Dallas Buyers Club is not my kind of film. It's very hard to watch in some places, but what makes it so good are the performances. This has probably been said time and time again about this film and no doubt since two of the actors have won Oscars AND Golden Globes. McConaughey is almost unrecognizable, and a revelation as Woodroof. The hunky charismatic RomCom leading man is nowhere to be found here. Instead he is a hard drinking, smoking,womanizing slime-ball, who quite honestly deserves what he gets, AIDS. What the film does that I am not sure really happened is attempts to humanize Woodroof by giving him a companion in his drug buying business, a transvestite named Rayon, played by Jared Leto. Leto is also a revelation is this role. He plays Rayon with conviction and sensitivity, and at some points had me choked up. The relationship between Woodroof and Rayon becomes the main relationship of the film, and these two people really do come to care for each other. Jennifer Garner, as a sympathetic doctor who befriends Woodroof and Rayon is the other standout in this film, and personally i feel like she was snubbed for an Oscar nod. She has several standout scenes in the film, and holds her own with both Leto and McConaughey who are both playing at 100% at all times. Denis O'Hare and Michael O'Neill round out the cast as essentially villains of the piece, and each play their roles well too. O'Hare's character, a doctor, is only acting out of the fear and prejudice of the times, not knowing what AIDS is and what it can do. McConaughey's Woodroof is acting out of desperation, also for the same reasons, so obviously these two characters clash. O'Neill is an FDA agent who is determined to keep Woodroof down, but amazingly he perseveres. What this script does is take an unlikable man and humanizes him to make him likable and it succeeds. Somebody should have just given Garner an Oscar Nod!
Reviews
11 Reviews
Looking
(2014–2015)
Traditional soap opera conventions are strengthened by great writing, acting
12 September 2014
"Looking" is sort of this generation's "Boys in the Band", the 1968 play (and 1970 film) that centered on gay men living in New York. We follow three men living in San Francisco, each at different stages in their romantic lives. One, Agustin, is moving in with his long time boyfriend, leaving behind perpetually single, and possibly commitment phobic Patrick, while their friend Dom is weary of growing older and hooking up with younger men. As the season progresses, these story lines get more complicated, as Agustin's carelessness jeopardizes his relationship, Patrick finds himself in a love triangle, and Dom finds himself falling for his older business partner. The show really just employs traditional soap opera conventions to it story lines, but what strengthens it are the actors and the writing. Jonathan Groff is likable and believable as Patrick, as is Murray Bartlett as Dom, and Frankie J Alvaraz, who plays Agustin is good in his role, but his character is unlikeable (and maybe deliberately so). The supporting cast is fantastic too and the scripts are both witty and engaging, Russell Tovey is fantastic as Patrick's new boss. The show's story lines are fairly realistic, and the characters are three dimensional and develop as the season goes along. They are selfish, they seem like real people. This is one thing I really liked about Looking. I can't wait for more.
Friends with Better Lives
(2014)
Zoe Lister-Jones has this show in the palms of her hands
1 April 2014
With it's big ticket item, How I met Your Mother, done with, CBS is going to be scrambling to find its adequate replacement. Cue, "Friends With Better Lives", which aired alongside the aforementioned series finale. This is a show that had a strong pilot, but mostly because it rests on the strengths of one major actress in the ensemble cast. Zoe Lister-Jones (previously a supporting character on the mediocre NBC multi-cam "Whitney") keeps this show in the palm of her hand. Her characterization of Kate, who is a cynical, picky, and single workaholic is the best character on the show. She is so good in fact that the other plots lines, while amusing, seem to be boring in comparison. Majanadra Delfino (capable of scene stealing as evidenced in the short lived ABC Family sitcom "State of Georgia", but unfortunately not showcased as of yet) and Kevin Connolly are a 7 years married couple with a young child who are in a boring rut in their marriage, James Van Der Beek is freshly divorced, and Brooklyn Decker and Rick Donald are a blissfully newly engaged couple. Decker and Donald's storyline is the weakest and most silly, but both bring to it a sweetness that is endearing. Delfino and Connolly have a cute moment at the beginning of the pilot, and then their storyline goes down hill. The tone of the pilot was surprisingly crass. There were many sex jokes, but most made me crack a slight smile. Because of HIMYM ending, FWBL wants to be next the great ensemble comedy (or its network does at least), but here is where it fails. Lister Jones's performance is too strong for it to be anything but her show. The chemistry between the ensemble is flimsy at times. All sitcoms take time to find footing, and a bit of back story will do this show a lot of good.
