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The Family
Stone Gathers No Moss This movie is not easily categorized, which is probably why it’s not the usual run-of-the-mill Christmas flick. While it features an ensemble cast, Sarah Jessica Parker stands out in the crowd playing Meredith, a buttoned-up corporate type born in a power suit and unhealthily attached to her cell phone. She is brought home to meet the family by Dermot Mulroney’s Everett who greatly admires the business success of his girlfriend. Mom Diane Keaton takes one look at her son’s intended and determines that no, my son is not getting my mother’s ring for this one. The family is not quite of the Leave it to Beaver genre. One of the sons is both deaf and gay and comes complete with a black partner, totally accepted as a family member. All of the family members use sign language, which is a nice touch, not often bothered with in Hollywood films. The youngest daughter Amy, played by Rachel McAdams, is the hardest on Meredith, having met her before and finding her lacking. Luke Wilson as Ben is as laidback as Meredith is uptight, and he has little to do for the first third of this movie, but becomes more focused later on. The premise of an interloper in the midst of a tight-knit family is not a new one, but there is a freshness here not often seen. There are moments of goofy comedy and a beautiful love scene between Keaton’s Sybil and her devoted husband Kelly, played tenderly by Craig T. Nelson. The movie really belongs to Parker. As a perfectionist trying to fit in, she only succeeds in alienating herself further. In one scene when the gay lovers are discussing their plans to adopt, she gives a speech that is akin to digging a hole in which to hide. The more she tries to explain she has no bias, the more biased she sounds. It is well done and delivered so naturally, it is easy to believe it could happen. Frustrated and declaring she doesn’t care if the family likes her, she departs for a nearby hotel, but only after calling her sister to join her for moral support. The sisters are polar opposites. As Julie, Claire Danes is as natural, open and unpretentious as a mountain breeze. Suffice it to say that feelings get hurt, and many beers are drunk causing some characters to see with fresh eyes. To say more would spoil it and the film really deserves to be seen if for no other reason than it is not entirely predictable, the performances are all pitch perfect and it doesn’t try to wrap it all up and put a bow on it for your Christmas pleasure. Bottom line:
Everybody must get stoned. |
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Jackson’s
King Kong: Expanded, Expensive, Exhilarating One of the great disappointments of my childhood was Dino DeLaurentiis’ terrible 1976 remake of the classic King Kong. The film introduced a grateful world to the wonder that is Jessica Lange, but the only other remarkable thing about John Guillerman’s movie was how boring it was. (The less said about Guillerman’s 1986 follow-up King Kong Lives, the better.) Peter Jackson, the Oscar-winning director of the Lord of the Rings movies, avoids that mistake in spite of a three-hour running time. He recaptures the sense of wonder from the 1933 Merian Cooper-Ernest Schoedsack original. Best of all, Jackson and frequent collaborator Fran Walsh have opted not to update the Kong story to modern times, with giddily nostalgic results. The usually manic Jack Black seems a little caged in playing the old Robert Montgomery role, but the other actors adhere nicely to this convincing old-time setting. Black struggles to exist in the pre-rock-and-roll era--perhaps he endeared himself to director Jackson with his MTV Movie Awards parody of Rings a few years back? Naomi Watts, who first enchanted me in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, follows ably in Fay Wray’s footsteps with just the right mix of sweetness and vulnerability. The additional running time is not padded, instead offering many unexpected treats in the way of character development and flat-out thrills. Kong 2005 respectfully follows the original movie’s story line. A starving actress meets up with a conniving filmmaker. They head off in a broken down vessel to the mysterious Skull Island (here, the filmmakers’ imagination really takes off). They meet Kong. Frightening natives kidnap the girl and offer her as a sacrifice to the 25-foot ape. Filmmaker and crew—along with screenwriter Adrien Brody as the would-be love interest—go back to island to attempt a daring rescue. Kong becomes attached to girl and goes ape when they take her away. Kong destroys island. Greedy filmmaker decides to capture ape and take the creature back to New York City and make a million bucks. This is, of course, followed by a sensational climax atop the Empire State Building. Some questions remain. How exactly do they get Kong back to New York City in that rickety ship? Can Brody ever maintain a relationship with Watts, knowing he will never measure up to the colossal Kong? And how do Carl Denham and his crew traverse Skull Island without stepping in giant mounds of Kong poop? The finale provides a wonderful new surprise before Kong and his lady’s final ascent. You kids are lucky to have such a great King Kong movie to call your own, but I’m claiming this one for my own screwed-over generation. You can have King Kong vs. Godzilla. Yes, I know they spent an obscene amount of money on this holiday blockbuster—somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 million—but every dollar is reflected up there on the screen. Still, those eye-popping special effects and seamlessly integrated CGI bits would be rendered meaningless without a story that plumbs the depths of human (and ape) emotion. You can really feel Kong’s big heart breaking. Bottom Line: All hail the King. |
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