Film Review: The Palm Beach Story

"The Palm Beach Story"
*** 1\2 (out of ****)

Is it love or money that makes for a happy marriage? The answer in Preston Sturges' classic comedy, "The Palm Beach Story" (1942) is both.

"The Palm Beach Story" may be overlooked by movie fans in favor of Sturges comedies such as "The Lady Eve" (1941) or "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) but it is equal in the number of laughs those movies offer. The movie supplies us with the typical combination of broad slapstick comedy and wonderful dialogue so often found in Sturges' comedies.

Watching "The Palm Beach Story" again, I kept comparing it to Ernst Lubitsch's "Trouble in Paradise" (1932). I don't know about other movie fans but I've placed the two great directors side by side. Although Lubitsch pre-dates Sturges (Lubitsch made films in the silent era) both men, I believe, exemplified the standard of sophisticated, witty, adult comedies. Sturges' comedies usually had more physical comedy written into them but "The Palm Beach Story" may be the closest Sturges came to writing an Ernst Lubitsch comedy.

We follow a poor but happily married New York couple (that suspiciously lives in a very nice apartment) Tom and Gerry Jeffers (Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert). Being behind on their rent their apartment is on the market and being shown with them living in it. One potential tenant, credited as the Wienie King (Robert Dudley), takes a liking to Gerry (short for Geraldine) and offers her money to pay off her debts. He also gives her some life lessons and warns her of the downfalls of old age and the realization of allowing valuable years to slip by.

Inspired by these words of wisdom from the Wienie King Geraldine asks Tom for a divorce. She says she is tired of being poor and struggling. However, this allows Sturges' screenplay to comment on sex and the sexes. Gerry begins to argue that she has had many opportunities to help Tom advance his career but his pride would not allow him too.  One fantastic line of dialogue Gerry delivers is "you have no idea what a long-legged gal can do without doing anything". It is a funny, well-written line but as it goes with comedy, every joke contains a kernel of truth thus making Sturges' screenplay not only funny but observant and smart.

Essentially what "The Palm Beach Story" becomes is a story of will they or won't they, meaning will Tom and Gerry (reminds you of the famous cat and mouse) get back together or won't they? Gerry may ask for a divorce and may be tired of financially struggling but the viewer never doubts for a moment Tom and Gerry love each other. Story-wise that may the flaw of the movie. We know how it will end and the movie does nothing to suspend disbelief.

Gerry heads to Palm Beach for a quick divorce and to find a rich husband. She unknowingly stumbles across one, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee), one of the richest men in the world and an obvious swipe at John D. Rockefeller. Hackensacker takes a liking to Gerry and she takes a liking to his money. Sturges could have made Hackensacker a viable suitor for Gerry's affection but doesn't take the movie in that direction. Yes, I know such a situation would have become the cliche of the poor woman having to chose between love or money but tell me since when has Hollywood been above using cliches?

In the Hackensacker character though Sturges has created a wonderful character and Vallee plays the part perfectly. Vallee and Colbert play off each other wonderfully, showing a lot of chemistry and I must admit, many of the big laughs I experienced were a result of the Hackensacker character. Younger audiences may not know it but Vallee was a tremendously popular singer during the 1920s and often the butt of jokes because of his nasal voice. He mostly appeared in movies as himself at this point but here Sturges really allows him to shine. Vallee even won an award from the National Board of Review for his performance.

Not wanting to leave Tom out of the action, Sturges creates a scenario where Hackensacker's sister, Centimillia (Mary Astor), takes a liking to him. You see, Tom follows Gerry to Palm Beach and not wanting to reveal the true nature of their relationship, Gerry tells everyone Tom is her brother. If all goes well, there could be a double wedding with Tom and Gerry hitting the jackpot.

"The Palm Beach Story" has more in common with depression era comedies centered around get rich quick schemes and characters concluding love is more important than money (reinforced by the popular songs of the day) than American cinema from the 1940s. Depending on the month this movie was released, America had either not entered the war yet or it was the early days of U.S. involvement and thus lacks the patriotism found in other movies of the era.

