Buscemi Now?

"It's simple for everybody else. You give them a Big Mac and a pair of Nikes and they're happy. I just can't relate to 99% of humanity."
- Seymour (Steve Buscemi) GHOST WORLD (Dir. Terry Zwigoff, 2001) 



I'm right there with you Seymour. Everybody I know - every fellow film fanatic, co-worker, and passerby on the street (yes, I've polled people) loves Steve Buscemi. I've never heard a hating word from anyone about the hero of indie cinema who right after 9/11 donned his old fireman gear and put in weeks of 12 hour days to sift through the rubble at Ground Zero. Every time out - whether it is in his run through the classic Coen brothers canon, scene stealing turns in Quentin Tarentino flicks, and, my personal favorite, the above quoted GHOST WORLD he pulls off the enviable task of being extremely creepy yet incredibly lovable at the same time. 



So why is it that his last 2 films, both critically acclaimed, did not get wider releases and are virtually unknown by those same fellow film fanatics, co-workers, and passerbys? Neither INTERVIEW (which he directed) nor DELIRIOUS came anywhere close to a theater near me. In fact apart from his brief but brilliant appearance in PARIS, JE T'AIME (again with the Coen bros.) his most visible showing at the multiplex in recent years was the voicing of Templeton the Rat in the live action remake of CHARLOTTE'S WEB!

INTERVIEW, Buscemi's 4th film as director (the others - TREES LOUNGE, ANIMAL FACTORY, and LONESOME JIM) was just released on DVD but unfortunately I'm going to have to wait til March to see DELIRIOUS. That's a shame because after reading director Tom DiCillo's frustrated email to Roger Ebert in which he says "I’m kind of struggling on my own to make sense of how a film I put my soul into, that Buscemi put his soul into, a film that generated such strong, positive reviews, had no life in the market" (you can read more here on DiCillio's blog) - 



I'm really dying to see it. However I am happy to have just viewed INTERVIEW which I'm also happy to review:





INTERVIEW (Dir. Steve Buscemi, 2007)
This remake of the 2003 Dutch film by Theo van Gogh (1957-2004) is an engrossing vehicle for the acting directing Buscemi. The sweet rub here is that his cynical political journalist (for the fictional Newsworld) character Pierre Peders is in danger of being seriously one-upped by his assigned subject Sienna Miller as Katya, a complicated and possibly deranged B-movie/TV show star. 



Apart from the waiter and a few restaurant patrons and some voices on cell phones this is a two person show. It is essentially a stage play, being that it appears to happen in real time and takes place mainly in one location - Miller's opulent and over-sized loft.

"Why do you choose only the most commercial crap that's out there?" Buscemi attacks. Miller counters "I enjoy entertaining millions upon millions of people." She goes further - "How big is your readership?" He smugly replies "Oh, you know, I have dozens of readers." 



With that only being the icing on the acidic exchange cake we follow these two through a series of mind games and mood swings and never lose interest in either character. Both are deluded and seem to base their existence on their ability to bullshit more articulately than most people to the point that their careers hinge on it. Their tortured talk is never tedious and feels almost all too natural so if you get past the initial cringe factor INTERVIEW is well worth your time. 



So since I have to wait to see DELIRIOUS I thought it would be fun to recount: 



5 Classic Steve Buscemi Characters:


1. Seymour - GHOST WORLD (Dir. Terry Zwiggoff, 2001) "I couldn't imagine you'd have any interest in me except as an amusingly cranky eccentric curiosity" he tells Enid (Thora Birch) but there's a lot more to him than he lets on. This old jazz record collecting, Cook's Chicken archiving, and desperate personal ad declaring dude may be a "dork" as Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) calls him but he's our dork. Buscemi is at the top of his game here and there's a nice bonus after the end credits - there's a reversal of fortunes of sorts. A scene in which Seymour has his ass kicked in the convenience store is replayed but this time he kicks ass and even yells "Motherfuckers! Fuck with me?"




2. Mr. Pink - RESERVOIR DOGS (Dir. Quentin Tarentino, 1992) This is the role that turned the world on to the beauty of Buscemi. As the smartest of a crew of jewelry store thieves (though that's not saying much), Buscemi had the most memorable dialogue ("I don't tip because society says I have to") and the most entertaining 'tude. His reaction to the name his character is given is also cemented in cineste's psyches - "'Mr. Pink' sounds like 'Mr. Pussy'. Tell you what, let me be Mr. Purple. That sounds good to me. I'm Mr. Purple."






3. Carl Showalter - FARGO (Dir. Joel Coen, 1996) Another thief but this time far from smart, Carl is constantly described throughout this stone cold classic as "kinda funny lookin'". Nothing ever seems to go right for the guy - he's beaten up, shot in the face, and finally wood chipper fodder but every time I see this film I cherish Carl's crisises more and more. When he angrily says to a airport lot attendent "You know these are the limits of your life man" I feel the Carl that is within us all smile.




