Tall tales resonate over reality

BIG FISH (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 2003)

"Big Fish" is a spasmodically engaging fantasy that yearns to be more. Call it magical realism to the nth degree or a further attempt to deconstruct fantasy from reality, Tim Burton's flair and sleight-of-hand playfulness is certainly more evident than ever. And it is a delight to have him back, in full Burtonian form.

Adapted from a 1998 novel, "Big Fish" begins with Senior Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) reminiscing about his past to children around a campfire, at parties and to anyone else that wants to listen. Edward's stories involve giants invading small towns and eating sheep, a ringmaster who turns into a wolf, a witch with an eye that can foretell the future, big fishes caught and then released, a small perfect, dreamlike town called Spectre, bank robberies run afoul, and so on. They are embellished tales, or tall tales if you like, and Edward relishes every word he says with utmost glee. Everyone seems engaged by his stories except his son, Will (Billy Crudup), a journalist who wishes his father would tell him the truth just once. He knows the details of these stories almost as well as his father does.

The film has flashbacks to these tall tales, and this is where director Tim Burton is engaged and coiled in tightly - sheer fantasy with loopy, colorful backdrops are his forte. The tales stay with you. Who can forget the giant who has a heart after all? And how about the ringmaster (Danny De Vito) who takes a chance on the giant and uses him as part of his act? The witch who lives in a house surrounded by fog and darkness, an Edward Scissorhands relative maybe? Speaking of good old Eddie and his incisors, there is the clean-cut image of Edward Bloom selling hand-shaped contraptions that can be used for anything. By the way, Young Edward Bloom is wonderfully played by Ewan McGregor, who shows his range in playing an Everyman with flaws. How anyone associates this character with Forrest Gump, as mentioned by some critics, is beyond me except that Ed goes through an incredibly vivid journey, albeit a lot weirder than anything Gump ever went through.

The town of Spectre is the centerpiece of the film, and an unusually surreal place that seems hidden from the world (it reminded of stories where ghost towns in New Jersey still seem perfectly preserved). In Spectre, happiness is everywhere, and people like poet Norther Winslow (Steve Buscemi) can delight in writing bad poetry (the joke is he spends ten years writing one stanza that would shun him from the poetry world completely). Spectre almost looks like a town from a Western, and nobody is allowed to wear shoes. Edward inadvertently finds himself in this glorious place, but then he realizes he has bigger goals and bigger ambitions after leaving his own hometown. Spectre, though, is a place Edward can't and won't forget, though I'd hate to ruin the surprise for you.

"Big Fish" is toned-down Burton mechanics so do not expect the whiz-bang effects or the rousing nature of "Batman" or the melancholic chaos of "Edward Scissorhands." The ending is sad but also optimistic, a rarity for Burton. My biggest gripe is that, excepting the grand Albert Finney, the present day sequences are almost a bore, lacking any of the freshness and imaginative spin in the flashbacks. Though one can suspect that reality is always more boring than fantasy, this is still a movie - and reality is not always so bland and dull. Another problem is the lack of real depth in any of the characters. Edward Bloom is a cipher and should be depicted as such in the tall tales, but in reality, what kind of man is he really? His son, Will, is given zilch in terms of how he really feels about his father and mother - only wanting his father to tell the truth doesn't cut it. At least one scene where Ed and Will really talk to each other might have helped - their one scene at a hospital is not as revelatory as one might hope. And Ed's wife, Sandra (played as a teenager by Alison Lohman, and as an adult by Jessica Lange) barely registers as anything except a token role, and a thankless one at that.

Still, "Big Fish" is often amazingly entertaining, funny and whimsical, and keeps us captivated waiting to see what happens. The romantic notion in this film is that tall tales can keep us from losing our own interest in reality, which is not as much fun. Edward Bloom wants to live on with the fantasy, not the reality. The trick is in keeping our realities just as close to the heart, because we are living them. If only Burton had examined this further, he would have had bigger fish to fry.

First of a slew of Burton's reimaginings

PLANET OF THE APES (2001)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I am not a huge fan of the original "Planet of the Apes" but I do recognize its place in pop culture history in its upfront look at civil rights and impending nuclear doom as told through a science-fiction scenario. Still, as a movie, it was entertaining but also fairly cheesy and campy with a grand, majestic and overblown performance by Charlton Heston. No one would ever mistake the original "Apes" as the latest example in subtlety. Tim Burton's "reimagining" of "Planet of the Apes" is also fairly fun, campy and cheesy but it lacks urgency and a real stroke of imagination.

