You've Got Mail

As you can see, I’ve been reviewing quite a few romantic comedies available on video or DVD. I thought that would be appropriate as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner in February.

You've Got Mail is my favorite Nora Ephron movie. It is rated PG and is a delightful romantic comedy set in New York City. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks star along with Greg Kinnear, Dabney Coleman, Steve Zahn, Heather Burns, Dave Chappelle, and Jean Stapleton.

Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) have been emailing each other anonymously after a chance meeting in a online chat room. They have avoided revealing identifying details of their lives, yet have developed a strong friendship through their correspondence.

Joe owns Fox Books, which is a large chain of bookstores, and one is being built in the West side neighborhood where Kathleen’s children’s bookstore has existed for over 40 years. Joe and Kathleen meet and do not hit it off, as Fox Books is seen as being a blight to the quaint little neighborhood, and a threat to all independent booksellers.

Meanwhile, Kathleen is getting business advice from Joe via email, neither suspecting the other’s true identity. Neither of them are in satisfactory relationships, and they agree to meet at a café. Joe sees Kathleen waiting for him, and is faced with the realization that the woman of his dreams is Ms. Kelly. He knows she will not be happy to see him, so shows up as Joe Fox, not the man on the internet she’s been waiting to meet.

Kathleen’s bookstore eventually does have to close. While Joe is talking to his father (Dabney Coleman), he realizes that Kathleen is the one single person in the world who fills his heart with joy. So he sets out to win her over.

I appreciate the process of Joe and Kathleen realizing that the person they dislike for their many faults is also the person they are in love with for all the right reasons. The writing by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron is superb, the acting inspired. Tom Hanks plays probably his best romantic role in this film. Meg Ryan is cute and spunky as always while giving depth to Kathleen’s situation and the challenges it brings. I won’t give away the ending, but it is just how a romantic comedy should end, very touching, maybe a few tears shed. You've Got Mail is a great film to watch for Valentine’s Day.

Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain is receiving incredible buzz since it won four categories at the Golden Globes (Best Director for Ang Lee; Best Drama; Best Original Song; Best Screenplay for Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana). The film is rated R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence.

It is 1963 when the film begins. Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two young cowboys sent out to Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming to tend a herd of sheep for the summer. The owner of the herd, Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid), doesn’t want the forest service to see where his sheep are grazing and gives them strict instructions on how to perform their job in this isolated area.

Ennis is a very quiet young man, but Jack eventually gains his trust, and they begin a sexual relationship one cold night. Ennis makes it clear to Jack that their relationship cannot continue beyond the summer, as he is engaged to be married to Alma (Michelle Williams).

They part at the end of the summer, and go their separate ways, Jack back to Texas, and Ennis to be married and start a family. Jack eventually marries Lureen (Anne Hathaway), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family, and also starts a family. Jack contacts Ennis after a few years, and they begin to go on “fishing trips” together periodically up on Brokeback Mountain.

Their relationship is not without its trials. Ennis is more in love with Jack than he is with his wife, who discovers the truth the first time the two lovers tryst. Unfortunately, she does not confront Ennis with this knowledge until many years later.

Jack meanwhile cannot exist without sexual encounters with other men, and he frequents Mexico for these affairs. Ennis is jealous of this, and yet will not form any legitimate life with Jack, as he has haunting memories of the torture and murder of a gay man that holds him back from making any commitment to Jack. The cast is absolutely superb together, and I don’t doubt that we will see Academy Award nominations in several categories.

The film boasts incredible mountain scenery, and the original score by Gustavo Santaolalla fits perfectly with all we are seeing. I recommend this film, although it is not a happy film. It is sad, and sometimes disturbing, as the relationship between these star-crossed lovers is intense and sometimes violent. I predict that after you leave the theater, the film will have you talking to your friends about what you’ve just witnessed for many blocks down the street.

Sleepless in Seattle

I don’t think that Sleepless in Seattle is a great romantic comedy. I didn’t really care for it when I first saw it, and after watching it again, I still feel it is not Nora Ephron’s best screenplay. The film was released in 1993, and I remember that people really seemed to like it, but I never understood why. Ms. Ephron also wrote When Harry Met Sally, which you may recall starred Meg Ryan, who is in this film along with Tom Hanks.

Sleepless in Seattle is really about an 8-year old boy named Jonah (Ross Malinger), whose mother has died 18 months ago, and who is now ready to have a new mother in his life. However, his father Sam (Tom Hanks) is not ready for a new wife. This is the part of the film that worked, seeing the relationship between Jonah and his father as they deal with the grief over the death of their mother/wife, and the hope that Jonah gives to his father for a future with a caring woman in it for both of them.

