We're Back Together....

So, Oscar and I decided to take a break.. Well more accurately, I took a break from Oscar..  But because Oscar is simply a proverb for my movie watching challenge and not a literal boyfriend, he was more than happy to take me back.. Phew....

So I have to admit life did go on in the last six months, but Oscar was never far from my mind... I kept telling my friends that I would go back to him... I’m not sure if it was out of want, so much as it was to the guilt of not following through on my challenge... But again because Oscar isn’t a real person, it doesn’t matter what my reasons are for coming back to him, only that I’m back...

So without further ado, let’s get back to the reviewing... I’ve got three films for review this entry so let’s get under way...

Tender Mercies  MOVIE OF THE BIANNUAL

Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Allan Hubbard and Ellen Barkin

This film was a simple yet complex story. It was presented in a way that it was almost like not much happened, but it really did. I think that’s what I liked about it, no Hollywood over-dramatisation!

The film is the story of Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall), a famous country western writer and performer, who developed an alcohol addiction, destroying both his career and his family. The film opens with Mac, intoxicated in a small motel room somewhere in Texas. The hotel is owned and operated by Rosa Lee (Tess Harper), a widow raising her one and only son, Sonny (Allan Hubbard). With no other prospects or anywhere else to go, Mac stays on at the motel and works there in exchange for food and rent. With Rosa’s positive influence, Mac ceases drinking and soon after he and Rosa marry. Mac seems content with his new life, but cannot forget about his old one and when his ex-wife, Dixie (Betty Buckley) comes to perform in the area, he attempts to meet up with her, in the hope of seeing his daughter, Sue Anne (Ellen Barkin). Dixie refuses to believe that he has changed and prevents him from seeing Sue Anne, claiming “she never thinks about you”.  Soon after, Sue Anne makes contact with Mac independently, seeking his blessing for her new relationship with one of her mother’s back up musicians. Mac agrees to meet with them, but insists that she tell her mother before arranging the meeting.

Meanwhile, a local band in the area sort out Mac, after they found out he was working at the motel and ask him to write some songs for them to perform. He agrees and the band starts to build some notoriety in the area, even getting one of their songs on the radio and securing a record deal.

Just as Mac’s life appears to be getting back on track, his daughter Sue Anne elopes with her boyfriend and is later killed in a motor vehicle accident. Mac, who everyone expected to slip back into alcoholism, is able to pull through this with the help of his new family, whereas Dixie is left completely destroyed. The film ends with Mac throwing the football around with Sonny, with Rosa looking on.

Like I said there is actually a lot of significant events that take place in the movie (e.g. recovery from alcoholism, love, marriage, death of a child, fame etc). And events that would invoke raw emotion, that could easily be presented quite dramatically. Beresford avoids the temptation to get the “easy vote”, which directors in Hollywood often do through over-dramatisation (e.g. big musical scores, over-acting). Rather the story doesn’t delve too much into the emotion of the characters (apart from the final scenes with Dixie inconsolable in her bedroom and one scene with Mac driving around all night after a fight with Rosa). Things just seem to “happen” and despite absolutely tragic circumstances or even highly exciting events (when the bands song is released on the radio for example), life just simply goes on, without too much focus on the emotionality of the character(s).  I liked that very much about the film and hence why I gave it the MOVIE OF THE BIANNUAL status (out of the three I viewed of course).

6.5/10

Terms Of Endearment

Director: James L Brooks
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Deborah Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Danny Devito and John Lithgow

For the only movie I had heard of out of three prior to viewing, I didn’t love it. To me the characters were a bit “unlikeable”, except for Danny Devito, who definitely made me chuckle.

The movie is about the lives of mother Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Aurora is very overprotective of Emma as a child, resulting in her rebelling by marrying a man her mother did not approve of Flap (Jeff Daniels). Flap is offered a job a long way from home and due his difficulties with Aurora, stemming from her non-acceptance of him, he accepts the position and moves Emma and the kids away.

It is only after Emma moves away and Aurora’s focus has to shift from her daughter, to her own life that she actually begins to live. She is pursued by her womanising, astronaut neighbour, Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson). He’s crude, rude and yet irresistible to Aurora. After a lot of witty banter and a disastrous date or two, they sleep together and actually start to develop a relationship.

Meanwhile, unlike Aurora’s life which seems to get better with the distance, the quality of Emma’s seems to decrease. Her relationship with Flap begins to deteriorate with the stress of raising the children, as well as the financial pressure. She soon discovers that Flap is having an affair with one of his graduate students and so she retaliates with a brief affair with Sam Burns (John Lithgow). Soon after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and the last part of the film focuses on Emma’s end of life and how the family copes with this. Aurora and Emma are able to repair any relationship damage from the past. Probably the most gut wrenching part for me was watching the way Emma’s eldest son, Tommy (Troy Bishop) related to his mother, even in her dying hours. He was very bratty and although grieving I’m sure, was frankly a “little shit”.

All in all, I didn’t love the movie. There were parts that were certainly enjoyable, namely Danny Devitos’ characters unrelenting pursuance of Aurora. Similarly, I found the interaction between Garrett and Aurora somewhat entertaining, mostly because Garrett did not hold back and consistently made sexually inappropriate comments to Aurora, despite her age and disgust. But I didn’t love the characters. Aurora was uptight and overbearing, Emma was passive and impulsive, Flap was a flake and Tommy was, as I so intelligently put it earlier, a little shit!

5/10

The Big Chill

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and Jobeth Williams.

Well, I’m just warning you, I’m not going to waste too much time reviewing this film, because it was my least favourite. It actually took me a few nights to get through it, as I kept falling asleep. Shame really!

The movie is about seven college friends, who are brought back together for a weekend away, following the funeral of one of their other friends, Alex, who committed suicide. The movie focuses on love lost, dreams shattered and ideals compromised. Each character seems to have something unresolved with one of the other characters and these are explored to some extent over the course of the film.

I found it boring, drawn out and frankly pointless. But challenge me and my ease at righting this film off. It was nominated for best film, so I can’t help but feel that I must be missing something. But hey, Oscar can’t always be right, that goes against all the laws of relationships, which state that the woman is always right, right??

3/10

Well, until next week (hopefully) “bon-voy-age”!