Day 269 - 9/26/09 - Movie #269
BEFORE: This one wasn't part of my original plan, taped this off cable last week. The tricky part for me is determining whether a movie that I've never seen is worth adding to my list. Sometimes I have nothing to go on but a movie's perceived reputation, or my recollections of reviews from when it was released.
THE PLOT: An English Professor tries to deal with his wife leaving him, the arrival of his editor who has been waiting for his book for seven years, and the various problems that his friends and associates involve him in.
AFTER: Damn, now I wish I hadn't included this in my chain of movies about schools. Though the film is set in a college, there's very little classroom time shown. Mostly it's a wild 2-day period in the life of a professor (Michael Douglas) who's also an author. Surrounding him are his book editor (Robert Downey Jr.), his mistress (Frances McDormand) and a couple of students (Tobey Maguire + Katie Holmes). There's some sort of annual literary event at the school, so there's a big party, which means alcohol and various drugs, and hook-ups, and this leads to confusion, grand larceny, and a dead dog in the trunk of a car, among other things.
Along the way, there's a lot of talk about writing, the process of writing, what it means to be a writer, what a writer does when he can't write, and what a writer does when he can't stop. Whatever the opposite of writer's block is, that's what Prof. Tripp has...
But for plot purposes, no one uses a word processor to write (what year was this made?) or else people wouldn't be seen using old electric typewriters dramatically (I guess it's more cinematic to see someone stare at a blank page than a blinking cursor), or they wouldn't be able to stumble upon and read each other's manuscripts, which happens several times in this film. A typed manuscript also means that there is no saved file, no computer back-up of the proposed novels, and this too is important to the plot. This makes the manuscripts valuable, so in the course of this wild evening and following day, if the drafts get lost, they're gone forever.
Tobey Maguire does a good job playing the mopey student who (eventually) comes into his own, and Robert Downey Jr. plays the slick book editor...um, slickly. (Hey, it's the future Spider-Man and the future Iron Man together! Did anyone else ever notice that?) But Katie Holmes is pretty much a blank, and Frances McDormand's talents are pretty under-utilized here. There was one girl in the writing class who looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place her - ah, thanks to IMDB I learned it was Charis Michelsen, who I met in the real world - she was the artist's model for the lead female role in "I Married a Strange Person", an animated feature I worked on.
Also there's a cameo from Alan Tudyk (Steve the Pirate from "Dodgeball") as a janitor.
It's too bad that I just didn't fathom a lot of this film, too many wild occurences during the course of the 2-day period (I didn't even mention the transvestite...) so it ended up feeling more like a "Harold and Kumar" far-fetched road-trip film to me. At one point a character inquiring about Prof. Tripp's novel says, "Well, if you didn't know what it was about, why were you writing it?" I'd like to ask the same question of this film's screenwriter...
RATING: 4 out of 10 drafts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Art School Confidential
Day 268 - 9/25/09 - Movie #268
BEFORE: Another film that's been kicking around my must-watch list for quite some time - directed by Terry Zwigoff, who also directed the documentary "Crumb" (note to self: add "Crumb" to list of films to watch...) and based on the comic-book by Daniel Clowes, which I have not read. Also starring John Malkovich, who keeps turning up in my little countdown ("Johnny English", "Beowulf", "Eragon", "Con Air", "In the Line of Fire") as an art teacher.
THE PLOT: Jerome pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.
AFTER: In terms of characterization, if your movie contains a bunch of clichéd characters - the young virgin, the goth chick, the angry lesbian - even if you acknowledge the presence of these clichés, it doesn't excuse them - your film is still deficient and guilty of relying on shortcuts to introduce your characters.
I didn't go to art school, I went to film school - but I recall what it meant to sit in a classroom and critique other people's films or photos. You can't just come right out and say that something is bad, you have to say something positive, or else you risk getting ripped apart for being too judgmental. And when someone asks you, "What do you think of this art?", when you respond, you HAVE to consider that THEY MIGHT BE THE ARTIST. The main character makes this mistake a few too many times - you figure he'd learn after the first time...
Also, even though it was 20 years ago for me, I remember the feeling of liking a particular girl in college (OK, so I liked every girl in college...) and then going out of my way to be where she was likely to be - pursuing someone only to find out about the boyfriend back home (or down the block...) that she somehow neglected to mention. This went on for about three years, until I finally realized it was getting me nowhere. Only when I got off the crazy treadmill and stopped looking did a real connection finally happen. Make of that what you will.