Till the Clouds Roll By
(1946)
a pleasant film high on spectacle and light on story
16 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
"Till The Clouds Roll By" is a perfect example of the splashy, breezy, and light hearted musicals that MGM specialized in in the 1930's and '40's. It was one of a few of "biographical" films of composers that the Freed unit, which specialized in musicals, made. The film features an all-star specialty cast (including Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Judy Garland, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury and others), that appears in the films many musical numbers. These numbers are built around the music of composer Jerome Kern, and the composer's life, albeit highly fabricated, serves and the film's story. Robert Walker portrays Kern, who is determined to make it as a famous composer of the stage. Early in the film he meets up with an arranger named Jim Hessler (Van Heflin), and befriends Jim's young daughter Sally. These characters were created for the film and did not exist in real life. The story is pleasant but silly 1940's fluff, and while it was enough to keep my attention, the real draw here is the musical numbers. The movie pretty much stops dead in it's tracks whenever there is a song. One flaw is that many musical numbers seem shoehorned in. This is not really a musical where the musical numbers have much to do with the plot. The story focuses so much on the Hesslers, and especially daughter Sally, who is played in her older form by Lucille Bremer. Bremer is gorgeous and a terrific dancer, but her storyline is so silly and too much time is spent on her character. A highlight however is when Bremer and Van Johnson hoof it to "I Won't Dance", a song I didn't realize was written by Kern.
The film opens with a fifteen minute mini-musical of Showboat, including the songs "Make Believe" sung by Tony Martin and Kathryn Grayson (who would later play the same role in the 1951 film version of Showboat), "Can't help Lovin' Dat Man'', sung by the amazing Lena Horne, and "Old Man River". June Allyson is also a highlight in her songs "Leave It To Jane" and "Cleopatterer".
Judy Garland portrays real-life musical theater star Marilyn Miller, and performs a memorable number "Look For Silver Lining", while washing dishes. Her numbers were directed by Garland's then new husband Vincente Minnelli, and Garland completed her work in the film shortly after the death of the real life Jerome Kern. Garland also has a memorable scene with Lucille Bremer in which Marilyn and Sally face off when Sally wants a song that producers of a show wish to five to Marilyn. Bremer and Garland had earlier appeared together as sisters Rose and Esther Smith in Meet Me In St. Louis.
The movie ends on an outlandish point, with which Kern attends a movie studio filming one of his songs and Sally is there performing the song! They then go through many other Kern songs, with appearances by Kathryn Grayson, Virginia O'Brien, Tony Martin, Lena Horne, culminating in Frank Sinatra performing "Old Man River". This ending was added as a final tribute to Kern, who had passed away during production of the film.It's silly and hokey, but fun, and it's nice to see stars who appeared very early in the film back in.
If you want a pleasant film high on spectacle and light on story, Till The Clouds Roll By is recommended.
The film opens with a fifteen minute mini-musical of Showboat, including the songs "Make Believe" sung by Tony Martin and Kathryn Grayson (who would later play the same role in the 1951 film version of Showboat), "Can't help Lovin' Dat Man'', sung by the amazing Lena Horne, and "Old Man River". June Allyson is also a highlight in her songs "Leave It To Jane" and "Cleopatterer".
Judy Garland portrays real-life musical theater star Marilyn Miller, and performs a memorable number "Look For Silver Lining", while washing dishes. Her numbers were directed by Garland's then new husband Vincente Minnelli, and Garland completed her work in the film shortly after the death of the real life Jerome Kern. Garland also has a memorable scene with Lucille Bremer in which Marilyn and Sally face off when Sally wants a song that producers of a show wish to five to Marilyn. Bremer and Garland had earlier appeared together as sisters Rose and Esther Smith in Meet Me In St. Louis.