Jonah takes control, and calls a radio talk show from his home in Seattle on Christmas Eve, and speaks to Dr. Marcia Fieldstone about their dilemma. He gets his father on the phone, and thousands of women across America are touched by their plight as evidenced by the letters that are delivered to their doorstep with offers to become their new wife and mother.

In Baltimore, Annie (Meg Ryan) hears the segment on the radio. Although she is engaged to be married to Walter (Bill Pullman), she is intrigued by what she hears. Annie becomes obsessed with this man she's only heard speak on the radio, and writes a letter to Sam that her helpful friend Becky (Rosie O’Donnell) mails without her knowing. She eventually ends up flying to Seattle and stalks him. There are some sappy scenes where Sam sees Annie in the airport, and then sees her standing in the middle of the road during her stalking him down. I just don’t buy this whole theme. It is just not real.

Annie explains why she's going to Seattle to meet Sam as her having to do it so she doesn't go through life wondering if he could have been the one. I could see this happening if she already knew him (like someone from the past from high school or college for example), but she doesn't. She's only heard him on the radio. It's the part of the movie that just doesn't work for me.

Annie flies back to the East Coast without meeting Sam. Meanwhile poor little Jonah, desperate for a new mommy, writes to Annie pretending to be Sam, telling her to meet him at the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. His friend Jessica gets him a plane ticket and Jonah flies off to New York alone to meet Annie. I was touched by Jonah’s confidence as he tells the taxi cab driver that he’s on his way to meet his new mother. Ah, the innocence and hope of a child.

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are together in this film for probably all of five minutes. And yet people say what a wonderful film it was for them, what great chemistry they had. Are we watching the same film? They do have great chemistry together as actors, but not until You've Got Mail, a far superior romantic comedy I’ll review very soon.

Other things that just don’t work are Jonah’s little friend Jessica. She seems far older than him, can type and book plane tickets. Not believable. And the way Walter is portrayed is insulting. His only vice seems to be that he is allergic to just about everything. There has to be something more there to make us not like him, and it’s not provided. I don’t feel sorry for Walter; I feel sorry for Annie. She is delusional, goes off to stalk this man clear across the country, and we never get to see what happens after she meets up with Jonah and Sam. Her main complaint about Walter is he’s too perfect for her, they like all the same things, etc. And that’s a problem?

I did enjoy the music in the film. There were lots of great songs sung by Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Carly Simon, Louis Armstrong and others. Parts were enjoyable, but the romance part between Annie and Sam is not what it's about. As I said, it’s really about the little boy wanting a new mom after he loses his mother, and how his father reacts to this. The romance is total fantasyland, and doesn’t work. If you’re looking for a good romantic comedy, don’t rent it. Try one of the other ones I’ve reviewed recently. They are far superior to Sleepless in Seattle.

Honeymoon in Vegas

Honeymoon in Vegas was released in 1992 and is rated PG-13. It garnered two Golden Globe nominations, one for Nicholas Cage as best actor in a comedy/musical, and one for best comedy/musical that year.

Jack Singer (Nicholas Cage) is unable to marry his girlfriend Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker) because his mother on her deathbed asked him to make a promise that he would not marry. His mother, played by Anne Bancroft, told him that no one could ever love him as much as she does, and she continues to haunt his dreams.

Betsy is growing weary of Jack’s stalling, and Jack further uses his clients in his private detective agency as examples of why people shouldn’t bother to marry; they’ll just cheat on each other.

Jack senses Betsy withdrawing from him, and so suggests they fly to Las Vegas to get married. Once there, he stalls yet again. Betsy meanwhile has been spotted by the professional gambler Tommy Korman (James Caan), as she is the spitting image of his deceased wife Donna. Tommy arranges a poker game and invites Jack to play, fixing it so he loses $65,000, and then tells him that if Betsy spends the weekend with him, he’ll erase the debt.

Little does Jack know that Tommy plans to fly Betsy away to Hawaii for the weekend. They leave and a frustrated Jack returns to New York. He finally comes to his senses and jumps on a plane to Hawaii in pursuit of Betsy. That’s where the fun begins. Pat Morita is a taxi cab driver named Mahi Mahi, instructed to delay Jack as long as possible from finding Betsy. He takes Jack to a run-down shack where Chief Orman (Peter Boyle) lives. It just gets crazier and crazier from there. Betsy is succumbing to Tommy’s manipulations, as well as the charms of Kauai, and part of her is just fed up with Jack’s refusal to marry her. She eventually agrees to marry Tommy. Jack ends up in a Hawaii jail, Tommy and Betsy return to Las Vegas, and Jack has to join the Flying Elvises in order to get back to Vegas in time to stop Betsy from marrying Tommy.

