moriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer) (04/12/84)
Over the last three weeks, I've gone out and seen three movies, and I think
each is worthy of comment.
SPLASH:
Whatever you've heard, I cannot say that
this is a funny movie. The script is good, the idea is neat (I like whimsey
better than anyone, gang), but... When Ebert & Siskel (of At The Movies)
said that they were giving this movie a "thumbs down" due to the casting of
the male lead, despite a nice script, I thought they might be getting a mite
too picky. But no. Darryl Hannah is fine as the mermaid, and John Candy is
terrific (and has one of the funniest lines I've heard all year, as he
impersonates a Swedish biologist). But Tom Hanks, when he smiles tenderly,
reminds you of 1) someone with severe cramps, 2) an insurance salesman, or
3) an add for Gleem II. He is not funny, and plays a somewhat insensitive
jerk anyway (he whines a lot about his love life, which can be funny when
Woody Allen does it, but not here). He just cannot walk that tight line
between comedy and affection. Maybe Michael Keaton....
WORTH: $1 on a slow evening (maybe $.50 if you're not whimsical).
CARMEN:
I'm not a foreign
film watcher by nature, but I have this friend who loves 'em, and she
dragged me (literally) to go see it. I'm glad she did, because otherwise I
would have have missed some of the finest dancing, best editing and most
interesting plots I've seen. This (like the Stuntman, though not as
involved or bizarre) is a movie within a movie, with a dance company putting
on the opera "Carmen", and the actors reflecting the roles more and more as
the movie progresses. However, while the plot is engrossing, the real thing
to go for is the dance numbers. Someone with a flair for color, moving
objects and sound photographed and edited this picture -- it has been a
long, long time since I've seen tension and passion so impressively and
clearly displayed in dance (especially the factory dance scene... really
made me gasp). If you have any enjoyment for dance at all (and I really
don't have much), see this movie.
WORTH: Full price.
MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON:
Probably, this is one of the best pictures I've seen since "The Dead Zone"
(raised eyebrows from some of you), though, of course, it is totally
different. Do you remember Frank Capra movies? Very cornball, but still
able to raise a lump in your throat in repeated showings ("It's a Wonderful
Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" spring to mind). Preston Sturges
wrote and directed comedies like Capra's, but with less corny dialogue.
Well, "Moscow on the Hudson" is as good as any Capra film at stirring
patriotism, but it does so without the schmaltz. This is definitely Robin
Williams best acting job (no great compliment there), but most credit goes
to Paul Mazursky for writing and direction. While I am not a well-known
flag-waver, this movie made me feel how lucky I am to live in the USA
without hitting me over the head with it. Russia's lack of political
freedom is not portrayed by villainous KGB officials and a Kafka-like state
of life; rather, it shows the boredom and unhappiness that life in the
Soviet Union contains. This is, in many parts, a comedy, but it is gentle
humor here... observations on American society made by someone with a great
deal of affection for the people you find here. There are slow parts (the
romantic story really bogs down), but there are moments here that really
cause the eyes to mist up. Williams does acting here I did not think he
could be capable of; he never degenerates into his (excellent) manic
stand-up comic routine. A very good show all around.
WORTH: Full price.
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