film reviews
Presently I am adapting Oscar Wilde’s, Dorian Gray, and will immediately follow that up with a spec script for Bad Robot Films. In the meantime, I am an avid film lover (as it should be) and so below you will find my reviews of films I have an opinion of. Some good, some bad, but mostly the films that provoke feeling.
love and other drugs - 2010
Let’s start with: This film should be called “Love, Heartache, and Viagra”. In a perfect world, Drug Companies like Pfizer have no heart and are taken down. However, in our world, they not only run everything, they also spend more time and research maintaining a man’s hard-on than they do treating horrific illnesses like Parkinson’s. In this film, not only is Pfizer’s ruthlessness polarized by the sheer audacity they, and other Pharmaceutical moguls, have, it explores the grit and beauty - and heartache - of love.
Anne Hathaway plays Maggie, a character that both breaks your heart, empowers you, and makes you laugh. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Jamie, a clever, gorgeous, womanizing, slick-talking Drug Rep for Pfizer. Together these two make you uncomfortable, turn you on, make you laugh, melt your heart, give you courage, and dare I say, make falling in love - and STAYING in love - something pretty damn awful and amazing.
As a writer I tend to be hard on story, meaning I can’t understand why writers treat the audience like complete morons. This film makes me proud. The writing is quite honestly brutal and beautiful and the sheer rawness of the directing and cinematography make it all so - well, real. With unexpected, yet uncompromising performances by Hank Azaria (Dr. Stan) and Oliver Platt (Bruce), there is no “wrong” in this tale. That’s not to say you won’t be a little bored about 30 minutes through but they throw in a near NC-rated sex scene and some gut-wrenching scene about illness and the human frailty and you’re lured right back in.
All in all, I say this film is worth your time. But don’t do what I did - I went alone. After a breakup. Makes for a slightly pessimistic entrance with an overly emotional, hopeful exit.
love, actually - 2003
Airports. We have all been to them. We’ve all said goodbye to someone or hello or hugged or kissed someone after too long of an absence. And that - that is where the story begins. When I first watched this, I was expecting it to be bad because someone I know hated it. Boy am I glad I watched in anyway! This is officially my “tradition movie” during the holidays. When I need to be brought back to life, there is something in this movie that fills my soul. Written by Writer/Director Richard Curtis, this film is oozing with talent from Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Bill Knighy, Rowan Atkinson, Collin Firth, and this wonderfully exquisite actress I adore, Martine McCutcheon. This film tackles everything from love, indiscretion, death, family, porn (yes, really), unrequited love, the Prime Minister, and aging rock stars. Each story intertwines with the next and all I can say is, it is done seamlessly. A filmmaker who can make two stand-in porn actors/extras and their awkward “liking” of one another sweet instead of crude is part of the beauty of this entire movie. If you haven’t seen it, please go. You will laugh (a lot), cry, feel moved, feel that pang in your heart, sing out loud, and believe in that little thing called love again. So all of you NetFlix’ers go ahead, add it to your cue.
beautiful girls - 1996
“You let her see behind the curtain, didn’t you. Man! You NEVER let them see the little man behind the curtain!” One of the best lines in any film. Between the tawdry and creepy relationship brimming at the surface between 14 year-old Natalie Portman and way-too-old Timothy Hutton, the fragility of Mira Sorvino as bulimic, love-starved girlfriend of Matt Dillon, the truth-telling-kick-ass-saucy character played by Rosie O’Donnell, and the stellar performances from Noah Emmerich, Annabeth Gish, Max Perlich, Martha Plimpton, Lauren Holly, Uma Thurman, Michael Rappaport (one my favorites), and David Arquette - this is probably the most raw, honest films at the top of my list.
I’m a big fan of Ted Demme which is why I wept when I heard he had passed. There aren’t enough writers and directors in Hollywood with the balls to tell the truth about us all and Ted, well, Ted was a pioneer of honesty and calling bullshit when he saw it. There are three unforgettable and life-altering scenes in this film. The first: all of the male characters let go to serenade Uma with Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. The second: when Timothy Hutton and Uma Thurman are in the ice fishing house and he asks her what’s the one thing she loves most about her man. She looks at him and smiles, “I know it’s simple, but all I need to hear are four little words: good night sweet girl”. And the third: Michael Rappaport’s reasoning for being obsessed with super models. This film is brutally told and so heartfelt, it will forever be one of the very best of all time. I saw this film primarily because of Natalie Portman. At the time, I had just seen Léon (my ALL TIME favorite film) and was so blown away by her performance, I was willing to see anything she did. When I sat down to watch Beautiful Girls, I had no idea how utterly mind-blowing it would be. This is fantastic writing, beautiful directing, and flawless, gritty, nothing-held-back acting. I would run to your computer now and add it to your Netflix cue. Seriously - GO!
