“Frank: The Voice”– Book Review

 

This summer, I read “Frank:  The Voice” by James Kaplan – a biography of Frank Sinatra from the years 1915-1954.

Story

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey a century ago, the teenage Frank Sinatra yearned to become a singer on the level of Bing Crosby; little did the adolescent know he would eventually go on to eclipse his hero by redefining the art of recorded music and making significant contributions to American culture.  The problem, of course, was that Sinatra was up against an almost insurmountable obstacle:  Himself.  Sinatra’s unpredictable behavior in some ways made him a success but also caused his downfall.  If not for a little luck and some assistance from unlikely sources, he would’ve been forgotten altogether long ago. 

Hired by bandleader Harry James after hearing him perform at New Jersey’s Rustic Cabin in the late 1930’s, Sinatra left less than a year later to be a singer for the vastly more successful band led by Tommy Dorsey.  Mingling with knowledgeable musicians, it was there that Sinatra found his craft and audiences (mostly teenage girls known as Bobbysoxers) in turn found him.  Expressing a unique sound different from other singers of that era, Sinatra came to be known simply as “The Voice”.  But as his career surged – he eventually left Dorsey to go it alone and soon wound up moving to Hollywood to star in movies – his personal life suffered. 

Wife Nancy Barbato, Sinatra’s childhood sweetheart, was forced to raise their children pretty much on her own; when Sinatra wasn’t working, he was carousing around town either drinking with the boys or picking up women – including fellow luminaries like Lana Turner.  Sinatra ultimately met his match in movie star Ava Gardner; once he left his wife, he married Gardner – a travesty of a marriage, making the gossip columns almost daily.  His career took a hit as a result; Sinatra couldn’t get work and owed a considerable amount of money.  Offered the part of Maggio in the screen adaptation of James Jones’ novel “From Here To Eternity”, his performance won him an Academy Award.  He had traveled a long and sometimes rocky road, but by 1954, Sinatra was back!

Review

In the years since Sinatra’s death, I have read a great many biographies about the legendary singer; quite a few were rather good – the others probably could’ve been skipped.  The way in which they differed from James Kaplan’s “Frank:  The Voice” is that those other biographies were a comprehensive record of the man’s entire life while Kaplan’s book merely covered his personal and professional goings on up until 1954.  For quite some time, I procrastinated reading this book for precisely that reason.  Why did I want to read another book about Sinatra when it didn’t even finish the story?

Well, now I know my delay was a huge mistake.  The reason why Kaplan concentrated on this particular portion of the singer’s life is because previous books gave that period short shrift; thanks to the author’s extraordinary detail and impeccable research, fans of Old Blue Eyes learn a great deal more about Sinatra’s early career – including his studious approach and his erratic (and frequently obnoxious) behavior.  “Frank:  The Voice” contains a good deal of correspondence between Sinatra and colleagues whom he felt were against him when in fact they were looking out for his best interests. 

Another reason for my appreciation of this book is that it came on the heels of my having read the Ava Gardner biography, “Love Is Nothing” (reviewed here).  Although a good chunk of “Love Is Nothing” covers Gardner’s rocky relationship with Sinatra, “Frank:  The Voice” is significantly more inclusive of the nitty-gritty precisely because its focus is on the period of Sinatra’s professional life from the early 1940’s to the early 1950’s.  A good piece of work – not just a book, but a movie, a song, whatever – will always leave you wanting more.  By the very end of “Frank:  The Voice” when Sinatra collects his Academy Award, the reader is left feeling exactly that way.  Kaplan’s insightful, humorous and analytical writing adds considerably to the enjoyment; fortunately, a sequel will be published later this year, just in time for The Sinatra Centennial.   

Frank: The Voice: James Kaplan: 9780767924238: Books ISBN: 0767924231 ISBN-13: 9780767924238

“Addicted To Fresno”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a premiere of the new comedy “Addicted To Fresno”, starring Natasha Lyonne and Judy Greer.

Synopsis

When a woman accidentally kills one of her lovers, her sister tries to help dispose of the body – but after they’re blackmailed in the process, will they be able to raise enough money to keep them both out of trouble?

Story

Shannon (Greer) is stricken with a slight touch of nymphomania.  After losing her teaching job because she hooked-up with staff, faculty and students, she was forced to register as a sex offender and wound up in rehab for her addiction – unfortunately, she was eventually thrown out because of her inability to control her urges.  Thankfully, her sister Martha (Lyonne) comes to the rescue by not only housing her but also getting Shannon a job – working with her sister as a maid at a local Fresno hotel.  Luckily, Martha doesn’t share Shannon’s issues of constantly trying to have sex with random men – Martha is a lesbian. 