Mark Wahlberg has the Heston role, this time as an Air Force pilot named Leo who loves to work with chimpanzees. One beloved chimpanzee operates a pod that goes through some nebulous cloud and disappears. Wahlberg goes after the chimpanzee in another pod and crash lands in some strange planet populated by apes who talk. In this planet, the humans are slaves to the apes, and Wahlberg is the latest intrusion as he becomes a personal servant to them. He meets with several human slaves including Kris Kristofferson, who quickly disappears from the movie, and Estella Warren as the latest Raquel Welch model in blonde curls and fittingly precious clothing. She is so severely underwritten that we forget her function in the story, outside of making goo-goo eyes at Wahlberg.

The apes include Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), a rebellious thinker who believes in equal rights for all species and falls for Wahlberg; the raging General Thades (Tim Roth), a murderous, rampaging, glowering ape who wants to destroy all humans; the stoic Colonel Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan) who follows Thades every command, and Paul Giamatti as Limbo, the con-artist who is only interested in saving his own neck. There is also a powerful cameo by Charlton Heston (!) as Thades's dying father who wishes all humans extinct.

Most of this is fun to watch and the visual style is dead-on with its view of shadowy woodlands and arid desertscapes in this ape world. I also like the finale where the apes run after the humans on all fours, ready for combat. All the actors do a superior job of portraying apes in both body language and gestures. The human characters are less prone to such credibility, but that says a lot for any action blockbuster post-"Jurassic Park." One crucial difference from the original "Apes" is that the humans here can speak English whereas in the original they could not speak one word, even Heston who you may recall could not utter a syllable for at least an hour into the film. The idea of apes feeling superior to the human race is all lost here.

The movie is an impersonal misfire at best, an attempt by Tim Burton to show he can do a workmanlike job directing other people's ideas. Any capable director could have done an efficient job with this project, so why did the man who created Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee's strange adventure helm this except to gain respect in an industry that does not reward its own artists? True, Burton also helmed "Batman" and its first sequel but both were molded under his own personal vision - a world where he shares an understanding and compassion for freaks.

None of Burton's touches are evident in "Planet of the Apes," which not so much remakes the original as much as reiterate it. What we have is a bland, undefined hero who accepts apes matter-of-factly, truly nefarious villains, some good special-effects, plenty of ironic, self-aware gags and catchphrases, and a roughly implausible though not wholly surprising finale that seems to make room for a sequel. So, yes, you are likely to be entertained but cineastes will be left pondering the following question: Where is Tim Burton?

Usual Risky Business that breaks the heart

THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN (1982)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Of all the early teenybopper sex comedies that consumed the early 1980's, "The Last American Virgin" is probably one of the funniest...and one of the saddest. Not even the highly acclaimed "Risky Business" ever got this downright dirty and gritty...that is to say, to end all the fun and games with a downbeat ending. Yep, it is downbeat yet somewhat hopeful - I'll get back to that later.

Three supremely horny teenagers, Gary (Lawrence Monoson), heavyset David (Joe Rubbo) and the smooth and charming Rick (Steve Antin), are on a sexual conquest. This movie is set in the pre-AIDS era so that means these teens have unprotected sex and the worst thing that happens to them is contracting crabs! Gary is more interested in finding love as he sets his eyes on Karen (Diane Franklin), an ingenue whom he cannot stop gazing upon. Naturally, the toxic charmer Rick also has his eyes on her, presumably to deflower her and nothing more. Gary can't stop gazing and hopes to achieve intimacy.

Written and directed by Boaz Davidson (who also helmed the Israeli-set "Lemon Popsicle" of which this film is a remake of), "The Last American Virgin" may seem shocking in today's climate because of its frank nudity and explicit sexual situations - these kids are not in the same vein as "American Pie's" teens or what has followed later. I still venture to think that teenagers of any era are preoccupied with things other than sex, but that is just me. When these kids have sex, even the heavyset kid has fun, no holds barred. A lovely Spanish teacher who orders pizza (Gary works at a pizza joint) has a romp in the hay with two of the teens. The trio even get themselves a red-headed prostitute, but it is Gary whose thoughts are elsewhere. Nevertheless, before the film dives into serious territory involving abortion, there is fun to be had. The teenagers measure their penile size, dance and party hard to Devo's "Whip it" (played twice in the film) and other hits by the Police and the Gleaming Spires, lure girls to Gary's house for sex by promising cocaine (which is actually Sweet and Low) and merrily get drunk on Jack Daniels. The movie has a kick to it, you can almost dance to the film as if it was a live concert.

