Chilly Scenes of Winter.

Review #2193: Chilly Scenes of Winter.

Cast: 

John Heard (Charles Richardson), Mary Beth Hurt (Laura Connelly), Peter Riegert (Sam), Kenneth McMillan (Pete), Gloria Grahame (Clara), Nora Heflin (Betty), Jerry Hardin (Patterson), Tarah Nutter (Susan Richardson), Mark Metcalf (Jim Connelly), and Griffin Dunne (Mark) Written and Directed by Joan Micklin Silver (#1818 - Hester Street and #1988 - Between the Lines)

Review: 

 ''I was determined not to violate the book, which I loved. I wanted the general action to be the same, but my ending was too triumphant. People in the crew kept coming up to me when we were shooting and telling me, 'This is the story of my life.' But when I asked them if it turned out like it did in the movie, they would always admit that it hadn't.''

In 1976, a novel called Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie was released into stores, with her having been a regular author in The New Yorker. Three actors in Mark Metcalf, Amy Robinson, and Griffin Dunne were interested to produce the book as a film by purchasing the film rights (after a whole bunch of studios rejected it), much to the interest of Joan Micklin Silver (who read some of Beattie's stories) and liked the book. Claire Townsend liked it when she worked at Fox and when she moved to United Artists to be a production executive, she eventually got them to finance the project and also eventually get the idea of Silver to be the one to direct (the group had liked her anyway). The group stayed with their favoring of John Heard to play the read (rather than cast someone like John Ritter as favored by UA) while going with Mary Beth Hurt to act opposite him when Meryl Streep apparently wanted...Sam Waterston to play opposite her. It was United Artists who botched the film when it came for original release in 1979 that had the title of "Head over Heels" because they thought it was a more viable title, with the Heels title coming around as a joke suggestion when UA wouldn't go with the original book title because of some sort of perception that "Chilly" and "Winter" wouldn't sell well as a title. The ending of the film and the one you see now are different in the inclusion of one more thing, namely the idea of a romance that isn't as over as it seems, which actually matched the novel but was not what Silver had in mind. Silver wrote the film herself after approaching Beattie and getting a no (Beattie instead wanted a small part in the film, which ended up with her playing a waitress with no lines). In 1982, United Artists Classics approached her about re-releasing it under the aforementioned Winter title, complete with keeping the ending she had envisioned (which instead of ending with our lead coming home after a jog to a woman is instead one where it just ends on him immediately after the jog). That version had a decidedly less chilly reception to where there is one of those arguments for calling it a "cult classic" (if one is in the Criterion market, look no further?). Amidst of a handful of television films, Silver's next film as a feature director wasn't until 1988's Crossing Delancey.

Well, it is an anatomy of a chilled romance (being set and mostly filmed in Salt Lake City, no less), so I do wonder what exactly UA thought they were going to get by playing it light? It is a crashing, uneasy sense of comedy-drama that isn't the easiest sell but works just right for 92 minutes. Really you could interpret the film as belonging to the fallacies that come in relationships of the heart and with friends, specifically the one where people really can be their own worst enemy. Consider that this is the kind of movie that has someone make someone go to a skin flick and then have a thing about someone seemingly exalting them. Heartbreak happens, but life goes on, regardless of much it stings (such as, say, a friend who betrayed them or, well, losing a love). Wrapped within a melancholic movie that basically harkens to a noir within its first batch of lines of a man wrapped in what he wants (but doesn't have), is the note that comes in clearly at the end: people are a series of contradictions and opportunities that either never came or skipped them by. It is an endearing movie for all of the failures that happen in life. Seeing it now, it seems totally right that Silver had Heard pegged for this role right then and there, because he really does make this role one to look upon not with judgement or outright sympathy but with curiosity. There is something fascinating in seeing that all-consuming energy come into focus with all of the hang-ups and eccentricities that Heard makes in this tightrope-type of act here. It could've easily just been a film about a guy who simply gets a bit weird about a woman for it to go right in the end or just a straight stalker movie but Heard makes it fit right square in the middle in that amusing anatomy of a fall. Hurt makes that idea of chemistry between people who simply have different ideas in mind of who they are to others. Being trapped between the idea of someone who doesn't seem that particularly interesting to them and the other choice of "obsession in the form of a six-pack". One sees her as a puzzle piece that isn't one to easily peg down beyond first appearances, because nobody is that easy to see through or figure out as if they were an object to chase. That scene they share in which they discuss the ideas of boundaries that goes from playful to eye-raising (whether taken literally or not) is pretty much the whole film served on a platter with how they handle it. Roles like this do make me wonder if I should see more movies that have Riegert in them, because even a role where he is just a playful pal that in one scene moves along with a ploy with Heard to just go with playing a prospective couple looking around just so they can "stumble" upon a certain woman through a salesman. Grahame gets to strut in the eyes of mental feebleness for an interesting act to see with Heard. As a whole, it is a wonderful thing to see this film in the way that Silver and company envisioned play out for people to seek out rather than wonder what could have been because of how delightfully uncomfortable it is. It walks that fine line of comedy and drama for a pretty good effort in human frailitiy. 