4. Donny, Who Loved Bowling * - THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Dir. Joel Coen, 1998) Yes another Coen bros. outting but one I couldn't leave off the list. Theodore Donald Kerabatsos (betcha didn't know his full name) is probably the stupidest character Buscemi has ever played - he never seems to follow what the Dude (Jeff Bridges) or Walter (John Goodman) are talking about, always weighing in way too late with comments like "His name's Lebowski? That's your name, Dude!" Still, talk about a lovable lug! Like his other Coen Brothers parts Donny doesn't live to see the end credits. Semi-narrator The Stranger (Sam Elliot) breaks the 4th wall and says to us at the end of the tale - "I didn't like seeing Donny go". I didn't either.

* I call him such because it's not just the way Walter eulogized him - it's also the name of a electronica band from Austin, Texas.




5. Tony Blundetto - The Sopranos (1999-2007) It was sweet that Buscemi came aboard the HBO powerhouse as a major player in the 5th season. He played Tony Soprano's (James Gandofini) just released from prison cousin Tony B. At first he tries to go legit as a licensed massage therapist but gets pulled back in to the mafia underworld. Seething with rage but still armed with cutting oneliners - this was primo Buscemi and that he directed 4 episodes of the series was pretty sweet too.





Okay, that's my fave Buscemi five - if you have prefered other characters of his (perhaps Nick Reve in LIVING IN OBLIVION, Rex in AIRHEADS, or even Rockhound in ARMAGEDDON maybe?) then send 'em on!

Also it used to be said that somebody has only truly made it if they were on the cover of Rolling Stone or if they hosted Saturday Night Live, these days I think it's if you've appeared on The Simpsons which Buscemi has twice - first as himself in a typical celebrity cameo and second as Dwight, a bank robber who Marge tries in vain to help.

Okay! I'm all Buscemi-ed out now. As Carl said in FARGO "that was a geyser!"





More later...

The Real Napolean Dynamite *

* I would not usually put an asterick denotation in my blogpost headline but I felt this needed qualification - hit it Wikipedia from an entry on the movie of the same name: "The name "NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE" is a pseudonym used by Elvis Costello on the back of the album "Blood and Chocolate" (released 1986). Writer/Director Jared Hess has denied that this was his source for the name, once claiming that rather, the name came from an old Italian man he met in Chicago, and that the Elvis Costello connection is a coincidence."

Coincidence? As if!

So, last night I went to see Elvis Costello (real name Declann McManus) - who is one of my all time favorite performers - backed by the North Carolina Symphony at Regency Park Amphitheater in Cary. Elvis didn't even remember his last time to the area - he pronounced Raleigh - "Rally" (as in his song "Night Rally"). The show is reviewed below but first I thought it would be fun to look at his film work - such as his many onscreen appearances in what I call:

Costello Cameo Cavalcade!

Costello has done many bit parts in films and TV since the late 70's. His first was as Earl Manchester in AMERICATHON - a barely seen 1979 John Ritter comedy. Appearances followed in likewise obscure works like the British one seasoner sitcom Scully, as inept magician Rosco de Ville in the film NO SURRENDER (both by Alan Bleasdale), and rounding his '80's acting oeuvre out was a cameo as Hives the Butler in Alex Cox's (REPO MAN) odd thin-tie punk opus STRAIGHT TO HELL which had a bevy of cult musicians in small parts (Joe Strummer, Courtyney Love, members of the Pogues and Circle Jerks, etc.) These appearances were way under the radar mind you, Costello was heading towards the mainstream in the 90's starting with:

The Larry Sanders Show (HBO, 1992-1998) Garry Shandling's satirical talk-show within-a-show featured just about everybody in the business doing exaggerated versions of themselves and Costello was no exception. He appeared first in an episode in the third season - "People's Choice" (aired: 7/20/94). In one of his long time backing band's (the Attractions) last TV appearances, Costello performs "13 Steps Lead Down" complete with "Radio Radio" coda before storming out of the studio leaving a trashed dressing room behind in reaction to bad back stage treatment.

The next appearance in "Everybody Loves Larry" (aired: 11/13/96) - also titled "Duchovny's Crush - Hank's Lemon" - involves Elvis selling a supposed classic car to Sanders' co-host Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) which turns out to be a lemon - man, I love stating the obvious. While he performs a beautiful solo acoustic "Little Atoms" from "All This Useless Beauty", Hank dons glasses in a weak attempt to mock Costello.

SPICEWORLD (Dir. Bob Spiers, 1997) I've already written about this cameo before in the post "20 Great Modern Movie Cameos" - so I won't go on about it again.

AUSTIN POWERS : THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (Dir. Jay Roach, 1999) Because of his vintage brand of swinging pop Burt Bacharach has appeared in all three AUSTIN POWERS movies tinkling the ivories in a downtime romantic setting. Since it coincided with Bacharach's collaboration with Costello "Painted From Memory" - it was expected that Elvis would show up to sing to Burt's accompaniment. Elvis said of the scene: "It's the 1960's, not to give away the plot, but in some sort of magical way we end up in the 1960's doing a song." (Late Night With Conan O'Brien 11/23/98) Austin Powers (Mike Myers) breaks that ole fourth wall by introducing Elvis and Burt as if they were his guests on a talk show and they do a smooth (mimed and lip synched of course) rendition of "I'll Never Fall In Love Again". Austin attempts to woo Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) by way of Comical dancing as the song flows.

