Mubi Monday: Mermaids (1990)

While there have been a few stinkers helmed by actor-turned-director Richard Benjamin, his filmography is also a good place to hunt around for a few gems. He certainly tried throughout the 1980s and 1990s to provide audiences with a wide variety of entertainment. Some were star vehicles, some were quirky movies wanting to win you over with their heart. Mermaids is a bit of both. And I'm as guilty as everyone else for forgetting all about it. I don't think I have revisited Mermaids since it was on VHS.

Despite missing that certain Patrick Swayze factor, Mermaids is a film that pairs up very well with Dirty Dancing. It's a period piece. It makes great use of many enjoyable '60s tunes. One main storyline concerns a young girl hoping to get herself into a compromising situation with an older man. And there are a couple of scenes that sprinkle some real grit and pain throughout the comforting fluff.

Based on the novel by Patty Dann, Mermaids has Cher as Mrs. Flax, mother to Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci). Mrs. Flax believes in living in places for a good time, not a long time. She's used to that life, always happy to move after a bad experience or another ruined relationship, but her daughters sometimes struggle with the many moves. Especially Charlotte, who spends her time thinking about major religious figures, and how she can live a life of virtue. Kate is generally easier to please, especially once she's joined up with any local swim team. Things might be different in their latest home though, with Mrs. Flax perhaps meeting her match in the sweet and compassionate Lou Landsky (Bob Hoskins). Charlotte seems happy that they have moved close to a convent, but that doesn't stop her from having many impure thoughts about a local man named Joe (Michael Schoeffling).

One of just a handful of screenplays by June Roberts, this is a film that benefits from absolutely perfect casting, allowing for every line of dialogue to be delivered in a way that elevates the whole movie. Whether it's Cher being as entertainingly sassy as Cher can so easily be or Ryder narrating her wildly erratic thoughts as they veer from holy to sinful, Mermaids consistently delivers a whole lot of superb dialogue in every scene.

Benjamin handles everything well enough, keeping everything feeling just right for the period without spending too much time on the details at the expense of his stars. He knows what people should really want from their time with the film, and it's time spent in the company of memorable characters played by people who feel as comfortable in their roles as they do in their own skin.

Cher brings her confidence and self-assuredness to a role that would feel seriously hampered without it, and she makes Mrs. Flax someone who feels as well-intentioned as she is selfish. She isn't about to let herself be hurt, and her strength is obvious throughout, but that strength, that ability to erase her past and just move on, ends up becoming a problem when it becomes clear that things could be greatly improved by just a bit of compromise and work in her latest relationship. Ryder does a great line in melodramatic teen angst, with every minor embarrassment becoming something major in her eyes. Ricci may have the least to do, certainly in terms of character development, but she's properly adorable, and helps to make up a central trio that you don't want to see pulled apart. Hoskins may be the sweetest that he's ever been, and I was often chuckling at his reactions to Cher, whether he was obviously approving of her sexiness and bold demeanour or being confused by her antagonism. Schoeffling does enough to make his character seem pleasant and sweet, for the most part, despite the serious problem with how he ends up reacting to Ryder's youthful yearning for him.

Almost entirely forgotten by so many nowadays, apart from small sparks of memory that fire up whenever The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) is heard on some radio station, Mermaids deserves to be revisited and remembered. It's absolutely delightful, and I would argue that it's a real film career high point for all of the four leads. They might not agree with me, but I would still try to make the case. 

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Moonstruck (1987)

Lots of movies have been made that show romance in an ideal form. Oh, things might be messy for a while, but behind the mess we can see the perfect match just waiting to happen. Moonstruck doesn't do that. It has two people being enjoyably far from ideal, within themselves and with one another. But it also has some points to make about love, passion, and commitment.

Cher plays Loretta Castorini, a New York woman who believes that she invited bad luck into her life when she first married, bad luck that would lead to her husband being killed by a bus. That's why she wants everything to be just perfect when her boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), proposes to her. She is excited to then tell her mother (Olympia Dukakis) and father (Vincent Gardenia), but has to tell them without Johnny present, as he has flown to Italy to be at the bedside of his dying mother. Johnny is happy to leave the wedding arrangements to Loretta, but he insists that she contact his brother (Ronny, played by Nicolas Cage) and offer him an invite. That maybe wasn't his best idea, considering how instantly Loretta and Ronny sense a connection between them.

The second feature to be made from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, Moonstruck has a pleasingly offbeat vibe throughout, yet still feels as if it's more than willing to hit all of the familiar beats to be found in most of the traditional rom-coms. Maybe that comes from the fact that it's Norman Jewison directing, an old hand who can easily handle the material and the wonderful cast asked to work with it. And this IS a wonderful cast.

