On-The-Air Amusement And Angst

After seeing the new movie TALK TO ME (reviewed below) I got to thinking about radio personalities in the movies. Sometimes they are disc jockeys, sometimes they have specialty call-in shows, sometimes they are rabble rousers - sometimes all three. Let's take a look at some of the most memorable motor mouths :

Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) in TALK RADIO (Dir. Oliver Stone, 1988) Champlain is the epitome of all three of the above. His station announcer introduces him as "the man you love to love" and he gets more death threats than phone-ins. Taking place almost completely around a radio console as Barry insults, cajoles, and just plain provokes callers TALK RADIO can best be considered a comic tragedy. It expands on the stage play (recently revived on Broadway) by giving us Barry's back-story showing his rise to be one of the top talk radio personalities in Dallas on the verge of national syndication. His fame though is running face to face with the mounting militia-based hatred of much of his audience. Barry's final break-down resulting in a mesmerizing monologue lays bare a pathetic self destructive unsalvageable soul but the announcer is right - over the years I've come to love to love the man whose signature sign-off line is "Sticks and stones can break your bones but words cause permanent damage."

Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) in GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM (Dir. Barry Levinson, 1987) Based on the real life experiences of a Armed Forces Radio Saigon disc jockey this role features Williams way before he became so annoyingly over-exposed and before his film formula became so, well, annoying. Dealing with uptight army officials (the late greats Bruno Kirby and J.T. Walsh) and ignoring army playlists and protocol Cronauer learns and grows mostly when he's not on the air but some maturity is shown on the mike before we reach the treacly but still affecting conclusion.

David "Dave" Garver (Clint Eastwood) in PLAY MISTY FOR ME (Dir. Eastwood, 1971) Eastwood's directorial debut with him as a soft spoken (I know, of course) disc jockey is really more of a thriller (the mold of which would be later used for FATAL ATTRACTION - 1987) than a radio-related story. Garver's most loyal fan (Jessica Walter) repeatedly makes the request of the title which is all good that is until she becomes a stalking murderous mad woman. Maybe it's because she fell overboard for Garver's smooth soothing tone. Maybe like Dylan, Eastwood should consider doing a XM satellite radio show - that is if he's not afraid of attracting new stalkers.

Leon Phelps (Tim Meadows) in THE LADIES MAN (Dir. Reginald Hudlin, 2000) Yeah! Another awful movie made from a running SNL sketch character at least has some radio-tested charm by way of Phelps's smarmy self intro :

"I am an expert in the ways of love. I have made love to many fine ladies from the lowliest bus station skank to the classiest most sophisticated, educated, debutant, high society... bus station skank."

Phelps is a Chicagoan host of a late night sex advice show who is always accompanied by a glass of Courvoisier and an unjustified arrogant romantic philosophy. He unwisely journeys out of the studio to hunt down an ex-lover. I think that was the plot, I mean really - who cares?

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) in THE FISHER KING (Dir. Terry Gilliam, 1991) The role of the "shock jock" gets played here in a role that comes from the same cloth as TALK RADIO's Barry Champlain. The twist here is - what if the guy has a conscience? One of Lucas's random radio comments inadvertently causes a mad man to open fire in a bar and one of the patrons - history professor Parry (Robin Williams again) watches as his wife gets killed. Tossed out of the radio fame game Lucas meets a homeless deranged Parry years later. Lucas decides to help Parry which will in turn be his redemption. Lucas even has a radio catch-phrase that fits in with the movie's premise, the Steve Martinesque "hey, forgive me!"

Howard Stern (Howard Stern) in PRIVATE PARTS (Dir. Betty Thomas, 1997) Playing himself in his own biopic (based on his bestselling book) is not surprising considering the size of the ego of the self-proclaimed "king of all media" but come on, who else would or could do it? The best scenes here are the re-creations of Stern's infamous broadcasts and not the rom com trappings surrounding them. Much has changed for the man who popularized the term "shock jock" in the ten years since PRIVATE PARTS was released. Mainly the divorce from the woman that this film was a Valentine to and the gigantic $500 million Sirius Satellite deal that got him off regular radio make the meager goals of this movie seem quaint today. Funny how cute rather than cutting Stern seems when looking at this portrayal today - especially his naive reaction to Don Imus's (played by Luke Reilly - of course Imus wouldn't appear in this film) dismissal of him when they are first introduced.

