Friday, 26 May 2000

WEEKEND PREVIEW

By the time you read this, the weekend will already have been won.

Mission: Impossible 2 should be impossible to beat this weekend. (Box Office Extra will have guesstimates and a look at the Wednesday numbers for the film right here after noon e.s.t.) But I, for one, am amazed by the degree of negativity hitting this movie from Day One. All but one e-mail I got about the movie was blistering. And these weren't from shoulder-chipped critics. These were from people who actually like movies! I don't know. My first reaction coming out of the junket screening of this movie was to say, "It's a car wreck." That comment softened a bit as I thought more about the film. And the final print, which I saw Sunday night, was a vast improvement indeed. Perhaps my judgement that the film "works" was skewed a bit by the film's improvement rather than by a clear viewing of the film. Then again, perhaps my opinion that the film worked is being skewed by the passionate feelings against it in some quarters. You know what this means? I'll have to go see the damned thing again and try to balance it all out.

On the other hand, one viewing of Shanghai Noon makes it clear that it will be a well loved summer hit. I'm not saying that we're looking at the next There's Something About Mary. But we are looking at a solid double with an eye towards a triple.

Opening in limited release against the MI:2 tsunami are Better Living Through Circuitry, Kikujiro, Passion of Mind and 8 1/2 Women. Go see the first two.

THE GOOD: Sometimes, you just don't see it coming. The buzz was good on Shanghai Noon, but one still had to keep the thought in the back of one's mind, "Really?" The person who came to the screening with me hadn't ever seen an American Jackie Chan film and really wasn't anxious to start with this one. But as we walked out of the theater, she apologized.

So what is it about Shanghai Noon?

Well, the movie contains every cliché and then busts almost every one. Political correctness is right out the window here, with every ethnicity heard from in some joke or another. Everyone is good looking, but the women are as tough or tougher than the men and manage to be both sexual objects and dangerous at the same time. Chan's disconnection in the West is based more on being a stranger in a strange land and not so much about being Chinese.

And Owen Wilson, already a star in the hearts of those of us who love quirky movies and performers, has set his feet in the cement of Mann's Chinese with this one. In Shanghai Noon, Wilson is reminiscent of a young Robert Redford, albeit with a more pronounced facial structure. He is funny and charming and alive every moment he's on screen. If Chan is the unstoppable force, Wilson's mind is the unmovable object. The combination is quite different than the Chan/Chris Tucker pairing, but every bit as irresistible. More so really, as this duo is not so much about topping one another. When these two end up hanging out together at the whore house (I don't want to give away any more than that), you really believe the silliness that ensues could happen if Owen and Jackie were hanging out at a whore house after a long day of shooting. Not that either would do such a thing.

Director Tom Dey first time out, manages, with the able help of Enemy of the State cinematographer Daniel Mindel, to shoot the "Old West" beautifully, but without calling too much attention to the scenery. Dey manages to shoot both dialogue and action with real grace, especially given that one lead is always running and jumping and swinging and the other is always standing around trying to figure out what's going on. Dey also hired actors like Xander Berkeley, who has been a character actor for a decade, but has never, in my memory, been given a part this key in a picture this big. Great. And Dey (and casting directors Matthew Barry and Nancy Green-Keyes) made a real discovery in Roger Yuan, who plays the baddest of the bad guys. You'll be seeing him in movies for years to come.

I don't want to overhype this film, because when you get right down to it, it's a lightweight comedy. But this is one of those movies that everyone in the family will like and many will love. And no one will be found arguing that they won't go see it again. It is, I'm afraid to say, just like the old joke about Chinese food. You see this movie and you're ready to see it again in an hour.

THE BAD A**: Music-driven Gen X, Y & Z movies were kicked off last year with the underseen Go, from Doug Liman. But this summer, the parade gets thick. We already had Human Traffic wander through the U.S. with little attention being paid. And the Sundance favorite, Groove is coming. But if you are ready for the real thing, you have to check out Better Living Through Circuitry.

Director Jon Reiss busts a move through the insanity and passion of the rave scene. In fact, Better Living actually takes you through the real beat of rave life before any of these other films existed. I saw the film over a year ago at the L.A. Independent Film Festival and it's taken distributors this long to get hip to this very hip room. In the meantime, the beats of guys like Fatboy Slim and Moby, which were exclusive to the rave scene here in America, have since become mainstream favorites.

But the best thing about Better Living is that experiencing the movie is like experiencing a rave itself. I defy anyone to walk out of the theater and not say, "I wonder where I can find one of those...NOW?!!!"

"Harlan, Ads And The Lack Of Them & Lots of ROTD"