Movie Review Pieces of April

Pieces of April (2003) 

Directed Peter Hedges 

Written by Peter Hedges 

Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Isaiah Whitlock, Allison Pill 

Release Date October 17th, 2003 

Published October 24th, 2003 

It's been a terrific year for first time directors. Artists such as Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas) made their debuts in exciting and memorable fashion. The same can be said of Peter Hedges whose debut feature Pieces of April is a guerrilla-style DV feature made with the catering budget from one days shooting on The Matrix. A visually unspectacular character piece that works because of a smart script and the acid tongue acting of Patricia Clarkson.

The title character is April Burns (Katie Holmes), the black sheep of her upstate New York family who ran away at an early age to New York City and has never looked back. After years of aimless drifting and a tenuous relationship with her family, April is finally in a stable enough situation to reconnect. With the help of her new boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke), April has invited the family to her tiny apartment for Thanksgiving.

April's family isn't all that excited about the holiday excursion to the big city. Joy Burns (Clarkson) has little interest in reconciling with her oldest daughter of whom she claims to have no positive memories. Youngest daughter Beth (Allison Pill) can't stop complaining about the trip, her and April are far apart in years and have had no contact since April left. Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.), April's little brother, has little interest in anything outside the purview of his camera and the haze of pot smoke. April's dad Jim (Oliver Platt) is the only one in the family who has maintained any contact with April. Agreeing to go to April's for Thanksgiving seems to be entirely his effort and he holds the trip together over the loud protest of his kids and the biting wit of Joy.

There is far more to this story than a daughter trying to reconnect with her family. The impetus for the attempted reconciliation is revealed in an episodic way with a little bit of information leaked out as the focus shifts back and forth from the family road trip to April's failing attempts at cooking, including some especially humorous encounters with her neighbors. With a busted oven, April is forced to run from door to door, soliciting help from anyone who will listen. 

Finally April is aided by an African-American couple, Evette (Lillias White) and Eugene (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), who take their cooking far more seriously than April. Also helping, in a way, is Wayne (Sean Hayes) who allows April to use his oven when Evette and Eugene need to use their own for their dinner. Wayne turns out to be way too weird and flaky and April is finally helped by an elderly Asian family who don't speak English but luckily have a visiting family member who does. April's aborted attempts to explain Thanksgiving to them are funny and a few of Holmes's best scenes.

Patricia Clarkson's much praised performance is unquestionably the film’s centerpiece. Her ascorbic wit and spitefulness is explained by the fact that Joy is dying of breast cancer and that this will very likely be her last Thanksgiving. The last thing she wants to do is spend it with the daughter who has been such a painful disappointment, especially since the dinner will more than likely be another disaster to add to the list. Clarkson's performance is painful to watch as she says horrible things about April who does not deserve most of the jibes. We are forced to forgive Joy her mean spirit because she is dying and we do but it makes her jabs at April and her attitude towards all of her family all the more disheartening.

Director Peter Hedges, who received a much deserved Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay for About A Boy, writes a story sketch for Pieces of April and then turns loose his terrific group of actors to make something of it. With a seemingly bare bones sketch of dialogue, the actors make some obvious improvisations that make the film feel real.

That effect is also brought out by the handheld DV camera and minimalist locations. The minimal lighting, ambient soundtrack, and miniscule budget are straight out of the Dogme 95 movement. While it's not nearly as accomplished as anything by Lars Von Trier and his Dogme crew, Pieces of April invokes a sort of Americanized version of Dogme. It incorporates the realities of American filmmaking that simply won't allow a filmmaker to follow the rigid Dogme rules.

Pieces of April is in spirit a Dogme film and the attempt to subvert the usual Hollywood style of filmmaking is a welcome sight. The film is also an affecting, funny family drama with terrific acting and writing that marks a terrific directorial debut for Peter Hedges. I hope that he will continue to be as interesting with a film that has a budget bigger than the cost of Peter Jackson's morning latte.

Movie Review: Vice

Vice (2018) 

Directed by Adam McKay

Written by Adam McKay 

Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adam, Steve Carell, Allison Pill, Jesse Plemons, Sam Rockwell, Tyler Perry

Release Date December 25th, 2018 

Published December 22nd, 2018 

Vice is an attempt at a satire of the former Vice President Dick Cheney. Unfortunately, though Dick Cheney is a large enough target for satire, Vice doesn’t have the teeth to make the satire work. Limp jabs at his time running the White House and the straightforward presentation of Cheney’s life, from his time as an alcoholic lineman in Wyoming through his time in the White House and his final heart transplant, the satire is so weak that it never lands a single blow on the former VP.