Cher gives one of her most grounded and wonderful performances. I've often enjoyed her in movies, but there's a huge difference between the roles she took on in the 1980s and the roles she has taken on throughout the past couple of decades (which have all brought attention to the fact that she's CHER, as opposed to someone "normal" aka non-Cher). The same cannot really be said about Nic Cage, who has simply done his Nic Cage thing onscreen for about fifty years now. It can either work really well or fail horribly, but this is very much a case of the former. He's very funny, very sweet, and very fired up in a way that amuses, but ultimately also attracts, the woman he falls in love with. Aiello isn't onscreen for too long, and has to maintain an air of confusion and bumbling awkwardness, but he does well with a tricky role. Both Dukakis and Gardenia are superb, and the former really lights up in a sequence that allows her to temporarily enjoy the company of John Mahoney, who gets his own spark while spending time with someone being so refreshingly honest, and unimpressed by him.

There's some fine music used sparingly throughout, a lovely score from Dick Hyman, and that wonderful 1980s New York texture in every scene, assisted by a supporting cast that includes Julia Bovasso, Louis Guss, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Leonardo Cimino, and a cameoing Catherine Scorsese. There's also at least one bit of dialogue that deserves to be as remembered and repeated as any other great soundbites from the history of cinema.

The messiness and the strange tone may put many people off. It's the main reason I enjoyed it so much though. Love and passion can be very messy, and that messiness can be a wonderful thing. Moonstruck is a bit wonderful.

8/10

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Prime Time: The Witches Of Eastwick (1987)

The more I think about it, the harder it is to think of a more bizarre mainstream hit (I believe it was a hit, it certainly seemed to be known and seen by enough people) than this movie.

It's essentially the tale of three women who would like a perfect man. You have Alex (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer). And it looks like their wish may come true when the mysterious Daryl Van Horn (Jack Nicholson) comes into town. He's devilish, direct, and deemed to be just what the women need. For now.

If you haven't seen The Witches Of Eastwick in many years, here are some things you may have forgotten. First of all, it is directed by George Miller. Yes, the George Miller who only seems to be remembered for the Mad Max movies or films about dancing penguins. Second, Veronica Cartwright is REALLY good in her role. She plays Felicia Alden, a woman afflicted by the presence of Van Horn as soon as he comes to town. You may remember her most memorable scene - spewing out a lot of cherry stones - but she does great work in every scene she is in.

If you haven't seen the film at all then just know that it has a great script by Michael Cristofer (based on a novel by John Updike), unfussy direction from Miller that keeps the focus on the dialogue and characters, and great performances from the leads, as well as that fantastic turn from Cartwright, who is given equally fine support from Richard Jenkins, as her husband.

Cher, Sarandon, and Pfeiffer are all excellent, portraying three very different women who want the same thing. Each one starts off as very different from the other, although the journey they go on together sees them discovering themselves in ways that bring them closer and closer together, as well as growing more similar in their outlook. Nicholson doesn't so much attempt to be all things to all women, but rather knows just how far he can push things and how much his charm and bluntness will make up for any perceived failings.

It's very interesting to rewatch this movie, and perhaps more satisfying than any first viewing. Knowing how things end, and I'll try not to give any spoilers, helps to put up with some of the more infuriating moments that take place in the middle section. It's a witty and insightful battle of the sexes that seems quite patronising at times before revealing its true colours.

There are issues. This is one of many films that have Jack Nicholson feeling very much like he's playing Jack Nicholson, the transformation of the female characters is quite clumsily handled, and there's one main special effect in the final act that may well have been best left offscreen, or created in a different way.

Those minor niggles aside, this is great entertainment. Smart, sexy, funny, and you'll never look at cherry stones the same way again.

8/10

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Stuck On You (2003)

The Farrelly brothers had a reputation that they had to uphold at the turn of the 21st century. After scoring big with Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary (and Kingpin should have been just as huge, but I don't recall it making much of an impact until discovered by fans in the comfort of their own homes), they were the ruling kings of bad taste comedy. If a set-piece could be planned around some body functions, they could make it the best possible. In fact, they seemed to falter when seeming to try being a bit gentler in their approach (as happened with  Shallow Hal). Which explains why they gave audiences Me, Myself & Irene (a film with a lead character who has a severe dissociative identity disorder) and this, a comedy that focuses on a set of conjoined twins.

Matt Damon is Bob Tenor, and Greg Kinnear is Walt Tenor. The twins are fairly beloved in their local community, and they can also make the burgers in their dining establishment so quickly that anyone challenging the timer to get a freebie is usually left most disappointed. Walt wants to be an actor though, while Bob is a bit more shy. Anyway, they end up heading to Hollywood, for Walt to take his chance, and that leads to Walt eventually landing a part in a TV drama opposite Cher (played by . . . Cher, of course). This leads to another conversation about the twins perhaps taking a chance on the operation that could separate them, but can they work as well apart as they do together?

