DVD Review: Austenland (2013)

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It’s rare when a movie critiques itself but when Best in Show alumni Jennifer Coolidge states that she thinks that “being creative is a waste of time and money,” she might just have well have broken through the cinematic fourth wall, stepped out of character as another rich, dimwitted but friendly American and addressed the audience to describe exactly what is wrong with Austenland overall.

A complete missed opportunity to do for Jane Austen what Love Actually did for romantic comedies, writer/director Jerusha Hess’s abysmal adaptation of the novel by Shannon Hale (which was likewise co-written for the screen by Hale) never seems to figure out precisely what tone they’re aiming for, let alone the point they’re trying to make.

Despite a cleverly conceived idea that centers around a tourist destination for Jane Austen aficionados (think: Comic Con - Elizabeth Bennet style), where bibliophiles can spend an immersive week in the English countryside of Austen’s novels, Austenland is never able to match that creativity in its tale of our uninspired heroine Jane Hayes (played by the otherwise affable Keri Russell).

So dedicated to the world of Austen that she’s created a room wholly devoted to it (complete with decidedly unliterary wall art that boldly states that Mr. Darcy Rocks), when we meet Jane she’s frustrated by the way that love on paper never seems to live up to the real thing.

At a dead-end in all aspects of her life, while we understand why Hayes would enjoy this sort of Anglophile adult summer camp, we have absolutely no clue why she would assume that a vacation to Jane Land would be the answer to all of her problems.

Needless to say, while she’s purported to be an intelligent bookworm, we can’t imagine a grown woman with an above average IQ voluntarily trading in her life savings for a week of faux-romance with one of the hired actors. (It’s not exactly The Bachelor: The Austen Edition.)

And therein lies one of the biggest dilemmas of the movie as Hess and Hale never can figure out whether they’d like us to relate to and laugh with Jane or be mystified by and laugh at our misguided lead.

Missing the same sort of opportunities embraced by contemporary Austen adaptations from You’ve Got Mail to Bridget Jones’s Diary to Clueless to walk that fine line in tone and do more than just touch on a few plot points here and there, after Jane arrives in Austenland she grows disillusioned with the resort almost instantly.

Spending her time doing seemingly out-of-character things from playing “Hot in Here” on the piano to ignoring the types of seminars and activities that she seemed perfect for in the film’s introduction to the character, Jane opts to bow out of a large amount of the festivities she paid so much money to enjoy.

Reverting to a teenage summer romance, she chooses to dance to ‘80s music and make out with the stable hand (played by Flight of the Conchords's Bret McKenzie) vs. the faux Darcy-like aristocrats the actors around her are portraying.

Essentially suffering from a flip-flopping characterization, acts one and two of Austenland could also be called A Tale of Two Janes as we’re never exactly sure what Russell’s going to do next and why.

Unfortunately, it begins to completely fall apart midway through the second act when the guests and staff collaborate on a romantic play that does nothing more than eat up screen time and make you that much more grateful that Russell has TV's stellar The Americans to fall back on.

However, just when we think all hope is lost, the film nearly manages to redeem itself… once, that is our heroine manages to wise up and get the hell away from Austenland in a surprisingly terrific third act.

Serving up a vastly superior final twenty-minute coda to the nails-on-the-blackboard like cacophony that was the first hour, while it’s hard to imagine that many viewers would still be voluntarily watching at that point thanks to the convenience of the eject button on this recent DVD release, for those that are, Austenland manages to reward your patience.

In fact, the ending is so good that it makes me wonder how great the film could’ve been if all the gimmickry had been tossed out and Hess and Hale had spent less time trying to entertain and (in the manner of Austen) more time devoting itself to embracing the real life of a smart single woman who wants to heighten and make the best of reality, not simply run away from it.

For maybe if they would’ve done that they wouldn’t have lost so much money since the lack of creativity and character pride onscreen translated straight to box office prejudice offscreen by not giving the large global fan base of Austen devotees with high hopes a heroine and film worthy of the name Jane Austen(land).

     

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Blu-ray Review: Igor (2008)

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After his master Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) is tragically killed in the name of misguided experimentation, his hunchbacked dwarfish assistant Igor (John Cusack) crafts his very own version of Frankenstein in an attempt to win his community of Malaria's "Evil Science Fair."