There's a subplot here about a serial killer, but again, the movie is so filled with stereotypes that it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out who the killer is. If you've ever, like, seen a movie before it's not that hard. But since the film is filled with "tortured artists", I suppose I can forgive some of the characters for not knowing which twisted individual is also a killer.
Also appearing: Ethan Suplee ("Mallrats", "My Name Is Earl"), Steve Buscemi (last seen in "King of New York") and Anjelica Huston. Bonus points for innovative use of Malkovich, but still very predictable, except for a strange twist at the end.
RATING: 6 out of 10 charcoal drawings
BEFORE: Another film that's been kicking around my must-watch list for quite some time - directed by Terry Zwigoff, who also directed the documentary "Crumb" (note to self: add "Crumb" to list of films to watch...) and based on the comic-book by Daniel Clowes, which I have not read. Also starring John Malkovich, who keeps turning up in my little countdown ("Johnny English", "Beowulf", "Eragon", "Con Air", "In the Line of Fire") as an art teacher.
THE PLOT: Jerome pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.
AFTER: In terms of characterization, if your movie contains a bunch of clichéd characters - the young virgin, the goth chick, the angry lesbian - even if you acknowledge the presence of these clichés, it doesn't excuse them - your film is still deficient and guilty of relying on shortcuts to introduce your characters.
I didn't go to art school, I went to film school - but I recall what it meant to sit in a classroom and critique other people's films or photos. You can't just come right out and say that something is bad, you have to say something positive, or else you risk getting ripped apart for being too judgmental. And when someone asks you, "What do you think of this art?", when you respond, you HAVE to consider that THEY MIGHT BE THE ARTIST. The main character makes this mistake a few too many times - you figure he'd learn after the first time...
Also, even though it was 20 years ago for me, I remember the feeling of liking a particular girl in college (OK, so I liked every girl in college...) and then going out of my way to be where she was likely to be - pursuing someone only to find out about the boyfriend back home (or down the block...) that she somehow neglected to mention. This went on for about three years, until I finally realized it was getting me nowhere. Only when I got off the crazy treadmill and stopped looking did a real connection finally happen. Make of that what you will.
There's a subplot here about a serial killer, but again, the movie is so filled with stereotypes that it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out who the killer is. If you've ever, like, seen a movie before it's not that hard. But since the film is filled with "tortured artists", I suppose I can forgive some of the characters for not knowing which twisted individual is also a killer.
Also appearing: Ethan Suplee ("Mallrats", "My Name Is Earl"), Steve Buscemi (last seen in "King of New York") and Anjelica Huston. Bonus points for innovative use of Malkovich, but still very predictable, except for a strange twist at the end.
RATING: 6 out of 10 charcoal drawings
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Accepted
Day 267 - 9/24/09 - Movie #267
BEFORE: I've been meaning to get to this one for a while - wanted to see how my buddy Justin Long did in this film. I met him twice, once at the Sundance Festival, outside the Egyptian Theater, and then I contacted his agent a couple years later to see if he would do a voice for the animated film "Hair High". At the time he was famous for being in the NBC show "Ed" and the movie "Galaxy Quest"- and now he's this big mega-star in Macintosh commercials and "Die Hard" movies - so of course I take some of the credit.
We cast him as the voice of this evil greaser/punk high-school student, then asked if he would record a couple of random characters, pick-up lines and so forth. So my boss said, "Can you do, like, a geeky kid's voice?" and Justin said, "Are you kidding? That's what I'm famous for!"
THE PLOT: When a high school burnout discovers he's been rejected from every college he's applied to, he creates a fake university in order to fool his overzealous parents.
AFTER: At first it seemed like this was every "underdog" comedy thrown into a blender - with parts cribbed from "Animal House" (fighting against oppressive dean + school), "Revenge of the Nerds" (social outcasts vs. preppy fraternity), plus "Stripes", "Caddyshack", "Old School", "Dodgeball", etc. And in one sense, that's exactly what it is.
But what saved the movie for me, and made it stand out, was Mr. Lewis Black as the fake dean of the phony school. Black plays an ex-teacher, ex-shoe salesman and alcoholic who slips into the role of the elderly curmudgeon and rage-aholic sounding off in the school's courtyard. If you've seen his stand-up act, you know that this comes as naturally to him as playing a geeky kid does for Justin Long. Before long, as "Dean Lewis" rails against taxes, the health-care system, and capitalism in general, he's got a couple hundred kids tuned in to his "lectures".