Christian Bale stars in Vice as Dick Cheney and the transformation is remarkable. Bale, one of the more handsome men in Hollywood, turns seamlessly into Dick Cheney. Putting on weight and undergoing four hours a day of makeup, Bale enhances the look with his voice and manner which brings Cheney to life on screen better than you could imagine. In fact, Bale is so good that he’s part of the reason that the satire of Vice doesn’t land.

Vice proceeds to tell the life of Dick Cheney in a manner that mixes up the timeframes of Cheney’s life. We start with Vice President Cheney on September 11th, after he had been rushed to an underground bunker and took over calling the shots on how the United States responded to the terror attack. The scene reflects rumors of how VP Cheney was usurping Presidential powers and the machinations are vaguely treated as menacing but the movie goes on to, unintentionally, sell the idea that Cheney, being more experienced and prepared for this moment than was President Bush, was right to takeover from Bush in this moment.

Then we flash back to how Dick Cheney got his start. In the early 1960’s Dick Cheney appeared headed nowhere. Cheney was working as a lineman in Wyoming. We see Cheney working for unscrupulous phone company engineers who care little for the employees who have little to no training or safety equipment. Cheney worked and then spent hours in bars getting drunk and getting into fights and getting arrested. 

It isn’t until his wife Lynn (Amy Adams) has to bail him out after a DUI that Cheney’s life is finally turned around. Lynn demands that Dick get cleaned up or she will take their daughter and leave and from there, the film cuts to Washington D.C where Dick is now working as a congressional intern. In the time between when Cheney  was a drunken lineman until he began  working in Congress, Cheney graduated from college and discovered an appreciation for politics.

Cheney’s start in Washington D.C came when he fell in with then Congressman Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell). Cheney was Rumsfeld’s intern and it is unexpected to see the Cheney we know today as a toady for someone even more unscrupulous and crude than himself but these scenes aren’t humorous, they are just sort of there. These scenes lay in important details about Cheney’s history during Watergate, his fast rise in the ranks of the Ford Administration, and his machinations within the Reagan White House, but they are the least interesting parts of Vice.

Vice doesn’t pick up strong momentum until Cheney becomes George W. Bush’s choice to be Vice President in 1999. Sam Rockwell plays George W. Bush as the flighty fratboy that the left has always believed him to be. It’s not a bad performance but there are more laughs in Rockwell’s manner, his style, the charming way he plays Bush than from anything Bush and Cheney actually do. The scenes between Bale and Rockwell are rarely funny but they aren't dramatic either, they play off of media perceptions of both men without providing much insight. 

That said, it was during the Bush Administration when Cheney, the character we know from many books and profiles, begins to emerge. We see his moves on the Iraq war, the way he used the law manipulate the country into a place where torture was legal and the film does begin to satirize the Cheney of lore as a power hungry, no-nonsense, bully. Is it funny? Kind of, in the absurdly straight-forward way that McKay frames the scenes and uses history to reflect these as poor decisions, but it is in conflict with Bale's performance as Cheney who doesn't appear to be in the fact that he's supposed to be the villain. Playing Cheney as having strong convictions is not exactly the satire we are expecting. 

It is during the time when Cheney is deciding whether to become Vice President that McKay relies on an odd but surprisingly effective device similar to one that he used in his Academy Award nominated The Big Short. McKay uses fantasy sequences as punchlines to punctuate the life of Dick Cheney. The first is a fake out ending that has Cheney retiring quietly after having been George H.W Bush’s Defense Secretary and leaving politics to become the CEO of Halliburton and leaving politics behind forever. 

This scene only evokes a bit of a chuckle and not a big laugh but I did enjoy seeing the credits begin to roll at the start of what was to be the 3rd act of Cheney’s life. This fantasy moment plays like wish fulfillment for those who despised the Bush-Cheney team and the joke is well-timed with the credits rolling far longer than you expect them to before we cut back to Cheney taking a call from George W. Bush and arranging a meeting regarding the Vice Presidency.