The movie ends on an outlandish point, with which Kern attends a movie studio filming one of his songs and Sally is there performing the song! They then go through many other Kern songs, with appearances by Kathryn Grayson, Virginia O'Brien, Tony Martin, Lena Horne, culminating in Frank Sinatra performing "Old Man River". This ending was added as a final tribute to Kern, who had passed away during production of the film.It's silly and hokey, but fun, and it's nice to see stars who appeared very early in the film back in.
If you want a pleasant film high on spectacle and light on story, Till The Clouds Roll By is recommended.
Lovestruck: The Musical
(2013 TV Movie)
at times overly cutesy and silly but still an engaging hour and a half
2 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Lovestruck: The Musical is the latest in the recent string of made-for- cable musicals and the first of it's kind for ABC Family. Itemploys the "Glee" idea here and covers popular songs as well as original ones, and features such songs as "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston "Like A Virgin" by Madonna, "Everlasting Love" by Robert Knight, and "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" by Usher. The storyline is rather silly. A selfish Broadway choreographer and producer travels to Italy to sabotage her daughter's wedding, and ends up drinking a potion that turns her young. Through a series of events, her ex-husband also turns young by drinking the potion and they have to right the wrongs that she did while trying to sabotage everything. The cast is what pulls this one off.
Jane Seymour plays the older Harper and Chelsea Kane plays the younger. Kane gets most of the screen time and is engaging and fun to watch. Her singing is mediocre, but her dancing is competent. Seymour may not have been the best casting choice (had I been doing the casting I'd have gone with Bebe Neuwirth). Her singing is dubbed and her dancing is the weakest in the film. Sara Paxton plays the daughter getting married and has an awful solo song that is heavy with auto-tuned production. Paxton, who has always been a favorite of mine, is a competent singer and does not need the auto-tune. Adrienne Bailon is also here as Paxton's horny best friend and maid of honor. Bailon adds her expert vocals to a few songs and also serves a purpose to the plot, unlike Mary J. Blige in "Rock of Ages" who served no purpose in that film. Drew Seeley and Tom Wopat play the ex husband in his younger and older forms. Wopat lays on the comedy thick, and Seeley has never been more charming. He gets to show off his great dancing and singing in the highlight number of the film "DJ Got Us Falling In Love", a duet with Kane. It's also nice to see Wopat's singing skills not wasted. The cast is rounded out by Alexander DiPersia, who is unmemorable, if flat as Paxton's reformed philanderer husband-to-be.
As a whole, Lovestruck is silly, and at times overly cutesy, but has several moments of amusing comedy and fun music. It seemed to get lost in it's musical numbers at times. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" seems to go on forever, as did "Like A Virgin". It also seemed to be emulating "Mamma Mia" too much, with it's foreign locale and daughter getting married plot. Some of the choreography was hokey in the ending sequence (i.e. the cast bending into each other making a heart with their arms from the bride and groom to walk under). Despite a lot of it's flaws, I still found it to be an engaging hour and a half.
Jane Seymour plays the older Harper and Chelsea Kane plays the younger. Kane gets most of the screen time and is engaging and fun to watch. Her singing is mediocre, but her dancing is competent. Seymour may not have been the best casting choice (had I been doing the casting I'd have gone with Bebe Neuwirth). Her singing is dubbed and her dancing is the weakest in the film. Sara Paxton plays the daughter getting married and has an awful solo song that is heavy with auto-tuned production. Paxton, who has always been a favorite of mine, is a competent singer and does not need the auto-tune. Adrienne Bailon is also here as Paxton's horny best friend and maid of honor. Bailon adds her expert vocals to a few songs and also serves a purpose to the plot, unlike Mary J. Blige in "Rock of Ages" who served no purpose in that film. Drew Seeley and Tom Wopat play the ex husband in his younger and older forms. Wopat lays on the comedy thick, and Seeley has never been more charming. He gets to show off his great dancing and singing in the highlight number of the film "DJ Got Us Falling In Love", a duet with Kane. It's also nice to see Wopat's singing skills not wasted. The cast is rounded out by Alexander DiPersia, who is unmemorable, if flat as Paxton's reformed philanderer husband-to-be.
