The Last President of the U.S.?

FAHRENHEIT 11/9 (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

At first glance, "Fahrenheit 11/9" contains all the familiar Michael Moore documentary tropes: Moore's sardonic voice-over; mixture of fact and fiction (Trump's FBI arrest through magical CGI); a rundown of historical comparative logic with today's political atmosphere; Flint, Michigan (his hometown) in continuing crisis, etc. When you watch a Michael Moore documentary today, it is less documentary and more of a higher-budgeted cinematic editorial that aims to condense a lot of recent events into some meaningful thesis on where we are in the world. What is far more apparent is Moore's anger this time around, his anger at the current political climate and at Trump's ascendance as President of the United States. "Fahrenheit 11/9" is an angry film that is also flawed in its wild theories (the trailer proposes that Trump will be our last President) - it is a companion piece to Moore's controversial 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11" but it is also less successful at forming reasonable conclusions.

In typical Moore's Theory of the Absurd that starts the film (after we see the liberals' crying disappointment of Hillary Clinton's loss of the presidency to you know who), we are asked to believe singer Gwen Stefani is to blame for Trump's Presidential win. What? Yep, since Trump discovered that Gwen was taking home a bigger paycheck for NBC's "The Voice" than he was for the same network's "The Apprentice," Trump decided to run for President, presumably to build his brand! Huh? I don't buy it. Then we segue to primaries where potential presidential candidate Bernie Sanders might have had a chance if the Democratic voters at the DNC were not so clearly on Hillary's side (I am not going to stoke those fires).

Most displeasing and accentuated with far greater anguish is the Flint Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan, where the water showed extraordinarily high levels of lead in its supply. Starting in April 2014, Flint had hazardous chemicals in the water that many unsuspecting residents were drinking from. In order to cut down on costs, the city of Flint switched to a local river where the water was cloudy-looking and smelled like raw sewage. General Motors ran into problems using the water since it rusted machine parts (eventually, the city switched to a healthier water route but only for GM). Then there is an alleged falsifying of reports by a former Health Department official. To make matters worse, former President Obama attended Flint and pretended to drink a glass of water in front of a crowd of Flint residents! (Note: As of early 2017, President Trump claims he bestowed Flint the $100 million grant to resolve the crisis and fix the pipes when in fact it took less than two years for the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 2016 to be implemented, a measure passed by Congress and signed into law by former President Obama. According to this film, Obama simply took a drink of water and split without aiding Flint.)

"Fahrenheit 11/9" is often riveting and exasperating, covering a lot of ground into President Trump's excesses and lack of ideology. In addition to brief clips of the late 90's "The Roseanne Show" where Moore and Trump were guests or the various photos of Moore with Jared Kushner and others, there is also much ado about the Parkland school shooting and how these ambitious, surviving teens of that unfortunate massacre may in fact cause a real dent for the better in our future (though it looks like Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the shining beacon we may have to consider). Some of this is emotionally powerful (a sneak peek into Charlottesville also speaks volumes) and Moore knows how push the right buttons. Unfortunately, he sometimes sidelines his punchiest episodes for outright fabrications based on bad taste such as hinting at an incestuous nature between Trump and his lovely daughter, Ivanka (not to say that some of the Donald's past televised comments weren't inappropriate but even Bill Maher has stopped joking about it). My least favorite segment (and boy, speaking of beating a dead horse) is the left-wing conspiracy theory about how Trump is our future Hitler, featuring footage of Hitler speaking Trump's words and vice-versa. I do not buy that for a second - Moore is more reasonable in asserting that Trump is a showman, a television personality with a huckster's charm who has slowly turned into a raging bull parody of himself. That I can believe. This may be, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than a put-on, an act of Trump deceiving the public into thinking he cares about them. That I can also believe. But our President is no dictator who has gone to war or has kept certain minorities in internment camps (leaving aside the current illegal immigration debacle) - whether or not he actually becomes a dictator (despite his respect for other dictator leaders) remains to be seen but we are thankfully not there yet.

"Fahrenheit 11/9" is perversely fascinating and incredibly entertaining, in the best tradition of Michael Moore's semi-documentary political juggernauts. It is also his most uneven film yet never less than incendiary. Moore has always been a huckster as well and maybe it takes a huckster to recognize another.  

First Audacious, Mind-Bending Love Story of the 21st century

THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Originally viewed on March 27th, 2004

Father: "Hey gang! Let's go see the latest Jim Carrey flick at the local multiplex!" 

Son: "Oh, cool. Do you mean the sequel to 'The Mask'?" 

Father: "Nope, son, it is called 'The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'." 

Son: "Thanks anyway, Dad. I'll sneak in to see anything but that. I'll check out the new 'Agent Cody Banks' movie."