200 CIGARETTES (Dir. Risa Bramon Garcia, 1999) The soundtrack to this late '90's take on a 1981 New York New Year's Eve is filled with what they used to call New Wave (Blondie, Joe Jackson, Nick Lowe, Ramones, etc.) so of course Elvis would not only be heard with his definitive cover of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" but also appears in a cameo as himself. After a night of mishaps and drunken revelry Janeane Garafolo wakes up to find Elvis's glasses and she realizes she slept with the man in question.

PRISON SONG (Dir. Darnell Martin, 2001) As big an Elvis Costello fan as I am I was not aware of this film until I began this post and am surprised that it has him playing 2 roles - Public Defender/Teacher. Again I'll defer to the mighty Wiki - "The film was originally intended to be a full-fledged musical, but this tested poorly with audiences, so most of the musical numbers - except the most essential to the story - were cut. This helps explain the mysterious appearance of Elvis Costello in two roles in which he does very little."

3rd Rock From The Sun (NBC 1996-2001) The final episode (aired: 5/22/01) of this beyond silly sci-fi sitcom starring John Lithgow had the family of aliens holding a farewell bash. They hire Elvis Costello who still in full crooner mode sings "Fly Me To The Moon". I guess this could confirms a lot of pop pundits belief that Costello is the punk rock Sinatra.

The Simpsons (1989-forever) Of course this would be mentioned here - I mean, have you met me? In the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" (aired: 11/10/2002) Homer goes to a Rock 'N Roll Fantasy Camp run by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards with Tom Petty, Lenny Kravitz, Brian Setzer and yep, our man McManus as instructors. When Costello tries to discourage the guitar as instrument of choice to the aggressive students, Homer storms his tent calling him "nerdlinger" and knocks off his glasses. Elvis exclaims "my image!"

Frasier (NBC Sitcom 1993-2004) Maybe a contender for the best Costello cameo - the man appears, not as himself for a nice change, as Ben - a coffee house folk guitarist with a heavy Scottish accent. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) take immediate offence at Ben taking up performer residence at Cafe Nervosa in the episode "Farewell, Nervosa" (aired: 4/22/03). Costello is hilarious as he performs exaggerated amped up versions of "Wild Rover","Tie Me Kangeroo Down", and especially when he announces that he's selling CDs (not his own recordings - mind you) outside during a break in his performance - "10 dollars is still the best price for 'Quadrophenia'!"

DE-LOVELY (Dir. Irwin Winkler, 2004) Credited as "musical performer" Costello appears back in crooner mode on stage at a costume party singing "Let's Misbehave" in this somewhat surreal Cole Porter bio-pic. Though he's given a few close-ups, Costello is mostly seen in long shots or heard in the background as Porter (Kevin Kline) and his wife Linda (Ashley Judd) have a plot-point moment.

TALLADEGA NIGHTS : THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY (Dir. Adam McKay, 2006) From reports he filmed this cameo in one day and it shows - he didn't have any actual lines of dialogue. There were just shots of him having tea with Mos Def at Will Ferrell's title character's rival driver Jean Girard's (Sacha Baron Cohen) mansion. Too many Costello songs to fully note have been in movies over the years but HIGH FIDELITY (Dir. Stephen Frears, 1999) must be singled out because it was named after a Costello song (see also LESS THAN ZERO AND CLUBLAND) and it had "Shipbuilding" featured on its motion picture soundtrack. Now on to the show:

Elvis Costello and the North Carolina Symphony @ Booth Amphitheatre, Cary, North Carolina Sept. 13th, 2007

"Me doing a romantic song is like Steve Buscemi playing the George Clooney role in a movie."
- Elvis Costello introducing "She" 9/13/07

The best concert I've ever seen was Elvis Costello and the Attractions on the "Brutal Youth" tour in Raleigh on June 19th, 1994. I was a casual fan up to that point but witnessing the man's vocal range and attention to melodic detail made me a hardcore fan. Since then I've collected his many discs and absorbed his many styles but always preferred the rocking stuff. Well the prospect of Costello singing with an orchestra might have raised my eyebrows at first but there was still the possibility that the man under any circumstance could still rock.

Rock he did - viciously strumming an acoustic guitar he and longtime Attraction/Imposter cohort pianist Steve Nieve offered up a number of Costello classics ("Accidents Will Happen", "Green Shirt", "Veronica") that pleased the audience but the real focus of the evening was the embellished arrangements of the more challenging genre exercises of his canon. "Watching the Detectives" was given a complete workout with mighty percussion and sax involvement and the obvious but still vital "Alison" had a significant rephrasing and affecting as Hell addition of Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears" added in its coda.