As a whole, Lovestruck is silly, and at times overly cutesy, but has several moments of amusing comedy and fun music. It seemed to get lost in it's musical numbers at times. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" seems to go on forever, as did "Like A Virgin". It also seemed to be emulating "Mamma Mia" too much, with it's foreign locale and daughter getting married plot. Some of the choreography was hokey in the ending sequence (i.e. the cast bending into each other making a heart with their arms from the bride and groom to walk under). Despite a lot of it's flaws, I still found it to be an engaging hour and a half.
The Kissing Bandit
(1948)
The film would have been stronger had they paired Frank with someone whose singing style wasn't as vastly different.
11 April 2013
The Kissing Bandit was an attempt by MGM to build up Frank Sinatra as a leading man. This is a lively, bright, and goofy comedy musical. Sinatra plays Ricardo, a California born, Boston-bred young man who returns to California to take over the family business, not knowing that his father was the infamous Kissing Bandit. So named because he kissed all the women after he was done with his thievery. Ricardo is the last possible candidate to take up his father's mask. He is a proper and uncoordinated, and in his funny entrance he literally crashes through the inn that his father owned, having fallen off of his horse. J. Carroll Naish plays the comic relief on the male side as Chico, who was Ricardo's father's right hand man. Frank Sinatra is fine, but stiff at times in his role.
Sinatra's leading lady is operatic coloratura singer Kathryn Grayson, and this is a strange pairing. When they are doing songs by themselves, both actors shine, but their lone duet in the film (and thank goodness there is only one!) just doesn't work. Sinatra's smooth, jazz crooning is an odd, almost jarring pairing with Grayson's operatic arias. The film would have been stronger had they paired Frank with someone whose singing style wasn't as vastly different. The songs in the film are all good and memorable, including the Grayson solo "Tomorrow Means Romance", the Sinatra solo "Siesta", and my favorite song in the film "What's Wrong With Me?", which both Grayson and Sinatra sing. The songs were written by Nacio Herb Brown and Earl K. Brent. Brown had been paired frequently with Arthur Freed in the '20's and '30's and their songs were later used as the basis for possibly the best known movie musical of all time, Singin' in the Rain. "What's Wrong With Me", in fact, was used in the stage version of Singin'.
In addition to Naish, the film has a fine supporting cast of character actors, including Mildred Natwick as Grayson's man hungry aunt, and Clinton Sundberg as the bumbling Colonel Gomez, who keeps getting demoted. The plot line is thin and pure silliness, and Sinatra and Grayson have a flimsy chemistry, but it is held up by several strong musical performances and two cool dance sequences, one that includes Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, and Ann Miller. The comedy is not lacking though, and I had a smile on my face throughout. Overall, The Kissing Bandit, provides a fun time-filler for a late night or rainy day.
Sinatra's leading lady is operatic coloratura singer Kathryn Grayson, and this is a strange pairing. When they are doing songs by themselves, both actors shine, but their lone duet in the film (and thank goodness there is only one!) just doesn't work. Sinatra's smooth, jazz crooning is an odd, almost jarring pairing with Grayson's operatic arias. The film would have been stronger had they paired Frank with someone whose singing style wasn't as vastly different. The songs in the film are all good and memorable, including the Grayson solo "Tomorrow Means Romance", the Sinatra solo "Siesta", and my favorite song in the film "What's Wrong With Me?", which both Grayson and Sinatra sing. The songs were written by Nacio Herb Brown and Earl K. Brent. Brown had been paired frequently with Arthur Freed in the '20's and '30's and their songs were later used as the basis for possibly the best known movie musical of all time, Singin' in the Rain. "What's Wrong With Me", in fact, was used in the stage version of Singin'.
