Blu-ray Review: Days of Thunder (1990)

Cruising onto Blu-ray on
12/30/08

Much has been written about the big budget blockbusters of the 1980s with particular attention being given to super producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer along with one of the decade's biggest stars, Mr. Tom Cruise. On one hand, they were dubbed "high concept" films that repackaged gay culture's "conflation of fashion, movies, disco, and advertising" for straight audiences which "were star vehicles comprised of little more than a series of movie moments set to a pounding score," by author Peter Biskind in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (pg. 494). On another, they were simply attributed with raising "formula films to a science" by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers. Yet, whichever way you slice it, the bottom line is they knew how to capture an audience.

Ultimately it was this science which was analyzed by Roger Ebert in his witty and surprisingly highly complimentary review of Days of Thunder as a quintessential "Tom Cruise Picture," which blends together "most of the same elements that worked in 'Top Gun,' 'The Color of Money' and 'Cocktail'" as the critic describes this set-up with numerical and alphabetical labeling step-by-step along the way.

Of course, for brevity sake, the main man for this was Travers who wrote it best in that you take "the producers' top gun, Tom Cruise-- mix in fast planes, bikes, cars, or anything that makes a deafening noise, add a sexy woman, a few fights, a few laughs, a rock soundtrack (flashdance, what a feeling), and presto, you've got a critic-proof blockbuster."

Hoping to cash in on even a fraction of the astronomical success experienced by the producers, director Tony Scott and star Tom Cruise with the one of the decade's oft-quoted and most definitive films-- Top Gun-- Cruise used his own interest in automobile racing as fodder for this tale of an impulsive, young and wild, naturally gifted racer who learns that you can't simply take the fast lane to NASCAR victory.

Collaborating with Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne whose antihero pictures of the '70s which as he shared were "about revealing the disparity between what the country said it was, and what the filmmakers perceived it to be," had left audiences with an appetite for "steroided-out superheroes... [where characters] would re-fight the Vietnam war, and win... [and ultimately where we] needed a fantasy where [our country] was not impotent, where it was as strong as Arnold, as invulnerable as Robocop," (Towne as quoted by Biskind, 495).

And of course, the ideal thing about Tom Cruise was that as handsome as he was and still is with that instant charm, insanely appealing smile, and conversational ease-- he offered us a superman we not only believed in but felt that we would actually be friends with, date, or with the right dentist and plastic surgeon could possibly be ourselves-- of course, without all that wacky Scientology nonsense.

On the surface, it's fairly easy to label-- as countless critics and audience members have-- Days of Thunder as simply "Top Gun in a car." This is especially the case considering the similarities in roles as we have Nicole Kidman filling in for Kelly McGillis (and taking over for Mimi Rogers as Cruise's wife in real life), his eventual buddy Michael Rooker filling in for Anthony Edwards' Goose, the shady villain Cary Elwes trying to fill the homoerotic shoes of Val Kilmer who repeatedly bumps Cruise's car instead of delivering that creepy line about being his wingman along with Randy Quaid and Robert Duvall taking the spot of his Gun mentor Tom Skerritt.

Although they were apparently sizzling off-screen, the noticeable lack of chemistry between the very young and poorly written female brain surgeon character played by Nicole Kidman and Cruise's impetuous, temper-ridden, Peter Pan like driver Colt Trickle (dig that phallic name that of course calls attention to his ahem... stick shift) is a major detraction from the film but the romances in the Simpson and Bruckheimer blockbusters were never the highlight. For they packed so much "bromance" in them that in the end they're all about male bonding and brotherly love.

Duvall has some terrific scenes with Cruise as his racing team leader and stock car designer which finds him as that venerable older and wiser worldly enigma we first were introduced to with Cruise in Martin Scorsese's great Paul Newman and Cruise film, The Color of Money.

As I'm completely out of my element in the world of racing, I was oblivious to the amount of factual overlapping and ESPN personalities and NASCAR drivers involved in the film shoot but was especially fascinated to learn more about the oft-cited inspirations for the main leads including the late Tim Richmond (for Cruise's Trickle), Harry Hyde (Duvall), Rick Hendrick (Quaid), Dale Earnhardt (Rooker) and Rusty Wallace (Elwes).

