This month's dirty dozen movies included quite a few I had not seen previously (marked with an asterisk), including a documentary about the always interesting and controversial Jane Fonda, one about the NY Fire Department and a classic musical that was great to watch again. Movies are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna, with 5 being the top rating. Numbering picks up from previous months.
104. The Wife* (2018) – He is a renowned author who has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. She is the wife, the woman who carries his extra glasses and reminds him to take his pills. He publicly professes his love for her. And then he hands her his coat to hold. Underneath her placid exterior is an intelligent, talented woman simmering with disappointment bordering on rage. There were moments when I thought she (Glenn Close) would start to display some of the character she played in “Fatal Attraction.” Close gives an outstanding performance as the wife. Jonathan Pryce plays her renowned but hapless (in so many ways) husband, a proud and priggish man who thinks public proclamations of his adoration of his wife Joanie are enough. Christian Slater is a man trying to win both of them over so he can write the writer’s biography. Slater can be a smarmy sort, which fits this character perfectly. I can’t say more without giving away the plot, but I will reveal that no rabbits were boiled in the making of this film. 4 cans.
105. Slap Shot (1977) – What “Bull Durham” is to minor league baseball, “Slap Shot” is to minor league hockey – minus the rom-com aspects and with more comedy. This a raucous movie about the trials and tribulations of a minor league hockey team about to fold. Newman is Reg Dunlap, the aging player-coach of the Charlestown Chiefs, a horrible hockey team in a crappy league full of has-beens and never-weres. The team is headed to oblivion when management decides to bring back brawling, led by the bespectacled Hanson brothers. When the three brothers arrive on the scene (complete with their toys) and are let loose on the ice, mayhem ensues and the team succeeds. Ah, but enough to make them an attractive franchise for another town to purchase? Newman is terrific, skating enough to seem credible as a hockey player. Michael Ontkean is the brainy player who won’t fight, and Strother Martin, Newman’s nemesis in the great “Cool Hand Luke,” is the general manager of the hockey club. 4 cans for a lot of laughs and the great Maxine Nightingale song, “Get Right Back to Where You Started From.” And Newman.
106. The Captive* (2014) – This apparently little-known movie is an intriguing one. (I found it on Netflix but could not find information online about it because it shares its title with a 1959 film.) Ryan Reynolds is a desperate dad following the disappearance of his nearly 10-year-old daughter from his truck while he quickly ducked into a store to get her ice cream. Eight years pass, with police still on the case but gathering no clues. Who would have abducted her and why? Detectives Rosario Dawson and Scott Speedman have a theory and begin to eek out info and details, but they think the father may be involved. Meanwhile, on the marital front, the relationship is deteriorating since mom blames dad for leaving their daughter alone in the truck. There were times I was transfixed and other times that I thought this is never going to end. Never leave kids alone in the car is the message here. 3½ cans.
107. My Fair Lady (1964) – THIS is a musical. It has a book, lovely songs with memorable lyrics, plenty of dancing, and STARS – Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins and Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle. It is based on the classic Pygmalion story by George Bernard Shaw about a professor of linguistics who makes a bet with his colleague that he can take a lowly flower girl with a Cockney accent and make her into a lady. In today’s climate, I had to overlook the misogynistic tone and the Professor’s impervious manner, but it is a joy watching as Eliza transforms from a shrinking violet to a self-assured woman. You know the saying, “They don’t make them like that anymore?” Well, they don’t. I can understand the outrage of replacing Julie Andrews, who starred in the stage version, with Hepburn, a bigger star whose voice was dubbed, but the musical succeeds quite nicely, with credit to Harrison – who, ironically, speaks his numbers but does it so well that you don’t mind. Since I am going to see the revival at Lincoln Center, I thought I should brush up on my proper English first. 4 cans. PS – The stage version I saw at Lincoln Center was outstanding. I highly recommend it.
108. The Gift* (2015) – Joel Edgerton gave himself a gift with this suspenseful movie, serving as writer, director and a star. Gordo (Edgerton) and Simon (the always watchable Jason Bateman) are former high school classmates who meet as Simon and his wife move into town for his big promotion. Gordo seems nice enough, but there are shades of stalking in his repeated contacts with Simon and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) – showing up unannounced, bearing gifts so the young couple has to respond, etc. It seems Simon and Gordo were more than classmates, and Simon may not be the great guy he appears to be, making Robyn uncomfortable with her hubby as well as his strange friend. 3 cans.
109. The Group* (1966) – As someone who graduated from a women’s college, I thought this movie about a group of women from an unnamed but Ivy League-type college in 1933 would be more appealing. Instead, it is overwrought, badly acted, stilted and it reinforces men’s bad behavior (I’m not saying it is inaccurate, mind you). The story follows the young women as they leave college, meet and marry (or try to) men and establish careers. The eight characters are all relatively wealthy and privileged, but that does not translate into happiness in this soapy drama. The cast is a good one on paper (Candace Bergen, in her feature film debut, gets the least amount of screen time but her character’s name is mentioned most often), Jessica Walter, Joanna Pettit and a bunch of others who seem virtually interchangeable. Maybe it was more relevant when it was released in the mid-60s, but now it seems too melodramatic. One point in its favor is the strength of the bond between the women, which definitely resonates with me. 3 cans.