In addition to Naish, the film has a fine supporting cast of character actors, including Mildred Natwick as Grayson's man hungry aunt, and Clinton Sundberg as the bumbling Colonel Gomez, who keeps getting demoted. The plot line is thin and pure silliness, and Sinatra and Grayson have a flimsy chemistry, but it is held up by several strong musical performances and two cool dance sequences, one that includes Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, and Ann Miller. The comedy is not lacking though, and I had a smile on my face throughout. Overall, The Kissing Bandit, provides a fun time-filler for a late night or rainy day.
Lover Come Back
(1946)
often times silly, but not dull
28 January 2013
Lucille Ball stars as Kay Williams, a woman who discovers her beloved husband wasn't faithful while away as a war correspondent and reacts by planting clues that she hadn't been faithful either. This film is cute, and thinly plotted. It is a good showcase for Ball, who also is given a great wardrobe, designed by Travis Banton and Al Teitelbaum. George Brent plays her husband, Bill. It is nice to see him in a comedic role. Vera Zorina plays a woman who Bill had been romancing on the side, and while her acting is mediocre, her looks are stunning.
There are great supporting players, especially Raymond Walburn, Carl Esmond, and William Wright as eager suitors of Kay's, and Charles Winninger and Elisabeth Risdon as Bill's fuming father and tolerant mother. Louise Beavers is also a delight as Kay's jovial maid, Martha, and it is a typical role for a black actress of the time.
The script is often times silly, but the story is not dull, and the film does have some fun moments for Ball's comedic chops as well as Brent's. Throughout I was smiling and giggling, and I think that was the intent of the filmmakers.
There are great supporting players, especially Raymond Walburn, Carl Esmond, and William Wright as eager suitors of Kay's, and Charles Winninger and Elisabeth Risdon as Bill's fuming father and tolerant mother. Louise Beavers is also a delight as Kay's jovial maid, Martha, and it is a typical role for a black actress of the time.
The script is often times silly, but the story is not dull, and the film does have some fun moments for Ball's comedic chops as well as Brent's. Throughout I was smiling and giggling, and I think that was the intent of the filmmakers.
Snow White and the Huntsman
(2012)
An interesting take on the classic story, beautifully shot
19 December 2012
One of two re-tellings of the "Snow White" fairy tale to come out this year "Snow White and the Hunstman" is a dark, interesting take on the classic story. Instead of portraying Snow White as a damsel in distress, here she is held as a prisoner by the queen and escapes and then must fight back to take a hold of her kingdom. Snow White is played by Kristin Stewart, who is bearable and even, dare I say it, watchable. She isn't given much to say, and at times is still gaping like she does in the "Twilight" films, but for the most part, she is fine in the role. Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") is the huntsman, and is also good. There are dwarfs in this one too, of course, and they are light comic relief.
The real draw here is Charlize Theron as the wicked queen Ravenna. Theron has never looked more beautiful on screen and turns in a fantastic performance. She is the first star in the film, the other is the cinematography. This is a beautifully shot, very expensive looking film, but it's a great film to look at. The story is compelling, but the lead characters, save for Ravenna, are fairly underdeveloped. This is why this is mostly Theron's movie. It's nice to see a flawed antagonist, as well as an empowered female protagonist. All do their best with the material they are given, and for a directorial debut, Rupert Sanders is an impressive talent. The film is darker than expected, but all in all a very entertaining experience.
The real draw here is Charlize Theron as the wicked queen Ravenna. Theron has never looked more beautiful on screen and turns in a fantastic performance. She is the first star in the film, the other is the cinematography. This is a beautifully shot, very expensive looking film, but it's a great film to look at. The story is compelling, but the lead characters, save for Ravenna, are fairly underdeveloped. This is why this is mostly Theron's movie. It's nice to see a flawed antagonist, as well as an empowered female protagonist. All do their best with the material they are given, and for a directorial debut, Rupert Sanders is an impressive talent. The film is darker than expected, but all in all a very entertaining experience.
Battleship
(2012)
Ridiculous on every level, excruciatingly awful
27 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
On principle, a film based on a board game shouldn't be good anyway (it's flimsy source material), and "Battleship" is not a good movie at all. It has possibly some of the dumbest lines ever uttered on screen and while visually, it has some cool moments, overall it is a film that is ridiculous on every level. From the opening sequence when our under developed (and don't worry they all are underdeveloped) protagonist, played by Taylor Kitsch, crashes through the ceiling of a convenience store to retrieve a chicken burrito for a pretty blonde love interest he met in a bar, my expectation for the film dropped completely. I turned to my dad and said "This is bad".