McKay goes back to the well of the fantasy sequence once more not long after this. The film employs a mysterious narrator, Jesse Plemons, who makes brief appearances throughout the movie, setting up a surprisingly effective reveal near the end of the movie. The narrator explains that we can’t really know what Lynn and Dick talked about the night that he decided to become the Vice President so the film goes into a remarkable, and quite funny, Shakespearean sequence in which Bale and Adams banter in the words of Shakespearean villains planning to carve up the world in their image.

For a brief moment Vice achieves its satirical potential. Cheney as the over the top Shakespearean Machiavelli figure is the perfect portrayal of the former VP. This moment combines our perception of Cheney with a touch of the reality. It's the Cheney of leftist lore and reality. Cheney is seen in Vice as a nasty politician with the ability to snake his way through the halls of power, taking power where he can and biding his time until he could turn things to his advantage. Shakespeare offers the perfect comic template to combine the aspects of Cheney that have taken hold in the public imagination.

This, however, is only one scene. It’s quite a funny scene and exceptionally well performed but it can’t make up for what is lacking in Vice which is a stronger through line of humor. The film doesn’t push the envelope beyond these fantasy sequences. It’s fine if the filmmakers are intending for us to make up our own mind about Cheney but I was expecting something more forceful, more directly critical. At the very least, I expected the Darth Vader-esque take on Cheney that holds the public imagination but the film, and especially Christian Bale, fails to push hard enough on that villainous side of our perception rendering the intended satire a toothless quality.

Vice is far too dry for my taste. Cheney is a huge satirical target and Vice doesn’t land a glove on him. George W. Bush gets far more of a roasting in Vice than Cheney does. In the bare minimum of scenes Sam Rockwell gives us an SNL worthy roasting of the former President as the slightly dopey daddy’s boy who was President in name only, a persona that many left leaning audiences will enjoy. It’s more savagely critical than anything Bale does with Chaney though both performances are solid. I just don’t know what the filmmakers, specifically director Adam McKay, is attempting to say about Dick Cheney in Vice.

Movie Review Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

Directed by Edgar Wright 

Written by Edgar Wright, Michael Bacall 

Starring Michael Cera, Ellen Wong, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Anna Kendrick

Edgar Wright has done something few directors will ever accomplish; he created his own visual language. In Scott Pilgrim Vs the World' Edgar Wright brought together the worlds of video games, comic books, and movies in a way that many have dreamed of but no one else has achieved. It is a blindingly entertaining combination. Even more than a decade later Scott Pilgrim vs the World remains the ultimate uniting of the movie, comic book and video game genres. 

Michael Cera stars as Scott Pilgrim, a bassist in a Toronto pop rock group whose name is some incomprehensible combination of Sex and Bob and something. They are awesome. Scott's real story however is that he is dating a teenager, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), to the endless mocking delight of his band mates (Allison Pill, Mark Webber and Johnny Simmons) and his sister, Stacy (Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick).

The relationship is doomed however, not by the derision of his friends and family but rather by Scott's encounter with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) an American girl with pink hair, a punk sensibility, and no apparent interest in him. This does not stop Scott from pining for her and eventually getting a chance to hang with her. That Scott is a genuinely good guy keeps this from being one of those creepy, nice guy irritates a girl into dating him stories. 

Naturally, this new relationship comes with obstacles. Emotional scars from our past almost always affect our current relationships but for Ramona, her emotional past comes in the physical form of seven evil exes. Scott must fight and defeat all 7 of Ramona's evil exes including former Superman Brandon Routh, the current Captain America, Chris Evans, a pair of twins, one bisexual surprise, a pair of DJ'ing twins, and Jason Schwartzman as the ultimate d-bag.

Plucky and in love as Scott is, he is a bit taken aback by the challenges involved in dating Ramona but he's also up for a fight and Scott Pilgrim Vs the World flies on Michael Cera's laconic neurotic approach to being a comic/video game superhero. Cera is at his best when he can relax and react as opposed to having to manufacture the laughs as he did in the abysmal Year One. He's very relaxed in Scott Pilgrim and it allows his natural comic instincts and charisma to shine through.

The supporting cast is top notch especially Kieran Culkin as Scott's gay roommate, Wallace, who shares a bed with Scott and his boyfriend who he calls Other Scott. Culkin matches Cera's energy perfectly and his gags register big laughs whether he's texting in his sleep or adding a second boyfriend to his stable of bedmates. Scott Pilgrim vs The World was ahead of its time in giving time to omni-sexual characters who aren’t defined by their sexual identity. 

