For It Is Man's Number: dermot mulroney

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Thursday, 15 February 2024

Anyone But You (2023)

The rom-com is a sub-genre that is often unfairly maligned. Yes, a bad one can feel extra painful, but a really good rom-com is cinematic comfort food. You can enjoy the fantasy, enjoy the chemistry between the main players, and hopefully feel a warm glow as a big grin stays on your face while the end credits roll. Anyone But You manages that. It is quite predictable, and tries to make itself stand out from other rom-coms by throwing around a bit more raunchiness and a few extra curse words, but it does exactly what you want it to do.

Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) meet one day in a coffee shop and end up on a date that ends in a great night for both of them. But Bea then heads away the next morning before Ben wakes up, having doubts about her feelings. Seeing sense while walking away, she returns to over hear Ben then putting on a front as he chats to his friend, Pete (GaTa). Ben claims that Bea was a disaster, not knowin what she wants to do with her life, and it was a meaningless one night thing. The two will probably never see one another again. That becomes much more difficult when, 6 months later, Bea's sister, Halle (Hadley Robinson), starts dating Pete's sister, Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), which leads to their engagement, which leads to a destination wedding in Sydney. Bea and Ben both attend the wedding, unable to conceal their dislike for one another, but it soon becomes clear that everyone around them will be happier, and stop meddling in their lives, if they pretend to make up, and fall in love with one another. That would stop Bea's parents trying to reunite her with her ex-fiancé, Jonathan (Darren Barnett), and Ben becoming unavailable might make him even more appealing to an ex that he still seems to hold a candle for (Margaret, played by Charlee Fraser). I am sure you know how things end up playing out from there.

Co-written by Ilana Wolpert and director Will Gluck, who have decided to loosely base the whole thing on Much Ado About Nothing, this shows you what can happen when you make use of genre tropes and audience expectations in a way that somehow feels more about delivering simple pleasures than being lazy. It's all very obvious, no need for subtlety here, but everything is signposted within the realm of logic established in the movie, and it's all helped by a cast that seem to be having a lot of fun with their roles.

Gluck directs the whole thing with a deft hand, keeping things moving along nicely in between the minor set-pieces, and there are so many different gags that at least one is guaranteed to make even the most stone-hearted viewer smirk, at the very least. The Australian scenery is used as an attractive backdrop, there's excellent use of a Natasha Bedingfield pop song, and almost every little detail feeds into the various highs and lows on the path to where we all know the characters will end up.

I was unfamiliar with Sweeney before this, and am unlikely to rush to anything else she does, but she's okay here. She's pretty enough, but delivers her dialogue in a strange way that makes her seem permanently dazed/stoned. That's obviously just the way she is, but it stops her from being the most captivating and watchable performer. Thankfully, Powell delivers enough star power to make both of them shine brighter together, and he's someone I will happily watch in anything he does (which should be plenty, considering how much his cache has risen in recent years). GaTa is fun, very laid back throughout almost every minute of his screentime, and both Shipp and Robinson are very good, and make a very cute couple, while Fraser gets to play the typically gorgeous and sexy "one that got away", even as she seems to be in a new relationship with what seems to be a stereotypical Australian surf-dude (Beau, played entertainingly enough by Joe Davidson). Barnett doesn't have much to do, although he's fine, but that allows for more amusing moments involving Bryan Brown, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, and Rachel Griffiths (all playing the parents of the two women to be wed).

Two attractive people resisting attraction to one another until they just give in to their feelings isn't anything new. But this film also includes a scene that involves a large spider, a mellow koala bear, and nudity that you won't find in any other rom-com. And that's just one of many highlights in a rom-com that serves as a reminder of how good it can be to just sit back and enjoy the formula when it is utilised as well as this.

7/10

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Thursday, 21 December 2023

The Family Stone (2005)

I am not sure whether it is the streaming effect or whether people genuinely hold this film in high esteem, but 2023 was the year that I finally couldn’t seem to avoid seeing The Family Stone mentioned as a standard Christmas movie favourite for many people. So I figured I should see what all the fuss is about. I am still none the wiser, despite some good moments here and there that either deliver chuckles or tug on the heart-strings.