110. All the Money In the World* (2017) – This is the film notorious for editing out actor and accused sexual molester Kevin Spacey, who originally played billionaire J. Paul Getty, and replacing him with Christopher Plummer as the aging oil mogul whose 16-year old grandson Paul (Charlie Plummer) is kidnapped. You may remember the story, so I’ll skip the details. Getty refuses the pleas of Gail, his former daughter-in-law (Michelle Williams) to pay the $17 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers. Getty states publicly that if he were to pay, the bad guys would abduct all 17 of his grandchildren. The action goes between negotiations with Getty and Gail, aided by Getty advisor Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg), who is clearly on the side of the distraught mother. Getty wants to find a way to pay less – if anything – and do it in a way that he can deduct it from his taxes. He is a stubborn old miser, collecting art and furnishing grand mansions while his family is nearly destitute. Meanwhile, the poor kid’s life hangs in the balance while the bad guys ramp up their threats of harming the teenager. Not a fun movie to watch, but kudos for excellent performances. 3½ cans.
111. Searching* (2018) – Too many people live their lives online these days, where everything you do or say can be consumed by friends or enemies. John Cho is David Kim, whose relationship with his 16-year-old daughter Margot (Michelle La) is largely conducted online, even though they live in the same house. They text, Facetime, send emails and do everything except actually sit and talk, for the most part. So, when she goes missing one day and he is asked by Detective Vick (Debra Messing in a rare dramatic role) for names of her friends and for her activities, David is at a loss. He turns to the computer for clues, and most of the movie is shown on a screen, with Facetime, videocalls and lots of clicking on the keyboard as he constructs a life for his daughter that he knew nothing about. The movie has plenty of intrigue as the detectives, aided by the distraught dad, pursue all the leads to find Margot. One of the best movies I have seen this year. 4 cans.
112. The Proposal* (2009) – New York book publisher Margaret (Sandra Bullock) matches up with all of the stereotypes we have seen portrayed in movies about intelligent and powerful women. She is cold, unyielding and cunning and she treats everyone – especially her thoughtful and loyal assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) – with no appreciation and a healthy dose of disdain. But when Margaret, a Canadian, is threatened with deportation, she coerces Andrew into agreeing to say they are engaged so she can stay in the US and retain her position. Andrew isn’t quite the milquetoast he seems, bargaining for a promotion as he goes along with the scheme. Things get complicated when the two, in an attempt to fool the determined immigration agent, end up going to Alaska for the weekend to attend Andrew’s grandmother’s birthday party, and they have to pretend they are engaged. His family – who only knows Margaret through Andrew’s caustic references to her brow-beating of him as her assistant – is shocked that the pair are now a couple, but they welcome her into the family. Come on, now, we all know exactly where this is heading, and it would be a TV movie at best except for the warm and wonderful performances by the entire cast, including Betty White as Gammy and Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenbergen as Andrew’s parents. This is not “Citizen Caine,” but it has substantial merits, and I really like Bullock and Reynolds. 3½ cans.
113. Step Up* (2006) – In the pantheon of post-Fred, Ginger and Gene dance movies, this film will inevitably be compared to the more modern “Saturday Night Fever” with John Travolta, “Dirty Dancing” with Patrick Swayze and “Footloose” with Kevin Bacon. All of them have the same basic plot: Bad boy meets good girl, they dance, they fall in love, something bad happens, dancing redeems them. Here Channing Tatum is a naturally talented hip-hop dancer assigned to community service at the arts high school he trashed, and while mopping floor and cleaning windows, he spots dancer Nora (Jenna Dewan) and “steps up” to be her partner in a dance showcase when her original partner is injured. They dance and become entranced, but there is no point in dwelling on the plot. This film modernizes the previous ones (granted, “Dirty Dancing” was set in the 1960s) with more current music and character types, and it largely pulls it off. Like Travolta and Swayze, Tatum is completely captivating on the dance floor, oversized clothes and all. This isn’t a great movie by any means, but it celebrates the exuberance and beauty of dance, and that’s enough for me. 3½ cans.
114. A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY* (2014) – I cannot begin to understand the strength, bravery and skill required to fight fires, especially in a turbulent, crowded city like New York. This documentary by actor Steve Buscemi (“Boardwalk Empire”), a former firefighter in NY, takes viewers behind the scenes with rare footage and revealing interviews with New York’s Bravest. Men and women, black, white and all ethnicities, these heroes tell why they joined the Fire Department and what the bonds they build really mean. What they do is so important, and you can’t help but admire them for doing it. 3½ cans.
115. Jane Fonda in Five Acts* (2017) – What actress has had more acts than Jane Fonda? From Henry’s daughter to his co-star (in “On Golden Pond”), from Vietnam War critic and social activist to the fitness icon responsible for an entire video industry, from “Barbarella” to “Coming Home” and from Oscar-winning actress to mogul Ted Turner’s trophy wife? In this HBO documentary Fonda reveals it all. She cops to being subservient to her various husbands and she regrets that picture of her in Hanoi that gave her the moniker “Hanoi Jane” and stirred the hatred of millions. But despite the controversies surrounding her life, she has turned out exceptional movies like “Klute,” “Coming Home,” – both Oscar-winning for her – and a few she used as vehicles to speak out about important issues, such as “The China Syndrome,” about a nuclear meltdown, and “9-5,” a call for equality in the workplace. Neglected by her mentally-ill mother (who committed suicide when Jane was 12) and her detached, emotionless father, Jane carries plenty of emotional baggage. I know there are people who still harbor resentment for her antiwar activism, but this is the same woman who fought for veterans and ran summer camps for kids at her home. And at 80, even Jane admits that she looks pretty damn good. Those Jane Fonda workout tapes had a long-lasting effect. 4 cans.
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