Dutch (1991).

Review #2242: Dutch.

Cast: 

Ed O'Neill (Dutch Dooley), Ethan Embry (Doyle Standish), JoBeth Williams (Natalie Standish), Christopher McDonald (Reed Standish), E.G. Daily (Hailey), Ari Meyers (Brock), L. Scott Caldwell (Homeless Woman), and Kathleen Freeman (Gritzi) Directed by Peter Faiman (#023 - Crocodile Dundee)

Review: 

Okay, I will admit that this one was on the list for quite a while because I couldn't quite figure out where to put it despite all of the appealing aspects: Ed O'Neill, Ed O'Neill, and Ed O'Neill. My favoritism for O'Neill is because he starred in the one show I remember most in my childhood of mostly antenna TV: reruns of Married...with Children (the film was released in the middle of the show's run on Fox). O'Neill actually was a football player in his time at Youngstown State University before being cut in Pittsburgh's NFL training camp in 1969; this led him to go back to Youngstown State to enroll in theater. His work on stage (a mix of Broadway and Off-Broadway stuff, most notably Of Mice and Men) drew enough notice for Fox to have him audition for Married...with Children that, well, you know the rest. Oh, and I suppose there might be a tiny compelling aspect for some in seeing what a John Hughes-written comedy looks like from the director of Crocodile Dundee (1986). The Melbourne native (from Victoria, Australia) Faiman had directed plenty of television before Dundee, which included The Don Lane Show, but Dutch (1991) is currently the only other theatrical film directed by Faiman. With Hughes, this was part of the consistent run in twelve years with at least one Hughes-penned film being released in theaters that went from National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982) to Miracle on 34th Street (1994). So yes, for every Home Alone (1990), there was the stuff that, well, are about as known as Career Opportunities (1991). Dutch wasn't exactly a hit with audiences or critics, needless to say. My interest in the film sprung from one silly sight gag in an episode about renting a VHS tape that showed the poster for Dutch...with a "Free Video" sign right over one of the faces. Strangely enough, O'Neill and Embry would pair up once more with the ill-fated 2003 TV rendition of Dragnet. 

Sure, why not have a movie with a "great, big, demented child" and a "spoiled worm" in a mishmash of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (a Hughes production, released four years earlier involving making it home before Thanksgiving)? Look, I can't really cite the film as an underrated gem in normal parameters, but "John Hughes' greatest hits" is sort of a blessing and curse in the same sentence. I play my favorites because damn it, I like O'Neill and his rascal talent in making a lovable brute that is familiar in the ways I like to think about every now and then. It reminded me of the one time I went on a trip with my dad (who along with my mom was a Married with Children fan, and my mom still loves to say "Bundy up" when interested in watching an episode on DVD) before he passed away that involved plenty of driving and a few of the mishaps that come with "best-laid plans". The one thing I remember best is a mishap that resulted in driving through California when trying to get to Oregon as opposed to going through Nevada (the return trip was better, but going through Arizona again is an experience not worth thinking about). I wasn't nearly as stuck-up as the kid in the film, but I was an idiot fourteen-year-old who probably wished he took more time to savor the moments that came on the road with a father that was shall we say, the kind of guy who would drive to a hospital on a broken hip rather than think about taking an ambulance. I appreciate O'Neill and his charming nature that is earthy in a way that could play a hustler or would-be dad without uttering a false note. I contend that weary concoction of honesty and pig-headed pride is endearing without just being an Al Bundy clone. Embry has the hardest task imaginable in playing a snob with layers to peel away, and I would say he does fine in that regard, because even predictable shows of humility is better than nothing. For a road movie built on bickering and goofs (i.e. maybe 2% cartoonish), the two make an ideal pairing that I would argue just straddles above the line between chuckles and hokum. The rest of the cast, as one probably expects from a buddy film, isn't really given much to do beyond a few one-note things (with McDonald being the highlight as the obvious brash setup man), although no one drags it too much (I would say though that by the time the film gets to the homeless shelter, it sure is pushing its luck). It is a bit too casual to really ever get to the category of "good" when it comes to ambition in a familiar genre, but liking the journey is what I was hoping for and got without too many bumps. As a whole, Dutch is the kind of carefree film with cozy familiarity that either will fit right in for a casual viewing or ends up being dismissed as, well, something you've felt like you have seen one too many times. I fall in the former category, finding it to be just fine in the overall result that has an ideal leading presence to make for worthwhile chuckles. It isn't anything great, but it surely deserved better than to be washed away as just an unsuccessful attempt at getting a sitcom star their own film. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs.