Initially released as a thunderous summer blockbuster in late June of 1990, it's since developed a steady following of Cruise and racing enthusiasts, despite its inferiority to many of the actor's other films of that particular era. Moreover, it perhaps gained even greater interest after Will Ferrell and Adam McKay lampooned the world of racing in their hilarious take Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby which shares numerous plot-points, the "slingshot" technique, and even costar John C. Reilly in common with Thunder.

Recently released onto Blu-ray by Paramount with zero bonus features, I was prepared to be blown away by the roar of the engine of the Oscar nominated sound and speed of the cinematography yet was extremely unimpressed by the technical quality of the transfer which seemed on par with the DVD release. Perhaps in its next Blu release, it won't be as rushed as Cole Trickle always was and the studio will deliver a more solid digital transfer, but overall, the look of the film was surprisingly grainy with poor flesh tones, lackluster special effects (comparatively speaking for the Blu-ray format) and negligible difference from watching it on cable or DVD.

While ultimately, the need for speed to get Cruise's biggest hits to new owners of Blu-ray players this holiday season probably prompted its rush for a post-Christmas and Hanukkah December 30 release when gift cards will be burning a hole in men's wallets probably, I'd take a cue from the tried and true worldly Cruise mentors like Newman and Duvall that you should hold off and slow down, as hopefully better things will come to those who wait. Plus, unlike Cruise who got busted for going 85 in a 55 zone while working on Thunder, you'll be able to avoid a senseless speeding ticket.

The Name is Cruise, Tom Cruise
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New on DVD & Blu-ray for the Week of 11/30/08

Jen's Pick of the Week:

Robert Wise's Classic
The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Fly Me to the Moon

The Longshots

Sangre de Mi Sangre

Step Brothers

Wanted

Explore These and Other New Releases

New On DVD for the Week of 8/31/08

One of my favorite films from the 2008 Phoenix Film Festival-- Helen Hunt's feature filmmaking debut Then She Found Me gets ready for its digital close-up today on DVD. Vastly superior to another new rental, Steve Conrad's atrocious dramedy The Promotion, starring John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott, when all is said and done, Found may be one of the best films released this year. As Oscar season officially begins this month (some say with the release of the next offering from The Coen Brothers who dominated the Oscars), only time will tell but until then, do yourself a favor and discover Then She Found Me starring not only Hunt but Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, and Bette Midler.

P.S. A Note to the Feedblitz subscribers-- to answer a recent e-mail question-- lately I've been inserting video clips and trailers into my reviews. Unfortunately they don't transfer the "html code" to your inbox so if you'd like to experience the videos for yourselves, feel free to click on the post title in your e-mail or visit us right here at The Film Intuition Review Database.

Step Brothers

Director:
Adam McKay

In the gospel according to Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler and even Will Ferrell, to become a successful comedic actor in Hollywood, it’s traditional practice that you go for giggles first and awards later. Along the way, these stars and others have literally done anything for a laugh from sticking bananas in tailpipes in Beverly Hills Cop to beating themselves up in a bathroom in Liar, Liar before suddenly these multimillion dollar men decide they’d like the opportunity go from pratfall to highbrow in order to earn some indie film cred, show off their acting chops, and maybe earn a golden statue or two in the process.

Unfortunately, regardless of numerous accolades and positive critical acclaim, the public usually isn’t as supportive of seeing someone like Adam Sandler cry in Spanglish or Reign Over Me. And by staying away from theatres in droves, it sends a loud and clear message to Hollywood that when it comes time for spending our hard earned dollar, we’d rather be the ones who cry… in fits of laughter, that is. More importantly, despite mixed views, when these stars stretch their range from comedy to drama, it reminds viewers just how skilled one must be as a performer to have made humor look so effortless, which becomes especially apparent when “serious” actors decide to tackle comedy to sometimes disastrous results. It’s become an oft-repeated phrase that the worst thing one can do as an actor in a comedy is to try to be funny and typically, that’s precisely the crime most serious actors are guilty of when they make the leap from Shakespeare territory to Judd Apatow country.