The outcasts eventually get called on the carpet, and have to show up before the Board of Education and try to become an accredited school. Instead of shoveling some B.S. about their experimental education plan where the students get to set their own curriculum, they should have just played a tape of one of Lewis Black's lectures - I would approve them on the spot.
There's a sub-plot with Jonah Hill attending the real college and learning that it's not all it's cracked up to be, but I found this part rather boring. We learn that preppy college kids are stuck-up and vacant, and fraternity hazing is bad - yawn, we've seen all that before. But running a scam by creating a phony school, from the web-site and logo right down to the course curriculum, OK, that's a somewhat original idea. And gathering a bunch of outcasts and encouraging them to follow their dreams of wood-carving and meditation, while probably ill-advised, is moderately inspiring.
Reportedly much of the movie was improvised - which means some of the snappy dialogue lands and some doesn't, and some of the plot points go absolutely nowhere. I would have liked to see what could have been done if this movie had a real script...
RATING: 7 out of 10 tuition checks
BEFORE: I've been meaning to get to this one for a while - wanted to see how my buddy Justin Long did in this film. I met him twice, once at the Sundance Festival, outside the Egyptian Theater, and then I contacted his agent a couple years later to see if he would do a voice for the animated film "Hair High". At the time he was famous for being in the NBC show "Ed" and the movie "Galaxy Quest"- and now he's this big mega-star in Macintosh commercials and "Die Hard" movies - so of course I take some of the credit.
We cast him as the voice of this evil greaser/punk high-school student, then asked if he would record a couple of random characters, pick-up lines and so forth. So my boss said, "Can you do, like, a geeky kid's voice?" and Justin said, "Are you kidding? That's what I'm famous for!"
THE PLOT: When a high school burnout discovers he's been rejected from every college he's applied to, he creates a fake university in order to fool his overzealous parents.
AFTER: At first it seemed like this was every "underdog" comedy thrown into a blender - with parts cribbed from "Animal House" (fighting against oppressive dean + school), "Revenge of the Nerds" (social outcasts vs. preppy fraternity), plus "Stripes", "Caddyshack", "Old School", "Dodgeball", etc. And in one sense, that's exactly what it is.
But what saved the movie for me, and made it stand out, was Mr. Lewis Black as the fake dean of the phony school. Black plays an ex-teacher, ex-shoe salesman and alcoholic who slips into the role of the elderly curmudgeon and rage-aholic sounding off in the school's courtyard. If you've seen his stand-up act, you know that this comes as naturally to him as playing a geeky kid does for Justin Long. Before long, as "Dean Lewis" rails against taxes, the health-care system, and capitalism in general, he's got a couple hundred kids tuned in to his "lectures".
The outcasts eventually get called on the carpet, and have to show up before the Board of Education and try to become an accredited school. Instead of shoveling some B.S. about their experimental education plan where the students get to set their own curriculum, they should have just played a tape of one of Lewis Black's lectures - I would approve them on the spot.
There's a sub-plot with Jonah Hill attending the real college and learning that it's not all it's cracked up to be, but I found this part rather boring. We learn that preppy college kids are stuck-up and vacant, and fraternity hazing is bad - yawn, we've seen all that before. But running a scam by creating a phony school, from the web-site and logo right down to the course curriculum, OK, that's a somewhat original idea. And gathering a bunch of outcasts and encouraging them to follow their dreams of wood-carving and meditation, while probably ill-advised, is moderately inspiring.
Reportedly much of the movie was improvised - which means some of the snappy dialogue lands and some doesn't, and some of the plot points go absolutely nowhere. I would have liked to see what could have been done if this movie had a real script...
RATING: 7 out of 10 tuition checks
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Dazed and Confused
Day 266 - 9/23/09 - Movie #266
BEFORE: Decided to finish films about high school before moving on to higher education - though I guess this film showcases a different kind of "higher" education...
THE PLOT: The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school, in May of 1976.
AFTER: I'm a little out of my element here, and not just because I didn't attend high school in Texas in 1976 - I wasn't part of the "party crowd" in school - didn't catch on to beer or other substances until college. Silly me, I studied in high school and took extra courses during the summer...
I think I get where they were going with this film, though - it reminds me of "American Graffiti" moved forward into the 70's instead of the 50's (logically, in the next few years we should see the ultimate 90's nostalgia flick). Some things are universal - teens like to drive around looking for beer, sex and drugs, in some order. And seniors like to beat up freshmen - ho hum, I've been there, done that (the getting-beat-up part, not inflicting the beatings). The hazing of incoming freshmen seems particularly cruel in this film, though, and the excessive paddling approaches the "buggering" found in UK prep schools. My issue is - on the last day of school, wouldn't juniors and seniors be focused on getting out for the summer and having fun, not beating up next year's freshmen? Can't that wait until, like, September?
