 |
|
I'm Sorry Kevin Smith, or How I Moved to Milwaukee, Got Cable Television and Re-evaluated Everything I'd Come To Believe (Including Some Things About Safe Men)
 From Chicago, this is The Dope Sheet ... I'm Sam Van Hallgren.
Yes, it's true, I live in Milwaukee now. In fact, I moved to the
Brew City from Chicago in late May in anticipation of my August
wedding. I think Adam and I were nervous about mentioning it on the
show because people's loose grasp on the geography of the Midwest
(including my own) might lead them to conclude that the show was
doomed. Turns out Milwaukee is only a 90 minute train ride to
Chicago. Just about the same amount of time it would take me to get
to Adam's house in the Chicago suburbs when I was living in the
city's north side.
The decision to move to Milwaukee was an easy one to make because
Carrie got a great job as Managing Director of
Milwaukee Shakespeare;
and with
This American Life having made
the move to New York, I was out of a job. Also -- and you're just
going to have to take my word for it -- Milwaukee aka Mil-ROCK-ee is
one of the best cities on the planet Earth. I'm not going to waste
your time by going into specifics, but trust me, it's totally, ah,
Vantastic. (OK, for one, I live within walking distance of not one,
but TWO,
Landmark Theatres.)
Yes, and with the move to Milwaukee came cable television. The
first time I've ever had cable television in my life. I'm nearly 32
years old. And Ira Glass gave me a Tivo before I left This American
Life, because that's the kind of great boss he is. And with TCM,
AMC, IFC and Comedy Central at my disposal, I was suddenly in a
position to right 30 years of cinematic wrongs. And I started The
Great Re-Evaluation with Kevin Smith's "Dogma" --
Available on Peerflix.
During our review of "Clerks 2" (Filmspotting #115), I think I
mentioned that prior to the Clerks sequel, my cumulative experience
with the films of Kevin Smith amounted to a viewing of the original
Clerks and the first 15 minutes of "Dogma." Those first 15 minutes
of "Dogma" however many years ago drove me completely BATS.
Pretentious, awkward, badly acted -- I remember being shocked by how
bad it was.
And I don't know what kind of spell "Clerks 2" cast on me, but
when I sat down in front of "Dogma" a couple of weeks ago, I totally
fell for it -- and this was the edited-for-television Comedy Central
version! Not everything worked, but I really responded to the spirit
(if not always the specifics) of Smith's observations and criticisms
of organized religion, as well as his feelings about faith and belief
in God. It's rare to see a movie that deals with these issues in
such a personal way, and I not only respected him for doing it, I
genuinely enjoyed the movie and (most of) the performances. I think
Linda Fiorentino is saddled with a really tough part that forces her
to ask a lot of questions that allows the supporting cast to rattle
off a lot of the (yes, kind of clumsy) exposition, and she never
really looks comfortable doing it.
In fact, I liked it so much I'm naming it my
Overlooked DVD Pick of the Week. Or, if you've already seen
"Dogma" and you've made up your mind about it (one way or another),
rent a movie you've always meant to give another chance. Let me know
what you picked and how it felt to revisit it. Another one on my "to
re-evaluate" list that Adam and I will mention briefly on this week's
show: "Dead Poets Society." Saw it when I was 17 and loved it. Saw
it when I was 25 and hated it. At 32? I'm curious.
And finally: "Safe Men." I named it an Overlooked DVD pick
many months ago ... when it wasn't even on DVD. And I made a little
fuss about it when it finally was released on DVD a couple of weeks
ago. Well, IFC had it on last weekend and I Tivo'd it. On last
week's show, I made fun of Adam's love for "Jesus Christ Superstar,"
which I had also Tivo'd. Well, the full story is that Carrie and I
were watching "Jesus Christ Superstar," but it was late and JCS was
just a little too ... far out, man ... to keep our attention. So I
suggested that we give "Safe Men" a try. Carrie had never seen it.
I hadn't seen it in probably three years, but (obviously) my memories
of it were fond ones. We got through ten minutes of it. I'm
chuckling, but Carrie's not laughing at all. And she's falling
asleep. And I'll admit it: it wasn't as funny as I remember it. And
Steve Zahn is kind of bad in it. But I still say that Sam Rockwell
and Paul Giamatti and Mark Ruffalo and the movie's dumb plot and
quirky dialogue make it worth checking out. And ... it may not hurt
to have a couple of beers before your watch it. Or sloe gin fizzes.