The plot line is so thin and the lines are even thinner. The film seems to concentrate so much on the action and the story falls by the wayside, and while the action is good, it doesn't make up for a lousy story. As it goes on, It gets more and more ridiculous, and the funny thing is, it is a film that doesn't even seem to know it's being excruciatingly awful. It takes itself completely seriously. It is an expensive movie, but with all the money put into the action sequences, you think they'd have been able to afford a better script! The acting in the film is okay, but considering the script they all come off looking fairly stupid. The story elements all too quickly fall into cliché, including a scene where our chicken burrito girl gets stuck in a jeep as her paraplegic therapy charge, with artificial legs fights one of the aliens. At this point I turned to my dad and said "That's so hokey!".
And oh yeah, Rihanna is in this movie, and she gets the only clever moment in the film, where she, Kitsch, and another character are in a boat going towards the Alien mass in the water and Rihanna is humming "Sentimental Journey". That was the only real laugh in the 2 hr time spent watching the film, during which, in the middle half I went upstairs to use the bathroom and when I came back down, I didn't feel like I had missed anything! I told my dad to just let the film keeping playing, I wasn't going to be that beat up about missing anything. Thank goodness we got it as a free Redbox rental.
The plot line is so thin and the lines are even thinner. The film seems to concentrate so much on the action and the story falls by the wayside, and while the action is good, it doesn't make up for a lousy story. As it goes on, It gets more and more ridiculous, and the funny thing is, it is a film that doesn't even seem to know it's being excruciatingly awful. It takes itself completely seriously. It is an expensive movie, but with all the money put into the action sequences, you think they'd have been able to afford a better script! The acting in the film is okay, but considering the script they all come off looking fairly stupid. The story elements all too quickly fall into cliché, including a scene where our chicken burrito girl gets stuck in a jeep as her paraplegic therapy charge, with artificial legs fights one of the aliens. At this point I turned to my dad and said "That's so hokey!".
And oh yeah, Rihanna is in this movie, and she gets the only clever moment in the film, where she, Kitsch, and another character are in a boat going towards the Alien mass in the water and Rihanna is humming "Sentimental Journey". That was the only real laugh in the 2 hr time spent watching the film, during which, in the middle half I went upstairs to use the bathroom and when I came back down, I didn't feel like I had missed anything! I told my dad to just let the film keeping playing, I wasn't going to be that beat up about missing anything. Thank goodness we got it as a free Redbox rental.
Dinner at Eight
(1933)
With a good script, cast, and the right director, a film with many story lines can be done well.
24 October 2012
Critics rolled their eyes when in 2010, the film "Valentine's Day" (and it's 2011 companion film "New Years Eve") was released, with it's star- studded cast, and measly plot lines. This film, while it had it's endearing moments, didn't work, mostly due to it's poor script, but also because it had too much going on. "Dinner At Eight" is a very early example of the same principal that "Valentine's Day" employs, and is a film that does it right. An answer to the film "Grand Hotel" from a few years earlier with similar elements, "Dinner At Eight" features an all- star cast for 1933, which includes, but is not limited to Marie Dressler (in a very memorable and perhaps show stopping role), Billie Burke (the future Glinda the Good Witch), John Barrymore (who will break your heart), Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Wallace Beery, and Jean Harlow, who is divine in the role of the spoiled, self centered wife of Beery. The plot concerns Burke as a society lady who is planning a dinner for a wealthy British couple coming into town and the people she invites.
The first half of "Dinner at Eight" almost plays like a series of vignettes as it expertly jumps between different story lines, telling us exactly what we need to know about these characters. Being a pre-code, depression era film, it also deals with depression era problems, and has a message about hope shoehorned in, which is of course what audiences probably needed to hear in 1933. The performances are all spectacular, but Harlow, Dressler, and John Barrymore, not to leave out the others, are standouts as well as smaller roles played by Louise Closser Hale (who died shortly after filming was completed) as society lady Hattie Loomis and Hilda Vaughn as Harlow's put upon maid, Tina. No moment in the film is dull, nor does it lag. There is a purpose to every scene and character. the story expertly moves along at a rapid pace.