The songs throughout the film are Elvis classics, and the Elvis impersonators wandering through Las Vegas are just great; all nationalities and ages take a try at being the perfect Elvis. It’s a very cute and funny comedy. Nicholas Cage is just great, as is Sarah Jessica Parker in this pre-Sex and the City role. If you just want some light entertainment that will make you smile, Honeymoon in Vegas would be a good choice.

Fools Rush In

For all you romantics out there, Fools Rush In will give you what you’re looking for. Salma Hayek plays Isabel Fuentes, and Matthew Perry plays Alex Whitman in this excellent comedy/drama/romance from 1997. Alex has come to Las Vegas for work, and one night he and Isabel have a chance meeting in a restaurant. The attraction is immediate, and they end up spending the night together.

Three months later, Isabel comes looking for Alex. He is relieved to see her, as she snuck out after their one night together without telling him where he could reach her. Isabel tells Alex that she is pregnant with his child, and will be keeping the baby. Although initially shocked, Alex decides this is what he’s always wanted, and they are married in a Las Vegas chapel, Elvis giving away the bride.

Their cultural differences create some conflict for them, but nothing is more difficult than the fact that Alex’s work is in New York City, and Isabel’s family is in Las Vegas. Their families couldn’t be more opposite. Isabel comes from a large, colorful, Hispanic Catholic family who has dinner together every Friday night, and Alex rarely even speaks to his parents.

Central to the movie is Isabel’s and Alex’s differing takes on destiny or fate. During their first conversation when they meet, Isabel tells Alex about signs, and how she believes that one’s destiny has already been decided; you just have to read the signs. Alex is skeptical of this idea. Isabel jokes about there being an explanation beyond reason, beyond all logic, that brought them both to the exact same spot that night, and later it is clear that fate brought them together. They are clearly in love and meant for each other.

The scenery in this film is extraordinary, although I admit I am partial to the soulful desert landscapes of the Southwest. I have driven over the road at Hoover Dam where Arizona and Nevada meet. The Arizona/Nevada state line that appears on the road over Hoover Dam was painted there specifically for filming. It remained there for several years, but I read that as of September 2005, it is no longer there.

Fools Rush In is rated PG-13. Ms. Hayek and Mr. Perry are wonderful in their roles, as are the actors playing their parents. Jill Clayburgh plays Alex’s mother, and Matthew Perry’s own father plays his father in the film. The film is just sweet and hopeful and will leave you with a happy feeling all over. Watch for the signs. They are everywhere.

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is a very fine romantic comedy, and a favorite of mine. The film is rated PG-13, and was released in 1999. Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts were nominated for best actor and actress in a comedy, and the film was also nominated for best comedy/musical at the Golden Globes.

Julia Roberts plays Anna Scott, who is an American film star in London on business. While out shopping one day, she stops in at a travel bookstore owned by William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant. Anna and Will are quickly attracted to one another. If Anna wasn’t a big movie star, I think the encounter would be like any other two people meeting for the first time, in the instant when they notice the spark in each other’s eyes that tells them this could be someone special.

Once the two get together however, Anna’s old boyfriend, tabloid journalism, and Anna’s temper haunt their relationship. Further complicating all the comedic as well as dramatic situations they find themselves in, is Will’s eccentric flat mate, Spike (Rhys Ifans). Like most romantic comedies, we are drawn right through to the end wondering if these two will ever get together and stay together.

Even if the device of Anna being a celebrity were removed, the film is still about true love and forgiveness. Anna delivers a great line, that if it isn’t in the American Film Institute’s best movie quotes, it should be. Anna tells Will to remember, “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” In the end, both of them need to reach for forgiveness in order to be together.

Notting Hill is very funny and touching, and I also enjoyed the British humor and language. The Golden Globe nominations were richly deserved, and Mr. Grant and Ms. Roberts are well matched as soul mates with some hurdles to overcome in order to have a life together. Good for a movie night at home.

Back to the Future

Back to the Future is every bit as fun to watch today as it was when it was first released in 1985. Marty (Michael J. Fox) is friends with Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), an inventor who creates a time machine out of a DeLorean. Marty is accidentally sent back to 1955, where he meets his own parents when they were teenagers.

Marty’s parents Lorraine (Lea Thompson) and George (Crispin Glover) are unforgettable characters as played by these two wonderful actors. Doc warns Marty that he must not interact with anyone in 1955 as it could change the future. The warning comes too late however, and Marty has to make sure his parents get together or he and his siblings won’t exist! This is not an easy task, as Lorraine has developed a crush on Marty. Further complicating the situation is Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), a bully who terrorizes George and tries to come on to Lorraine. George lacks the confidence to ask Lorraine to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, and Marty painstakingly coaches him to take a chance on Lorraine.

