Grand Canyon

Day 90 - 3/31/09 - Movie #87

BEFORE: I could have kept the soap opera theme going with "Tootsie", which would have then led to me watching "Mrs. Doubtfire" - but I do think I've seen "Tootsie" before, so I'd rather focus in another direction instead. I'll pick another Kevin Kline film - this will be my third Kline film (and third Danny Glover film) so far this year.

THE PLOT: Six residents from different backgrounds whose lives intertwine in modern-day Los Angeles. At the center of the film is the unlikely friendship of two men from different races and classes brought together when one finds himself in jeopardy in the other's rough neighborhood.

AFTER: A social-commentary snapshot of L.A. in the early 90's - touching on racism, gang violence, homelessness, abandoned babies - it's a lot to pack into one movie. Especially with just 5 or 6 main characters - it's like a mini "Short Cuts". Can a film fix the world? Should it try to?
The film sort of asks this question by showing people trying to help each other out - are they really helping, or is the road just paved with good intentions? There are some other big questions asked here - do random accidents have larger meanings? Are luck and fate real or imagined? What impact do we have on the people we encounter, and how hard should we try to help them? In doing so, do we enforce our values on them?
Steve Martin plays a filmmaker who gets shot, then decides to stop making violent movies - does his character represent Lawrence Kasdan, director of this film? Did he have some kind of similar epiphany, which led to making this very film?

RATING: 5 out of 10 helicopters