Succumbing to her impulses, Shannon winds up in bed with one of the hotel guests – but when Martha discovers her in flagrante delicto, Shannon denies her culpability.  In the act of wresting herself from her embarrassing predicament, Shannon inadvertently pushes her co-conspirator away a little too vigorously, causing him to die of a broken neck when he falls.  Worried they’ll lose their job and do time for murder, the sisters decide to sneak the body out of the hotel and secretly have it cremated at a local pet cemetery.  The plan is abruptly scotched when the cemetery’s manager realizes the cremation isn’t for an animal; she then offers the sisters a choice – either she can report them to the police or they can pay her $25,000 to look the other way.

Unable to raise that much money so quickly, Shannon and Martha try to devise some schemes to acquire the cash.  After an attempted robbery at a neighborhood adult toy shop fails to yield sufficient results, they decide to sell some of the stolen toys to a group of lesbians gathered at their hotel.  Coming up short even then, they plan to crash a boy’s bar mitzvah and steal the money intended as his gift.  But when they eventually realize that they’re still shy of the required funds, will the sisters be able to find a way to get the body cremated or are they doomed to spend their life evading the police? 

Review

Although “Addicted To Fresno” has some entertaining moments, the script gets off to something of a rocky start because the screenwriter apparently had some difficulty writing exposition; in this script, the conveying of information about a given character and his/her background is about as subtle as a sledgehammer.  One character tells the other information about their relationship which they both already are fully aware of; the only justification for doing so is that this is the quickest way to get the audience up to speed about who these people are – but it is not necessarily the most artful way. 

Many Hollywood movies by male filmmakers are criticized for being misogynistic – and rightly so.  “Addicted To Fresno”, however, takes things to the other unrealistic extreme; women – lesbians, in particular – are placed high on a pedestal while the men in the movie are either idiots or low-lifes (the one exception being the hotel employee who tries to develop a romantic relationship with Shannon – he, it turns out, is a poet, who Shannon originally suspects might be gay).   Another example is Shannon and Martha’s supervisor – a man who appears to suffer from Down Syndrome.  Shannon, the only major female character who’s straight, is a sex addict.  If homosexuality or lesbianism were portrayed as a mental illness, would there be a public outcry? 

Following the screening, there was a brief question and answer session with the two stars of “Addicted To Fresno” as well as the film’s writer and director.  Screenwriter Karey Dornetto said that she very loosely based the script on her relationship with her sister.  Director Jamie Babbit, Dornetto’s wife, felt that the focus of the movie was on the sense of loyalty the two sisters had for each other.  Judy Greer mentioned that this was one of the rare occasions when she was actually offered a script; she usually has to audition for roles.  Lyonne embarrassedly admitted that during a scene where her character was kissing Aubrey Plaza (who plays Martha’s trainer at a nearby gym), she may have used a wee bit of tongue. 

 

“The Visit”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club advance screening of the new M. Night Shyamalan thriller, “The Visit”.

Synopsis

After a mother sends her children to spend a week with their grandparents, will they be endangered when the elderly couple exhibits some peculiar behavior?

Story

Rebecca (Olivia DeJonge) and her younger brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) are being sent to visit their grandparents for a week while their divorced mother (Kathryn Hahn) goes on a Caribbean cruise with her latest boyfriend.  While this might normally be a less than ideal trip for early adolescents like these two, the only reason they’re even remotely interested in this is because they’ve never met their grandparents before; since their mother had a falling out with her parents many years ago, these kids are anticipating being spoiled by the grandparents they never got to know. 

The siblings nevertheless see this an inconvenience as it interrupts their more serious pursuits in life – Rebecca is an aspiring documentarian while Tyler fancies himself as the next great rap music singer who is capable of busting the sickest rhymes.  When Nana and Pop-pop (Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie) meet the kids at the train station, it’s the first time they’ve ever set eyes on each other, yet they immediately recognize their kin.  Not long after being brought to their remote Pennsylvania farmhouse, however, Rebecca and Tyler notice increasingly odd conduct that worries them considerably. 