This was the fifth movie Sturges had directed in what would become his creative peak between 1940 - 1944 when it seemed as if he could do no wrong. He wrote and directed eight feature-length comedies during this period, scoring a total of three Academy Award nominations for best original screenplay, winning one for "The Great McGinty" (1940), his directorial debut. For me, this may have been his best movie at the time with only "Sullivan's Travels" giving it competition.

Still Sturges creates some unnecessary confusion with a sub-plot involving twins. The twins begin and end the movie but Sturges doesn't offer a proper explanation for what we have seen. By the end of the movie if we go back to the beginning it will either confuse you more or creates a situation that is so conniving it deserved its own movie.

Featured among the cast in various supporting roles is a rollcall of Sturges regulars including Franklin Pangborn, William Demarest, Al Bridge, Robert Greig and Jimmy Conlin. The names may not mean anything to you but trust me when you see their faces you will knowingly recognize each of them as "oh, that guy"!

The movie was included among the American Film Institute's top 100 funniest American comedies ranked in the 77th spot. Three other Sturges comedies made the list, each ranked higher. "The Palm Beach Story" could be a nice place to start for those not familiar with the great comedy director's work. All of his usual traits are on display here.

Film Reviews: Ready Player One, Acrimony & A Quiet Place

"Ready Player One"
*** (out of ****)

It's that 80s show with Steven Spielberg!

"Ready Player One" (2018) may be the most crowd-pleasing movie director Steven Spielberg has released since "Catch Me If You Can" (2002). Depending on your perspective, that may mean different things.

Steven Spielberg is not a filmmaker I regard as one of America's finest filmmakers, even among his generation. I much prefer the work of Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Stanley Kubrick. Although Spielberg is better than George Lucas.

I have seen Spielberg movies I have enjoyed a lot. Of course, there are the usual suspects; "Schindler's List" (1993) and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) but I also enjoyed "Munich" (2005), "A.I." (2001) and "Minority Report" (2002). The last movie Spielberg has released of merit I would say was "Munich" even though last year Spielberg released "The Post" (2017), which was nominated for a best picture Academy Award. Despite being praised by the Observer movie critic, Rex Reed, as the year's best movie, it seemed to lack the oomph of a Steven Spielberg release, a "must see event". In fact, I would argue the passing years haven't been so kind to Spielberg. He is no longer the wunderkind of cinema. He really hasn't made a movie of late that has had a great impact on the culture as he was once able to.

That brings us to "Ready Player One". Will it get a best picture Academy Award nomination? I doubt it. But, it was the most fun I have had at a Steven Spielberg movie in years. It is the kind of movie the public can and will get excited about and will create a lot of positive buzz as moviegoers recommend it to their friends. That enthusiasm has been missing from Spielberg's work of late. "Ready Player One" is a welcome return. Rather conveniently also the movie is loaded with 80s references, a time when Spielberg achieved his greatest success financially at the box-office.

The movie is based on a novel written by Ernest Cline, of the same title, which takes place in the year 2045 in Columbus, Ohio. Making a social commentary on today's society, nearly all of this futuristic society is immersed in an on-line world know as OASIS, where people create avatars and live out all their desires and can create their own identities. The recent news involving Facebook nicely coincides with the movie's theme.

The creator of OASIS, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) has died. In death, he reveals he created an Easter egg (a hidden message) in his game. Whoever finds it will get ownership of OASIS.

Our hero is a teenager, Wade (Tye Sheridan), who proves to be the biggest obstacle in the company's IOI way to finding the Easter egg. Wade is also able to find love with a fellow gamer searching for the Easter egg, Samantha (Olivia Cooke).

Among the many movie references found in "Ready Player One" are "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971), "Back to the Future" (1985), "King Kong" (1933), "Jurassic Park" (1993), "The Shining" (1980), "WarGames" (1983) and "The Iron Giant" (1999).

