Monday, August 08, 2011
The Trick Candle
By Jonathan Pacheco
Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns) is a mythological goddess, a seductress rarely descending from her studio apartment, spending her time perched on her bed, which doubles as a sort of altar to her sexual prowess, decorated with more candles than a cathedral. She only makes love on her own mattress, but her suitors — male and female — are more than willing to make the journey for their reward will be great. Even her full name — Nola Darling — when spoken by her lovers, sounds more like a near-allegorical title that she demands than a true first and last name. Yes, she's a seductress, but one whose greed is without malice.
Or maybe she's simply a modern young woman who enjoys sex, openly and honestly soliciting several relationships — most frequently with Jamie (Tommy Redmond Hicks), an honest gentleman; Greer (John Canada Terrell), a model; and Mars (Spike Lee), a scrawny bike messenger — to fulfill her desires. In our society, the promiscuous male equivalent of this character has been accepted and even glorified for a while now, and not just in the black community. But a female who carries on strictly physical relationships with multiple partners? Well, we've got some nasty words for a lady like that, even 25 years after this film was made, don't we? She's Gotta Have It, while playful in ways we haven't seen from its director in a long time, wouldn't be a Spike Lee joint if it didn't address and attempt to annihilate some serious, thought-provoking issues and stereotypes. Lee's characters in this film are nonviolent, artistic, intelligent and successful (mostly). I don't recall hearing the n-word, and in the closing credits Lee proudly points out, "THIS FILM CONTAINS NO JERRI CURLS!!! AND NO DRUGS!!!" Clearly, his first feature is a call to abandon past stereotypes and think progressively about how we socially and sexually identify black men and women — heck, all men and women.
And a first feature this very much is, as She's Gotta Have It exhibits many of the expected traits of independent films by young directors. Most of the key performances, particularly those by Johns, Raye Dowell (as Nola's desperate-to-get-her-to-switch lesbian friend Opal) and occasionally Terrell, are weak and at times downright bad. The camerawork gets a bit too literal when it cues conversations (tilt up, settle, and — line!), and in that sense it sort of tips off the viewer. Still, some of those first-feature characteristics are charming when seen in the context of Lee's career thus far. It's fun to see members of his family play key roles in the production, from his sister, a young Joie Lee, playing Nola's former roommate, to his father, Bill Lee, doubling up as Nola's onscreen father as well as composer of the film's jazzy score. Through the film we discover a relaxed, familial production environment. When Mars is introduced, he's seen speeding down a hill on his bike, heading straight for the camera, swerving at the last moment to miss it as he screams. Lee cuts to a title card, but over it we hear laughter and chatter from the crew. It fits within the documentary façade of the film, but to my ears it sounds like real reactions from Lee's crew. Just before the end credits, the director lets his main players come out and take bows by having them slate a shot, then introduce themselves. A few add their own flair: an impersonation, a bass riff, a certain smirk. There's a joyful atmosphere to the production that Lee wants you to see.
The film itself is comically playful in a way you don't see from Lee anymore, partially because he's molded himself into a singular filmmaker no longer in need of his early, slightly derivative techniques. There are jokes, moments and even stretches in She's Gotta Have It that feel downright Woody Allen-esque, from Jamie's chase of Nola through the streets of New York to some plain silly touches, such as Nola nearly falling asleep waiting for Greer to slowly undress, or the reveal of Mars' sneakers during sex. Even Lee's now-familiar speaking-to-the-camera montage technique, typically used for dramatic effect (the racial slur sequence of Do the Right Thing or the "I'm Malcolm X" montage in Malcolm X), is used comically in this film to catalog the lame pickup attempts of Nola's would-be suitors (a scene that Kevin Smith would later ape in his own first feature, Clerks). I mean, at one point a man wipes snot with his hand, then briefly inspects it before finishing his pickup line; it's endearing how goofy Lee gets.
Despite its humble budget and brief shooting schedule, She's Gotta Have It is a great looking film, at times beautiful. Lee's bold visual style is present, though not quite fully developed; the crane shot is missing from
his arsenal and his use of handheld feels a bit raw. Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson makes great use of black-and-white film and the occasional dose of slow-motion, most notably in a few of the film's sex scenes with characters set against a stark black background, lit almost exclusively in highlights and shot only in tight close-ups. Her breasts. His face, then hers. Mouths open in ecstasy. The film deliberately tries to be sexy, which is typically a turnoff for me, but here it absolutely works, as does one of its boldest moves, a single scene shot in color. While not as beautiful as the black-and-white photography, and ironically a bit more dated when we see the typical bright, clashing colors of the '80s (as if Nola's near-Eraserhead haircut didn't tip you off), its inclusion is surprising and striking enough that it conjured an involuntary "Whoa" from me when it arrived.It's during this scene — Nola's birthday celebration with Jamie — that she's presented a cake with a trick candle that reignites after she blows it out. In passing, it's another small, playful way to cap a scene, perhaps in reality a gag played on the cast, because as they laugh, Tommy Hicks sneaks a quick glance at the camera and then at the offscreen crew. Yet, the moment foreshadows Nola's fate, doesn't it? The candles wrapping around her bed like angels' wings represent her sexual fire. She lights them before intercourse and extinguishes them after. She has a nightmare that includes flames engulfing her bed, her fear of her destructive sexuality in full metaphor. When she decides to become a celibate, one-man woman, part of her cleansing process entails removing candles from her altar and scraping off the excess wax.
But her celibacy doesn't last when she realizes that's not who she is or who she wants to be. In the film's closing moments, she's resigned to her reality, saying, "Who was I fooling?" as she stands against a curtain covered in a pattern resembling melted wax. Nola is that trick candle, only momentarily fooling he who thinks he can blow out her sexual fire. She'll always reignite.
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Labels: 80s, Kevin Smith, Movie Tributes, Spike Lee, Woody
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Saturday, November 20, 2010
From the Vault: Casino
Being widely considered the greatest working American director can't be an easy thing to live with, so it probably was inevitable that Martin Scorsese picture would eventually collapse beneath the weight of his own reputation.
Casino, aside from New York, New York, ranks as Scorsese's most disappointing in the post-Mean Streets era. At times, you'd swear it should be titled "Goodfellas Go to Vegas" with a self-reflexive tendency that rivals even Kevin Smith's Mallrats.
What saddens me is how easily these comparisons could have been avoided. Co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (who wrote the book that Goodfellas was based on) penned the book Casino while the movie filmed. The book ends up being stronger and more interesting than the film, which plays like it was written from notes.
Robert De Niro stars as Ace Rothstein, a fictionalized version of a real-life gambler who eventually ran several Las Vegas casinos for Midwestern mafiosos. Very little distinguishes De Niro here from other roles he's played and watching him, I kept thinking how good Harvey Keitel could have been in this part.
Joe Pesci does a Chicago variation on his Oscar-winning character from Goodfellas, playing Nicky Santoro, Ace's best friend, a mob enforcer. Pesci can still electrifyingly switch demeanors at a moment's notice, but Nicky resembles Tommy from Goodfellas so closely that it seems like inappropriate typecasting, especially when he becomes embroiled in a triangle with Ace and his wife Ginger (Sharon Stone).