Dermot Mulroney plays Everett, a young man who decides to take his girlfriend along to the usual family Christmas. The problem is that his girlfriend, Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), seems a bit uptight and prone to confuse herself while stressed. This amuses some of the family, but also eventually causes them to become upset as Meredith appears to display some horrible bigotry. Things get messier and messier, not helped by Everett’s brother, Ben (Luke Wilson), taking a shine to Meredith while her sister, Julie (Claire Danes), proves to be quite a surprise distraction for Everett.

Written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, The Family Stone has plenty of snow, a number of Christmas traditions, and a final scene that underlines the good intentions it was aiming for. Unfortunately, it also has a bunch of people who seem quite horrible, either unprompted or due to the escalating circumstances they’re caught up in, and it’s hard to find anyone to fully care about. I am not sure that I wanted anyone here to have a happy ending, and the tone fails to get the balance of sweet and sour right.

The cast aren’t bad, and they all do what they can to elevate the material they have to work with. Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson are absolute highlights, the mother and father trying to maintain order as things start to slip further and further out of control. Parker can do uptight and stressed very well, and she manages to become more likable when she finally gets a chance to relax as she continues to struggle with her own awkwardness. Mulroney and Wilson feel well-suited to their respective roles, Danes shines in a way that will have many viewers questioning why she never got enough huge movie roles, Rachel McAdams is irritatingly bratty, and there are fleetingly worthwhile moments for Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Elizabeth Reaser, and Paul Schneider.

I cannot say I disliked this, the cast alone kept it watchable and more entertaining than it otherwise would have been, but I also cannot say that I actually liked it. The whole thing has a mean spirit that doesn’t feel counter-balanced by enough festive cheer, and it’s strange to watch such an ensemble cast of characters that only have a few people you hope have a relatively happy ending.

I already know that many people feel different to me on this one. I hope there are maybe some others who agree with me though, if only to make me feel less like I am taking crazy pills for being so disappointed with it.

5/10

Monday, 3 July 2023

Mubi Monday: Living In Oblivion (1995)

This is yet another film I had heard about decades ago, when it was first released, but sadly didn’t get around to. Everyone I took notice of gave this plenty of praise, proclaiming it a smart and funny film that worked particularly well on people with even passing knowledge of the chaos and egos that can often occur while films are being made. And, once again, everyone I took notice of proved to be absolutely correct.

Living In Oblivion shows us the trials and tribulation of a director (Steve Buscemi) trying to get his film made. He has a superb leading lady (Catherine Keener) to help, but everyone else seems to bring extra problems to the filming process, whether it’s an egotistical male lead (James Le Gros) or a cameraman who keeps trying to change the shot (Dermot Mulroney). There’s a focus puller (Kevin Corrigan) who doesn’t always stay focused, another temperamental actor who comes on the scene later (Peter Dinklage), and tension whenever the sound mixer (Michael Griffiths) is trying to ensure that anything caught on camera has good enough audio to accompany it.

Written and directed by Tom DiCillo, a director with a small filmography that you could find in a dictionary alongside the definition of “quirky”, Living In Oblivion is entertaining and amusing from the earliest scenes, and then just gets better and better as it all builds towards a satisfying, and hilarious, finale. Roughly split into three distinct acts, and moving between moments of colour and moments shown in black and white, this is a fairly low-budget and small film that never feels confined by the limited resources. Because the focus is always on a director just trying to get one main scene finalized it feels natural to be observing that one main scenes, with the repetition and frustrations being the main point of the film. The script is brilliant, with almost every line and moment featuring either a gag or a knowing commentary about life on a low-budget film set, from the dubious selection of goods available to eat and drink to the tension that can arise when a relationship spurs between two colleagues.

Buscemi is great in his role, a typical director with a vision often exceeding the resources he has available to him. It’s his film, because the film within the film is HIS film, and he gives one of his absolute best performances, which is high praise indeed when you think of everything he’s done. Keener is easily equal to him, and understandably steals every scene that focuses on her (which makes up a lot of the screentime), as viewers are shown how much the camera and crew are enthralled by her performance. She has the tougher role than Buscemi, and her effortless greatness shows why she has long been someone that movie fans love to see appear in any role she takes. Mulroney and Corrigan are both fun, Le Gros is an entertaining douchebag, and Dinklage gets to have the second-best outburst in the film (nothing tops Buscemi’s outburst about 20-30 minutes into things). Everyone else deserves praise, from Griffiths to Danielle Von Zerneck (playing the main assistant to Buscemi’s character), and there’s not one weak spot in the entire cast, with even the smallest roles feeling absolutely spot on.