Among Diane Franklin fans and fans of the film, "Last American Virgin's" ending has caused a bit of a stir and a lot of consternation. I will not reveal the ending yet, suffice to say, it involves a love lost between two characters that is shocking and suitably realistic. I can say that the male teenager who faces a heartbreaking disappointment may learn from it in the future - he is only a teenager who will slowly mature. Despite the seriousness of it all, the movie has a pulse and it is helped by engaging actors and comical situations (awkwardly asking the pharmacist for medication to cure crabs, running into your crush "accidentally," peering into bathroom holes at naked girls, etc.). When the film is over, you'll remember Lawrence Monoson's gaze and gaping mouth and Diane Franklin's ever so sweet and soulful self. The movie is no groundbreaker in the "Porky's" mold or the other inferior copycats that followed, but it is far more entertaining than most other Palm Beach spring breakers. And there is that ending.  

Canine Shocker

FRANKENWEENIE (2012)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie" is a return to the director's roots in the bizarre world of freaks and monsters using fantastic, unbelievable stop-motion animation. I will not say it is a complete success - it is no "Nightmare Before Christmas" or "Corpse Bride" - but it is suitably fine entertainment and freakish enough to warrant a mild recommendation.

Based on Tim Burton's own short film from the 80's that was rejected by Disney (now Disney bares its name on it), "Frankenweenie" takes place in a black-and-white suburbia where young Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) loves his dog, Sparky, and often casts the canine in short films he makes (no doubt a hint of Tim Burton's own youth at work here). One tragic day, Sparky runs down a street and is hit by a car. Victor can't let go until he gets the idea through his stern, open-minded science teacher (voiced by Martin Landau) to use electricity to bring back Sparky. If it can work with a frog, then maybe that dog will be back barking soon enough. It is a fun concept, perfect for Burton to craft humor out of the macabre. Except, this time, the humor is barely there.

Almost all the characters are far too macabre, even by Burton's standards. The strange girl with wide eyes and a cat who dreams and poops (each of the poops foretells her classmates' futures) looks ready to kill with a cleaver. Some of the other kids who are working on science projects either look like Boris Karloff's children or Hitler's minions (why they all have thick European accents is beyond me unless this is an homage to all the wild, thick accents we hear in James Whale's classic "The Bride of Frankenstein"). The Igor-inspired nutcase who brings back his dead goldfish is a wacky and wonderful character but then we hear Winona Ryder voicing the girl-next-door who looks suspiciously like the Goth girl she played in "Beetlejuice." I can only take so much of a soft-spoken Winona.

"Frankenweenie" is hardly unmemorable and fitfully entertaining but I would've loved more of Burton's humorous touches. There are some wicked and imaginative sequences strewn throughout (including the inspired idea of having all the kids bring back their dead pets to life) but why does everyone look so emaciated and droopy, that is judging from their faces alone? Aside from the lively pooch (the best character in the movie), the characters themselves need a jolt of electricity as well.

Close Encounters of the Historical Kind

BILL AND TED's EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

When I first saw "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" on VHS in 1990, I didn't get it. The humor seemed slapdash and infantile, Bill and Ted were simply dumb, and the situations were lacking in any real zest or invention. After all, this was a time-travel comedy and it was not funny or even remotely comical given the premise. Times change and when I saw the movie again after twenty-plus years, I surprised myself in that I found it consistently funny and spirited. This does not mean I have a discovered a comic gem but it is far better than I thought. Maybe I just had a bad day when I first saw.

Alex Winter is Bill and Keanu Reeves is Ted, and they are the members of a band (Wyld Stallyns) that could benefit from the talents of Eddie Van Halen (and they should learn to play instruments since all they do is play air guitar). Bill and Ted are high-school seniors who are failing History class and unless they pass with an A+, they will flunk. All these two want to do is party, rock out to music and hang out at the Circle K convenient store. Suddenly, a Doctor Who-like phone booth materializes out of thin air and we are introduced to Rufus (George Carlin), a cool dude from the future. Rufus insists that the dim-witted pair travel through time in the phone booth time machine, snatch actual historical people thru the ages and bring them to the present. Bill and Ted bring along Abraham Lincoln, Beethoven, Billy the Kid, Socrates (referred to as So Crates) Joan of Arc and others so they can make their oral history final exam stand out and earn their A+.