Blues Brothers 2000.

Review #1699: Blues Brothers 2000.

Cast: 

Dan Aykroyd (Elwood J. Blues), John Goodman (Mack McTeer), Joe Morton (Commander Cabel Chamberlain), J. Evan Bonifant (Buster Blues), featuring Aretha Franklin (Mrs. Murphy), James Brown (Reverend Cleophus James), B.B. King (Malvern Gasperone), The Blues Brothers Band [Steve "The Colonel" Cropper (rhythm guitar / vocals), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass guitar), Murphy Dunne (keyboards), Willie "Too Big" Hall (drums and percussion), Tom "Bones" Malone (trombone / tenor saxophone / vocals), "Blue Lou" Marini (alto saxophone / tenor saxophone / vocals), Matt "Guitar" Murphy (lead guitar), Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin (trumpet / percussion / vocals)], The Louisiana Gator Boys [various musicians, featured below], Erykah Badu (Queen Moussette), Blues Traveler, Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Floyd, and Kathleen Freeman (Mother Mary Stigmata) Directed by John Landis (#328 - Trading Places, #410 - Coming to America, #513 - Spies Like Us, #1114 - Animal House, #1462 - The Blues Brothers, and #1465 - An American Werewolf in London)

Review: 

"I was very pissed off by what Universal did to me on ‘Blues Brothers 2000′ and that was my first experience with the new corporate Hollywood. It’s very different. Everything is by committee now, and they destroyed that movie, though the music is still good."

If you remember correctly, the Blues Brothers was the result of two guys who loved the blues. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd (who credits Donnie Walsh and Richard “Hock” Walsh as the model for their characters) had performed together on Saturday Night Live with the act a few times before being asked by Steve Martin to be his opening act at one of his shows, which resulted in the live album Briefcase Full of Blues in 1978. This, alongside Belushi's success with Animal House (1978) only served to attract the interest of studios to engage in a bidding war to make a movie. Of course, that movie was racked by chaos involving substances and one half of its writing team being fairly green at the art of creating a screenplay. In other words, it wasn't easy to make a movie involving numerous music acts and the destruction of 103 cars while shooting exclusively in Chicago, or one that focused exclusively on the blues (in a time that was more about disco and less about the blues and soul) while dodging complaints of being too over-the-top (i.e. people who don't know shit) to become a classic. Perhaps it only makes sense that Aykroyd kept the name around with the chain restaurant (and live music concert hall) House of Blues, which has managed to have a few locations around the country, and Aykroyd has taken to tour on occasion with the band (alongside with John's younger brother, Jim). So yes, I suppose it makes sense that Aykroyd wanted to do another movie involving the blues and put more acts on film. Of course, it is also possible that Aykroyd and Landis wanted to re-capture lightning in a bottle when it comes to success - this was after all the sixth collaboration between the two of them, all of which that were done in the 1980s. Just remember, this was done in 1998.

