Soapdish.

Review #2533: Soapdish.

Cast: 

Sally Field (Celeste Talbert / "Maggie"), Kevin Kline (Jeffrey Anderson / "Dr. Rod Randall"), Robert Downey Jr (David Seton Barnes), Cathy Moriarty (Montana Moorehead / "Nurse Nan"), Elisabeth Shue (Lori Craven / "Angelique"), Whoopi Goldberg (Rose Schwartz), Teri Hatcher (Ariel Maloney / "Dr. Monica Demonico"), Garry Marshall (Edmund Edwards), Kathy Najimy (Tawny Miller), Arne Nannestad (Burton White), and Paul Johansson (Blair Brennan / "Bolt") Directed by Michael Hoffman.

Review: 

Who doesn't love a good soap opera? I vaguely remember seeing a bit of soap operas when I was younger (I'm told Passions had a town witch?) but parodies of soap operas have been around since what, Soap (the nighttime parody that ran in the late 1970s)? Apparently, the original impetus for what became Soapdish was formed during production of Steel Magnolias (1989), as writer Robert Harling had a handful of conversations with Sally Field and Alan Greisman, a producer and Field's husband at the time (apparently, Sigourney Weaver was at one point considered for the lead role before rejecting it, a move she regretted). Originally tabbed with Herbert Ross to direct at TriStar, it eventually shifted to Paramount, with a few other changes as well Andrew Bergman (who stated that he did not visit the set much) gave re-writes to the script. Of note is that Aaron Spelling served as a co-producer (yes, in between an executive producer on shows such as The Love Boat and Dynasty*, Spelling dabbed in producing, with this being his last one as a producer before being an executive producer for The Mod Squad [1999] and Charlie's Angels [2000]). This was the fifth feature film directed by Michael Hoffman who actually had studied at Boise State University before earning a Rhodes Scholarship that led to him studying Renaissance literature and eventually became involved in drama. Hoffman served as a co-founder of both the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and the Oxford University Film Foundation; his first feature was made at Oxford with Privileged (1982). Made on a budget of $25 million, the movie was a light success with audiences. Honestly, I had this film on the shelf as part of a three-pack (where it was somehow lapped in with Book Club [2018] and The First Wives Club [1996]) for a few years, so there's that.

 

Sure, it's a light farce that has a few garish colors with its outfitting at times (as designed by Nolan Miller of Dynasty fame that you can see in select shots here), and sure, it moves along with a quick pace at 97 minutes...and that's all good with me. It is a dazzling affair wrapped in the odd quirks that come with big stars and bigger egos that lends itself to plenty of humor from people who seem pretty game. At the helm is Field (already a bit familiar in comedy for those who watch, say, Smokey and the Bandit every year like I do*) in a role that lets her have a chance to play a goofy pampered oddball that is affectionately entertaining. She clearly had enjoyment at doing a slapsticky type of farce that could've just as easily been played as a pathetic clown but instead has a plucky type of charm to laugh along with in the wide variety of moments that come with being a name that ages by the Hollywood minute while real-life drama and soap drama really can just crash together. The best little scene might be with Goldberg and Field exchanging in a little game of egoboosting when the former pretends to recognize the latter at the mall to the surprised glee of a handful of fans (everyone loves a scene-chewer). Kline actually had a bit of experience with soaps via a brief run on Search for Tomorrow, so it probably makes sense that he said this role was akin to playing a "psychotic", which seems apt for someone basically given some room to play a neat little ham. Of course the real chewer of scenery in delightfulness is Moriarty, who clicks into place in ravenous conniving energy from the jump, one who takes (nearly*) everything in stride. There are highlights from rest of the cast in neat little quirks that come through, such as the brief dazzling nature of Hatcher*, the charmingly smarmy Downey Jr, the relatively normal charm of Shue, the all-too brief fun of seeing Marshall/Fisher riff on the usual privileged executive or the beleaguered Goldberg. It's a likable movie with plenty of goofy little moments of seeing people have fun with the inner workings of "the right shot", "the right script", "the right thing" all going to hell at the whims of basically who talked last or pulled rank the best. By the time the movie rumbles to its conclusion involving offbeat revelations and a plausible enough sell of life basically moving along to the next season of gossip and looking for the next thing to chase. As a whole, Soapdish is a charmer that dishes out enough little moments of amusement to keep the viewer soaped up for a fun time.

 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*I was going to mention 7th Heaven in the "hey, remember this show?" but I feel that mentioning the show starring an actual pervert seems a bit much.

*I know Field is a two-time Academy Award winner and all that, but, yeah, Smokey is the one I think about when I think of Field first, which I probably should rectify. At least I don't think of her as a flying nun.

