Friday, April 17, 1998
Screenscene
"Paulie"
Directed by Paul Roberts
Starring Gena Rowlands, Cheech Marin and Jay Mohr
It’s a well known fact that parrots can mimic human speech. Say
"hello" repeatedly and soon enough the parrot will say "hello"
back. But what if the parrot could actually talk, converse and
comprehend? The result might look a lot like Paulie, the cheeky,
crass-talking parrot with a heart of gold in Dreamworks’ new film
of the the same name, "Paulie."
The movie, directed by Paul Roberts, is one in a string of
movies to feature an animal with somewhat human capacities ("Babe,"
"Mousehunt," and the upcoming "Dr. Doolittle").
The story opens with Paulie, whose voice is engagingly supplied
by Jay Mohr ("Picture Perfect," "Jerry Maguire"), caged and alone
in the basement of a research lab. A janitor named Misha (Tony
Shalhoub of "Wings" fame) discovers that Paulie can talk and
convinces him to relate how he came to be shut away from the
world.
This somewhat contrived beginning allows Paulie to tell his life
story (a parrot can live up to 60 years) beginning with his first
owner and love, a little girl named Marie, endearingly played by
newcomer Hallie Kate Eisenberg. Separated early on Paulie becomes
determined to find Marie and his cross-country search becomes the
driving force behind the rest of the story.
The film features an ensemble cast of veteran actors and
relative newcomers who play characters touched by Paulie. Among
them Academy Award nominated actress Gena Rowlands and Cheech Marin
("Nash Bridges," "Tin Cup") deliver stand-out performances.
Screen legend and comedian Buddy Hackett cameos with Paulie in a
very funny scene. When asked how Paulie can speak, Hackett
comically shrugs his shoulders and says, "He watches
television?"
Although a "children’s movie," it is extraordinarily appealing
to all audiences. The story is a bit of a fable, commenting on
themes such as standing up for oneself and what it really means to
be human. The script is written with adults in mind and many of the
jokes and topics cater to a more mature audience. The lines are
hilarious and Paulie, who is present in almost every scene, is a
lovable hero.
Mostly though, "Paulie" is a touching and moving film that
charmingly tells the life story and lessons of this truly unique
bird. The movie is a treat for all ages and has elements of comedy,
adventure, feeling, and suspense that will surely satisfy all types
of moviegoers, young, old and in-between.
Jessica Holt
Grade: A-
"Nightwatch"
Directed by Ole Bornedal
Starring Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Nick
Nolte
There is something about dead bodies that can scare us so
completely. Whether its the sight of cold, blue skin or the
nightmare of the waking dead, it’s a sight that can scare just
about anyone. What better place to set the new thriller
"Nightwatch" than a morgue full of dead bodies?
Actually, "Nightwatch" would have you think it’s a thriller, but
how thrilling it really is is debatable. With strong performances
by Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte,
it’s too bad that "Nightwatch’s" only real scares are based on some
loud, unsuspecting noises and the sight of a lot of blood and
bodies.
Martin Bells (McGregor) is a law student who takes on the job of
nightwatchman at a morgue at the same time that a bunch of serial
murders are being investigated by Nolte. If you haven’t already
guessed, Martin somehow becomes involved in the murders and must
proclaim his innocence.
But by the second half of the film, the audience couldn’t care
less if he is innocent or not because "Nightwatch" falls into the
hole of predictability. Yes, it tries to twist near the end by
having a new character become the culprit, but it doesn’t work.
With the help of some easily-found-out information that comes into
the hands of our hero in the last half hour, the murder is
revealed. But in retrospect, any of the characters could have been
the murderer.
The look of the film, however, is amazing. The sets and the
cinematography in the morgue are beautiful and establish the
atmosphere for the first half of the movie. But style is not enough
and some substance is truly needed, especially in a thriller.
Maybe if there was some more characterization or a realistic
plot without so many holes, the film would have been better. But
unfortunately, good acting and production values alone just don’t
cut it.
Warren Tessler
Grade: C-
"Kurt and Courtney"
Directed by Nick Broomfield
A little controversy never hurt anyone. But it sure can’t be
making Courtney Love very happy.
In Nick Broomfield’s latest work, "Kurt and Courtney," the
British filmmaker delves into the lives and controversies
surrounding grunge icons Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love —
particularly the conspiracy theories that Love was instrumental in
her late husband’s death. The film was banned at the Sundance Film
Festival and its opening was threatened with legal action by both
Love’s lawyers and EMI representatives regarding defamation and
music copyrights respectively.
But Broomfield deals with all the delicate subject matter like a
journalist gathering information, taking no initial agenda and
leaving no stone unturned.