Costello bantered with the audience in a casual and amusing manner even when mentioning "the war" - he brought that up when introducing his Oscar nominated (for COLD MOUNTAIN) song co-written with Allison Krause "Scarlet Tide" and of course when performing Nick Lowe's immortal "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding". A song that I stupidly didn't even anticipate - the gorgeous Chet Baker arranged "Shipbuilding" fit the agenda beautifully as well. I know I'm not alone in my rocking preference - when Costello mentioned his album with the Brodsky Quartet - "The Juliet Letters" he got scant applause but a mere reference to his co-writing a song with Paul McCartney got people to roar. The bottom line whatever the genre, arrangement, or setting is - the man can seriously sing. You have to see him perform live to fully appreciate that I believe because the man's pipes can't be contained on a CD or in your iPod's earphones. So yeah, when it comes down to it - the man rocked.

Postnote - for a complete setlist of the show go here.

Okay! Thanks for indulging me for my birthday week pop music in the movies postings. Next time out - actual recent movies in theaters and on DVD. Stay tuned.

More later...

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE REVIEWED!

"I can't believe we're paying for something we get for free on TV!"
- Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Canstellaneta)




THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (Dir. David Silverman, 2007) 



This being my personally most anticipated movie since THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK I’m pleased to report that is beyond mere cromulence. I will not divulge plot points or quote dialogue (except that line above - D'oh!) or give any other spoilers like so many other reviewers are doing – I’ll just say that this film delivers a lot of big laughs, small laughs, and well...just a lot of laughs. 



Homer and family are great to watch on the big screen with animation that has a nice new lush look. Of course, there is not enough time to indulge in the second tier series regulars such as Barney, Gil, Principal Skinner, Apu, Moe, Disco Stu, etc but it's THE SIMPSONS MOVIE for Christ's sake! 



They do have some choice moments involving Mr. Burns, Ralph, Krusty, Milhouse, and Mr. Teeny (Krusty's monkey) among others but again no spoilers here. 



 Understandably to make for time lots of material has been cut from trailers and previously released rough-cut material. Reverend Lovejoy’s “here’s the money shot” is cut and though most of the Homer’s whipping of the Alaskan sled dogs scene remain - this bit: “that’s enough whipping for now...with this arm!” (switches arms and continues whipping) is not in this theatrical version.



I can only hope for a deluxe DVD edition with some of the best of the excised footage. Also making long-time character Ranier Wolfcastle (voiced by Harry Shearer) who was created as a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger just become Schwarzenegger as President of the United States seems to just pander to a multiplex crowd. 



But those are just the bitchings of a fanboy - the movie is out and out wonderful - a lavish cinematic 87 minutes that is a worthy addition to the Simpsons classic canon. Go see it. 



More later...

5 Sensational Simpsons Cinema Satires

With just under 3 days until the premiere of David Silverman's THE SIMPSONS MOVIE it seems like every pop culture site on this whole world wide web has a Simpsons list or celebratory article these days.



The Onion A.V. Club has a Simpsons list promised for every day this week - so far we've got Monday's Inventory - "15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras",Tuesday's un-numbered "The strangest Simpsons products", and Wednesday's The Simpsons Vs. Civilization - all well worth checking out. 



Vanity Fair recently presented their "survey of the 10 funniest top 10 Simpsons episodes ever", The London Times chimed in with their "The 33 funniest Simpsons cameos ever", and even AOL Television did a 25 "Best Episodes Ever list". Whew!



Being a huge Simpsons fan (and yes, I would defend the recent seasons to anyone) I couldn't resist making my own list. This being Film Babble it should be cinema-centric and that presented an obvious concept : the best most definitive extended satires of a particular film. 



Now there are thousands of film references through-out the entire 18 year run of the classic show. Many characters come from the movies like failed salesman Gil who is a Jack Lemmon GLENGARY GLEN ROSS (Dir. James Foley, 1992) archetype, Chief Wiggum's voice and mannerisms are based on Edward G. Robinson, Apu is named after Satyajit Ray's THE APU TRILOGY, action star Rainer Wolfcastle is obviously based on Arnold Swartzenegger and so on and so on. 



It's hard to think of a movie that hasn't been name-checked and of course many episodes borrow plots, angles, full screen set-ups and quote exact lines and but these are to me the most notable whether they were full episodes or extended sequences satirizing specific movie classics: 



1. “Rosebud” ('93) : A few months back CITIZEN KANE (1941) * made the AFI's Top 100 list and this episode named, of course, after Charles Foster Kane's (Orson Welles) last word is Film Babble's #1 Simpsons Cinema Satire. Not just because it's a parody/homage to that immense immortal masterpiece but because it's a phenomenally hilarious episode that has deservedly made many lists. 



Evil nuclear power plant millionaire C. Montgomery Burns (The C. is for Charles - another similarity to Kane), who keeps a box of Nev-R-Break snow globes at his bed-side longs after his childhood teddy bear Bobo, much like Kane longed after his beloved sled. In a flashback we see that after being abandoned by the pubescent Burns (his father - "Wait, you've forgot your bear! A symbol of your lost youth and innocence!") Bobo has a historical journey involving a plane trip with Charles Lindbergh, a stay in Hitler's bunker, a trip on the submarine Nautilus before finally ending up in a bag of ice in the present day. 



