If anyone knows how to make death and funerals funny, its the English.
Death at a Funeral is an English black comedy, directed by Frank Oz, about well, a funeral.
The thing about English humor is that it is either so understated that its easy to miss, or it is so over-the-top that it becomes slapstick or farcical. Death at a Funeral opts for the latter.
Basically, the movie is about a family that gathers together for a funeral. The family is full of absurd characters with every sort of personality flaw. Throw in a skin rash, some hallucinogenic drugs, a gay midget, and nudity, and in typical English style, things wildly spiral out of control as every possible thing that could go wrong, does. This is another one of those movies that draws on awkwardness, embarassment, and inappropriateness of all sorts, as we find ourself laughing at things we're not sure we should be laughing at. (Beware of a rather surprising fecal matter gag that comes out of nowhere.)
That being said, while the humor is silly at (most) times, it is still smartly done and cleverly paced. There are great laughs scattered throughout the whole short running time, and its all very entertaining. With a running time of only about 1 hour and 15 minutes, you don't have to invest a lot in this movie to enjoy it. Overall, a slightly above average comedy, that, because of English tone and delivery, succeeds more than probably any American attempt at the same type of humor.
"Death at a Funeral" at Rotten Tomatoes - 62%
"Death at a Funeral" at IMDB
12.31.2007
Death at a Funeral
Things to Watch - Dec 31
Not that anyone watches TV on New Year's Eve anyway, but I've poured over my on-screen guide so you don't have to:
ABC - 8:00 - Shrek 2
Fox - 8:00 - Men in Black II
NBC - 8:00 - Saturday Night Live in the '90's: Pop Culture Nation
ESPN - 7:30 - LIVE College Football Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Auburn vs Clemson
TNT - ALL DAY - Law & Order marathon
USA - ALL DAY - Law & Order: Criminal Intent marathon
SciFi - ALL DAY - The Twilight Zone marathon (For the next 48 hours)
Discovery - ALL DAY - Mythbusters marathon
VH1 - ALL DAY - I Love New York marathon
Travel - ALL DAY - Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations marathon
MTV - ALL DAY - A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila marathon
HBO - 7:00 - Entourage Marathon
Also, during your midnight countdowns, all network channels will have some sort of countdown show so you can watch some ball drop. ABC has the original Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve starting at 10. A new option however, starting at 11 MTV has Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball 2008. Should be fun.
What I'm TiVo-ing:
At 8 i'll be recording Saturday Night Live in the '90's: Pop Culture Nation. It looks interesting.
12.30.2007
Dreamgirls
I guess i'm in a musical mood or something, with my last review of Once and now Dreamgirls, which is odd seeing as how its the genre I try to stay away from the most. But flipping through the channels this afternoon, Dreamgirls was on, and I had heard it was good or something, so I watched it.
Dreamgirls came out a year ago, so i'm a little late to the show, but remember the point of this blog is to just tell you about whatever I happen to watch, not just shiny new stuff. Basically, Dreamgirls the movie is based off of Dreamgirls the successful broadway musical of the 80's. As fair warning, i've never been a huge fan of Broadway, Broadway Musicals, or Hollywood film adaptations of Broadway Musicals, so this movie kind of had three strikes against going into it.
Dreamgirls tells the story of R&B during the doo-wop era and onward, and follows the story of the Dreamettes-turned-Dreams, a Supremes-like trio of Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones (Beyoncé), and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni rose) and their quick rise to fame on the Billboard Charts. Like all good episodes of VH1's Behind the Music, Dreamgirls soon shows us that fame has a price in "Act II" of the movie, but leaves us with a uplifting final note.
In contrast to the touching simplicity and stripped down musical arrangements of Once, Dreamgirls boasts elaborate musical numbers and stage performances, in what I can only imagine stays faithful to the spirit of Motown and a broadway production. However in keeping with that spirit, the musical elements of this "musical" are not merely contained to the on stage performances, but rather characters sometimes break into spontaneous recitative song. I have to say, there is nothing I hate more than when characters speak to each other in song and dance out their feelings (thus my dislike of musicals and broadway.) So really, for me, that is where this movie went a little off. I would have enjoyed it much more had the singing been kept just for actual performances.
That being said though, the musical numbers are well produced and performed, and enjoyable. Jennifer Hudson, in keeping with the theme of those NOT winning American Idol being more successful than those that do, is awesome in this, both in voice and in acting. (She of course won the oscar for supporting actress.)
However I thought the movie as a whole had little substance outside of the musical performances, and relied too heavily on great singing to get by. For such a very talented cast, great individual performances failed to connect into a cohesive achievement. Like I said, it was like rushing through a musical version of VH1's Behind the Music, pulling clichéd elements of all the other music biopics out there (Foxx's Ray for one). The movie started out on all cylinders, and kept it going without a rest for the entire two hours - and that isn't a good thing. It didn't stop to take a much needed breath.