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

The Stupids.

Review #1718: The Stupids.

Cast: 

Tom Arnold (Stanley Stupid), Jessica Lundy (Joan Stupid), Alex McKenna (Petunia Stupid), Bug Hall (Buster Stupid), Mark Metcalf (Colonel Neidermeyer), Bob Keeshan (Charles Sender), Christopher Lee (Evil Mr. Sender), Matt Keeslar (Lieutenant Neal), and Frankie Faison (Lloyd) Directed by John Landis (#328 - Trading Places, #410 - Coming to America, #513 - Spies Like Us, #1114 - Animal House, #1462 - The Blues Brothers, #1465 - An American Werewolf in London, and #1699 - Blues Brothers 2000)

Review: 

"I'm happy to say it's very successful on television, and extremely successful on video because people buy it for their kids. It's meant for ten-year-olds. That really went under the radar. But I really like that picture."

Honestly, I have been looking to the best time to finally cover this movie. I first heard of it last year when it came time to cover the month of August with films of the 1990s. Of course, my reasoning for not picking it was because I would have to have countered it with Dumb and Dumber (1994) because I thought they sounded similar. Of course, the other reason is that one can only pick so many movies from John Landis at a time. I don't think anybody had such a curious third decade in directing like he did, with this being the fourth of six works in that decade, and each one did not fare well with audiences (or critics, but that's another story). It isn't the best of his movies, but Landis certainly made an interesting effort. The movie was made for a company called Savoy Pictures, but the company decided to cut back on their interest in the movie business (going instead to being a TV station holding company), which occurred during post-production. This was one of the fourteen films in the Savoy roster that was shipped out to potential buyers, and New Line Cinema ended up buying six - this was one of them; somehow, the studio thought it was some sort of raunchy product as opposed to a children's movie (as evident by the surprise noted by the studio chief at a screening with Landis there). A budget of $25 million resulted in a $2.5 million return. Look, we are talking about a movie that starts with two characters that wake up from bed having slept on the foot-end of the bed. Actually, it perhaps should be noted that The Stupids is an adaptation of a series of children's books of the same name, which were written by Harry Allard and James Marshall, who wrote four books from 1974 to 1989. I imagine the books also happened to depict a family that looks like All-American apple pie with dull wit to spare (apparently, in one of the books, they think they died...instead they had experienced a blackout), so is it surprising that this is a movie that segues from missing garbage stumbles into a plot with military weapon-dealing, aliens, and a plethora of cameos? I don't think there are that many oblivious family movies out there, particularly ones that seem to hone to winners of the Darwin Award.