Bart purchases the ice at the Quickie Mart and gives the old ragged bear to Maggie. Burns learns of the Simpsons possession and he offers a huge reward but standing by his daughter Homer refuses. Burns's ineptly funny attempts to steal back Bobo may not recall KANE and a good chunk of the show is the usual Simpsons riffing but the KANE context of the Burns Bobo back-story really puts this one on top. 



A cameo by the Ramones is the icing on the cake. 



"Rosebud" wasn't the first or last Simpsons episode to reference CITIZEN KANE. In the 1990 episode "Two Cars In Every Garage and Three Eyes On Every Fish" Burns protests "You can't do this to me! I'm Charles! Montgomery! Burns!" which obviously comes from "You can't do this to me! I'm Charles! Foster! Kane!" and in that same episode Burns stands in front of a big poster of himself during his campaign speech. 



In one DVD commentary the Simpsons staff remark half-jokingly that they have referenced KANE so much that you could recreate the film completely from Simpsons scenes and shot steals. 



2. “Cape Feare” ('93) Just a few episodes before "Rosebud" both the original CAPE FEAR (Dir. J. Lee Thompson, 1962) and the '92 remake CAPE FEAR (Dir. Martin Scorsese) got their episode length roasting over a Simpsons fire. Substituting Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) for recently released revenge minded Max Cady (Robert Mitchum '62, Robert Deniro '92) we get essentially the same narrative - A family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail. 



The Simpsons in place of the Bowden family leave town and assume new witness relocation identities as The Thompsons and take up residence at Terror Lake. The whole ends in a showdown (actually a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore") on a houseboat. 



Also factor into the mix a slice of Hitchcock's classic 1960 thriller PSYCHO: Sideshow Bob stays at the Bate's Motel. A truly inspired episode but silly as can be - on the DVD commentary writer / producer Al Jean even says "when you look at Sideshow Bob and his master plan it really is just to stab this 10 year old boy! I mean when he gets to the boat it's not very subtle - 'I want to cut him until he dies!'"



There's that and this priceless Sideshow Bob line when defending his "Die Bart, Die" tattoo in court - "no, that's German for "The Bart, The!" 



3. “The Shinning” ('94) In this 8 min. segment of "Treehouse Of Horror V" THE SHINING (Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1980) gets skewered. Burns has the Simpson family act as caretakers for his mansion in the mountains modeled meticulously on the Overlook Hotel in said Kubrick classic.



When told by Groundskeeper Willie that he has "the shin-ning", Bart replies "you mean "the shining!" Willie whispers "shh - you want to get sued?" When leaving for the winter Burns boasts about his cutting off the cable TV and the beer supply - Two things that Smithers argues may have been the reason the previous caretakers went insane and murdered their families.



Burns says "perhaps, if we come back and everyone is slaughtered - I owe you a Coke." Sure enough in almost no time Homer does go insane. The deconstruction of THE SHINING is a thing of genius here - Marge saying "What he's typed will be a window into his madness", the ghost of Moe prompting Homer to kill his family but having no real substantial reason for it - "uh, because they'd be much happier as ghosts." 



Then there's Homer's take on Jack Nicholson's over the top antics. When blowing his "Here's Johnny" intro because he chopped his axe into an empty room - he finally gets the right room and holding up a stopwatch yells "I'm Mike Wallace, I'm Morley Safer, and I'm Ed Bradley, all this and Andy Rooney too on 60 Minutes!"



4. “Cosmic
Wars : The Gathering Shadow” from "Co-Dependent's Day" ('04)– This
one is a little odd. I mean STAR WARS (1977-2005) has been directly referred to in many many episodes (go here for a Simpsons Archive List) so to have a likewise film series with a look-alike director (Randal Curtis standing in for George Lucas) seems a bit off. 



Apparently they didn't want to name names because it deals with ridiculing the anticipation killing THE PHANTOM MENACE so the Simpsons creators didn't want to alienate or insult Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox according to Wikipedia. I included it because is has some great prequel parodying moments when breaking down the numbing exposition and specifically satirizing Jar-Jar (Jim-Jam). "Cosmic Wars" only exists for a few minutes so it's one of many films within the Simpsons and is never mentioned after the episode (they go back to STAR WARS references) so it is a perfect example of what Matt Groening has called "flexible reality" or a "rubber-band universe" - in which something lasts as long as the joke does then the next day it's gone.





5. “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(annoyed grunt)cious” ('97) The answer to stress so strong it's making Marge's hair fall out is for the family to get a nanny but not just any nanny MARY POPPINS! - No wait, make that Shary Bobbins. Julie Andrews was set to play the part but the producers decided on Maggie Roswell to take on the vocal duties of the sweet singing flying umbrella traveling, and just all around neat freak.



The episode is a complete musical and uses several melodies from the original 1964 Disney film. It goes back and forth from the respectful tributes in the songs to the crude satire of the cheap animation and outdated morale. In the end crude satire wins - Bobbins dies by getting sucked up in a passing airplane's jet engine while the Simpsons' backs are turned.





This episode reportedly had to have the most padding out of any Simpsons episode - an “Itchy and Scratchy” Quentin Tarantino parody “Reservoir Cats"” (pictured on the right) was a late addition.