Of the three leads, Stone actually gets the most from her role since, unlike the men, she's playing a part that's different from any she's done before. Thankfully, she's more than up to the task.
As always, Scorsese provides memorable sequences, but they don't add up to much or make this nearly three-hour movie consistently compelling. At times, it seems more like a Brian De Palma film than a Martin Scorsese one.
Scorsese, who has used voiceover narration so well before, saddles Casino with a first hour that consists almost entirely of audible exposition from De Niro. It starts to wear on a viewer, impatient for the movie to start. Once the film gets rolling, one section mesmerizes but that quickly gives way to a multiple-murder ending that bears way too much resemblance to Goodfellas and a drug scene that even borrows the same Rolling Stones song ("Gimme Shelter") that Scorsese used in a similar sequence in Goodfellas.
The performers do what they can, but many such as James Woods, Kevin Pollak and Don Rickles seem wasted. The character that intrigued me the most was Remo, one of the Midwestern mob bosses played by an actor named Pasquale Cajano whom I've never seen before.
As we've come to expect from a Scorsese production, the technical aspects are above reproach with solid work (aside from its length) by longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker, cinematographer Robert Richardson and production designer Dante Ferretti. As with Goodfellas, Scorsese fills the soundtrack with virtual wall-to-wall musical selections, though in Casino the song choices often feel forced and obvious, as if Scorsese hoped the music could convey what he seemed unable to accomplish.
With all Casino has going for it, its lack of success becomes all the more disheartening. Movie lovers and Scorsese fans are liable to leave theaters heartbroken. You would think the fervor of gambling itself would instruct Scorsese's work with a feverish tilt, but the gaming plays like an afterthought.
Perhaps the lukewarm reaction from Hollywood to Scorsese's last film, the exquisite Age of Innocence, caused the director to retreat to more familiar ground. The reaction to Casino likely won't quell his fears.
Thankfully, his next project, Kundun, will tell the story of the 14th Dalai Lama and that sounds as un-Scorsese as anything he's done. Scorsese is at his best when he relies on his passion, not when he plays it safe.
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Labels: 90s, De Palma, Keitel, Kevin Smith, Pesci, Scorsese, Sharon Stone, Zemeckis
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Saturday, October 16, 2010
From the Vault: Mallrats
With Mallrats, Kevin Smith presents the second part of his so-called Jersey trilogy that began with Clerks. Unfortunately, his second feature fails to hit the same comic heights and suffers from a tacked-on plot.
Mallrats, which includes two minor characters from Clerks (Jay played by Jason Mewes and Silent Bob played by Smith himself), focuses on two friends who hope to get over being dumped by their girlfriends by spending the day wandering at the mall.
The two young men are T.S. (Jeremy London), a college student despised by his girlfriend's father, a would-be game show producer (Michael Rooker); and Brodie (Jason Lee), a comic book fanatic who doesn't pay enough attention his significant other Rene (Shannen Doherty).
Mallrats' main problem stems from the slight excuse for a plot it offers and the actors' delivery seems really forced, especially in contrast with the smooth naturalism of Clerks.
In fact, some of the dialogue flies at such a high speed as to be nearly incomprehensible. What works best about Mallrats are its comic book underpinnings, which lead to a funny cameo by the legendary Stan Lee, and some wacky bits involving Jay and Silent Bob, though they were still funnier in their minimalist roots in Clerks.
Mallrats also suffers from being too self-conscious, which provides for some amusing in-jokes but more often that not just end up being intrusive.
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Labels: 90s, Kevin Smith
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Sunday, October 10, 2010
From the Vault: Mighty Aphrodite
This movie year has become one of extreme disappointment as one good filmmaker after another produces a misfire. So far, we've seen the stumbles of the Hughes brothers and Kevin Smith, among others, and the biggest fall of the fall (Martin Scorsese's Casino) isn't even out yet. This week, it's Woody Allen who trips up with Mighty Aphrodite, leaving movie fans with a few laughs, some OK performances and a lot of regret-filled sighs.
Allen stars as Lenny Weinrib, a New York sportswriter wed to Amanda, a younger art dealer (Helena Bonham Carter) who suddenly decides she wants a child. At first, Lenny expresses reluctance but Amanda adopts a son anyway and Lenny becomes entranced by the power of parenthood.
In fact, the magic of the bright boy and the zip that has vanished from his marriage prompts Lenny to seek out the boy's natural mother.
Mira Sorvino plays the birth mother who, much to Lenny's chagrin, turns out to be a prostitute/porn actress who's several cards short of a full deck. Sorvino's amusing take on the typical role of the "dumb blonde" gives Mighty Aphrodite much of its energy as she's simultaneously naive and streetwise, vulgar and innocent.
Allen's script does produce many of the hearty laughs you expect from Allen, but the story itself fall flat and the comic gimmick of a Greek chorus seems just that — a gimmick.
Aside from Sorvino, the other performers, except for a brief bit by Michael Rapaport as an equally dumb suitor that Lenny tries to fix Sorvino up with, get little to do.
Mighty Aphrodite, coming after the inspired Manhattan Murder Mystery and Bullets Over Broadway, definitely lands in the category of lesser Woody efforts.
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Labels: 90s, H.B. Carter, Hughes Brothers, Kevin Smith, Scorsese, Woody
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Monday, October 04, 2010
I hope the paycheck was nice
By Edward Copeland
Of all the things I expected to cross my mind when I decided to watch Cop Out, the first film directed by Kevin Smith from a screenplay he did not write a possibility I never considered was The King & I. However, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical kept popping into my head, not because of any plot similarities, but because I kept hearing Yul Brynner singing "Is a Puzzlement."
Cop Out, I suppose, aims to be a comic buddy cop film with some action pairing Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Unfortunately, Willis seems unusually lifeless and Morgan seems to be doing the same shtick that he always does. As a result, it's just not that funny.
The screenplay by Mark Cullen & Robb Cullen spins a story where after Jimmy and Paul (Willis, Morgan) screw up a setup and end up getting an informant killed, they get suspended without pay for nine days and step on the toes of a narcotics detective (Kevin Pollak) whose long-term investigation gets mucked up by the mess.
To make things even worse, Jimmy's daughter Ava (Michelle Trachtenberg) soon will walk down the aisle and wants a dream wedding that dad can't afford (the musicians she covets are $48,000 alone). Her stepdad (Jason Lee) offers to pay, but Jimmy is too proud to let the man who wed his ex-wife pay so he plans to sell a valuable baseball card he owns to cover the costs. Unfortunately, the card ends up in the hands of the same drug-dealing bad guys responsible for the mess that got him and Paul suspended in the first place.
Smith always has been brutally honest that his weakness as a filmmaker lies in his visual style and to his credit, he has improved and does show some nice touches here. Too bad it comes at the service at such a lousy story. What boggles my mind is what attracted him to this script in the first place. While Smith's own screenplays have produced mixed results, he's never made one completely devoid of at least a fair amount of good dialogue. That's why it's surprising that there's so little to like in Cop Out. You'd think he'd recognize the problem and do some on-set rewriting, even if he didn't get screen credit for it, but nothing the actors say sound remotely as if Kevin Smith had a hand in its writing.