Doc meanwhile has problems to solve with the time machine, as there is no plutonium readily available back in the fifties to power his invention. Fortunately Doc is creative, his heroes being Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, and Albert Einstein.

The contrasts between 1985 and 1955 are still striking, and part of the fun of the movie. Doc doesn’t understand Marty’s slang, and people understandably find Marty strange. Science fiction was very big in the fifties, and Marty uses this to his advantage with George, pirating a bit of Darth Vader mixed with Van Halen to get him to pursue Lorraine.

I also enjoy seeing how Marty’s influence on his father has repercussions for years to come. George stands up to Biff, and doesn’t take his bullying anymore, and this changes Marty’s family in very positive ways when he finally does get back home. It reminds me how acting courageous and taking risks can change the course of one’s whole life.

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote this classic comedy, science fiction, and action/adventure that received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay. It won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture in 1986, and an Academy Award for Best Effects/Sound Effects Editing. There were two sequels to Back to the Future, which I will review at a later date.

Meet the Fockers

(recommended by Julia)

This sequel to Meet The Parents is one of the rare sequels that is actually worth seeing. Added to the original cast of this excellent comedy are Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman as Greg’s parents, Bernie and Roz Focker. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), his fiancée Pam (Teri Polo) and her parents, Jack and Dina Byrnes (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner), travel down to Florida in an enormous RV in order to meet Greg’s parents before Greg and Pam marry. Included on this trip are the Byrnes’ grandson, and their cat (who can flush).

Greg’s parents are priceless. Roz is a sex therapist, coaching senior citizens out of their home. Bernie is a lawyer, but stayed home when Greg was small to raise him. Bernie and Roz delight in exposing Greg’s personal and embarrassing secrets to the Byrnes family. Dina likes them soon enough, but Jack is difficult to win over. Not just anyone can enter his Circle of Trust. Jack resorts to some covert operations CIA style to try to get more information about Greg and his past. The shenanigans tumble one after another to set loose gales of laughter (from the audience). Particularly funny are some situations having to do with the Byrnes’ grandson, including his first words. Parenting styles couldn’t be more opposite.

I recommend this film for a good laugh. Two families joining their lives through marriage is never an easy thing to do, and it is likely that these two families will make yours and your in-laws seem tame by comparison.

Rumor Has It . . .

Rumor Has It . . . is now playing in your local theater. It is rated PG-13. Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) flies home to Pasadena with her fiancé Jeff (Mark Ruffalo) to be a bridesmaid for her sister Annie (Mena Suvari). Once in Pasadena, she confronts the secrets of her family. She becomes convinced that her family was the basis for the classic movie The Graduate. Her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) had an affair with Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) years ago, and so did her now deceased mother. Jeff plants the idea in Sarah’s head that perhaps her father is not her father, and Sarah has to discover the truth.

Sarah goes to San Francisco in search of Beau to find out if he is her father. Beau turns out to be a real womanizer (no surprise there; what other kind of man would sleep with a both a mother and her daughter).

Will Sarah succumb to Beau’s charms? Will she return to Jeff? What really happened between Beau and Sarah’s mother? Was her parents’ marriage a loveless union? And who was the real seducer, Beau or Sarah’s grandmother?

These are some of the questions that are answered in this thoroughly entertaining movie. No, it’s not Academy Award material; but now and then, pure entertainment is just what we need. The actors do a great job portraying their characters. And I found it very touching as Sarah learns about the mother who was taken from her so prematurely during her early childhood. Sarah does eventually learn the truth about her parents, her grandmother, and the infamous Beau Burroughs, and the knowledge sets her free. I do recommend this film. After all, some family had to be the inspiration for The Graduate.

Cinderella Man

I read that Cinderella Man failed to achieve the box-office success that was predicted for it. The film received good initial reviews from critics, and a lot of publicity, but still the crowds did not appear.

I think I know why. The American movie-going public is just plain bored and disgusted with movies about boxing. The film is rated PG-13, which means children under 13 years should have parental guidance to see it. I wouldn’t recommend this film even to my 19-year old niece! I wouldn’t recommend it to adults either. Now I know how Ebert and Roeper must feel having to sit through awful movies just because they have to write about them.

Any other film with these actors would have been great. Russell Crowe plays James Braddock, a boxer during the Depression era who overcame obstacles to keep his family together, and to be a great fighter. Renee Zellweger plays his wife, and Paul Giamatti plays his trainer/manager. I have no issues with Mr. Braddock as a person, and I believe he did overcome many obstacles to keep his family together during the Depression. But so did a lot of other people.