Everything seems very aimless in this film, but I suppose the film is making a point about the futility of high school, and by extension the futility of existence. And I suppose if the film showed the kids who went to summer school or worked summer jobs, it wouldn't be quite as interesting. The attempt is to capture the social politics of high school, and the feeling of a teenage summer, when the road of life stretches out ahead, but there's still time for a party.
"American Graffiti" introduced us to Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Suzanne Somers, along with Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and a host of also-rans. Of course, Matthew McConaughey was the breakout talent here, playing the ex-football star still hanging out with high-school girls. But Ben Affleck's here too, along with Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Milla Jovovich and (future "CSI: Miami" star) Rory Cochrane. And another host of below-the-radar actors like Wiley Wiggins, Nicky Katt, Cole Hauser and Marissa Ribisi.
My other complaint is that there are so many actors in this film, there's not enough time to get to know most of the characters, so they're reduced to simple stereotypes - the pothead, the football player, the mean cheerleader... If they had just concentrated on a few high-school kids, like in, say "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", the film might have been able to go past skin-deep.
I'm cutting this film a lot of slack because of the killer soundtrack - ZZ Top, Frampton, Foghat, along with War, Ted Nugent, and Steve Miller - proving my point that the 1970's had THE BEST music, and nothing from the 90's or this decade even comes close. The storyline is like a "5" at best, but the soundtrack and the nostalgia factor bump it up to:
RATING: 7 out of 10 mailboxes
BEFORE: Decided to finish films about high school before moving on to higher education - though I guess this film showcases a different kind of "higher" education...
THE PLOT: The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school, in May of 1976.
AFTER: I'm a little out of my element here, and not just because I didn't attend high school in Texas in 1976 - I wasn't part of the "party crowd" in school - didn't catch on to beer or other substances until college. Silly me, I studied in high school and took extra courses during the summer...
I think I get where they were going with this film, though - it reminds me of "American Graffiti" moved forward into the 70's instead of the 50's (logically, in the next few years we should see the ultimate 90's nostalgia flick). Some things are universal - teens like to drive around looking for beer, sex and drugs, in some order. And seniors like to beat up freshmen - ho hum, I've been there, done that (the getting-beat-up part, not inflicting the beatings). The hazing of incoming freshmen seems particularly cruel in this film, though, and the excessive paddling approaches the "buggering" found in UK prep schools. My issue is - on the last day of school, wouldn't juniors and seniors be focused on getting out for the summer and having fun, not beating up next year's freshmen? Can't that wait until, like, September?
Everything seems very aimless in this film, but I suppose the film is making a point about the futility of high school, and by extension the futility of existence. And I suppose if the film showed the kids who went to summer school or worked summer jobs, it wouldn't be quite as interesting. The attempt is to capture the social politics of high school, and the feeling of a teenage summer, when the road of life stretches out ahead, but there's still time for a party.
"American Graffiti" introduced us to Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Suzanne Somers, along with Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and a host of also-rans. Of course, Matthew McConaughey was the breakout talent here, playing the ex-football star still hanging out with high-school girls. But Ben Affleck's here too, along with Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Milla Jovovich and (future "CSI: Miami" star) Rory Cochrane. And another host of below-the-radar actors like Wiley Wiggins, Nicky Katt, Cole Hauser and Marissa Ribisi.
My other complaint is that there are so many actors in this film, there's not enough time to get to know most of the characters, so they're reduced to simple stereotypes - the pothead, the football player, the mean cheerleader... If they had just concentrated on a few high-school kids, like in, say "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", the film might have been able to go past skin-deep.
I'm cutting this film a lot of slack because of the killer soundtrack - ZZ Top, Frampton, Foghat, along with War, Ted Nugent, and Steve Miller - proving my point that the 1970's had THE BEST music, and nothing from the 90's or this decade even comes close. The storyline is like a "5" at best, but the soundtrack and the nostalgia factor bump it up to:
RATING: 7 out of 10 mailboxes
Monday, September 21, 2009
Stand and Deliver
Day 265 - 9/22/09 -Movie #265
BEFORE: Yeah, I know it's an obvious follow-up to "Lean On Me", but I'm funny like that. Back-to-back films about tough educators motivating minority students in inner-city schools - but this is the best way to compare them....