Are these adolescents allowing their fertile imagination to run away with itself or are their grandparents really as bizarre as they appear?  On the last day of their visit, the two are so concerned about their safety that they reach out to their mother, who by now has returned home.  Once she finally reveals a horrifying secret about her parents, the three suddenly realize that the children are in immense danger the longer they remain in the house.  Can Rebecca and Tyler escape and return home safely or will they be imperiled during their stay?

Review

With a movie such as this, it’s of the utmost importance that the audience buy into the experience by totally suspending disbelief; part of the implicit contract between the audience and the filmmaker is that no questions of logic will be asked by the audience so long as the film provides the requisite moments crucial to the success of a good shriek flick (and “The Visit” certainly contains them, including the hackneyed “don’t-look-in-the-basement” scene).  For this motion picture, it is particularly imperative that the audience strictly adhere to the ask-me-no-questions philosophy because “The Visit” will not stand up to such scrutiny. 

The saving grace of “The Visit” is the fact that it also doesn’t take itself too seriously – just seriously enough to sustain the horror aspect of the genre; as for the rest of the movie, it’s sometimes quite funny.  Make no mistake, it’s no rollicking laugh-fest, but there are some amusing moments scattered about just to remind you that it’s not pretentious.  Some smart casting decisions help out considerably here, especially with respect to comedy stalwart Kathryn Hahn and the increasingly creepy Deanna Dunagan.

Speaking of the casting, the two kids are at least well cast in the sense that they do bear enough of a resemblance that they could conceivably be siblings; however, they come across as being so precocious that they occasionally border on being obnoxious (and in some instances, manage to cross that border quite effortlessly).  Whether they were playing to the way the role was written or these were choices made by the two actors may forever remain a mystery.  All of that being said, however, if you’re looking for escapist entertainment that will allow alternating between gasps and chuckles, “The Visit” may prove the appropriate choice. 

 

“A Walk In The Woods”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new comedy “A Walk In The Woods”, starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.

Synopsis

When a travel writer decides to go on one last adventure before retiring, he enlists the aid of an old friend to accompany him along the journey – but when old grudges resurface and bodies debilitated by age confront them, will they be able to complete their trip?

Story

After years of living abroad, renowned travel writer Bill Bryson (Redford) is finally learning to embrace a comfortable life with his family back home in the United States.  Following the death of an acquaintance, he is forced to re-examine things and realizes while he’s spent decades writing about different countries and remote locations around the world, he has never once written about the one subject he is presumed to know best:  his own home, America.  Unsure exactly how to rectify this, he decides that before he retires, he will travel one more time – except now, he’ll stay in his native country. 

When he tells his wife Catherine (Emma Thompson) he’s decided to hike the legendary Appalachian Trail, she demurs; concerned that it’s too late in his life for something so rigorous, she is unsuccessful in her attempts to dissuade him from the excursion.  She can at least claim something of a victory in that her husband finally admits it would be wise not to make this trip alone.  Bryson starts reaching out to various acquaintances to invite them.  Unsurprisingly, all decline – not just because the idea is ambitious and risky, but also, because walking the complete trail would take about half the year. 

Bryson is approached by Katz (Nolte), a buddy from decades earlier with whom he shared just as many adventures as misadventures; Katz offers to be his companion for the travel; since time is running out and Bryson is getting desperate, he accepts Katz’s proposition.  Despite immediately discovering Katz’s obvious physical limitations and amid concerns about his sobriety, Bryson nevertheless sets off with his former partner-in-crime on what is anticipated to be an on-foot journey of a couple of thousand miles.  But when their age, the elements and wild animals give the pair an unwelcomed greeting, will they be able to finish the hike or must they give up once faced with so many obstacles?

Review

As perfectly cast as Nick Nolte seems to be in the part of Katz, Robert Redford appears somewhat miscast as Bryson; although he certainly comes across as robust and vigorous enough to undertake a strenuous endeavor, he’s not terribly convincing as the curmudgeonly, almost hermit-like author the audience is supposed to believe him to be.  Whatever edge the character of Bryson was meant to have soon softens early on in their hike.  While the screenplay is supposed to be based on Bryson’s book, the fact that he’s tempted to extracurricular activity by flirtatious hotel manager Mary Steenburgen feels like a bit of a stretch. 

One of the problems in “A Walk In The Woods” is that it lacks sufficient conflict.  For the most part, much in the way of conflict arises from the various challenges presented by mother nature.  Given these two once-close friends are forced to be alone with each other after years of estrangement, one would expect more argumentative behavior between them as they wear on each other’s nerves while the bonhomie from their reunion understandably wears thin.  Their environment should require them to face and resolve (or not) the hostilities which drove them apart, but this is absent from the film.