Mary Elizabeth Winstead does a remarkable job of making Ramona more than merely the motivation for Scott. She has a presence that holds the center of the movie together and is believable as a woman who could inspire people to fight to the death for her. Until her role in Scott Pilgrim vs the World Winstead had struggled to stand out amid a bevy of young stars appearing teen horror movies. Scott Pilgrim may not have broken her out into superstardom but it did help her establish a place where she could grow up and find better roles. 

And, of course, there is Chris Evans. Scott Pilgrim vs the World provided Evans with the best role of his pre-Captain America career. Spoofing blow dried, doofus action heroes, Evans earns some of the biggest laughs in the movie and demonstrates range and charm that was missing from his vacant, lummox roles as teenage morons. I wholeheartedly believe that Captain America would not be possible for Evans if he hadn’t shown so much talent in Scott Pilgrim vs the World. 

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is hilarious from beginning to end while also having a big romantic heart. Michael Cera is just so much fun in this role and paired with Edgar Wright's incredible visual sensibilities, we have a can't miss pairing. Then there is that supporting cast. It's not hard to imagine the cast of Scott Pilgrim vs The World as part of the future of Hollywood. 

Movie Review Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris (2011) 

Directed by Woody Allen 

Written by Woody Allen 

Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Allison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Michael Sheen

Release Date May 20th, 2011 

Published May 19th, 2011 

Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" is even more magical and romantic than the title implies. The romance however, is not between Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams or Owen Wilson and Marion Cotillard but between Woody Allen and Paris. "Midnight in Paris" is a sappy love letter to the City of Lights and its glorious history as a home to hipsters, bohemians and intellectuals.

Owen Wilson is the stand in for Woody in "Midnight in Paris" essaying the role of miserable hack screenwriter Gil Pender. Gil is in Paris ahead of his wedding to Inez (Rachel McAdams) as a sort of pre-wedding gift from her obnoxious parents, John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy). Joining them, by chance, are a pair of Inez's friends, Paul (Michael Sheen) and Carol (Nina Arianda).

Gil is despised equally by Inez's parents and friends but this only enhances his character. While his days are spent being dictated to and insulted in equal comic measure, Gil's nights turn unexpectedly magical when a turn down just the right street leads to a chance encounter with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Allison Pill and Tom Hiddleston).

When the clock strikes midnight in Paris Gil finds that he is transported back to the period that he has long glorified as the finest period of time and place anywhere in the world, Paris in the 1920's. Not only does Gil spend time with the Fitzgerald's and their pal Cole Porter (Yves Heck), he gets writing tips for his attempt at a novel from none other than Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll).

Hemingway introduces Gil to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) who in turn introduces him to a dreamer much like himself, Adriana (Marion Cotillard.) While Gil glorifies her time period in the 20's she longs for the Paris of La Belle Epoque and the Moulin Rouge. The two have chemistry but is it romantic chemistry or merely a shared affinity for the safe confines of nostalgia? FYI, if you need to be told what La Belle Epoque means or how to identify the Moulin Rouge on screen, this is not the movie for you.

"Midnight in Paris" is a love letter to Paris but it is also Woody Allen at his absolute Woody-est. Owen Wilson is not the most likely of Woody Allen stand ins but he finds the perfect rhythm in "Midnight in Paris," a mixture of nervousness, excitement and an ebullient curiosity that is infectious and lively.

Woody Allen's canvas has always been the recesses of the psyche and "Midnight in Paris" is yet another trip deep into the caverns of the subconscious. Each of the legendary people that Gil encounters in "Midnight in Paris" is an extension of his sub-conscious from the Fitzgerald's who provide his ideal romance to Hemingway who is Gil's dashing alter-ego and finally Adriana who is essentially a mirror of his fears. I won't go any further than that as there is so much life and depth to be discovered in "Midnight in Paris."

"Midnight in Paris" stands in Woody Allen's canon among his greatest films; lively, funny, thoughtful and romantic with an acid wit for the philistine American blowhards and a romantic, unblemished memory of all things Paris in the 20's. It certainly won't appeal to everyone but to those who don't need a scorecard to tick off Allen's many references, it's just wonderful.