With this in mind, it’s been a refreshing and delightfully unexpected surprise to discover the ridiculous hilarity of former independent film favorite John C. Reilly as he’s gone from his earlier work in films like Casualties of War, Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line, Magnolia, The Hours, The Good Girl and Gangs of New York to dazzling all of us with his Oscar nominated turn in Chicago. While his role in that film was filled with emotion most notably on display in the show-stopping number “Mr. Cellophane,” it recalled some of the comedic spark he’d begun to ignite even briefly in his previous roles. And after showing up for an un-credited daring turn as a bullying monk in Anger Management, the comedy world took note, and Reilly has just gotten funnier with each passing year, making the sad-sack character he cornered the market on in the past seem like a distant memory, especially when he was paired alongside Will Ferrell for the 2006 Nascar comedy, Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby.

The freewheeling, improvisational style of Ferrell clicked so well with Reilly’s unlimited range that even when the film threatened to take a few wrong turns and go off course, seeing the two of them together is what elevated that film above some of Ferrell’s lackluster comedies over the past few years as he’s spread himself far too thin. While Ferrell made the bold decision to forgo another easy paycheck to appear in a few serious works, including a tremendous turn in the woefully underrated Stranger than Fiction before returning to his humorous roots, Reilly continued to dabble with comedy, becoming an Apatow favorite after his work in director Jake Kasdan’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

However, as good as the men were solo, audiences who’d begun wearing out their Frat Pack comedy DVDs including Talladega, Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, Old School, Dodgeball, Semi-Pro and others longed for the two to reunite. And working with their Talladega team of director/co-writer Adam McKay and producer Judd Apatow, they’ve finally done so. With this in mind, they go from Talladega’s “Shake and Bake” to “Dragon” and “Nighthawk” a.k.a. Dale and Brennan in the far trashier but downright hilarious new release, Step Brothers.

Middle-aged, lazy and filled with a narcissistic sense of entitlement, the two star as overgrown children with one of the most twisted versions of Peter Pan Syndrome you’re likely to see in a mainstream comedy. Still living at home, without the benefit of college education and little in the way of job prospects which would undoubtedly interfere with their overreliance on video games, fanboy culture, junk food and round the clock television, Dale (Reilly) and Brennan (Ferrell) leech off their respective parents, played by Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor).

Predictably however, just minutes into the film, at an out-of-town work conference, the parents meet and decide to marry after an impulsive coupling. Even odder, their horny hookup becomes filled with greater glee when the strangers bond in a hotel suite amidst the realization that they’re both stricken with the same ailment of not being able to kick their roughly forty year old children out of their houses. Although the bliss of the newlyweds is cut short when Nancy (Steenburgen) and Brennan move into the home occupied by Jenkins’ Robert Doback and Brennan’s equally immature new stepbrother Dale.

After sizing each other up on the front lawn whereby they state their wish to go by tougher monikers (the aforementioned Dragon and Nighthawk), the new family make a strained attempt at bonding over dinner. As expected when the “boys” are forced to share a room with one another and proceed to menace each other with vicious, foul-mouthed threats, in the following days it escalates into physical brutality culminating in an over-the-top fight which nearly tears apart the entire house.

However, soon the foes become fast friends when they unexpectedly bond upon the discovery that Brennan’s smug, yuppie, pompous, name-dropping, slang-happy, SUV driving younger brother Derek (Adam Scott) is an even bigger jerk than both of them put together. But after Derek-- who’s not above insulting his wife (Kathryn Hahn) and forcing his children into a sing along-- makes it his new mission to sell Robert’s home for a monster profit so the elders can retire, thereby forcing Dale and Brennan out of the house, the two newly aligned step brothers must concoct a grand scheme first to sabotage Derek’s real estate ambitions while avoiding taking on anything resembling a job.