Watch it for the music, and to look at Beyoncé - but don't expect much of substance out of it.
"Dreamgirls" at Rotten Tomatoes - 78%
"Dreamgirls" at IMDB
Things to Watch - Dec 30
I've poured over my on-screen guide so you don't have to:
CBS - 8:00 - NEW The Amazing Race
ABC - 7:00 - 4 hours of the classic movie: The Sound of Music
NBC - 8:00 - LIVE NFL Football: Titans at Colts - Titans are in the playoffs with a win
ESPN - 8:00 - LIVE College Football - Independence Bowl: Alabama vs Colorado
Marathons galore:
Discovery - ALL DAY - Deadliest Catch marathon
USA Network - ALL DAY - Law & Order: SVU marathon
ESPN2 - ALL DAY - 2007 World Series of Poker marathon
VH1 - ALL DAY - Flavor of Love marathon
Sunday Night Movies
A&E - 10:00 - Jesus Camp (This is a must see)
TBS - 7:30 - The Bourne Supremacy followed by Misison: Impossible 2
TNT - 8:00 - What Women Want
SciFi - 9:00 - Star Trek: First Contact
FX - 8:00 - The Italian Job
Premium Picks
VH1Classic - 8:00 - High Fidelity
EncoreDrama - 8:00 - Carlito's Way
Retroplex - 8:00 - Slap Shot
Flix - 8:00 - Fargo
HBO2 - 9:15 - Music and Lyrics
What i'm TiVo-ing:
At 7 I will be recording The Sound of Music. (I've never seen it.) Fast forwarding through commercials in a 4 hour broadcast is a must.
At 8 I will be watching the Amazing Race live and then switching over to the Football game to hopefully watch the Titans lose so the Browns can make the playoffs.
At 10 I will be recording Jesus Camp so that I can make everyone I know watch it.
12.29.2007
Once
Is it possible to fall in love with a movie? I think I did.
Every now and then a movie comes along that hits you in exactly the right spot, providing you with that feeling you need most, when you need it most. Some movies genuinely effect you. "Once" was that movie for me. (In fact, I had wanted to start this blog for a while, but seeing this movie finally convinced me to go ahead and do it, just so I could tell you about Once.)
Once is one of those movies that reminds you of everything that is good and right about cinema, and why movies are made in the first place. It reminds you of the power of the medium - stripped of special effects, in-your-face promotion, hollywood stars, and orchestral scores - leaving only the very simple story of two people, and the music they play.
As a self-proclaimed Anglophile (or as with this Irish film - an Hibernophile), I try to pay attention to many things going on in Britain these days. "Once" is just one of the many exceptional films to come out of the Isles this year (Control, This Is England, Atonement, Eastern Promises), but I believe that it is definitely the best. Hell, it is probably the best film to come out of any country this year. (Juno had held that distinction for me until now, but Once is just flawless.)
The film takes place in Dublin. The plot couldn't be simpler: Girl meets Guy. Guy plays music. Girl also plays music. Guy and Girl play music together. Guy and Girl fall in love. In fact, the two unnamed main characters are simply credited as "Guy" and "Girl".
"Guy" is played by the very talented Glen Hansard. Hansard comes to this movie with no acting experience, but he is the front man of a very popular Irish rock band called "The Frames." (The Frames' ex-bassist John Carney directs.) "Girl" is played by Czech-born musician Markéta Irglová, who, as Roger Ebert mentions, "has the kind of smile that makes a man want to be a better person, so he can deserve being smiled at." Hansard and Irglová compose and perform all of the music in the film.
Shot in 17 days for just $160,000 (and earning almost $14 million to date), Once is the story of a broken-hearted vacuum repair man (Hansard) who also tries to get by as a busker (street performer). He meets an immigrant girl (Irglová) whose job is to sell flowers on the street. Upon learning she also plays music (the piano), they duck into a music shop where the owner lets them play together in what stands out as the most powerful and charming scene of the movie. I won't ruin any of the magic that unfolds in the rest of this movie, but what is interesting to note is that during filming, Irglová and Hansard quickly developed an on-set relationship, and are still seeing each other to this day. Thus, what unfolds on the screen between them is genuine chemistry, and combined with low production values and intimate style of shooting, we quickly begin to feel as if we are not watching two people acting, but rather are given a privileged view into two real people as they fall in love.
The ending (guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and a lump to your throat - unless you are incapable of emotion) is indicative of just how flawless a movie this is.
This year, you can have your Hairsprays and Sweeny Todds. Take your Oscar buzz, hollywood propaganda machine, and your Golden Globe nominations and shove them. Although Once was shockingly snubbed for any Golden Globe nominations, you don't need critics, fixed awards shows, or even me to tell you this is a good movie. You just need to see it for yourself.
Once was released on DVD December 17.
"Once" at Rotten Tomatoes - 98%
"Once" at IMDB
Official "Once" Trailer
