A charming, inoffensive B-movie

MONSTERS, MARRIAGE AND MURDER IN MANCHVEGAS (2009)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

A title like "Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas" will remind some of the gloriously long titles of B-movies of the 1950's. After all, it is no different than a title like "I Married a Monster from Outer Space." Movies like "Manchvegas" don't seem to exist anymore and coming from writers Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh (who also directed), they aim to make a charming, inoffensive picture that is seemingly exploitative (with a title like that, you can't expect less) but delivers a certain sweetness that can only emanate from its small-town setting.

The small town in this film is Manchvegas, or more appropriately to the rest of you, Manchester, New Hampshire. Three members of an entrepreneurial group known as M.O.S. (Manchvegas Outlaw Society) deliver newspapers, hot dogs, books, lemonade and poppy Beach-Boys- sounding CD's from their own band around town. They also solve some petty crimes such as finding the kids who are stealing the delivered newspapers. Of course, M.O.S. mostly spend time at a nearby lake engaging in lots of tomfoolery and "summertime fun," including throwing water balloons at each other. The leader of M.O.S. is Marshall (Matt Farley), who pines for the affections of Jenny (Marie Dellicker), another member of the group (would a blonde adult really hang out with such a group?). There is also All-Star Pete (Thomas Scalzo) and he mostly plays basketball and sets up surveillance on Jenny's dates so that Marshall can scare them off. Can't really blame Jenny for seeking other men since Marshall suffers from maximum arrested development.

A murdered bride-to-be is found and M.O.S. decides to solve the murder (their credentials don't extend beyond stolen newspapers). Another bride-to-be, a product of finishing school known as Melinda (Sharon Scalzo), is missing after she was last seen skinny-dipping but who is the killer? Is it the local grocer who became her fiance? And what are those strange, mythical forest beasts, known as Gospercaps, who speak in an indiscernible language? Are they harmless or are they murderous?

I will say that "Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas" is an original treat for anyone who loves cheesy, low-budget B-movies, especially those that are still shot on film. Though some of the actors, such as police chief Delvecchio (James McHugh, who is clearly reading his lines rather than speaking them) or Melinda's dad (Kevin McGee, whom Farley has described as their Bela Lugosi), don't give spellbinding performances, Matt Farley, however, gives it his all - he has presence in those arched eyebrows and slight squeaky voice (he was genuinely creepy in his last outing, "Freaky Farley"). He clearly gives the best performance in the film and the sweet little love story with Jenny adds a layer of true innocence to the proceedings. You can tell these guys had fun making a cheerful, unpretentious film that nearly everyone might have a hard time disliking. But it is also that small-town innocence that gives the movie an added touch of nostalgia.

Farley and Roxburgh have to work on ironing out their repertory of actors but they have ideas and combine humor, nostalgia and a good sense of time and place, not to mention a witty, engaging script with three solid lead actors (will someone please give these guys a bigger budget?) I cannot wait to see what they cook up next.

Savvy, Devious Farley

FREAKY FARLEY (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

For a freakishly funny, savvy and thoroughly enjoyable parody of 70's and 80's horror flicks, you can't do better than "Freaky Farley." Though hardly perfect or perfectly realized, it is still a nice little surprise for those who are hungry for something other than "Scream" or "Saw" or any of its infinite bloodless variations.

Freaky Farley (Matt Farley) is from a small New England town where he is something of a legend (he is one of three legends). No, he is not a witch or a medicine man living in the woods - he is a town freak who spies on women with binoculars and wears the same black-and-white striped shirt since childhood. Farley lives with his stern, domineering father (Kevin McGee), a self-help radio host, who gives his son comprehensive tests in the morning! One assumes that if he gets a failing grade on a test, Farley has to dig a hole in the backyard, four feet deep and four foot wide (Catholic School was never that strict). That punishment isn't just for poor test scores (including scoring an 86 percent - boy is his father tough!) but it also includes anything Farley does wrong. His father wants Farley to go out and get a job with a local telephone company that results in one of the funniest scenes involving a female employer - I wouldn't spoil it for you. Essentially, his father wants him to become a man, and wear a different shirt!