If the story weren't enough to sink this cinematic ship, the lead actors seem as if they're busy poking holes in the boat. Willis looks and acts as if he'd rather be somewhere else (though I can relate). Morgan's familiar act plays as if it's a 45 single running on 33 rpm speed (my age is showing) which only makes his blather even more annoying.
The only actor who gives the film any marginal sign of life is Seann William Scott in an all-too-brief appearance as a thief that tries to help the cops out. He actually manages to be funny. I assume that's why he disappears quickly so as to not seem so out of place. It's also refreshing to briefly see Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame.
Granted, Smith has been in a bit of a rut in terms of his own material, so I can respect his decision to try to direct someone else's screenplay, but next time he tries this, he should really get his hands on a much better script or one that he can improve with his own words.
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Labels: 10s, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hammerstein, Kevin Smith, Musicals, Rodgers, Willis
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Saturday, May 15, 2010
From the Vault: Clerks
Though the new generation of filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino certainly has good visual sense, perhaps their biggest selling point is their verbal acuity.
In fact, the fine art of conversation, or what passes for it in the laid-back lifestyles of two working class twentysomethings, makes writer-director Kevin Smith's film debut, Clerks, stand apart. Made for a meager $27,000 in black and white, Clerks tells the story of Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), a New Jersey convenience store clerk called in on an emergency on his day off. Needless to say, he's none too happy to be at the Quick Stop.
Dante's best friend Randal (Jeff Anderson) helps him pass the time since he works at the neighboring video store, doing his damnedest to drive away every customer so he can loaf.
Dante's love life preoccupies him, namely his girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti) and the return of a past obsession named Caitlin (Lisa Spoonauer).
A constant roundelay of customers, pushers and loiterers circle the four as Dante's unplanned work day grows longer and more insane.
The joy of Clerks comes from its often witty and decidedly vulgar dialogue, which will probably resonate more the closer you are to the characters' age or working plight.
As a writer, Smith peppers the script with philosophical musings and romantic ramblings that keep the viewer consistently entertained. His directing skills don't equal his writing prowess, unfortunately, as the pace sometimes slacks off and he doesn't use the camera to its fullest potential.
Clerks may be a slight film and not for everyone's taste, but it amuses. It's more like overhearing an interesting conversation than actually watching a movie.
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Labels: 90s, Kevin Smith, Tarantino
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Friday, March 06, 2009
Chasing Chasing Amy
By Edward Copeland
I like Kevin Smith and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Even though I've only met him once, I liked him as a person. Despite the fact that he's made far more movies I've been disappointed in than I've liked, I still look forward to his films, silently rooting for him, hoping that this movie will be the one that brings back the filmmaker I admired in the first place. Unfortunately, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is not that movie.
In a strange way, Zack and Miri seems as if Smith is trying to make a Judd Apatow movie. He certainly has plenty of Apatow alums in the cast, but the film doesn't work as an Apatow homage any better than it does as a Kevin Smith film.
The plot is simple: Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play the title characters, lifelong platonic friends who share an apartment and the bills. Unfortunately for them, they get far behind and have their electricity and water cut off. After a visit to their 10th high school reunion (which is really the film's funniest sequence, especially thanks to a cameo by Justin Long), Zack gets the bright idea of making a cheap porno film to help finance their continued existence.
Of course, it's a crazy idea. Making a porno to pay for the utilities on a crappy apartment while they continue to work at a low-paying jobs is absurd to say the least. However, I'd let that go if Smith's writing was sharp and funny like I know it can be, but Smith's script seems lazy here. It left me with a feeling of sadness instead of giving me lots of laughs.
I know Smith still has it in him, even if it has been 12 years since he moved to a new level with Chasing Amy, I still have faith in him. I fear he was scarred by the Jersey Girl experience and its Ben Affleck-J-Lo sideshow.
Perhaps it is time for Smith to stretch his skills to a different genre and steer clear of relationship movies for awhile, just to see what happens. I know you can do it, Kevin. Don't waste your time on films such as Zack and Miri. Your lack of enthusiasm is showing.
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Labels: 00s, Apatow, B. Affleck, Kevin Smith, Seth Rogen
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Welcome back Ray
By Edward Copeland
Seventeen years after Leland Palmer died on Twin Peaks (except for a brief appearance in the series finale and the movie prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me), Ray Wise has finally landed a role that shows off his talents and it happens to be an entertaining new series on the CW. Wise's character isn't possessed this time, he's the devil himself and Reaper, at least in its first outing is a real hoot. (Owl reference intentional.)
Reaper premiered Tuesday night (with an episode directed by Kevin Smith no less) and I'm glad to say that I found it lived up to the advance buzz. I was destined to try it at least once, just for Wise, but I'm definitely coming back as long as it's this entertaining.
The show's star is Bret Harrison as Sam Oliver, an underachiever, stuck in a dead-end job at a home improvement store, who learns on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was even conceived. Now that he's 21, the bill is due.
However, Satan isn't interested in dragging Sam down to Hell: He wants to use him on Earth, tracking down escapees from the eternal fire and sending them back where they belong. Sam is understandably reluctant at first and offers to let the devil just take him to Hell (he's not doing anything that worthwhile anyway), but Old Scratch will have none of that.
He's of no use in Hell. He hasn't done anything that deserves punishment, but the devil still insists on having his debts paid and makes Sam an offer he can't refuse: Be his bounty hunter on Earth or his mom gets sent to the fiery pit.
Assisting him is his fellow co-worker and uber-slacker Sock (Tyler Labine), who seems like a character out of a Smith movie. Of course, Sam also has a crush on a female co-worker, but let's face it, that's not why I'm there. I tuned in for Wise and boy does he deliver.
There are a few little glimpses of Leland/BOB in his performance (as when he smiles or giggles), but mostly his devil is a portrayal unlike any I've seen. While he's capable of showing a bit of his sinister nature, this devil almost is a motivational speaker, encouraging Sam to give his life purpose and that the people he's sending to Hell, deserve to be there.
He even tries to assuage Sam's fears about helping Satan by informing him he's seen how the world ends and, trust him, God wins. Wise gives his portrayal so many fun spins that I hate to spoil them for people who have yet to see the show (apparently you can watch it anytime on the CW Web site).
I'm just glad that this fine actor has finally landed another series role worthy of his gifts. Welcome back Ray.
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Seventeen years after Leland Palmer died on Twin Peaks (except for a brief appearance in the series finale and the movie prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me), Ray Wise has finally landed a role that shows off his talents and it happens to be an entertaining new series on the CW. Wise's character isn't possessed this time, he's the devil himself and Reaper, at least in its first outing is a real hoot. (Owl reference intentional.)
