Blu Ray Review: THE EXTRA MAN

Now out on Blu ray, DVD, and scheduled to be available streaming on Netflix Instant starting 12/16/2010:

THE EXTRA MAN (Dirs. Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, 2010)





This film, which I initially thought was too quirky for its own good, grew on me quite a bit. Kevin Kline has been in so few movies lately that it's extremely pleasing to see him sink his teeth into a juicy role, and the role here is a beaut.


As seen through the eyes of Paul Dano as a young aspiring writer with delusions of "Great Gatsby"-ish grandeur, we meet Kline as Henry Harrison - an eccentric failed playwright who lives off of the splendor of rich old ladies as he describes: "A fine meal, vintage champagne...an orchestra perhaps."
You see the scraggily gray haired mustached Kline considers himself an "extra man." He explains:


"You see women outlive men so there's always a need for an extra man at the table. It maintains a proper seating arrangement. Boy-girl, boy-girl."


Dano, who was kicked out of a teaching position at Princeton and came to New York to "find himself", rents a room from Kline and gets a job doing phone sales for an environmental magazine. Dano is fascinated by Kline's philosophies and tricks like how to get into the opera for free.


As a fellow flighty co-worker, Katie Holmes becomes the object of Dano's affection, but there's a little snag in his plans as she has an activist boyfriend and, uh, Dano has a bit of a cross dressing issue.


In one of the most off-kilter performances of his career, John C. Reilly appears in a small part as a grizzly wide-eyed neighbor of Kline's who speaks in falsetto. Reilly's part doesn't really fit in at first, but as the film goes on it becomes an inexactractable piece of the quirky quilt.


Though it's largely Dano's movie, Kline is who keeps it rolling with his witty line readings and chutzpah - a scene in which he teaches Dano how to take a leak while standing between parked cars on the street has more cheeky charm than one could imagine with that description.


What's less successful is the handling of Dano's sexual deviance. Scenes of the droopy sad eyed actor fondling brassieres and trying on women's clothes are cringe-worthy and don't add much to the more interesting material involving the wealthy women Kline is trying to woo.


A subplot involving Celia Weston as a wannabe socialite and somewhat rival of Kline's isn't explored fully, likewise Patti D'Arbanville's skimpy part as a dominatrix that Dano hires.


These flaws aside, THE EXTRA MAN is just amusing enough to be recommended. It's not as essential a film as director Berman and Pulcini's AMERICAN SPLENDOR, but it's fairly agreeable entertainment nonetheless.


Special Features: a commentary with Kevin Kline and author Jonathan Ames ("Bored To Death") who wrote the original novel, a second commentary with the co-directors + crew, a deleted scene, a clip of the voice recording for a cartoon clip, a behind the scene featerette of the musical score, and HDNet: A look at THE EXTRA MAN.


More later...

FASTER: The Film Babble Blog Review

FASTER
(Dir. George Tillman, Jr., 2010)

Apparently after a slew of kid's movies and commercial comedies, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has decided to put his goofy grin up on the shelf and get back to basics in a big dumb action shoot 'em up.

On the day of his release from a 10 year prison sentence "The Rock", who a title tells us is "Driver", sits down in front of a sympathetic Warden (Tom Berenger). Berenger in a one scene cameo goes on about rehabilitation and offers a helping hand. "Any questions?" the Warden asks. The Rock: "Where's the exit?"

This is our protagonist's first and only line for a bit into FASTER, which follows the extremely stoical ex con as he follows a list of those involved in the bank robbery that landed him in jail and who murdered his brother.

One informant after another is treated to a bullet to the brain. Meanwhile, a sleazy Billy Bob Thornton, only identified as "Cop", is trailing "Driver" and there's Oliver Jackson-Cohen as a slick high tech assassin labeled only as "Killer" who is also caught up in the chase.