Amazingly, I found myself laughing throughout at the sheer silliness of it. How can you hate a movie where Ted waves at Napoleon who is busy firing cannons? How can you hate a movie when Joan of Arc does an aerobics class at a mall, or Beethoven uses a synthesizer and composes electrifying music? How can you hate a movie when Bill and Ted find two bodacious babes from the past and one of them is played by Diane Franklin? The special-effects are zany, Reeves and Winter make for a cheerful pair of thoughtless dudes and it is always nice to see Bernie Casey who plays the history teacher. True, more time could have been spent with the historical icons, giving the actors more to do than the one-dimensional characteristics they portray. The one bit that falters a little involves Napoleon, who is taken to the mall to eat ice cream! This war general should be hopping mad and developing strategies to start his own little war.

The movie has a sweet, simple innocence to it and, oddly, ends with Bill and Ted developing a hint of intelligence (they also decide to learn to play instruments). It is a harmless, pleasurable way to spend 90 minutes with these guys, minus any hardcore gross gags or too many sexual connotations of any kind (the 1991 sequel is just as spirited). The movie gets off on the simple silliness of it all and all you want to do after it is over is to shout, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "Party on dudes!"

'I don't want any trouble'

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 2005 - one of the best films of the 2000 decade)

In this jaded day and age, it is discomforting to know that audiences are not susceptible to morality plays about violence. Nope, audiences want violence to be devoid of morality, to be placed in a cartoonish context where people die and nobody gives a damn. That would be 2005's "Sin City," a relentless assault on the senses with gratuitous, sting-less violence. Leave it to David Cronenberg to helm a meditative, spellbindingly intense, slow-moving character study of violence in these trying times.

Viggo Mortensen is Tom Stall, a beloved figure in a small Indiana town. He runs a diner with two dutiful employees, and he's married to Edie (Maria Bello) and has two kids. It is the perfect idyllic existence, living a simple, placid life - you almost think that he was born and raised in this town. One night while closing up the diner, two strangers demand a cup of coffee from Tom. He refuses and a gunfight ensues that is about as abrupt and lightning-paced as you can imagine - you've seen this scene many times but not with such unbridled energy. Tom and his co-workers survive the ordeal, leaving the two strangers dead. He is hailed as a hero in town and in the media. This event catches the attention of Carl Fogaty (Ed Harris), a Philadelphia mobster who is convinced that Tom is Joey Cusack, a former killer. Tom tries to convince Carl and his henchmen that he is not Joey but they can't be fooled. Even Tom's wife begins to doubt her husband's innocence. After all, how can a diner owner defend himself with such skill when he's never handled a gun?

"A History of Violence" is not merely a mystery that is solved before the end credits - it is about the roots of violence and how it can affect a family. In this case, it is cyclical. Tom's bravery emits something rare in his son Jack (Ashton Holmes), a high-school teenager who is frequently bullied in school. Jack never resorted to violence until one day, he punches and kicks two hateful bullies. Ironically, the bullies sue him for broken noses. Would Jack have ever reacted in such a way had it not been for his father's own actions?

Tom is not a superhero either or your typical Everyman. This media event has sparked something in him, perhaps a latent propensity for violence. He is consumed by this event, so much that it impairs his judgment, his concentration, his marriage, etc. Is Tom really Joey or are the mobsters confusing him for somebody that resembles Tom? Or maybe the mobsters consider him prime material for a hired killer?

"A History of Violence" is unusual fare for director David Cronenberg, especially when he's normally concerned with flesh and bodily fluids. Then I remembered that Cronenberg has occasionally wandered from his primary obsessions with film as disparate as "M. Butterfly" and "The Dead Zone." "A History of Violence" is remarkably restrained filmmaking with a beautifully modulated performance by Viggo Mortensen. It is this restraint that puts a hold on you and keeps you in suspense for most of the film. Once the mystery is solved of Tom's possible identity, you think the film is over. And then it ventures into an unforgettable climax that revolves around the most domestic of all settings: the family dinner table. I'll not say more than that but the film leaves you astonished and breathless.