If Hollywood really tried, they could come up with another story of hardship leading to success. But instead they filmed this movie about a “profession/sport” that has grown men beating each other up (and sadly, grown women as in Million Dollar Baby). Audiences don’t want to go to theaters to watch boxing, and they don’t want to watch it at home either. Even Mrs. Braddock hates boxing, and tells her husband to stop letting his children spar with him. She lays down the law and announces that no child in her family will grow up to be a boxer. They will go to college and get good jobs elsewhere. Way to go, Mrs. Braddock!

Russell Crowe was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his performance, as was Paul Giamatti for his performance in a supporting role. It is not Russell’s year for an award. I can see why Mr. Giamatti was nominated however, as he does a really fine job as the manager risking his own financial stability in order that Mr. Braddock can have one last chance. Mr. Giamatti is a fine actor, as he has shown us previously in Sideways.

Other than Mr. Giamatti’s performance, the film falls short. The cinematography is inferior. I know it was dark during the Depression, but this film is too dark to even see clearly. I can’t think of any reason you should go out and rent this film. If any of you have seen it, please comment about it here. I’d be interested to hear whether you agree or disagree with me.

(The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has rated Cinderella Man PG-13 for intense boxing violence and some language. Henceforth, when I quote the MPAA ratings, it is verbatim for my readers’ information. Many of my readers prefer to avoid films with violence, and this is a way for me to alert you to whether there is sufficient violence in a film for it to be noted in the MPAA ratings.)

Crash

(recommended by Julia)

Crash, rated R, has an all-star cast including Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillippe, and Loretta Devine. To get so many accomplished actors in one film, I figured the screenplay must be pretty good, and I was not disappointed. The film is nominated for best screenplay, and Matt Dillon is nominated for best supporting actor in the upcoming Golden Globe Awards. This was one of the best films I have seen all year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up in some of the categories at the Academy Awards.

As the film progressed, I was reminded of Grand Canyon which was released in 1991, as the characters similarly weave in and out of each other’s lives, and both films are are about race relations in Los Angeles. The characters are complex, and just when you think you have one figured out and placed in a category (good or bad), something happens that tests that person and shows them and the viewer that life and the choices they make are not all that predictable.

It is a film about how racial stereotypes, and past history perpetuates hatred between the many cultures that make up Los Angeles: African-American, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic. The characters confront each other about those stereotypes and philosophize to each other about what it means to be a part of a certain race or group. Despite the philosophizing, never does the dialogue sound preachy, although definite points are made.

I don’t want to give away too much of the film, because some of its beauty is from the unexpected that occurs between these people struggling to get through life. However, I will share that the film deals with relationships between the police and Los Angeles citizens. It contrasts African-Americans, some of whom are professionals with respected jobs, who are embarrassed by those of their race who are common thieves. A Hispanic man living a new life away from gang involvement has to calm and comfort his daughter because she is scared of random bullets coming through the house. An Iranian daughter tries to help her father, who has been mistaken for an Arab, even so far as taking him to buy a gun to protect his store.

Those are just some of the characters in Crash, and the actors are amazing. Thandie Newton and Matt Dillon particularly have difficult roles to play and make their interactions so real and believable. I don’t know if this film will help anyone be less prejudiced, but it definitely made me think. It hasn’t been that long ago (less than 40 years) since the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. and race relations remain a multi-layered and complex issue. As long as thoughtful films like this are being made, it gives me hope that more and more people can learn to understand themselves, and each other, better.

Spanglish

(recommended by Julia)

Spanglish was written and directed by James L. Brooks (As Good as It Gets). I was happily surprised at the depth of this comedy, and found it to be quite touching. The film stars Adam Sandler (50 First Dates), Tea Leoni, and Cloris Leachman.

Flor (Paz Vega) immigrates to Los Angeles from Mexico hoping for a better life for herself and her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce). Flor eventually decides it would be beneficial to work one job rather than two so she can keep a better eye on her blossoming daughter, and ends up employed by the Clasky’s, Deborah (Tea Leoni) and John (Adam Sandler).

Flor does not speak English when the Clasky’s first hire her, and Cristina is forced to translate for her. There are no subtitles in the film, which is unusual, but I decided that it helped create the kind of atmosphere and difficulties that a family in their situation must find themselves in while trying to communicate.

This film is told from the point of view of Cristina, who has written an admissions essay to Princeton. She is looking back on her life with her mother and the choices her mother made for their family. Spanglish is really a film about honor. Flor has to make decisions to maintain the integrity of her family, both as an employee of the Clasky’s and as a woman.

