Friends and Faux
Movie review by Robert Newton

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION; Starring Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest; Written by Eugene Levy and Christopher Guest; Directed by Christopher Guest; 86 minutes; Rated PG-13 [for sexual references and brief language]

With an evergreen string of cult hits like Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind under his belt, writer/director Christopher Guest and his talented troupe of regulars are becoming warm and friendly faces to many. His latest, the mostly-good, mostly-funny movie industry send-up For Your Consideration, continues that trend, even though the format has changed a little bit.

The story focuses on the cast of a little period arthouse film called Home For Purim, a Jewish holiday coming-out story set in post-War suburbia. When some of the actors’ performances generate Oscar buzz, things get all farcockteh (to borrow a word from Yiddish), creating chaos behind the scenes and in the lives of everyone involved. Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy, both of whom also act in the film, know the cast’s strengths and weaknesses, and tailor parts accordingly. Rather than penning a traditional screenplay, Guest and Levy meticulously outline, providing a framework in which their actors can improvise, something they all again manage like the pros they are.

Guest, who co-wrote the memorably brilliant 1983 jape This Is Spinal Tap, deviates from the fictional documentary format this time, instead opting for a straight narrative. It is a risky choice, in that he has scored four times with the old format, but it mostly pays off. Not having to constantly service the premise that a camera crew is an unseen character in the mix allows Guest and his stable of comedic commandos to spin their voodoo with a greater concentration on character. And what characters he has.

Catherine O’Hara, just like she was as the “experienced” doting dog owner in Best In Show, is the, well, best in show here. Marilyn Hack, her over-the-hill actress with one last shot at making a name for herself is both tragic and hilarious. O’Hara amps up Marilyn’s inner diva so beautifully, mirrored nicely by Harry Shearer’s character, Victor Allen Miller. The way Shearer’s trophy-hungry nobody tries to gloss over his days as a mascot for a hot dog company is played so nicely, and it is a great running gag. It is truly grotesque when both Marilyn and Victor preen in the days before nominations are announced, by which time, of course, their film has been transformed by the studio into the Peoria-safe Home For Thanksgiving.

Will this all translate into butts in seats, then? Hardly. As popular as Guest’s work might be in some circles, he is still just the king of a niche. Part of this has to do with how subtle he is. There are no dancing monkeys in dresses here, no fart jokes and no pie humping. While the film is actually playing in Peoria right now, it will likely not do so for very much longer, so catch it before the holiday squeeze relegates it to the hospice of a once-daily 10:20pm show. Otherwise, you might as well resign yourself to putting it in your Netflix queue now and visiting with these warm and friendly faces after the holidays in roughly 3-4 months.

Score: 3.5/5

For more on the film, check out our interview with Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.

BOBBY [PG-13]
Writer/director/former Brat Packer Emilio Estevez avoids waxing forensic and conspiratorial like Oliver Stone did in JFK, instead focusing on stories in the lives of a handful of Californians affected by Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy as they prepared for his 1968 campaign trail visit at L.A.’s Ambassador Hotel. Estevez may not be the first one to lament for a return to lament for a return to Camelot-era optimism — or parallel Vietnam with Iraq — but he is the most engaging so far. His cast is stellar, with a host of famous faces adding dimension to what could have been a thin and whiny affair. There is — and take a deep breath, now — Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belafonte, Helen Hunt, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Christian Slater, Freddy Rodriguez, Nick Cannon, Laurence Fishburne, Joshua Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Shia LaBoeuf, Elijah Wood dad Martin Sheen, ex- Demi Moore and her present beau, Ashton Kutcher. Estevez, who has a small but memorable role as the long-suffering husband of a fading diva, was wise to not let anyone steal the show, skillfully balancing his ensemble to even-handedly convey the mood and character of the time instead. –Robert Newton