*I don't understand the criticism of the transgender character being revealed to be the villain. What, are transgender people supposed to be saints in every film ever? 

*And as we all know from Seinfeld, "they're real...and they're spectacular." I will say that if I had to consider watching slowly watching a TV show from start to end from the 2000s, Desperate Housewives would be on the shortlist. No, really.

Adventures in Babysitting.

Review #2047: Adventures in Babysitting.

Cast: 

Elisabeth Shue (Christina "Chris" Parker), Keith Coogan (Brad Anderson), Anthony Rapp (Daryl Coopersmith), Maia Brewton (Sarah Anderson), Penelope Ann Miller (Brenda), Bradley Whitford (Mike Todwell), Calvin Levels (Joe Gipp), George Newbern (Dan Lynch), John Chandler (Bleak), Ron Canada (Graydon), John Ford Noonan ("Handsome" John Pruitt), Albert Collins (Himself), and Vincent D'Onofrio (Dawson) Directed by Chris Columbus (#038 - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, #117 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, #118 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, #304 - Home Alone, #310 - Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and #831 - Mrs. Doubtfire)

Review: 

I do try to keep up with as many filmmakers as possible, particularly in tracking debut features. So here we are with Chris Columbus. Born to a coal miner and a factory worker in Spangler, Pennsylvania (but raised mostly in Ohio), he grew up with an interest in books, comics, and movies, which honed to his modest living. He studied at New York University but learned his key lesson due to a mistake that had him work in a factory for a summer that drove him to write above all else. He started to write screenplays in the 1980s, and Reckless was the first one bought for a director to make, albeit one that was a flop. However, his next script in Gremlins (1984) was a major hit that saw him receive further work for screenplays that led to The Goonies and Young Sherlock Holmes (both 1985). Adventures in Babysitting (1987) was written by David Simkins, and Columbus picked the script from the countless ones he read because he was fine with the small sense of scale it had. After the release of the film, he would follow it up with Heartbreak Hotel (1988), which was not quite as successful as this film with audiences, but then came an offer from John Hughes to direct a Christmas comedy with Home Alone (1990), and I think you know the rest (which included him later co-founding his own production company). 

If you want, you could do an entire game of how many things seemed ripe for sitcoms. You've got 24-year-olds meant to be playing high school seniors (one of whom gets mistaken for a Playboy model for a few jokes, because, well...?), folks getting into wacky hijinks in tall buildings, a chase to fool the parents, and so on and on. The fact that the movie is set in Chicago as a presentation of folks from the suburbs getting into the big city all by themselves is probably the least surprising thing ever to happen in one of these teen comedies. Shue is at least delightful in the lead role, warm and engaging that suits the need of the film in the most basic element in engagement. Granted, her (and Whitford, most significantly) is probably a bit too close to the edge of being "young" enough to play high schoolers, but at least she makes the most of being the heart of the film in the ways that matter. The trio of Coogan-Rapp-Brewton is at least decent enough as kids to go along with Shue, in terms of trying to sell such cheap gags. The less said about the totally-hilariously panicky Miller, the better (oh look, a young Vincent D'Onofrio!). The film badly needs a more prominent threat than Chandler, who might as well be ripped from some other film about the city, which goes for Levels as well. I think your enjoyment of the film will depend on just how many twee things you can take for something that would make Weird Science (1985) blush in how average it all ends up being, right down to its climax involving a drawn-out sequence involving heights. I wish I could embrace the film, but there is something so corny about its entanglement that makes me reluctant to give credit beyond a few decent performances that come with hit-and-miss gags. It reminds me of the kid in the back of the classroom: it doesn't matter if he can sit still or not, the attempts at making a joke are going to feel the same no matter what the time of day it is. The most interesting sequence might be a blues one involving Albert Collins that sees an impromptu song that makes the most of being just as silly in setup as everything else by that point. Writing about the film and its runtime of 99 minutes seems fruitless in trying to beat down the point that it doesn't have enough foundation to back up its ambitions. It reminds me of Footloose (1984) in that regard. Columbus shows some promise with his first time here, but there are better ways to spend looking at someone's first film.  As a whole, it lacks that certain type of magic beyond the paint-by-numbers stuff to make it worthy to recommend beyond for folks who are pretty familiar already with the time it was made for.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

The Karate Kid (1984)

Review #1759: The Karate Kid.

