A- | While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride. Directed by Rob Reiner Starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright Initial Review by Drew Landry |
The Princess Bride cleverly told an old story. It was the classic tale of a damsel in distress but also reminded us of the difficult relationship between the grandfather and grandson. It told two continual, yet competing stories, one with the book by "S Morganstern" and the other played by Fred Savage and Peter Falk. Doing that is a recipe for disaster because it takes a careful hand to guide a story through such precision and Rob Reiner pulled it off masterfully. In the end, viewers learned the power of love but not in a gooey way. The Princess Bride showed loves influence through comedy, sport, adventure, and suspense. Its ability to successfully achieve these aspects made it an instant classic for all generations.
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Initial Review by Shane I really have the hardest time reviewing comedies, especially parodies. Usually they’re light on plot and sprinkled with some pretty flat acting or poor acting from the bit parts. Parodies, in particular, can revolve from smart to completely juvenile. Not that I have an issue with juvenile, but it’s never going to score high with me unless I watched it while a teenager or drunk in college. (For example, Grandma’s Boy is awful, but had I watched it for the first time when it came out, I would say it’s a B+.) But, I’m also a big big fan of anti-comedy. A lot of people see it as dumb, but I’ve always felt like it’s usually a bit smarter. I feel like when done right, it’s making fun of the audience. The joke is on us. I love that. A prime example is Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show. Lots of people justifiably call it dumb. I get that, though I disagree. But even those who find it dumb must feel like they’re missing something because Tim and Eric attract a lot of legitimate talent. Why are those people on there? Chef Goldblum, am I right? So I read an article about Steve Martin and his anti-comedy beginnings and saw Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid mentioned as an example. Martin interacting with old movie clips? I saw one clip (where Martin lambasts Humphrey Bogart for how stupid the no tie look looks) and my curiosity was piqued. But even with a great gimmick and some amazing dead-pan, one-liners, DMDWP still falls short of being a very good or great comedy. It simply couldn’t avoid what I mentioned above: the plot just isn’t great. Really, it was even kind of confusing, though that is partially as a result of the same gimmick that gives the movie its better moments. Usually I’ll go through and critique some acting performances first. Hard to do that here considering we’re watching spliced footage from other movies. So really it comes down to how well Martin is able to bounce off of actors who aren’t there. Kind of like Transformers movies and the other CGI heavy garbage we see every summer. Or working with Vin Diesel I imagine. Martin obviously has good timing and presentation and that’s not a surprise to anyone. If it’s Val Kilmer here, I’m not sure I last more than 15 minutes. So let’s talk about the gimmick? Does it work? I think so. There are some great jokes and lines that you think are throwaway lines that pay off half a movie later. The cleaning lady thing was purely absurd until it paid off in that old clip. The running gag on the tie was great. I really enjoyed the interactions with the dad, the guy in jail and the drunk on the barstool (You could be the Hunchback of Notre Dame.) Of course, this gimmick also makes having a coherent plot a lot tougher. There were so many characters in and out and by necessity, what they were talking about was never going to seamlessly fit into the plot. It may have been the beer, though I doubt I was the only one who found it somewhat muddled. They built a consistent world that was part ridiculous while still making sense, but they just couldn’t quite make it work all the way. There were plenty of other parts that I laughed about as well. The joke about the “big tits” made me laugh the hardest. RIP Terre Haute. The too much jewelry in the soup line was played so straight that it ended up being so bad it was good. But hands down my favorite was the Java stuff. I just laughed the entire time. Even better were the java references down the road. In the end, the plot confusion really caps this. A near perfect comedy caps at a B+ for me. Anything over a B+ on a comedy has to be something special. This is merely good and I would watch again. B-
Initial Review by Tom I first encountered this movie either in college or in high school. It was on late at night on some random channel. It stuck in my mind because it had a very young Val Kilmer and it turned out to be slapstick. This combination and the foggy memory of the fog of whatever had occurred previously in the night that led up to that viewing has colored my memory of the movie. Last night that memory was torn asunder as the clarity of mind and spirit brought the plot, lazy jokes, and pure cheesiness into sharp focus. The movie starts out strong with weird almost dada musical number. It then has some great sight gags and even an unexpected twist on an old painting joke. (i would hang val’s painting in my house). It quickly devolves into endless juvenile sex jokes. I wouldn't’ mind this as much if they kept up the more clever gags. I think this may also be different from how I first saw the movie as it was edited for TV. The cheap jokes made this movie feel juvenile and filled me with longing for the high-brow-by-comparison airplane series. Anyway sorry about this pick. D