However, instead of unleashing a dangerous monster, he creates Eva, a charismatic, sensitive, and sweet female giant (Molly Shannon) who-- after an unsuccessful trip to become "brainwashed" via subliminal videos (think A Clockwork Orange)-- finds herself wanting to become an actress after the channel is accidentally changed to host James Lipton's Inside Actors Studio.

Yet, instead of giggling at Lipton's sophisticated cadence, his frequent tendency to go a bit overboard in his praise or relishing in the audience favorite "what is your favorite curse word?" section of his survey that closes every episode, Molly Shannon's Eva decides she needs to create sense memories, work on her instrument, and get new head-shots.

Initially upset that his plan to create diabolical havoc has gone awry since the goal of Malaria as argued by Jay Leno's King Malbert is to take advantage of the failing climate and economic hardship to become Donald Trump like wealthy off of horrific products they can unleash on others-- instead Igor decides to try and control his new she-creature by pretending that the Evil Science Fair is merely one big show for which she needs to prepare.

Along with his two eccentric sidekicks (and inventions gone awry) including Steve Buscemi's endlessly suicidal rabbit character Scamper who keeps trying to fight his curse of "immortality" and Sean Hayes' clueless robot who labels himself a "brain" although the label on his head reads "Brian," Igor tries to blend the musical Annie into Eva's preparations for her frightening debut.

When the competitive scheming Dr. Schadenfreude (Eddie Izzard) and his shape-shifting, seductive girlfriend (Jennifer Coolidge) start to sabotage Igor's work by stealing ideas as they do every year to ensure Schadenfreude's victory, soon the blossoming relationship between Igor and Eva is jeopardized as he begins questioning their strategies as evil-doers to instead become joyful and kind citizens.

MGM and Fox pulled out all the stops in their creative animation for the visually compelling film and all the more so in Blu-ray with a plethora of concept art galleries, storyboards that comprise a veritable delight for animation fans in this high definition transfer with mesmerizing picture and sound.

And while it begins on a high note as the film is given a hilarious set-up which appeals much more to adults than children (due to the thinly disguised references to the most recent president's administration, politics, jokes about actresses, etc.) and writer Chris McKenna receives bonus points for originality in the overall concept, ultimately the influences cinematically and structurally towards the end of Igor seem overwhelmingly inspired by Shrek, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and several other superior films.

Soon evolving into a misfire as the highly complicated plot changes gears uneasily as it begins as a political satire before moving into a Hollywood satire before ultimately becoming a "beauty is on the inside" and "can't we all just get along" Shrek styled fairy-tale at the end. Nonetheless it has its moments and I adored the adorably drawn characters (especially Buscemi's crazy death wish happy rabbit).

Additionally, it's a great toe-tapper due to the abundance of wonderfully engaging Louis Prima tracks on the soundtrack (which-- because they're the least obvious musical accompaniment for this children's science fiction monster movie makes them feel that much fresher). Still, overall, it's a rambling mess that tries to squeeze in too many plot-lines and agendas into an overly crowded eighty-six minute running time.

The sparks of brilliance were evident from the start and had the filmmakers just stuck with that original plot-line by making a kids film into a commentary on "evil doers" and our political climate, it may have been-- if not in the same league-- than at least closer in quality to 2008's other film featuring a character whose name is pronounced the same as Shannon's Eva-- namely, Wall-E'a love for the sleek robot Eve whom he calls "Ev-a."

And although that's another film that took a major likability detour about one hour in-- at least the catalyst was more than just an accidental viewing of Inside the Actor's Studio since James Lipton seems about as capable of brain-washing as comedian Jay Leno is as being a king. I mean, seriously-- everyone knows that's David Letterman's job... just kidding.

DVD Review: Soul Men (2008)

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February 10, 2009

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Near the end of Soul Men, Bernie Mac says to Isaac Hayes, "After you, young man," and Hayes exited the door of the set first for the film's ultimate performance at the legendary Apollo Theater. However, unfortunately, in real life as the two passed away just one day apart-- this time around it was the younger man, Mac who left us first on 8/9/08 with Hayes following on 8/10/08.

Leaving us with two excellent final films-- both of which ironically opened theatrically on the same day (November 7, 2008) and now are being released on DVD and Blu-ray just days apart (Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Soul Men), the infectious laughter Mac loved to spread will certainly continue on just like the old records spun by Stax-- the extraordinary label which released Soul Men's soundtrack and is paid tribute to in Undercover Brother director Malcolm D. Lee's best film so far.

