Monday, 19 July 1999

WEEKEND REVIEW

Not a bad, bad weekend for Eyes Wide Shut. Warner Bros. is taking the position that the disappearance of JFK Jr. effected their film above all others and I would agree with them. The film's box office draw rose from Friday to Saturday by only 5 percent, by far the lowest rise in the Top Ten. I don't think we're looking at a word-of-mouth situation here. In fact, after seeing the film a third time, I am more convinced than ever that Eyes Wide Shut is a work of pure genius. On the other hand, I do think we'll see a 30-40 percent fall next weekend precisely because the film gets better with each viewing. It's not a pure crowd pleaser. And getting back to JFK Jr., this is the only older skewing film in the Top Ten as well and the loss of this Kennedy really hits home with the over-30 crowd. Without this story breaking all over TV, EWS probably would have been close to $25 million for the weekend. But either way, a $20 million-plus start for a serious R-rated drama, even with this pedigree, is strong.

Of the Top 20 box office films of 1998, only 4 were rated R. None of them were straight dramas, unless you count Snake Eyes and its $16.3 million as a straight drama. All three others were really action flicks: Lethal Weapon 4, Saving Private Ryan and Halloween: H20. This year, remarkably against the backdrop of the Columbine hysteria, there are 8 R-rated films in the Top 20 openers and while three of them will probably drop out (8MM with $14.3 million, Analyze This with $18.4 million and Varsity Blues with $17.5 million), others may well take their places in the name of R. And again, only Eyes Wide Shut is a straight drama. There are four thrillers/action flicks (The Matrix, The General's Daughter, Payback and 8MM) and three comedies (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Analyze This and Varsity Blues).

Among other newcomers, the news was definitively incomplete, but the weekend was good, bad and ugly, though not necessarily in that order. The news for The Wood was good. I'll write more on the film below, but a $8.6 million start means the word of mouth will give it a shot to keep growing. The news for Lake Placid was a little bad. Fox got a decent sampling, but had better get to the "it's really a comedy" campaign before camp gets mistaken for cheese. (And if you read my mail, you'd know that it's already swaying in that direction even though some do get the joke.) Muppets From Space was ugly, not only by grossing $5.1 million, but by its own very real failings as a movie. I am a huge fan of The Muppet Movie. I even worked for Henson for a while, back in New York. But the greatness of "The Muppets" on TV and in their first couple of movies was that they were really funny. Tough funny. When Animal wanted woman, he really wanted woman. He was a puppet, but you could imagine the clothes being ripped off. (Ewwww...that sounds kind of kinky and sick, now that I read it back, but it is kind of true. Animal was truly animalistic and played out to the last degree, well...) This movie, of which I caught about half in a theater filled with kids, didn't make me laugh more than once or twice as I watched. Pepe The King Prawn, a character I've never seen before, seems to have all the attitude the older characters seem to have lost. It's too bad. Additionally, Tim Hill does not have the magic touch that Jim Henson and Frank Oz showed in photographing these Muppets and really bringing them to life. I felt like I was watching puppets too often and I really am willing to take the ride and suspend disbelief. But the rhythm just never got there for me. That's too bad.

As for holdover, American Pie did not make its bid for the There's Something About Mary long-leg crown this weekend, falling a reasonable, but not exceptional 29 percent. Wild Wild West may now be the provenience of a younger audience, as its Friday-Saturday jump was a massive 45 percent, but it still dropped 40 percent according to WB estimates. After a 39 percent fall last weekend, it seems safe to now predict that the film will top out domestically somewhere around $125 - $130 million. Tarzan is also slowing down, but I expect the film to become the fourth biggest release in Disney history, passing A Bug's Life and staying behind The Lion King, Aladdin and Toy Story. (I don't think that it's fair to compare it to Snow White after that film's many re-releases. Tarzan will someday pass Snow White after a re-release or two.) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me passed the $190 million mark this weekend and may well eek its way to $200 million. And Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace will pass E.T. and become only the third film in history to pass the $400 million domestic plateau before the end of next weekend.

THE GREAT: I saw Eyes Wide Shut a third time on Saturday night. It just keeps getting better. Or to be more accurate, I just keep getting clearer on what is there. I've had some great letters from readers this week with their thoughts on what was happening in the film. Really smart stuff. I will be doing a Working Hollywood sometime soon with a thorough, detailed, spolier-laden analysis of what I think a lot of the film's subtext really is. I will be paying another $8.50 to see the film a fourth time before doing that. The reflections that bounce throughout the story, the color usage and the absolute insignificance of the nudity in the film become stronger and stronger each time I absorb another layer of this dense, dense masterpiece of all-too-human passion and pain. Sure enough, the experience of the film is as painful to many critics and audience members as The Thin Red Line was. But we who love movies are truly blessed to have gotten seminal, spiritual works from two of the masters of the form in one year. And to judge either by conventional methods is much like standing really close to a Georges Seurat painting. You're right...it's just a bunch of damned dots. Now step back and take in the art.

THE GOOD: I felt obligated to get to the theater to see Muppets From Space and The Wood this weekend. I missed screenings of both and since I knew that my new partner on KABC radio, KABC-7's George Pennacchio (every Saturday at 10 am pst) had seen them all, I just had to also. You know what I thought of Muppets From Space. So, I wasn't really ready for The Wood, and I have to tell you, I was enchanted. The director, Rick Famuyiwa, is still miles away from being a strong director visually. In fact, he's barely passable. But he got great, great performances out of every single member of a cast that he picked with real skill and insight. Richard T. Jones is a revelation. Here's a guy who you would be happy to hang out with in any movie. Omar Epps and Taye Diggs, already favorites of mine, both get to do some of their best work, free from the obligation of playing icons instead of humans. The young trio of buddies didn't exactly match (especially in height and color), but they brought a completely different kind of charm to the piece and smartly, didn't get caught up with imitating their older selves. This is a film that even managed to bring some bittersweet, funny humanity to young wannabe gang bangers, who are, after all, just human. As I watched the film, one of five Caucasians in a half-filled afternoon showing, I thought, it's too bad that this film may not cross over. It kind of reminded me of another film. And then I realized, I was watching African-American Pie. It's not as broad a comedy, but it has the same sweet underbelly and warmth that made American Pie more than a gross-out movie. And how often do you get to see male characters who really love each other, white, black, asian, eskimo or alien? Not often enough. Check out The Wood and take a ethnicity-challenged friend. I bet they'll thank you.

THE BAD & THE UGLY: MPAA argument continues. But I don't have space for it today. So, tune in tomorrow for more.

PAGE TWO: "Chatting, Trailing And Anti-Kubrick Wailing"