The Hot Button by David Poland

Friday, 27 March 1998

WEEKEND PREVIEW
It's the weekend of the dead at the box office this week. Titanic is rising, Grease is being resurrected and Primary Colors may be dead and buried in just its second week. The only real competition against The Big Boat for the top spot will be Grease, but has the hype been loud enough to launch the musical to stellar numbers? Last year, Paramount re-released The Godfather the weekend before the Academy Awards and it got lost in the golden hype. This year, Grease follows the Oscars, but it takes more than a couple of days to get we thirty- and forty-somethings excited. (Ain't aging grand?) I see Titanic moving back upstream to about $18 million and Grease stuck at about $15 million. Wild Things looks like it's ready to slide up the list to third (with about $9 million) as positive word of mouth starts to supersede Sony's T&A ad campaign. I see Primary Colors dropping to about $8.2 million with The Man in the Iron Mask close in tow with about $7.6 million. That would be your top five. The other new wide releases are Disney's Meet the Deedles and Fox's The Newton Boys. My hopes aren't too high for either. If either passes the $5 million mark, I'll be amazed. I'll guess $3 million and $3.5 million. You tell me which is which.
THE GOOD: John Travolta is still the word. For all of the Primary Colors problems, J.T. still opened the film effectively. Grease will re-open in no small part due to his draw. And everyone in town still likes the guy. Not just good. Miraculous.
THE BAD: The Men That Would Be Movie Stars, Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke, will likely prove once again that magazine covers and great abs do not a movie star make when The Newton Boys opens to soft business this weekend. Of course, those things can get you a baby via Uma Thurman, so I guess it's not all bad. I happen to like Richard Linklater as a filmmaker and I also feel he's brought out the best in both men in the past. Hopefully, this film is better than the hype machine.
THE UGLY: Are we witnessing the end of Dennis Hopper's career again? He's the only movie star name in the cast of Meet the Deedles, but he doesn't show up in the ads or trailer in any way shape or form. On the other hand, not being connected to the Deedles could be a dream come true for the '60s icon.
TWO BAD MOVIES EQUAL: Meet the Deedles + A Price Above Rubies = Meet the Price Above Deedles. From Disney and Burn Hollywood Burn creator Joe Eszterhas. Two blond surfer dudes pretend to be orthodox Jews in order to get a discount on 47th Street in New York City. Hilarity ensues when a quick circumcision is all that stands between the boys and $1 million in diamonds. Co-starring Matthew McConaughey as The Moyle.
JUST WONDERING: If we all loved Stanley Donen's performance at the Academy Awards so much, why won't any of the studios make a single romantic musical comedy?
BAD AD WATCH: Wide Awake is currently in limited release, but it will soon be at a theater near you. Apparently the second-tier reviewer from Sixty Second Preview covered the film because Jeff Craig's name is nowhere to be seen. But his associate did him proud, offering up two exclamation points in one pull quote. "BRIGHT, FUNNY & OVERFLOWING WITH HEART! Wide Awake is destined to become a classic coming-of-age movie!"
CONTEST: Beat me, beat everyone else and beat the odds and there's a prize from an upcoming movie waiting just for you. There's a neat shirt for Deep Impact, a purple and lamé 54 shirt or your very own copy of the original The Odd Couple up for grabs. Pick the order and grosses of the top five, plus the other new films that won't make the quintet and you get to pick your prize.
GREAT TV: Generally, in deference to our parent company, TNT, I wouldn't be sending you to other cable channels, but if you like The Hot Button or The Whole Picture, you will love Split Screen, the series from independent producers John and Janet Pierson on the Independent Film Channel. Particularly Saturday's show, which has a segment on writing seminars that is so sharp and dead-on funny, it's a classic. It airs at 10:15 p.m. and 3:15 a.m.
READER OF THE DAY: From Rob S: "Was it just me, or did anyone else think it would've been cool if Bart the Bear had gotten loose?"

E ME: What else can the Hot Button do for you? Your wish is my command.