Reportedly, Landis and Aykroyd did not have a great time with filming. While they were the writers behind the script, Universal Pictures made their stipulations clear that involved requiring a PG-13 rating and a child lead. Of course, the original pitch that the two was apparently just a re-hash of the original, since it would have featured a plot involving refurbishing the old orphanage (which would have featured Jim Belushi cast as "Brother Zee" alongside Goodman as a trio). Of course, Belushi could not do the film due to contractual obligations (at the time, he was cast in a lead part in the series Total Security, which didn't even make it to 1998), so the script instead was modified to include Morton. Have you ever seen a movie that looks and seems DOA as quickly as this one? Making a sequel eighteen years after the fact is already a tough task, but making a comedy sequel that has the task of replacing one part of its key nucleus is like trying to do The Three Stooges with only two actors. Of course, Belushi wasn't the only actor to have died in the gap between the two films (the film opens with a tribute to Belushi, Cab Calloway and John Candy). Oddly enough, everybody else in the Blues Brothers Band returns, and they all get to have a scene dedicated to re-uniting them all together, because how else would this film run for two hours? Well, there is one solution that would probably have worked to the benefit of everybody who don't care for stories about pint-sized kids getting mentors and voodoo witches: focus entirely on the music. Heck, cut around the "plot" with no explanation and call it artistic license, that would probably work just as well (that, or alienate a whole bunch of folks who wonder where Eric Clapton came from). Call it the "Mission from the Blues" Edition, if you will. Let me be clear: teenagers don't watch movies just because the rating is PG-13 instead of R, and they sure won't watch it just because there's a kid as one of the leads. That isn't say to that foul language and certain situations is important to making something people want to watch, but this is a movie that clearly is the result of studio notes from people who think they know better.

Perhaps it is my imagination or my memories have faded from the year that followed watching the original film, but Aykroyd seems to have thoroughly faded into nothingness when it comes to generating anything more than a quivering thought of a chuckle. The fact that he doesn't take off those Ray Ban sunglasses doesn't help either, a dubious marker of shame for someone who probably should have known better as both writer AND star. Honestly, I do wonder if Goodman would have prevailed with the original script when it comes to zippy energy. He seems kind of pale here, seemingly stuck in that suit and sunglasses like a statue without a home to draw a response. Morton gets to play both uptight authority and inevitable "Blues Brother" in the same film, and it is perhaps a fitting marker of dubiousness that his most notable scene is one where he sees the error of his ways by levitating in the air and changing his outfit. Embarrassment is a hard word to swallow when it involves your lead trio. Well, there is Bonifant, but you and I both know that child actors are either forgettable, passable, or terrible. Take a guess how he does. Perhaps if one had never heard of the original movie they would be okay with this one, or maybe if they watched it solely to see blues musicians play on a big screen. Name dropping is an annoying habit, but yes, there are quite a few performers to see (mostly near the end) for the "The Louisiana Gator Boys": B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, Billy Preston, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, you get the idea. It is far more interesting than the car wrecks or the attempts at plot that go nowhere (which involves the group being turned into plastic statues after being forced to play Caribbean music...???). In the end, this reeks of something you might see in the direct-to-video junkpile, yet here we are with a $31 million/123 minute movie of failure that benefits from moments of music more so than anything else - indeed, it is some sort of accomplishment to have brought back the same director and a portion of the same cast after many years apart and make a sequel inferior in every way. 

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.

The Nutty Professor (1963).

Review #989: The Nutty Professor.

Cast: 
Jerry Lewis (Professor Julius F. Kelp/Buddy Love/Baby Kelp), Stella Stevens (Ms. Stella Purdy), Del Moore (Dr. Mortimer S. Warfield), Kathleen Freeman (Ms. Millie Lemmon), Howard Morris (Mr. Elmer Kelp), Elvia Allman (Mrs. Edwina Kelp), Julie Parrish (College Student), Milton Frome (Dr. M. Sheppard Leevee), Buddy Lester (Bartender), and Med Flory (Warzewski) Directed by Jerry Lewis.

Review: 
When I reviewed the remake back in 2013, I had given the film a 8/10 star rating while not comparing it to this film, due to not having seen it; in any case, the remake has aged finely for me, having a charm to it that worked just fine. I say all of this not to cast a shadow on this film, but because it wouldn't feel right to not do so. No matter which version you prefer, they both are good film, so let's move on to the original, which happens to be the first film on this show that features the late Jerry Lewis.