Working from the inside loop with a strong willed police detective (Carla Gugino), Thornton is a divorced druggie - unfortunately a scene devised to enforce his character's messed up mindset is set to the First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" which can't help but recall THE BIG LEBOWSKI (Dude! Don't steal from "The Dude"!)

Admiring The Rock's confidence and skills, Jackson-Cohen tells his girlfriend (Maggie Grace from "Lost") that his new worthy adversary is "faster" than he is, in case you were wondering about the film's title.

FASTER is ultra-formulaic and it takes itself way too seriously with only a few feeble attempts at humor to give us much relief. The Rock puts in a refined and solid performance, but it's not a very interesting character. We don't learn anything about him except his single minded mission and the heavily implied love for his brother.

And because he's as unbeatable as always - there's no edge or sense of danger present.

Thornton steals the scenes he's in - he and the brash Jackson-Cohen appear to be having fun with their roles which is good because The Rock sure isn't.

As for the mechanics of the plot there is a bit of a mystery about who pulled the strings in the botched bank job set-up with flashbacks and images on a videotape, but I seriously doubt the target audience for this film will care or be very shocked when the reveal comes. They'll probably just be waiting for the next kill like the preview crowd at the advance screening I saw this at who ate every bit of it up.

I will give credit to the fact that there were no explosions in this movie. For an action movie of this ilk that certainly can be seen as major restraint.

This is a movie for The Rock fans plain and simple. Those who want brains instead of blockbuster bloodlust may want to sit this one out.


More later...

A Review Of The Dreadful TAMARA DREWE

TAMARA DREWE (Dir. Stephen Frears, 2010)

I was surprised to see the credit “Based on the graphic novel” on the screen at the beginning of this British comedy clunker.

It seems every other movie this year was based on a graphic novel!

Nothing wrong with that I suppose, just unexpected with this type of Thomas Hardy-ish material which concerns a writer’s retreat setting in a quaint English village captured in the ever lasting golden hour.

In a tale told in seasons, aspiring authors congregate at the home of a bestselling writer (Roger Allam) and his hosting wife (Tamsin Greig) who has long learned to look the other way to deal with her husband’s affairs.

Allam is always pompously pontificating about his supposed literary talent mostly to a struggling neurotic writer played by a buffoonish Bill Camp.

Returning to the town for the first time since her nose-job, Gemma Arterton, as the title character, appears in skimpy cut-offs and red tank top and every man in sight swoons.

This includes Luke Evans as the gardener/handyman who had a fling with Artenton when they were teens we’re told in a racy flashback.

Artenton is a journalist covering a punk pop band named Swipe who break up after a row on stage in which the drummer (Dominic Cooper) is outraged over the coupling of 2 his band-mates particularly since one had been his girlfriend.

To Evan’s chagrin Cooper and Artenton quickly couple up themselves, all the while a couple of hiding chatty schoolgirls (Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie) watch it all smitten themselves with Cooper.

Allam gets into the game by bedding Arterton, Camp secretly pines for Grieg who he uses as a muse, and the schoolgirls cause trouble with a naughty email so there’s endless foolish shenanigans at every turn.

The film builds to a tragic last third, hints of which are dropped here and there throughout, but once it’s upon us its effect is mind-numbingly banal.

For all its energy and colorful imagery, “Tamara Drewe” never gels. It’s a completely charmless and painfully unfunny farce. Every attempt at wit falls flat and I could never deduce what the point of it all was.

No insights into restless writer’s mindsets or hearts – it’s all just misplaced vanity.

It also doesn’t help that the characters are all unlikable especially Allam’s who is just a transparent caricature of a womanizing cad.

The film doesn’t seem to be on anybody’s side so there’s nobody to care about. Despite the richness of the countryside and Frear’s ace sense of staging, its ultra-smarmy tone sabotages the entire production.

I can only hope that the graphic novel (and still going comic strip in the Guardian) by Posy Simmonds is more worthwhile than this dreadful tripe.

More later...