The portrait painted is a far cry from the glamour girl that the
rocker is currently trying to create. The film contains countless
number of I-knew-them-before-they-were-stars friends attesting to
Cobain’s virtues and Love’s lack thereof. A particularly memorable
moment comes when Love’s ex-boyfriend delivers her a message
through the camera lens, "Stay away. I don’t care if you are Jesus
and your lawyers are the 12 disciples."
Although Broomfield doesn’t get Love to sit down to a Barbara
Walters-style interview and a lot of his sources have reason to
hate Love, this isn’t the work of an overly zealous amateur waving
ridiculous accusations. Broomfield is the first to point out that
one of the "friends" on multiple instances fails to produce
pictures that she claimed to have of her shooting heroin with
them.
And like a respectable journalist, Broomfield is not quick to
make assumptions. He simply presents the various claims given by
the proponents of conspiracy theories Love’s father Hank Harrison,
Tom Grant, the private investigator who Love hired to find Cobain
the days before the musician’s body was found. At the same time he
includes Cobain’s aunt Mary’s opinions of Love’s innocence and lets
Cobain’s best friend, who bought Cobain the shotgun he eventually
used, to tell his side of the story.
But at the same time Broomfield is not wishy-washy. This
filmmaker’s got balls. Broomfield addresses the difficult
filmmaking process by including all the obstacles that he
encountered and telling the audience every place he wasn’t allowed
to use the originally intended Nirvana or Hole music. And in the
highlight of the film, Broomfield takes the stage at an American
Civil Liberties Union dinner celebrating the First Amendment,
questioning the reasoning behind having Love as a speaker after
knowing that Love has made death threats to various journalists in
order to keep them from publishing certain information.
While Broomfield never solves the mystery of who killed Kurt
Cobain, as in his previous "Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam," the
filmmaker unearths interesting facts and gives the audience more
insight into his subjects’ personalities.
Unfortunately, life does not always come as neatly packaged as
fiction and "Kurt and Courtney" ends abruptly with no sense of
closure. Not until the credits start rolling does the audience
realize the fade outs on the pictures of Cobain really were
signaling the end of the film. But despite the uneasy feeling
viewers are left with, the film, as all good documentaries should
be, is revealing, provoking and entertaining.
Stephanie Sheh
Grade: A-
"The Object of My Affection"
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd
"A gay elementary school teacher is a one-way ticket to
nowhere,"says Nina Borowski’s social climbing step sister. Maybe
so, but the gay elementary school teacher in question has already
captured our hearts and Nina’s by the time these blunt words of
wisdom shatter a convenient fantasy.
The premise is "Object’s" ticket to romantic-comedy nuance –
asking what might have happened if Doris Day had ever pursued Rock
Hudson in real life. The film could have easily pumped the
situation for gimmick potential, but Wendy Wasserstein’s
intelligent script and thoughtful, achingly humorous performances
from a carefully crafted ensemble make it so much more.
Nina (Aniston, who brings emotional depth to her established
comedic timing) thinks she has found in George (a torn, endearing
Rudd) the perfect roommate, soul mate and father for her unborn
child. When both are at a romantic low points, platonic couplehood
doesn’t seem like such a horrible compromise. But when George meets
a young actor named Paul (the charming Amo Guilleno), Nina finds
herself playing the jealous un-girlfriend.
Paul’s own would-be lover, Rodney (Nigel Hawthorne, in a
performance touched with pain and wisdom), offers Nina a kinder
wake-up call, warning her not to create a cocoon of loneliness like
the one in which he abides. The Nina/George, Rodney/Paul reciprocal
underscores the ambiguous line between friendship and love.
The film’s attention to detail lends poignancy to the various
unrequited triangles. It asks the tough questions and the answers
come slowly and painfully, if at all. Particularly telling is a
scene where Nina and George attend one of Paul’s plays. In the
darkened theater, Nina gazes passionately at George. But his clear
green eyes are focused center-stage on the object of his
affection.
The theater is also the center for much of the film’s comic
relief, however. Wasserstein and Hytner, both veterans of the
stage, use Paul and critic Rodney’s world to make self-indulgent,
self-effacing jabs at the pretensions of the high arts. Their
ultimate revenge comes when the director of an avant-garde
production of "Romeo and Juliet" overhears Rodney’s caustic remarks
and pops him in the jaw.
Background is crucial in making "Object," the layered work that
it is. While many of Nina’s relatives (including Alan Alda in an
appropriately clueless cameo) revel in their own (rather
hypocritical) liberalism, the film is refreshingly not about
homophobia. The characters are free to focus their idiosyncrasies
elsewhere since they actually mean it when they say, "Not that
there’s anything wrong with that."
Many will find the epilogue-y ending a little too storybook,
though suffice it to say that they don’t do anything stupid – i.e.
no Pat Robertson interventions. But Rodney’s echoing melancholy
pads the final scene with a sense that ever after is fleeting. And
no matter what aesthetic training dictates, the characters are so
real by this point that we can’t help but wish them the best.
Cheryl Klein
A-