BEFORE: I'm back after a 3 and 1/2 week break, and it feels like the whole world changed while I was away. Just me? I've been working a lot, but also we took a week off and drove down to North Carolina so I could see my parents, as we won't see them on Thanksgiving or Christmas. So a pre-holiday holiday for us before the holidays. Then when I came back I recorded an audio commentary track for an animated feature I produced that was released in 1998. And now of course it feels very weird that I have NOT watched a movie in three weeks, but if I don't get back on that horse now, then I won't make it to Thanksgiving on time, because I also have to work a screening for a NEW animated feature tomorrow night.
Did it seem like we went from Halloween RIGHT into the holiday season? Because there were Christmas commercials airing like the DAY after - like, come on, give me a chance to recover from October before we start with all the gift ideas for mixed-race and gay couples on the TV. But you know what, my movie linking also agreed that the season is here, because there was ONE film that could get me from my Halloween movie to my Thanksgiving movie in two steps, and that movie is "Champions", as Ernie Hudson carries over from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire".
Since November is here, I'll post the format breakdown for October:
12 Movies watched on cable (saved to DVD): Knock at the Cabin, The Forever Purge, The Night House, The Ring, The Ring Two, Black Christmas (2006), Scream (2022), Scream VI, X, Pearl, Ready or Not, Freaky
4 Movies watched on cable (not saved): Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Dorian Gray, The Water Horse, Jennifer's Body
8 watched on Netflix: We Have a Ghost, Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves, The Rental, The Sea Beast, How It Ends (2018), Madame Web, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
2 watched on Hulu: Quasi, Infinity Pool
1 watched in theaters: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
27 TOTAL
And here's the linking that will get me through November AND December - that's right, we're in the final stage now: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Dwight Yoakam, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Mel Gibson, Emile Hirsch, Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti. There are 13 films left in Movie Year 16 after tonight, but I don't know exactly how many will be in November and how many in December, but you should be able to figure out my three (or four?) Christmas movies from this.
It's been hard to get back into my normally terrible sleeping rhythm, with the time off from work and also the time ON work, then of course there was an election and let's just say there was some post-election anxiety, drinking and stress-eating. Since tonight's film is called "Champions" let me take a minute to think about what it means for the future since Trump won a second term. Naturally, since our country is so divided, no matter who won half of the populace was bound to be disappointed, count me in that half. But in the days that followed, talking to people and looking for some kind of silver lining, the best I could come up with - and it's not much, I grant you - is that the chances of some kind of Civil War in the U.S. have now been drastically reduced. For the moment, anyway. I understand the concerns about the economy and immigration and that many people may have been unhappy with the state of the union, however in my book that doesn't justify electing a mad dictator, we've seen what happened in 2016 and in other countries. You may not be totally happy with the car you're driving, but then by all means, look into buying a new one, however that doesn't justify burning down the entire used car lot.
Look, I for one blame the media, which gave Trump SO much coverage over the last four years that it felt like he never really went away, and VP Harris only had 101 days to counter with her own campaign. (Then she faced the difficult task of taking credit for Biden's successes, while at the same time pointing out what she would do better, and no doubt she had difficulty threading that needle. But let me get back to blaming the media.). Covering Trump over the last four years in the news was a CHOICE, the only way to make someone like him go away would be to ignore him, yet there was no cable TV news network willing to do that. I get it, would you rather lead your newscast with "Biden meets with the premier of Japan to discuss trade agreements" or "Trump claims at rally that windmills in ocean are killing whales". It doesn't have to be TRUE, it only has to be shocking to get ratings, and while the news constantly reported all of his crazy lies, they were not always reported AS lies. So the lies got repeated and reposted and at some point it didn't matter if things were true or not, and that's how we all got to "The immigrants are eating the pets in Springfield, Ohio" and by then things were just too far gone.
I spent two hours today clearing weeds from my overgrown city backyard - let me point out that when we bought the house, it had a dirt backyard full of weeds, and also a grape vine and a peach tree. We had most of the backyard paved over, but we left the peach tree in the back planter alone, and we left a patch of dirt for the grape vine to grow in, because what could possibly go wrong there? Maybe we'd become the type of people who would give peaches out to our friends and neighbors, or make our own wine or grape jelly or something (it didn't happen). Instead the grape vine grew and grew each year until it wound its way around the backyard four times over, and every year the ground was full of peaches, grapes and grape seeds, also leaves that clogged the back drain. Then the vine somehow grew over or under (or possibly through) the house and invaded the planter in the front. I already spent four hours earlier this month just chopping down the vines in front of the house so the tulips and lovely pink bush will stand a chance next spring. And every two years or so my cable goes out, and a guy from the cable company has to fight his way through the vines in the backyard to learn that the connection box is covered in vines, and he'll say something like, "Hmm, if I didn't know better, I'd say that it almost looks like the vine was TRYING to disconnect your cable service." Yeah, that's it exactly, and it's not trying to watch HGTV, it's trying to take over the world, that's what vines DO. So I have to chop it back every fall or it's lights out for my cable, plus it will cover the house and prevent us from leaving, and we will become servants of The Vine.