Director Ken Kwapis makes some interesting – if not altogether unusual – choices in the way this story is visually told.  There are signposts along the route which the audience is clearly supposed to read, but he moves the camera off them a bit too soon; there is also a scene where Bryson is reading the messages written on the back of some postcards which employs an unnecessary use of voiceover when simply allowing the audience to read them on their own would’ve been much more effective and elicited greater humor in a motion picture that already has more than its fair share of inconsistently effective jokes. 

 

“Queen Of Earth”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended the opening night screening of the new drama, “Queen Of Earth” at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center; it stars Elisabeth Moss and was written and directed by Alex Ross Perry.

Synopsis

After suffering multiple personal losses, a woman visits a friend in order to recuperate – but when she starts experiencing mental problems, what impact will this have on their friendship?

Story

Catherine (Moss) has certainly had a rough go of it lately – between recently losing her father and just having been dumped by her long-time boyfriend, it’s quite understandable that she’s feeling stressed.  Ever the good friend, Virginia (Katherine Waterston) offers to let Catherine stay with her at her parents’ lakeside house while her family is away.  Desperate and lonely, Catherine immediately takes Virginia up on her most generous offer – which is probably where things begin to go awry.  Upon arrival, there is a palpable sense of tension between the two women.

It doesn’t take long for Virginia to notice Catherine isn’t seeming like her normal self; her erratic behavior is unnerving and worrisome – not to mention awkward when around other people who don’t know her quite so well.  To make matters worse, Catherine is creating uncomfortable situations for Rich (Patrick Fugit), Virginia’s next door neighbor who frequently visits in the hope that he can somehow manage to develop something of a romantic relationship with Virginia.  Eventually, the two don’t even bother trying to conceal their hostile feelings toward each other.

After a few days, Catherine seems to be spiraling further into a state of mental distress, locking herself in her room, refusing to eat and abandoning her own personal care.  Virginia can only take so much of this behavior before she begins to get angry at Catherine; although she claims to be deeply concerned about her friend, she is also being severely inconvenienced herself, not to mention the fact that Catherine is turning increasingly hostile to her as well.  With the two seeming to be approaching their breaking point, will their friendship survive or will Catherine’s mental condition force an irreparable rift between the two? 

Review

Enough cannot be said about how amazing Moss’ performance is in “Queen Of Earth”; the sheer expression on her face – the look in her eyes, in particular – is enough to convey the deeply-rooted level of insanity the character of Catherine is experiencing.  Add to this the fact that she is able to make Catherine seem completely normal via various flashbacks and that makes her performance all the more impressive.  Considering the fact that Catherine starts out weird and evolves progressively weirder, it’s a significant feat that Moss was able to maintain such a restrained portrayal.

As far as the movie itself, “Queen Of Earth” also seems to be suffering from its own severe personality disorder; its schizophrenia makes it appear as though it can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be a straight drama or a thriller – and the fact that it’s having difficulty finding its own identity proves a substantial problem, especially since the film has such an ambiguous ending.  Perry keeps hinting that it might be more than just a character study about how one woman deals with loss, but these merely turn out to be teases done with the intention of misdirecting the audience. 

Following the screening, writer/director Alex Ross Perry and star/co-producer Elisabeth Moss engaged in a question and answer session.  Perry said that although his last couple of films were released about a year after production, he did not consider this a particularly fast pace; for him, keeping this sort of a schedule feels about right – anything shorter and he’d feel rushed and anything longer would make him feel it was dragging on.  Since the movie was shot in chronological order (instead of out-of-sequence, which is the case with most films), Moss was asked if this and the fact that it was mostly confined to a single set made it feel like a stage play; she replied that it did not because with a play, there is commonly a month of rehearsal, which is rare with a motion picture (Moss recently starred on Broadway in a revival of “The Heidi Chronicles”). 

“Grandma”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of “Grandma”, a comedy starring Lily Tomlin.

Synopsis

When a teenager needs money for an abortion, she asks her grandmother for help – but with the woman also cash-poor, can she manage to find a way to assist her granddaughter?

