Friday, 18 December 1998

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Two big, fat openings this week. The Prince of Egypt will take even more screens than You've Got Mail, but will that be enough for victory? Good question. After more than a year of anticipation that Prince of Egypt would be a serious Oscar contender, the critics around the country are mixed. Buzz has the film sounding like the reverse of the old A Chorus Line song (if any of you are old enough to remember A Chorus Line!), "Dance 10, Looks 3." This movie is apparently Looks 10, Story 3. But, there are definitely those who love the film without reserve, so don't let the buzz stop you from going. Me, I'm reserving judgment myself until I get to see the whole movie. I had to exit early due to a prior commitment and caught only about 30 minutes of the movie, which didn't include the much-talked-about Red Sea sequence.

You've Got Mail was a pleasant surprise for me. I was not a fan of Sleepless in Seattle, but I found this film quite palatable. (Is that damning with faint praise?) Both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan get to play a little more edge this time around and they get a lot more screen time together, even though it takes forever for them to get it together. Sadly, the parts of the film that I probably would have liked even more were cut for time. It's a bit odd to see actors like Greg Kinnear (he is an actor, right?), Parker Posey, Dabney Coleman and Steve Zahn given short shrift. They weren't, until editing. All three had significant scenes, really B-stories, that were dumped. If you are highly Ephron-resistant, this film may not turn you around, but if you have an affinity for cuddly comedies, you will likely enjoy yourself.

Star Trek: Insurrection will try and overcome the various Trek curses to keep a high percentage of its soft opening weekend crowd. A Bug's Life is adding footage to the end credits as an added come-on. (More on that below.) Jack Frost should melt quickly, no doubt the victim of a conspiracy from Enemy of the State, a film that may well hit $100 million domestic so quietly that it evades radar detection.

THE GOOD: I'm going to get into more detail on the various awards in tomorrow's News By The Numbers. But the particularly Good choices from the Golden Globes would be nods to Primary Colors and Bulworth. Elizabeth finally made a dent in the award season. Sony's bid for some award attention to their terrific rock-'n'-roll reunion comedy, Still Crazy, actually worked. Bill Murray looks more and more like an Oscar nominee and hopefully, he will drag Rushmore with him, despite Disney's somewhat ham-fisted handling of the film.

THE BAD: The Thin Red Line was shut out. And The Truman Show and Shakespeare in Love each led the nominees with six nods apiece. Could Shakespeare in Love be any more overrated? I thought that it sounded like watered-down Tom Stoppard in the trailer and indeed, it was watered-down Tom Stoppard. Everyone in the film is terrific except for two small characters -- the leads! And what kind of goof is nominating Geoffrey Rush for his wide-eyed performance in Shakespeare in Love instead of his powerful turn in Elizabeth. (I don't blame Rush for his SIL performance, but rather the tone of the film, which shifted every five minutes.) Judi Dench, however, deserves her nomination without question.

THE UGLY: Giving credit where credit is due, Geoffrey pointed out Disney's weekend plans and I'll just let him tell you: "Dave, I hope you go into a lengthy discussion about the Disney vs. DreamWorks subject as you have Psycho and The Thin Red Line. The lines have been drawn and the weapons are loaded and ready to fire. I expect to see a lot of bloodshed this weekend. Disney is releasing an unprecedented sneak peek of Mighty Joe Young this weekend and A Bug's Life with new 'outtakes' as a double bill. This maneuver seems well thought-out and calculated by Disney. If they can keep butts in seats for half a day (taking a small loss maybe on the monkey movie), there is less a chance people will see The Prince of Egypt. I almost expect an ad campaign from Disney that says 'See a triple bill this weekend, pay for A Bug's Life, see Mighty Joe Young free, and then sneak into The Prince of Egypt."

Well, I have loved Disney animation since I was a kid, I grew up on it. It's almost like a family member betraying you. I am anxious to see The Prince of Egypt. If it's good, I really want it to do well so we can see more quality animated films that ARE NOT Disney. For too long it has seemed that Disney is the only company that can make good animated films. Disney seems to want to maintain that by flooding the market to squelch other animated projects from other studios. It isn't just a battle between DreamWorks and Disney, though, Disney did this to Fox last year with their shot at animation, Anastasia. Disney has the library and a flood of films to strike any and every animated release and dilute its box office. If DreamWorks survives and begins to build a small library as well, will we have to wade through a bloodbath every time these two release something animated?

JUST WONDERING: Do you think Miramax has figured out that it needs to start focusing on Life is Beautiful as a foreign language candidate after being shut out at the Golden Globes, New York Film Critics Circle, L.A. Film Critics Association and the Boston Society of Film Critics?

THE CHAT: Next Tuesday, Movie Chat travels to the premiere party of The Thin Red Line along with Andy Jones' famous blue shirt (and his cybercast with it). Movie Chat will return to its weekly Wednesday slot in 1999 and will be your daily chat home for the Sundance Film Festival. Thanks to all of you who have participated throughout 1998.

QUOTE WHORING USA: For You've Got Mail: "You've GOT to see You've Got Mail!" "You've Got Love. You've Got Life! You've Got Laughs!" "Tom Hanks is NOT fat!" "You've GOT Eight Bucks? You've GOT A Seat!"

HAPPY TRAILERS TO YOU: I saw two trailers this week that both attracted and repelled me. First, Anthony Hopkins looks exceptionally interesting in Instinct, yet the trailer deteriorates into cliched quick cuts and rising music. That's usually a sign that they are hiding something. But the idea of seeing Hopkins as a man raised by apes seems too good to pass up. Likewise, Paul Newman as Kevin Costner's father and Robin Wright Penn as his love interest seems like a "can't miss." At least until the music cues start to sell Sleepless in Seattle and interfere with Newman's performance. By the end of the trailer, the entire audience was groaning. Yet, I want to see this movie.

BAD AD WATCH: Outside of what I consider hyperbole for Shakespeare in Love (is Owen Gleiberman making a public pass at Paltrow?), not too much of a nasty note. There is the fabulous "The perfect holiday gift!" quote for Stepmom, which doesn't really bug me, except for the fact that is so beautifully tailored to fit the ad campaign. But I'd hate to lean on Mr. Brewington after meeting him in person (THB 12/15). To paraphrase the man, "Pull quotes are like Pamela Anderson's bras. Everyone should have one tailored for maximum exposure."

READER OF THE DAY: Peter wrote: "I'm shocked but not appalled that Cameron Diaz was chosen as the year's Best Actress by the New York Film Critics. I expected it from the People Choice Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, the Blockbuster Movie Awards, the Golden Globes and maybe even the Oscars (there is usually one young starlet who stars in a big money-maker who doesn't really deserve to be nominated but does anyway) but THE NEW YORK FILM CRITICS!? I thought these people were the creme de la creme, the glitterati, the intellectuals of film criticism and they selected Cameron Diaz in There's Something About Mary?

"The funny thing is, is that she DID give a wonderful performance. Diaz absolutely made you believe that men would make blithering idiots out of themselves over her and go to outrageous lengths. Successful comedic performances by actresses have a hard time getting singled out so why shouldn't she? I'm sure you'll get responses from many people screaming bloody murder that Fernanda Montenegro wasn't awarded but how can you even compare the two? Could you see Montenegro doing that role? No. On the other hand could you see Diaz do Montenegro's role? No. The fact of the matter is that each actress gave a performance that made people stand up and notice and just because one is a comedy shouldn't make it any less 'awarding' (sic) than any other. And now I'll descend from my soapbox."

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E ME: Your votes on all the awards nominations is hereby requested.