Reaper premiered Tuesday night (with an episode directed by Kevin Smith no less) and I'm glad to say that I found it lived up to the advance buzz. I was destined to try it at least once, just for Wise, but I'm definitely coming back as long as it's this entertaining.
The show's star is Bret Harrison as Sam Oliver, an underachiever, stuck in a dead-end job at a home improvement store, who learns on his 21st birthday that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was even conceived. Now that he's 21, the bill is due.
However, Satan isn't interested in dragging Sam down to Hell: He wants to use him on Earth, tracking down escapees from the eternal fire and sending them back where they belong. Sam is understandably reluctant at first and offers to let the devil just take him to Hell (he's not doing anything that worthwhile anyway), but Old Scratch will have none of that.
He's of no use in Hell. He hasn't done anything that deserves punishment, but the devil still insists on having his debts paid and makes Sam an offer he can't refuse: Be his bounty hunter on Earth or his mom gets sent to the fiery pit.
Assisting him is his fellow co-worker and uber-slacker Sock (Tyler Labine), who seems like a character out of a Smith movie. Of course, Sam also has a crush on a female co-worker, but let's face it, that's not why I'm there. I tuned in for Wise and boy does he deliver.
There are a few little glimpses of Leland/BOB in his performance (as when he smiles or giggles), but mostly his devil is a portrayal unlike any I've seen. While he's capable of showing a bit of his sinister nature, this devil almost is a motivational speaker, encouraging Sam to give his life purpose and that the people he's sending to Hell, deserve to be there.
He even tries to assuage Sam's fears about helping Satan by informing him he's seen how the world ends and, trust him, God wins. Wise gives his portrayal so many fun spins that I hate to spoil them for people who have yet to see the show (apparently you can watch it anytime on the CW Web site).
I'm just glad that this fine actor has finally landed another series role worthy of his gifts. Welcome back Ray.
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Labels: Kevin Smith, Ray Wise, Television, Twin Peaks
TO READ ON, CLICK HERE
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
He served a dark and a vengeful god.
What happened then — well, that's the play,
And he wouldn't want us to give it away,
Not Sweeney,
Not Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
By Edward Copeland
I love Stephen Sondheim and Sweeney Todd is my favorite musical of his. I admit that I have great trepidation about what Tim Burton will do to it in his upcoming film version, that's why I chose this date to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of the first U.S. airing of the television version of the original Broadway hit. I beg all of you who haven't seen this version to seek it out before Burton's version hits the big screen.
The Los Angeles production of the original Broadway tour was filmed for a defunct entity known as The Entertainment Channel, but I saw it when it aired on Showtime. There were cast differences from the Broadway production: George Hearn replaced Len Cariou in the title role, Cris Groenedaal took over the role of Anthony from Victor Garber (known to you kids as Sydney's father on TV's Alias) and Betsy Joslyn played Johanna instead of Sarah Rice. However, most of the other roles were played again by the Broadway cast, most importantly Angela Lansbury re-creating her triumphant Tony-winning turn as Mrs. Lovett, seen to the right with Ken Jennings, the show's original Tobias. If you are only familiar with Lansbury as crime-solving mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher on TV's Murder, She Wrote or as the malevolent manipulator Mrs. Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate, you owe it to yourself to watch Sweeney Todd. Lansbury sings, Lansbury dances and Lansbury wows. Her Mrs. Lovett is a hard act for anyone to follow.
Like a great black pit
And the vermin of the world
Inhabit it
And its morals aren't worth
What a pig can spit
And it goes by the name of London.
At the top of the hole
Sit the privileged few,
Making mock of the vermin
In the lower zoo,
Turning beauty into filth and greed.
For the uninitiated, Sweeney Todd is set in 1846 London where an escapee from Australian captivity has made his way back to London after 15 years with revenge on his mind. The television rendering of Harold
Prince's original Broadway staging was directed by Terry Hughes and begins with the same opening screech those familiar with the original cast recording will know well. Todd, whose real name is Benjamin Barker, was imprisoned by an evil and corrupt judge who had designs on Barker's wife. Now that he's escaped, Barker aka Sweeney Todd is determined to learn what has become of his wife and then-infant daughter as well as Judge Turpin. Helped by the young sailor Anthony, Todd finds his way to his old stomping grounds on Fleet Street, where his former barber shop remains vacant above Mrs. Lovett's meat pie store where she makes what Lovett herself calls "the worst pies in London." Lovett figures out who Todd is and lets him know what's transpired during his exile: his beloved wife poisoned herself following an attempted gang rape by Turpin and his friends and the judge now raises Barker's daughter Johanna as his own. Todd is understandably livid at the news, but is eager to figure out a way to start making money. Lovett brings him a surprise: She saved his barber utensils and Todd lovingly embraces his former tools, proclaiming that "his arm is complete again."Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett,
Tell you why:
Because in all of the whole human race Mrs Lovett,
There are two kinds of men and only two.
There's the one staying put
In his proper place
And the one with his foot
In the other one's face
Look at me, Mrs Lovett,
Look at you.
No, we all deserve to die,
Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett,
Tell you why.
Because the lives of the wicked should be
Made briefFor the rest of us, death
Will be a relief —
We all deserve to die!
What's so remarkable about Sweeney Todd, aside from Sondheim's miraculous score, is its ability to shift between so many tones, often within the same sequence. In one particularly brilliant musical setpiece, a
mournful medley of murder and romantic longing even has time for some dark-humored laughs within it. The book by Hugh Wheeler perfectly joins Sondheim's score to cross from musical comedy into musical tragedy to dark farce and back again. It even tosses in plenty of suspense and commentary about class struggles for good measure. Even the simple act of Sweeney wetting his shaving brush in a cup of water can prove ominous. Of course, most discussions of the show and the forthcoming film version reveal the dark twist at the heart of the show. I thought about trying not to discuss it in this piece, but since it will undoubtedly become known to those who don't already know, spoilers be damned. As Sweeney's revenge plot begins to pile up a side effect of corpses, Mrs. Lovett hits upon a bright idea to dispose of the bodies and to shore up her flailing meat pie business: Yes, Sweeney Todd is a musical that involves unwitting cannibalism and the number that introduces this dark-comic turn, "A Little Priest," is the Act I closer that will leave you laughing through much of the intermission if you see the show staged or on DVD.