There's enough here to keep comedy fans entertained, and the central premise (as is often the case with the Farrelly brothers, deceptive little rascals that they are) allows us to view the main characters as others around them do, good-hearted individuals who happen to be different from many others, but a lot of the fun this time around comes from the casting. The runtime is just under two hours, yet it just about manages not to overstay its welcome, thanks to the final scenes featuring some wonderful pay-offs.

Damon and Kinnear work really well together, chatting to one another like two best friends who just happen to be a lot physically closer than most, which is pretty much what they are. Cher is a lot of fun, initially viewing Walt/Bob as a way to ruin a TV show that she is contractually obliged to, and shows herself willing to play up various perceptions of her image (from man-eater to diva, from wanting to be taken seriously as an actress to wanting to be left alone by people). Eva Mendes is also wonderful here, giving the kind of comedic turn that makes you wish she did it more, and there are great supporting turns from Seymour Cassel, Griffin Dunne (playing Griffin Dunne), and even Meryl Streep, as well as numerous celebrity cameos, both credited and uncredited.

It may lack the big set-pieces that there more successful movies contain, which may partially explain why this seems to stay so overlooked, but Stuck On You keeps the chuckles coming fairly consistently from start to finish, with a large proportion of the jokes avoiding the pitfall of laughing AT the lead characters.

I am sure I will stay in the minority for being a fan of this one, but that won't stop me from trying to get others to give it their time. It's not an all-time great, and not even one of the top three from the Farrelly brothers, but it deserves to have a few more fans.

7/10

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

I was quite unimpressed when I first saw Mamma Mia! I wasn't exactly the target audience for it, I didn't think the songs were always as well worked into the plot as they could have been, and I found the antics of Meryl Streep and her friends just a little bit cringe-inducing. But it still sits on my shelf, surrounded by many better (and a few worse) movies. Why? Because it was one of the free blu rays that came with my first player, and I rarely throw out a film, especially a freebie.

You can already surmise that I wasn't keen to rush out and see the sequel, but see the sequel I did. I am a married man and that can mean compromising sometimes. My wife was going to join me for the latest Mission: Impossible movie so I could put a brave face on and accompany her to this movie. I did my duty.

The plot this time around sees Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) getting ready to open the hotel that she wants to make a success in honour of her deceased mother, Donna (Meryl Streep). Viewers also get to see the early years of Donna (played by Lily James) and how exactly she got herself in the predicament that eventually led to the events of the first film. There are some new faces, mainly in the scenes showing the younger incarnations of the men and women we already got to know as adults, another mix of ABBA hits, of course, and plenty of sea, sunshine, and sanitised -or-family-viewing sexual shenanigans.

Here's what happened when I watched Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. I had quite a good time. Not only that, I realised that I had been a BIT harsh in my judgement of the first film. I didn't enjoy it when I sat there, watching it in the comfort of my own home, even if I could singalong to the ABBA tunes. But that situation wasn't the best way to view it. It's a shared experience. It's fun for everyone, and the sequel aims for exactly the same end result.

And it achieves it. The songs may be, for the most part, lesser choices but the laughs are more frequent, and simply better. Which makes this a slight improvement over the original. That wasn't clear from the beginning. The first 15 minutes or so had me rolling my eyes on a number of occasions, thanks to the sentimental moments and the poor musical number that feels shoehorned in to the first scenes featuring Lily James (as well as Alexa Davies and Jessica Keenan Wynn, playing her friends). James is good in her role, but things start to pick up when Julie Walters and Christine Baranski come onscreen, and then it's all a surprisingly consistent crowdpleaser as we move back and forth between the past and the present, with lots more fun coming from Hugh Skinner/Colin Firth, Josh Dylan/Stellan Skarsgard, and Jeremy Irvine/Pierce Brosnan. Andy Garcia is also very good, Omid Djalili steals his all-too-brief scenes, and Cher takes the baton from Djalili and almost walks off with the entire film.

Writer-director Ol Parker, helped by Richard Curtis and Catherine Johnson, shows that he knows exactly what the audience wants, and he builds everything to a completely predictable and enjoyable finale that will have even the most cynical viewers grinning. I'm not completely converted, not quite yet, but I WILL rewatch the first film at some point, and I may even let my wife persuade me to endure/enjoy a double-bill one day in the future.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a film that it is easy to turn your nose up at. It is a safe viewing choice, one or two risque lines of dialogue aside, and it suffers from an overabundance of sweetness in almost every character. It will also have you leaving the cinema with a big smile on your face, despite how hard you might fight against it.

6/10

This is the shiny disc version.
Americans can get it here.