Just when you think that things can't get loonier, Farley falls for Scarlett (Sharon Scalzo), an adventurous girl who is as interested in spying and in the local townsfolk as Farley is (she spots him spying and becomes intrigued). They form a bond, which causes great concern from Farley's father and a next-door neighbor, Katie (Katie Reidy), who somehow knows exactly every move Farley makes and acts like a 2- year-old in the process. Added to that is some mysterious cabin from the Morgantown Woods and monsters (!) that the town is trying to keep secret - a secret that Farley and Scarlett are desperate to unveil. And for connoisseurs of offbeat characters for the sake of being offbeat, we have a scared ninja, a hobo who speaks of the danger in the woods, and a seductive local witch.

Granted, "Freaky Farley" is not to be taken seriously nor is it resolutely non-horror either. Take it as something that makes fun of horror without having its tongue in its cheek. For example, there are instances where writer-director Charles Roxburgh and co-writer Matt Farley (member of the band Moes Haven) aim for a fleeting character study. Farley always wears the same shirt, as perhaps a rebellious stance against his father (Farley keeps a few of the same shirts in his closet). Also interesting is how Farley is not afraid of anything or afraid of leaving the house - he is not an insular freak like the albino in "Powder" nor does he do anything freakish or sociopathic (spying is something any male might do but maybe when you are pushing 30, you are pushing it). When he meets Scarlett, he falls for her but still keeps his hands in his pockets. He likes her sense of spirit and adventure - this doesn't develop into a sexual relationship (he gets nervous and looks away when she goes skinny dipping yet he loves watching women undress through their bedroom windows). And the movie develops a sweetness and innocence that doesn't stray far from Mark Twain territory crossed with a little Nancy Drew, which is unusual for a movie of this type. As for the Twain reference, their relationship mirrors the Becky and Tom Sawyer relationship.

"Freaky Farley" falls under some of the traps of independent productions. It isn't smoothly acted or directed but then again, neither were the inspirations for the filmmakers ("Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2" is not one of the proudest moments in film horror). But the flaws, which are expected in lower-budgeted productions, are outweighed by the pluses. For once, we have an indie horror flick that is shot on 16 mm film, as opposed to mini-DV. This lends the film a certain beauty that it wouldn't otherwise have. Secondly, the locations feel alive and haunting, especially the Morgantown woods. Thirdly, the script is haywire but always fun and surprising - you can't anticipate where the story is headed. I would also add that Matt Farley as Farley has devious, arched eyebrows that reminded me a little of Anthony Perkins. He keeps the story flowing from the absurd to the prototypically strange. And part of the mystery and the zany tonal shifts is that we do not know how freaky Farley really is.

(Interview with Dee Wallace): The Diverse Dee

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEE WALLACE: 
THE DIVERSE DEE

By Jerry Saravia

Dee in 1977's "Hills Have Eyes"

Dee Wallace in 1982's "E.T."

For anyone who was a teenager or an adolescent during the 1980's, you'd have to be living under a rock to not know who Dee Wallace was. Of course, some of my readers might be a little younger than me so let's refresh the subject at hand for a second. Dee Wallace's most famous role is the divorcee and mother to Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg classic, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial." She was also howling to the moons as a reporter who is bitten by a werewolf in 1981's funny and spine-tingling "The Howling." Or the mother from 1986's "Critters," not to mention the 1991 cult film "Popcorn" where she was the concerned mother to Jill Schoelen's traumatized Maggie? Or the mother protecting her son from a rabid St. Bernard in 1983's "Cujo" (perhaps the goriest Stephen King adaptation ever). But Dee had started earlier, back in the late 1970's. Who can forget Dee as the young mother whom we all hoped would survive the desert family of psychos in Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes"? With her trademark sensitivity and vulnerability and overall sweetness delivered in spades, Dee was the sympathetic ideal woman for horror and fantasy.

As an actress, she has amassed a total of 196 credits, ranging from small roles in TV shows such as "Starsky and Hutch," "Lou Grant," "Hart to Hart," "Trapper John M.D.," "Cold Case," "Murder, She Wrote," and "The Office" to other notable film roles that were occasionally non-horror including Blake Edwards' "10," "Jimmy the Kid" with Gary Coleman and "Extraordinary Measures" with Harrison Ford, to name a few. She has also served as an executive producer and a choreographer. 