"Ready Player One" tells us society spends too much time in a virtual reality and not enough time in actual reality. Life may be a miserable experience but there are some things that can't beat our bond with other real-life humans.

"Tyler Perry's Acrimony"  ** (out of ****)

I am not familiar with the work of Tyler Perry but I am familiar with his name and acknowledge he is a force to be reckoned with. It seems each movie he directs is a box-office smash (this movie debuted in the number two spot). His "Acrimony" was my second experience with his movies. I can't say I am a fan.

My biggest disconnect with "Acrimony" may come from the fact I am a man. The movie deals with the fury of a woman, an angry ex-wife to be exact. For a majority of the movie, I could not relate to her anger and thirst for revenge.

Taraji P. Henson stars as Melinda. When we meet Melinda she has a very angry expression on her face as she sits in a courtroom, listening to a judge order her to see a therapist to deal with her anger issues.

Melinda was married to Robert (Lyriq Bent) for many years after the two met while in college. They are now divorced. Melinda believes Robert used her and has been unfaithful to her. When the two met, Melinda's mother had died, leaving her the family home and $350,000. Little by little Melinda gave it all the Robert eventually leaving the two struggling to get by. Robert has held on to a long belief that his invention, a rechargeable battery, will bring him great financial success. It is because of this invention Melinda has squandered her money.

The financial problems have caused a rift in their marriage. Melinda has also never been able to get over an incident that occurred when the two first started dating. She caught Robert with another woman. In a fit of rage, Melinda decided to drive her car into Robert's trailer park home, while he and his lover were in it. Could Robert still be cheating on her?

After the two divorce, Robert's ship comes in. A major company buys his invention, making him a multi-millionaire. He is now able to live the life he long told Melinda they would lead. Only now Robert is living that life with his new wife. Knowing of Robert's success drives Melinda off the deep end as regret and bitterness fill inside her. That could have been her if only she hadn't asked Robert for a divorce and believe his pleas that he never cheated on her after the first incident.

Perry doesn't seem to side with Melinda and by extension has the audience see her as angry, bitter and entitled. Since I am not familiar with the work of Perry, I don't know if this is a common theme among his movies but "Acrimony" seems to be a movie telling people, you aren't entitled to anything in life. Don't go around believing people owe you something or you deserve the "good life". That was the moral I came away with watching the movie.

Henson does what she can with the role and is always able to command our attention but Melinda isn't a "real" person. She is much too broad a caricature. That makes her difficult to play. Henson has her moments on-screen that seem realistic but far too often the character becomes a stereotype of an angry black woman and feeds into the cultural stereotype suggesting women are rather revengeful minded when relationships end. Have you ever heard of a woman slashing a man's tires?

I have never understood this mentality. Why seek revenge because a relationship has ended? And in the case of Melinda, she demanded the divorce. She through Robert out of the house and warned him he better leave or she would turn into a devil. After he accepts her demands she then criticizes him for not fighting for her. Huh?

Another problem with the movie is Perry doesn't write good dialogue and doesn't understand women. Yes, I've only seen two movies directed and written by Perry, but neither had good dialogue. Little rings true in his words. He seems to use dialogue to make social commentaries instead of having it sound natural. This wouldn't be a problem but his commentaries aren't very interesting or thought-provoking.

I am willing to watch more Tyler Perry movies but not because of anything in "Acrimony". I would hate to believe this is one of Perry's better works. That would just make me angry.

"A Quiet Place"  *** (out of ****)

The sound of terror!

"A Quiet Place" (2018) is an intense movie experience.

Rather minimal on plot, this is a survival tale, with heavy emphasis on survival.

Aliens (or monsters) have attacked New York, at the very least. The scope of the attack isn't made clear but we do see headlines from NY newspapers. The monsters are blind and sensitive to sound. The slightest noise will send the monsters on the attack.

The movie follows a single family and the viewer has no real way of knowing how others are dealing with this, which may have been interesting.

