read the wonderful book by Laura Hillenbrand.

If you're a fan of the film "Mr. Saturday Night", Mr. Crystal's self-indulgent portrayal of a mediocre TV comedian, then you might love this. Otherwise, if you want amusing reminiscences of childhood, find a monologist who can do this kind of thing well (Jean Shepherd, Bill Cosby) without resorting to profanities, vulgarity, or overly maudlin histrionics. Crystal has some amusing, touching moments in this nostalgic look back at his childhood, but these moments are too often padded out with tacky jokes about flatulence, foul-mouthed relatives, and many, many references to his private parts. Maybe these remarks are intended to be shocking, but a man in his sixties bragging about his once-glorious equipment sounds pathetic, like the male version of "Sunset Boulevard"'s Norma Desmond's obsession with her faded beauty. All too often, these attempts at humor not only become tiresome, but overshadow the more poignant moments of the show, which deal with Crystal's late father. Those moments, while sad, are somewhat undone by Crystal's explosive emoting; he really needed better direction during the more dramatic passages.

Besides the excessive, tiresome vulgarity, there's the tendency Crystal has to mug shamelessly several times during the show; the habit he has of striking a pose and grinning coyly at the camera, as if to ask the audience, "I'm so cute, ain't I?" is just obnoxious. Again, maybe some better direction and reining in of Crystal's ego could have made this a better show.

While a lot of unjustly forgotten films have been recently released on Warner Archives DVD, this one might have been forgotten for a reason. It's not exactly a terrible film, it just doesn't seem to work. The film's premise, about a woman who sublets an apartment from a Marine during a housing shortage, only to find that he's also issued a standing invitation for the use of the apartment to several of his male friends, has the potential for a wacky screwball comedy. Certainly Jean Arthur was able to turn a similar story line into classic comedy in "The More the Merrier". As this movie was the product of the low-budget Monogram Studios, someone of Arthur's caliber wasn't available, but the role might have been a good showcase for a reliable comedienne such as Lucille Ball or Betty Hutton. Instead, the role went to Simone Simon, who can't really milk the role for all its comic potential. It's hard enough sometimes just to understand her would-be wisecracks through her thick French accent.

The lead roles are played by James Ellison and William Terry, a pleasant-looking actor who deserved better roles than he generally got over the course of his career. The actors try their best to squeeze some laughs out of the material, but much of the comedy seems uninspired. The running gag of having a gremlin (a tiny little troll) appear throughout the story to sabotage everyone's plans may have seemed like a cute idea at the time, but it's just bizarre and unfunny.

Classic film buffs may appreciate seeing this mainly for the chance to catch some familiar faces, such as character actors Chester Clute and Minna Gombell as a pair of bickering landlords, and child actor Billy Laughlin in his only movie role (he was otherwise known as "Froggy" in the later Our Gang episodes). There's a brief, sad cameo by Rondo Hatton, an actor who capitalized on his severe facial deformities by appearing in B horror movies during the '40s. The gremlin is played by Jerry Maren, best known as one of the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz", although he's unrecognizable in the gremlin costume. The gremlin's voice is unmistakably that of Mel Blanc. And the film features an early appearance by Robert Mitchum, whose charisma shines through in a small role here. His character is described by one of the others as someone who "looks like a movie star," which in Mitchum's case is prophetic, as he would become a star just a few years after this movie was made.

Despite its mediocrity, this film has a truly surprising twist at the end. So, with a 78-minute running time, it just might be worth slogging your way through it to get to the finish. Just don't expect too much along the way.

What's worse than listening to obnoxious radio hosts screeching witlessly into their mikes? Watching them on TV while they do it. This half-hour waste of viewing time is a selection of clips from wannabe wacky "Morning Zoo"-type radio jocks around the country. Now you can actually see them as they yuck it up, making lame jokes about current events, celebrities in the news, etc. Their weak attempts at humor are even worse when you can actually see them grinning and giggling at their own jokes. This is the kind of stuff that is normally inflicted on listeners during morning drive time hours, where it can be easily tuned out. Why anyone would actually sit down in front of a TV and watch this is unfathomable.

This show accomplishes one thing: it proves the old saying about some people having "a face for radio." Not to mention any names, but...let's just say the local radio team isn't doing themselves any favors by appearing here.

Hopefully, this will be canceled very soon, and the local stations that air this can go back to their sitcom reruns. Or infomercials. Or a blank screen; anything would be preferable to this.

