D.E.B.S.

Review #2357: D.E.B.S.

Cast: 

Sara Foster (Amy Bradshaw), Jordana Brewster (Lucy Diamond), Meagan Good (Max Brewer), Devon Aoki (Dominique), Jill Ritchie (Janet), Geoff Stults (Bobby Matthews), Jimmi Simpson (Scud), Holland Taylor (Ms. Petrie), Michael Clarke Duncan (Mr. Phipps), and Jessica Cauffiel (Ninotchka Kaprova) Written and Directed by Angela Robinson (#411 - Herbie: Fully Loaded)

Review: 

"I kind of “riff” on a lot of genre influences in my work, [and] in “D.E.B.S.” I’m constantly quoting other movies. It’s kind of a “mish-mash” of influences."

Sure, why not. This was the feature film debut of one Angela Robinson, a Chicago native who had made a handful of short films for nearly a decade before getting her chance with a studio movie. D.E.B.S. was actually originally a short film done in 2003 that had been sponsored by a grant from POWER UP that came from her inspiration of drawing comics when in college (she studied and graduated from Brown and NYU). The short basically was one where she "was playing with the idea of a really outrageous WB show" (so basically a riff on Charlie's Angels). The result was an a 11-minute short (released in 2003, most notably at Sundance) that Screen Gems liked enough to want to make a feature film of, complete with Robinson at the helm (Jill Ritchie was the sole returning actress from the short). The movie was released to literally less theaters than you could imagine: 45, but somehow it generated a reaction from one producer to eventually spring a deal for Robinson to direct her next film: Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). Robinson has mostly directed in television (ironically enough, it included an episode of the failed Charlie's Angels reboot). The movie eventually sprung some sort of cult following in the "I checked it out in the video store" sense.

Okay, so we've got a movie about a secret test in the SAT that tests one on recruitment to D.E.B.S: Discipline, Energy, Beauty, Strength. I think you can see where it might lend itself to aiming for goofy parody (complete with plaid skirts), but really you could call it an offbeat romcom (a spy and a kooky criminal) with two women that just happens to be a PG-13 rated movie. It has the hit-or-miss quality in being a parody on the level of say, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), which basically means you'll either get into the movie and chuckle or will just find it a bit of a lightweight. Eh, I liked the movie fine, mainly because it had the commitment to actually go where it wanted to go without feeling like a slapdashed product, which is more than one can say for certain movies of its ilk. "Camp" or not, one will at least get the impression that Foster and Brewster are having at least some fun trying to establish a repertoire with each other; it's a "meet cute" movie that happens to have a bit of greenscreen, what's not to get? Foster is quite proud of her appearance in the film, stating once that people apparently go up to her and say that the movie made them feel "comfortable being who I am". Her shaky road to realizing what she actually wants (coming of age meets coming out?) is interesting enough to work, mostly because the movie rolls on self-realization that is at least "real". It just happens that Brewster (she's named for a song, heh) has that "it factor" when it comes to charm even in the muddle of hang-up neurosis. You get two people yearning to figure out who they are with someone around them, Brewster just is a bit funnier when accomplishing the sell (you get a scene about accidentally snapping a bra, just to point the goofy stuff). The others are fine here and there in those little side gags (not every parody has that many well-defined people besides "smokes cigarettes" anyway). You get a bit of appearance time from Duncan and Taylor that mostly fill a bit of story time (well okay, Taylor is bitingly interesting, but a regular TV viewer already knows that), which is particularly interesting to reveal that really the "secret test" is all about measuring one's ability to lie (interpret that however you like). Its cheeky enough to get away with cheap gags because it has silly fun and doesn't bite more than it can chew. The 92-minute runtime is about what you might expect in drawing every last little gag you might hear from a spoof, which is fine by me when driving off into the sunset. Ultimately, it is the kind of movie where one can be called a "gay slut" and chuckle with the shallow but committed nature that may just be up your alley, midnight movie or not.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Legally Blonde.

Review #1698: Legally Blonde.

