Prime Time: Heartbreakers (2001)

A con movie with plenty of comedy in the mix, Heartbreakers makes use of a great cast to provide some enjoyable entertainment. It's never going to be rated as an unmissable slice of cinema, but I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the people involved.

Written by Robert Dunn, Paul Guay, and Stephen Mazur (the latter two a screenwriting duo who had previously delivered both The Little Rascals and Liar Liar), this is the tale of a mother (Angela, played by Sigourney Weaver) and daughter (Wendy, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) who work together to trap foolish, horny, men. We see how their plan plays out at the end of their latest venture, with Angela having married Dean (Ray Liotta), falling asleep on him on their wedding night, and then ensuring that she catches him almost-coitus-startyuppus with Wendy (who is using an assumed name, and not letting on to the fact that she is related to Angela). Moving on to their next victim, a rich old man named William B. Tensy (Gene Hackman), things are soon complicated by Angela having to pretend to be Russian and Wendy being charmed by a local bar owner, Jack (Jason Lee).

Director David Mirkin may not have the most interesting and worthwhile directorial filmography to explore, his best work tends to be with his role as writer and/or producer, but he has delivered at least two very different comedy features that some put forward as deserving of more love. One is Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, which so many people will now rush to remind you is a real treat. The other is Heartbreakers, often championed by . . . me.

With the focus on the main characters and dialogue throughout, without propping things up with soundtrack choices or big set-pieces, this is a film that will appeal more to people who like the leads. Which shouldn’t be a problem when the leads include Weaver and Hackman.

Weaver gives a performance so good that it saddens me she hasn’t been given more comedy roles. She is also showcased for her looks and sexiness here, which works brilliantly (thanks to her natural appearance and the wardrobe department maximising her ability to attract the gaze of any man she wants). Love Hewitt ends up overshadowed, which would seem inevitable, but also manages to show a decent knack for comedy at times. She commits to some of the zanier moments, and the relationship between herself and Weaver is nicely crafted. Hackman is having fun, playing a blinkered old man letting his heart overrule his head, and Liotta also seems to be enjoying himself, and ALSO does so well with the comedy that it makes you wonder why he didn’t get to do more (the opening act is hilarious, and he has one or two great lines in the finale). Lee is a sweet guy who might just be The One, a standard love interest role he played very well for a number of years, and there are great supporting roles, and cameos, for Anne Bancroft, Ricky Jay, Nora Dunn, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, and Carrie Fisher, among others.

I am not here to convince anyone that Heartbreakers is an all-time classic, as a con movie or a comedy, but it is certainly up there with a number of greats that I would consider hard to beat. Films like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Matchstick Men, Paper Moon, The Brothers Bloom and a few others. I might rewatch all of those films ahead of this one, but this is one I would definitely like to see remembered by more people who appreciate its many charms.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: The Elephant Man (1980)

The Elephant Man has always struck me as the most un-Lynchian film in the filmography of David Lynch (although someone did recently remind me of The Straight Story, which I have yet to see), and yet it is no less worthwhile, or rewarding, for fans of his work.

Based on the true life story of John Merrick (played under a load of make up by John Hurt, with a performance that I would argue remains his finest achievement), this is a fairly straightforward look at someone who was viewed as a freak for most of his life. And even those who sought to help him ended up falling into a trap of occasionally putting him on display for the benefit of others. The main person to try helping Mr. Merrick is a doctor named Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), who decides to home the man in the hospital he works at, helped in his endeavours by a matron (Mrs Mothershead, played by Wendy Hiller), and the governor of the institution (played by John Gielgud).

Describing various moments from this movie would easily make you question my opening paragraph. There are some nightmare and dream sequences that certainly wouldn't be out of place in other Lynch movies, and nor would the idea of evil making visits in the guise of various humans. But here, couched within a film that has such a strong emotional core in the plight of Mr. Merrick, it all feels a bit different. The darker, sometimes surreal, touches are just that. This is a story told respectfully and effectively by Lynch, with incidents in the script (co-written by himself, Christopher De Vore, and Eric Bergen) that show why it would appeal to him, cinematically.

The performances are brilliant across the board. Hurt gets all of the praise, and rightfully so, but he's rivalled by the beautifully restrained, for the most part, turns from Hopkins, Hiller, and Gielgud. Freddie Jones and Michael Elphick are far less restrained, playing the kind of nasty and abusive individuals who wouldn't look out of place in a classic Dickensian tale (which this very much feels like), and you have a number of familiar faces in smaller supporting roles: Anne Bancroft (who gets a few wonderful main scenes alongside Hurt), Dexter Fletcher, Hannah Gordon, Lesley Dunlop, Pauline Quirke, and Kenny Baker.