Cast: 

Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso), Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi), Elisabeth Shue (Ali Mills), Martin Kove (John Kreese), Randee Heller (Lucille LaRusso), William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence), Chad McQueen (Dutch), Ron Thomas (Bobby Brown), Rob Garrison (Tommy), and Tony O'Dell (Jimmy) Directed by John G. Avildsen (#003 - Rocky, #895 - Rocky V, #1689 - W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings)

Review: 

Sure, you could make the connection that a director best known for a film about fighting in John G. Avildsen might have wanted to make a hit that was reminiscent of Rocky (1976) for the 1980s (the one song associated with this film coincidentally was meant for Rocky III). Of course, the actual inspiration for this film came with its writer in Robert Mark Kamen. The New York native was actually a student of karate, having studied it after he was beaten up at the 1964 New York World's Fair (note that one of the characters is actually named after a famed martial artist, for which Kamen trained under a sensei that had learned from said martial artist). Kamen eventually became a screenwriter (with his first collaboration being with Taps in 1981), but the story for this film actually came from Kamen being asked if he could make a story around an article that had been optioned by a producer that involved a kid taking up karate to deal with neighborhood bullies. The funny thing is that the main two roles had widely divergent options before settling with Macchio and Morita; Nicolas Cage was one consideration, while the other role was really meant for a perceived serious actor...Toshiro Mifune was actually considered for the role, but he wasn't chosen because he did not actually speak English (I would like to point the irony that Kamen learned karate from a master that didn't speak English). Instead, it went to the actor that Avildsen fought for: Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, who was more known as a comic than a serious actor (I suppose folks really weren't convinced that comedic actors can do useful serious performances); the best scene in the whole film with him was one that nearly got cut because of requests by Columbia, but Avildsen managed to keep it in the film (of course, martial artist Fumio Demura has also been cited as source of inspiration for Morita, complete with stunt doubling for him in parts).

Look, we're talking about a movie where someone learns to basically be a black belt in two months. If one can take that carefully enough, I'm pretty sure you can handle two hours of material that could have teetered over the saccharine line and yet manages to be a riveting experience with a game cast that proves up to the task of capable entertainment. The karate passes enough to keep one interested (unless one is really, really into accuracy) without diverting all the attention from the routines the story has to stretch to get where it needs to go without becoming the "why doesn't the main character call the cops on these weirdo karate punks?" kind of movie. Macchio proves adept with cultivating a likable lead focus with enthusiasm and sense of timing that makes the journey worth taking without seeming like a hokey TV special (i.e in the overall message involving not just learning something just to enact violence on them). The support around him always will circle to Morita first when it comes to this film - for good reason. Leave it to Avildsen to pick an unlikely name for an intriguing role that worked out exactly to what is needed to essentially serve as the counterpart for Macchio without turning the role into a diet of clichés and tired lines. In short, he makes a worthy presence of soothing interest that serves the film well in patience (although the sequences involving him training the lead seem reminiscent of the training done in Rocky (1976), it has a different touch). It was his most notable role, one that would earn him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor: the scene that likely helped sell it involves him opening up about his past with who he loved and lost, for which the chemistry between Macchio and Morita helps a poignant bond seem only more fitting. Of course, the others in the cast keep up just fine: Shue makes a fair pairing with Macchio, while Kove absolutely makes for a worthy foil that is accompanied by Zabka and his wavering intimidation that makes a useful contrast to focus on from time to time. The film sells its moments with balance that never seeps into camp value, whether for overt seriousness or veering all the way into comedy, maneuvering its way through with pride to go along with a few quotable lines (for which I'm sure you've heard someone wax on or wax off before). Oh sure, there is quite an enduring legacy to the film, which believe it or not was actually a surprise hit to a good number of the cast and crew. Part II (1986) and Part III (1989) were both directed by Avildsen while featuring Macchio, Morita, and Kove (and Kamen as writer), while The Next Karate Kid (1994) featured only Morita. A remake of the original film was done in 2010. A web television series sequel followed with Cobra Kai (2018-present), featuring both Macchio and Zabka as star. If that is not enough, there are even plans for a musical on Broadway. At any rate, The Karate Kid (1984) has endured for so long because of how it managed to put all the right moves together at the right time with the right cast and right folks behind it to make a fun movie and a worthy piece of the capsule of good stuff from the 1980s without becoming gripped as a relic of the time. Sincere without sickening, it doesn't take long to become gripped by its charm, for which I would say is a useful accomplishment worth checking out.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: Turkey Week looms. With a week to Thanksgiving, it is almost time for Movie Night: Turkey Week Two, which will take place from November 21 to November 27 (i.e. the week of Thanksgiving, like last year) while focusing on films that are thought of as "turkeys", if you will; last year featured eight films from different decades that went from The Terror of Tiny Town to Freddy Got Fingered, and the approach will continue.

Back to the Future Part III.

Review #748: Back to the Future Part III.