Quickly, as expected and par for the Frat Pack comedy course, they realize that their antics are starting to drive an irreparable wedge in their parents’ relationship and understand that—better late than never and definitely on their own terms—it’s time to attempt to grow up. And while the third act falters and feels a bit forced in rushing to wrap up all the loose ends, it’s saved by a truly memorable musical number at a Catalina Wine Mixer that is sure to get fans recommending it to others, telling them that it’s something they’ll just have to see to believe.

Earning its “R” rating only moments into the movie, the overwhelmingly foul-mouthed and mean-spirited first forty-five minutes of the film threatens to kill the successful and genuinely earnest humor that follows. While it may leave a bad taste in your mouth—especially considering some of the unnecessarily vulgar sight gags, not to mention the guilty feeling of finding humor in something so juvenile-- it’s the charm of Reilly and Ferrell that saves the film.

Although you’ll definitely want to keep your children away, despite the appeal of the leads since the comedy isn’t as family friendly as the laughs served up in Talladega, the presence of the two and the sheer exuberance on display in their performances reminds us that no matter how cruel the actions of the characters are, you just know that it’s done with the best of intentions. And ultimately you can’t help but buy into the silliness as they damn near break their necks in order to just make us laugh, making Step Brothers a wickedly funny, if uneven blend of a little surprisingly sweet and some horrifically sour comedy.

Note: Be sure to stay in your seats after the credits begin to roll as Reilly and Ferrell exact revenge on a group of playground bullies in an admittedly tasteless yet unforgettably hilarious finale.

The Promotion

Director: Steve Conrad

On the surface, “the customer is always right” may seem like the ultimate corporate management dictum but as my favorite boss once told me, the real strategy is to never let the customers make a scene. Strange advice from a former heavy metal drummer with plenty of stories of things getting out of control but realizing I’ve never been fond of public scenes of any kind, I took Dave’s advice to heart and despite a few unavoidable hiccups with those who seem to delight in perpetuating misery, it made my employment run infinitely smoother. Unfortunately, for the audience, this advice has never made it to the ear of The Promotion’s main character Doug (Seann William Scott). Slaving away as the hapless assistant manager, Doug fights against impromptu slaps by a gibberish speaking Teddy Graham coveting rebel and trying to broker peace between himself and his two apathetic fourteen year old security guards who—unsurprisingly-- seem more devoted to their cell phones than trying to deal with an intimidating young gang that terrorizes the shoppers and employees of the film’s supersized fictitious Donaldson’s Chicago grocery store. Of course, if Doug had been informed of this tactic, Pursuit of Happyness and Weather Man writer Steve Conrad wouldn’t have had a film with which to make his directorial debut. Although, dubbed “one of the unfunniest comedies ever,” by The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt who also wrote that “watching The Promotion” should be added “to the Geneva Conventions’ list of humanitarian abuses,” possibly that would’ve been the best thing all around… if only-- much like our sad-sack Doug-- for filmgoers to avoid scenes as unpleasant as the ones found in The Promotion.

In a film that makes the similarly themed Dane Cook, Dax Shepard, and Jessica Simpson vehicle Employee of the Month look downright Shakespearean, our struggling thirty-three year old Doug assumes that his years of serving time in Donaldson’s under a boss who escapes to daytime matinees and car washes while he contends with an overabundance of customer complaint cards will be coming to a deserved end when he learns the chain is building a brand new store nearby. Convinced he’s a “shoo-in” for a promotion to manager at the new location, Doug and his hardworking wife Jen (The Office’s Jenna Fischer) purchase a home they can’t afford to escape their amorous gay banjo playing neighbors. Predictably, a wrench is thrown into Doug’s path in the form of John C. Reilly’s Richard, an aggressively friendly Canadian from Quebec who transfers down to Doug’s store with the intention of going after the same position and cushy benefits package for his new baby and Scottish wife Laurie (Lili Taylor using a hilarious Scottish Canadian hybrid accent) that he’d met while on a Christian mission. Initially unable to get a handle on the new “wild-card” Richard whom we later learn is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, Doug and the newbie sidle up to one another, forming a strange professional bond that seems borderline friendly and competitive but grows increasingly acrimonious when Doug is relegated to near permanent parking lot duty in favor of self-actualization, self-help book-on-tape obsessed Richard.