DEJA VU [PG-13]
Perhaps the reason that Disney did not market this able thriller as a science fiction film is because “sci-fi” remains such a dirty word to film marketers, much like “horror” used to be. This is sci-fi, though, and not half bad, either. Denzel Washington plays a New Orleans ATF agent who travels back in time, where he becomes immersed in the murder plot he is trying to thwart, falling for the woman he is trying to save. Director Tony Scott takes one of the biggest movie clichés — the car chase — and turns it on its ear by staging it in two different times simultaneously. The less visionary (but perpetually employable) brother of Ridley Scott favors the choppy, hyperkinetic editing style, which serves him quite well here. The whole movie has the feel of his all-around sharpest, 1998’s Enemy Of The State, and while this one does not top it, it at least earns the right to tip its hat to Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone”. Kudos to Disney for infusing a post-Katrina New Orleans with a goodly chunk of the roughly $80 million the movie cost to produce. –Robert Newton

HOUSE OF SAND [R] - Too often, films that boast “painterly photography” offer little else than pretty pictures. Brazilian director Andrucha Waddington, however, gives us a bit more to chew on in his thoughtful and slightly self-indulgent fable. Shot on location in the wind-swept Brazilian region of Maranhão, this stunning visual dazzler begins in 1910, and is the saga of 60 years in the life of a family. While it is a little slow getting started, it soon develops into a multi-layered (though occasionally disorienting) existential metaphor. While not as coherent and engaging as the Italian chronicle The Best Of Youth, it also serves as a historical allegory of sorts. The real beauty here, though, is in the film’s two leads — Fernanda Torres (Four Days In September) and her real-life mother, Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station), true artists both. Through them, Waddington (Me You Them) maintains an unlikely continuity and conveys so profoundly the tragic feelings of longing for roads not taken. In Portuguese, subtitled. –Robert Newton; Score: 3.5/5

DECK THE HALLS [PG] - The blood feud that Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito promulgate in this low comic affair smacks of Christmas Vacation, and the whole thing smacks of desperation. Forced, saccharine and as artificial as a tree that you pack away in a box every January 2nd, it is loaded with the kind of bad writing and semaphored slapstick gags that wouldn’t even make it into Home Alone 12: Someone Call DYS. Instead, invest the $10 in the nifty 2-disc edition of MGM’s 1983 classic A Christmas Story on DVD or either of its two sequels — Disney’s Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven Of Bliss with Jerry O’Connell as Ralphie or My Summer Story (aka It Runs In The Family) with Kieran Culkin as Ralphie. –Robert Newton; Score: 1.5/5

SERIOUSLY FUNNY
An interview with Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy
By Robert Newton

For many entertainment writers, there is always a moment before an interview when the starry-eyed kid inside eagerly awaits meeting his subject like a child would for Santa Claus. The time between the obligatory handshakes and the actual sit-down is the most dangerous time, in that it is in this time that this same starry-eyed kid can unceremoniously hijack the interview by gushing elatedly over favorite scenes or moving little moments. Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, who wrote the comedy For Your Consideration, are two such people over whom fans of distinguished comedy could very well fawn in this way. However, the very professional way in which they both present themselves and discuss comedy and filmmaking immediately let even the most careless of fanboys know that to these guys, comedy is serious business. When you really think about it, though, there’s nothing worse than a comedian who doesn’t know when to turn it off, which is why their seemingly stern approach is so refreshing.

Guest and Levy, who also wrote Waiting For Guffman (1996), Best In Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003) together. Their latest collaboration, For Your Consideration, is about how the cast of a little period arthouse film called Home For Purim goes nutty when Oscar buzz hits the set. The talented team recently took the time to sit down with Worcester Movies Weekly. No felonious glute-smooching took place.