First Review by Chris After watching Explorers, I thought of a news reporter interviewing 10-year-olds after they walk out of the theater. “How was it?” they’d ask. The kids would give responses like “Awesome” or “Best movie ever.” Explorers is one of those movies that I can see being good as a child, but viewing this for the first time in my mid-30s was a different story. I will be comparing it to many other ‘80s movies because scenes reminded me of many other ones. The movie starts off with a display of the day’s technology—flying through Tron on a quest to destroy the Death Star. I’m just making shit up. It had a class ‘80s soundtrack that was appropriate. We’re introduced early to Ben (Ethan Hawke who I thought looked like Brad Renfro a little bit) and Wolfgang (River Phoenix). This was both of their screen debuts and if this movie taught us anything it was that River’s death was a tragedy. From his opening scene, you could tell that he was a natural in front of the camera. I enjoyed the early nod to “This Island Earth,” the movie viewed in “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.” The plot starts with typical middle school bullshit. In a scene where Ben is being beat up by Steve Jackson and company (one gang member was played by Bradley Gregg who would later play River Phoenix’s brother Eyeball Chambers in “Stand By Me”), we are introduced to Darren, the third main kid. This scene alone reminded me of “Monster Squad “where E.J. comes to Horrace’s rescue. E.J. then proceeds to “hang out” with the group despite being rather different from everyone else in it. I got a similar vibe here. Darren starts hanging out with Ben and Wolfgang as they start building their spaceship. Darren came from a bad home life which I really wanted to see at some point. Wolfgang’s family was nuts. I’m not sure how many kids they had. I wanted to see more of his family. There was a kid in a highchair eating through a Halloween mask and a mouse that pushed levers to speak. I like cheese. Classic. Though brief, these were considered my highlights of the film. So through experimentation, they create some type of electromagnetic bubble that floats around. They make a bigger bubble and learn that you can fly around in it. Let’s build a spaceship and fly around. We have the technology. Why are they doing this? To explore? I know it’s the title and all, but I wanted more of a motive. Darren had a bad home life, Wolfgang’s family was nuts, Ben was beaten up and awkward around his crush (played by the late Amanda Peterson). Maybe they needed to get away. Maybe they wanted to get away. I wanted more. I wanted something more realistic. I know it’s a fantasy movie, but another comparison was with the movie “Radio Flyer.” In “Radio Flyer,” young Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello build a working airplane out of a wagon. They do this in order to have Joseph’s character escape from their abusive alcoholic stepfather. Motive. I wanted a reason to this movie. They go to a junkyard to get material for their spaceship, and there’s a dog (reminded me obviously of “Stand By Me”). Instead of “Chopper, sick balls” we see them give the dog chewing gum. Gum seemed to be a reoccurring thing throughout the film. Never caught the logic behind that. So, the spaceship is finished and they call it the Thunder Road after the Springsteen song which never appears in the movie, but probably should have. They fly around and mess with people at a drive-in movie. I swear that one time the actors in the movie were reacting to what was going on in reality. Maybe it was just a coincidence with timing. It didn’t make sense. The homemade spaceship crashes into the concession stand and then apparently is flying again. Those kids must’ve really built a damn good spaceship. After the movie theater fiasco, the spaceship is spotted by a helicopter (one of its occupants played by Dick Miller who played Mr. Futterman in “Gremlins,” another film directed by Joe Dante). Off topic, but I met Dick Miller and Joe Dante years ago at a convention. I have a signed “Gremlins” poster with the two of them and Zach Galligan. Anyhoo, this is kind of a rushed subplot. Someone’s on to the kids and their ship, someone from space is apparently calling for them. They have visions in which they draw diagrams to upgrade their ship. Blah blah blah. According to Wikipedia, the film was incredibly rushed for time restraints. This is clearly obvious with the final product. Fast forward to the worst part of it all. The ship somehow makes it up to space and they are brought aboard another ship. The three kids get separated, they’re going down slides (reminded me of “Goonies”), there are giant paparazzi robot spiders, creatures grabbing the kids in inappropriate places, it’s creepy, it’s kooky and it’s stupid. How can it get any worse? This is when we are introduced to Wak and Neek, two aliens that pretty much speak in multiple TV voices. It’s supposed to be funny, and I’m sure to kids it is. Wak, the male alien, reminded me of Max from “Flight of the Navigator.” And Neek, the female, was hitting on River Phoenix. A little disturbing. I actually have in my notes that Wak reminded me of JarJar Binks meets Bumblebee meets Johnny 5 meets Max from “Flight of the Navigator.” Long story short, a horrible attempt at comedy and again, no real motive as to why any of this is happening. The kids and aliens talk. We learn that the aliens are afraid to come down to Earth because of how aliens are treated in Earth movies. They actually could’ve done something with this, I thought. Maybe taken a more serious approach. Darren has them listen to some Earth music. I swear he calls it 80s music. Wouldn’t it have just been called “music?” I grew up in the 80s, but I don’t recall it being called 80s music in the 80s. Maybe I misheard him. Anyhoo, we find out that the aliens are kids and their dad shows up and is pissed at them. Here’s a point that I thought could’ve been more effective had we seen Darren’s home life. He’s the one that points out that the aliens are kids and that the big creature is their father. A comparison to his own life perhaps? Maybe had we seen it?! A long story short, the boys leave the ship and crash in a pond down on Earth. The ship sinks. Ben’s crush spies on them and later gives Ben a note, and then all four of them fly back up to space using some dream amulet the aliens gave them before they left. I don’t know; I was pretty much just waiting for it to be over by this point. A good movie for kids, not so much for adults. It’s attempted fun with a lack of purpose. River Phoenix is greatly missed. Unfunny aliens. Maybe if they had had more time during production and didn’t rush things, we could’ve had something more concrete and worthwhile. I for one, simply didn’t care for this movie at all. I believe I’m going with a D+ on this one. Sowwy.