So while I was chopping down vines today, I had some time to think - I'm not one for metaphor, but Trump's influence is a lot like those vines, it was more wide-spread and deep-rooted than almost anyone realized. Lies also spread and take root unless enough clarity is granted through proper research that proves that they ARE lies, whenever they are spoken. Again, sometimes the media fact-checked and sometimes they didn't, and as a result we've gone from George Washington, who "could not tell a lie" to Trump, who has done almost nothing but that. Things don't have to be true, or real, if they're the things you need to say to win an election - and it wasn't always this way, and it doesn't have to be this way. If a candidate tells a lie, just don't report on it, I know this sounds counter-productive for ratings, but it's really the only answer. Too late now, I suppose, also nobody tends to listen to me.
I'm not leaving the country, like where would I even go? I'll stay and act as part of the silent resistance, which is another way to take down a dictator, undermine him on a daily basis. And I know we maybe collectively averted a Civil War, but still, there are probably dark days ahead. Time to winterize the house, stock up on canned goods and prepare for what IS to come, whether that's mass deportations or the eventual collapse of the economy, or possibly the next pandemic, all things are possible if the next "basket of deplorables" all make it to cabinet-level positions. And for all the Trump supporters out there, I want you to be aware that whatever disaster comes in the next four years, you were part of making that happen, and you'll get no sympathy from me when you finally develop buyer's remorse.
THE PLOT: A former minor-league basketball coach is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together this team can go further than they ever imagined.
AFTER: Speaking of threading the needle, tonight's comedy film had a similarly difficult task, which was to find humor in a basketball team full of young adults with learning disabilities, or do we know say "neuro-divergent", because I know you can't say "mentally challenged" any more and that other word is REALLY non-PC, like I don't even say it any more unless I'm making fun of people with Boston accents who are also insensitive and behind the times. That's the only time it's funny at all, and I know it probably shouldn't be. The main character here uses the word when he's being sentenced for a DUI, and then of course he finds out the hard way that the judge doesn't appreciate that word at all.
It's a bit weird that this film was directed by Bobby Farrelly, who got called out for the movie "There's Something About Mary" years ago, and that film had a mentally disabled character that was played by a non-disabled actor (W. Earl Brown). It also had a physically disabled character that wasn't REALLY disabled, he was just pretending to get sympathy from Mary, and honestly that shouldn't be funny either, but that was back in 1998 and it was kind of a different time, the P.C. culture was just getting started and you could still find humor in disabilities, I guess. Then in 2005 Johnny Knoxville starred in the movie "The Ringer", in which a non-disabled character pretended to pose as a Special Olympics track star so that he could win money. While that film featured several actors who had Down syndrome, it also had a couple of non-disabled actors Jed Rees, Geoffrey Arend) playing disabled roles, and well, that probably could have been handled better, too. But progress happens in stages, perhaps.
(EDIT: I don't think I'm far off the mark here, in calling out Bobby Farrelly. A quick trip through his filmography also brings to mind Randy Quaid's simpleton character in "Kingpin", the mentally challenged stars of "Dumb & Dumber", and Jim Carrey's split-personality character in "Me, Myself & Irene". Throw in "Shallow Hal" and "Stuck on You" and if there's another director who made more comedy out of mental or physical disabilities, I'd be hard-pressed to name one.)
So now it's 20 years after "The Ringer" and it appears that more care was taken this time to cast real actors with intellectual disabilities in the roles of Special Olympians, and look, I don't know whether that made the shoot easier or harder or more authentic or more P.C., it's not for me to say. I have enough trouble trying to figure out if straight actors playing gay roles (or vice versa) is still OK. I'm not a casting director, I'm not the P.C. police, I'm not calling for anyone to be cancelled over this, but just maybe Bobby Farrelly learned something since "There's Something About Mary" and if so, that's great. But also there are so many instances of non-disabled actors playing disabled roles, from Daniel Day-Lewis to Sean Penn to Eddie Redmayne, that really, it's not for me to say.
Should there be some kind of affirmative action program for disabled people? I think hiring quotas have kind of fallen out of favor, too, except some films like "Wish" seem to have no problem with them. I'd champion the extra-diverse casting, except for the fact that then I'd wonder why the BEST person for a role can't just be cast, black or white, gay or straight, disabled or not. I know that some casting directors are just trying to do the right thing. Years ago I worked hard to get an independent animated feature approved with SAG actors, and realized once all the paperwork was done that we had only hired white actors for the cast - it wasn't intentional or done with malice, it just turned out that all the actors we had contact with were Caucasian. But then the SAG forms asked me what efforts were taken to foster diversity, and instead of admitting that there were none, I punted and wrote on the form that all of the actors were cast based on the quality of their voice acting skills, and not based on their race. Well, it was true, and the paperwork DID go through, so I felt justified and a little less racist. These days SAG-AFTRA won't even consider an animated feature for their "low-budget" category, it's just not done any more - so again, that was a different time.
