Three Movies To Avoid

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: *
Nonna Rating: #
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

I saw Sweeney Todd at Lyric Opera and hated it. But I went to movie with a relatively open mind, expecting that it might tranlate better to the screen. After all, Rotten Tomatoes' reviewers were approving at a rate of 86%. Well, they were wrong. It's still a dark story about truly despicable human beings. There's no smidgen of hope or redemption. The cartoonish stage violence of the opera gives way to graphically violent murders in the movie, each one more nauseating than the other. (Here, I must confess that, as a matter of policy, I do not attend slasher or horror films. I just don't get why some people find them enjoyable.) Finally, even Sondheim's music does not redeem the film. Only one song, "A Little Priest, is memorable at all.

Here is a film with a marvelous cast: the always fascinating Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen -- and they do their best, but it's not enough.

Whenever I pan a film, I try to recommend another which is thematically similar. In this case, that's pretty tough. There's nothing quite like this movie unless we turn to much less violent films based on Dickens' novels. If you're looking for a violent film that is worth watching, try Eastern Promises.



Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: *
Nonna Rating: $
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%

Another film with a great cast that, in my estimation, falls far short of the rating it received on Rotten Tomatoes (76%). So, a 1920s English drawing room farce starring two American actresses: Frances McDormand (with an accent) and Amy Adams (playing an American). English farce depends entirely on excellent actors (at least we have that here), impeccable timing (completely absent), and brilliant physical comedy (also absent). English farce should be nothing short of delightful. We should have smiles on our faces during most of the action. When it really works, the upper classes get a satiriacal treatment that's deeply satisfying. So skip this one or watch it on cable. If, after ten minutes, you're feeling sleepy or bored, bail.

Instead, rent Season 1 of Jeeves and Wooster, the brilliant BBC/Granada adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse's novels starring the inimitable Stephen Fry as the archetypcal British butler Jeeves and Hugh Laurie (yes, Hugh Laurie of House , who is definitely very English) as the ultimate English twit, Bertie Wooster. Watch one episode. You'll be hooked and watch all twenty-three.

Leatherheads: *1/2

Nonna Rating: $

Rotten Tomatoes: 53%

Maybe doing movies about the 1920s is the problem. Here's another film that doesn't make the grade. About half the critics were right on this one. Another movie with big stars, a disappointing script, and lackluster acting. I had high hopes for this would at least be a pleasant diversion. After all, George is in it. The problem is that Clooney seems to sleepwalk through the film. And then there's Renee Zellweger who is fast becoming a perpetually annoying actress with her squinched up face (If you've ever seen Tracy Ullmann imitate her, you know what I mean). John Krasinwski is his charming self, but it's a one note performance that certainly can't sustain the movie. The film seems to aspire to the screwball comedy of Howard Hawkes. It doesn't come close.

So, rent His Gal Friday, one of Hawkes most brilliant films. Hawkes direction, Ben Hecht's play, and the suberb acting of Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant combine to make this one of the best comedies ever filmed. And if you acquire a taste for screwball comedy, rent I Was a Male War Bride, It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, Holliday, Some Like It Hot, The Lady Eve, My Man Friday, The Awful Truth, Philadelphia Story, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, To Be or Not to Be, and Arsenic and Old Lace.

Nonna Rating System:
$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$ = Worth paying the Matinee price
$$ = Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Review: Young at Heart

Young@Heart ****
Nonna Rating: $$$

My friends Elizabeth Molitors and Jerry Hinck (independently -- they don't know each other) insist that I've never seen a movie I didn't like. Not true! In fact, I have seven backlogged movies to review in the next few days and several of them were just plain awful.

In my defense, I tend to see movies that have been well-reviewed, so as not to waste time or money at clunkers. I use the Rotten Tomatoes website, which collects reviews from everywhere, so, often there are as many as 100 opinions posted on a film. The neat thing is that the site computes the proportion of positive reviews for each movie. Generally, I've found that movies with a 75% or higher are worth seeing -- there have been exceptions, however. Anyway, the site serves as a good guide. (Yes, there have been a few movies with lower ratings that I have liked. What can I say?)

So here's my review of Young@Heart, which received a whopping 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

As my friend Linda McCarthy said yesterday after seeing the film with me, "There are a lot of life lessons in this movie." So true, but it's not preachy or sentimental or cloying: it just focuses relentlessly on life with all its joy, humor, and sadness. The film highlights an aging singing group (average age 80) based in Northhampton, MA. They could choose to sing the great romantic ballads of the 40s, but instead they belt out songs by Coldplay, The Clash, Sonic Youth, The Rolling Stones, and Talking Heads to name a few.

The film follows the group as they prepare for a concert in their hometown -- before they take off on another tour of Europe. Along the way, they perform a free concert for the local prison. That segment alone provides reason enough to see the film. The expressions on the faces of the prisoners attest to the power of music to heal and to the joy that it generates.

The film, however, does not portray old age as "cute." Many of the group are dealing with serious medical problems. But these senior citizens are not going gentle into that good night. Their energy and commitment model how to grow old and why it behooves us all to respect and care for the elderly who have much to teach us.

Nonna Rating System:
$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$ = Worth paying the Matinee price
$$ = Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it

Alleluia

Easter has come and gone. I feel as if I went into the tomb during the triduum and am just now emerging. And now it's ordinary time. Time for tears. I've been damming up my sorrow for too long.

Yesterday heralded the 150th commencement for Seabury. Andrew Shirota and Karen King orchestrated an excellent service at St. Luke's in Evanston. We all talked on the garth and ate a light lunch. Well, we didn't all talk. I just listened and smiled and posed for pictures. I was sad.

I went back to my apartment and began to pack my car. Three times I found myself sitting in a chair staring at the walls. Sadness. It took me three and a half hours to pack my car. I think it should have taken one and a half at the most. People had gathered in the yard behind our building to talk and drink and eat some more. I didn't want to be there; I just wanted to go home. I began to wonder if I might be suffering from a clinical depression.

Today, I don't think so. I'm just sad. Really sad. In the past two months I've been very conscious of putting off grieving for my Dad. Whenever I became sorrowful, I'd allow myself five minutes of wailing and then I got back to work. The result: I managed to get through the semester and finish on time, but I'm sad. Now, I have a whole month ahead of me with absolutely nothing planned. I intend to loaf, read, nap, watch soaps, and be sad whenever I need to be. I expect I will be so bored with this behavior by the end of the month, I will more than ready to plunge into an active June.

And then there's the sadness of Seabury. Yesterday at the commencement service, I felt as if I was finished also -- without the benefit of a diploma. This semester has had one "little death" after another. The "non-closing" closing of Seabury, the layoffs of the staff, the blanket firing of the faculty, the resignations of Frank Yamada and AKMA Adam, Ruth Meyers' sabbatical, and Rosemary Gooden's visiting professorship at Virgina Theological Seminary. Then, there's the dissolving fall schedule and the closing of the bookstore. Sunt lacrimae rerum. I know next year will be sad but I also know that there will be joy and that we will be alright. The Dean suggested the other night that we bless God for what is. I intend to do just that -- and to feel sad when I need to.

And I have a backlog of about seven movies to review. I'll get busy. Most of them are out of the theatres already, but I can always mislead you about whether to rent them or not.