Initial Review by Drew “Bueller….Bueller….Bueller….Bueller….” To this day, it is one of the most memorable lines of the 1980s. Why is that? It must be because the film, and its maker, is iconic. It, along with other films, defined a generation and that is its legacy. Many skeptics wonder why it has the echelon and it is my self – deemed task to explain its important place in American culture. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off concerned a high school senior who desires to cause trouble and get away with it. Here was the thing. He did! His philosophy was “life goes by so fast that if you don't stop and look around, you might miss it." That line appeared twice in the film – at the beginning and end. Wise words for an eighteen year old. With his mantra, Ferris Bueller gathered his best friend Cameron Frye and girlfriend Sloane Peterson and they skipped school in the fictitious suburb of Sherman, Illinois, for a fun day in Chicago. That was the general thought but specific scenes highlight Bueller’s thinking. Take the lunch scene for example. Obviously they have no business being there, but he outsmarted the maître d into thinking he is Abe Froman – “Sausage King of Chicago” – and took his reservation. Another instance was when Bueller attempted to make Frye feel better about their day and hijacked a German – American parade and sang the Wayne Newton rendition of “Danke Schoen” and then topped it off with The Beatles’ rendition of “Twist and Shout.” That was the pinnacle of the film’s fun as it appeared nearly all of Dearborn Street and its surroundings took part in the celebration. A good song choice to get rowdy. During all of this, Dean of Students Edward Rooney attempted to catch Bueller in truancy and withhold his graduation for excessive absences. His attempt to achieve that was a hilarious failure. He was spit on, lost a shoe, chased by a Rottweiler, kicked in the face by Jeanie Bueller – Ferris’ sister – , got his car towed, and given a humiliating bus ride back to school. We can tell these events were a preview for Home Alone. Classic stuff. Matthew Broderick was great at playing Bueller, as it is his best role. Alan Ruck played the great neurotic character that was Cameron Frye but like Broderick, he did nothing substantial afterwards. Furthermore, I cannot name one movie Mia Sara – Sloane Peterson – was in post Bueller. Jennifer Grey, who was Jeanie, did another iconic film but had a much larger role in that than this. Jeffrey Jones – Rooney – went on to star in Beatlejuice but this was his best spot. He was fantastic as Rooney. Whenever I think of a dimwitted school official, Rooney comes to mind. Finally on this list, is Charlie Sheen. His role as the druggie in the police station is his best acting. He stayed up for two or three days straight to get that look and he absolutely nailed it. The film was peppered with quotable lines. Obviously, the “Bueller” line but there were more.
There is a debate that often transpires as to who is the main character. I am not entirely interested in that as I am about answering why this film and its director are iconic. John Hughes was known as the director who defined Generation X through his adolescent films throughout the 1980s. When discussing films in the 1980s, or films in general, one cannot forget about him. Whether viewers liked Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is irrelevant because of how the characters were defined throughout the pieces. It all came down to relativity. I am an older Millennial but would much rather be considered a young Gen X – er because of the idiotic stigma that exists in being a Millennial. Younger Millennials have a clue as to why Hughes’ films are important because they cannot relate to those stories; whereas the older generation appreciates them because it described their attitude toward authority. Sure, parents and other authoritative members may never understand the youth, but Hughes’ teen films exemplified that notion to an art and science. Having stated that, Bueller brought out the fun in getting away with something. The plot in and of itself displayed it but in a more subtle manner, examine how Jeanie left the police station. She told the Sheen character that most guys called her Shauna. When did they do that? I never heard a single character call her “Shauna.” She tried to be cool in front of the guy and it was hardly noticeable, which was ingenious. There are, however, some hokey moments so it is understood why some may not think this is great but its iconic status is unequivocal. Grade: A |
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