The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, whether scenes are crystal clear or murky when showing the smoke-filled and less hygienic back lanes of London, and Freddie Francis deserves no small amount of praise for his contribution as director of photography. In fact, this is a film in which I wish I could namecheck everyone, from the make up team to the costume designers and on and on. I always remember that film is a collaborative effort, and am always aware that when writing reviews I am picking and choosing the "main names" to discuss, but The Elephant Man is a classic that simply emanates care and hard work from every frame, making me feel more remiss than usual in not listing every credited contributor.

If you have seen this before then revisit it some time, when you can handle something serious, rewarding and moving. If you haven't seen it yet then get to it, and do it as soon as possible.

9/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy a disc here.

April Fools: Silent Movie (1976)

One of my favourite shots in any film ever!

It does exactly what it says on the tin. Oh yes, Silent Movie is a silent movie, for the most part (only one person gets to speak, and it's a brilliant punchline), directed by Mel Brooks, who co-wrote the film with Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca and Barry Levinson.

The plot is a brilliant slice of meta fun, as Brooks, accompanied by Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise, convinces a studio to let him make a silent movie, and then sets out to convince a variety of big stars to appear in his silent movie. That's the excuse for one set-piece after another, from going to great lengths to talk to Burt Reynolds, to keeping things perfectly balanced in James Caan's trailer while trying to get him on board. As the film starts to look more and more appealing to those in the business, a rival studio sends out a secret weapon to scupper the whole thing, the lovely Bernadette Peters.

For film fans, this is almost as enjoyable now as it was nearly 40 years ago, when first released. The comedy, as you could probably guess, is pretty universal and timeless, and it's only some of the stars who may be slightly unfamiliar to modern audiences (even if I do dislike the thought of a world in which people don't recognise Anne Bancroft, Burt Reynolds, or Paul Newman).

Brooks and DeLuise are very funny, but Feldman is the highlight for me. The man can be funny even when not playing with material, and I thank Brooks for giving him two great movie roles (with this and Young Frankenstein). A bit of praise, however, must also be given to those stars already mentioned, as well as everyone else who joins in with the fun.

Although the movie is little more than a loosely connected series of sketches, the format allows for this without it ever feeling like a major negative. Many silent movies were broken down into a number of different acts, of course, and this feels just the same.

If you're a fan of Brooks then you should enjoy this. If you're a fan of comedy then you should enjoy this. In fact, most people should enjoy this.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Mel-Brooks-Collection-DVD/dp/B000AM6NCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391351938&sr=8-1&keywords=mel+brooks

The Graduate (1967)

It doesn't matter how many times it happens, I am still consistently amazed at my own ability to underestimate the sheer joy available from watching classic movies. I'd seen The Graduate before, many years ago, but lined it up for a rewatch without remembering just how great it was from start to finish and now a review seems pointless. Of course, I'm still going to try to do it justice but be prepared for something completely superfluous when coming along after the praise and respect that the film has already garnered over the years.

Dustin Hoffman, in a role that remains the one that defined his career, is Benjamin Braddock, a young man who has just returned home to very happy parents after graduating from college. Unfortunately, despite the good intentions and advice of everyone around him, Benjamin doesn't know what he wants to do next with his life. He's quite confused and things get more confusing for him when a family friend, Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft), intimates her willingness to have an affair with him. It's definitely a fun way to kill some time but a major problem arises when Mrs Robinson's daughter (Elaine, played by Katharine Ross) comes home and Ben is asked by his parents to take her out on a date.

Perfect, just perfect. That's what The Graduate is to me. If you've not seen it in a long time then reacquaint yourself with it as soon as possible. If you've never seen the movie before then stop reading this review and get your hands on it right now.

Hoffman and Bancroft are just superb, whether they're stuck in solo contemplation, interacting with other people or sharing the screen together in the moments of their affair that mix humour with a certain eroticism. Katharine Ross is very sweet as a young woman unwittingly caught in the middle of a horrendous situation. William Daniels and Elizabeth Wilson aren't onscreen for all that long but still do well as Benjamin's parents - proud of their son and showing him off to their friends and neighbours before trying to motivate him to start planning his future. Last, but by no means least, there's a great turn from Murray Hamilton AKA Mr. Robinson.

Of course, the cast get most of the praise (as well as Simon & Garfunkel, who provided the music that would make the soundtrack as perfect as any other aspect of the movie) but the people behind the camera deserve a fair few compliments too. The script by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry overflows with great lines and exchanges. Having said that, even the dialogue-free moments have plenty to "say" thanks to the direction of Mike Nichols. It's not always that subtle - Hoffman is often shown literally drifting through this time of his life - but every frame has plenty of information and detail in there, all conveyed through mise-en-scene. A better man could probably post a screenshot from every scene online and examine and dissect it to show the importance of almost every decision. I am not that man, you'll just have to trust me.

There's so much to say about The Graduate, including the way it hops around tonally without ever feeling inconsistent and messy, but I'll leave the longer essays to others with more time and intelligence at their disposal. I have to go and listen to some Simon & Garfunkel albums.

10/10

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