Classic Movie Review Swing Kids

Swing Kids (1993) 

Directed by Thomas Carter

Written by Jonathan Marc Feldman 

Starring Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey 

Release Date March 5th, 1993 

Published June 21st, 1993 

Swing Kids is an obnoxious movie about obnoxious characters being obnoxious amid the rising tensions and hatred of pre-World War 2 Germany. The story follows a group of young men, led by best friends, Peter (Leonard) and Thomas (Bale). All these boys want to do is dance, listen to records, and meet girls but their idyllic dance-floor utopia is interrupted by the rise of the Third Reich. The demand for conformity and discipline eventually takes hold of Thomas, who becomes a member of the Hitler Youth, straining not only his friendship to Peter but his loyalty to their bohemian, dancing music loving circle. 

It's not a bad premise for a movie but as executed by Thomas Carter, it captures mostly the obnoxious side of being a wild-eyed, horny teenager and the way those who may not have strong family lives, are more susceptible to seemingly charismatic cult leaders. Thomas falls in with the Hitler Youth because he is distant from his rich father, he craves the chance to belong to something, and he's in conflict with everyone else in his life, including Peter who refuses to fall in line with the S.S, and wants Thomas to remember that a member of their friend group, Arvid (Frank Whaley), is Jewish and thus very vulnerable at this point in time. 

Whaley delivers the most interesting and compelling performance in Swing Kids as a Jazz loving, Jazz guitarist who refuses to compromise his Jewish background or his dedicated bohemian, communist morals. Though he is often framed by the film as being unreasonable in how he appears perfectly willing to die in order to defy the Nazis, Whaley gives the performance depth and weight beyond the box that the script and the direction place him in. Whaley's is a performance of deep conviction and sincerity, a counterpoint to Leonard's wishy-washy, non-committal approach and Bale's obnoxious embrace of all things Nazi. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media

Movie Review: Vacancy

Vacancy (2007) 

Directed by Nimrod Atol

Written by Mark L. Smith

Starring Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry

Release Date April 20th, 2007

Published April 19th, 2007 

Who doesn't love a good chase movie? Whether it's a car chase or foot chase, there is a natural visceral reaction to watching a chase. It's automatically involving and if really dangerous, invigorating. Film fans reminisce often about the great car chase in The French Connection and, while many would be loath to admit it, the foot chase of Keanu Reeves chasing Patrick Swayze in Point Break is one hell of a stunt sequence.

The new thriller Vacancy starring Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale is one extended chase scene in a limited area with a great pace that leaves little time to catch your breath. Vacancy is a little shallow, not much beyond the chase scenes, but these are some really fun chases.

They should not have gotten off the highway. David Fox (Luke Wilson) and his wife Amy are driving back to L.A after an uncomfortable visit to her parents home. Uncomfortable because they didn't have the heart to tell mom and dad that their marriage is coming to an end. Once they arrive back in Los Angeles they will officially end things.

Getting back to L.A however won't be as easy as they thought. Wanting to get back quickly, David tried to beat heavy highway traffic with a shortcut on some backwoods road. Unfortunately, he can't read a map and soon they are lost. Worse yet, their car is making funny noises. Soon the car is crapped out on the side of the road. The closest service station is closed till the next morning so the couple takes up for the night at the Pinewood Motel, a skeevy little joint that doesn't look like it's had a guest in weeks.

The rooms are infested with cockroaches, the sheets are dirty and TV is broken. That is; except for the VCR which is stacked with tapes. On the tapes are videos that look as if they were shot in the very motel room the couple is occupying but these are no honeymoon night videos, these are snuff films and with cameras in the walls and creeps banging on the doors; David and Amy quickly realize they may be starring in a sequel if they can't find a way out.

Directed by Nimrod Atol, in his first American directorial effort, Vacancy is a chase movie on foot. David and Amy spend much of the film on the run through these little tunnels built beneath the hotel, running from one room to the next and knowing that no matter where they are, they can be seen by the cameras and the bad guys can come in whenever they want. Director Atol takes great advantage of his limited space milking it for tight, claustrophobic close ups that really amp up the tension.

The structure of Vacancy is smart and solid, a great foundation. Act one establishes the characters, act two, the chase begins and act three is even more chasing. Somehow, despite all the running in circles, the film never begins to chase its own tale. The logic is simple, survive or die, the plot needs no more development beyond that simple rationale.