Story

It’s been a year and a half since Elle (Tomlin) lost Violet, her companion of 38 years, after a long illness.  Despite that, she still doesn’t appear to be over the loss quite yet; four months into a relationship with the much-younger Olivia (Judy Greer), Elle picks a fight and dumps her.  Elle isn’t allowed to wallow in her self-pity very long when she’s visited by Sage (Julia Garner), her granddaughter.  Unfortunately for both of them, this is no social call; Sage explains that her boyfriend has knocked her up and she must borrow money for an abortion. 

With Elle low on funds herself, she nevertheless remains determined to help Sage; together, they venture out about town to see if various other people can be of some assistance.  First stop is the obvious one, Sage’s boyfriend; under threat of physical violence, he finally coughs up some cash, but not nearly enough to cover the procedure.  Then, Elle tries to sell some books from her own personal library – but once she learns that they aren’t as valuable as she believed, the plan must be abandoned.  Next, they pay a visit to Karl (Sam Elliott), Elle’s ex-boyfriend; when things did not end well between them years ago, she must grovel to get the cash – but learning of the true reason for her urgency, Karl rescinds his offer.

Left with no further alternatives, Elle and Sage realize it’s now time to seek out Sage’s mother Judy (Marcia Gay Harden), the absolutely last person on earth Sage wanted to know about her predicament.  Having had a falling-out some time back, Judy is not too pleased to see Elle; predictably, she goes ballistic upon being told of her daughter’s pregnancy, but agrees to help her regardless.  Once the situation has been addressed and Elle returns to life as normal, can she now figure out how to resolve some of the relationships that she went out of her way to ruin?

Review

Although it may be somewhat difficult to consider Paul Weitz, writer-director of “Grandma”, to be a feminist filmmaker, that is precisely how he comes across in this movie; it is so female-centric and male-phobic, one might suspect it was both conceived and executed by a woman (or at the very least, he made sure that his screenplay passed the infamous Bechdel Test prior to being lensed).  The result, however, is a movie that is trite and clichéd despite the best efforts of its excellent cast – Lily Tomlin in particular – to elevate its material. 

All of that having been said, it seems both odd and even contradictory to state that in the one scene with Sam Elliott, he steals it – if not the entire movie, it might be argued.  His performance as Karl, Elle’s lover before having met Violet, is a central point in the movie and he delivers it well; initially understated, Elliott builds a momentum in the scene before finally exploding in its emotionally powerful culmination, which also sets the story on its ear, given all of the exposition delivered.  Equally good is the ever-reliable Judy Greer, to the point that you wind up wishing her Olivia had more of a presence. 

While this may have been intended as a vehicle for Tomlin to show off her skills in what may very well be her farewell performance in movies (at least in a lead role), the character of Elle is too much of a querulous virago to garner much in the way of sympathy from the audience.  Perhaps one possible explanation for this may be the fact that since Elle is in her 70’s, she is feeling stress over her life nearing its end and is experiencing considerable regret over the way it has turned out; that may be a way of understanding why Elle misbehaves the way she does – but it could also be giving the filmmaker an unjustifiably generous benefit of the doubt. 

“Mistress America”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a sneak preview of the new comedy “Mistress America” at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center; it stars Greta Gerwig who co-wrote the screenplay with director Noah Baumbach.

Synopsis

When a college student meets her stepsister-to-be, she is impressed at her nonconformist behavior – but when the woman suspects the student of betraying her, will the relationship be permanently ruined?

Story

Tracy (Lola Kirke) is struggling through her freshman year in college – struggling to keep her grades up and struggling to make friends.  Just as she suspects there may be a budding romance with Tony (Matthew Shear), he winds up getting a girlfriend.  But Tracy has bigger plans:  she aspires to a career as a writer.  To this end, she is constantly writing and submitting material to Mobius, her school’s highly regarded literary periodical.  Distracting Tracy from both her schoolwork and personal life is that her mother (Kathryn Erbe) is remarrying.  With an impending wedding, Tracy decides to reach out to Brooke (Gerwig), the 30 year old woman who will soon be her stepsister.

From the moment Tracy first meets Brooke in Times Square, she is awestruck by this self-proclaimed autodidact who never attended college.  Her entrepreneurial spirit and devil-may-care attitude cut an impressive figure for this impressionable young woman.  Together, these two women spend the evening painting the town red; they hang out at bars, attend parties and meet new people before calling it quits with Tracy crashing at Brooke’s place.  Upon awakening the next morning, Tracy realizes that not only is she going to like having Brooke as a stepsister, but she may have also found herself a new heroine as well. 