Cast: 

Reese Witherspoon (Elle Woods), Luke Wilson (Emmett Richmond), Selma Blair (Vivian Kensington), Matthew Davis (Warner Huntington III), Victor Garber (Professor Callahan), Jennifer Coolidge (Paulette Bonafonté), Holland Taylor (Professor Elspeth Stromwell), Ali Larter (Brooke Taylor-Windham), Jessica Cauffiel (Margot), Alanna Ubach (Serena McGuire), Francesca P. Roberts (Judge Marina R. Bickford), Oz Perkins (David Kidney), Linda Cardellini (Chutney Windham), Bruce Thomas (UPS Guy), Meredith Scott Lynn (Enid Wexler), and Raquel Welch (Mrs. Windham-Vandermark) Directed by Robert Luketic.

Review: 

Well, sometimes you need a movie about the law to go with a tale of forging a path forward for oneself with confidence, I suppose. Legally Blonde is adapted from the novel of the same name, which was self-published by Amanda Brown in 2001 (although it should be noted that the 1994 copyright filing lists both Brown and Brigdet Kerrigan, who coincidentally had attended Harvard) based on the writer's experiences in Stanford Law School, which namely involved making fun of her classmates with letters sent back home to Arizona while reading Elle magazine; one key experience involved her going to a group for women attending the school that Brown found amusement over their serious tone (such as trying to change "semester" to "ovester"). She dropped out after two years, but she eventually cobbled a manuscript together; while it didn't attract much attention as a book, it did find interest with film studios, and one pitch that was used for it was "Clueless meets The Paper Chase". At any rate, the film was written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, who saw numerous script changes that turned a first draft with raunchy material into one with adversity to overcome and a murder trial (including an ending that came from test audiences caring about the success of its character rather than a kiss on the courthouse). In other words, a script that would probably have come off the heels of stuff like American Pie (1999) ended up being more of a feel-good movie that surely plays its own note in the blonde circuit (which has quite a few stereotypes that I'm sure would make for an interesting discussion somewhere else). This was also the feature film debut of Robert Luketic, a native of Australia who had been making short films since he was a teenager before his short Titsiana Booberini (1997) attracted Hollywood.

Honestly, it's just an okay movie. It's an obvious movie, one that plays exactly to the bone of "being yourself with confidence" that makes for a few chuckles for a 96 minute movie that sure takes its time to really get going, even when it has something to say about workplace dynamics in conduct (or perhaps not judging stuff like sorority life or law school by the cover...?) and something something feminist classic something something. Or something like that, because really it is the trial parts that are more up to speed in actually doing something beyond "aw shucks". You know how folks will randomly approach stars and have them do "classic stuff" at a convention? The appeal for this movie is kind of like that, albeit without as many nerd lingo (as any convention attendee would say). That, or it is basically a sports movie for sorority folks. Strangely enough, with a pitch evoking the name of Clueless (1995), it really doesn't seem to have that much "zing" to it, if you know what I mean. Sure, there are quite a few quirky moments, such as the "bend and snap" sequence, which sounds believable when you note that the writers came up with it while at a bar. It comes and goes, really, when you think about it. There is nothing here that is exactly harmful or ridiculous, and I imagine that it certainly proved an inspiration to at least one person when it came to law or perhaps something else - so yeah, average isn't the worst possible experience one could have with this feature. If it wasn't for Witherspoon, this probably would have been a lesser experience. Her sunny charm and wit certainly play off against the others well enough with flourishing interest that you would see from a "fish out of water" type without being played out, and its easy to see how two decades have only cemented the enduring entertainment that Witherspoon brings here. The others keep up fine for the most part. Wilson is casual enough to keep his portion of the film going well enough without asking for too much more (the aforementioned ending involved the two leads kissing at the end, but I think you can see why they just went with a different one). Blair brings up the snobby parts to where it needs to go (complete with the predictable stuff), which is followed by the snooty snake charm from Davis to go with the slithering calmness generated by Garber. Coolidge gets a chuckle in shyness while others get a line or two to show up (such as Larter doing some well-blown hysterics over gluteal efforts), which means that one will do just fine in keeping their attention airtight. As I stated already, it is the law parts that generate interest more, probably because its predictability is a little less obvious than the school segments, but that is probably just me. In the two decades that have followed the release of this film, a sequel was released alongside a musical and a spinoff, and it is perhaps representative of the legacy of the film that another sequel is in development. Is it predictable? Indubitably, but it has plenty of charm in the right places to make a worthy time for those in the mood for what it yearns to say about having fun as oneself without letting folks or other things get in their way. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The Truman Show.

Review #1519: The Truman Show.