"The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is the loopiest, most mind-bending romantic comedy film I've ever seen. Loopy and romantic? Does this bring up memories of Adam Sandler's similarly loopy foray into P.T. Anderson's world in "Punch-Drunk Love"? Perhaps, but "Eternal Sunshine" will make you so mad, sad, happy and into such a romantic fool that you'll want to reunite with the ex-girlfriend you truly loved. It is the first truly audacious romantic comedy of the 21st century, guaranteed to keep your spirits high. Here's why.

Jim Carrey is Joel, a greeting card writer, who decides one day to skip work and head to Montauk Point, New York. It is February and snowing, but he still walks on the beach. He finds a woman with blue hair named Clementine (Kate Winslet) who despises the old Huckleberry Hound song. She also hates how Joel continually uses the word "nice" to describe everything. Eventually, Joel is invited to Clementine's apartment, and a romance blossoms. Suddenly, we shift to Valentine's Day where Joel is having a crying fit. Does he suffer from depression? No, it seems that Clementine has totally ignored him, appearing as if she never heard of him. And she also has a boyfriend! What is going on here? So Joel decides to wipe her from his memory and goes to a local clinic called Lacuna, Inc., which specializes in erasing any specific memory. The main doctor of the clinic is the reserved Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), who operates on one's mind rather cryptically. When asked if there could be brain damage, the doctor replies, "Technically speaking, it is brain damage." Nevertheless, Joel undergoes the procedure, firstly by bringing every object that reminds him of Clementine. Then it is on to the actual procedure itself where he has some apparatus strapped to his head while two assistants (both hilariously played by Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood) handle laptop computers and cables. Kirsten Dunst is the stoned secretary who has a thing for Ruffalo.

The film is actually something rather rare in modern times - a visual mindscape into Jim Carrey's mind. We see Joel reliving his past moments of glory and misery with Clementine, and sometimes Joel inserts her into his childhood past. The procedure of erasing her deepens and manifests itself in rather strange sights, such as Joel imagining himself as a kid under his mother's kitchen table; the doctors and his assistants morphing into faceless robots; cars falling from the sky and crashing; the disappearance of one setting morphing into another, such as Joel's bed in the snowy beach; Joel's couch immersed in rain; Joel and Clementine at their favorite spot, the frozen Charles River, that gradually morphs into the Grand Central station, and so on. The film is the equivalent of a diabolically clever chase picture into someone's thought processes - Joel's intent is to run after Clementine and have his memory of her restored in memories where she never existed. Of course, the good doctor and his assistants are puzzled that the procedure is taking so long. Have they never realized how complex the human mind is?

As written by the innovative Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich") and directed with a frolicking hand-held immediacy by Michel Gondry, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is the romantic comedy I've been waiting for - the dizzying, dreamlike kind. But aside from honest dialogue and dazzlingly constructed images, "Eternal Sunshine" is a meditation on the crazy nature of falling in and out of love, and how the memories should linger and not be erased. We see Kaufman's humor in subtle touches, particularly the other participants of this unusual memory loss experiment (one has a box of everything that reminds her of her dog)! Joel brings two garbage bags full of stuff - a funny sight indeed. But what is more evocative is the emotional center of the film - the topsy-turvy relationship between Joel and Clementine. Joel argues about her constantly changing hair color, her moods, her talkativeness, her supposed inability to bring up a child. Clementine argues about Joel's excuses not to pursue fatherhood, and how he hurtfully accuses her of sleeping around - simply put, Joel is an insular guy who has a blank journal. Can this love last?

Jim Carrey is pitch-perfect as Joel, showing all his insecurities and thoughts up on the screen without budging or resorting to overkill. I knew Carrey could pull it off, unless the audience has a short-term memory of the likes of "The Truman Show" and "The Majestic." And he has exciting chemistry with Kate Winslet (in her defining role for many years to come) as the irrepressible, high-spirited Clementine - as the film reaches its unpredictable conclusion, you'll hope that they remain together. And it is exquisite fun to watch Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst getting high on themselves, almost forgetting they are erasing someone's memory.

"The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" may not convert many mainstream tastes to Charlie Kaufman's offbeat, preternatural ideas. The film itself may be a little too frenetic and bizarre in its leaps across time and space to make them care much, and those expecting a Jim Carrey comedy may be disappointed. But for those who are brave and adventurous, this film will be a rewarding experience in every way - I never thought I'd say this but it is the perfect date movie. It questions the fragility of a relationship, and how the memories make us who we are as human beings - why should we delete the experience of a break-up when there are always some good moments to treasure? I just hope this film catches on and shows what romantic comedies have tried to do for years and have never truly succeeded at - to define love in all its glory and in all its flaws. It's always the memories of past relationships that stay with us and define who we are.

Pyre for Fyre

FYRE: 
THE GREATEST PARTY THAT NEVER HAPPENED (2019)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A party on a remote island with about 50 people might work without a hitch. A music festival with 5,000 tickets sold on an island that was not an island is tantamount to disaster. "Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened" documents the day-to-day goings-on of a music festival that was coming apart in shambles, and the organizers knew it was unworkable and still persisted. Hubris at its most defining with greed running rampant over logic and common sense.