The movie was directed by John Krasinki, who also stars in the movie along with Emily Blunt as his wife.

Although it is rather modest in its narrative it does hit on some themes regarding family and father-daughter bonds.

To Krasinki's credit the movie does, at times, go into detail attempting to explain how it would be possible to live in such a world. He also gets the most suspense I can ever recall out of the sight of a nail.

Not really an exceptional movie but fun to see on the big screen with a large crowd.

Film Review: Barry Lyndon

"Barry Lyndon"  **** (out of ****)

In the end, it is always a woman that leads to a man's downfall.

Starting a movie review with a sentence like that may make you think of a review about film noir but this is about Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" (1975). How can that be?

"Barry Lyndon" is a movie that tells us life is a grueling experience. For every bit of joy it may bring, tragedy follows. But, you will say, no, "Barry Lyndon" is a movie about how beautiful cinematography can be by candlelight. The cinematography is beautiful and inventive and all the other things you have read and heard over the years. But, a movie is nothing without a story and the story "Barry Lyndon" tells is a grim one that all comes down to a woman.

Watching Kubrick's masterpiece again and skimming through some reviews I find too many are preoccupied writing about the technical aspects of the movie, namely the cinematography. However, they say little about the story and the meaning of the story. Stanley Kubrick was too much of a perfectionist and too gifted not to make a movie that was about something. Theme is what interest me most about films. What are particular films about? What is the message the filmmaker is trying to make? The filmmaker usually will then use the conventions of filmmaking to get across that theme.

At the beginning of Kubrick's film, we meet a young man, Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal). He loves his cousin Nora (Gay Hamilton) and she seems to favor Barry. Feeling the bliss of first love, young Barry soon learns of its bitter aftertaste. The lovely Nora becomes the object of affection of Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter), a wealthy British army captain that may help Nora's family get out of debt. Barry, however, cannot stand aside and allow the woman he loves to marry another man. With hatred, jealousy, heartbreak, and pride stirring inside him, Barry challenges the army captain to a duel. This singular event sets the path Barry's life will follow. He must leave his beloved Ireland, leave his family, and leave the woman he loves.

The experience eventually will harden Barry and sour his view of life. His main ambition will now be to become a gentleman. He will become like the wealthy army captain he has killed in a duel. He will do whatever it takes to succeed and reach this goal. It is all because of a woman. A woman that hurt him. His quest to correct that moment in time leads to his downfall.

"Barry Lyndon" is somewhat episodic in its plot and tells its story in two acts and closes with an epilogue. After Barry leaves home he heads for Dublin and joins the army to fight in the Seven Year War. He makes the acquaintance of a libertine Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee). The two men join together and develop a system to cheat at cards which leads Barry to his ultimate goal, to marry a wealthy woman. And he finds one, Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). She is married and with a child when they meet but Barry is able to seduce her and wait for her elderly husband to die.

The movie was based on a picaresque novel written by William Makepeace Thackeray entitled "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" and is similar to Thackeray's "Vanity Fair". Both deal with the class structure and follow two social climbers. And both are satirical. Although both movies were released in the same year and the source material is different, watching "Barry Lyndon" I can't help but think of Woody Allen's "Love & Death" (1975). Nothing in "Barry Lyndon" is as laugh-out-loud funny as in Allen's movie but "Barry Lyndon" does have moments of dark humor.

Unlike others, I enjoy Ryan O'Neal's performance as the lead character. O'Neal has an innocent face, which fits well with the early moments of the film, and he is able to express a coldness in his performance. Coldness and emotionless behavior is a large part of "Barry Lyndon". Some criticize the movie on this ground and say the movie is cold. Stanley Kubrick doesn't make warm and fuzzy movies. To call a Kubrick movie cold is not a criticism. It is an accurate description. His movies usually had a detached quality to them. O'Neal seems to be a perfect vehicle for this.