Cast: 
Jim Carrey (Truman Burbank), Laura Linney (Hannah Gill / Meryl Burbank), Ed Harris (Christof), Noah Emmerich (Louis Coltrane / Marlon), Natascha McElhone (Sylvia), Holland Taylor (Alanis Montclair / Angela Burbank), Brian Delate (Walter Moore / Kirk Burbank), Paul Giamatti (Simeon), Jen Taylor (Contralto Singer), Peter Krause (Laurence), and Harry Shearer (Mike Michaelson) Directed by Peter Weir (#960 - The Year of Living Dangerously and #1185 - Witness)

Review: 
"I'm still amazed how you can put your pen down and think not a line can be changed... You've finally got it right. You pick it up ten days later, and it's all so bad."

Intuition matters in a director, and Peter Weir has made an accomplished career built on that in his native Australia and beyond. He was inspired by people he met while studying law at the University of Sydney to take up film, and he soon became part of Ubu Films, a short-lived filmmaking collective in the region, with it being morphed into the Sydney Filmmakers Co-op that favored independent filmmakers both in the region and abroad with a focus on experimental work. When he was 24, he started in film by making his first shorts with The Life and Times of the Reverend Buckshotte (1968). Weir added television to his foray with Man on a Green Bike (1969), and his next contribution was the segment "Michael" in the TV/film anthology 3 to Go (1971). He then made his first true film with the 50-minute black comedy Homesdale later in that year. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) later found a cult following, but it was Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) that proved his first triumph in Australia and abroad. The script had been done by Andrew Niccol (known for writing/directing Gattaca in 1997) over the course of several years (with the first treatment being done in 1991) and numerous re-writes, which originally featured prominent elements of science fiction in a New York City setting, which Weir (recommended by Niccol after failed considerations of directors like Brian De Palma) felt should be lighter. Also contributing to a wait in filming was Carrey's busy schedule, but it ultimately proved worth it as a comedy-drama triumph for Carrey that differed from his usual comedic work.

We gravitate to comfort because sometimes we are afraid of the truth that stares us in the face. People can get absorbed into the lives of others because it gives us something that we can gravitate to as a community - imagine watching someone's life at a bar. Creepily enough, the film depicts an aftershow to the main subject - I mean, how many after-shows are there about discussing the show that you literally just watched on television (or streaming, if one is into that)? In that sense, this is a very prescient winner, one that fascinates itself in tender enjoyment held in place through a dynamic Carrey and a good sense of timing in terms of harrowing reality satire. Carrey is enjoyable and convincing for our curiosity to focus on because of the fact that he draws us in through simplicity of the heart: we warm to him with no hesitation or desiring some sort of cheap gag or rubbery movement - in other words, an average Joe that draws humor from what we the audience know at first. Linney does pretty well in generating humor through a retro-inspired act of dubious normalcy that generates an amusing one-two punch with Carrey when there. Harris (hired after Weir let Dennis Hopper go a few days into production) comes along for the second half with an aura of visionary exploitation that pulls in a craven nature of wanting to show entertainment with complicity and conviction without even needing to go past the viewing room like a scientist looking upon his specimen with fascination. Emmerich makes for an adequate assuming pal, while McElhone does okay in small parts involving being the one sane person in this land of television.

The look of the film is certainly very interesting. It was filmed primarily in the master-planned community of Seaside, Florida, which Weir found about due to his wife telling him about Seaside, which falls in line with the inspiration of old-style postcards and paintings and a surveillance-like touch to certain shots. Perhaps it is no surprise that there is actually a delusion suffered by people that relates to the film, one in which people that believe their lives were reality TV shows (such as climbing the Statue of Liberty in the belief that it would release him from the show). If you believed that people all over the world were watching you, would that be a comforting feeling or outright horrifying? Imagine the people you loved or were friends were actually liar-I mean actors. I bet there's probably at least one person who really would like to be on television for the masses to see, or if that fails, stream it to the Internet for unchecked audiences. Perhaps people might really just might watch anything if you give them something to look at, whether that involves surviving on an island, or living on the shores of Jersey, or other representations of supposed "reality television." It lingers for 103 minutes with a fair hand on the wheel in prescience of human satire without becoming consumed in just showing off its premise to pull cheap tricks or diverge itself from keeping its adventure on point right to the very last moment of choice. In the end, we see a lot with our eyes, but it is our choices with what we see and hear that means the most to being free.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.