Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

"Almost Famous" (2000)
A teen with dreams of becoming a rock n' roll journalist manages to B.S. his way into a writing gig for *Rolling Stone*, going on the road with an up-and-coming band called Stillwater.  Along the way, he learns not only about the music biz, but also about life, love, and groupies.
Cameron "Jerry Maguire" Crowe's period drama, set in the early 70s and based on his own experiences as a teen rock writer, is one of the best, most authentic rock n' roll movies ever made.

[lester1/2jr]

^ I have always wanted to see that. I see that it's on Plutotv, so I will finally check it out hopefully.

Prom Night 2 (1987) - Wow. This is one of the craziest movies I've ever seen. It's not very scary, but they make up for it with campy weirdness and a very cute blonde lead actress. It has a sky high 91% google rating and it's easy to see why. I actually almost turned it off half an hour in because the director didn't seem to come from a horror background and the supernatural aspect was so vast that it just seemed silly. It is, but you have to just go with it.

A "Carrie" style horrible incident happens at a prom in the 50's and the spirit of the woman who died causes havoc at the same school in the 80's. You know the girl is possessed because she always used the massively clever parting words "See you later, alligator". She will be walking stark naked through the girls locker room sexually harassing her best friend or mounting the school principal in his office, then she'll go "See you later, alligator". Who came up with this whole concept?

4.5 /5 I took half a point off for the scene where she makes out with her Dad. I know she is the spirit of some other person, but, I mean, we live in a society here.

[M.10rda]

UNDER EIGHTEEN (1932):
Perhaps the most self-consciously sleazy title I'll type all year adorns an absurdly tame pre-code romantic melodrama in which I'm reasonably sure all of the cast members are above the national legal age of consent. It's possible that one of the two sisters who get married at the beginning of the film are 17 at the time of their betrothal but then time passes and then they're adults who have been married for a while, thus - so much for that angle. I will confess my prurient interest in this film only to the extent that I'm always intrigued to find one of those legendary pre-code films that are shockingly naughty....... but I've yet to see one that truly earns such a reputation. (THE UNASHAMED and CHILD BRIDE are somewhat shocking in different ways, but both of those are from 1938, post Hays Code, and presumably not even submitted for approval/only screened to adults on tour for "educational purposes" or something).

Anyway, the opening wedding has some nice shots and some fun acting from cast members who may have actually gotten crocked on champagne. There's also a nice moment where the father of the bride sees his wife weeping at the altar during the ceremony and kind of sneers contemptuously at her emotional transparency....... then he looks at their daughter and he gradually starts choking up, too....... and then, to contrast this oddly affecting moment - the director shock-cuts to the father's grave.    Yup, a few years later he's dead and the rest of the movie is about the relationship travails of his two daughters, one of whom is married to an obnoxious wastrel and one of whom is partnered with a hard-working nice guy who delivers milk for a living. They seem in love but a milkman's salary just doesn't seem to satisfy her (even during the Depression) and so she tries to catch the eye of a rich guy. Catastrophe ensues!

There were some things about UNDER EIGHTEEN that were nicely handled. The characters talk about Black Monday 1929 as if it is still a huge influence upon their lives (which of course it would be), though the film isn't about the stock market or even about business or poverty, just people thinking about finances and making ends meet. (Often I feel like contemporary films are too afraid to reference epochal events of the 21st century unless the film is about those events.) The milkman also has an eloquent and somewhat insightful line to the (paraphrased) effect that "Rich people have all the same problems as poor people" and he only knows that because he gets to go around the back and visit their backdoors instead of only seeing their homes from the front. Of course he's right in some ways and also I'd totally disagree w/ him in other ways  but the screenplay is at least aware of artifice, appearances versus reality, class awareness, etc. All the romantic stuff did nothing for me, though.

3/5    The leads were competent, no one I'd heard of. Edward Van Sloan apparently has an uncredited bit part as one of the rich guy's attaches (I didn't spot him - he's one of like five dudes) - rather sad as he co-starred w/ Bela as Van Helsing only a year earlier!

[M.10rda]

THE FOUNDER (2016):
This is an odd little film that seems to have attracted controversy out of all proportion to its subject and mild/midbrow treatment. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc, the man who made McDonalds what it is today, for better or worse. A perpetually underachieving traveling salesman, Kroc stumbles upon a popular, efficiently run roadside diner, operated by two brothers played by Nick Offerman (looking bizarre w/ no moustache) and John Carroll Lynch (looking no more or less bizarre than usual). Kroc will initially convince the brothers to partner with him in a national franchise but inevitably the international phenomenon that bares their name will ironically be associated not with the brothers but with Kroc and some clown named Ronald.

The first 30+ minutes are impersonal and expository, as if THE FOUNDER isn't a feature film but a corporate promotional video about the company's history. Its director is John Lee Hancock, who directed one of this century's most mediocre/least deserving Best Picture nominees, THE BLIND SIDE. The screenplay though is written by the guy who wrote THE WRESTLER and BIG FAN, and eventually it reveals some smart and darker notes, though unfortunately never as dark as either of those films. Ray Kroc is ultimately treated like a tragic Shakespearean figure, trading morality and ethics for filthy lucre. Hence, I guess, a surprising amount of online debate about a film that was otherwise generally ignored by the public: some viewers think THE FOUNDER humanizes Kroc too much, whereas others apparently really love McDonalds burgers and are angry at the film for tarnishing Kroc's legacy.  I have no dog in this fight, but also have no problem whatsoever believing that a businessman might blithely degrade the integrity of a product or betray its creators. (Also, it's just burgers and fries we're talking about.)

To the film's credit, Keaton brings his entire toolbox of garrulous sports coach in/sincerity to the role... the (post-Miramax) Weinsteins put a lot of Oscar-ad money behind promoting THE FOUNDER. Offerman and Lynch similarly give disproportionately serious performances, perhaps hoping to ride Keaton's attention to a possible BSA nomination. Laura Dern is good as usual (though entirely too tall for Keaton) as Kroc's long-suffering first wife, and Linda Cardellini is Wife #2, Joan B.

3/5       ........And whatever else can be said for or against Ray, Joan Kroc has put his money to good use for many years in service and defense of national public media.

Best/most damning line of dialogue: "It's better to have one great restaurant than fifty mediocre ones". Ouch!