Kubrick doesn't make the viewer like Barry or grow an affection for him. Barry isn't off-putting but Kubrick places the audience, in a conscious way, in the role of observer. There isn't much of a mystery to what will happen in the movie because a narrator tells us things in advance and speaks in a lifeless voice, stating events in a matter-of-fact way. The "Acts" also have subtitles that outline events to come.

And yet despite Kubrick's intention of keeping the audience at a distance, I find that I love this movie. I love the character. I love the screenplay and the movie's message. The movie is almost nihilist. What happens in "Barry Lyndon"? Does the lead character learn any lessons about life? Maybe that it is foolish to shoot down (you'll understand after you see the movie). But there is nothing redeeming about the characters. If you look at the movie with this in mind, it is almost bleaker than an Ingmar Bergman movie.

I suppose society dictates that I must mention something about the film's cinematography. Being the perfectionist Kubrick was he did not want to use electrical lighting so he may stay true to the period. Kubrick and his cinematographer, John Alcott would shot several scenes by candlelight. Kubrick had the movie shot with special lenses.

To get a bit film geeky (?) on you, there is one scene that really impresses me but may not be as memorable to other viewers. We see a few soldiers in the frame as the camera pulls back, now we see there are more soldiers on the side of the frame. The camera pulls back further and now we see the background and more soldiers. Upon pulling further back we see the full army and an audience watching them. What I love about this scene is the way Kubrick creates depth within the scene and plays around with space. Many scenes in the movie are shot with wide long shots.

The cleverness of Kubrick's camera and his lighting may mean little to some who will say the movie is boring. It goes on too long and nothing happens. Of course, events are happening on-screen but it doesn't seem to amount to much. Does the life of Barry Lyndon, in the way it is depicted here, deserve such an in-depth examination? But, I must point you back to the themes; ambition, greed, the meaningless of life...etc.

The movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards (including best picture) and won four; best cinematography, art direction, costume design, and music. It was a box-office flop when released in 1975 and was greeted with a mixed critical reaction. Some critics, like the former Chicago Tribune movie critic, Gene Siskel, thought very highly of the movie and placed it on his year-end top ten list. Due to reevaluation, it is now thought of as one of Kubrick's best movies. But, I find it still gets lost in the shuffle. Movie fans more readily acclaim "Dr. Strangelove" (1962), "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) or "The Shining" (1980). "Barry Lyndon" is equal to or greater than those movies. Of course, thinking it over, it seems all of Kubrick's movies have taken time to find their audience. "Barry Lyndon"'s day is yet to come.

Film Review: The Perfect Clown

"The Perfect Clown"
*** (out of ****)

Larry Semon is "The Perfect Clown" (1925) this April Fool's Day.

It may be an example of revisionist history but some claim silent movie comedian Larry Semon was a top box office attraction in the 1920s. In an attempt to measure his success, and impress modern-day audiences, they say his popularity rivaled Charlie Chaplin. These kinds of statements may have meant something to me if I hadn't heard the same things said of Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon. Exactly how many comedians rivaled Chaplin's popularity?

Nevertheless, lets split the difference and say audiences were aware of Larry Semon and he had fans of his style of comedy. Whatever his level of fame in the 1920s he is nearly forgotten today. Like many comics of his era, Semon got his start in vaudeville, where his parents were also performers with a magical act. Semon's first screen credit dates back to 1915 when he signed with Vitagraph Studios (which was eventually bought by Warner Brothers). His screen persona was a familiar one among comedians which utilized his diminutive stature and puny physique. He played a good-natured young man that would use his quick wit to get himself out of precarious situations. There was also a lot of physical comedy in his two-reelers and movies. While a comparison is not exactly fair you could say he had elements of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton in his character.

"The Perfect Clown" was released towards the end of Semon's career (he died in 1928) and in the same year as his most famous comedy, "The Wizard of Oz" (1925). If "The Wizard of Oz" was Semon's masterpiece (as Semon intended) either by popularity or critical acclaim, "The Perfect Clown" is lacking. Its plot doesn't warrant a running time of 50 minutes. This would have been a nice, mildly pleasant two-reeler. To fill in the time "The Perfect Clown" veers slightly off course though admittedly along this detour creates some nice comedy sequences.