Shirlee Kenyon (Dolly Parton) in STRAIGHT TALK (Dir. Barnet Kellman, 1992) Yep, it has been a sausage party in the booth so far so we gotta to acknowledge Dolly! Sure, it's a silly disposable comedy but it's Dolly! She brings her smirking spunk to play a woman who through a wacky mishap is mistaken for a certified psychologist and becomes a successful radio talk show host. It feels unfair to bash on this innocuous inanity especially when it has Dolly wrapping her Southern lips around such lines as "get down off the cross honey, somebody needs the wood!"

Okay! So now on to the current release about a real-life radio semi-legend :


TALK TO ME (Dir. Kasi Lemmons, 2007) Ex-con turned outspoken AM Disc Jockey Ralph Waldo Petey Greene is not a household name these days and this movie is probably going to do little to change that. In the age of Stern and Imus the labeling of a broadcaster as a "controversial radio personality" doesn't carry the cache it used to. Greene's (Don Cheadle with a raspy clipped voice) story taking place during the turbulent late 60's in Washington D.C. does have gusto and a strong sentiment but the formulaic biopic approach mars the third act. MLK's death, riots, and demonstrations are given about the same amount of depth as the historical background in DREAM GIRLS. To its credit Cheadle does his thing though in a decisively funkier manner than before, Chiwetel Ejiofor slickly plays the right notes as his producer, Martin Sheen takes a few satisfying solos as the uptight white station manager who is perpetually about to pull the plug on Greene, and Cedric The Entertainer is well, there. Greene's legacy will get a few more fans from this treatment as it is not without heart, it's just that its soul is that of a TV movie.

More later...

Hey Kids, Filmbabble's Funtime Oscar Picks 2007!

This is the first time Film Babble Blog has made Academy Award predictions so I'm a bit nervous about it. I mean I haven't seen all of the nominated movies and I'm going in with a certain percentage of guts, wild guessing, and a bit of internet research (but not too much 'cause that takes the fun out of it, doncha think?) so we'll see how it plays out. It ought to be fun though so here goes -



1. BEST PICTURE : BABEL - My personal choice would be THE DEPARTED but the buzz seems to be going for this 'everybody suffers' epic. Does seem pretty likely to win after last year's 1 word suffer epic CRASH won.






2. BEST DIRECTOR : Martin Scorsese (THE DEPARTED) - It does seem like it's Marty's year but then I've thought that before. Many times before. Anyway this is very much a personal and maybe not realistic choice but I'm still going to go with him because it would be such sweet justice if it occured. If it doesn't I hope whoever wins will look his way and give Scorcese a 'sorry nod' before going on with their speech.

3. BEST ACTOR : Forest Whitaker (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) - I haven't seen it but have liked the trailers and most critics are pulling for him. My guess is the Academy members will too. Again this is very much a personal choice - I've liked Whitaker since seeing him in bit parts in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and PLATOON. 



His work as Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's BIRD is criminally underrated and solid performances in PANIC ROOM, GHOST DOG, SMOKE, and THE CRYING GAME all deserve more notice than they originally got. For surviving BATTLESHIP EARTH alone he should get some kind of special award - just sayin'. 



4. BEST ACTRESS : Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN) - This seems like a shoe-in. Mirren was excellent in the royal role so I'll be very surprised if she doesn't bag this one. 



5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR : Alan Arkin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) - This is a gut choice. Many are predicting Eddie Murphy will take this for DREAMGIRLS but something makes me think otherwise. I mean every Awards has a few such surprises and this would definitely qualify as one. This may be my most unrealistic pick - while writing this I'm thinking Murphy's still gonna get it. 



6. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS : Jennifer Hudson (DREAMGIRLS) - Another I regettably haven't seen but the word on the internet streets seems to be that she's going home with the gold.

And the rest : 



7. ART DIRECTION – THE PRESTIGE 

8. CINEMATOGRAPHY – CHILDREN OF MEN 

9. COSTUME DESIGN – DREAMGIRLS 

10. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
11. DOCUMENTARY SHORT – REHEARSING A DREAM 

12. FILM EDITING – BABEL 

13. MAKEUP – PAN’S LABYRINTH 

14. VISUAL EFFECTS – SUPERMAN RETURNS 

15. ORIGINAL SCORE – BABEL 

16. ORIGINAL SONG – “Listen” (DREAMGIRLS) 

17. ANIMATED SHORT – THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL 

18. LIVE ACTION SHORT – WEST BANK STORY 

19. SOUND EDITING – LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA 

20. SOUND MIXING – DREAMGIRLS 

21. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE 

22. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – THE DEPARTED 

23. ANIMATED FEATURE FILM – CARS 

24. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – PAN’S LABYRINTH

Whew! Okay, enough with Oscar for now. I'll post after the show Sunday and we'll see how many I got wrong. 



Now here's some New Release DVD reviews: 



THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (Dir. David Frankel, 2006)

"Perhaps the next Hollywood 'genius' will be the man who can design the whole movie to look like a high-powered ad." – Noted New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael



(1919-2001)

In the 40-something years since Kael made that comment there have been many many movies that have looked like whole-sale high-powered ads but while watching THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA I thought of that quote quite a few times. 



Based on the best selling novel by Lauren Weisberger, TDWP has slick glossy direction by David Frankel (Sex and the City, Entourage), a world class wardrobe (Oscar nominated costume design, mind you) and an earnest Anne Hathaway as an aspiring journalist who gets schooled in professionalism when she suffers a stint as fashion magazine mogul Miranda Priestly’s (Meryl Streep) assistant.

Streep’s Oscar nominated performance is as acidic as it is measured and Stanley Tucci comes on acutely as a cynical clothes horse Yoda. Actually there are a number of Yodas in this movie – Hathaway gets lectured by nearly every character – Tucci, her live-in boyfriend Adrian Grenier, rival assistant Emily Blunt, and her hip friends - Tracie Thomas and Rich Sommer. 



This should have stayed more in a fluffy fashion world spoof mode than to pretend at all to be a statement making cautionary tale. An obvious take would be ‘it’s all style and no substance’ but it’s more apt to conclude that it’s style lusting after substance. High-powered ad nauseum. As Streep’s Miranda would say “that’s all.” 



THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON (Dir. David Leaf & John Scheinfeld, 2006) 



As both hardcore and casual Beatles fans know in the eyes of the media and popular public perception there are 2 John Lennons. 



The 1st is quite bluntly – the rock and roll Jesus. A saint who spread nothing but words of love and peace through radical protests like bed-ins and generational anthems like “Give Peace A Chance”. A genius icon who inspired millions and whose songs are among the greatest classics ever written.



And then there’s the 2nd Lennon - who quite bluntly was an asshole pop star. A huckster who put on a man-for-all-causes front while cheating on his wife, doing smack, and even harassing waitresses. 



The actual human being was a wicked mixture of some of those exaggerated extremes - not perfect obviously but not as fatally flawed as some perspectives claim. Well which Lennon do you think this doc gives us? 



Of course Lennon #1 full force who here faces off with the Nixon administration as the Vietnam War rages.

Lennon and wife Yoko Ono were undoubtedly under government scrutiny after relocating from Britain to New York in the early 70’s with deportation threatened. Talking heads Gore Vidal, Walter Cronkite, G. Gordy Liddy, Mario Cuomo, and even Geraldo Riveria tell some tasty tales about the politics, protest stunts and “power to the the people” posturing of Lennon’s self described radical period. 