If you enjoy comedies then you should enjoy this, especially if you’re also a fan of any of the main players. If you have even a passing familiarity with how much blood, sweat, and tears it can take to make any movie, however, then this could well become a firm favourite. I know it is now one of mine.

9/10

Tuesday, 9 May 2023

Scream VI (2023)

For as much as I love most of the Scream movies, including the fun Scream 4, I was absolutely not a fan of Scream (2022) aka 5cream. That immediately became my new least favourite in the franchise (not including the first season of the TV show) and I wasn’t looking forward to this next instalment AKA Ghostface Takes Manhattan.

Thankfully, being a completist is sometimes a good thing. I am glad I watched Scream VI, and it’s already one of my favourites (with my provisional ranking just now being 1, 4, 6, 2, 3, and 5). It’s far from perfect, and I still have issues with the core cast, but the set-pieces and the general vibe of the film, which feels a bit more relaxed and less reflexive and defensive than the last outing, works really well.

The premise is simple. A bunch of people who survived the last film are now in New York. Ghostface is also in New York. People are going to start being stabbed. That’s it. Red herrings abound (or do they?) as our leads try to pinpoint who is doing the murdering, and maybe figure out a way to stop them.

Although there’s one notable omission from the cast (no Neve Campbell this time around), everyone returns to their main role behind the camera. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett co-direct, and the script is from both James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. While that may not seem like a good thing to anyone who disliked the last movie, and I realise I am very much in the minority with my dislike of that film, it’s good to see how much better everyone does while feeling less beholden to everything that came along beforehand. This generally seems more free to properly subvert expectations and play around with the rules viewers think they are so familiar with, as evidenced in an opening sequence that is the best opener since the classic start of the first movie.

It is easier to enjoy the cast a bit more too, having accompanied a number of them through the events of the last movie, but this is the biggest problem that the film has. The supporting players are the most enjoyable (Hayden Pannetiere makes a welcome return, Dermot Mulroney is decent, and Courteney Cox has a confrontation worthy of her character’s status), and both Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown are fine, not to mention one or two others caught up in the midst of the killing spree by virtue of being friends with the targeted group, but Jenna Ortega is left with less to do than she deserves, and Melissa Barrera continues to just not be a very appealing nominal lead. Sorry, there’s no way around the fact that she’s dead weight at the heart of this rebooted phase of the franchise.

The other problem with the film is a sad lack of commitment to actually, well, killing off characters. So many people are savagely attacked here that you will be forgiven for rolling your eyes during the third act when you see how many actually make it to the end credits. There are fantastic sequences, but some of them feel ultimately inconsequential. I still hold out hope for the next film through. Considering how big a step up in quality this one was, I can only hope that everyone involved finds the bravery to start gorily whittling down the core cast next time around. And if that is caused by another “legacy” character, all the better, because these film-makers certainly seem to have taken note of fan theories and internet gossip.

There are at least four great sequences that help to make this a memorable Scream film, and the fact that I didn’t feel the rest of the film pale into comparison after such a strong start is about as good a compliment as I can give it. It’s an unexpected return to form, as playful and violent as you could hope, with the extra fun of watching the parallel strands between this new trilogy and the original three movies come into sharp focus in a way that provides one more layer to a film series known for being so self-aware and self-referential.

I cannot wait to rewatch this. And, AND, I may even finally work up some enthusiasm to rewatch the last film. Maybe I will like it a little bit more. Maybe.

8/10

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Wednesday, 29 December 2021

Prime Time: Christmas Is Canceled (2021)

It can be difficult to move on after the death of a loved one. Emma Lockhart (Hayley Orrantia) struggles for the two years after the death of her mother, distracting herself from the pain by turning her focus towards helping her father, Jack (Dermot Mulroney). Things get tough when Emma finds out that her father is now dating Brandy Barnes (Janel Parrish). Brandy is about the same age as Emma, the two were even briefly friends in high school. This cannot stand, and Emma determines to make use of the Christmas holiday time to break up her father and his new love interest. Her friend, Charlyne (Emilie Modaff) doesn’t approve, but at least there’s a handsome barman (Josh, played by Michael Naizu) who doesn’t mind being used to help cause a bit of friction.