That's the Top Five but special mention should be given to: “Bart Simpson’s Dracula” ('93), from "Treehouse Of Horror IV," a dead on spoof of BRAM STROKER’S DRACULA (1992) right down to Burns' hair-do. Contains better acting than the Coppola version for sure.

“Marge On The Lam” ('93) lampoons THELMA & LOUISE (Dir. Ridley Scott, 1991) 



“Two Dozen and One Greyhounds” to the tune of 101 DALMATIONS (1961)



“Deep Space Homer” ('94) steals its ending from 2001 : A SPACE ODDYSEY (1968).

Al Jean once said it was a close tie between the large amounts of CITIZEN KANE and Kubrick references on The Simpsons.



Maybe when the show is over we can take a tally. I've been trying to only deal with more extended parodies because there have been too many snippet steals from movies in the series run but Homer as the space-baby is just too hard to pass up. 

“Twenty-Two Short Films About Springfield” ('96) - This magnificent episode's title and some of its inspiration comes from THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD but it's really more PULP FICTION as many have acknowledged before me and will again. And so on and so forth. The next time I post will be after I see THE SIMPSONS MOVIE and I will give you a full review. Until then may a noble spirit embiggen your soul. 



More later...

The Cameo Countdown Continues

"We now return to "Return Of The Pink Panther Returns" starring Ken Wahl as Inspector Clouseau..."
- An announcer on a late night TV broadcast in the background of Chief Wiggum's bedroom on The Simpsons

So I had such a gigantic response for my post - 20 Great Modern Movie Cameos (6/3/07 - 6/10/07) that I thought I'd honor my readers and their suggestions this time out. I got more email than I've ever gotten in my life in the last week so it is quite a task to go through it all but well worth it. Let's start with the major cameo ommisions - i.e. the ones that got the most votes :

Sean Connery - ROBIN HOOD : PRINCE OF THIEVES (Dir. Kevin Reynolds, 1991) I've never made it through all of this commercial Costner castastrophe but I keep hearing that one of its only saving graces was an appearance at the end of the collosal icon Connery (who played Robin Hood himself in ROBIN AND MARIAN, 1976) as King Richard. Since I doubt I'm putting this one in my Netflix queue I'll just have to take my reader's word for it.

Cate Blanchett - HOT FUZZ (Dir. Edgar Wright, 2007) I was so surprised by the amount of email I got that wanted this appearance noted! Especially since you can barely see her - I mean most people won't catch her but David G. puts it best in his email to me : "It's a gross but funny scene, and you never get to see her face...just her eyes...everything else is covered because she's working a gruesome crime scene. To top it off, she's arguing with the hero, her ex-boyfriend, about their relationship...so the scene also lays waste to that particular cliche."

Marcel Marceau - SILENT MOVIE (Dir. Mel Brooks, 1976) I agree that this should have made the list. The most famous mime in history has the only spoken line (well, spoken word) in Brooks' retro mid 70's silent film satire.

Most people just wrote in names but some fine folk took the time to write a bit 'bout their cameo picks - here's some I particularly enjoyed :

Jeffrey Singer writes :

One of my favorites was Charlton Heston in WAYNE'S WORLD. Mike Myers asks a garage mechanic for directions, and the mechanic goes into a tirade about how he loved a girl on that street. Myers turns to the director and says, "Can we get someone else to do it?" The scene is repeated with Heston. I thought it was wonderful.

Brad Weinstock puts in more than a mere 2 cents :

Meryl Streep's cameo (as a bogus version of herself) in the Farrelly Brothers' STUCK ON YOU is a high point in an otherwise so-so comedy. Her scene as a diva-fied version of herself in a restaurant in the middle of the movie is fine, but it's her tour de force at the end of the movie as Bonnie Parker in a ridiculous community theatre version of "Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical" (with Greg Kinnear as Clyde) that is absolutely priceless. It's a brilliant little moment of zen watching, arguably, the greatest living actress do a shrill, gangly, awkwardly dancing rendition of Dunaway's classic role. This segment is so hilarious and bizarre, that you wonder who was able to pull strings and convince her to appear. I had to put STUCK ON YOU in my Netflix queue for the sole purpose of watching this sequence again.

Craig writes :

Robert Patrick in WAYNE'S WORLD 2 as his TERMINATOR 2's T-1000 character, who pulls Wayne and Garth (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) over on the highway, shows him a picture and says "Have you seen this boy?" When I saw this, the theatre erupted in laughter, since T2 was fresh in memory.

Kevin T. from Seattle sez :

What about George Lucas in BEVERLY HILLS COP 3? Extremely random cameo. He walks up to the theme park and says something cheesy. Onscreen for all of maybe 5 seconds. How in the Hell did they get him to make an appearence in that Awful Sequel? *

* Film Babble attempting to answer Kevin T.'s query notes that according to the mighty IMDb It's a "Director Trademark: ['John Landis' ] [filmmakers] Appearances by directors Martha Coolidge, Joe Dante, Arthur Hiller, George Lucas, Peter Medak, Barbet Schroeder, George Schaefer and John Singleton and filmmaker Ray Harryhausen were also in BEVERLY HILLS COP 3". That explains Steven Spielberg showing up as the Cook County Assessor's Office Clerk in THE BLUES BROTHERS!