Falling in love with the show as I did when I first saw the television production, I eventually got the original cast recording and was able to see the cuts made for the TV version. Nothing too bad, but the contest between Sweeney and the snake-oil salesman Pirelli is cut to one contest for TV instead of the three in the stage version. Pirelli is being played in Tim Burton's film by Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat fame. Though they knocked down the stories that Cohen couldn't sing the role and was allowed it to do it "rap style," it's another example of why I don't have much confidence in the upcoming film. I also noticed other minor cuts in the television version, such as one of the songs the evil Judge
Turpin gets. Still, the TV version is spectacular and is as close to seeing the original Broadway show as I'll ever get. George Hearn is great and though I've only heard Len Cariou's Tony-winning performance as Sweeney, I imagine he was just as good or better. My love of the musical runs so deep that it really concerns me what will happen in Burton's hands. Even though Johnny Depp is probably old enough to play Sweeney, he still looks younger than he is. Helena Bonham Carter just seems all wrong for Mrs. Lovett. Even more disconcerting is their acknowledgment that neither of them had much singing experience before beginning to make the film. That makes me nervous, since Sweeney Todd is one of Sondheim's most difficult scores and nearly the entire show is sung. It's probably the closest a Broadway musical has come to being an opera and I worry about how they will pull it off.Josh R has been fortunate enough to see both Broadway revivals of the show, so he can expound on how the Bob Gunton-Beth Fowler and Michael Cerveris-Patti LuPone versions stacked up. Of course, my concerns may be a bit paranoid. I've seen two productions of Sweeney Todd myself, one put on by college students and one by a professional community theater and while the casts of neither approached the image of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett that I have in my head, both versions did the show well. Perhaps the material is strong enough that it's hard to sink it. Heck, Sweeney Todd even provided one of the best parts in Kevin Smith's otherwise limp Jersey Girl, when Ben Affleck and his young daughter perform a number from the show for an elementary school talent show, complete with blood and rightfully shocking the audience of children, parents and teachers. Maybe alcohol should be involved before I see Burton's film since, as Sweeney and Lovett advise in "A Little Priest," Everybody goes down well with beer. I'll reserve judgment, but I still recommend that everyone try to see the George Hearn-Angela Lansbury version, if for no other reason that if you are unfamiliar with the show, it will get you prepared for what's coming.
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Labels: B. Affleck, Depp, H. Prince, H.B. Carter, Kevin Smith, Lansbury, M. Cerveris, Musicals, Sondheim, Television, Theater Tribute, Tim Burton
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
A Timex watch in a digital age
By Edward Copeland
This is how you revive a movie franchise. It's with great pleasure that I report that Live Free or Die Hard is a rousing thrill ride which, though nowhere near the greatness of the 1988 original, certainly marks the series' second best installment as well as being the best popcorn action film I've seen in quite some time.
Directed by Len Wiseman, whose most recognizable previous films were the Underworld films that I haven't seen, Live Free or Die Hard starts out fast and never slows down, moving at such a breakneck pace that you are too busy enjoying yourself to question the multiple implausibilities and cartoony action sequences.
Some of the bad guys survive such calamities that it reminded me of those crashes on The A-Team, where helicopters would slam into mountains, burst into flames and hit the ground, yet the occupants would climb out and figuratively go, "Shew." Still, it doesn't matter because the movie has planted a silly grin on your face that seldom leaves, let alone turn into a frown.
The plot is based on an magazine article that theorized how a cataclysmic cyberattack could bring the United States to a standstill. The aging, now divorced John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets dragged into this mess by pure accident. (Isn't it always the case?)
When the signs of the hacking first pops up at FBI headquarters in Washington, the deputy director orders senior detectives throughout the country to apprehend the most well-known hackers as the usual suspects. McClane gets assigned to pick up one Matthew Farrell (Justin Long, though I wonder if his role as a mischievous computer prankster affects his role as the Mac in the Apple TV commercials) in Camden, N.J.
Farrell recently broke some code for some mysterious people who are trying to cut the ties to the hackers they used and try to bump off Matt just as McClane arrives to pick him up. From that point on, the film doesn't let up as McClane tries to get Farrell to D.C. alive and the cyberattack escalates across the U.S.
The mastermind behind this plan turns out to be one Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a Richard Clarke-like figure who warned the government after 9/11 of the country's vulnerabilities to an attack such as this only to be crucified and drummed out of the government instead. It's really a quite pointed message against the Bush Administration without ever mentioning Dubya by name.
Gabriel's plan induces panic everywhere, including the stock market, prompting him to comment, "As Lenin said, useful idiots." Even though I was a huge fan of HBO's Deadwood, I never warmed to his portrayal of Seth Bullock, but when you see the actor do a great comic turn on a series such as My Name Is Earl or with cool malevolence he displays here, you really appreciate Olyphant's talents.
Long also makes a fine sidekick for Willis as a young man who never expected to be "an accessory to armageddon" and provides the essential contrast between a dinosaur such as McClane and a technophile such as Farrell. As the chaos unfolds, McClane is disbelieving at first that the government could be so ill prepared for such a cataclysm when the bad guys hijack the airwaves to ask America, "What if help will never come?" Farrell reminds him, "It took FEMA five days to get water to the Superdome."
Still, though McClane is older, balder and grimmer, he's still got a lot of the same moxie, asking to no one in particular at one point whether they think throwing a car at him would stop him. One thing that does always seem to separate McClane in all the Die Hard films, from the peerless original, to the awful second and the watchable third installment, is that he actually shows the evidence of the turmoil he's embroiled in.
As the understandably frightened Farrell asks McClane at one point how he can be such a hero, McClane laments that you don't get anything for being a hero.
In addition to Long, Willis and Olyphant, there also are good performances by Maggie Q as one of the cyberbaddies, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as McClane's estranged now-college age daughter and a funny cameo by Kevin Smith as a hacker extraordinaire who resides in a bunker in his mother's basement.
One concern I had going in was that the film's PG-13 would remove some of the edge off the series, but it really doesn't affect it much, even if McClane's signature line's expletive is muffled a bit at the end.
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This is how you revive a movie franchise. It's with great pleasure that I report that Live Free or Die Hard is a rousing thrill ride which, though nowhere near the greatness of the 1988 original, certainly marks the series' second best installment as well as being the best popcorn action film I've seen in quite some time.
Directed by Len Wiseman, whose most recognizable previous films were the Underworld films that I haven't seen, Live Free or Die Hard starts out fast and never slows down, moving at such a breakneck pace that you are too busy enjoying yourself to question the multiple implausibilities and cartoony action sequences.
Some of the bad guys survive such calamities that it reminded me of those crashes on The A-Team, where helicopters would slam into mountains, burst into flames and hit the ground, yet the occupants would climb out and figuratively go, "Shew." Still, it doesn't matter because the movie has planted a silly grin on your face that seldom leaves, let alone turn into a frown.
The plot is based on an magazine article that theorized how a cataclysmic cyberattack could bring the United States to a standstill. The aging, now divorced John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets dragged into this mess by pure accident. (Isn't it always the case?)
When the signs of the hacking first pops up at FBI headquarters in Washington, the deputy director orders senior detectives throughout the country to apprehend the most well-known hackers as the usual suspects. McClane gets assigned to pick up one Matthew Farrell (Justin Long, though I wonder if his role as a mischievous computer prankster affects his role as the Mac in the Apple TV commercials) in Camden, N.J.
Farrell recently broke some code for some mysterious people who are trying to cut the ties to the hackers they used and try to bump off Matt just as McClane arrives to pick him up. From that point on, the film doesn't let up as McClane tries to get Farrell to D.C. alive and the cyberattack escalates across the U.S.
The mastermind behind this plan turns out to be one Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), a Richard Clarke-like figure who warned the government after 9/11 of the country's vulnerabilities to an attack such as this only to be crucified and drummed out of the government instead. It's really a quite pointed message against the Bush Administration without ever mentioning Dubya by name.