While it may not be the most Christmassy movie of the many Christmassy movies you could choose to watch, Christmas Is Cancelled is a very enjoyable comedy that should make most viewers chuckle a few times. And there are enough trees and decorations to remind you that it is definitely still a Christmas movie, albeit one that has some more colourful language than most.

The script, by Sara Endsley, is full of gems, hilariously creative insults and phrases, mostly interspersed throughout the first half of the movie. It also works well by somehow showing the central relationship between Jack and Brandy as something that could work, despite the two seeming very mismatched in so many ways (not just in age). Endsley has previously written some more traditional holiday fare, including the poor Melissa Joan Hart vehicle Holiday In Handcuffs, but this is a big step up from her previous work.

Director Prarthana Mohan has only one previous feature to her credit, as well as some shorts, but she knows exactly what to do here, framing many shots to emphasise rivalry, resentment, and, most of all, the ridiculousness of the “competition”.

Parrish is an excellent lead, easy to like and stay inside with even as her behaviour gets worse and worse. Parrish is just as good, especially while being allowed to show that she is more than just a potential bit of eye candy/midlife-crisis. Mulroney helps things along with a performance that shows him still maintaining a twinkle in his eye as he deals with lower back pains. While Naizu is portraying the hip and hot young man who also has a bit of depth to him, the script helps him by acknowledging and playing with those expectations, which allows him to make a better impression than he perhaps otherwise would. Last, but by no means least, Modaff is very funny as the friend who won’t hesitate to be brutally honest about how she sees things.

So you have a witty script, decent direction, and a fun ensemble cast. You also have a finish to everything that doesn’t feel cheap and made-to-order (the only real obvious indicator of the lack of any cinematic ambition is the lacklustre soundtrack). This is an easy winner if you’re after some laughs with an adornment of tinsel and baubles.

7/10

P.S. Here is a huge list of every Christmas movie I have ever reviewed, either here or over at Flickfeast.

Friday, 1 March 2013

J. Edgar (2011)

Written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar is the biopic of J. Edgar Hoover and it's a pretty decent film. The sad thing is, however, that it could have been a great film. It seems that Eastwood is content with sitting on his laurels lately instead of delivering the quality of movies that he was giving to audiences not more than five years ago.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays the main character, starting the movie made up as an old man. It's an important time in his life, time to think back over everything that he's done and to get his memoirs written and as he tells his story to a young man typing everything out the audience gets to see many episodes from his life. They may not all be true interpretations of events, sometimes J. Edgar Hoover would say whatever would place him in the best light, but they all add up to paint a picture of the man who started off with great ideas and ended up with great, many would say too much, power. As Mulder might put it he "put the eye in FBI."

Considering the subject matter, this is a surprisingly dull movie at times. Various episodes do, of course, provide some excitement, but when it comes to the central character it does seem as if the script, and in turn Eastwood, is content to just barely scratch the surface. Perhaps he didn't want to upset those who are now working in the house that Hoover built.

It's a shame that the script and direction are so unimaginative and unexciting because the cast all do well and have the potential to do better. DiCaprio, in particular, is excellent in the main role. His performance isn't unlike the performance he gave in The Aviator, especially as Hoover becomes more and more driven and paranoid. Naomi Watts is fine as Helen Gandy, the woman he takes on as his secretary and also the one person he seems to trust completely. Armie Hammer is superb as Clyde Tolson, the man who may or may not have been Hoover's lover, but was certainly a close, dear friend and colleague. Then we have Judi Dench, who may not be in the movie for all that long, but does her usual great work as the mother who casts a long shadow over Hoover's life. Small, but enjoyable, turns from Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Stephen Root and Denis O'Hare help keep boredom at bay, but only just.

J. Edgar is certainly not a bad movie, in my opinion, but it feels like a wasted opportunity for almost all of its two-hour plus run-time even though it has enough interesting elements throughout to make it worth at least a one-time watch - the look at Hoover's self-aggrandising version of events, the rumours about his sexuality, the film even takes one moment to hint at the alleged cross dressing. I don't think many people will love it, but some people may like it a bit more than I did.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/J-Edgar-Triple-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B005RYA5XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361915312&sr=8-1