Lately, the diverse Dee Wallace has created her own website, www.Iamdeewallace.com, in addition to a call-in radio show devoted to the art of self-creation, and has written three books: "Conscious Creation," "The Big E," and "Bright Light."She is a trifecta of talent - Actor, Healer, Best-Selling Author.

1.) I think you have been asked to death about "E.T." so let's talk about the highly entertaining "Critters." You had taken on the matriarch role in a few films at that point already, especially in "Cujo" and "Hills Have Eyes." Aside from "E.T," my favorite matriarchal role you have played was in "Critters." Did Hollywood casting agents find it easier at first to cast you as a trusting suburban mother in unexpectedly fantastic and horrific scenarios?

Dee: "I think it just morphed into it. Sometimes I think I am just a really good screamer and have a full access of emotions, and the horror genre is ripe for that. I don't think they tried to create me as that, but it's the way it played out. I love the genre--the REAL horror film, because it has arcs and opportunities to really create within."

Dee in 1991's "Popcorn"

2.) "Popcorn" is another matriarchal role you have played, mother to Jill Schoelen's Maggie. I understand the shoot was fraught with some complications, including the recasting of the Maggie role that went originally to Amy O'Neill who was replaced by Schoelen. There has been a cult developed around this film. What are your thoughts on the film itself and the renewed interest it currently enjoys that it did not initially receive?

Dee: "It's so funny to me. As long as I have been in this business, it is an enigma why fans take to the things they do. At the conventions, people will stand in line for hours to meet an actor whose face has never actually been seen on camera, while a veteran of 100 films is nearby. It's crazy. And it's beautiful. "Popcorn" has indeed become a genre classic. "Popcorn" had so many problems I hardly remember them. Producers changed, money fell out. We were on, we were off. None of it really phased me, because I had just had my daughter Gabrielle ( who is now beginning her own career in a big way) and my husband was with me. All I was worried about was breastfeeding on time!! I do remember insisting that they create it so I could get in and out of the body cast. I remember thinking, 'Geez, guys, I'm gonna have to use the restroom SOMEtime!'"

Dee and her late husband, Christopher Stone, in 1981's "The Howling"

Dee in 1996's "The Frighteners"

3.) A real break from the trusting and sincere Dee Wallace that I think we all love was your role as a murderer's accomplice in Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners." What was the Peter Jackson experience like and, though I have not seen every single film and TV role you have performed, do you wish for more variety, say a comedic role (aside from 1985's "Secret Admirer")?

Dee: "I adore Peter and everything about him. I had a ball murdering everyone. Although my beloved Christopher died during the shooting, I still remember it fondly. Peter is a class act all the way. As far as comedy, I have had two sit coms on, baby! I like comedy if it's good. I hate it if it's corny. Far out, stupid stuff definitely does not rock my boat."

4.) Now that you have worked twice with director Rob Zombie, specifically on "Halloween" and the voice of Trixie in "Haunted World of El Superbeasto,", tell us what kind of role you have taken on in "Lords of Salem," your third film with Zombie, and what kind of atmosphere does Zombie create on the set?

Dee: "Geez. I love Rob. Truly. He is an artistic genius who is a really nice guy. I get to play all sides of Dee: the E.T. Dee and The Frighteners Dee. It's a great arc. He wrote it for me, and I am honored. It is very different from his other films. Can't wait to see the response!!"

5.) Lastly, tell us about your Thursday morning radio talk show, "Conscious Creations." It seems, after listening to one of your broadcasts, that your purpose is to stress the self, that you are the maker of your self and follow your heart, themes that need to be stressed within our consumerist, practically selfless society. Overall, am I on the right page because that is a message that needs to heard?

Dee: "By George, you got it! Both my radio shows focus on taking self responsibility in the creation of our own lives. It is amazingly powerful work, and my channel is clear and correct. The information that comes through astounds us, and we can discern instantly where a person is blocked and why. Tune in, baby! You'll love it!"

For more info on the radio show and her books, Go to http://www.iamdeewallace.com for everything Dee!