Cast
Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly and Seamus McFly), Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown), Mary Steenburgen (Clara Clayton), Thomas F. Wilson (Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and Biff Tannen), Lea Thompson (Maggie McFly and Lorraine Baines-McFly), James Tolkan (Marshal James Strickland), Elisabeth Shue (Jennifer Parker), Matt Clark (Chester the Bartender), Richard Dysart (Barbwire Salesman), Pat Buttram (Saloon Old-Timer), Harry Carey Jr. (Saloon Old-Timer), and Dub Taylor (Saloon Old-Timer) Directed by Robert Zemeckis (#317 - The Polar Express, #352 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit, #581 - Forrest Gump, #648 - Beowulf, #701 - Back to the Future, and #747 - Back to the Future Part II)

Review
The third (and final) part of this trilogy is regarded by some to be the weaker of the three movies, though it is kind of hard to keep the same magic for three movies over a five year span without having some sort of familiarity. Parts II and III were filmed back to back, released one year apart. To be honest, I can't really find much to hate, mainly because this is a trilogy that is easy to appreciate. The cast once again does a fine job. Steenburgen (the only new main person) does a fine job, especially with Lloyd. They actually have some good chemistry together, especially when talking about Jules Verne. The scene with them dancing is also pretty fun to watch, especially considering the music in the background is by ZZ Top, who are certainly Sharp Dressed Men (rimshot). Wilson once again manages to play a pretty good bully, though this one actually has a weapon for once. Fox and Lloyd are good once again, especially when trying to find way to get the DeLorean to actually get to 88mph...like giving the car alcohol.

The Old West is certainly an interesting setting, and the sets do look really well done, especially the town festival scenes and the saloon. The movie isn't as funny as the last two, but at least it makes up for it by being as entertaining and as good-looking. It also is a satisfying way to end the trilogy, all capped off with a time travelling train. How did it get there? I'm not sure, but I'm not complaining that much. Overall, this is an great trilogy that is entertaining and enjoyable, from beginning to end. While the first film is the best, they are all enjoyable in their own way. If you haven't seen them, go see them.

Countdown to #750: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2...

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Back to the Future Part II.

Review #747: Back to the Future Part II.

Cast
Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly, Marty Jr, and Marlene McFly), Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown), Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen and Griff Tannen), Lea Thompson (Lorraine Baines-McFly), Elisabeth Shue (Jennifer Parker), James Tolkan (Mr. Strickland), Jeffrey Weissman (George McFly), and Flea (Needles) Directed by Robert Zemeckis (#317 - The Polar Express, #352 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit, #581 - Forrest Gump, #648 - Beowulf, and #701 - Back to the Future)

Review
Ah yes, October 21, 2015. The FUTURE. Welp, not now anyway, because today is actually the day that the DeLorean time machine arrived (with Doc, Marty and Jennifer) at the beginning of this film, so I figured that it would be appropriate to review this today, what with our hoverboards and our self lacing shoes...and Jaws 19. Let's recap the first movie, shall we? Or not, because I can just say it quite simply: It's a fun movie. Go see it, if you haven't already. But how is the second movie? It's enjoyable, but maybe not as much as the first one. The characters are enjoyable and about what you'd expect, though I didn't notice that Fox played Marlene McFly, mainly because of the makeup, mainly used for the 2015 scenes, which look pretty good.

Crisipin Glover is one of the two actors (with Shue replacing Wells as Jennifer) from the first film who doesn't return for the sequel, either because of pay issues or (according to him, anyway) his problems with the moral of the story (specifically his belief that the money is the reward that leads to happiness), but he would technically be in it, due to footage from the first film being used and Weissman (in prosthetics) playing him, which led to a lawsuit.

Fox and Lloyd shine again, especially when Doc is explaining the new alternate timeline. It's a bit strange to see Marty try to sneak a Sports Almanac from the future to try and make some money back in 1985, especially considering him and his family are already doing pretty well, what with the new truck for Marty and all at the end of the first film. But to be fair, at least Marty learns a lesson by the end of the film (mainly to make sure that when you get rid of something, you really get rid of it thoroughly). The gag of him dropping everything when someone calls him "chicken" is a bit annoying, though it at least is addressed a bit more in the next film. Wilson still does good at being a bully, even when he's playing an aged bully...who still waxes cars. The hoverboard action in 2015 is certainly a highlight to watch, as fun as the skateboard chase in the first film. The movie certainly likes going back to the first film, and it is a little fun watching Marty try to avoid himself while getting to see events again. It's a movie that certainly works as a sequel, and while it isn't quite up to the first film, it is at least a worthy sequel...that leads itself to a sequel of its own.

Countdown to #750: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.