For me, the surprise is the fact that I actually didn't hate the movie. It might run at a predictable pace of 94 minutes, but it grew on me quite quickly. It has a fun quality of obliviousness that I appreciate, one that rolls in stride with dim-witted sensibility without smugness. I admire its incoherency that is headlined by Arnold, who certainly tried to dabble in being the star of silly comedies rather than just a supporting piece (this was the same year as Big Bully and Carpool, after all). I'm sure plenty of folks can find reason to resist its "kid at heart" charm, but I thought it was silly enough to work without wasting my time (in other words, this is the kind of dumb movie to enjoy rather than stuff like Kung Pow! Enter the Fist (2002), for example). Picking at the flaws of plot is like trying to fix your cat's bad habits - sometimes you just have to let it go. I imagine that Arnold must have had a weird time trying to play funny angles for a movie that requires a great deal of earnest honesty without playing to all of the obvious bits that could be done with a different kind of dopey stiffs. Lundy doesn't have as many little moments of neat honesty, but she fares well with keeping things at a fair pace alongside McKenna & Hall in moving forward with what needs to happen without looking confused (the kids play right to the audience, of course). Undeniably, the supporting presences prove just as curious. Metcalf and Keeslar are dry enough to contrast with the main quartet handily enough that usefully seem plucked from a low-rent thriller. You may be interested to know that this was the first and only film appearance for Keeshan, who was most known for his work in television, such as Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984) which he created and starred in; here, he is playing a kindly warm guy mistaken by the oblivious ones as a figure of evil, which in that sense makes for a good chuckle. Of course, Faison, playing an attendant at a museum mistaken for God, is warm enough to resonate in his interaction with Arnold & McKenna. Technically, the best cameo comes from David Cronenberg, because of how low key the cameo is when compared to other faces seen (although it is amusing to name-drop the name Atom Egoyan and link it Jenny McCarthy, amusing for probably the only time ever); of course, like any true horror fan, the appearance of Lee is worth a watch and a half, as he chews on this momentary bit of evil amusement the way you would expect. Of course, not everything is consistent. One is curious who went with all of the clay-mation designs, since it has an off-putting feel when you see pets and aliens all of a sudden in a style that doesn't quite click with the usual look of the movie, which almost goes a bit too all over the place for its climax. As a whole, it might be easy to see why this wasn't appreciated 25 years ago, but there is an earnest fun quality here that manages to persist over all odds for a likable winner. It might irritate folks who don't have the patience for the one joke the movie has, but others will surely get a huge kick out of its silly enjoyment, where being a stupid campy experience is kind of the point. I don't usually go against the boat, but I can't see why this movie was treated so poorly back then. Maybe it was a bit behind the curve when it came to oblivious silly humor, but honestly, I find this to be a curious little gem of a movie, one made by a competent director that obviously is having fun with silly material and a cast that is fairly game for where it needs to go in silliness without becoming obnoxious about it. In that sense, you might be fine with checking it out.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Animal House.

Review #1114: Animal House.

Cast: 
John Belushi (John "Bluto" Blutarsky), Tim Matheson (Eric "Otter" Stratton), John Vernon (Dean Vernon Wormer), Peter Riegert (Donald "Boon" Schoenstein), Thomas Hulce (Lawrence "Pinto" Kroger), Stephen Furst (Kent "Flounder" Dorfman), Bruce McGill (Daniel Simpson "D-Day" Day), James Widdoes (Robert Hoover), Douglas Kenney (Stork), James Daughton (Gregory "Greg" Marmalard), Mark Metcalf (Douglas C. Neidermeyer), Kevin Bacon (Chip Diller), Verna Bloom (Marion Wormer), Donald Sutherland (Professor Dave Jennings), Karen Allen (Katy), Sarah Holcomb (Clorette DePasto), DeWayne Jessie (Otis Day), Mary Louise Weller (Mandy Pepperidge), Martha Smith (Barbara Sue "Babs" Jansen), and Cesare Danova (Mayor Carmine DePasto) Directed by John Landis (#328 - Trading Places, #410 - Coming to America, and #513 - Spies Like Us)

Review: 
Fellow readers, the following review has a bit of history involving the production intermixed with the normal parts you would see in a normal review - whether you read it or not is up to you, but I feel it is necessary to have it alongside the review (located in the second paragraph) for context. Thank you and enjoy. 