Semon stars as Larry Ladd, a man who started at the bottom to work his way down. He is an office clerk that is given the responsibility to deposit $10,000 at a bank. Naturally, he arrives at the bank late and is now stuck holding on to grip bag with the money. Paranoia kicks in when Larry reads a newspaper headline about a bank messenger that was killed while carrying $10,000 (what a coincidence)! What if Larry meets the same fate? He must quickly and safely head home and get ready for his date with his sweetheart (and co-worker) Rose (Dorothy Dwan, the real-life wife of Semon).

Unless I missed something it is never revealed what type of company Larry works at, what the financial transaction was for and why Larry was the one entrusted with this responsibility. It is all what Hitchcock would call the MacGuffin and viewers can live with that as the situation is relatable and entertaining enough to hold our interest.

The set-up of this premise takes up approximately 20 minutes of screen time including a rather lengthy character introduction of Larry centered around his inability to pay his rent as he tries to leave his apartment and head for work without his landlady (Kate Price) and her son (Oliver Hardy) catching him. This sequence features some good comedy routines such as Larry "shadowing" his landlady although Keaton did this type of thing better and seemingly effortlessly. Semon's variation of it isn't as polished.

Where "The Perfect Clown" begins to lose me is around the half-way mark. At this point, Larry teams up with another co-worker, Snowball (African-American comedian G. Howe Black) and the two are put in a comedy/horror situation after their car breaks down, they rest at a cemetery and are stuck in a scary looking basement until morning. What I don't like about this is it ultimately takes us away from the movie main objective, Larry going home. This scenario establishes a completely new environment and sub-plot to serve as a justification for its existence. It merely prolongs the running time of the movie. There are laughs created by this situation and for that, I decided to recommend the movie but "The Perfect Clown" engages in too many "comedy diversions".

From this comedy/horror sequence, the movie turns into a chase comedy. More specifically a cops and robbers chase comedy with an exaggerated number of cops chasing after Larry, recalling Buster Keaton's terrific two-reeler comedy, "Cops" (1922). Where again Keaton created better visual gags.

G. Howe Black (whose real name was Spencer Bell) was a forerunner to African-American comedians like Willie Best playing characters that would suggest racial stereotypes such as black people are illiterate and lazy. The title cards for Snowball's dialogue are written phonetically, as Snowball would say the words. What I liked about the character, however, was he was essentially treated as an equal with Larry. They both acted cowardly and got into trouble. Neither of them is the brains of the team.

It will also be fun for Laurel & Hardy fans to see Oliver Hardy in a comedy minus Stan Laurel. Hardy often appeared with either Charley Chase or Semon prior to his pairing with Laurel. He doesn't exhibit much comedy greatness here though. His primary role is to play antagonist to Semon and throw his weight around, literally. By 1925 Hardy had appeared opposite Laurel but it wouldn't be until 1927 when the boys were an official team.

"The Perfect Clown" is not a perfectly structured comedy. It becomes three comedies in one and in the process loses some of its focus. There are laughs however and some may find Semon's persona enduring. For me, this isn't really the best showcase for Semon and does nothing to establish the uniqueness of the character.

The movie was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, who collaborated often with Harold Lloyd and directed two of Lloyd's best-known comedies; "The Freshman" (1925) and "Safety Last!" (1923). One of the movie's writers, Thomas J. Crizer, was credited as a writer on another excellent Harold Lloyd comedy, "The Kid Brother" (1927).

If "The Perfect Clown" does tickle your funny bone, you will be able to check out some of his two-reelers on YouTube. There isn't a Blu-ray or DVD collection I am willing to recommend. Also, check out his version of "The Wizard of Oz". I find his character much more appealing in that movie.