This is all my way of saying that casting actors with disabilities here is probably the right move, in this culture now it's probably the ONLY move, however, what other problems did this create, because these actors are not necessarily the best in terms of acting ability - BUT on the other hand, some people say that the best acting anyone can do is to not DO any acting at all, but instead to just BE, and acting by definition is being something that you're not. So whatever else they are here, they are genuine, except for the fact that they are being given lines to say, and they are not improvising, and perhaps therein lies a different problem, because they ONLY know how to be themselves, so to speak, and reading another person's words and pretending is easier for an actor and less easy for a non-actor trying to act instead of trying to just BE. Does that make sense? Look, you're in trouble either way, whether or not you cast a disabled actor to play a disabled character, it's just a different kind of trouble.
Honestly, I'm a little more concerned that this is almost the exact same story-arc as "Next Goal Wins", only soccer is replaced here with basketball and being Samoan is replaced with being intellectually disabled. Both films feature a disgraced coach who is sent to revitalize a losing team, so really, both films end up following the "Bad News Bears" playbook, if I'm being honest. Hollywood just loves making the same movie over and over again, don't they? The coach who's famous for his bad manners or bad temper has to go down to the minor leagues, or Little League, or finds himself in Des Moines or American Samoa, whichever. But it's not until he learns to take the time to treat his team as individuals and come to CARE about them that he can be shown to have success and start to work his way back. And in both cases, the coach is successful in that he is able to turn this ragtag group of individuals, all with their own problems into a team that has at least a chance to win a game, even though the result may not be what he intended in the first place.
The American Samoan team got to go to the FIFA World Cup, where they beat Tonga in the qualification match. And here in "Champions" the Friends team gets to go the Special Olympics in Winnipeg, where they face off against a team called the Beasts. In both cases, success is relative, and in both cases, just making it as far as they did could be counted as a great accomplishment, considering where they started. Also, both films are considered remakes of other films with the same name, "Next Goal Wins" was adapted from a documentary with the same name, and "Champions" is a remake of a Spanish film from 2018. So there's a universal sports language at play here, the underdog story is the same all around, so "Champions" and "Next Goal Wins" are not twins, more like identical cousins.
"Champions" has the advantage here of also depicting a non-romance when the coach finds out that one of his many Tinder hook-ups is also the big sister of one of his players, and even though their initial romantic encounter ended badly, Alex sees Coach Marcus differently when she learns he's been coaching her brother in a helpful and non-judgmental way.
The film's a little bit too careful, probably because of the P.C. culture, and it's clear that there were script meetings where someone decided that the disabled players could be portrayed as inept, but not stupid, and also that the audience could be made to laugh with them, but not at them. But then, aren't movies inherently designed to exploit actors? Other people tell them what to wear, where to stand, what to say and how to say it, and if they don't comply, they don't get paid. It probably comes from a well-intentioned place, but this movie erred a little too much on the side of letting the actors be themselves and not trying to force them to be something that they're not. But that's what acting is.
Well, the other good news is that the NBA season has started, so watching a basketball movie now is at least seasonally appropriate. I'll be back on Thursday with my Thanksgiving movie.
Also starring Woody Harrelson (last seen in "Triangle of Sadness"), Kaitlin Olson (last seen in "Leap Year"), Matt Cook (last seen in "Being the Ricardos"), Cheech Marin (last seen in "Shotgun Wedding"), Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci (last seen in "The Best of Enemies"), Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens, Barbara Pollard, Alexandra Castillo (last seen in "Miss Sloane"), Mike Smith (last seen in "Goon"), Scott Van Pelt (last seen in "Creed II"), Jalen Rose (last seen in "Hoop Dreams"), Alicia Johnston (last seen in "The Ice Road"), Lauren Cochrane (ditto), Seán Cullen (last heard in "The Willoughbys"), Jacob Blair (last seen in "Midway"), Ryan DeLong (last seen in "Flag Day"), Lois Brothers (ditto), Cory Wojcik, Stephanie Sy (last seen in "Nobody"), Joanne Rodriguez (ditto), Alex Hannah, Champ Pederson, Jean-Jacques Javier, Aaron Hughes (last seen in "How It Ends" (2018)), Joanny Zahaiko, Malik Irwin, Heath Vermette, Clint Allen (last seen in "Dumb and Dumber"), Matthew Fletcher, Brian Dobson (last heard in "The Layover")
RATING: 6 out of 10 signature celebration moves
