Zelig (1983)
“A Jew that could turn himself into a Negro or an Indian was a triple threat.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1963)
“You think I’m a slave to sex, but I have a soul, too — remember that.”
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Review: Note While some have argued that Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow was just as much of a sexual tease for early-1960s audiences as its Doris Day counterparts in America, this isn’t quite true, given that sex-outside-of-marriage is paraded in all three vignettes as both normal and natural — except by characters (such as Ridolfi’s melodramatic grandmother, played by Tina Pica) who are clearly presented as shrewish and moralistically uptight. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Luna (1979)
“He’s different from the others — he’s very lonely… You know that.”
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Review: After the first promising 15 minutes or so (during which Fred Gwynne’s level-headed character is, unfortunately, killed off), nothing about the overblown storyline comes across as remotely realistic: Barry’s heroin addiction is never authentically introduced or sustained; peripheral characters disappear with maddening whimsicality (what ever happened to Barry’s new Italian girlfriend, for instance?); and Clayburgh’s response to her son’s problem — while refreshingly removed from “afternoon special of the week” banality — is far too conveniently sublimated into titillatingly incestuous interactions. Clayburgh (fresh from her success in Paul Mazursky’s An Unmarried Woman) seems to be trying her best with the material she’s been given, but her character is ultimately such a mess of unappealing contradictions that it can’t be salvaged; Barry, meanwhile, never fully inhabits his character’s neurotic personality — instead, he simply shifts at a moment’s notice between petulant teen and (supposed) raging addict. While viewers may find some enjoyment in the film’s overall campiness — such as the infamous scene in which Barry erotically licks his mother’s dirt-encrusted face, or when Clayburgh tries to release some tension by doing aerobics with her lesbian pursuer — Luna is ultimately far too frustrating to recommend. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Big Bus, The (1976)
“The aerodynamics work — we’re breaking wind at 90!”
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Review: Note: My husband’s primary memory from watching The Big Bus as a boy is the scene in which a tire is replaced while the bus is still moving; he wondered then — and wonders now — where this spare tire could have come from, given that window seats are seen directly above the wheels. With that said, he remains distinctly impressed by the fact that the filmmakers actually built such a massive vehicular beast. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Disorderly Orderly, The (1964)
“Please — try hard not to try so hard!”
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On the other hand, the central romantic subplot involving Jerome’s long-standing crush on a bitchy, undeserving blonde (Oliver):
wears thin really quickly, particularly given the existence of his caring, patient, pretty girlfriend (Karen Sharpe) on the side:
We can’t help wanting to shake some sense into Lewis! Ultimately, The Disorderly Orderly is worth a look by those who enjoy his unique brand of slapstick humor; others, however, needn’t bother. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Niagara (1953)
“For a dress like that, you have to start laying plans when you’re about thirteen.”
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Casablanca (1942)
“It doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: While it’s hard to know just how much of the script is original (Peary argues “it hasn’t been sufficiently acknowledged that almost everything in the film was in Everybody Comes to Rick’s, the unproduced source play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison”), it’s difficult to find fault with the end result: a remarkably intelligent and witty screenplay, co-written by (among others) the Epstein twins (Julius and Philip) and Howard Koch. In addition to its countless now-iconic lines (“Here’s looking at you, kid”), one particular exchange — between Rains and a police inspector as Rick’s Cafe Americain is about to be shut down for gambling — remains a personal favorite, and has me giggling with delight every time I hear it. Much has been made about the fortuitous casting behind Casablanca, with Bogart and Bergman making a most unlikely yet inspired pair of star-crossed lovers. Bogart — who Peary refers to as “tough, introspective, ugly” — hits just the right notes of vulnerability and machismo, and, once we learn his backstory with “soft, generous, beautiful” Bergman, it’s easy to see why he’s remained so cynical and bitter for so long. Claude Rains nearly steals the show, however, in yet another stand-out performance: he manages to transform the corrupt overseer of Casablanca from a potential villain into a three-dimensional protagonist who’s both human and humorously droll. Rains’s friendship with Bogart — which evolves over the course of the film — adds yet another level of nuance (and, perhaps, “romance”) to this complex, emotionally charged story, one which will likely continue to delight audiences for decades to come. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Body Snatcher, The (1945)
“They’re uncommon bold, the grave robbers — and the daft doctors who drive them on!”
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Indeed, it’s the complexity of the film’s two central characters which elevates The Body Snatcher well above its B-level status: we watch with fascination as Karloff (giving a stellar, nuanced performance) repeatedly torments McFarlane with hints about his sordid past, insistently reminding him, “You’ll never get rid of me.” McFarlane’s steadfast dedication to teaching young medical students about anatomy — which in turn requires a steady stream of “fresh” corpses to dissect — has caused him to breach the most important rule of ethics in medicine (“First, do no harm”), and the guilt he lives with because of this eats away at his very soul. Meanwhile, Gray remains unable to rise above his working-class status as a cabbie, but does everything in his power to remind McFarlane that they’re really cut from the same cloth: neither one is ultimately “better” than the other. As Peary notes, director Robert Wise does a “superb and tasteful” job depicting the horror elements of this “morbid”, highly atmospheric film, which remains one of producer Val Lewton’s most successful thrillers. Note: Peary also argues that the script is “in truth overwritten and dull in spots”, but I disagree; at just 77 minutes, The Body Snatcher moves along quickly and never feels stale. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Contest Girl (1964)
“You take someone from nowhere, you give them something… Then when the party’s over, you say, ‘You’ve lost — go home!'”
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Unfortunately, an ongoing subplot in which Scott must fend off Hendry’s amorous advances fails to generate much interest, primarily because there’s so little chemistry between the two leads; instead, we’re left to focus on Scott’s inevitable education about the cruel realities (who knew?) of competitive pageantry. Fans of Guest’s eclectic body of work will likely be curious to check this obscure little film out; others, however, needn’t bother. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934)
“I never had no great hankering to be awful rich and have a carriage and all.”
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Review: P.S. Click here to read Rice’s original novel online at Project Gutenberg. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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