It’s just that with the exception of a few new insights this ground has been well covered before especially by VH1 who co-produced this film. As a teaching tool perhaps – that is if one really feels that kids today have to know who Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, or John Sinclair are – this film may have value but as Ono approved-docs go you’re better off with IMAGINE : JOHN LENNON (Dir. Andrew Solt, 1988).



MAN OF THE YEAR (Dir. Barry Levinson, 2006) – Can’t say I wasn’t warned. By the time the red Netflix envelope containing this film’s DVD came to my mailbox I was well aware that the critics tore it a new one when it was released last fall with most complaining that it had been marketed drastically wrong. Indeed they were right - all the original trailers and TV ads made this movie look like a broad comedy along the lines of ‘what if a Daily Show type cable TV host (Robin Williams in full-throttle rapid random riffing mode) was elected president? – Wouldn’t wackiness ensue?' Well, yes for a bit wackiness ensues (about 8-10 min.) but then we are forced to stomach a parallel plot in which programmer Laura Linney discovers a glitch in the electronic ballot system that got the comical candidate into the White House.



So it’s supposedly half political satire and half topical thriller. Too bad neither half works. 



Too bad this is such a wasted opportunity with a good cast but a lousy script (written by Levinson). Just too bad.

With his jokes about “weapons of mass distraction” (yep, that’s the level of wit here), breast implants, cellphones, and making Bruce Springsteen Secretary of State, Williams is just doing his same old shtick and it’s so sad to see Christopher Walken and Lewis Black (cast as his manager and chief writer) having little to do but sit around laughing at everything he says. 



In fact there are many shots of scores of people laughing at Williams’s tired antics throughout MAN OF THE YEAR. I bet there are more people in the movie laughing in the movie than there were laughing at the movie in it’s brief run in theaters and certainly more than will ever laugh at home in the years to come. This whole thing is just misguided on every level. 




More later...

Out Now In Theaters: GUNNER PALACE & ROBOTS

Sorry for the lame lack of posts lately. Dammit, I’ve missed babblin’ ‘bout the Oscars, the MILLION DOLLAR BABY debate, and the release of the PASSION UNCUT!

No matter, we're back and ready to go so here's a few brief movie reviews:

GUNNER PALACE (Dirs. Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker)

A.O. Scott of the New York Times says "not a movie anyone should miss.” Well, I think a lot of people would do just fine missing this flick. Don't get me wrong this is fascinating stuff at first approach. U.S. soldiers take over a bombed out pleasure palace formerly owned by Uday Hussein in Iraq, and they party while carrying on their service from those headquarters.

Filmed on video in 2003, this is a rough and poorly constructed documentary. The hushed tones of the director’s voice-over, and the loose thread narrative does little to engage the viewer. A shame really, because in all the rubble that litters the streets of Baghdad and in all of the footage taken of the 2/3 Field Artillery lies a much better film than this.

ROBOTS (Dirs. Chris Wedge & Carlos Sardanha)

A slick but disjointed PIXAR competitor from Twentieth Century Fox's Blue Sky Studios, the crew that brought you ICE AGE. Some laughs in this noisy animated effort, but they are few and far between with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel’s trademark sentimentality sabotaging the mechanics at nearly every step.

The death-to-death plot mechanics concern Ewan McGregor as Rodney the Robot, an idealistic inventor who tries to stop the evil corporate doings of Phineas T. Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), who heads Bigweld Industries in Robot City.

The voices of McGregor, Robin Williams, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Paul Giamatti, and bit-part roles by Jay Leno and Al Rooker are warm and welcome presences (well, except for Leno) help make the time pass by, but the fart jokes, lame pop-culture references and weak one-liners makes me want to see THE INCREDIBLES again to appreciate how this sort of enterprise is much better done. 

More later...

20 Over-Used Pop Songs In Modern Movies

 

Film Babble Blog is back! Not to piss on AFI'S 100 YEARS...100 SONGS - I mean they have a fine list of songs that enhanced many a classic film - but I wanted to draw attention to the tunes that have cheapened many movies. 

