reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/08/84)
Randal Kleiser strikes again! Who, you ask, is Randal Kleiser?
Why, he's one of the most financially successful directors in history,
having directed both "The Blue Lagoon" and "Grease", which I've always
thought is the most undeserving vastly popular film of all time.
Kleiser's last film ("Summer Lovers") struck out, and this one probably
will, too.
I'd have some respect for Kleiser if it weren't for the fact that he has
so openly pandered to the lowest common denominator, and if he were a
halfway decent director. He has at least kept doing different things.
Rather than direct "Grease II" (one of the most deserved flops of recent
years), he made "Summer Lovers", which was different, though not very good.
Now he gives us "Grandview USA", also different, and not a lot better.
The story is set in a small Midwestern town. C. Thomas Howell (from
"The Outsiders") is about to graduate from high school and likely to go to
a local college where he will never be able to fulfill his dream to become
an oceanographer. Jamie Lee Curtis, having made her final escape from
the looney in "Halloween", owns a demolition derby which is about to go
under, financially. She's been hooked on Patrick Swayze (also from "The
Outsiders"), one of her drivers; he's always loved her, but wound up
married to a sluttish wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh, who's excellent).
There's a fair amount of plot, centering around the disintegration of
Swayze's marriage, Howell's crush on Curtis, and a nefarious plot by
Howell's real-estate agent father to grab Curtis' land. Nobody's likely
to see this one for its scintillating story.
The acting is uniformly good, though I personally have trouble seeing
Curtis as a stunning beauty. I was particularly impressed by Swayze.
That's most of the good news, though. Put simply, Kleiser doesn't seem
to have a clue about how to direct the film. There are errors on almost
every directorial level, from story elements, to presentation of scenes,
to overall tone and consistency, to camera movement. Only his handling
of the actors is praiseworthy, and his failures in other categories casts
some doubts on how much the performances owe to him.
Kleiser doesn't know if he wants a realistic drama, a comedy, a heartwarming
piece of Americana, or what. So he tries to have all of them. Just in case
he's forgotten something, or the teenagers are getting bored, he throws in
a couple of irrelevant fantasy musical numbers. They wouldn't make it on
MTV, their obvious inspiration. Kleiser tends to pander to his audiences
expectations, rather than follow through on real drama (e.g., just for once,
when a father carefully admonishes his son to take good care of his
expensive car, I'd like to see it come back undamaged). I can't really
recommend it, unless you are strongly interested in one of the leading
players. It has its moments, so you might want to catch it on the bottom
half of a double feature or on cable.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!reiher