Movie Review: Cars

Cars (2006) 

Directed by John Lasseter

Written Dan Fogelman, Joe Ranft, Jorgen Klubien

Starring Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Keaton, John Ratzenberger, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, George Carlin

Release Date June 9th, 2006 

Published June 8th, 2006 

The vanguard of computer animation is Pixar. No company, not Dreamworks (Shrek, Madagascar), not Universal (Ice Age 1 & 2), not even corporate partner Disney can compete with the level of artistry and commerce that comes out of Steve Jobs extraordinary company. The list of Pixar triumphs reads like the hall of fame of the genre from the Toy Story films to Monsters Inc. to Finding Nemo to The Incredibles.

The latest effort from Pixar, the animated automobile adventure Cars, may not be the triumph that past Pixar films are but by the standards of the genre it far outpaces anything any other company has released.

Cars stars the voice of Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen a rookie on the Piston Cup racing tour. Lightning is poised to become the first rookie racer ever to win the Piston Cup championship. Unfortunately, his arrogance selfishness has driven away his closest friends and teammates and nearly cost him the biggest race of his career.

Now forced into a single race challenge against the legendary 'King of racing, voiced by real life legend Richard Petty, and the nasty Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton) -the only racer more arrogant than lightning himself- Lightning must find his way to California and fend for himself in the race of his life.

Getting to the California speedway however turns out to be Lightning's biggest problem. When his 18 wheeler pal Mack (John Ratzenberger) falls asleep on the road, he accidentally lets Lightning fall out of the back of the truck and leaves him along a lonely stretch of road called Route 66. Lost in the middle of the night with no headlights, just stickers, Lightning winds up in the small town of Radiator Springs and in even deeper trouble.

Radiator Springs used to be a big deal back in the sixties, before the highway cut it out of the main artery of America. Now the lonely stretch of route 66 sits in decay awaiting the day when a tourist will remember it's there. Among the small town denizens waiting for customers for their road side attractions are Mater the tow truck (Larry The Cable Guy), Sarge (Michael Dooley) a military vehicle, Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) owner of the tire store and  Filmore (George Carlin) a hippy bus selling organic fuel.

When Lightning accidentally tears up mainstreet on his way to California the small town judge, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), at the behest of the town's only lawyer, Sally (Bonnie Hunt), forces Lightning to repave main street before he can leave for his race.

If you think that the small towners will teach Lightning valuable lessons about humility, friendship, family and teamwork.. well.. your not wrong. Yes, the story is relatively predictable and old fashioned in the vein of very typical kids movie conventions and formulas. However, it is important to note that formulas are not inherently evil. It is how a typical plot formula is employed that makes or breaks a formula film.

Cars works because directors Joe Lasseter and Joe Ranft take this formula concept and improve upon it by delivering great characters and funny dialogue. The humor is warm and a little more gentle than the usual Pixar fare. It lacks that sly, intellectual edge of most Pixar films but it is not dull. Don't be mistaken, Pixar's usual pop culture riffs and self referential humor is in good supply it's just somehow a little quieter here than in the past.

What has not changed is the quality of Pixar's extraordinary animation. The pioneers in this field, Pixar continues breaking down the barriers of what can be done with computer animation. The films opening scene is a mindblowing series of race scenes that look beyond real until you get closeup and see the anthropomorphized race cars with soft human features, bumpers for mouths, eyes in the windshield et al.

The Cars of the title are so well animated that they take on truly human personas. You obviously never forget they are automobiles but at a certain point you stop pondering the mechanics of humanistic vehicles and just laugh along with the compelling characters.

Look at the details of the Hudson Hornet voiced by Paul Newman. Watch closely for the ways this stately vehicle evokes the real life Paul Newman in the animated eyes and lips. What an awesome piece of work this is.

It pains me to admit this but it's the truth..... Larry The Cable steals nearly the whole picture. The terribly unfunny redneck comic who has already delivered arguably the years worst film, Larry The Cable Guy Health Inspector, somehow morphs into a lovable, cuddly, teddy bear of a character in Cars. His voice slightly elevated and the rough edges of his persona worn down to a fine rust colored sheen, Larry The Cable Guy delivers the films most entertaining performance.

All of the voice actors are strong but it is Larry as the rust bucket tow truck Mater -get it tow-mater- who truly steals the film. Mater's sweet clueless demeanor and undying optimism are so winning that you nearly forget Larry's vile real life persona. Credit writer-director John Lasseter who knew just how to draw the right performance out of the non-actor while letting him be just enough of himself to be comfortable. You didn't think they would let the movie end without Larry's catchphrases did you.

Be sure to stick around during the credits for what may be Pixar's finest self referential moment. John Ratzneberger, the only actor to play a role in every Pixar feature, as Mack Truck visits the radiator springs drive in for a take on how Pixar would exist in the Cars universe. Very funny stuff.

Cars is not the creative home run that Finding Nemo and The Incredibles were but it is certainly lives up to the standards of the Pixar brand. And, of course, when compared to genre competitors it's absolutely no contest, Cars leaves'em in the dust.

Movie Review Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl (2004) 

Directed by Kevin Smith

Written by Kevin Smith

Starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, George Carlin, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro 

Release Date March 26th, 2004 

Published March 25th, 2004 

Screw Gigli

In my review of Gigli, I must admit a good deal of my venom can be attributed to the effect that dog was going to have on Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl. With moron entertainment writers attempting to consume Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, any chance Jersey Girl had at reaching the wide audience it so richly deserved was lost. The only comfort is that great movies are never appreciated in their time. Jersey Girl, Kevin Smith's most mature and blatantly romantic film, will play endlessly on TV where casual movie watchers will have the chance to discover this egregiously overlooked, wonderfully heartfelt film.

Ben Affleck stars as Oliver Trinke, a big time P.R guy. Ollie has bigtime clients for whom he crafts terrific lies, manipulations and exultations. On the bright side Ollie is honest, even lovable in his private life where he has big love with Gert (Jennifer Lopez). When Ollie takes Gert home to Highlands New Jersey to meet his father Bart (George Carlin) she passes the final test and he asks her to marry him. It's not long before she is pregnant and the couple’s happiness seems unending.

However this is only 15 minutes into the movie, obviously something big has to happen. While giving birth to her daughter Gert has an aneurysm and dies. Ollie is devastated. Gert's death affects every aspect of his life. He neglects his baby, named Gertie for her mother, he alienates his father by dropping the baby on him while he goes back to work. And finally in one devastating moment of truth, Ollie blows up at work and is out of a job.

Seven years later Ollie is living back in Jersey with his dad and instead of power lunches manipulating magazine editors, Ollie drives a street sweeper. He does have a much better perspective on his daughter Gertie (Raquel Castro) whom he is absolutely devoted to. Not just her though, the memory of his wife has held him back from any other woman for the past seven years. That changes when he meets Maya (Liv Tyler) , a video store clerk with a quirky straightforward manner that is disquieting and endearing at the same time.

The film’s main conflict arises from Ollie's desperate need to go back to the way things were before his wife died and his new reality in New Jersey. This is Kevin Smith's most mature and smart writing in his relatively short career. Taken from his own experience as a first time father (his daughter Harley has a blink and you'll miss it cameo), Smith writes from a knowing and observant perspective that feels as real as anything he wrote in the equally observant Chasing Amy.

Smith clearly loves this material and that feeling flows through every aspect of Jersey Girl from the actors who share his passion to the look of the film which is the most professional and tightly controlled of his career. I must admit however there is a part of me that longs for the grainy, misshapen, happenstance look that made Clerks and Chasing Amy feel so real life. This film is clearly the Hollywood dream factory of perfect architecture, makeup, lighting with far less of the lived-in feel of Smith's earlier films.

What is it with this hatred of Ben Affleck? No actor has had to suffer the kind of blatant jealous bile, other than maybe Tom Cruise. For me, Affleck can damn near do no wrong, I mean, I loved Daredevil! In Jersey Girl, much as Kevin Smith's direction feels more professional and mature, so does Affleck's performance which ranks right behind Chasing Amy as his best work. Watch his breakdown in the hospital and the speech to his baby daughter immediately after and I beg you to tell me how you cannot love this guy.

The supporting cast is also terrific, especially George Carlin as Bart. This is a performance that would garner some very good buzz if Gigli had not rendered this film dead on arrival. Liv Tyler sparks perfectly with Affleck as the free spirit with a big heart and a mouth with no filter. Unlike the game playing of most romantic comedy protagonists, Tyler's character says what she thinks and acts on it, a characteristic that helps make Jersey Girl so different from most mainstream films of its genre.

Young Raquel Castro is the real star of Jersey Girl. Once you get over the initial shock of how much she looks like Jennifer Lopez and you start watching her performance you forget she's acting. Those cute kid moments are there, but watch for a scene late in the movie after she and Ben have had a huge fight. The scene is one of forgiveness and great tenderness and she plays it so well.

Maybe I'm the wrong guy to review this movie. I am horribly biased in favor of Smith and Affleck and I have a connection to the film’s plot on an emotional level that affects my objectivity. When I had what I believed was my one true love, she died. Unlike Ollie in the movie, I was left with nothing to remember of her except the pain of the loss. Anyone who says that Affleck overplays the pain of that hospital scene doesn't know what he or she is talking about, they obviously have never lost someone they care about.

Sorry to get maudlin and personal but I always try to write from a very personal reference point and so a film like this has an inside track with me. All of that aside, I honestly loved this movie. Jersey Girl is funny, smart and sweet. Kevin Smith's writing has always been strong and here his direction is beginning to catch up with his writing. It's a shame he has passed on directing The Green Hornet but if it means another Clerks or another more romantic and personal film like Jersey Girl then maybe he and we are better off, though I think Green Hornet would kick ass.

Finally can we please lay off the Affleck bashing? If you don't like Affleck fine but I challenge you to listen to the commentary tracks on the Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Jersey Girl DVDs and come away still hating the guy. Face it Affleck is da bomb!