This is because the Clasky’s are not a functional family. Deborah is a horrible mother, John is struggling with his work as a chef, and living with them is Deborah’s alcoholic mother (Cloris Leachman). Over a summer spent at the Clasky’s summer residence on the ocean, John and Flor become attracted to one another. They are simpatico, talking easily and often emotionally about their children and the decisions they make as parents.

When school begins in the fall, Cristina has a scholarship to the same school the Clasky’s daughter attends. Flor is growing increasingly uneasy about Deborah’s involvement with her daughter. Deborah meanwhile breaks down and tells John the secret she has been keeping from him. John leaves the house and runs into Flor. He invites Flor to his restaurant where he cooks her dinner. These scenes between John and Flor are very charged and sensual, and all too brief. Flor makes her decisions for the good of herself and her daughter, the decisions her daughter later has come to accept and appreciate.

I actually liked this film better than As Good as It Gets. I don’t recall it getting much press at the time it came out in theaters, and that is a shame. Adam Sandler is particularly good as the troubled chef not wanting to get too much acclaim, preferring a simpler life, and who is a good husband, who for many years has overlooked his histrionic wife’s drama.

I highly recommend this film to you. It mirrors a part of Los Angeles, both the privileged white class, and the 48% of Los Angeles that are the working Hispanics. I liked how the film resolved all the conflicts between its characters with integrity and honor.

Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn is one of my favorites to watch at this time of year. It is a romantic comedy with music by Irving Berlin, and stars Bing Crosby. It predates White Christmas by 12 years, having been released in 1942. Also starring Fred Astaire, it is a G rated film and features wonderful dance numbers showcasing Fred’s talents (and Edith Head’s gowns). Irving Berlin is said to have written the song Easter Parade, and then got the idea for a film about holidays. That’s how the most beloved song of White Christmas was born, and why it came to be associated with Bing Crosby’s melodic voice.

Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) and Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) have a song and dance team with Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale). Lila becomes engaged to Jim, but doesn’t want to join him at his farm in Connecticut. She and Ted run off together to continue their career in show business, while Jim heads to his farm. Jim gets the idea to turn the farm into Holiday Inn, a place where shows are performed on major holidays only. Along the way, aspiring performer Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) joins Jim’s productions at the inn. Lila meanwhile dumps Ted and he shows up at the inn intoxicated. He dances a crowd-pleasing dance with Linda, but fails to remember who she is in the morning. Thus begins Ted’s search for his perfect dance partner, and Jim’s attempts to keep the two of them apart. (Fred Astaire had two shots of bourbon prior to the first take for the drunken dance scene, and one shot before each subsequent take. They stopped at the 7th take, which is in the movie).

Bing and Fred are great as friends who always seem to fall for the same woman, and then try to outsmart each other. Bing was about 39 years old at the time of this film and Fred was 43 years old. You’re probably seeing them at the prime of their talents here, and the screenplay is a classic romantic comedy, well written and directed.

The film is in black and white, but that shouldn’t stop you from seeing it. The dancing and comedy are enough to make up for it. One of my favorite pieces is the 4th of July performance. This film was released in 1942, and the number is a not so subtle reminder that we were at war, and what freedoms we were fighting to protect. Another interesting little segment is the confused turkey on the calendar trying to pick which Thursday in November should be Thanksgiving Day. It’s a reference to President Roosevelt’s wanting to change the date of Thanksgiving.

Why not get both Holiday Inn and White Christmas for a night of some of the best classic musicals Hollywood ever made? Watching these two films always puts me in good spirits, and I hope they have the same effect for you.

Surviving Christmas

Surviving Christmas stars Ben Affleck, Christina Applegate, James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), and Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone). It is rated PG-13.

Drew (Ben Affleck) says the wrong thing to his girlfriend Missy just before Christmas and she breaks up with him. Desperate to not be spending Christmas alone, Drew goes to his childhood home, and pays the family now living there $250,000 to let him stay with them for the holidays. Tom (James Gandolfini) sees the dollar signs, and his wife Christine (Catherine O’Hara) reluctantly agrees to the plan, even though their teenage son is not happy to be giving up his room to this stranger. Drew even hires an actor to play his grandfather, whom he affectionately nicknames Doo-Dah, to complete the family.

That’s where the fun begins. Actually, from the first few opening scenes, we know this is not going to be a typical Christmas movie. Seeing Grandma take gingerbread men out of the oven with frowns painted on all their little faces is one clue, and what she does afterwards is shocking if it hadn’t been for those depressed little cookies. This film is about the unfortunate people who greet depression instead of Christmas cheer in December each year.