All one has to do to anticipate the squirm-inducing, awkward and frankly painful stabs at humor in what I felt seemed like a manic-depressive screenplay is to reread the aforementioned descriptions one more time—a man who may lose his house; a recovering addict—not exactly the most surefire ways to garner laughs. While I applaud Conrad’s ingenuity and willingness to go against standard movie clichés, as Roger Ebert noted, the film is never quite sure of its tone, similar to the writer’s woefully uncomfortable Weather Man. In addition, I still can't get over the troubling realization that I found circulating throughout my screening notes that an overwhelming majority of the humor seemed to stem from cheap shots involving minorities (whether homosexual, ethnic, or mentally disabled). While I can’t imagine this was the film or Conrad’s intention, I couldn't help questioning just how and why so many talented cast members including Bobby Cannavale and Jason Bateman (who turn in nice cameos) even bothered to get involved. Mercifully, it will most likely be buried in the wake of the Edward Norton starrer The Hulk this weekend here in Phoenix, again reminding us that in addition to not wanting to witness such a disastrous scene, when it comes to mean-spirited and dissatisfying drivel like this-- by staying away in droves, in the end the customer is always right.

The Thin Red Line

Director: Terrence Malick To this day, I’m still shocked when people say the dislike The Thin Red Line. Having had the misfortune of being released the same year as Steven Spielberg’s critically lauded yet (aside from the brilliant and unrelentingly brutal opening) highly formulaic Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line seemed to be the antidote to the Hollywood gloss of most WWII films as it is poetic, passionate, frustrating, hypnotic, tender, breathtaking and unspeakably tragic. While it’s said in some circles that having both Spielberg’s Ryan and Malick’s Line up for the Best Picture Oscar may have helped split the vote and led to the Shakespeare in Love upset, to me, it was again proof that the Academy Awards, while important and historical, are subjective and it’s a shame that several films and performances can’t be recognized as they’re overlooked in the definitive quest of simplifying things down to a single “best” choice. In comparing the works, Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that “Steven Spielberg’s film was about character and Malick’s is about spirit,” although I’d argue that spirit by its very definition is embodied in a fully realized and fleshed out character and in Malick’s film (which is based on the autobiographical novel by James Jones) is filled with a wide range of characters and their unforgettable spirits. As IMDb reported Malick had longed to adapt the book by the author of From Here to Eternity since the late 1980’s yet it wasn’t until ’98 when his meandering opus about the first major offensive by America’s Army Rifle Company C (for Charlie) on the South Pacific island of Guadalcanal in 1943 was released. While fighting for an overwhelmingly long time over the “key-positioned airfled that allows control over a 1,000 mile radius,” (IMDb) we get an intimate view of both the army and inner lives of several of the soldiers including our heroic Pvt. Witt (Jim Caviezel) and Pvt. Bell (Ben Chaplin) along with countless others that are played by the likes of Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Thomas Jane, George Clooney, Elias Koteas, Jared Leto, Tim Blake Nelson, John C. Reilly, John Travolta, Nick Stahl, Nick Nolte and Sean Penn. With so many actors, it does at times become hard to tell them apart since (much like myself) the casting director must have had a thing for sensitive looking dark haired men. Viewers do at times feel a bit lost in the shuffle and may benefit from a second viewing yet contrary to critic Roger Ebert’s statement that “the actors… are making one movie, and the director is making another,” I thought they all added to Malick’s vision and their willingness to leave their egos aside for sometimes only moments of screen time owes much to the admiration for the legendary director of Days of Heaven and Badlands. The underrated Elias Koteas is especially good as Capt. Staros who fights hard to stick up for the men under his command and defy the orders of egomaniacal Lt. Col Tall (Nolte) to protect the others and save lives much to the detriment of his own career. With an average reported shot length of 7.9 seconds (IMDb) and a running time of roughly three hours, the daunting film which was nominated for seven Academy Awards alienated some with its artistic and cerebral approach but for those with the patience who appreciate a different take on a traditional war film (and one in the tradition of Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now), you will be extremely glad you invested the time.