When directors are looking for an actress who can be vulnerable and invulnerable within minutes they look for Kate Beckinsale. The steely star of the Underworld series is underrated as, arguably, the female action star of this decade. She kicks some serious ass in the Underworld movies and in Vacancy she twists from helpless to heedless in a quick emotional burst.

Luke Wilson is the modern day everyman slacker. The everyman of the past was the type of guy you could share a beer with. The new everyman is the kind of guy you could play videogames with before going for some beer and red bull. Wilson. like his protege Vince Vaughn, typifies the modern day everyman with his slacker charm and tousle haired handsomeness.

In Vacancy, Wilson slips his slacker charm in favor of sweat soaked determination. The key to Wilson's performance is that he never slips into action hero mode. There are no sudden bursts of violence, he is not suddenly imbued with the strengths and skills of a navy seal, Wilson's David is just an average guy in a not so average, dangerous situation. His average guy performance gives Vacancy a real, honest suspense. 

Shallow but with a fast pace and two terrific lead performances, Vacancy tells a typical thriller story just a little better than most similar films. Director Nimrod Atol is a little light on the logic but he makes up for it with his style and his quick pacing. Vacancy is not a movie that holds up to much scrutiny and won't stick in the back of your head long after you see it. While it's onscreen however; Vacancy is an exciting, sometimes edge of your seat thriller.

For fans of Wilson and Beckinsale and fans of a good chase thriller, Vacancy is a must see.

Movie Review The Jimmy Show

The Jimmy Show (2002) 

Directed by Frank Whaley 

Written by Frank Whaley, Jonathan Marc Sherman 

Starring Frank Whaley, Ethan Hawke, Carla Gugino

Release Date December 13th, 2002 

Published July 23rd, 2003 

Frank Whaley has had one of the most unique career paths in all of Hollywood. After a very brief respite in the sitcom world, Whaley moved to his true calling in independent films. He has done some small roles in big budgets flicks like, Hoffa, Born On The 4th Of July and JFK, but it was in the indies that he found his niche. 1994's Swimming With Sharks made Whaley's career. His role as a stressed-out junior agent opposite Kevin Spacey's maniacal Mike Ovitz impression gave Whaley the indie cred he needed to get to where he is today, a respected writer-director-actor. His most recent hyphenated feature is The Jimmy Show.

Though the film's settings include a comedy club, The Jimmy Show is no comedy. Whaley is Jimmy O'Brien, a shiftless New Jersey layabout who can't hold a job and dreams of being a comedian. By day he works at a supermarket stealing beer out of the back room, by night he is at the comedy club bombing miserably.

Jimmy's personal life is complicated by his love for his high school sweetheart Annie (Carla Gugino). When Annie tells him she's pregnant Jimmy, has the look of a man condemned to death as he vaguely proposes marriage. Jimmy also must take care of his invalid grandmother who he, for some reason, won't put in a nursing home despite the fact that he can't afford to care for her.

Jimmy's only solace is on stage where his act about cat food varieties soon become rambling monologues about the various indignities of his daily life. Sadly, these monologues are no funnier than his cat food bit. One night when Annie hears him going on and on about the sad state of their sex life, she decides to end the marriage and take their now-six year old daughter away to another state. It's difficult to tell whether Jimmy is unhappy that she's leaving or somewhat relieved. He halfheartedly attempts to get her back before realizing it's better to let her go.

Based on a stage play by Jonathan Marc Sherman, The Jimmy Show is structured so that the comedy club bits are the film's narration. Whenever the film jumps ahead a year or two in Jimmy's life, the time is summed up in one of Jimmy's monologues. The structure works and though the first few times Jimmy is on stage are brutal, they pick up intensity as Jimmy's anger with his station in life grows. The couple of times hecklers take Jimmy to task over his unfunny material, Jimmy's overwhelming anger and intensity seem to lead him toward something that resembles humor but instead end with Jimmy nearly getting his ass kicked.

The Jimmy Show is a difficult film to sit through for its first hour but, as Whaley's performance becomes more desperate, the performance becomes riveting. You can't help but stare at Jimmy's car wreck-like routines which never once elicit a laugh from the films club audience or those of us watching at home. The film could have used a couple of laughs, something that might keep Jimmy from seeming completely on the verge of suicide, but it's far more truthful to the story that the sadness prevails over everything.

I recommend The Jimmy Show to fans of unusual indie films and to fans of Frank Whaley's previous work such as Joe The King. The average movie watcher might want to find something else.