Hey, folks--as most of you know, I am getting married on August 12th, and this is undoubtedly my last newsletter until then; sometime in September or October, I want to release a mega-issue of video reviews, much like the longer ones that I used to do (if you're curious about this, check out the reviews from 1995-96 on the web page). This issue has four reviews that I actually wrote all by my lonesome, the first time that has happened in years! On another front, I am still looking for feedback on the rating system--remember that it is on a 1 to 10 scale.
ON SCREEN:
DINOSAUR: I remember reading ages ago in the Guiness Book of World Records that the shortest-ever print review was for a Broadway musical called Wham! The review consisted of one word--"Ouch!" I must confess that I was tempted to approach that record with my review of Dinosaur, offering only five words--"Extraordinary animation and little else." To be honest, I am still sorting out whether my decision to be more verbose was fair, or overly generous.
It must be said that "extraordinary" is almost too un-generous a word to describe this movie's animation; in fact, no words I can come up with can do it justice. Unlike Jumanji (the only movie I have seen, apart from Jim Henson's Dark Crystal, which bears much resemblance to this one), the computer-generated figures made me forget they were computer-generated figures in about three minutes, and I hardly gave the matter a thought after that. Furthermore, the Disney people clearly did their homework in terms of how large animals move, what plant life looked like in the Mesozoic era, how different dinosaur species were similar or disparate, and so on. Not merely this animation, but all the visual elements of the film--the cinematography, the art, the effects, the location shooting (done in four different countries!)--are up to the usual high Disney standard. The problem is that nagging little necessity known as a plot, which is, unfortunately, up to Disney's usual high level of hokiness. These dinosaurs (not to mention the group of lemur-like mammals that befriend them) just happen to talk. They also argue, have ethnic diversity, make lame, child-pleasing jokes, and try to escape the bad guys, the evil "carnotaurs" (a pair of tyrannosaurus who, inexplicably, do not talk).
Obviously, this isn't the first Disney movie featuring talking, anthropomorphic animals. The problem that this movie has, and that the earlier ones did not have, is the jarring incongruity between the realism of the animation and the unbelievability of the whole animal-personification thing. I wonder if this dissonance was even necessary--why did the dinosaurs have to talk at all? (If this sounds too non-commercial, keep in mind that the dinosaurs in Fantasia weren't exactly loquacious.) That aside, if you want to see this movie, definitely see it in a theater. The transition to a small screen will undoubtedly soften the punch of the animation, which is really the only reason to see it. RATING: 6
ON TAPE:
AMERICAN PIE: American Pie is a movie that, for me, did not quite live up to its reputation. There are, as you have undoubtedly heard, moments of real vulgarity--a few of them hilarious, most of them just childish and boring. On the other hand, the characters and relationships are just real and involving enough to make a movie that's at least as much John Hughes as it is John Belushi.
The plot is tried-and-paved territory. A foursome of male high school seniors make a pact to lose their virginity by graduation, or die (of embarrassment) trying. One, a jock (Chris Klein), joins choir to impress a cute singer (the singularly charming Mena Suvari); another (Thomas Ian Nicholas) works on getting around the bases with a smart-but-willing longtime girlfriend (Tara Reid). The nerdiest of the four (Jason Biggs) goes after both a leggy foreign exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth) and a loquacious band member (Alyson Hannigan), while the quietest (the wonderfully deadpan Eddie Kaye Thomas) stays quiet while allowing rumors to spread about his "prowess."
All this is entertaining because the situations are reasonably well-honed, and the characterizations, while not exactly what you could call deep, are at least somewhat real (far more real, for example, than anything in Can't Hardly Wait, or in most of the 80's raunch-fests like Fast Times at Ridgemont High that supposedly inspired this movie). The pleasure one gets from these characters is enough that one wonders why most of the raunchy scenes were even necessary. Another rather unnecessary component is Natasha Lyonne, playing a wisecracking young woman who advises the other characters, especially those of Reid and Nicholas. It's never explained why she is so much more knowledgeable than anyone else--she just seems bothersome to me. All that said, I was still able to put aside such annoyances, and ended up enjoying the film more than I expected, even if it was still a long jump short of becoming a favorite. RATING: 6
A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM: One day in 1958, Art Kane, an art director in New York City noted for his work for Life magazine, hit upon the idea of shooting a cover photograph of assembled jazz greats in a natural setting--a brownstone front in Harlem. The result was a musicians' reunion of sorts, with people who hadn't seen each other in years joking, laughing, and doing everything except pose, giving Kane and his assistants a logistical nightmare--and giving everyone involved an absolutely unforgettable experience. The best thing about this documentary may be the introduction it provides to a host of (now) little-known jazz musicians, and the real-life glimpse it provides of those you may already know. If you want to get an idea, here's a short list: Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Stuff Smith, Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, Marian McPartland, Count Basie (who posed with a group of neighborhood children, one of whom was interviewed for the movie), Gigi Gryce, Jimmy Rushing, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, McCoy Tyner, Mary Lou Williams, Sahib Shihab, Roy Eldridge, Charles Mingus, Taft Jordan, Osie Patterson, Art Farmer, Buck Clayton, Wilbur Ware, Jay Higginbotham, Hank Jones, and Red Allen. If there is anything wrong with this film, it may be that it is actually too short, clocking in at just under an hour. I would have had no problem with a longer film with more information about the participants. Dizzy gets the biggest laugh. RATING: 9.
SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT: As many of you know, I am not a big fan of Spike Lee the person (just as I am not a big fan of Woody Allen, the person). That said, I have to give credit where credit is due, and Spike Lee the movie director is one of the best and most challenging ones working today. This indie, his first full-length feature (1986), is a charming romantic/tragic comedy, and it established his extraordinary relationship with two important collaborators, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson and producer Monty Ross (both of whom have off-beat bit parts). Wile not as dramatic as Lee's later, more didactic films, I think this movie is more consistently pleasurable. The protagonist and fulcrum of the plot is Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns). She's a young designer and single woman who simultaneously maintains relationships with three different men--earnest Jamie (Tommy Hicks), hilarious Mars (Lee himself), and infuriating Greer (John "Canada" Terrell, who was also in The Five Heartbeats) and hints at starting one with a pretty young lesbian (Raye Dowell). The acting is a bit amateurish (Hicks may be the best; he is seen to better advantage in Stacey Dash's Daughters of the Dust), but Lee's cinematography of his beloved home of Brooklyn, and his masterful interweaving of still and motion photography, is much more than professional. Just as importantly, Lee keeps us interested by giving everyone (even his most didactic character, the arrogant Greer) moments of insight, only getting off course near the end. This may not be the best or the most important film Spike Lee ever made, but it is the most fun film he ever made--and that is no small thing. (As a side note, I should mention that the birthday party scene is one of my favorite scenes in any movie, ever. It is also technically unique, for reasons that I cannot describe in this newsletter without giving it away.) RATING: 8.
....Thanks once again for reading all this stuff, and see you again in September....
TONY %)