DVD Review: American Son (2008)

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One came home hungry and one came home wanting to go to the movies. The first time I saw two cousins separately on leave from the Marines before each one would later be deployed for Iraq, they smiled the same and looked more or less the same but there was an immediacy about their actions and an unmistakable tension that seemed to permeate whenever they entered a room. It was if they felt that the joking over delivered pizza or trying to get the ideal spot at the multiplex would suddenly be interrupted by a superior officer who would arrive ready to pull them back to Camp Pendleton at any moment.

Yet there was also that distinct Marine Corp pride-- the way they carried themselves with the perfect posture whether sitting or standing, the southern/military accent they'd acquired, as well as a sense that they had changed into a soldier. And as a soldier, they could no longer fathom the way civilians went about their lives and understood that civilians couldn't fathom the level of commitment and training that had turned them into "the few" and "the proud" in their daily lives as part of the Corp.

As filmmaker Neil Abramson's Sundance nominated American Son begins, nineteen-year-old Mike Holland was all set to exit the basic training at Pendleton to return to his Bakersfield, CA hometown for a nice four day leave. But when a superior walks in and informs the new young Marines that their deployment date has been moved up and after the 96 hour Thanksgiving break, they'll be shipping out to Iraq by way of Kuwait, Mike struggles to process the orders over an emotionally charged long weekend.

Unable to admit out loud where his post-leave destination will be, Nick Cannon's Mike seems to try and ignore the reality first by flirting with Cristina, a beautiful college student (Be Kind Rewind's Melonie Diaz) who by chance is journeying to the same location by bus. When she guesses that he's a Marine and their awkward but excited banter grows momentarily serious when she discusses a guy from her neighborhood who came back disabled, she senses his unease and says, "but you're not going there" which he never corrects until the 96 hours begin to run out.

For by admitting it out loud, he knows he'll have to admit it to himself and his moment of truth happens differently with various family and friends but most poignantly all alone when he breaks down in his car. Although he tries to fall back into the rhythm of his previous dead end lifestyle with his best friend Jake (Matt O'Leary) who gets his kicks dealing, doping, shooting guns, and picking fights as well as trying briefly to reconnect with his hardworking mother (April Grace), estranged father (Chi McBride), younger sister (Erica Gluck), and stepfather (Tom Sizemore), it doesn't take too long to realize that he'd rather escape into a different life with Cristina.

Spending most of his time with the young woman who becomes his new girlfriend rather than acknowledge that he just doesn't blend into Bakersfield anymore nor wanting to lie to those nearest to him-- Cannon's sensitive yet alternately playful, stern, and believable turn rings of authenticity even when a few plot points fail to do the same.

While a number of critics who screened the work at Sundance called it apolitical-- the subtext is there from the beginning-- and it works most effectively when friends make realistic remarks like joking about smuggling him into Canada if he had to go to Iraq or that they'd that freak out, wondering simply if he can just tell them he doesn't want to go.

On the other hand, addressing the issue bombs when we're hit over the head with it in a scene that wastes the immense talent of actor Jay Hernandez portraying Cristina's neighbor who came back from Iraq minus most of his leg and obviously psychologically damaged. In a scene that would've been perfect with just one shot of his choice t-shirt of "I Went to Iraq and All I Got Was Crippled" and another one when his mother asks Mike if there's another job he could get regardless of his disability, unfortunately it fails when it's dragged out to movie-of-the-week melodramatic effect. However, it's a forgivable misstep since its heart was in the right place in calling attention to the lack of support and help offered to our wounded combat veterans when they return home and there are some other issues of greater concern for the movie's structure.

Since it was filmed in a breakneck 20 day schedule its overall achievement must be commended. Nonetheless, it tries to tell too many stories in its 85 minute running time and thus, American Son is bogged down by some of the antics of the larger-than-life Jake mixed together with a serious lack of information about Mike's elusive junkie brother he tries to track down with his father that maybe would've strengthened it more if the two thematically similar plots were combined into one character or situation.

Obviously the film has the misfortune of bypassing theatres altogether and arriving straight to DVD after the summer has found so many critics and audience members deeply compelled by 2009's pitch perfect on-the-ground Iraq war film The Hurt Locker. Yet to see Nick Cannon's most believable performance so far and for audiences willing to venture past their hesitance to explore movies about wars that are still going on, it's nonetheless a personal and intriguing approach to the subject matter.

And aside from an instantly forgettable title that even found Variety calling it "American Soldier" in the middle of their review, American Son is friendly to all sides as it deals with the war here in the states in a way that greatly differs from other recent and impressive works such as Stop-Loss, Lions for Lambs, In the Valley of Elah and Grace is Gone.

Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.

TV on Blu-ray: Pushing Daisies -- The Complete Second Season (2008-2009)

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The Emmy Award Winning Music

When the second and final disc had been spun in the Blu-ray collection of Pushing Daisies Season 2, I became determined to analyze the curious case and tragically transient existence of Bryan Fuller's Warner Brothers produced series on ABC.

And in my quest, I therefore assumed that-- much like Ned "The Pie-Maker" (Lee Pace), "Dead Girl" Chuck (Anna Friel), Kristin Chenoweth's smiling waitress Olive Snook who specializes in "counter-intelligence via pie-delivery," and Private Investigator Emerson Cod-- I would find myself gobsmacked.

However, unlike those characters, I knew I wouldn't be presented with dead people but I assumed I'd be blown away by so many figurative pies in the face of why such a unique and award-winning series disappeared from the airwaves far too soon.