Gabriel's plan induces panic everywhere, including the stock market, prompting him to comment, "As Lenin said, useful idiots." Even though I was a huge fan of HBO's Deadwood, I never warmed to his portrayal of Seth Bullock, but when you see the actor do a great comic turn on a series such as My Name Is Earl or with cool malevolence he displays here, you really appreciate Olyphant's talents.
Long also makes a fine sidekick for Willis as a young man who never expected to be "an accessory to armageddon" and provides the essential contrast between a dinosaur such as McClane and a technophile such as Farrell. As the chaos unfolds, McClane is disbelieving at first that the government could be so ill prepared for such a cataclysm when the bad guys hijack the airwaves to ask America, "What if help will never come?" Farrell reminds him, "It took FEMA five days to get water to the Superdome."
Still, though McClane is older, balder and grimmer, he's still got a lot of the same moxie, asking to no one in particular at one point whether they think throwing a car at him would stop him. One thing that does always seem to separate McClane in all the Die Hard films, from the peerless original, to the awful second and the watchable third installment, is that he actually shows the evidence of the turmoil he's embroiled in.
As the understandably frightened Farrell asks McClane at one point how he can be such a hero, McClane laments that you don't get anything for being a hero.
In addition to Long, Willis and Olyphant, there also are good performances by Maggie Q as one of the cyberbaddies, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as McClane's estranged now-college age daughter and a funny cameo by Kevin Smith as a hacker extraordinaire who resides in a bunker in his mother's basement.
One concern I had going in was that the film's PG-13 would remove some of the edge off the series, but it really doesn't affect it much, even if McClane's signature line's expletive is muffled a bit at the end.
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Labels: 00s, Deadwood, HBO, Kevin Smith, Sequels, Willis
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Friday, January 12, 2007
You can't go home again
By Edward Copeland
When it gets to the point of Kevin Smith's Clerks II when Silent Bob (Smith) usually speaks for the first time, Bob says, "I've got nothing" and unfortunately, that's how I felt when finally catching up with Clerks II, which was a real disappointment to me — and this is coming from someone who even defends Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
After the deserved critical drubbing that Smith's Jersey Girl took, Clerks II seems like a retreat onto safer ground following previous declarations that Jay and Silent Bob had been retired. That could be forgiven if Clerks II provided the steady stream of laughs that most Smith films cook up, even misfires such as Mallrats or Dogma, but I laughed very little in Clerks II.
As a DVD viewer, you know a movie isn't working for you when you grow impatient for it to end so you can get to the commentary track, because you suspect it's going to be funnier than the movie itself. Even that is a little disappointing, though it is more interesting than the film itself.
The film does have some things going for it — Rosario Dawson is a surprisingly good addition to the View Askew universe as Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal's boss at Mooby's after the Quick Stop burns down.
For me, as I expected it would, the funniest moment came from Randal (Jeff Anderson) ridiculing The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy to a couple of obsessed Hobbitologists, though Anderson's timing seems off 12 years after we first met him and he's just not quite as funny as he was in the original.
The other thing that Clerks II does have going for it is a surprisingly truthful, somewhat dramatic, scene late in the film between Randal and Dante on their friendship. It reminded me of the growth that Smith obviously wants to take but that he seems burned by from the reception to Jersey Girl.
Chasing Amy remains my favorite Smith film because it perfectly blended his humor and his pathos and I hope he finds a way to get back to that somehow but writing is Smith's strength. Also, based on many of his films and especially Clerks II, Kevin Smith is starting to remind me of Adam Goldberg's character's declaration in Dazed and Confused: I think he wants to dance. Deep down, I think Smith longs to make a honest-to-goodness musical and that could be interesting if he ever tries that route.
I'm still a Kevin Smith fan, but Clerks II left me cold. He seems to be in a sad pattern: Mallrats fails, he tries something new (with success) in Chasing Amy. Emboldened, he tries Dogma. When it stumbles, he retreats to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He tries a different direction with Jersey Girl — when it gets smacked, he retreats again to Clerks II, passing up a chance to make a Green Hornet movie.
Smith needs to have more faith in himself and keep taking risks instead of always falling back on the familiar.
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When it gets to the point of Kevin Smith's Clerks II when Silent Bob (Smith) usually speaks for the first time, Bob says, "I've got nothing" and unfortunately, that's how I felt when finally catching up with Clerks II, which was a real disappointment to me — and this is coming from someone who even defends Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
After the deserved critical drubbing that Smith's Jersey Girl took, Clerks II seems like a retreat onto safer ground following previous declarations that Jay and Silent Bob had been retired. That could be forgiven if Clerks II provided the steady stream of laughs that most Smith films cook up, even misfires such as Mallrats or Dogma, but I laughed very little in Clerks II.
As a DVD viewer, you know a movie isn't working for you when you grow impatient for it to end so you can get to the commentary track, because you suspect it's going to be funnier than the movie itself. Even that is a little disappointing, though it is more interesting than the film itself.
The film does have some things going for it — Rosario Dawson is a surprisingly good addition to the View Askew universe as Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal's boss at Mooby's after the Quick Stop burns down.
For me, as I expected it would, the funniest moment came from Randal (Jeff Anderson) ridiculing The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy to a couple of obsessed Hobbitologists, though Anderson's timing seems off 12 years after we first met him and he's just not quite as funny as he was in the original.
The other thing that Clerks II does have going for it is a surprisingly truthful, somewhat dramatic, scene late in the film between Randal and Dante on their friendship. It reminded me of the growth that Smith obviously wants to take but that he seems burned by from the reception to Jersey Girl.
Chasing Amy remains my favorite Smith film because it perfectly blended his humor and his pathos and I hope he finds a way to get back to that somehow but writing is Smith's strength. Also, based on many of his films and especially Clerks II, Kevin Smith is starting to remind me of Adam Goldberg's character's declaration in Dazed and Confused: I think he wants to dance. Deep down, I think Smith longs to make a honest-to-goodness musical and that could be interesting if he ever tries that route.
I'm still a Kevin Smith fan, but Clerks II left me cold. He seems to be in a sad pattern: Mallrats fails, he tries something new (with success) in Chasing Amy. Emboldened, he tries Dogma. When it stumbles, he retreats to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. He tries a different direction with Jersey Girl — when it gets smacked, he retreats again to Clerks II, passing up a chance to make a Green Hornet movie.
Smith needs to have more faith in himself and keep taking risks instead of always falling back on the familiar.
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Labels: 00s, Kevin Smith, Sequels
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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
"It's not satire, it's sheer reportage"
By Edward Copeland
Those words are Sidney Lumet's frequent replies to people who have complimented him over the past 30 years on his great film Network and his words grow truer with each passing year. Each time one revisits Paddy Chayefsky's masterpiece, you are startled by yet another section of near prophecy within it.