If you ever find yourself wishing for an old-fashioned TV sitcom, the kind they used to make back in the day, remember: Be careful what you wish for--you may get something like "Mike and Molly," a new sitcom that is reminiscent of one of those old summer replacement shows of the '70s, or one of the countless shows that the Fox network presented in its fledgling days, only to be canceled weeks later. The show revolves around (no pun intended) two morbidly obese singles, played by Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy, and their budding romance. The show has been touted as some kind of noble attempt to give equal time to the lives and loves of imperfect people, in this case overweight people. Well, that's great. And how does the show do this? With fat jokes. This reminded me of those Norman Lear sitcoms which supposedly poked fun at stereotypes by reinforcing them with stale, offensive jokes.

This isn't really anything new on TV. "Roseanne" featured Roseanne and John Goodman as a typical working-class couple who happened to be overweight. And one of the biggest stars (literally and figuratively) of '50s TV was the legendary Jackie Gleason. But "Roseanne" focused on other issues besides weight. And Gleason's Ralph Kramden (although rather svelte by today's standards) may have suffered through countless cheap shots about his weight, but he was a sweet, engaging character who wouldn't resort to such dialogue as "My farts weigh three-and- a-half pounds." He may have been heavy, but he was never a slob, which such a crude remark, delivered by Gardell's character, only serves to perpetuate the stereotype of obese people as gross and unpleasant.

Even more contrived than the title characters are the supporting roles: Swoosie Kurtz as Molly's ditzy mother (every bad sitcom needs a ditz--bring on the stupid jokes!) and Katy Mixon as Molly's apparently perpetually stoned sister (every bad sitcom also needs a pothead--dig up all the old drug jokes!) Add in Reno Wilson as Mike's wisecracking sidekick, some cheap pathos about sad, hopelessly lonely fat people, an obtrusive laugh track, and voila! You've got yourself an old-fashioned TV sitcom, destined to be forgotten by January, by which time it should have been long since removed from the TV schedule. I hope.

It earns two stars for following "Two and a Half Men"; some of the fans of that show's lame humor may like this one.

This film took me totally by surprise, especially since it got very little notice when it was released in theatres. It deserves a place next to such classic "coming-of-age" movies as MY LIFE AS A DOG and HOPE AND GLORY. It tells the story of two lonely boys, Will (Bill Milner) and Lee Carter (Will Poulter). Will's family are part of a strict religious sect which prohibits such forms of entertainment as TV, movies and music. Will makes up for this by creating stories of his own in the form of elaborate drawings he records in his notebook. When he meets up with the school bully, Lee Carter (Will Poulter), a creepy little thug (even his eyebrows are scary) with a penchant for stealing, the cleverness of the drawings inspires Lee to make an action film using the camera he pilfered from his brother. The result is the epic "Son of Rambow," featuring every cliché from every overblown Hollywood action movie of the '80s (and then some--none of the RAMBO films ever included a flying dog!) Their project gets more complicated when the boys' classmates decide to enlist the help of a flamboyant, charismatic French exchange student in the making of the film to add "star power." Things get even more out of hand when Will's religious community discover his activities and try to prevent him from continuing.

This is a film for anyone who loves childhood reminiscence movies, and also for anyone who just loves movies. The film manages to tell a sweet story about children and the friendship between two boys without ever becoming syrupy or cloying. At the same time, it pokes affectionate fun at movies, film-making, and movie clichés without a trace of meanness. It's fun to see how well-versed the boys are in the standard plots, language, and clichés of action films. And, on the subject of hackneyed movie plots,

a staple of many TV-movie bios is the scene in which the successful celebrity becomes carried away by the glamorous world of show-biz glitz and partying, and shuns his more down-to-earth pal, but later learns the error of his ways. That plot twist is included here, but it's done in a fresh, funny, yet still poignant way.

What this film lacks is the cheap, vulgar shock humor of most of the supposed "adult" comedies popular in recent years. Yet it manages to be funnier than most of today's comedies, and adults will enjoy it. Older kids will, too, and they may even be inspired to make their own films as a result of seeing it. Don't miss it!

Don't be misled by the title, which suggests a plot reminiscent of some awful reality show such as "Bridezillas" or "My Super Sweet Sixteen," in which a pretentious family with more money than taste turns a family celebration into a vulgar carnival. The original title of this film was "Lucky 13;" whoever decided to change it did the movie a disservice. It's really a sweet little story about a boy who tries to reconcile his embittered father with his paternal grandfather, who disappeared from his family's life for many years and has only recently reappeared. This all takes place during the boy's impending bar mitzvah, the preparations for which are mildly amusing. Garry Marshall's especially entertaining, and touching, as the grandfather. Nothing's really new here, and while the material may not have been enough to sustain a theatrical film, it's a nice little time-waster if it shows up on TV. If you enjoyed "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," you're likely to find this to your liking as well.