Billy McFarland is the would-be, millennial entrepreneur who promises a world of riches and all anyone got in return were cheap sandwiches and a room with a view but no toilet. That is exactly what happened with the announcement of Fyre Festival, a new music festival that would appeal to those who presumably like Burning Man minus installations and, you know, common sense. Fyre was originally scheduled to be held on an island once owned by Pablo Escobar, and then it was finally held in one of the Bahamian islands, specifically the Great Exuma (not an island exactly but perpetrated as one on social media posts and falsely and continuously advertised as Escobar's island). So, in case you didn't hear about it in the news, the debut of Fyre Festival was not to be - it was a manufactured hoax where a few thousand people had their money bilked. Some dubious website designers fell for the scam for what they thought was a legitimate music festival. Ja Rule, the rapper, is also one of the founders of Fyre who may or may not have hoped for the Music Festival of the 21st century.

As we learn more about this faux music fest, we are inundated with details about supermodels flown in for Instagram shoots; support from paid social media influencers like Kendall Jenner; exchange of money and hustling for the green at last-minute intervals; building white tents that look like they are ready to blow off the ground easily; confusion and disarray over how to fly in guests to the island; legitimate online complaints from customers that were deleted so as to not ruin the brand, and an organizer who is ready to, um, perform fellatio just to satisfy...oh, I would not dream of giving away that nasty bit of information away.

Shrewdly directed by Chris Smith, "Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened" is often frustratingly fascinating yet quite repetitive - after a while, I could not take much more of McFarland, a con-artist masquerading as some sort of pseudo-hip, technologically savvy booking agent/partygoer who lives for the high life of sunlit Bahamian beaches and sexy, bikini models. I was not the least bit sympathetic to him or any of his ship of fools who took the money and ran. As aforementioned, some of the people involved behind-the-scenes are not entirely to blame but they knew this festival was a disaster practically from the get-go. I mean, Blink-182 even opted out!

I am not afraid of no ghost

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

Has time been kind to the 1984 comedy classic “Ghostbusters”? Is it as spirited, witty and even

slightly scary as it once was? Hmmm. My answer is a resounding YES! “Ghostbusters” is a special, upbeat piece of pop moviemaking, both maniacally funny and spookily frightening. It is one of the best combinations of horror and humor ever, without sinking itself to the level of dumb, sophomoric humor and gory images. No, there is not one drop of blood spilled throughout the entire film. The horror is more tongue-in-cheek -- yet still keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Most audiences today are well-versed with the film’s plot and its iconic characters. Three parapsychologists whose university studies are considered hackneyed at best are thrown out of Columbia University: Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman, a jokester who seduces young college women while giving an ESP test with electro-shocks administered if the wrong answer is given (of course, Peter never shocks the girls); Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz, and Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler, are the two other parapsychologists who are more knowledgeable than Venkman.

The trio decides to rid New York City of ghosts that are tormenting and sliming everyone at

establishments such as libraries, hotels, and ancient apartment buildings in Central Park West. With the use of their nuclear-powered proton packs, the Ghostbusters aim to capture the ghosts and keep

them in a storage facility while going out on calls in their Ecto-mobile. If all this sounds too silly for

words, well, it is -- and that is part of the movie’s charm.

“Ghostbusters” could have turned into a runaway special-effects show where the effects trumped

its own story. Unlike its obscenely bad, charmless sequel that thought “endless mania” = “laughs,”

“Ghostbusters” has three delightful, likable characters at its center (and only a teeny-weeny role for

the wasted Ernie Hudson, the movie’s one major flaw) and uses practical, realistic effects, such as the

stacks of books that reach the ceiling of the library, when anything else would’ve been less effective.

Of course, we do have flashy special-effects for the anarchic ghosts that could not have been created

any other way, such as the Slime monster who consumes copious amounts of food, or the Stay

Puft Marshmallow Man, one of the more amazingly funny and far too memorably spooky gags in the

entire film.

But at the heart of “Ghostbusters” are the human characters that we root for and sympathize with.

Bill Murray shows a sweetness and sincerity that is a cut above his smart-aleck roles in “Stripes” or

“Meatballs” - it is the genial romance he develops with Dana Barrett (a very appealing Sigourney

Weaver) who is the Ghostbusters’ first customer that adds heart to the film. Ditto Harold Ramis and

his brief flirtation with the Ghostbusters’ secretary (Annie Potts). Dan Aykroyd has never been as

sharply animated as he is here, and is far more lively and human than most of his crude, cartoonish caricatures in other, lesser films. Also unforgettable is William Atherton as an EPA spokesman who senses an environmental disaster waiting to happen in the Ghostbusters’ headquarters, and David Margulies as Mayor Lenny who will have saved the lives of “millions of registered voters.” “Ghostbusters” has a goofy sensibility that would be difficult to duplicate today -- it is still fresh, consistently hilarious, endlessly quotable and perfectly cast. It also wears its heart on its sleeve.