As it turns out, Tracy may have found Brooke to be an inspiration for her writing, too.  She soon composes a short story which is her latest submission to Mobius; in it, the protagonist bears a striking resemblance to Brooke.  When Brooke accidentally learns of this abridged roman-a-clef, she is both hurt and insulted; not only is the main character portrayed in what she believes to be an unattractive fashion, but also, she feels that Tracy has used her purely for the sole purpose of advancing her standing.  With Tracy now on the outs with Brooke, can she repair their relationship before their respective parents wed or will they remain enemies forever? 

Review

Whether Noah Baumbach sees comparisons between himself and Woody Allen as a compliment or an albatross may never be fully knowable, however, the similarities are striking.  Both are filmmakers with an exceptional string of good movies to their credit and they excel at comedy; both have or had a girlfriend who served double-duty as a muse (for Baumbach, it’s Gerwig while Allen had Diane Keaton).  Both make very New York films.  But one thing Baumbach has that Allen doesn’t is a keen eye and ear for crafting stories that are very much tuned to a modern 21st century audience. 

If you’re looking for a fun screwball comedy to keep you cool on these dwindling hot summer days, you won’t do much better than “Mistress America”; it is packed with so many hilariously funny lines, quoting only one would be an unforgiveable spoiler.  In Brooke, Gerwig and Baumbach have succeeded in creating a character who is simultaneously pretentious and vacuous in addition to being laughable in her boorishness.  Ultimately, this woman is confronted with recognizing herself as being the loser that she truly is, despite the hapless façade she chooses to display publicly. 

Following the screening, both Gerwig and Baumbach were interviewed.  Gerwig said that while she tries to keep the performing and writing aspects separate when she’s developing a character, she admitted that inevitably, one winds up informing the other.  As far as the character of Tracy is concerned, Gerwig claimed that she based much of it on herself when she was going to college at Barnard, where she originally wanted to become a dancer, not an actress.  Baumbach said that he prefers to try to keep the budget for his movies approximately the same; while this obviously imposes certain limitations on him, he feels that it also provides certain freedom as well (such as spending more time on specific shots). 

 

“Ricki And The Flash”– Movie Review

 

 

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new comedy-drama, “Ricki And The Flash” starring Meryl Streep, directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Diablo Cody.

Synopsis

When a woman visits her family after abandoning them years earlier to pursue a music career, will she be able to repair the relationships she’s broken by her choice?

Story

Decades ago, Ricki Randazzo (Streep) started a family with her then-husband Pete (Kevin Kline): two sons, Adam (Nick Westrate) and Josh (Sebastian Stan) and one daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer). Still unfulfilled, she divorced Pete and left the family to start a career as a rock-and-roll singer. Joining a band called The Flash, they play cover songs by famous rock bands and perform in bars throughout California to small audiences of varying ages. Although never finding success after all of these years, Ricki is nevertheless happy living this lifestyle, despite the fact that she has to support herself by making a meager living as a cashier at a supermarket chain.

Having not heard from her family in quite some time, Ricki is surprised to suddenly get a call from Pete, who insists she visit because Julie recently attempted suicide. Ricki breaks the news to the band’s lead guitarist Greg (Rick Springfield) that she must leave town due to a family emergency and heads off to Indianapolis for a brief family reunion. Once there, none of her adult children are happy to see her, including and especially Julie, who is now heavily medicated and under the care of a psychiatrist. Julie explains the reason for her suicide attempt was due to her husband leaving her for another woman.

Later, when Pete’s wife Maureen (Audra McDonald) shows up and proves to Ricki that she has been quite capable of providing the domestic stability Ricki could not, Maureen has a tête–à–tête with Ricki and advises her that she is no longer wanted or needed in this family and that her presence is a mere distraction during an otherwise difficult time. Angrily, Ricki returns to her band to continue their low-paying gigs when Maureen attempts a peace offering by inviting her to Josh’s upcoming wedding. Can a conflicted Ricki attend the wedding or will she permanently put her family behind her forever?

Review

With Meryl Streep starring, Jonathan Demme directing and Diablo Cody crafting the screenplay, it is both shocking and disappointing that “Ricki And The Flash” comes across as nothing more than a made-for-TV movie that has big names attached. Cody’s comedy is very hit-or-miss and there are many opportunities for more jokes that are missed altogether. Streep and Demme appear to be onboard for this solely because of the music angle. Streep singing in her rock-hound character and Demme shooting a variant of a musical. The other thing these two appear to have in common is their nepotistic hiring practices: judging from the credits, Demme seems to have employed some of his family while Streep has her real-life daughter playing her movie-daughter.