"Dinner at Eight" is truly a wonderful picture from start to finish, and helmed by the great George Cukor is areal treat to watch. It just goes to show you that with a good script, cast, and the right director (not to put down Garry Marshall), a film with many story lines can be done well.
The first half of "Dinner at Eight" almost plays like a series of vignettes as it expertly jumps between different story lines, telling us exactly what we need to know about these characters. Being a pre-code, depression era film, it also deals with depression era problems, and has a message about hope shoehorned in, which is of course what audiences probably needed to hear in 1933. The performances are all spectacular, but Harlow, Dressler, and John Barrymore, not to leave out the others, are standouts as well as smaller roles played by Louise Closser Hale (who died shortly after filming was completed) as society lady Hattie Loomis and Hilda Vaughn as Harlow's put upon maid, Tina. No moment in the film is dull, nor does it lag. There is a purpose to every scene and character. the story expertly moves along at a rapid pace.
"Dinner at Eight" is truly a wonderful picture from start to finish, and helmed by the great George Cukor is areal treat to watch. It just goes to show you that with a good script, cast, and the right director (not to put down Garry Marshall), a film with many story lines can be done well.
These Three
(1936)
Gripping and well acted drama about the effects lying can have
16 October 2012
"These Three" is taken from the play "The Children's Hour" and follows two friends, Martha (Miriam Hopkins) and Karen (Merle Oberon), who graduate from college and go to and old farm Karen's family owns and fix it up, with intentions of making it a school for young ladies. They meet, Joe Carden (Joel McCrea), a handsome doctor, and he falls in love with Karen, but Martha also falls for him, but it is unrequited. Joe and Karen eventually get engaged. The women open up their school, and with the help of Martha's gossipy Aunt Lily (Catherine Doucet), it become a success. There is however a ghastly little girl at the school named Mary Tilford, played eerily by Bonita Granville, who proves to be a problem when she formulates a lie about Martha and Joe, and it spirals out of control.
The play the film was based on featured a rumor about lesbianism, but in 1936, with the Hays Code in full affect, that could not be done, so the play's author wrote this script instead. The changing of the rumor does not effect the message of the story, but the film would not have been what it was, had it not been for it's stellar cast. Alma Kruger is a strong presence as Mary Tilford's grandmother, and you really feel for her character by the end. Walter Brennan and Margaret Hamilton round out the cast in small roles, Brennan as a comic relief cab driver, and Hamilton as the maid at the Tilford home.
Hopkins, Oberon, and McCrea all turn in wonderful performances, but it is Granville and young Marcia Mae Jones as the other main young girl, Rosalie, who truly hold their own with the pros. Granville, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, was only 13, and Jones only 12 when production transpired on "These Three" and their performances are very impressive.
The film does a fairly good job of not being melodramatic. There are some schmaltzy lines here and there, but for the most part it it a gripping and well acted drama.
The play the film was based on featured a rumor about lesbianism, but in 1936, with the Hays Code in full affect, that could not be done, so the play's author wrote this script instead. The changing of the rumor does not effect the message of the story, but the film would not have been what it was, had it not been for it's stellar cast. Alma Kruger is a strong presence as Mary Tilford's grandmother, and you really feel for her character by the end. Walter Brennan and Margaret Hamilton round out the cast in small roles, Brennan as a comic relief cab driver, and Hamilton as the maid at the Tilford home.
Hopkins, Oberon, and McCrea all turn in wonderful performances, but it is Granville and young Marcia Mae Jones as the other main young girl, Rosalie, who truly hold their own with the pros. Granville, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, was only 13, and Jones only 12 when production transpired on "These Three" and their performances are very impressive.
The film does a fairly good job of not being melodramatic. There are some schmaltzy lines here and there, but for the most part it it a gripping and well acted drama.
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