I was happy to get an email from Jim Beaver (Ellsworth on Deadwood - pictured on the left, also on the new series John From Cincinnati, and the new old reliable classic CSI, and countless other film and TV performances and most importantly for film babble purposes a renowned film historian) who had a sweet handful of cameo contributions :

Yul Brynner in THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN. One of my very favorites. "Oh, yes!"

Peter O'Toole has a cameo in the original CASINO ROYALE which he asks Peter Sellers if Sellers is Richard Burton. (Sellers says, "No, I'm Peter O'Toole," to which O'Toole replies, "Then you are the greatest man that ever breathed!")

John Wayne in I MARRIED A WOMAN (1958). (Stretching the term "modern" here).

Count Basie in BLAZING SADDLES.

One I never see mentioned, an oddity in that it's a cameo by an actor who is already in the film in another role: Frank Finlay as the jeweler in the 1973 THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Finlay plays Porthos in the film, but as I recall, with heavy makeup he also plays the fellow who makes the fake necklace. What a great movie that was.

Danny T. writes :

Personally, my favorite cameos were in the movie DODGEBALL : A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY where we see Chuck Norris, William Shatner, and my favorite Lance Armstrong. While the first two were just quick jokes that just added a little bit of humor to the film, the Lance Armstrong cameo is absolutely ridiculous how he berates Vince Vaughn's character by using his cancer survival as a form of trash talking. And while Lance isn't exactly an Oscar quality actor (much less a Golden Globe one) he still at least had fun. And, the audience does as well.

Quizmaster Moses of Boston, MA offers :

Donald Bumgart in ROSEMARY'S BABY. (Remember when Mia Farrow calls the actor who her husband replaced?) Listen closely and the voice on the other end of the phone is none other than Tony Curtis. That is the equivalent of Cameo Gold, my friend - and probably the Best Movie Trivia Question ever.

Tracy Spry sez :

Marla Maples in HAPPINESS

William Burroughs in DRUGSTORE COWBOY

Dweezil Zappa in PRETTY IN PINK

Stiv Bators in TAPEHEADS and POLYESTER

George Plimpton in GOOD WILL HUNTING

Travis C. asks :

...where is the love for Neil Patrick Harris (TV's Doogie Howser!) as himself in HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE? Come on! "Dude, I humped every piece of ass ever on that show" and "Yeah, that was a real dick move on my part, that's why I'm paying for your meal." Too funny...

Ronald Skinner writes :

I'd have to add: Veronica Hart in BOOGIE NIGHTS (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997). Hart plays Judge O'Malley in the child custody hearing of Amber Waves (Julliane Moore). The scene was inspired by Hart's own real-life custody problem. Veteran porn actress plays legitimate role while legitimate actress plays veteran porn star. And it's very discreet, so a casual viewer would probably not even recognize Hart. Art imitiates life imitating art. BOOGIE NIGHTS also has porn actress Nina Hartley playing Little Bill's wife.

Henri Cheramie really has some whoppers! -

Okay, here's a few for you...I don't know how great these are, but they are kinda cool :

Hugh Hefner in the trailer and early cut of CITIZEN TOXIE : THE TOXIC AVENGER IV. Due to Legal Issues, he asked to be taken out of the movie but in the trailer he is still seen saying "Only the toxic avenger knows for sure."

Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in LAND OF THE DEAD (Director and Writer/Star of SHAUN OF THE DEAD make appearances as zombies in a photobooth.

John Travolta in BORIS AND NATASHA : He comes to the door with flowers asking "Is Natasha home?"

Johnathan Winters in THE ADVENTURE OF ROCKY AND BULWINKLE : In a movie rife with cameos and guest stars, his is the funniest, playing three roles.

Peter Jackson (LORD OF THE RINGS director) in HOT FUZZ : Dressed as a psycho santa, Peter stabs Simon Pegg in the hand.

Frank Oz in just about every film by John Landis.

Brad Pitt and Matt Damon on the Dating Game in CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND.
P.J. Soles in THE DEVIL'S REJECTS : She's the woman who gets harassed by Captain Spaulding and eventually has her car stolen.

Groucho Marx in SKIDOO!: He plays "God" the head of the Mafia. This mafia is filled with old movie stars.

Mitchell S. Nagasawa has the floor :

One of the best cameos and best kept cameo of the modern era has to be Will Ferrell in WEDDING CRASHERS. I am amazed that they managed to keep this secret and the impact of Chazz walking down the stairs to be revealed as Ferrell was HUGE on the audience that I was in. They couldn't have cast anyone better and by the reaction of all the movie goers, they agreed too.

Mpavlov echoes the sentiment of the Matt masses when mentioning :

My favorite cameo, that always seems to miss these lists, is Matt Damon in EUROTRIP. To refresh your memory, he plays the lead singer of the rock band that plays at the graduation party. Performing the hilarious "Scotty Doesn't Know" with a shaved head, tattoos, and piercings, Matt Damon bangs his head, grinds with Kristin Kreuk, shakes his tongue at the crowd and finally makes out with her. Very hilarious.