With the recent release of a sparkling 2-disc DVD set of the film, I returned to Network once again. I've watched this movie countless times, but it seems I always learn something new. The moment of prescience in the 1976 film that grabbed my attention this time is when Howard Beale urges his audience to stop an Arab front company from buying the corporation that owns the TV network and mentions in passing all the U.S. entities Arabs control including, "The Port of New Orleans." Gee — how about the for pre-9/11 mentality? I wonder if Dubya had watched the movie before the port deal went bellyup, he might have tried to deliver a rousing Ned Beatty-esque speech on corporate cosmology, but I imagine that speech contained far too many big words for Dubya to wrap his mouth around.
I've loved Network for a long time, but I'm curious as to how it would play to fresh eyes today when so much of what once seemed absurd, seems commonplace today. That's what makes George Clooney's screwball notion of remaking Network as a live TV event even nuttier. Clooney himself argued that he was shocked that kids today didn't get the satirical elements — so how exactly would re-doing it fix that — especially on network television, where the language would be sanitized — and he would try to find ways to update allusions to things such as Patty Hearst to today's audience. George, you've got your undeserved Oscar for supporting actor, now go back and make Ocean's 13 and leave well enough alone.
Excuse my rant, but it seems only appropriate when revisiting Network to let a little ranting shine through. You can almost follow the throughline from the appearance of Howard Beale to the likes of Morton Downey Jr. into the right-wind radio ravers of today.
One thing I learned from this new DVD set that I didn't realize before, since even the previous laserdisc version wasn't of the best quality, was the conscious decision Lumet and his great cinematographer Owen Roizman made to corrupt the image as the characters in the film are corrupted. It starts with almost all-natural lighting, then by the end it grows more and more artificial until it resembles, as Lumet says in the commentary track, "a Ford commercial."
Lumet also mentions in his commentary that everything the film foretold has come true except for the killing of a network anchor over lousy ratings. When you think about it, when CBS had to dump Dan Rather, weren't you a little surprised that they didn't kill him live on the evening news?
The acting is still as great as ever. William Holden, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, Ned Beatty and Beatrice Straight all deserved their Oscar nominations (and in the cases of Finch and Dunaway, their wins). The only regret to me is that Robert Duvall's great work in the movie always has been lost in the praise.
What's more amazing to me than Chayefsky's prescience is the brilliance of his dialogue. Has there ever been a movie with this many great, memorable lengthy monologues? When is the last time you saw a movie that had any lengthy monologue comparable to the bountiful supply Chayefsky's script produces. Of course, Finch gets the bulk of the great ones, but Beatty and Straight were essentially nominated for one great monologue each. Holden gets a couple as well. Really, Faye Dunaway's character is the only one who doesn't really get a lengthy monologue — and that makes perfect sense because, as Holden's character puts it, she is "television incarnate" and lacks the attention span for such lengthy language.
One criticism I've often heard made against Network is that it's preachy and really, I don't think that is true at all but stems more from people viewing it through the prism of what television is like today. It may seem like it's taking easy swipes at news as entertainment and reality TV — but those things, especially the latter, weren't as prevalent or widespread in 1976.
As for the DVD set itself, it's a must for any fan of the film. Not only is it the best copy of the film I've ever seen, Lumet's commentary is great — even if he repeats a lot from the excellent documentary on Disc 2 and his Robert Osborne TCM interview. The real find on the set though is an appearance by Paddy Chayefsky himself on The Dinah Shore Show surrounded by guests like Steve Lawrence. Unless you are a Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino, when is the last time you saw ANY screenwriter as a guest on a talk show (and George Clooney doesn't count).
Network has been on my all-time 10 best list for a long time — and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.
OSCAR ADDENDUM: Coming off this year's Oscars, where four films tied for the most wins with three each, it's worth noting that in 1976 Network and All the President's Men tied for the most with four wins each — but best picture winner Rocky only managed to take home three.
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Labels: 70s, Chayefsky, Dunaway, Duvall, George Clooney, Holden, Kevin Smith, Lumet, Movie Tributes, N. Beatty, Oscars, Tarantino
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Tuesday, December 20, 2005
From the Vault: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
With Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Kevin Smith creates what few filmmakers do: an unabashed valentine to his fans.
What writer-director Smith promises to be the last live-action outing for Jay and Silent Bob isn't as accomplished as Chasing Amy, as funny as Clerks or as ambitious as Dogma, but the movie provides so much to laugh at that it produces more joy than most recent attempts at film comedy.
Jason Mewes and Smith return as the title characters in what basically amounts to a long inside joke. The comic book characters that Jay and Silent Bob inspired in Chasing Amy are coming to the big screen via Miramax and the shady New Jersey pals want to stop the production and reclaim their anonymity and honor, both of which have been challenged by nameless and faceless Internet critics.
The plot only exists as a loose thread to hang this farcical road movie on which takes the pair from Jersey to Hollywood, encountering just about every actor to ever grace one of Smith's films while spoofing the previous films and movies in general.
Because so many of the laughs depend on knowledge of Smith's first four films, much of the humor will likely dumbfound audiences unfamiliar with his work. Smith's movies have always referred to each other, but this well could be the most self-reflexive film ever made.
In fact, too much familiarity with Smith's work might work against you during a lengthy spoof of The Fugitive that Smith lifts nearly verbatim from a Jay and Silent Bob story he published in comic book form.
That aside, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back turns out to be a hoot, providing nearly wall-to-wall laughs for those comfortable with Smith's vulgar but ultimately sweet-natured verbal humor.
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Labels: 00s, Kevin Smith, Sequels
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From the Vault: Kevin Smith
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUG. 24, 2001
After five films (six if you count Scream 3), Jay and Silent Bob are retiring from the live-action realm with a cinematic swan song, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. No one seems more relieved at putting the New Jersey pals to rest that Kevin Smith, who created the two characters and plays Silent Bob. Now, Smith can concentrate on his real love — writing and directing — and leave the acting to others.
"I don't feel the need to be in movies if I'm not playing that character anymore, which is nice because then I can just sit behind the monitor and get really fat during production."
In the film, Jay and Silent Bob set out to stop production of a Miramax film adaptation of the comic book they inspired in the movie Chasing Amy. Though Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is being released by Dimension, a division of Miramax, the studio's parent company comes in for a lot of ribbing, even though Miramax gave Smith his start with Clerks in 1994.
While the business relationship still is strong, it soured slightly in 1999 when Miramax — under pressure from its parent Disney — dropped distribution of Smith's controversial religious comedy Dogma. When Harvey Weinstein, half of the sibling pair that founded Miramax, saw Smith's script for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, he asked good-naturedly what the studio had ever done to Smith.
"Remember that movie of ours that you dropped? This is payback."
The plot is a loose excuse for a wild road comedy full of nonsequiturs and inside jokes. After the accomplished Chasing Amy and the ambitious Dogma, Smith admits the new film hardly is a step forward.
"This is a quantum leap backward. We've not matured. We've just gotten so much worse. After (what we) went through on Dogma, it was just kind of nice to make joke after joke after joke."
The characters of Jay and Silent Bob evolved into something much larger than Smith's intention. He based the sex-obsessed Jay on the man who plays him, Jason Mewes, or, more accurately, what Mewes was like when Smith met him 12 years ago, when Mewes was in his early teens.
