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Reviews
Homicide: The Movie (2000)
Unnecessary
I may be in the minority here, but I felt that the series finale was the perfect end to the Homicide saga. Tonally, it was right on the money, and it was pretty obvious that Bayliss killed the Internet Killer if you read between the lines. Bayliss's discussion with Munch about Gordon Pratt--which was pretty much asking Munch if he was able to live with killing a suspect--was followed by the scene where he apologizes to Danvers, seemingly at peace. This was artful, and requires multiple viewings to unlock, but in retrospect it's as clear as day.
Evidently people didn't get it, though, so the TV movie was made to spell it out literally. The moment where Tim confesses is a compelling one, largely because of Pembleton's presence, but those of us who figured it out earlier didn't feel the full power. The rest of the movie plays like a mediocre Homicide episode--Gee's transition into politics was sudden from a guy who, in the last episode, was complaining about ascending too high in the department and being too far from the streets. I guess he solved this problem by moving even further up the food chain (and nobody seems to remember that he was a Captain). To some extent the move to legalize drugs makes sense as most homicides in B-more were/are drug related, but this connection isn't made in the movie. And the movie functions mostly as an exercise in nostalgia as everyone ever associated with the show makes a return, and most are given little or nothing to do aside from being present. Die-hards may get a kick out of seeing Munch and Bolander together again, or seeing Brodie stop by, but that is most of the movie.
It looks like the movie has gone out of print, and honestly it's not essential viewing. If you felt like the final episode was a letdown, just watch it again, and I promise you you'll appreciate it more. The Homicide movie eventually winds up feeling more generic and less authentic than the show, and far too sentimental to truly count as part of the Homicide canon. It's sort of like The Clash's Cut The Crap--a swan song that doesn't live up to the greatness of the rest of the canon, and that is more or less forgotten.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
Thanks, Larry!
During an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm's second season, Jeff, Larry David's manager, says of Larry, "He's a victim of circumstance." That quote pretty much encapsulates the entire show. The show (entering its fifth season) is an extemporized comedy revolving around the social misfires and malfunctions of its creator. Much like Seinfeld, the daily minutiae of life are dutifully examined, usually with one of a couple of Larry's close friends, and seemingly unrelated events often become connected to create a (usually embarrassing) denouement for Larry. Unlike Seinfeld, there are no network restrictions because it's on HBO, so there are story lines involving pubic hair, unfortunate typographical errors that happen to spell out derogatory words, and, of course, a few f-bombs here and there. Thankfully, this show doesn't feel the need to continually exploit its HBO status like some others (Deadwood), and plays its cards close to its vest. Although the easing of restrictions in media usually leads to awful tripe (need I even defend this?), this show is a wonderful exception, skewering good taste and squeamishness when necessary, but never gratuitously. Larry continually proves himself to be an interesting presence on the show: we wonder how his seemingly insignificant actions are going to backfire on him, but he bears it all with (mostly) equanimity, probably because he's been through it so many times before. His wife Cheryl, has got to be the most tolerant spouse in the history of the world. If your husband broke up your sister's wedding and in the process re-ignited the millenia-old Jew/Christian conflict, I would be interested to know if you would be as forgiving. Jeff Garlin as Larry's manager and Richard Lewis as a variation on himself complete the package that has led to some of the best American comedy in years. In short,terrific show.
Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
Pretty Preachy
I can't imagine anyone would ever, in a million years, want to watch this movie. Not because it was one of the worst ever made (it wasn't), but largely because it's about 20 years old and oh-so-out of the mainstream. I was trying to find out where I saw an actor before and this popped up. So, yeah, a kid stops playing little league because he doesn't like nukes, this prompts major media attention and a quick resolution to the cold war. The end. A fantasy, to be sure, but one so cockeyed it would make John Lennon blush. Since terrorism has replaced communism as the -ism that scares the hell out of us, this movie really has no relevance, except as an (innaccurate) look back at those times. The writing, acting, and film craft are similarly undeveloped. The reason I rated it as highly as I did was because I watched this movie around 50 times while I was 5-6 years old and still have a little place in my heart for it, but I now realize that it doesn't quite cut mustard. So, if the law of large numbers holds true and someone eventually does decide to check out this movie, realize that there are much better ways to spend your time, but also much worse ones. (I will refrain from a John Q. tirade for now.)