Listen to Dee every Monday from 5 to 6 pm PDT/PST on Bright Light on The Awakening Zone~(714) 364-4335.  http://www.awakeningzone.com/Show.aspx?ShowID=34

Conscious Creation, free call in show~(646) 915-9919.  Thursday 8 to 9 am, PST/PDT.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ConsciousCreation

How good a singer is Jewel vs. Alanis Morrisette?

HELL'S GATE (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Viewed in Spring 2008)

A few weeks ago I saw "Lucky Number Slevin," which had style to spare but no story to tell. "Hell's Gate" is just the opposite - it barely has style to spare but it also has a story with a surprising twist.

Kevin Kinney (Brian Faherty) is an ex-con and former stock broker who is in desperate need for cash. He owes money to the mob but his past friends refuse to give him a nickle. Kinney's loose cannon pal and former cell-mate, Ben Deardon (Jeremy Cohen), has a meeting with a certain British gentleman named Mr. Nobody (Teddy Alexandro-Evans) who has a profitable job for them - to kidnap a billionaire's daughter (Chelsea Miller)! For Kevin, this is a long way from Wall Street but he reluctantly takes the job. The kidnapping is successful, thanks to good old chloroform. Unfortunately, the two ex-cons and the billionaire's daughter, who is tied to a chair, have to stay in some hideout until Mr. Nobody comes back from delivering a ransom note! Are these protagonists doomed? Will Mr. Nobody actually double-cross them and kill them? Inevitably.

The comparisons to Tarantino's edgy, postmodernist crime flicks are also inevitable. There is a pungent discussion on the singers Jewel and Alanis Morrisette and their respective love songs. I also caught a reference to Man From U.N.C.L.E. And the movie zigzags from flashbacks to flashforwards to intertitles. The idea of two ex-cons with a hostage inside a building can find its roots as far back as John Ford, concluding with John Carpenter and Quentin Tarantino. I could say that, folks, the thrill is gone. We have seen interminable gangster/ crime flicks and, more often than not, there is little variety among them. Still, I have to give debuting writer-director John Cecil credit for trying to make this more than just passable. The script can be weak but there are some inspired moments. Notably the opening scene, where Kevin is confessing about a past girlfriend, could be set in a psychiatrist's office or at a police station (we find out later the actual location). I also liked how these two criminals have no idea how to conduct themselves with a hostage, or how to properly prepare a ransom note (the hard-edged guys in "Reservoir Dogs" could eat them for breakfast).

Since this is an independent production and I understand limitations in terms of budget and cutting corners, I will say that two actors could've been better cast. Teddy Alexandro-Evans as the mysterious Mr. Nobody lacks charisma and hardly seems threatening, even with a calm demeanor. Chelsea Miller doesn't lend her part any real weight and is summarily unsympathetic and unlikable - sure, it is hard not to wince seeing a woman beaten down by two thugs but I barely cared. The stars of the film are Brian Faherty, the straight shooter who wants a change from his current lifestyle, and Jeremy Cohen as the cokehead who is far more dangerous than anticipated. Both of these roles reminded me of Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn's characters in the fantastic "The Falcon and the Snowman" - characters as two polar opposites who may be both doomed in this kidnapping scenario (they even wear the same clothes that seem to come from a vintage 70's shop).

Though it has nothing new or refreshing to say about the so-called "honor among thieves" crossed with a kidnapping/hostage tale, "Hell's Gate" still zips along with a clever ending and two ex-cons who are unable to escape the inevitable.

This reboot is pure kryptonite

SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

 (Viewed on June 30th, 2006)

The late Christopher Reeve captured the essence of Superman and, more importantly, the essence of Clark Kent. Reeve played the two sides of the same coin - the mild-mannered reporter who was also the superhuman, red-caped, red-booted Superman. Suffice to say, it would be hard for anyone to top Reeve's performance because he encapsulated the man and the myth in all its glory. It was such a good performance that Reeve became typecast. Off-screen he became a different kind of hero after the horrible accident that left him paralyzed. Tough standards to live up to and newcomer Brandon Routh steps in those red boots and blue tights and comes close in "Superman Returns," but something is amiss. In fact, something is amiss with the whole movie.