"We grew up in the same town. He was kind of a kid of local folklore. I got to know him through some mutual friends who brought him into our fold and then they abandoned him. I guess they lost interest in him and I kind of inherited him. He'd just show up at my house and knock on the door and say, 'You want to hang out?'"
Originally, Smith resisted, but Mewes won him over.
"He just kind of grows on you. He's got a huge heart, but he's just weird. The character is based on who he was about 14, 15. He's different now. He's a lot more mellow. When he was 14 or 15, he was like this little sonic boom with dirt on him."
Among the many Smith movie veterans returning for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Bob is Ben Affleck, who appeared in Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma while making big-event features including Armageddon and Pearl Harbor.
Joining the Jay and Silent Bob family this time is Will Ferrell, who improvised a lot on the set. Affleck tried improvising in Mallrats, Smith recalled, but didn't get as much leeway with the script.
"The difference between Will Ferrell and Affleck improvising is that Will Ferrell is very funny. I'll give a person a lot of room if they can make me laugh and Will Ferrell always made me laugh."
Still, most of Ferrell's best ad-libs ended up on the cutting room floor because, Smith said, no matter how funny, they often slow things down. Another special newcomer on the set was Smith's now 2-year-old daughter, Harley Quinn, who plays an infant Silent Bob in the movie's opening scene.
"Directing her was bad. They say don't work with children and they are absolutely right. The kid who played Jay in that scene was really well-behaved and my kid was like screaming. 'You're supposed to be Silent Bob, not Screaming Bob.'"
While moving on to non-Jay and Silent Bob film projects appeals to Smith, he's still involved with another great love, comic books. He's writing a 12-part series of "The Green Arrow."
"For me, it's great. It's wonderful to kick back and write something like 'Green Arrow,' where you don't bring any of your own baggage to it. You're playing in someone else's sandbox, so to speak, and you don't have to worry about ... telling their back story. It's also really good exercise in writing something that isn't comedic."
The New York Post has reported that Smith's next project will be a smaller comedy-drama, close in tone to Chasing Amy, about Smith's experiences as a father. Affleck has been signed to the project and Smith hopes to reunite him with Chasing Amy co-stars Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams. Smith said he also hopes to make a film "based on the Gregory McDonald book Fletch Won, which is kind of a year one story of Fletch, how he first got the job on the paper." If the project comes together, Smith hopes to cast Lee as the young journalist.
While Smith admits Jay and Silent Bob might surface in an animated Clerks movie or in comic book form, he's determined to make this movie their last live-action outing.
"Rather than beat a dead horse or have them overstay their welcome, it's time to leave the party before we're the last guys there. We need to get out while the getting's good. Remember when people used to love Pauly Shore? Then one day, everyone hated Pauly Shore. I don't want to be Pauly Shore."
Still, Jay and Silent Bob have their ardent admirers, one of whom implored Smith as he left the interview room not to end their tales.
"It's not a door closing, it's a door opening."
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Labels: B. Affleck, H. Weinstein, Interview, Kevin Smith
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From the Vault: Mark Hamill
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AUG. 31, 2001
According to writer-director Kevin Smith, Mark Hamill told him the only job offers that excited his children were The Simpsons and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. While their father's place in film history was lost on the young Hamills, his work as Luke Skywalker in George Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy still impresses Smith, who manages to make Star Wars references in nearly everything he does.
HAMILL:"There were so many things I didn't get in this movie. I'm so out of the demographic. I just wanted to go see how the young people live."
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Hamill's casting allowed Smith, who plays Silent Bob, the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to duel with the Jedi himself.
SMITH: "In retrospect, as we were shooting, I finished up my light saber bit and we were focusing on Jay's. As I kicked back in the chair and I was watching Jay's, I was like, 'Wow — Jay is light-saber fighting with Luke Skywalker.' Then I was like, 'Wait a second. I was light-saber fighting with Luke Skywalker!'"
While Hamill has fielded many offers over the years to toy with his image as Luke, Jay and Silent Bob was the first script where he felt it was OK to tweak Star Wars. Hamill said it was his son, Nathan, who introduced him to Smith's work.
"Years ago, before I saw Clerks properly, ... Nathan came to me and said, 'Dad, you've got to see this — it's so funny.' And he pushes the button and this was throwaway dialogue where this guy goes, 'What do you think on the Death Star? Was that independent contracting or did they do that in-house?'"
Much later, when Smith offered the chance to appear in one of his films, Hamill's decision was easier.
"With this, you can tell from that moment ... in Clerks and then all the way throughout his works, there's a real affection for the material on his part."
Hamill's approval wasn't the only one required: A clause in Hamill's contract requires that Lucasfilm see any script that spoofs Star Wars.
"Lucasfilm had to read the script because I have something in my contract that precludes me from holding (Star Wars) up to ridicule."
After Hamill agreed to take part in Jay and Silent Bob, his lawyer called to ask if had been cleared by Lucas' people.
"I said, 'No, but shouldn't we have discovered this before wardrobe fittings?' It scared me for a minute, cause I don't want to upset people, really. Basically, I just don't go do porno movies in my Luke costume."
There was no problem and Hamill appears in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, playing a movie villain named Cockknocker.
"I've been asked to do a lot of things, either in cameo situations or whole movies, that are based or derivative from George's movies, and I never really considered it at all. It's easier not to. I know when I heard that Mel Brooks was doing Spaceballs I said, 'If he calls, I love Mel Brooks so much, I know I'll do it.' But he never called. In a way, I was disappointed and relieved."
Hamill and Smith share a mutual admiration society.
"(Smith) was one of these guys — I feel this way about Matt Groening, even though I've never meant Matt — where you read an interview and you go, 'Oh my God, it's like my best friend in high school.'"
Hamill's respect for Smith increased once he worked with him. During his scene, Hamill suggested a different way to explain how his character got his name and Smith agreed.
"Even at the 11th hour, he accommodated me, and it winds up in the movie. That really makes you feel empowered."
Smith returns the compliment.
SMITH: "Mark was really fun and game and brought something to it that wasn't even there on the page because it wasn't written for him. It wound up being Mark and suddenly, it just added another dimension to the fight."
Nearly 25 years after Star Wars premiered, the film's effect still unnerves Hamill.
"I'm always surprised and jarred when you're watching something and someone makes a reference (to Star Wars). It's on sitcoms, editorial cartoons, the Evil Empire during the Reagan years. Someone said, 'Does it bother you when people call you Luke?' Not only do they know my name, they know Peter Mayhew played the wookiee. That's really something."
Even though he wasn't involved in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, the hoopla surrounding its 1999 opening amazed Hamill.
"Most of what I loved (about Phantom Menace) was just how much of a cultural event it was. People camped outside the theaters — I loved that. Now, I don't know where they bathed. Can you imagine the stench in a theater with people who'd been camped out for a month? This to me is fun, goofy pop culture at its best."
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Labels: Interview, Kevin Smith, Lucas, Mel Brooks, Star Wars, The Simpsons
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