In a beautifully packaged silver outer cover that protects the DVD box itself (an increasingly popular trend in DVD and Blu-ray as of late), the film executive produced by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in tandem with others in their Dimension Films umbrella (the brother studio of their former Miramax which now finds them operating as The Weinstein Company) and Genius Products, LLC. the disc is loaded with bonus features including tributes to both Hayes and Mac.

However, remembering that the focus of the film was explicitly on music and comedy, not to mention first and foremost to entertain (as Mac always wanted), it's not a depressing edition but a celebration of the extraordinary talent involved. In addition to containing a great spontaneous burst of stand-up comedy by Mac trying to amuse extras during a lengthy shoot, a commentary track by Lee and the film's writers and more, it also includes great footage and interviews of its remarkably gifted supporting cast. The members include the beautiful singer Sharon Leal (Dreamgirls), one of my favorite funny women, Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie, Legally Blonde, Best in Show etc.), Sean Hayes (Will and Grace, Pieces of April), the funny white dude with an afro Adam Herschman (who looks like he could be Jonah Hill's long-lost brother), the dreamy John Legend whose take on "I'm Your Puppet" melts just as much as any of his other contemporary material, and the film's obligatory clueless villain played by Affion Crockett who does his best with what feels a bit like a caricatured role.

To sum it up in a nutshell, essentially you have a soul music and f-bomb filled version of Lemmon and Matthau's Grumpy Old Men series crossed with the classic John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles as we're first introduced to the men's trio The Real Deal roughly thirty years back before lead singer Marcus Hooks (Legend) went solo. While the men fared well for a brief period, eventually drugs, excess, and women led to their unraveling with the final straw being their jealous love over one woman in particular which escalated when she left Jackson's Louis for Mac's Floyd, becoming his first of five wives.

While Floyd hit rock bottom-- thrown in jail while using a fake gun to rob a bank and having forgotten everything from Watergate to when the Space Shuttle blew up-- Mac's business savvy prevailed as he ran a successful car dealership complete with commercials of apparent strippers doubling as car wash girls who tease customers with not so subtle double-entendres about rim jobs.

After a hip replacement, Mac's Floyd is essentially put out to pasture by his nephew in a retirement community but when he's plagued with insomnia that no amount of golfing or hooking up with elderly widowed neighbors by aid of Viagra will alleviate, he leaps at the chance to try for a reunion to play in an Apollo tribute show upon hearing that their former partner Marcus has died.

While Floyd is in, Louis is definitely out-- working in a greasy garage and living in an apartment that looks as though it wouldn't be fit for a squatter including a huge sack of dog food with no apparent dog. And when Floyd stops in to try and persuade Louis, following a punch in the jaw that knocks Louis out cold, the two pick up right where they left off which results in a fiery confrontation consisting of the oddest configuration of f-bombs you've ever heard as the men try to outdo one another in a shockingly hilarious effect.

Now that the Lao Tzu reading Louis has had his goal to be "all centered and shit" interrupted, eventually he relents and they predictably set off on a car trip (since Louis doesn't fly), with Floyd surprising him along with way with a variety of bad gigs in Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee. Following a few misadventures and run-ins with trashy over the hill groupie Jennifer Coolidge (in a terribly raunchy scene that moves from hilarious to disgusting in thirty seconds flat before she and Mac get us laughing once more), they pick up a third passenger in the form of the beautiful Cleo (Leal), the daughter of the woman they'd both loved and lost.

Careening towards a conclusion at the Apollo-- while ultimately for the men's characters, the final show is the goal, in Lee's film, it's the journey as he tries to throw enough wild and unpredictable road-movie cliches and obstacles in their path. While some are extremely successful (e.g. everything involving their biggest, nerdy young white fan played by Adam Herschman) and others just feel tired (such as Cleo's loser boyfriend played gamely by a wasted Crockett), overall it's a fun film that will entertain more often than it disappoints.

Likewise, it's elevated significantly by the great chemistry between Jackson and Mac and a supporting cast that seemed like they were all on the same page of just wanting to ensure that-- much like "Boogie Ain't Nuttin' But Gettin' Down," their film was essentially about gettin' laughs and unexpectedly pulling at our heart in a few places, especially now that we're aware that both Hayes and Mac are no longer with us. However, thanks to the film and their legacy, the two will forever "Groove On" and while Mac's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is already available, Soul Men spins into stores near you on February 10.

This Review is Dedicated to the Memories
of Bernie Mac & Isaac Hayes