This Superman film is not a reimagining of the beloved comic-book hero, like last year's invigorating, darkly humorous "Batman Begins," but rather goes full-speed ahead and pretends that the awful number 3 and so-so number 4 of Chris Reeve's series never existed. This is a direct sequel to "Superman II," taking place five years after that film's events. Superman (Brandon Routh) has been MIA as he has been investigating the remains of his destroyed planet Krypton. Apparently, shards of that distant planet have landed on planet Earth and the Museum of Natural History exhibits one of those shards. Savvy, evil Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) wants a shard or two of Kryptonite since it can destroy Superman, his long-time nemesis (of course, unless you have amnesia, you'll recall this was also the plot of the original "Superman"). Lex can also use Superman's earthbound home, the Fortress of Solitude, to incur his own fortress by decimating America and creating his own land that will be profitable to foreign investors. That's right, Superman fans, those shiny crystals can create lands as far the eye can see (actually, they will be undesirable rock formations but never mind). Considering how much America is hated nowadays, the notorious Lex Luthor may be onto something.

But guess what has happened in five years. Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is married and has a son. Clark Kent shows up at the office and has his old job back, thanks to Perry White (played by Frank Langella), though he faces stiff competition from Perry's son, Richard (James Marsden), who is incidentally married to Lois. Jimmy Olson is still around, taking pictures at whim of everything in sight. Still, he faces mildly stiff competition from kids with those pesky cell phones that take far better snapshots.

Now notice how little I have said about Brandon Routh or Kate Bosworth in their respective roles. The makers of this movie have forgotten some cardinal rules, which can be applied to many of today's blockbusters. Any movie, including a Superman movie, that is filled with special-effects needs something more, something that can't be special-effected. It needs attitude, personality - the quirks that we all face with in our own lives. Those elements were brought to life in the first two "Superman" films by Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, the latter incidentally the best Lois Lane to ever walk this planet. Brandon Routh has the look but not the tone, and certainly not the personality. As Superman, he seems too iconic and placid to really strike a nerve (at one point, he spreads his arms in Christ-like fashion). In fact, old Supe baby had more dialogue in the regrettably uncinematic "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" than in this movie. He can fly, he has determination, he is super indeed, but he is a taciturn man with no inner life - a blank automaton for the Internet and cell phone age that can be downloaded and compressed into thin air.
As for Kate Bosworth, bless her heart for trying but she is completely miscast. Again, no real personality and her brown curly hair is a gross injustice for a blonde (she seemed more alive on a recent "Tonight Show" spot than here).

Kevin Spacey is superbly evil as Lex yet he has so few scenes, and his ultimate plot to decimate America is the most foolish idea that this character has ever had (it seems he has the brains of Otis, his goofy partner from eons ago). And the Parker Posey of the 90's is gone - here, she plays Lex's girlfriend but has no spunk or attitude either. A spunk-less Parker Posey?

Directed by Bryan Singer, "Superman Returns" has some whiz-bang moments of awe, including Superman saving a burning plane before it crash-lands on a baseball stadium, a slow-motion shot of a bullet hitting Supe's eyeball and, well, the flying scenes are fantastic but then again, we have seen lots of flying scenes since Supe's last incarnation in 1987. But the movie is drab, indifferent, dreary and far too long (and has a scene with a poodle that will make many cringe as to its existence in this movie). This sequel has none of the verve or spice of the early Superman films, nor the excitement of even Bryan Singer's own "X-Men" movies. Christopher Reeve made us care for Superman and Clark Kent, a superhuman who wanted to be human. He had his own individual quirks, and so did Kidder's Lois. I am now in the middle of reading "It's Superman" by Tom De Haven, and it has those elements down pat. In this movie, the humanity has been peeled from the Man of Steel.

This sequel barely flies

SUPERMAN III (1983)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In 1983, computers and Atari ran amok in America. BASIC was the computer language everyone talked about when I went to school. Atari was the Playstation of its day. And Superman was still the superhero everyone loved. That is until "Superman III" came along and practically trivialized the series ("Superman IV" actually destroyed it). Gone was the warmth, humor and humanity brought to the first two "Superman" films - the very qualities that elevated the series above its comic book origins. "Superman III" is a crude, lethargic machine of a movie. The special-effects are still good and Superman will still make you believe that a man can fly but there is not enough energy, no human interest. Lifeless is putting it mildly.

Christopher Reeve still does wonders with the dual role of mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, and the superhero who can defy gravity, Superman. It is a role Reeve can play in his sleep, and he still makes it all rather credible. Superman performs last-minute rescues as usual, including rescuing a man who is about to drown in his own car! He also saves people at a chemical plant fire by freezing a lake and dropping it into the fire. Nifty! But something is missing. There is no awe, no sense of wonder. The people of Metropolis react to the sight of Superman as if he was a balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I could swear that a pedestrian even says, "Oh, it is just Superman." Even Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) shows up briefly, claiming she is going on vacation to Bermuda. She doesn't get to mention the name Superman and, needless to say, doesn't share any scenes with him, despite sharing a scene with Clark Kent. When Lois is out of the picture then you know the movie is in trouble (this had to do with Kidder's dispute with the Salkinds over not handing the directorial reins to Richard Donner although there is dispute over that).

Anyways, the plot of this sequel deals with a genius computer programmer (Richard Pryor) who is hired by some billionaire (Robert Vaughn) to cause weather problems in Colombia so that the entire coffee crop can be destroyed! Vaughn wants to control the coffee crop and oil! Alas, when Superman saves Colombia by turning a tornado upside down, a plan is needed to destroy Supe baby. Kryptonite is used but since it is created by scientists (since no fragments are known to exist on Earth), an unknown ingredient in the rock substance is replaced by tar! This turns Superman into a boorish drunk with a five o'clock shadow. He performs deeds that make the nation question his heroism. Evil Superman makes the Leaning Tower of Pisa straight (though that is not actually possible), has sex with the terminally smug "personal trainer" to Vaughn (Pamela Stephenson), and causes general havoc at the Olympics when he blows out the torch. Oh, and there is a subplot involving Clark's childhood friend, Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole), who is convinced by Clark to move to Metropolis since she will never meet the right guy in good old Smallville.

"Superman III" has several problems. Number one: the nefarious plot by the villains is never quite clear and thus lacks any urgency (despite the building of a supercomputer that can destroy anything in its path). Number two: the filmmakers think that this movie is a comedy but Pryor is a disaster on screen, looking stupefied through the whole movie. The movie is directed by Richard Lester (who also directed number II) and it even opens with a pointless slapstick ballet that has no place in anything associated with the name Superman. Number three: The Lana Lang character works but is given too few scenes, and O'Toole is forced to say truly outlandish dialogue that is neither funny nor dramatic ("Oh, my oil pan is leaking.") Number four: The music score by Giorgio Moroder is too campy and ill-conceived, much like the movie. I could go on.

The best scenes in the film involve Lois Lane and a confrontation between the good and evil Superman in a junkyard (Reeve is especially good at playing a raving lunatic). Kidder as Lois Lane has a priceless scene at the end where she meets Lana Lang, and her flash of a smile at Lang's diamond "sparkler" is a hoot. But that is all there is to "Superman III." It is like watching an Atari video game of the real thing. There were rumors that an Atari video game was in the works (some of it even shows up in the movie). But with no sense of astonishment or the barest of human relationships, this third chapter never quite takes flight.

Footnote: Despite my criticisms, "Superman III" is not a complete failure and some of it is boring yet some of it is also watchable. It is one of two movies I own on DVD that, despite not working at all in huge chunks, never actually leaves my mind. I still can't figure it out.

Kneel before Zod!

SUPERMAN II (1981)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Some sequels never equal or surpass their original counterparts because they often seem like rehashes. "Superman II" is that rarity - a sequel that both equals and, at times, surpasses the original 1978 classic. That is saying a lot considering how terrific the original "Superman" was, but I was surprised by how much more I liked number 2.