THE PLOT: A dedicated teacher inspires his dropout prone students to learn calculus to build up their self-esteem and do so well that they are accused of cheating.
AFTER: Oh, man, I know what's coming - I'm going to start having the high-school dream again...the one where it's the day of the big A.P. exam, and I crack open the test booklet only to find that I've studied the wrong subject. I can't promise that I'm wearing pants in the dream, either....
I think "Lean On Me" was a little more exciting, simply because Morgan Freeman played his role with big strokes, and Edward James Olmos was more subtle and subdued. But there's more tension in "Stand and Deliver" when the calculus students have to take their make-up exam under the watchful eyes of the men from the testing service.
Andy Garcia plays one of the testing service proctors, and Lou Diamond Phillips plays one of the students. Not many cameos except for Estelle Harris (George's mother on "Seinfeld") as a school secretary.
RATING: 6 out of 10 notebooks
BEFORE: Yeah, I know it's an obvious follow-up to "Lean On Me", but I'm funny like that. Back-to-back films about tough educators motivating minority students in inner-city schools - but this is the best way to compare them....
THE PLOT: A dedicated teacher inspires his dropout prone students to learn calculus to build up their self-esteem and do so well that they are accused of cheating.
AFTER: Oh, man, I know what's coming - I'm going to start having the high-school dream again...the one where it's the day of the big A.P. exam, and I crack open the test booklet only to find that I've studied the wrong subject. I can't promise that I'm wearing pants in the dream, either....
I think "Lean On Me" was a little more exciting, simply because Morgan Freeman played his role with big strokes, and Edward James Olmos was more subtle and subdued. But there's more tension in "Stand and Deliver" when the calculus students have to take their make-up exam under the watchful eyes of the men from the testing service.
Andy Garcia plays one of the testing service proctors, and Lou Diamond Phillips plays one of the students. Not many cameos except for Estelle Harris (George's mother on "Seinfeld") as a school secretary.
RATING: 6 out of 10 notebooks
Lean On Me
Day 264 - 9/21/09 - Movie #264
BEFORE: Well, "Fame" was the last movie in my chain of films about New York City - but it was also the first movie in a new chain. Since September is back-to-school time, I'll be watching a batch of films set in schools - first we head across the river to Paterson, NJ.
THE PLOT: The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school that he is determined to improve.
AFTER: Morgan Freeman dominates this film, just like Joe Clark exerting his influence on Eastside High. Based on the true story of Joe Clark, who became the national symbol for "tough-love" education. We see him clash with drug dealers, angry parents, fire marshalls, lazy teachers, and lazier students, with a megaphone in one hand and occasionally a baseball bat in the other.
But he does get kids to learn, and he gets the test scores up, so it's hard to argue with success. And he does manage to win over the kids, once they realize that he has their best interests at heart - so ultimately this is an inspiring tale.
Co-starring Robert Guillaume, Ethan Phillips (of "Star Trek: Voyager"), Lynne Thigpen (as an angry parent), and a brief appearance by future "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli as one of the kids who gets kicked out of the school early in the film.
RATING: 7 out of 10 padlocks
BEFORE: Well, "Fame" was the last movie in my chain of films about New York City - but it was also the first movie in a new chain. Since September is back-to-school time, I'll be watching a batch of films set in schools - first we head across the river to Paterson, NJ.
THE PLOT: The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school that he is determined to improve.
AFTER: Morgan Freeman dominates this film, just like Joe Clark exerting his influence on Eastside High. Based on the true story of Joe Clark, who became the national symbol for "tough-love" education. We see him clash with drug dealers, angry parents, fire marshalls, lazy teachers, and lazier students, with a megaphone in one hand and occasionally a baseball bat in the other.
But he does get kids to learn, and he gets the test scores up, so it's hard to argue with success. And he does manage to win over the kids, once they realize that he has their best interests at heart - so ultimately this is an inspiring tale.
Co-starring Robert Guillaume, Ethan Phillips (of "Star Trek: Voyager"), Lynne Thigpen (as an angry parent), and a brief appearance by future "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli as one of the kids who gets kicked out of the school early in the film.
RATING: 7 out of 10 padlocks
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Fame (1980)
Day 263 - 9/20/09 - Movie #263
BEFORE: Nope, I've never seen it. I've seen bits of it, but never the whole thing - I never liked the theme song, and I was forced to sing "I Sing the Body Electric" back in junior high chorus...plus I have a deep-seated hatred for all things choreographed by Debbie Allen. Never watched the TV series either, but the remake is coming out soon...