Whatever your preference.
[Note from Adam: Finally caught up with "Safe Men" myself last
week thanks to IFC. I can definitely see how someone can watch it and
not laugh at a single thing ... but Sam's ultimately right. Giamatti,
Rockwell and Ruffalo, plus Michael Lerner as Jewish mobster Big Fat
Bernie Gale, are so hilarious that it's a must-see. My favorite
exchange in the whole film:
Sam (Rockwell): And who am I speaking with?
Bernie Gale Jr.: This is Big Fat Bernie Gale Jr.
Sam: Oh hello, Little Big Fat.]
|
|
|
| |
|
Adam's Rib: The Remake
I originally recorded this on episode #122 when we discussed "Adam's
Rib" as part of the Screwball Comedies Marathon ... but the show was
running a little long (whatever that means) and we realized it really
wasn't going to make any sense to people who hadn't seen the
original, so we cut it.
Basically, it's the result of a conversation that my wife Carrie
and I had a couple Friday nights ago over dinner. We'd just watched
"Adam's Rib" the night before and I'd been trying all day to think of
modern films that shared "Rib's" sensibility. Not just the chemistry
between Tracy and Hepburn, but the way Cukor and his screenwriters so
successfully combined social commentary and broad comedy.
My question to her: how would they make "Adam's Rib" today?
Could they?
Below is the answer we came up with. A remake of "Adam's Rib,"
complete with casting. Instead of a movie about equal rights for
women, we made it a movie about equal rights for homosexuals.
Adam's Rib 2006
The Story
David Attinger (John C Reilly) is a popular big market
sportscaster. Also, he's just come out of the closet. Fearing that
he will lose custody of his kids in the impending divorce, Reilly
takes his kids (Ashley, Ryan and Dakota) and his new boyfriend (Steve
Carrell) to "a place that likes people like us." The Netherlands.
His wife (Tea Leoni) has threatened that she will NEVER let "a gay"
raise her kids. The anchor on Reilly's newscast (Will Ferrell)
announces Reilly's sudden trip to The Netherlands ("or as some people
call it, Holland ... maybe he'll try on some wooden shoes while he's
there").
'Life Partners' Adam and Austin (Dustin Hoffman and John Michael
Higgins) are watching the morning news when they hear the report that
Reilly has "kidnapped" his kids. Higgins is trying to get Hoffman
out of bed. "Good for him," says Higgins. Hoffman is an assistant
district attorney; Higgins a defense attorney. When Hoffman gets to
work the next morning, he learns that he has been assigned the case
-- Reilly has been arrested for kidnapping his own kids and is being
extradited back to the United States. Higgins decides that the case
is a perfect showcase for denying homosexuals equal rights before the
law. Higgins and his stenographer (Topher Grace) visit Reilly in
prison ...
Also, Hoffman and Higgins have a next door neighbor, Kit Lurie
(Mary Louise Parker), a good friend of Higgins' who completely annoys
Hoffman. She's a folk singer/song-writer who wears sexy camisole
tops and tight jeans. She flirts with Higgins and writes songs about
him, one of which takes off in popularity when it's posted on
Parker's MySpace page.
Additional Cast Members:
The presiding judge in the case: Alec Baldwin.
The Dutch police officer who arrests Reilly and Carrell at the
airport in The Netherlands: Sacha Baron Cohen
The three gay defense witnesses that Higgins calls to the stand
to prove that not all homosexuals fit stereotypes: Vince Vaughn as
super-cool Gay Foster Parent; Steve Buscemi as an unkempt gay; Mark
Wahlberg or Luke Wilson as the All-Pro Gay Football Player; and Owen
Wilson as himself ... a straight guy who just kind of likes and
admires gay people and wonders what it would be like to be gay ...
Ben Stiller plays the juror who admits to being homophobic when
questioned by Higgins during jury selection ...
Working title of the movie?
Adam's Wrist
Director: Peyton Reed. With Mike Nichols and Elaine May as
executive producers and consultants.
Any screenwriters out there want to take a crack at it?
|
|
|
| |
|
Merge Music
We know that Filmspotting isn't about the music, but Adam and I are
really excited about the new partnership with Merge Records. They
have lots of great bands.
Check out their roster --
or the roster of any one of our label partners -- and let us know if
there's a band you'd like to hear on Filmspotting.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