Streep seems to go overboard emoting during the numbers, rather than merely perform them, which probably would’ve been a more realistic performance (and considerably less cringe-worthy). As far as the way the music scenes are shot, there does not appear to be anything creative or inventive Demme adds to them; aside from occasional close-ups of some of Springfield’s guitar solos, there’s really not much interesting to watch there. Cody’s screenplay wants us to believe that Ricki has been beaten up enough throughout the movie that she deserves a happy ending of some sort, but the resolution of the story is really not terribly believable.

“Ricki And The Flash” is very much a woman’s tale in the sense that it asks the question of why a woman will be shamed for leaving her family to pursue a different lifestyle whereas a man who did the same thing might be commended. Unfortunately, this movie is built on a false premise and seems to suddenly become somewhat aware of it too late. Any sort of edge Diablo Cody may have had in her writing appears to have been lost, or at the very least, missing in this particular script. The story here seems to have been kidnapped by The Movie Reality Of Magical Thinking and contrivances abound. 

 

“The Diary Of A Teenage Girl”– Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a New York Times Film Club screening of the new drama “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” starring Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård.

Synopsis

When a teenage girl discovers her sexual awakening, how will it impact her life with family and friends?

Story

As a teenager in the hip, funky era of the mid-1970’s, Minnie (Bel Powley) is starting to become aware of her own sexuality. An unfortunate by-product of this is the fact that she is finding herself being drawn to Monroe (Skarsgård), who just so happens to be the boyfriend of her mother, Charlotte (Wiig). Unsure if Monroe is attracted to her, Minnie boldly comes on to him at the first opportunity when they are alone; seeing that he’s receptive to her advances, they decide to go for it. Delighted at having finally lost her virginity -- and especially that it was with such an experienced man as Monroe -- Minnie decides to make an audio recording of her adventure so that she will have it for posterity.

Pascal (Christopher Meloni), Minnie’s father, is deeply concerned about his daughter’s well-being. After the divorce, Pascal moved to New York City. Although he calls periodically to inquire about her situation, Pascal suspects Charlotte’s irresponsible behavior may be having a negative impact on Minnie. Pascal starts hinting it would be best if Minnie moved to New York where he could keep a closer eye on her. When Minnie starts expanding her circle of friends to include sexual experimentation with young men and women closer to her own age, Monroe begins to feel they should end their affair because it may be bad for her and also harmful to his relationship to Charlotte.

The love triangle implodes when Charlotte finds and listens to Minnie’s audio tapes graphically detailing her sexual encounters with Monroe. Charlotte confronts them and decides they should be together. Unnerved by this, Charlotte immediately runs away, crashing with a friend she made one night while out partying. After a few days, things take a turn for the weird and she regretfully returns home to learn Charlotte is now unemployed (leaving her more time for drinking and drugs) and has dumped Monroe. With things having changed so drastically and dramatically, can Minnie repair her relationship with Charlotte or will she be forced to live with Pascal in New York City?

Review

Perhaps it’s an interesting coincidence that “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” is set in 1976 San Francisco because based on the way the movie is shot, its quality resembles that of a porn flick from that precise time and place. It is also coincidental that the use of animation and subplots about hallucinogenic drugs of the time are employed because of the film’s digressive nature. This might also account for why some things in the motion picture don’t quite parse (e.g., Why did Charlotte carry groceries upstairs when coming home? Is the kitchen in their house on the second floor? Also, how exactly did Charlotte find Minnie’s tapes? Did she stumble across them while cleaning her room or just snooping around?).

Although “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” is slightly over an hour and a half, there is the remarkable sense that its running time is much longer. A little more than an hour into the film, you may find yourself wondering not just how this story will resolve itself, but when it will end. Boredom sets in after a while once you’ve been pelted with just about every unusual situation imaginable. As it nears the end of the second act, it begins to either lose steam or lose interest in its own story; whatever momentum it may have had up until that point seems as though it gets lost, quite possibly out of sheer exhaustion.

Admittedly, “The Diary Of A Teenage Girl” may be similar to Lena Dunham’s HBO television series “Girls” in the sense that it might be somewhat wasted on anyone other than its target audience: women -- and more specifically, young women. If you are not part of that demographic -- either by gender or age, if not both -- then this might not necessarily seem like the most appealing entertainment option. Additionally, there is the matter of how Minnie relates to Monroe after their affair concludes; she comes across as somewhat bitter and angry at him and it’s a little unclear why, since they both appeared to satisfy a deep-seated need the other had. Whether Minnie is better or worse by the end of the motion picture could also be a matter of opinion.

“Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing”– Book Review

 

This summer, I’ve been reading, “Ava Gardner:  Love Is Nothing” – a biography by Lee Server.

Story

On Christmas Eve of 1922, Ava Gardner was born into a family of modest means in the small southern town of Grabtown, North Carolina.  If only men knew at the time what trouble they would be in for in decades to come.  In her late teens, Ava visited her much-older sister Beatrice (nicknamed “Bappie”) in New York City, which turned out to be a major turning point in her life.  A friend of Bappie’s was a professional photographer who recognized a striking young woman when he saw one:  he asked Ava to pose for a photograph that he could put in the window of his shop – and when it was noticed by an executive from the MGM motion picture company, Ava soon got a screen test and was offered an acting contract.  Not long after, she and her sister were off to Los Angeles to prove to the world what a big deal she was. 

After a few small roles, Ava finally got her big break when she appeared as a femme fatale opposite another Hollywood newcomer, Burt Lancaster, in “The Killers”, an adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway short story.  Eventually, she was on her way to be known as one of the sexiest movie stars in the motion picture business (although not much was made of her acting ability at the time; MGM had to give her speech lessons to rid Gardner of her southern accent).  Ava’s first marriage was to another MGM employee, actor Mickey Rooney, who by then was already a major star; he was also a major womanizer, which was why the marriage didn’t last very long.  Ultimately, Ava remarried – this time to bandleader Artie Shaw, who emotionally/psychologically abused her, effectively ending that marriage, too (he would belittle her in front of others because of her limited education).  In better days, Shaw memorialized their sex life by penning a song titled, “The Grabtown Grapple”. 

Her final – and arguably most notorious – marriage was to singer Frank Sinatra.  They were an explosive pair and separated for a long time before eventually divorcing (several reconciliations were attempted at various points).  Although Gardner never married again, she and Sinatra remained on again/off again lovers for years after.  Having lost her interest in acting, she took fewer and fewer roles starting in the 1960’s and by the following decade was semi-retired; she only took jobs when her bank account dipped a little too low.  Her last jobs were television work in the 80’s; toward the end of that decade, she fell ill and her health went into slow decline before finally passing away at the age of 67 in 1990, about a month after her last birthday. 

Review

This book could just as easily have been titled, “Ava Gardner:  Wotta Woman!” not only because she was a great beauty but also because she was a real handful for all of her acquaintances – but especially the men in her life with whom she had plenty of romances.  The only thing more impressive than the many adventures in Gardner’s life is the list of men she had, both famous and obscure.  Some she left a wreck (like Sinatra) and some left her a wreck (like Shaw and George C. Scott, who had an affair with her during filming of “The Bible”, in which they got into many drunken brawls which resulted in her taking a beating at his hands). 

Author Lee Server has not only put together an entertaining book – at 500 pages, it really flew by – but also one that was extraordinarily well-researched.  The level of detail – including Gardner’s family background and the number of quotes from friends and colleagues – is most impressive indeed.  There are two sections of photographs; if there is any quibble with the book, it is here, albeit a minor one.  Missing are photos from Gardner’s childhood; also, all of the pictures are in black and white, even the ones from later years, so that’s a bit of a disappointment (but one that can be easily overlooked). 

If you are looking for a good beach read for what remains of the summer (or are planning a winter vacation where you’re expecting to be beach-side), “Love Is Nothing” would be an excellent choice; by the way, the book’s title is derived from a portion of a quote from Gardner when a friend asked the actress about her love life, “Love is nothing but a pain in the ass”, she replied.  This bold woman was a feminist before it was fashionable; she lived her life on her own terms and spoke bluntly.  While married to the scrawny Sinatra, she was asked, “What do you see in that 120 pound runt?”; Gardner’s pithy answer was, “He may be only 120 pounds, but 20 of those pounds are pure c*ck!”.  Ava Gardner was a woman as refreshing as a taste of watermelon on a hot summer afternoon.

Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing": Lee Server: 9780312312107: Books ISBN: 0312312105 ISBN-13: 9780312312107

When Ava Gardner appeared on the old TV game show “What’s My Line?” back in 1953: