The Drew Barrymore Movie That Riffed On Peter Bogdanovich’s Love Life

Sophisticated cinema connoisseur and dapper director Peter Bogdanavich, who passed away this week, inspired indie filmmakers, like Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach; the many movie critics who dream, and have dreamed of making movies themselves, and folks who wear a bandana around their neck like it’s an ascot.

But a 1984 rom com, IRRECONCIBLE DIFFERENCES, starring Ryan ‘O Neal, Shelly Long, and Drew Barrymore, then a hot commodity because of E.T., used more than an outline of Bogdanovich’s scandalous love life in the ‘70s to beef up the backgrounds of a fame-seeking married couple who are getting sued for divorce by their daughter.

Let’s start with ‘O Neal in the Bogdanovich role. This makes some sort of sense, as O’Neal starred in three of Bogdanovich’s films. O’Neal’s character, Albert Brodsky, earned a Doctorate of cinema at NYU, then had a thesis published which led to an offer for a professorship at UCLA. O’Neal, who plays the part perfectly with crack comic timing and a palpable on-point pathos, his Brodsky hits the road to Los Angeles to accept the job, and pursue his dream of becoming a director.

 

Bogdanovich also started in New York, working as a programmer of films at the Modern Museum of Art, and writing movie criticism for Esquire. In the mid ‘60s, Bogdanovich and his wife, Polly Platt (1939-2011), moved to LA to pursue his dream of becoming a director.

Both film historians, Bogdanovich and Brodsky meet an influential grey-haired director/producer – in Bogdanovich’s case, cult legend Roger Corman; in Brodsky’s case, David Kessler (Sam Wanamaker) - through which they get their first big breaks.

 

Alongside Brodsky is Long as Lucy Van Patten, an aspiring children-books writer. While her husband is struggling with a screenplay, she works on getting her real estate license, but she quits that to help with screenplay and becomes its co-writer.

 

Except for the c0-writing, Bogdanovich’s spouse, Platt, has little in common with her big screen counterpart. While a hitch-hiking Allen met Lucy on a muddy road out in the middle of Indiana, Peter met Polly in summer stock in New York, but they did drive across country together to the same destination. 

 

As Peter (I’ve decided to go with the principals’ first names from here on), learned the ropes as an auteur, Polly became a highly acclaimed production designer, and worked on four of her husband’s films. 

 

Which brings us to the filmographies of Albert and Peter. We’ll start with the fictional one, Albert. With the help of his wife, Albert’s debut, An American Romance, is a big hit, which puts him on the movie map, while Lucy is left out of the lime light. Their next film, “Gabrielle,” also connects with audiences, but signals the end of Albert and Lucy’s marriage when Albert falls for the actress cast in the lead. That would be Sharon Stone, in one of her first films, as the gold-digging damsel, Blake Chandler.

The third time isn’t the charm for Albert, whose bloated GONE IN THE WIND-esque “Atlanta” movie-musical project flops big time, and Blake leaves him for the limo driver.

Back in the real world, Peter made double the amount of movies than Albert, but he had to wait until his fourth film for his scandal. The true classic of his filmography, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, won two Oscars, and slew of other awards, and it won Peter the heart of budding starlet, Cybill Shepherd. Polly left Peter, though she still worked on a few of his films, and Peter and Cybill went on to make two huge financial duds, DAISY MILLER and AT LONG LAST LOVE. Elements of these films are parodied in Albert’s “Atlanta,” and another similarity is that after these failures, Cybill left Peter for an auto parts dealer.

Returning to the world of make believe, Lucy’s arc involves having a best-selling book which seemingly tells all about her and Albert’s relationship, something Polly didn’t do (though there’s reportedly her unpublished memoir that will maybe one day see the light), but she has appeared in numerous documentaries like EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULL, and DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE, giving insights into her days with Peter.

Now, I have to address Drew Barrymore, as I have her name in this post’s headline. Her part consists mostly of looking put-out, and pissed-off at her neglectful parents, and she definitely nails that. But some of her line readings are weak, and it’s hard to pin down how good an actress she is. But that’s because she was nine years old! Still, she’s now 46 and I still can’t pin down how good an actress she is.

 

Putting aside the comparisons between Peter Bogdanovich and Albert Brodsky, IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES holds up as a witty look at divorce among the ups and downs of show biz. It was an interesting idea for them, that being rom com writer gurus Nancy Myers, and Charles Shyer, to fashion much of the plot around the tabloid details of a famous director’s dalliances. But more than interesting is that it largely works.

 

More later…

EVERYBODY'S FINE: The Film Babble Blog Review

EVERYBODY’S FINE (Dir. Kirk Jones, 2009)
 

A few months ago when I first saw the trailer there was a brief instance that I thought that this could be Robert De Niro’s ABOUT SCHMIDT – a powerful portrait of an iconic actor in his autumn years. That instance was incredibly brief mind you, because as the preview played out the glossy schmaltz it began to look more like De Niro’s LAST CHANCE HARVEY – a cute though vapid vehicle for a once vital actor in his autumn years. Well, sadly the latter is what we have here.

The opening shots show De Niro vacuuming his carpet, mowing his lawn, getting his grill out of the garage, etc. Watching this I was struck but the question: who wants to go to the movies to see Robert De Niro doing household chores? We even follow him to the grocery store to see him ask a clueless clerk about wine. He’s getting ready for Thanksgiving with his kids he explains, awkwardly clarifying that they’re all grown up and that he’s not actually serving children wine.

That's the type of detail that's meant to endear De Niro to us. His Franke Goode is a recently widowed and retired and without a doubt entering into a very needy zone of existence so when he learns that none of his family is going to make it home for the holiday there's no other course of action but for him to hop aboard buses and trains and go to them. His doctor warns him against the trip, because that's what most movie doctors do, but there's no stopping this strained father Frank.

We learn from his chatting up a fellow passenger on the train to see his son in New York that De Niro had a career in coating telephone wire from coast to coast. This gives the film the excuse to have many shots of telephone polls and cables as we hear the voices of his offspring (Drew Barrymore, Katie Beckinsale, and Sam Rockwell) making calls to one another. They discuss in hushed tones a fourth sibling who is in some unspecified trouble and how they should keep it from Dad.



Since that's the son that De Niro first goes to visit he comes up short in NYC, so then he's off to Chicago to see his advertising exec daughter (Beckinsale). One gimmick the film has is that when he first sees his kids, he sees them as that - kids - so children actors stand in for their older counterparts for a few shots before they embrace. This is certainly making the point that he never dealt with them as grown-ups before but it still comes off as an artsy gimmick.

After an tense dinner with Beckinsale, her husband and son, De Niro heads off to Denver to see his classical musician son (a very reserved Rockwell) who turns out not to be the conductor he told his father he was, but a percussionist. Rockwell doesn't appear to want to spend much time with his father so then we're off to Las Vegas to visit with his dancer daughter (Barrymore) who may not be who she's claimed to be either.

EVERYBODY'S FINE was based on an 1990 Italian film (STANNO TUTTI BENE) which I haven't seen but I bet has a lot more emotional weight than this well meaning but drab adaptation. None of the characters or situations take hold so there's nothing to truly care about. A 3rd act dream sequence involving De Niro confronting his offspring - the children actors mentioned above - tries its damndest to pull on the heart strings but the strings don't seem to be attached to anything. An all too happy ending feels like it was tagged on so the film would match its misguided marketing as a holiday film.

It's been a long time since the New Hollywood era in which De Niro ruled as an electric engaging entity in such landmarks as MEAN STREETS, TAXI DRIVER, and RAGING BULL (among others). Of course the man has long mellowed into the mainstream in commercial comedies and forgettable cop dramas but I think most film folks believe he could still bring it if given the right material. Until that happens though I guess we'll have to deal with watching De Niro do the dishes and take out the trash, instead of stalking the streets thanking God for the rain to wash the trash off the sidewalk.

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Roller Grrls - WHIP IT: The Film Babble Blog Review

WHIP IT (Dir. Drew Barrymore, 2009) The phrase "the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore" may not get cineastes excited, especially as the Oscar prestige season looms, but it shouldn't alarm or offend them either. Barrymore presents a surprisingly solid 80's style formula film that's cute enough to overshadow its ultimate predictability. Protagonist Ellen Page (JUNO), awkward instead of snarky, pines for a life away from the beauty pageants her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) constantly drags her to and her go nowhere job working as a waitress at Bodeen's Oink Joint. The answer to her angst is in Austin, Texas: a roller derby team that calls themselves the Hurl Scouts who Page immediately dubs her new heros. Without her parents knowing she takes the bus and joins up under the tutelage of "Mother Mayhem" (Kristen Wiig - so much better used here than in EXTRACT) who takes her under her wing. Page has an angry adversary in the form of Juliette Lewis as "Iron Maven" and a crush on a bed headed indie rocker (Landon Pigg). As Page's father, Daniel Stern appears to have the Alan Arkin part - the laid back parental figure that at first seems like an old fuddy duddy but in the end has a hip wisdom that wins the day. Barrymore gives herself a role as team mate "Smashley Simpson" who somehow isn't as obnoxious as she's set up to be. Rounding out the cast are Alia Shawkat (Maebe from Arrested Development) who gets to bring the snark as Page's best friend, stuntwoman Zoe Bell (KILL BILL, DEATH PROOF) struts her stuff, and Jimmy Fallon smarms it up as the master of ceremonies. Sure it breaks no ground as a coming of age story, the ending can be seen from a mile away and the wall to wall soundtrack of pop songs is overdone, but it's a big hearted movie that's hard not to like. With its wacky outtakes and bloopers over the end credits presumably to prove how much fun they all had making the movie, WHIP IT is without pretension or cynicism. It's just a sincere display of the power of friends, family, and fun and that's all it wants or needs to be. I mean for a first time directing effort nobody was expecting a CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND or even THAT THING YOU DO! from Barrymore, am I right? More later...

Tweets, The New Grey Gardens, And The Unveiling Of The Wolverine Wax Figure

Just got back from a Vegas vacation! Two weeks of being blinded by either the sun or intense flickering lights, and it was a blast! On the trip I had noticed that Twitter had really blown up in the news so I decided to try it. Sure, it might be seen as lame and trendy to some, but I dived in because I can be lame, and trendy with the best of them!

I got the Twitter application on my Facebook account and attempted to get a steady stream going of trip tweets. Some of said tweets: "wished David Brenner didn't hog George Wallace's spotlight." "loves the looks people give him when he's wearing his Elvis sunglasses." "had a good time @ old downtown Vegas despite losing a little money. Now we are having some late dinner at Augustus Cafe @ Caesar's Palace" "full of Italian food again from that place (Battista's) that looks like a mob hangout with multiple Michael Landon pictures on the wall - that damn angel musta ate there a lot." "is watching Close Encounters on HDNet in this kickass Venetian suite." "just took a shower in a glass shower that looks like some kind of sci fi pod - thought I was going to be cryogenically frozen."

I mean my life isn't very interesting enough normally to constantly comment on but this trip was full of fun activities so, of course, my friends and family immediately knew when I was going to whatever show - Penn & Teller, the Cirque du Solei Beatles "Love" deal, "O" (also Cirque), George Wallace, etc.), where I was dining, when I met Mary Tyler Moore (@ NAB - Las Vegas Convention Center on 4/20) and, ahem, when I got married (around 8:00 PM 4/28). 

So now that I'm back my tweets will be less interesting (mostly just about what movie I'm watching I bet) but you're welcome to follow them. Just look up @filmbabble on Twitter and follow. We took a little time away from Vegas to drive to Sedona, Arizona, which was beautiful. after a full day of looking at art, visiting Montezuma Castle, and walking trails in the red rock country we relaxed in our sweet suite. After viewing too much reportage on the Craigslist killer through much channel flipping I was happy to see the new telefilm GREY GARDENS on HBO.

If you're not in the know it's based on the 1974 Maylses bros. documentary (also named GREY GARDENS) about Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale who were the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis. Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, respectively, portray the ladies living in absolute squalor in their rundown mansion in Easthampton, New York. With flash backs to Little Edie's New York lavish lifestyle as an aspiring actress before being sucked into her Mother's Hell hole habitat we get little in the way of true insight but plenty of pleasurable kitsch.

I've often thought Lange brings an element of mental unstability often to roles that don't require it but here she that more than works in her favor. Barrymore hasn't quite matured acting-wise but since she's playing a bad misguided showbiz wannabe she seems to somehow pull it off. Jeanne Tripplehorn (Big Love) has a great understated cameo dead on as Jackie O. with Ken Howard (The White Shadow - oh, forget it, nobody remembers that show) and Daniel Baldwin filling out the small cast as the socialite ones that got away. 

While the new GREY GARDENS is an entertaining, and fairly moving melodrama. I must recommend seeing the original documentary first for proper context. A new Criterion version is available which contains the follow-up film THE BEALES OF GREY GARDENS (2006) which I have yet to see. A friend also recommened the musical, in which he said Christine Ebersole was awesome in (comments via Facebook status updates of course), so there's that too. 

On our last day in Las Vegas we decided to check out Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. We knew it would be cheesy but we thought it would be fun to see all those famous likenesses; some of which were awful - Springsteen with blonde hair, and a highly unrecognizable Brad Pitt for a few examples. What we didn't know was that we walked in just in time to see the unveiling of the new Hugh Jackman Wolverine wax figure on what they dubbed "Wolverine Wednesday," a promotional event for the new Marvel movie, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. I filmed this happening, and since it was so delightfully stupid I decided to share it with you fine folks:

 

Now that's one way to start off the summer season which gets under way with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE today. Hope the movie is better than that intensely unconvincing statue.

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A Couple Of New Release DVDs: SECRET WINDOW, BAD SANTA, & 50 FIRST DATES

Now out on DVD:

SECRET WINDOW
(Dir. David Koepp, 2004)

Johnny Depp plays a tortured suspense novelist named Mort Rainey (credit there for having a protagonist named Mort) accused of plagiarism in this adaptation of a Stephen King short story. 

A strange hillbilly character (John Turturro) shows up at Depp's door claiming that Mort stole his story and threatens Mort's and his love one's lives if he doesn't change the ending and give him proper credit. Mort (sorry I just love typing that name) is tortured because his wife of 10 years (Maria Bello) left him for a straight laced never smiling Timothy Hutton who himself played a tortured writer in King's THE DARK HALF but I digress.

So Mort's dog is found dead and he goes to the local police who of course are ineffective and he wanders around his cabin in the woods overreacting and over-acting to every startling sound. I'm not going to give anything away but the resolution of this is so contrived and ridiculous that it brought back memories of IDENTITY or as I like to call it, A NIGHT AT THE RED HERRING MOTEL.

It's getting harder and harder to accept movie premises in which any given character may be a figment of someone's imagination and that certain incidents may never have occured at all. "The ending is the most important part" Mort says at one point and he's he right - it surely was important to me when this piece of derivative doggerel was going to end.

Special Features: Commentary by Director Koepp, trailers, deleted scenes, a few featurettes, and storyboards.

BAD SANTA
(Dir. Terry Zwigoff, 2003)

Director Zwigoff and star Billy Bob Thornton are slumming it here, but, oh, what a glorious slum it is. 

Thornton plays a boozing foul-mouthed department store Santa who with his little person partner in crime (Tony Cox) have a consistent seasonal scam going in which they break into the safes of the stores that employ them. When Thornton befriends a chubby brain-dead rich kid (Brett Kelly out credited as "The Kid") who believes he's the real Kris Kringle, our perpetually pissed-off title character finds that his heart grows a half a size bigger.

John Ritter, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, and an un-credited Cloris Leachman provide ample comic support, in this funny film that shows that Twigoff's  first foray into more commercial territory has just as much edge as his earlier artsier efforts (CRUMB, GHOST WORLD). No doubt the Coen brothers, who executive produced and reportedly did some script doctoring, helped with that transition.

BAD SANTA is good crude stuff that brings to mind other enjoyable lowbrow fare like SHAKES THE CLOWN and RUTHLESS PEOPLE. It's a future cult movie if there ever was one.

The bonus material on the DVD is basic but welcome: a behind-the-scenes feature, deleted & alternate scenes, and outtakes. An "Unrated Edition" is also available.

50 FIRST DATES
(Dir. Peter Segel, 2003)

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore try to work their WEDDING SINGER-style magic in this tropical romantic comedy about a guy having to re-win the heart of his love every day as her memory is erased every night while she sleeps. It's a convoluted premise with very little imagination and the usual cheap humor (sloppy scatalogical gags, strained physical antics, Rob Schneider, etc.) found in a Sandler flick. It does have some genuine heart to it so there are people who may like it but to most film buff folks it will be erased from memory while they sleep.

Special features: Gag reel, deleted scenes, "Making of" featurette, music videos, and Talkin' Pidgin featurette (whatever that is).

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