Chris French writes :

JAWS (Director Steven Spielberg, 1975) : Peter Benchley (author of the book Jaws) as the reporter on the beach leading into theJuly 4th attacks; Steven Spielberg as a voice on the radio in the same sequence.

CARS (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, 2006) Not only does Richard "The King" Petty appear as one of his cars (a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird -- which, ironically, he never won a race while driving), Lynda Petty (his wife) appears as the station wagon the Petty Clan used to use to drive to races. Mario Andretti as the car he won the 1967 Daytona 500 in.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD : PART 1 (Dir. Mel Brooks, 1981) : Hugh Hefner as a Roman citizen describing his new invention, "the 'centerfold'"; Henny Youngman as Chemist, source of the punchline for "a pack of Trojans"; Spike Millgan as the senile old man in the French Revolution sequence ("What fool put a carpet on the wall?").

BASEKETBALL (Dir. David Zucker, 1998) : Dale Earnhardt Sr. as the Cab Driver ("Can *I* drive faster? Hang on!"). Reggie Jackson as himself. (I don't count Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Siegfried & Roy, as they really don't do anything except sit in glass cases.

Gary from Novato, CA. says : James Cagney in RAGTIME (Dir. Milos Forman, 1981) - Because he was a screen legend, it had been 20 years since he'd last appeared in a film, and it was the last film he ever appeared in. It was also one of the most talked about cameo appearances.

Steven L. writes :

There are numerous examples of famous newspaper reporters, columnists, etc., appearing as themselves in cameos to add verisimilitude. Most often in political thrillers and science-fiction movies. Just to name two: Howard K. Smith appeared in THE BEST MAN. Eleanor Clift, Jack Germond, Fred Barnes, Morton Kondracke (now of Fox News) appeared in INDEPENDENCE DAY. *

Someone pointed out to me that the category of news media folks who have cameos in movies is a whole category in itself. Larry King (CNN) has had a zillion cameos in movies and TV shows, notably GHOSTBUSTERS (Roger Grimsby was in that movie too.) A number of other CNN personalities were in the movie CONTACT. Bernard Shaw (CNN) was in JURASSIC PARK II ; THE LOST WORLD

* They also appeared in DAVE (Dir. Ivan Reitman, 1993)

Daniel Garcia from http://TheDarkSideoftheGeeks.Blogspot.com remarks :

Earlier today I was watching SINGLES on TNT, and I didn't remember the cameo by Tim Burton... it's like 10 seconds long, but TOO funny to see him charging 20 bucks for a lousy video to a desperate woman!

Mikey Mouse on the record :

I love those cameos but as you will see most of them are part of a comedy.

Bob Barker in HAPPY GILMORE
*
Ronnie James Dio in TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY

Ozzy Osbourne in LITTLE NICKY

Neil Diamond in SAVING SILVERMAN

Billy Idol in THE WEDDING SINGER

* (Happy retirement Bob! - Dan)

Scott N. writes :

A few more great cameos for you:

Reggie Jackson as himself in THE NAKED GUN... getting him to assassinate the queen, HA!

Warwick Davis as a pod race spectator in STAR WARS : EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE...IT'S WILLOW!!!!!

Ed Kowalczyk (lead singer of Live) as Waiter at Clifton's in FIGHT CLUB...personal bias

Me - as a blurry background shadow in SNAKE EYES ...got paid $120 to do it too.

Okay! So a lot of people wrote in with suggestions that didn't quite fit the criteria. A good example is ANNIE HALL - Paul Simon as slimey Tony Lacey fits the bill. He was a well known celebrity and instantly recognizable. But Jeff Goldblum, as much as I love his brief part on the phone at a Hollywood party - "I lost my Mantra" wasn't known at the time - neither was Sigourney Weaver (seen in long shot) in 1977 - so keep that in mind. I thought about making a 'cameos after the fact' post but c'mon! These are better labeled as "bit parts" not cameos. Okay?!!?

The Modern Movie Media Cameo Whore Award Goes To :

Larry King

As Steven L. noted above King has done zillions of cameos (including LOST IN AMERICA, CONTACT, MAD CITY, BULLWORTH, THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, - too many to list here) all of which have him playing himself giving credibility to a fictional entity - be it characters or events that have become household names. My personal favorite King cameo comes from DAVE (also mentioned above) in which he interviews director Oliver Stone fresh from JFK about his conspiracy theories dealing with President Mitchell (Kevin Kline) being replaced by a double (also Kline). Great 'cause King scoffs at the notion and we all know that Stone is right. Sigh - just like real life.

Lastly I have to say to file this under "I got to take my reader's word for it" but I'll at least note that a lot of people loved Dustin Hoffman's cameo as himself in THE HOLIDAY. Still haven't put it in my Netflix queue yet though.

Thanks from film babble for all your suggestions, picks, ommisions, everything. Please feel free to email -

boopbloop7@gmail.com

More later...