On July 28, 1978, Animal House premiered in theaters, the brain child of its three writers, Chris Miller, Douglas Kenney, and Harold Ramis. Each were involved in some capacity with National Lampoon prior to the creation of the film. Miller was one of the writing talents for the magazine, and it was his own experiences in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth College being an inspiration for the film. Kenney (a graduate of Harvard University) was one of the co-founders of the magazine (alongside Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman), with contributions including the satirical short story Bored of the Rings (alongside Beard) and being involved in editing capacity in the magazine from 1970 to 1976. Ramis had starred (along with Belushi) in the comedy radio show The National Lampoon Radio Hour. He utilized ideas from a treatment he had written (named "Freshman Year") that had been based off his experiences at Washington University in St. Louis. The director with the task of directing a project was John Landis, whose work on The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) helped get him the job for this movie. It was Landis that assisted with casting certain actors, wanting unknowns and character actors for the parts, such as originally wanting Jack Webb (of Dragnet fame) to play the Dean, although the rejection by Webb led to Vernon being approached for the role. The movie was shot in 32 days in Eugene, Oregon (the location for the University of Oregon) on a budget of just $2 million.

With all of the praise (or occasional criticism) and history one could read on this film, it's amusing to list all that for something that is an energetic and unapologetic piece of comedy that never relents on its assault of humor in its 109 minute run-time, most of all coming from Belushi, who manages to generate numerous laughs from his expressions that balance the fine line between noise and overbearing, reminding me in some way of silent film comedians. Incidentally, Landis told Belushi to play the character as a mix between Harpo Marx and the Cookie Monster. The result certainly seems to be a success, with some of his lines falling into memorability, such as the toga sequence for example or the scene near the climax. Matheson is also a fine highlight, showcasing a fair degree of charm to along with a share of amusement. Vernon proves entertaining at being the adversarial straight man to everything that goes on, playing to the rules that you would expect each time he is on screen. Riegert proves fairly refreshing, and his scenes with Allen (who along with Bacon was making their film debut) have their share of charm. Hulce and Furst don't have too much time, but they each make for a few laughs at times. Other members of the main amusement group such as McGill and Widdoes also prove effective with their time on screen. Daughton and Metcalf prove to effect contrasts with the other members. Other highlights include Sutherland and Bloom, who prove to be cool delights in their respective time on screen. It has an episodic nature to its narrative, but it is an interesting experience to go through in part because it never really lets go of just having fun with the gags and lines that it throws at the audience, including some fun music, with highlights being "Louie Louie" from Richard Berry and "Shout" by Otis Day and the Knights (which has its own scene for great effect). There are numerous highlights, and it would be a shame to spoil the fun for the viewer, but one particular favorite part of mine is the cafeteria sequence, ending in the messy way you might expect with help from Belushi. There is a pitch and execution to everything that goes on that makes this one of the most enjoyable comedies to watch to this very day.

The film was a huge success at the box office, making over $100 million while being one of the top ten grossing films of 1978 (alongside other films such as Superman). A year later, the major three networks all tried to make their own sitcoms inspired from the film, such as Delta House on ABC, which retained some of the cast such as Vernon and Furst. However, the raunchy humor (along with other things) did not make the transition to television, and fights with the network doomed the show after 13 episodes. The attempt by CBS (named Co-ed Fever) lasted one episode before cancellation. NBC's attempt with Brothers and Sisters also proved unsuccessful. You can see the influence the film has had with raunchy coming-of-age films, such as Porky's and American Pie - with varying quality. In any case, Animal House is a film best enjoyed through watchful eyes and ears for each semblance of unfettered amusement that still endures after four decades since its release.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.