Christopher Reeve is back as the mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, and the superhero with X-ray vision and a red cape and bright red boots, known of course as Superman. In this film, Clark expresses some jealousy over Lois Lane's (Margot Kidder) infatuation with Supe Baby. After all, Superman saves her butt from being blown to kingdom come at the Eiffel Tower where some hydrogen bomb is about to detonate! Lois Lane is in love with Superman...but she senses that Clark bears some resemblance to the famous superhero. There is the Niagara Falls sequence where Clark and Lois pretend to be newlyweds, all in the service of a story for the Daily Planet. Clark fogs his glasses while being near the Falls and Lois removes them only to discover those blue eyes! After a daring child rescue by Superman where Clark is nowhere to be found in sight, Lois decides to trick Clark into saving her. She foolishly attempts to drown herself in a raging river! These scenes are superb in comic timing and pratfalls that accentuate Lois's recklessness and Clark's ability to avoid changing into Superman. I do have one question though: wouldn't heat rays through glasses cause the lenses to burn? Or maybe he lowered his glasses a bit to avoid burning them? Who cares - he is Superman after all.

The main story deals with three villains from Krypton, the leader Zod (Terence Stamp), the man-hater Ursa (Sarah Douglas), and the childlike, humongous Non (Jack O'Halloran). If you recall in the original film, the three villains were banished into the Phantom Zone by Jor-El, Superman's father. Thanks to the hydrogen bomb hurled into outer space by Superman, it explodes causing the triad to break free of their glass-shielded prison. They all discover they have superhuman powers beyond reason, can walk on the moon without a spacesuit, walk on water, deflect missiles and bullets, use their breath to create heavy winds, and, in short, rule the planet Houston, otherwise known as Earth. They can also deface Mount Rushmore by replacing former Presidents' faces with their own. So now the White House has been sieged, the President is forced to kneel before Zod, and hell on Earth has arrived. And returnee Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) decides to provide assistance to the new leaders of the world. But where is Superman? Well, he is busy wooing Lois Lane who, in a highly emotional scene, discovers Clark Kent is Superman! This means that if Superman wishes to wed and bed Lois, he must become mortal. Good timing Supe baby.

"Superman II" has one great, humorous, dramatic, dazzling sequence after another. It is great fun watching the Phantom Zone prisoners using their super powers to destroy half of New York City (though it may be politically incorrect to say such things in this post-9/11 climate, the effects are still superb). What we get is the stuff we always wanted to see from a live-action Superman film: we see Superman and villains engaged in heavy battle using heat-ray vision, utilizing their super cool breath to freeze objects, and basically punching and beating each other on city streets without hurting any of the human pedestrians. They use pothole covers, hurl each other into cultural landmark billboards or neon signs (Superman and Coca-Cola do fit together since they are both cultural landmarks), crash into the antenna at the Empire State Building, burst through office windows, and basically create havoc and destruction. A bus full of people is even used as a weapon!

But special-effects mean nothing unless they are central to the story. What director Richard Donner accomplished in the first Superman film was to recognize the human relationships in the story - we had to believe that Clark Kent and Superman had a human dimension. Ditto Lois Lane, which is what made the original so charming. This sequel ups the ante on Lois and Superman's relationship, and their love scenes are as heart-rending and poignant as they could be, given that this is essentially a comic-book story come to life. Although Donner had filmed some scenes of part II (a whole alternate version of this sequel is in existence), director Richard Lester deserves some credit for making the continuity believable since he took over after Donner was replaced (purportedly by the Salkind producers). The heart of "Superman II" is the love story between Clark and Lois - if it did not work, the movie would have been fun yet dramatically soulless.

In addition to Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder's remarkable performances, there are rich acting roles from Jackie Coogan, back again as Daily Planet editor, Perry White, E.G. Marshall as the President of the United States with an obvious toupee, Clifton James as a small-town sheriff who is dumbfounded by Zod and his cohorts, Ned Beatty's briefly hysterical turn as Otis, Lex's bumbling partner, Valerie Perrine in her extremely short return as Miss Tesmacher, and the glorious Susanah York as Superman's mother who warns Superman of losing his immortality.

"Superman II" is vibrant, smoothly paced, and exquisitely made - it is clearly a phenomenally entertaining super sequel. It expands on the characters by showing more depth, has three great villains (including the smooth wickedness of Terence Stamp), super heroic feats and battles, and a rousing ending that will make audiences cheer. More importantly, you still believe that a man can fly. The Man of Steel never had it this good.