Not to say these are all bad songs, no, many are classics, it's just how they've been used over and over to manipulate the viewer to a certain mood. As you look it over I think you'll recall not just the movie or song you'll also recall the emotion, era, or spirit they're trying to evoke. So here's:



20 Over-Used Pop Song In Modern Movies

1.“I Got You” - James Brown: It seems to have started with its use in Barry Levinson's Robin Williams vehicle GOOD MORNING VIETNAM. Since then, the JB standard has popped up in such films as WHO'S HARRY CRUMB, WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, DOCTOR DOOLITTLE, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, JULIEN DONKEY BOY, RIDING IN THE CAR WITH BOYS, DODGEBALL, and GARFIELD. Also dozens of TV shows.

2.“Walking On Sunshine” - Katrina & The Waves: I won't list all the times this been to go-to for feel good movie magic, but I'll just say that I can't hear it without thinking of Michael J. Fox maneuvering through a primo '80s montage in SECRET OF MY SUCCESS.

3.“Bad To The Bone” - George Thorogood: Most folks think it was TERMINATOR 2 in 1991, but this song made its film debut in Oliver Stone's TALK RADIO (1988). Since TERMINATOR 2 it's mainly been used ironically (See: PROBLEM CHILD 2, THE PARENT TRAP, 3000 MILES TO GRACELANED, or, rather, don't see them).

4. “Born To Be Wild” - Steppenwolf: Way too many to list, but many of the movies obviously pick the track to recall its first and best use in Dennis Hopper's 1969 counter culture classic EASY RIDER. My favorite is when Albert Brooks blares it when driving his RV out of Los Angeles in his hilarious 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA. Brooks gives a biker a "thumbs up" and gets flipped the bird in response. Gets a laugh out of me every time.

5. “Over the Rainbow”/”What a Wonderful World” – Various versions of both of these songs have been in countless movies, but the extreme overuse of Israel Kamakawiwo`ole’s medley of them together is getting unbearable. I wish that its last use, in the lame Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore rom com 50 FIRST DATES, was its last use, but I have a feeling it’ll be around for a long time.

6. “Oh, Yeah” - Yello

7. “Let My Love Open The Door” - Pete Townshend

8. “Suspicious Minds” - Elvis Presley

9. “Melt With You” - Modern English

10. “Let's Get It On” - Marvin Gaye

11. “Time Of The Season” - The Zombies: This is one of many songs on this list that film-makers use to immediately evoke the ‘60's. Notable uses: AWAKENINGS, 1969, AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, SHANGHAI NIGHTS, and too many more to mention.

12. “All Star” - Smash Mouth: MYSTERY MEN, SHREK, INPECTOR GADGET, CONTACT, and a bunch of other movies utilized this piece of pop culture plastic. Shame really.

13. “Dream Weaver” - Gary Wright: Two of the titles that used or mis-used this tune were DADDY DAY CARE and WAYNE'S WORLD. 'Nuff said. 

14. “Staying Alive” - The Bee Gees: Of course, SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and its sequel (of course called STAYING ALIVE) but also AIRPLANE!, and many other disco-era sequences that came about in the ‘70s resurgence of popularity of the dance music genre in the ‘90s. 

15. “Tracks Of My Tears” - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: PLATOON and THE BIG CHILL are the most notable films but the song also appears on the soundtracks for the TV shows The Wonder Years and ER.

16. “Surrender” - Cheap Trick: Matt Dillon's first film OVER THE EDGE used Cheap Trick, the Cars, and even Little Feat to make it's track housing teen rebellion point. It's use in DETROIT CITY ROCKS and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH hammers home that same point but its appearance in SMALL SOLDIERS AND DADDY DAY CARE does not.

17. “White Rabbit” - Jefferson Airplane

18. “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” - Procol Harem (EASY RIDER, BIG CHILL, WITHNAIL & I, NEW YORK STORIES, BREAKING THE WAVES)

19. “Spirit in the Sky” - Norman Greenbaum

20. “Sweet Home Alabama” - Lynyrd Skynyrd: When the song title becomes a movie title, like it did two years back for a Resse Witherspoon rom com, it really should be retired. Yep, again I dream.

More later...