THE PLOT: A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
AFTER: The Performing Arts high school was a place where the students in the music, dance and drama departments all competed against each other to determine which group was the most moody and self-involved... my wife went to LaGuardia high-school, which this was based on, and she has confirmed that this part of the movie was spot-on.
They're all shown at a time in their lives when they supposedly have so much potential, that they can barely make it through lunch period without an impromptu song and dance number breaking out in the cafeteria. And if you want to see what their field trips to the Natural History Museum look like, just check out "On the Town"...
The most telling part for me was when the junior-year kids discover that one of the most promising seniors (who graduated when they were freshmen) is waiting tables in a Times Square restaurant. See, kids, the world needs waiters, too - maybe even more than it needs another TV star. If every waiter with acting aspirations was a working actor, there would be no one left to take my order, or bus my table!
And as for Coco, I have no sympathy for someone who falls for the old "screen-test in creepy guy's apartment" bit. I mean, come on, that video camera looks like it cost all of $10 - and nobody MADE her take her top off, couldn't she just have said "No", or walked out of the guy's apartment? I mean, take your top off or don't take your top off, but don't take your top off and cry about it, nobody wants to see that.
I shouldn't have been so Debbie Allen-shy, she's barely in the film (though her horrible choreography permeates...) and there are good cameos by Richard Belzer and Anne Meara - but what of the students themselves? How "fame"-ous did they become after starring in this film?
Paul McCrane (Montgomery McNeil) had a good run on "ER", but Irene Cara (Coco) dropped off the radar after roles in "City Heat" and "D.C. Cab". Barry Miller (Ralph) had a good role in "Peggy Sue Got Married" and a bit role in "The Last Temptation of Christ", but Gene Anthony Ray (Leroy) and Lee Curreri (Bruno) had...well, they had the "Fame" TV series to look forward to.
So there you go kids - look at the person on your left, and the person on your right - one of you is going to make it, and one of you is going to be taking my dinner order. It's hard for me to assign a rating here - the movie didn't really wow me, so I'm being noncommittal -
RATING: 5 out of 10 leg-warmers
BEFORE: Nope, I've never seen it. I've seen bits of it, but never the whole thing - I never liked the theme song, and I was forced to sing "I Sing the Body Electric" back in junior high chorus...plus I have a deep-seated hatred for all things choreographed by Debbie Allen. Never watched the TV series either, but the remake is coming out soon...
THE PLOT: A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
AFTER: The Performing Arts high school was a place where the students in the music, dance and drama departments all competed against each other to determine which group was the most moody and self-involved... my wife went to LaGuardia high-school, which this was based on, and she has confirmed that this part of the movie was spot-on.
They're all shown at a time in their lives when they supposedly have so much potential, that they can barely make it through lunch period without an impromptu song and dance number breaking out in the cafeteria. And if you want to see what their field trips to the Natural History Museum look like, just check out "On the Town"...
The most telling part for me was when the junior-year kids discover that one of the most promising seniors (who graduated when they were freshmen) is waiting tables in a Times Square restaurant. See, kids, the world needs waiters, too - maybe even more than it needs another TV star. If every waiter with acting aspirations was a working actor, there would be no one left to take my order, or bus my table!
And as for Coco, I have no sympathy for someone who falls for the old "screen-test in creepy guy's apartment" bit. I mean, come on, that video camera looks like it cost all of $10 - and nobody MADE her take her top off, couldn't she just have said "No", or walked out of the guy's apartment? I mean, take your top off or don't take your top off, but don't take your top off and cry about it, nobody wants to see that.
I shouldn't have been so Debbie Allen-shy, she's barely in the film (though her horrible choreography permeates...) and there are good cameos by Richard Belzer and Anne Meara - but what of the students themselves? How "fame"-ous did they become after starring in this film?
Paul McCrane (Montgomery McNeil) had a good run on "ER", but Irene Cara (Coco) dropped off the radar after roles in "City Heat" and "D.C. Cab". Barry Miller (Ralph) had a good role in "Peggy Sue Got Married" and a bit role in "The Last Temptation of Christ", but Gene Anthony Ray (Leroy) and Lee Curreri (Bruno) had...well, they had the "Fame" TV series to look forward to.
So there you go kids - look at the person on your left, and the person on your right - one of you is going to make it, and one of you is going to be taking my dinner order. It's hard for me to assign a rating here - the movie didn't really wow me, so I'm being noncommittal -
RATING: 5 out of 10 leg-warmers
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