Back to Mortensen, he gives the performance of his life. I first noticed Viggo Mortensen in 1991's "The Indian Runner" where he played a psychotic soldier who was prone to violence. Mortensen's Tom Stall is a fitting counterpart to the soldier he played in "Indian Runner," though more muted but never less than an emotional powerhouse. You want to believe Tom is an innocent man being tallied for crimes he may never have committed. And when the truth is discovered, you still believe in Tom as an Everyman who wants to reset his life in the state of normalcy he had. It is a stirring, provocative, humanistic performance.

Kudos must also go to Ed Harris as the most restrained of all mobsters I've seen on film, Maria Bello (a normally unimpressive actress) lending more insight than usual to the traditional wife role, William Hurt in a villainous role that has more bite than the villain he played in "Trial By Jury" and finally, Ashton Holmes as Jack, Tom's son, who questions his own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to using aggression.

"A History of Violence" is based on a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, and the movie has comic-book-style violence only in the sense of how stylized it appears to be, when in fact it is far more physical and realistic. But we realize that is the point: to keep us on edge about Tom's identity. His idyllic existence has been threatened, and what would any normal man do to protect his family from the threat? How does one protect themselves and survive if not through violence or some form of aggression? Audiences may not be interested in the antihero but Cronenberg and Mortensen have brought him back with pungent style and dramatic weight. I will not easily forget Tom Stall and nor should you.

Einsteins of the 1980's

REAL GENIUS (1985)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
(Originally viewed in 1985)

The 1980's is relatively known for having dead teenagers in slasher films or dumb teenagers in ski resorts or fraternity parties, sometimes exposing their sexual organs through bathroom walls. But there were also films where we had smart teenagers, especially "Risky Business," "WarGames," John Hughes pictures, "The Manhattan Project," and of course "Real Genius." "Real Genius" is not made up of any genius comedy writers but it is exceedingly funny, sweet-tempered and generally great fun. Even a party scene in a pool isn't played up with slow-motion shots of women's butts or bouncing breasts. This movie has a genteel innocence to it and that makes it special and rewarding.

15-year-old Mitch Taylor (Gabriel Jarret) has been accepted into Pacific Tech, a university full of math-science whiz kids. Mitch has been selected to work on a laser beam project with a slacker genius named Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), who believes that pranks and general laziness can help offset tension from vigorous class studies. William Atherton is the arrogant Professor Jerry Hathaway who hopes that Mitch and Chris can help develop a powerful new high-energy laser. The purpose of this laser is unknown to the students - the good professor has been hired by the CIA to develop a laser that can be used as a weapon. Meanwhile, we get pranks galore in the dormitories such as hallway floors of ice, liquid nitrogen used to make quarters for vending machines, a car placed inside a room (still can't figure out how they managed that one), an explosive apple, lasers leading to a pool party, etc.

"Real Genius" is written by Neal Israel and Pat Proft (both helmed the occasionally smile-inducing "Bachelor Party") who have crafted delirious and outrageous subject matter and play it with a relaxed and laid-back tone. There is no obstructive camerawork either - the movie simply observes these geniuses and lets us marvel at their eccentricities. Mitch is possibly the most normal student yet he is occasionally the brunt of all jokes as in his recorded phone call to his mother that is played in the speakers at the cafeteria (oh, that would be humiliating). Michelle Mayrink is the nervous insomniac who can't even catch up with her own thoughts. Most intriguing is Jon Gries as a former genius student, the smartest of all time, who lives in a closet! I would have loved to learn more about him but at 108 minutes, there is only so much you can reveal. Deborah Foreman fans will love seeing her as someone whom Chris flirts with - her dialogue alone is priceless.

The coup de grace, though, is Val Kilmer as Chris, who gives his role and the movie a major dose of adrenaline - he is a high-wire, electrified presence who just wants to have fun and party with all the babes. Kilmer is intoxicating to watch and one wonders why he didn't get the chance to do more comedies. Kilmer also grounds his character in a reality base - "We have to get even with Kent (a nerd adversary). It is a moral imperative."

"Real Genius" also has the hallmarks of other Smart Teenager Movies - it assumes that adults are dolts and that the kids, with their vast knowledge of computers, math and science, will take over. Study hard kids, but also have fun while doing it. Not a bad message.