At any rate, this film (based on the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) does tend to have more hits than misses while serving as good amusement, with Lewis being the key highlight. His high energy along with how he plays both characters make for good entertainment to watch, with both characters having their moments to shine. His performance as Kelp is certainly endearing and also fairly clever (with a particularly distinctive voice as well). Lewis had stated that Buddy Love was based on every obnoxious self-important hateful hipster that he had known, contrary to the perception from others of it serving as a lampoon of his former comedy duo partner, Dean Martin. In any case, there is something quite about his performance as Love that seems to captivate you and never let you take his eye off him, despite the nature of his character. Stevens does a fine job, being fairly capable in handling scenes with both of Lewis's characters consistently enough. Moore serves for some amusing banter scenes with Lewis while also being welcomely over-the-top. The rest of the cast serve their purpose fairly well. The nature of film is a bit of a double-edged sword: the film does take risks and has a variety of gags and characters while also being unpredictable at times, but the tone of the film occasionally feels uneven, with the climax being a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, the sequences at the dance are pretty effective, but the last scene and how it seals the film up with Lewis and Stevens's characters seems a bit murky. In any case, this is a successful film that certainly has enough laughs and charm to make for a good time.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

Review #826: Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

Cast
Leslie Nielsen (Lieutenant Frank Drebin), Priscilla Presley (Jane Spencer), George Kennedy (Captain Ed Hocken), O.J. Simpson (Detective Nordberg), Fred Ward (Rocco Dillion), Kathleen Freeman (Muriel), Anna Nicole Smith (Tanya Peters), Ellen Greene (Louise), Ed Williams (Ted Olsen), and Raye Birk (Papshmir) Directed by Peter Segal (#466 - Nutty Professor II: The Klumps)

Review
If you wanted to see a Naked Gun movie...just watch the first one three times. The movie will be the same, but compared to the two actual sequels you won't really miss much. Honestly, this isn't a bad movie by any means, but there is such an underwhelming feel to everything, from the execution of ideas to the general movie itself. No one really stands out, aside from the numerous cameos that come and go quickly. The opening sequence (spoofing the sequence from The Untouchables) is probably the best part of the movie, having fine timing shown by Nielsen, though the film never really gets any better from there. It's not even something to get worked up about its middling quality. It's not even so much a case of it being the third (and last) one, it simply isn't that funny. Nielsen is fine as ever, but he can't help a movie that relies on tired gags and not so quick gags. The dynamic between him and Presley isn't as prevalent this time around, with a good portion of the movie being between him and the trio of Ward-Freeman-Smith, which doesn't have much fun to it. The jokes that are present seem either verge on the thinly obvious side and the side of just not being that good of a joke. The sequence with Pia Zadora is quirky, sometimes being funny. Even the usual supporting cast of Kennedy and Simpson (in his final film, released less than three months before the murders and chase) are lacking. By the time the climax comes around, it's a frustrated sigh of relief more than anything. The only good thing is that it is at least better than Airplane II: The Sequel (#698), and I guess that says something. If you're looking for something with Leslie Nielsen...check for something else.

Side note: We just reached 20,000 views on this blog! I'm happy to hear that, and I thank anyone who's come to the blog over the past few months (and years).

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

The Fly.

Review #710: The Fly.

Cast
David Hedison (Andre Delambre), Patricia Owens (Helene Delambre), Vincent Price (Francois Delambre), Herbert Marshall (Inspector Charas), Kathleen Freeman (Emma), Betty Lou Gerson (Nurse Andersone), and Charles Herbert (Philippe Delambre) Directed by Kurt Neumann.

Review
The 1950s were a time for movies about science experiments (with a good portion involving atomic weapons) and how even the best intended experiments can go wrong. This is a movie that has really good actors that make for good entertainment, especially Vincent Price, who as usual is enjoyable to watch. Hedison and Owens do a pretty good job together, especially in one of the more iconic scenes of the movie, where Hedison's character reveals the result of his experiment to his wife. It's a chilling scene that also looks really good to watch, mainly due to the way the laboratory is lit, dark in some spots and lighted in others, which gives a really good contrast. The effects themselves are good, and it is used to good effect at the end of the movie, which ends pretty surprisingly. The movie takes itself seriously and doesn't really become too schlocky for itself, while having good moments.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.