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STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY’S BIRTHDAY PARTY [NR] - One of the unlikeliest comedies to come to DVD all year is this warm and unassuming My Dinner With André-style visit with personable and perpetually employed character actor (and 2006 MassBay Film Festival Guest Of Honor) Stephen Toblolowsky. The Texas-born Nice Guy has appeared in literally hundreds of films and television shows, including Groundhog Day and “Deadwood”, but here he reveals his natural gift for storytelling, making his experience both in and out of the spotlight the basis for our unexpected enlightenment. The story of Joshua, a black production assistant on Mississippi Burning (in which Tobolowsky played a charismatic KKK leader opposite real Klansman extras) is especially moving, and his account of the passing of fellow trouper Bob Darnell is a wonderful body slam to the soul. Even lighter bits, like harrowing tales from the set of the big-budget stinker Bird On A Wire or the story of an early career audition for the part of Ronald McDonald will bring an earned smile. The DVD includes an additional 90 minutes of stories that, while engaging enough, did not fit into the flow of the film as director and longtime Tobo-pal Robert Brinkmann envisioned. Score: 4/5
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What’s the platter?
Your holiday DVD buying guide
By Robert Newton

The stores are hard enough to negotiate this time of year even if you know what you’re looking for. We have culled the best the season’s newest releases to help you take the “d’oh!” out of the task, and in some cases, the dough out of your wallet. (Please note that the SRP, or suggested retail price, is only a guideline set by the manufacturer, will likely be lower in stores.)

11.21.06

•Alias: Complete Seasons 1-5 - The latest trend is to package all seasons of a TV series together, and ABC’s now-retired spy series starring Jennifer Garner is a great example, with a staggering 29 discs and an SRP of $199.99.

•Da Ali G Show: Da Compleet Seereez - Borat funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen’s other famous creation, white clue-deficient London hip-hopper Ali G, drops this 4-disc bomb which includes both seasons of his HBO experiment. A so-so 2002 feature film, Ali G Indahouse, is available separately.

•Ice Age: The Meltdown - In that every household in America seems to already own a copy of Pixar’s Cars, this other CGI hit of 2006, about the continuing adventures of some prehistoric mammals, is now in stores.

•An Inconvenient Truth - Whether you think Al Gore’s environmental doom-spinning is junk science fiction or a completely factual last warning for all mankind, it is certainly a great conversation starter.

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Who wants to live forever?
An interview with ‘The Fountain’ director Darren Aronofsky
By Robert Newton

Darren Aronofsky has become somewhat of a film geek god in the years since he released the challenging, atypical thriller Pi 1998. The addiction saga Requiem For A Dream followed in 2000, along with more critical praise (and an Oscar nod for incredible co-star Ellen Burstyn). Apart from writing the tight, supernatural genre film Below in 2002, the 37-year-old Brooklyn-born, Harvard-schooled director’s time has been largely consumed by making The Fountain, an ambitious science fiction project about the Fountain Of Youth starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Worcester Movies Weekly caught up with him during his recent visit to Boston.

•Worcester Movies Weekly: Were you at all concerned with the relatively hostile way that most audiences perceive sci-fi?
Darren Aronofsky: Certainly, the term “sci-fi” has been hijacked by many movies that feature aliens, ray guns and high tech shows. This is innerspace vs. outer space, though, in the tradition of science fiction literature. The psychological element is not always touched on in a lot of sci-fi stories, but it is an exciting part of the genre.
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HAPPY FEET [PG]
After the success of the unlikely documentary, March Of The Penguins, here come the pretenders, starting with this CGI spectacle about a runt named Mumble (voiced by the criminally boring Elijah Wood) who quests to find his “heart song”, a ditty unique to every Emperor penguin. In the patchwork musical style of Moulin Rouge, this one weaves all kinds of popular songs into its story, from the spot-on ensemble piece “Somebody To Love” (originally by Queen) to the ill-conceived, Jason Mraz/Chriss mash-up “The Joker / Everything I Own”. Brittany Murphy, who voices Mumble’s would-be girlfriend, Gloria, can really belt them out, with a strong cast including Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and V For Vendetta mime-master Hugo Weaving backing her up. Of course, don’t forget Robin Williams, but with two roles and a near-toxic amount of ham, who could? --Robert Newton