Films in Review

SPIDER-MAN: THE BLOCKBUSTER
By: Rachel Deahl

Amid the swirl of disaster that recently befell New York City and the real-life heroes who were there to answer the call, there's still something quite comforting in knowing that a certain famous arachnid superhero is swinging from the skyscrapers ridding the metropolis of evildoers. In other words, there couldn't be a better time to welcome Spider-Man into theaters than now.

The first bonafide blockbuster of the summer season, casting & directing choices surrounding this much anticipated and hyped adaptation of Stan Lee's beloved comic book series hit a competitive intensity when the announcement was made about a film based on the famous Spider-Man character.

Was Tobey Maguire, heretofore the nerdy darling of indie cinema, right to play Peter Parker, much less any superhero? Did Sam Raimi, most well known for helming the Evil Dead trilogy, seem like a logical choice to direct? And finally, would Spider-Man be a satisfying and intelligently handled recreation of Stan Lee's vivid world, or would it like so many other cinematic adaptations of well-known comic books (Spawn, Judge Dred, Tank Girl to name a few), be a disappointing foray into the funnies.

Photo © Copyright Columbia Tristar

It seems as though films based on comic books often fail in their recreation of the setting. Two of the best films based on famous comic books, Dick Tracy and Batman, do wonderfully vivid jobs with their disparate sets. From the corny, colorful world of big suits and kitschy fifties diners that Dick Tracy evokes to the dark, foreboding underworld that is Gotham in Batman, both films brilliantly personified the worlds they were depicting with impeccable set design and costuming. And while Spider-Man doesn't leave its mark through use of sets or costumes, it manages to set itself apart by becoming an unexpectedly attuned character study.

As Peter Parker, a nerdy high schooler who, after being bitten by a genetically engineered spider, gains superhuman powers, Tobey Maguire is the perfect blend of vulnerability, wide-eyed innocence and charisma. Keeping uncannily true to Stan Lee's original storyline, Parker initially fumbles learning how to simply use his powers and then struggles more profoundly with the complex issues being a superhero brings with it.

Not only does Raimi do a wonderful job showing how Parker must figure out how to move (the process of shooting webs out of your wrist and swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper is not nearly as convenient or easy as it looks), he also handles the more dramatic elements of his central character's transformation wonderfully.

Weighing in as the cantankerous villain, Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Willem Defoe is delightfully over-the-top. As an ambitious businessman who, after testing his secret serum turns into a vengeful green monster with super human powers, Defoe imbues his baddie with an amusing case of schizophrenia. Hearing his alter ego beckon him to perform evil acts in the mirror, Defoe struts around with a fiendish grin one moment and a tormented mug the next.

Working off the lighthearted tone of Stan Lee's comic, Spider-Man blends comedy and irony with great success. As Peter Parker/Spider-Man is out saving the city, will he make it to Thanksgiving dinner on time and avoid being found out by his frail Aunt May in the process?

It's this type of scenario, combined with the more profound issue that Parker must sacrifice a normal life at great cost in order to be a superhero, which makes Spider-Man entertaining without feeling slight.

HOLLYWOOD ENDING

While it was always difficult to swallow the notion of Allen as an object of affection, it was somehow plausible, at times even cute. Chalk it up to the fact that the women he often paired himself with were his own age (Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton formerly being his two most popular leading ladies), or simply that Allen himself was younger and somehow more appealing. Whatever it was, the novelty is now long gone. One of the most unbearable aspects of sitting through a Woody Allen movie these days is watching the 60+ actor/director/writer pair himself with beautiful women more than half his age.

Sure it's a stretch to picture Marial Hemmingway falling for a 40-something Woody Allen in Manhattan, but it's a farce to watch a 60- something Woody Allen romance Tea Leoni in Hollywood Ending. Whether in awful films such as The Jade Scorpion or more amusing fare like Everyone Says I Love You, Woody Allen has had the audacity to pit himself as a romantic interest opposite actresses like Helen Hunt, Elizabeth Berkley and, yes, even Julia Roberts.

And, while the renowned director may still have a few good films in him, he certainly needs to show more restraint in his casting choices and find someone else to play Woody Allen. After all, it's no coincidence that one of the best films Allen's made in the last few years, Bullets Over Broadway, features someone other than himself (namely John Cusack) in the lead role.

The film is about a washed-up director (Allen) who gets a last stab at greatness with a studio script handed down to him by his ex-wife (Leoni) and is a ridiculous one-joke affair that takes aim at the Tinseltown machine with mostly disappointing results.

While there's a truly hilarious interlude in which the Mandarin-speaking cameraman's translator serves as Allen's eyes on the set, most of Hollywood Ending is dull and methodical. Aside from the bit with the Chinese translator, the other highly satisfying moment in Hollywood Ending comes at the film's own ending.

Allen manages to work his simple, mostly trite, treatise on show business up to a funny and witty close. Especially enjoyable for film buffs, the single joke that wraps up Hollywood Ending is truly ironic - almost good enough to make the entire experience worthwhile.