Posts published under “Movie Pairing”
Jonathan Demme Comedy Still Delivers
MARRIED TO THE MOB(1988/DVD)
Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl couldn't be funnier
We sometimes forget that Jonathan Demme– the same guy who made Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia (and lately has brought us no less than three Neil Young documentaries)– also brought us some fabulous comedies. I can remember the first time I ever saw Married to the Mob and it was just as good when I watched it last night. This hilarious comedy features a terrific cast including Dean Stockwell nailing it as mob boss Tony “the Tiger” Russo; a young and thin Alec Baldwin as “Cucumber” Frank de Marco;
Michelle Pfeiffer and Alec Baldwin in an opening shot
an equally young Michelle Pfeiffer as Frank’s widow Angela–the object of Tony’s amorous moves; Matthew Modine as Mike, the earnest FBI agent who falls for Angela; and best of all–Mercedes Ruehl as Tony’s uber-jealous wife Connie who really steals the show. This film came a short two years after Demme’s Something Wild (1986) with Jeff Daniels in the straight guy role and Melanie Griffith as the “wild” thing he falls for. Notably in that film Ray Liotta plays the crazy “gangster” role. Also wonderful. These two films would make for a terrific Demme comedy night. Get the popcorn going!
Grade: A
Getting Serious…Coen Brothers’ Style
This man is serious.
A SERIOUS MAN (2009/ IN THEATERS) I’ve now seen it twice. Joel and Ethan Coen’s much admired—and deservedly so—new film which is partly a modern version of the Book of Job, partly a tribute to their suburban Minnesota Jewish up-bringing, and totally a Coen film. It’s funny, dark, well written, beautifully shot, tightly edited and impossible to forget. The acting is superb and the attention to detail is fantastic. The ending has spawned an ongoing discussion over the network–just Google “A Serious Man Ending” and stand back–there are a lot of opinions. Roger Ebert calls this a “wince-wince” comedy. A. O. Scott of the New York Times says “You don’t have to be Jewish to like this movie, but it will hurt more if you are.” Suggested pairing: Crimes and Misdemeaners (1989, Woody Allen)
Grade: A+
Movie Pairings: Postapocalyptic Worldview Edition
Hide, you fool!
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (by Max Brooks) & 28 Days Later (directed by Danny Boyle)/28 Weeks Later (directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) – If you feel like you’ve been getting too much restful sleep, or have fallen behind in stocking your basement with end-of-days supplies (may I suggest loads of bottled water, a machete, and delicious MRE entrees?), take in a back-to-back viewing of these bleak, humorless tales of zombie mayhem. Feel empowered by following up with The Zombie Survival Guide, a straight (yet often hilarious) how-to for those of us who choose to fight the undead menace. I may or may not have a confirmed Zombie Safe Zone, and no, there isn’t any room for you and your noisy grandma. Gluttons for punishment can also check out World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, also by Brooks, and plan on sleeping with a dense, zombie-bashing flashlight by the side of their bed for the rest of their adult lives. Safety first.
PTSD flashbacks are a perfectly healthy reaction to this shot.
The World Without Us (by Alan Weisman) & Children of Men (directed by Alfonso Cuarón) – Up for an optimism-shattering, heartbreaking, yet entirely plausible vision of the world we may have experienced with a McCain/Palin administration? (You know it’s true.) Gorgeously shot and almost unbearably tense, Children of Men is my favorite film that I will never, ever watch again. But not to worry, nervous nellies—Weisman assures us that we can go ahead and blow ourselves to smithereens, but our planet and many types of algae and disgusting insects will survive. Comforting? Uh, only if you’re the type who thinks you’ll be too busy hangin’ in the clouds with Einstein and Bea Arthur to care. You weirdo.
How About….A Bowie Pairing for You Sci-Fi Fans?
Is it fair to judge a movie you’ve only seen on an airplane? Probably not, but let me comment on “Moon (2009),” the critically applauded sci-fi feature from Zowie Bowie (real name: Duncan Jones), son of David Bowie. I enjoyed the twists and, like everyone else, admired the tour de force acting of Sam Rockwell. What I really wished was that some brilliant person had also programmed a showing of “The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976),” Nicolas Roeg’s less well received but equally fascinating sci-fi twister starring a very androgynous David Bowie. Note to self: Netflix these two when Moon is out on DVD.
Movie Pairings
Here at Serious Movie Lover, we are nothing if not servicey. Occasionally we’ll offer some suggestions of things we think go well with our favorite movies — drinks, books, food, other movies, silly hats, dance moves. This week we present a few books and movies that compliment each other like a robust Cabernet and a Panormous Pizza (ie, perfectly).
Ghost World (1998) by Daniel Clowes/Ghost World (2001) directed by Terry Zwigoff, with Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi – Unlike the recent deluge of over-ambitious and ultimately doomed graphic novel adaptations, this movie is a successful and faithful rendering of its sweet, strange source material, due in equal parts to a screenplay written by Clowes himself and excellent performances by the entire cast (yes, even Johansson). About the confusing summer after high school graduation and before, well, life, both novel and film strike the perfect balance between heartbreaking and hilarious, making them totally bizarre and completely relatable.
And Then We Came to the End (2007) by Joshua Ferris/Office Space (1999) written and directed by Mike Judge, with Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston – We’re all aware of the quotable hilarity of Mike Judge’s portrait of cubicle life. Pair it with Ferris’s sadder, but often just as funny, book about a year or so in the life of a failing Chicago advertising company. The book’s more realistic characters and compelling scenarios land just this side of too close to home.