Christmas At Pee Wee's Playhouse (1988)

I, like many other non-Americans, have never watched Pee Wee's Playhouse. In fact, if it wasn't for Tim Burton making a movie based around the manchild played by Paul Reubens I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have a clue who Pee Wee ever was. But Burton made his movie and I found out about the character. That didn't make me immediately want to seek out the children's TV show that he used to front but over the years I kept hearing more and more about Pee Wee's Playhouse and I must admit that I became slightly intrugued. Then someone told me about this Christmas special and I knew that I had to see it.

It's so crazy and surreal that I'm not sure if I can do it justice but I'll try. I think the best thing is to describe the very basic format of the show, for the benefit of people like myself who had never before seen it. Pee Wee goes about his playhouse being very childish and playful and interacting with a number of people who stop by to see him. He also interacts with a Magic Screen, a talking bit of floor, the contents of his fridge and many other living things that shouldn't be living. If you're a UK resident of my generation then let me put it this way - try to imagine Rik from The Young Ones fronting a show for kids while wandering about the house that the gang used to share.

As it's Christmas there is a magical feeling in the air and the opportunity to get lots and lots of gifts. There are also even more visitors than usual as everyone tries to get involved with the Christmas cheer. Grace Jones is accidentally delivered to the Playhouse when she should have gone to The White House and she gets to sing and dance before having to leave, Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg pop onscreen to quickly say hello, Little Richard can't seem to manage walking on snow and ice, Magic Johnson joins the fun, K. D. Lang sings Jingle Bell Rock, Cher makes a brief appearance and Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello are forced to make lots and lots of Christmas cards at Pee Wee's behest.

Go back and read that paragraph again and remember that I still haven't covered everything in the show.

Reuben co-directed with Wayne Orr and co-wrote with John Paragon and he certainly gave the viewing public good reason to always remember Pee Wee. Everything about the show is slightly loony but in a good way, a way that kids will love and adults will also be able to enjoy. You might think that it's not worth considering as a seasonal viewing but, trust me, it's like eating a whole fruit loaf made of edible cracker jokes while washing it all down with mulled wine. That may not sound like a good thing but I think it is. The end result is a warm, fuzzy glow and a smile and a feeling that you've been slipped some candy-coated LSD.

8/10

You can pick this up on Region 1 DVD here - http://www.amazon.com/Pee-Wees-Playhouse-Christmas-Special/dp/B0002IQASG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1353882197&sr=8-4&keywords=pee+wee%27s+playhouse

But the uninitiated may first want to check it out on YouTube, where someone has kindly placed the whole thing (see it here).

Silkwood (1983)

Based on a true story, Silkwood is all about a woman who works at a plutonium processing plant. Her name is Karen Silkwood and she starts to make some trouble for the management of the plant when she becomes directly involved with the union and starts doing her damnedest to blow the whistle on the numerous dangerous practices that happen around her and her colleagues every day.

It may not be the most exciting story in the world, and the lead character isn't put across as the most likeable person in the world, but Silkwood certainly has a fine pedigree. The script was written by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen and Mike Nichols has the directorial duties. Then there's that wonderful cast. Meryl Streep plays the titular character, though it's not her best performance by a long shot, while Kurt Russell plays her on-off lover and Cher does well as her good friend. If you don't like any of those folks then how about Fred Ward, David Strathairn, Bruce McGill, Ron Silver or Craig T. Nelson? All, in my view, mighty fine actors. Even the people with names you probably won't know, such as Diana Scarwid and Sudie Bond, give very good performances and Bond is involved in one of the most harrowing scenes in the entire movie.

It's the real horror of the material here that raises it up for me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to score the film above average. The dangers of radiation are very well known nowadays but it wasn't all that long ago when people were being misinformed and basically used up, as is the case here. Management and business owners needed results and that meant exposing employees to some serious potential health risks. Best case scenario = they really weren't aware of just how damaging it could be. Worst case scenario = they knew, they knew all too well and would go to any lengths to keep their dirty little secrets hidden away. Silkwood tends toward the latter scenario but there is some ambiguity in the first half, at least, to avoid making the company villains absolute monsters.

The film, as a whole, just didn't work well enough for me but I know that I won't forget certain moments. The character played by Sudie Bond being hauled off and cleaned down after exposure to radiation is as upsetting a scene as any that I can recall from any genre, made all the more effective by Bond's heartbreaking performance in her supporting role. Surprising as it may seem, I have to suggest that Streep is actually the weakest link here. Perhaps there was only so much she could do with her character as it was written or perhaps, as I suspect, it just so happens that someone else would have been much better for the role. I don't know who that actress would be but I do know that when I think of the likes of Margot Kidder or JoBeth Williams in the lead role I feel more intrigued about what could have been. And those are just two choices off the top of my head.

Do watch the movie to see something powerful and distressing and to see some actors doing great work but don't watch the movie just to see Streep in the main role because you may find yourself disappointed.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silkwood-DVD/dp/B001EJW0SG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354035513&sr=8-1