To Sleep with Anger.

Review #2346: To Sleep with Anger.

Cast: 

Danny Glover (Harry), Paul Butler (Gideon), Mary Alice (Suzie), Carl Lumbly (Junior), Vonetta McGee (Pat), Richard Brooks (Babe Brother), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Linda), DeVaughn Nixon (Sunny), Reina King (Rhonda), and Cory Curtis (Skip) Written and Directed by Charles Burnett (#1975 - Killer of Sheep)

Review: 

"There’s always been this issue of the black middle class’s responsibility to continue to be a force in the black community. One of To Sleep with Anger‘s themes deals with that issue, of the middle class abandoning the rest of the race, deserting the culture and then returning to it. The film is really about connecting the past to the present."

Admittedly, Charles Burnett deserved better as a filmmaker when it comes to actual attention for such a worthwhile debut. Killer of Sheep (1978) had the reputation of a classic for years before actually getting a real release decades later. Burnett's second feature suffered worse: My Brother's Wedding (1983) got screened to a film festival by foolish producers before he could finish editing that scared off distributors when the movie got mediocre reviews. It took until *2007* before the movie could even be re-released to considerable attention. And yet, To Sleep with Anger (1990) had its own fate. The movie apparently came out of the failure of producing a PBS film about irony and tragedy (yes, even the Corporation for Public Broadcasting can be picky with how they want their money spent). Instead, he sought out to do a movie about folklore and "the Black experience"; you have to remember Burnett was raised in Watts as the family moved from Mississippi when he was three years old. According to Burnett, the character played by Glover is based on a folk story called "the Hairy Man", which evidently refers to a part-devil, part African spirit, part-conjure doctor. Made on a budget of $1.1 million for distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company...the movie was not a financial success, which Burnett attributed to distribution, stating that it never got shown in more than 18 theaters. Apparently, it did not get a DVD release even as late as 2011, but hey, one can even find a Criterion DVD of this movie nowadays. Burnett's next film would come with The Glass Shield in 1994.

 

Within folklore and slow building curiosity is what happens when one really can just get under one's skin in the strangest ways possible. The 102-minute runtime is palpable enough for tension that wraps around an entire family because certain things really can upset the illusion of stability. Past and present are wrapped in a tug-of-war that should be pretty clear when you see the introduction that has a guy in flames while “Precious Memories" plays in the background. There have been quite a few movies and stories about the perils that come with looking upon tradition versus roots (I'm reminded of the Alice Walker short story "Everyday Use" in that sense), but with this one, family really can be forever in the folk sense. The movie probably benefits best from looking at it unfold its layers with its intriguing ensemble. Butler was more of a stage presence than a regular film actor, but he manages to do well in those moments spent toiling as a patriarch that we can relate to in terms of someone who clearly has something of the old place in their ways, which goes just as much for Alice and her carefully stated homespun charm. Glover's character basically has the shadow of the Devil around him with that worthwhile charm that manages to do so much or a movie that grounds itself in what you can and can't see around its odd atmosphere (admittedly, the high-rolling friends that arrive in the shadow of Glover that never leave will be pretty relatable for some in more ways than one). He is the stirring of the part of the soul that we think we have buried down there. It proves pretty clear with the simmering animosity one sees between Lumbly and Brooks (the latter is the youngest son, which naturally leads to the nickname "Babe") when it comes to how one approaches tasks in the family that are totally real to see play out because of the commitment on screen. The simmering discontent between a family that is more tightly wound than tightly knit before the arrival of a certain harry presence makes for a neat enough conclusion in playing things out to the crispest joke of them all in togetherness and resilience. As a whole, the tapestry of a family can wither or grow depending on how one sees the face of superstitions and things around them, and To Sleep with Anger makes for a fairly clever broiler with plenty of charms to go around.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

The Bodyguard (1992).

Review #1940: The Bodyguard.

Cast: 

Kevin Costner (Frank Farmer), Whitney Houston (Rachel Marron), Gary Kemp (Sy Spector), Bill Cobbs (Bill Devaney), Ralph Waite (Herb Farmer), Tomas Arana (Greg Portman), Michele Lamar Richards (Nicki Marron), Mike Starr (Tony Scipelli), Christopher Birt (Henry Adams), DeVaughn Nixon (Fletcher Marron), and Gerry Bamman (Ray Court) Directed by Mick Jackson (#202 - Volcano and #1630 - L.A. Story)

Review: 

Well, even the popular entertainment has a shelf life worth looking into. Three decades have only kept the attention for the second-biggest hit of the year in the discussion, if only because of the even more popular soundtrack with Whitney Houston. The Newark native was after all a major singer with a string of hits since the late 1980s, and her performance and production made the best selling album for a soundtrack...ever. All of this happened for a film that had seeds of creation first planted a decade earlier. It probably should surprise you that the film was originally written with Steve McQueen and Diana Ross in mind. Yes, in the mid 1970s, this was pitched as a film, and yes, it was apparently rejected for being "too controversial". An attempt to do the film a few years later with Ryan O'Neal as the lead stalled because of strained relations between O'Neal and Ross. The film was written by Lawrence Kasdan (who had written the initial script in 1975), who you might recognize as writer of films such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and director of films such as The Big Chill (1983). Attempted revisions to the script apparently made it dark enough to where Mick Jackson insisted on just returning to the original concept. This was the third feature film for British native Mick Jackson, who was fresh off his success in directing L.A. Story (1991).

This is a confused movie, one that somehow is too silly and contrived to be taken seriously for anybody thinking this might be a thriller along with being too stoic in the art of going beyond first gear for what is meant to be called romance. It is also way too ordinary to run for 129 minutes. The only thing the movie has going for it is the songs, because yea, who can resist "I Will Always Love You" (sung by Houston as a cover, since the original song was done by Dolly Parton). It isn't even a case of being paint-by-the-numbers, because even other movies would know when to get on with the show. Costner probably was quite proud of himself for getting do a film where he also served as producer (just like previous efforts in Dances with Wolves) and could cut his hair like McQueen to try and hone his presence. He certainly acts like a bored McQueen would have likely been if this had been done in the 1970s, that much is sure. If you want to watch the film to make fun of it, you might have a ball looking at how understated his performance ends up being, as if he was replaced by discount Costner. The only scene that has any impact is one where he has a scuffle with Starr which ends with him throwing a knife right near him to close out a silent fight where he shows just how good he is. Houston had never acted in a film before this one, and, well, that is pretty evident early on, which results in a very mild case of "well, natural acting is technically a thing" that is then followed with "she can sing, just get her better material". She acted in three further films before her death in 2012. The movie doesn't even bother to have a middling attempt at a threat, since there is never one moment where the tension rises to any sort of interesting level. You would think a movie that has its climax during an Academy Awards ceremony would bring out some sort of curiosity to things. Nope. Kemp was one of the musicians for Spandau Ballet. That is pretty much all one can say about his performance. Cobbs and Waite are practically standing there begging for more substantial lines, but nope, this patchy romance is totally stable enough.

I kid you not, there was almost a sequel to this film. Apparently, Costner wanted to do another film with a different famous name, one who was a friend of his. The friend was Diana, Princess of Wales, but her death in 1997 put an end to it in predevelopment. A musical adaptation was done in London in 2012, and there are apparently plans for a film remake (heaven forbid they make a film that might actually show some depth - well, a man can dream, can't he?). As a whole, the best way to approach the film is to close one's eyes and just think really hard about what the hell they are watching. It might be the only movie where shutting everything but the music off might be a better experience than this overlong average movie. 

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.