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| Subject: Two films | |
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Author: Kylopod |
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Date Posted: 14:04:18 09/11/07 Tue Author Host/IP: pool-71-246-77-113.bltmmd.east.verizon.net/71.246.77.113 Stranger than Fiction I liked this film a lot. Actually, I had a feeling I'd like it as soon as I heard the premise (guy starts hearing a voice in his head that acts like he's a character in a novel). But over the years I've been very lukewarm about Will Ferrell. While he provided the biggest laugh in the first "Austin Powers," I have often found him irritating in large doses. It's curious, because I never felt this way about Jim Carrey. Carrey was never consistently funny, and he often bordered on obnoxious. But the good work he did do convinced me he was a comic genius, so I quickly considered myself a fan even though I didn't like all his movies. "Stranger than Fiction" obviously invites some comparison with "The Truman Show," also about a guy who discovers he's part of a fictional story. The latter film was a turning point in Carrey's career, where he got a chance to rein in his comic talents and deliver a more subdued performance. Ferrell does pretty much the same thing here, and my respect for him grew. I'm loath to admit it, but he may be becoming this generation's Steve Martin, a comic actor I appreciate but do not like. The film is actually a bit more along the lines of "Being John Malkovich" in strangeness. And I think that if Charlie Kaufman had penned it, it probably would have been more satisfying. It has a lot of potential but often veers into more conventional territory than it should. The romantic subplot between Ferrel and Maggie Gyllenhaal is sweet but banal, carved out of a thousand other films. Of course, this sort of film can fall back on the excuse that since it's about a story within a story, the triteness was intentional. I've never considered that a good excuse. What's nice about the film is the exposition, the smooth and logical way in which the story progresses through its own absurd logic. Ferrell goes to a shrink (Linda Hunt in a cameo), and that leads him to a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) who can use his expertise to sort out Ferrel's narration problem. The film kept me guessing, and was based on an intriguingly clever conceit. I only wish that it had found something more original to do with it than another tired old retread on the theme of appreciating life after knowing that one is going to die soon. I was uncomfortably reminded of that awful little film "Life or Something Like It," whose greatest insight into life was that Angelina Jolie doesn't look very good in a blonde wig. "The Truman Show" at least took place in physical reality. In "Stranger than Fiction," we're never quite sure that the Will Ferrell character really exists. The entire story could be happening in the mind of the author, played by Emma Thompson (who is great as usual). But the movie never dwells on this existential dilemma. We're with the Ferrell character for so long that it's as if he does exist for us, and in a way he's more real than anyone else. It's a weird idea, the notion of a fictional being with a mind of its own, which invites the question of whether free will is an illusion. Kurt Vonnegut would have approved. Akeelah and the Bee "Akeelah and the Bee" is "The Karate Kid" with a spelling bee instead of a karate tournament, taking place in a ghetto rather than a suburb. I'm serious. All the characters in "The Karate Kid" have an equivalent in this film, with Laurence Fishburne filling the Miyagi role. I would normally have had no interest in this film, which is formulaic and predictable, but it was recommended to me because it is about the powers of language, one of my favorite topics. It also refutes the popular belief that spelling bees are exercises in rote memorization. Nunberg espoused that belief in one of his essays, and he was wrong. While the spelling bee may be a holdover from nineteenth-century schoolroom fodder, it has evolved into an intellectually demanding contest that requires quite an extensive understanding of words, meanings, and origins. The movie makes this very clear, and since it's got good performances, including from 11-year-old Keke Palmer, I can say that it's an alright film. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Two films | Jimmy | 17:14:38 09/11/07 Tue |
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