Yet unfortunately, I wasn't flooded with reasons or a creamy center of whipped cream, fudge or berries that I could really even justify quoting the series' unnamed narrator voiced by Jim Dale who prepares us with "the facts were these" before routinely walking viewers through convoluted Agatha Christie like works of intricate eccentricity.

No, sadly, and rather ironically, it seems at least that-- from my modest sleuthing-- the show that was as vibrant both on the page as it was visually was ultimately brought down by the pen which proved far mightier than any CGI sword. And sadly despite my intense admiration for the insanely rich dialogue that you could listen to again and again before you realize you'd rather hear the nonsense than "the facts were these" any day of the week-- like several other shows that dangled on the edge of the cliff following the writers' strike, Pushing Daisies never managed to find a second life.

Where was Ned when we needed him? I'm not sure but all that remains are those lingering facts that Daisies couldn't bounce back after its triumphant debut in the 2007 Fall season. Although the show received a full order by its home network of ABC, perhaps because of their exquisite beauty and intelligence which finds Fuller's love of "heightened dialogue" and ability to jam his screwball-paced scripts with enough rhythm, beats, and melodies for Chenoweth to consider them musical-- the former acclaimed Star Trek and Heroes scribe and his staff only finished nine episodes before the WGA hit the streets.

Instead of picking up in the narrative where he'd left off, Fuller took advantage of the strike and show's absence to change the ending of the ninth episode in order to lead it into a cliffhanger that would segue directly into the next season instead of continuing the momentum in its original twenty-two episode first season ordered run.

Adding further irony-- when the second season eventually rolled around and the final three episodes ultimately aired here in the United States rather quietly-- when the number of episodes of the seasons are added together, they only total the mere twenty-two that Fuller had originally been promised and aspired to make for its debut season.

Despite its shaky life on the air, the series about Ned-- a young boy who discovers he has a bizarre gift to wake the dead for sixty seconds with a touch of the finger before the second touch puts them back to eternal slumber-- earned not just a cult following of fans but a dozen Emmy nominations last year and three awards. The significance of the awards cannot be overstated since the three given to Daisies especially point to its cinematic nature.

With executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty) earning a deserved award for his inspired direction, another statue for the flawless editing and Jim Dooley's "wall-to-wall" music score which as Fuller notes in one of the four special features in this two disc set hearkens back to the show's '40s romantic comedy inspiration-- it's easy to imagine that we haven't seen the last of these characters.

Often described as a living storybook or fairytale by both the critics and those who work in the areas of the production design and cinematography-- citing Amelie and the filmography of director Tim Burton as examples-- per the advice of CGI veteran Sonnenfeld the color blue was specifically avoided throughout for digital purposes and to add to the cheery nature.

Circular patterns including pies also abound. However, these are perhaps metaphors for the circular nature of life of the characters who live and work in and around The Pie-Hole including our unconventional couple Ned and his beloved Chuck (Anna Friel) whom he can't touch since he'd brought her back to life and one more even accidental contact could be fatal. Yet more than just visually, it's the stories that will have your head spinning in circles.

Including all thirteen episodes contained in the second season-- while immediately it's the jaw-dropping clarity of the most gorgeous and crisp (zero artifacting, excellent sound balance) Warner Brothers Blu-ray release I've seen so far that first captivated and prompting me to watch the helpful lengthy season one refresher three times-- soon, the visual design just serves to augment the increasingly complicated storylines.

While some of the episodes seem slightly padded and fire in a few directions that don't feel quite right such as Chuck's eventually cured agoraphobic aunts who take part in "The Darling Mermaid Darlings" that bogs down a majority of the rest of the emotionally satisfying finale-- special attention must be paid to the introduction of some truly inspired subplots.

In one of the best, the series finally goes deeper into the backstory of Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) and the vintage '40s noir like tale of an ex who had left him seven years earlier with his daughter in tow which leads to a great Grifters meets Chinatown "Daisyfied" confection to borrow a Dooley phrase.

Although past family secrets and lies unravel like yarn on a scratchy old sweater where Chuck, Ned, and others are concerned throughout the entire second season. Romantic complications are always front and center as well. For, sensing a wedge growing in their already unconventional relationship when Chuck gets her first job (after faking her first resume) and moving into her own apartment, Ned questions how much emphasis he's placed on his own happiness over the woman he loves when he insists he keeps the secret she's alive all to himself. While meanwhile Olive (the ever-delightful Chenoweth) shines in one of the brightest episodes as the group solves an impossibly complex crime at a nunnery.

Filled with bursts of unexpected humor, warmth, and heart which is the way that Pushing Daisies managed to shockingly enchant viewers with what could've otherwise been such a bleak concept-- ultimately I couldn't help feeling at times as though it was still moving much too quickly. Similar to that twinge of regret you feel when you realize you hardly had a chance to know someone like when you scribble empty promises to keep in touch in a high school yearbook, fortunately Fuller has never ruled out a film adaptation to wrap up loose ends and has also gone as far as to announce that Warner Brothers' comic division DC Comics will publish a twelve issue long "fresh take" for the show's "third season."

Of course, keeping the Daisies in bloom will definitely be of great news to those who've been with it from the start. However, I'm writing as someone who loves getting lost in the finished product and the pitch perfect marriage of the candy store like visuals of vintage cars, clothing, and items from seven different decades in any given show.

And therefore I'll miss the way Chenoweth would suddenly burst into song, Ned and Chuck would have to once again reevaluate their relationship in a hyper-real, overly analytical yet adorable way, and the way Jim Dale managed to tie it all up by announcing that in the end, the facts had been "these."

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Text ©2009, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com
Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited.