Movie Review Three O'Clock High

Three O'clock High (1987) 

Directed by Phil Joanou 

Written by Richard Christian Matheson, Thomas Szollosi 

Starring Casey Siemaszko, Anne Ryan, Richard Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor, Phillip Baker Hall

Release Date October 9th 1987 

Three O’Clock High is a movie about toxic masculinity. It may not have been seen that way in 1987 when the film arrived in theaters, but today there is no denying it. Toxic Masculinity is defined in modern social science as traditionally male behaviors in relation to the expression of dominance. Such behaviors are detrimental to mental health and often times are expressed in actions or behaviors that are sexist, misogynistic, racist, or homophobic. Three O’Clock High ticks almost all of those hateful behaviors in just over 90 minutes of screen time.

It’s not a great day to be Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko). Jerry woke up late for school, nearly has a devastating car accident with his little sister (Stacy Glick) and best friend (Ann Ryan) in the car and when he arrives at school, his problems are only beginning. A new kid is starting school on this day, a guy named Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson). The stories about Buddy are legendary and range from him having decked a football coach to him having broken a kid’s neck just for touching him.

Jerry, meanwhile, just wants to get through the day but that becomes a challenge when he attempts to engage the new kid, forgetfully pats the new kid on the shoulder and is subsequently challenged to a fight at 3 PM in the school parking lot. The rest of the day is centered on Jerry’s vain attempts at getting out of the fight which include hiring a big tough football player to fight on his behalf, to getting detention for kissing a teacher, to helping the bully cheat on a math test.

None of Jerry’s schemes work because, of course, without the fight at the end of the movie, there isn’t much of anything for the movie to do. Buddy has no nuance to explore, he's just a bully with no real motivation. Jerry, on the other hand, is a dweeb who happens to be the lead in the movie thus giving him secret movie underdog powers that will come in handy during the big fight scene at the end of Three O’Clock High.

That’s your plot and it’s surrounded on all sides by the signposts of Toxic Masculinity. The beef between Jerry and Buddy has the basic hallmarks of gay panic with Jerry making the mistake of trying to start a conversation with Buddy while the two stand at a urinal leading Buddy to ask, in typically 80s fashion, “are you a faggot?” Buddy is quick to deny being gay but then as he attempts to brush past the faux pas, he touches Buddy on the arm and Buddy reacts by calling for the fight.

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Movie Review: The Matador

The Matador (2005) 

Directed by Richard Shepherd 

Written by Richard Shepherd 

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Phillip Baker Hall, Hope Davis 

Release Date December 30th, 2005 

Published December 27th, 2005 

A great matador can kill a bull with a single precise blow from his sword. This pinpoint accuracy is prized by the crowd who, despite the sport's inherent cruelty, cannot abide the bull suffering too much. At first glimpse the title The Matador seems odd for a movie without a matador character, but with the film set in Mexico and the lead actor playing a hit-man prized for his precision, the title choice becomes clear perfection. Also perfect is the casting of the film which moves the former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, on to a new career path that may be more rewarding than any secret agent franchise.

Pierce Brosnan stars in The Matador as Julian Noble, a hit-man who's losing his touch. Julian has been blowing off jobs and telling his handler, Mr. Randy (Phillip Baker Hall), he just needs a vacation, something most hit-men are not afforded. One lonely night in a Mexico City hotel bar Julian meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), who's in Mexico on business. Desperate for any kind of human contact--someone he doesn't have to pay or kill--Julian buys Danny a drink and makes a fumbling attempt at friendship.

Julian is terrible with people and manages to insult Danny more than once before Danny finally agrees to hang out with him. Danny has his own troubles. He desperately needs a major business contract with a Mexican firm or his new company will go under. As if that wasn't enough, just before he left his home in Denver, a tree fell through the wall of his kitchen--nearly killing him and his wife, Bean (Hope Davis).

Julian is, at first, leery of telling Danny what he does for a living. Eventually however, while attending a bullfight, he finally breaks down and tells Danny who reacts with a reasonable disbelief. After a rather ingenious demonstration where Julian nearly kills a target that Danny chose at random, Danny finally comes to believe Julian is a hit-man. Here is where the film takes its first unique turn. Rather than run away from Julian, Danny is intrigued by him and takes on the interesting perspective about what a great story he will have to tell his friends back home. Not many people can say they hung out with a contract killer.

There are plenty of unique twists and turns in The Matador, but to go into much more detail would ruin the fun of this cleverly scripted comedy. Written and directed by Richard Shepard, best known for the direct to video thriller Oxygen, The Matador never goes where you expect it to. The rare unpredictability of The Matador is its charm. Shepard scripts the film with an eye on what is expected in each scene and turns every predictable scene on it's ear.

Pierce Brosnan is attempting to start a brand new career post-James Bond and The Matador is an excellent start. While his comic skills are suspect--he never seems quite comfortable delivering a joke--Brosnan is undeniably handsome and charismatic and that kind of charm can carry an actor along way. Brosnan is aided by a deft and clever script that never tries for big laughs but rather quiet, appreciative smiles as satisfying as big guffaws.

Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis are well cast as a married couple who have never lost the spark of first love. Writer-director Shepard gives both actors a great deal to play with and trusts his actors to make the material come off the page. Because most of the film is made up of smart, funny, dialogue without the kind of dramatic flourishes or overstated comic setups you might expect from a film of the action-comedy genre that The Matador is haphazardly included within. Davis and Kinnear find a lovely beat to play within the familiar genre elements of The Matador and their chemistry is exceptional. 

The Matador plays a little like "David Mamet lite". Drop the expletives (there are a few but not of the Mamet degree), keep the sharp wordplay, and whip smart plotting and you have a movie that resembles Mamet while displaying a light comic touch that establishes the film as a Richard Shepard original.  The real delight of The Matador are the three principle stars who bite into this smart material with gusto. 

These are tough roles which, in the commercials, and the film's trailers are played up as broadly comic but are in fact quieter and more cerebral. Yes, the performances tickle at times and draw more than a few good laughs but the most effort is put into establishing these characters and the universe they inhabit as something plausibly close to reality.

One of the last films of the Weinstein/Miramax-Disney partnership, The Matador only suffers the lack of full support by one studio giving it the marketing attention it deserves. But aside from that, The Matador is a wonderfully clever comic thriller that gives three terrific actors three exceptional roles that each knocks out of the park. For audiences looking for smart funny adult-minded movies, The Matador is a gift.