Drew sets about recreating his family, and doing all the traditional family Christmas rituals, and then their older daughter Alicia (Christina Applegate) shows up. She is not happy about having this crazy man spend the holidays with her family. Ben Affleck is really quite superb in this role, and is totally cut out to do comedy. He really shines in this film, and the other actors are great in their unique roles as well. The situations that arise are very funny.

The film takes place in Chicago and the suburbs. For anyone who’s ever been to northern Illinois, you know there are no mountains there; not even close. Despite this fact, Drew takes Alicia tobogganing down a mountain complete with a forest that could only be in the Pacific Northwest. Other than that, I really liked the film and laughed out loud. I liked that it was in Chicago, as the holidays are a magical time in the Windy City, decorations on every street and storefront, and the hope of snow in the air.

This film is also a little romance. Tom and Christine work at rekindling their love for each other, and Drew and Alicia grow more and more attracted to each other as the hours pass. If you want to see a romantic comedy that is also about families and Christmas, this is the film for you.

The Polar Express

Polar Express is destined to become a Christmas classic (it was released in 2004). The film is based on the book
The Polar Express

by Chris Van Allsburg. It is an animated film, but the work is so extraordinarily real, you’ll forget you’re watching animation.

On Christmas Eve, a young boy who is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa Claus, discovers the Polar Express boarding outside his front door. It is heading straight to the North Pole. He hops aboard where he meets other children clad in their pajamas, all hoping to meet Santa Claus.

The conductor is unmistakably Tom Hanks, with a huge pocket watch to help him stick to the schedule. All sorts of adventures arise en route to the North Pole, many of them taking on the dimensions of a roller coaster ride. I’d love to see this film at an IMAX theater for just that reason. Perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to find it playing at an IMAX in your town. There is also plenty of classic Christmas music, sweet songs sung by the children, and wonderful scenes of magic reindeer flying through the sky, Santa and the huge red sack of Christmas presents in tow. Our young hero is given a special gift by Santa, and for a while, still believes.

Robert Zemeckis of Back to the Future fame (another of my favorites), directed the film, and it is a delight from beginning to end. It is rated G, and young and old alike will enjoy this film. There are lots of beautiful messages about the spirit of Christmas in this story. The conductor tells our young hero as he disembarks the train, “One thing about trains; it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.” I recommend you board Polar Express this holiday season.

It's a Wonderful Life

Although the ending of the Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life
takes place during Christmas, the film was not intended to be holiday entertainment when it was first released in 1946. It has since become a classic associated with Christmas, and is cited by many as a favorite movie to watch during the holidays.

The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, Donna Reed as Mary Hatch-Bailey and Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter. It is a film about the hopes and dreams of George Bailey, and how they never quite materialize. This is partly due to the machinations of Mr. Potter (an early version of the greedy corporate executive). George has dreams of traveling the world, of building things, of having a million dollars. As his life unfolds, reality doesn’t even come close to his aspirations.

George’s father and his Uncle Billy run a small building and loan company, an institution Mr. Potter yearns to make his own. George again and again stays in Bedford Falls to work at the building and loan, setting aside his dreams year after year. During this time, he marries the girl who has always loved him (played by Donna Reed). Four children soon follow, and George struggles to support his family.

On Christmas Eve day, Uncle Billy misplaces an $8,000 deposit to the bank (the money is found by Mr. Potter who uses the opportunity to set into motion the final demise of the building and loan and thus George Bailey). George is at his lowest point. Mr. Potter points out he is worth more dead than alive, and George considers suicide. This is why I don’t think of It's a Wonderful Life as a Christmas movie. The film deals with George’s depression and desperation, and is really a drama with elements of comedy and romance. The careful observer notices the clues that George hasn’t been happy with his life for some time, and the incident of the lost money sends him right over the edge.

Before George can throw himself off a bridge into the turbulent, cold waters of the river, an angel intervenes. An angel named Clarence, who is from another era. Clarence realizes that the way to help George is to show him what the world would be like had he never been born.

As George and Clarence walk through a world where George doesn’t exist, he grows frantic as all the familiar places, friends and family he has taken for granted are nowhere to be found. He finally realizes he really does love his wife, his children, and his life. Once George realizes he wants to live, Clarence brings George’s world back. The ending results in all his friends coming together to help him out.

Largely because of James Stewart’s wonderful performance, the audience can empathize with George’s feelings about his life, and I think that is why this film is beloved by so many. The screenplay is also excellent. Mr. Stewart gets to deliver some great romantic lines, and his passion to his character remains from beginning to end. I recommend this film as one of the classics of all time.

Christmas in the Clouds

I had the pleasure of watching this outstanding romantic comedy in my local theater today. I walked out smiling and feeling great. Christmas in the Clouds won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Austin Film Festival, and was voted Best Native Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival, both richly deserved honors.

It’s a romantic comedy, filmed entirely in Utah on Robert Redford’s Sundance property. The film was written and directed by Kate Montgomery, and it’s a clever script, well rendered by the actors.

Joe Clouds on Fire (Sam Vlahos) begins to tell his story as he is driving his old beat-up truck along a mountainous road. He has been corresponding with Tina Littlehawk (Mariana Tosca) who lives in New York, and his letters have impressed Tina. She decides to pay Joe a surprise visit, and books a room at the resort where Joe’s son, Ray Clouds on Fire (Tim Vahle), is the general manager. She does not use her real name, wanting to check things out with Joe anonymously.

Ray is anxious about a review that will end up in a prominent travel guide, but doesn’t know the identity of the person who will be judging the resort. The staff mistake Tina for the real reviewer, who is Stu O’Malley (M. Emmet Walsh), a grumpy alcoholic estranged from his daughter.

To further complicate the case of mistaken identity, Tina thinks that Ray is her pen pal Joe, and Ray thinks that Tina is the anonymous reviewer for the travel guide. Ray and Tina begin to fall for each other, and around them are all the resort staff, a colorful group of characters, each with their own quirks and endearing qualities.

Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves, Thunderheart) plays Earl, the resort’s vegetarian chef, who is chagrined at Ray’s request that he also serve meat to the diners. There are so many funny jokes throughout that it’s hard for me to pick my favorite. Wes Studi has a cameo appearance playing himself, and there is an adorable mouse running about the resort that is as much a character in the story as the people around him.

The music is mostly Native American in influence. There is a beautiful rendition of Silent Night, sung in the Ute language and accompanied by R. Carlos Nakai. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and hope you get to see it in your own local theaters this holiday season.

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas!

Boris Karloff narrates and sings in this favorite from my youth, How the Grinch Stole Christmas The music and story are enchanting in this animated version of the classic Dr. Seuss book. The tongue twisting words of Ted Geisel aka Dr. Seuss still make me smile. He delighted in creating worlds with strange-looking creatures, in this case the Whos, who have curiously human like qualities.

The Grinch hates everything about Christmas, the presents, the feasting, the music and games, but especially he hates the singing. He hatches a plot to steal Christmas from the Whos, employing only his dog Max in his secret scheme. After he steals every physical part of the Whos celebration, he retreats to the mountains to throw it all off the top of a peak. But he hears the Whos singing on Christmas morning, and has a moment of satori. He couldn’t steal Christmas after all because its spirit is inside the Whos. He returns all that he has taken and joins in the celebration.

It’s a nice little Christmas story to watch (only 26 minutes), and just as relevant today as it was 39 years ago when it was released.

Home Alone

One year not long ago, I told a friend that I was watching Home Alone on Christmas Day. She was surprised, as she didn’t think of it as a Christmas film. True, a major part of the film is eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) single-handedly defending his home against Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), who are the Wet Bandits, but the entire film takes place at Christmas! The theme of families and Christmas celebrations figure prominently in this slapstick comedy rated PG.

Kevin is the youngest of five children, and mistakenly gets left behind when his family flies to Paris for the holidays along with his cousins and aunt and uncle. The family hasn’t treated Kevin all that nicely, and he had made a bedtime wish that they would just disappear. When he awakens the following morning and they have flown off to Paris without him, he thinks his wish came true.

Kevin conquers his fears and becomes quite self-sufficient while his family is gone. The Wet Bandits have targeted his house as one of the choice homes to rob while people are away for the holidays, and the defense Kevin devises to protect his home is ingenious, complete, and very funny. Watching Marv and Harry as they make their way through Kevin’s booby traps makes me laugh out loud!

Kevin also makes friends with his scary neighbor, whose reputation has been fueled by tall and untrue tales of his murderous past. Both the neighbor and Kevin learn something about themselves and their families from each other. The neighbor reaches out to his estranged son and family as a result, and Kevin realizes that even though his family is not perfect, he loves them and would like them to come home.

This is a good movie, and I highly recommend it. Also featured are John Heard and Catherine O’Hara as Kevin’s parents, and a great cameo appearance by John Candy. Kevin’s mother and family are understandably upset when they realize Kevin is missing, and his mother’s quest to get home from Paris as quickly as possible results in her meeting the Polka King of the Midwest (John Candy). The writer and producer is John Hughes (remember his name?), and is directed by Chris Columbus who is now involved with the Harry Potter movies.

I’ll review the sequel to Home Alone another day.