I remember when it came out and the hatred it engendered. I remember hearing only one or two critics saying it was good, among them was the most influential American film critic/reviewer of the era Pauline Kael, but the rest of them ripped it apart. I also remember my film crazy college friend Lou loved it and he urged people to see it but his entreaties fell on deaf ears.Through the years I have gained an appreciation for the works of Dennis Potter and I have sought out his filmed projects from time to time. So when I saw this film in the DVD bin for $3, I snapped it up. Potter adapted this version from his previous version which ran on the BBC and starred Bob Hoskins in one of his first leading roles.
Honestly, if I had seen this film in 1981 when it first came out I would have hated it because I had no real appreciation for great acting, great story telling, or films that made me think too deeply as this film did. I would have made fun of it and rolled my eyes when anyone told me how good it was and I would have been an idiot for doing so. Back in 1981 Steve Martin was king of the comedy world and had been for quite a few years. He was huge. His stand up act played to sold out concert halls and if he wanted to do a stadium tour he would have sold that out as well. Back then when he hosted Saturday Night Live it was an event. You knew it was going to not only be funny but it was going to be ground breaking as well. His first film, The Jerk, a comedy, was not a critical success but instead it was a hit with the movie going public, it made people laugh and it was the perfect Steve Martin cinematic vehicle. So when the word got out that he was following up that film with a Depression era musical, people scratched their heads and said, "Huh?"
Pennies From Heaven is about a sheet music salesman who has a bad marriage, knocks up a small town teacher, and gets mixed up in a life of crime. It's not funny and in fact, it's kind of depressing. The main characters can't express what they really feel about life and each other so they 'break into song' to tell us how they feel about those things. Well, they don't really sing because they lip sync to the period recordings of Depression era songs and most of the time there are big production numbers when they do so. I know, it sounds crazy but it's not. It works. And it works like magic.
I'm not kidding when I say this is probably Steve Martin's finest film role. All those years of having to be funny pushed him to take a role that was not only not funny but was disturbing as well. He is the polar opposite of his usual funny self in this film. He's dark, moody, needy, and an ass. And it all works.
Bernadette Peters as the once innocent small town teacher who is seduced, knocked up, and put out on the street to become a whore is nothing short of astonishing in this film. I've been a fan of hers ever since I first saw her on the Carol Burnett show years ago and my gawd, her talent, her beauty, and her magnetism all hit you like a tsunami in this film. You can't take your eyes off her and when she's not in the shot, you wish she was.
Jessica Harper as Steve Martin's unhappy and unhinged wife is fantastic in this film. She's a brittle beauty with fragile grip on her mental state. When she says, "Cut off his thing!" to the police detective, and yes, she means that thing, it gave me chills.
From Herbert Ross's sure and steady direction to Bob Mackie's costumes to the editing this film is a masterpiece of cinema. We were too stupid to realize it when it first came out because we wanted another wacky Steve Martin comedy. Instead Martin, Ross, Peters, and the rest of the cast and crew gave us a neglected masterpiece, a gem that is waiting for generations of film and movie lovers to discover and be bowled over by.
In the DVD edition I bought there are a few extras. They include a panel discussion with some of the cast and crew of the film and at one point they make mention of scenes that Ross cut to make the film leaner and stronger. I hope someone saved those scenes and they make it onto another DVD edition of this film one day, because I'll gladly pay full price for that edition. Yeah, I love this movie that much.
You need to see this film. If you never have seen it, see it ASAP. If you saw it when it first came out and you hated it, see it again. This film will probably never get remade, thank goodness, so you need to seek this film out and watch it. I'm not kidding. If you don't, then you're dead to me. Do you hear me? DEAD!
I bought this on DVD at the grocery store the other day for $4.99 and after seeing it again after a few years I was struck by how good this film is. It's one of those timeless films that does not get old or cloying or sappy stupid with each successive viewing. Thora Birch and Scar Jo are sublime in this film, many experienced actors could learn a thing or two from the restrained performances these two young ladies gave in this film. I had forgotten how funny this film was as well. I laughed out loud at many of the scenes and bits of humor that are laced throughout this tale of loneliness and alienation. If you have never seen this film, do yourself a favor and watch it. If you have not seen it in a few years, watch it again.
Thank goodness I did not pay to watch this movie. It's not very funny, although it does have some cute gags and jokes, it's preachy, it's not at all realistic in it's portrayal of how the US Congress works, and it was directed by the guy who gave us Patch Adams. I'm going to say that I watched it all the way through because I like Lauren Graham, but in reality I was just too lazy to turn the channel to look for anything better to watch. Avoid this one.
Lucky Number Slevin is a fine fun little modern ironic gangster/revenge movie. Yes, people get shot in it, yes, people get beat up in it, yes, there are many deaths, but all the violence is cartoonish and germane to the plot. It's a very good film and if you like gangster/revenge movies then you'll dig it. Josh Hartnett is very good in it and I'm sure he'll make the ladies swoon. Republican party boy Bruce Willis is oh so archly hip in this flick and he's bearable in it. And boy howdy is Lucy Liu cute as a button in this movie, if you don't have a thing for Asian females after seeing this one then something is wrong you with you.%252001.jpg)
Uwe and I thank you. 
Inside Man is Spike Lee's latest film. It's a slick, well written and well directed heist movie. The performances by Denzel Washington, Willem Dafoe, and Clive Owen are all very good. I liked most all of this movie with one exception, and her name is Jodie Foster. I didn't buy her as the menacing mastermind who gets things done by intimidation and what not, in fact her whole sub plot was laughable. Maybe in some alternate universe Jodie Foster can brow beat people and scare them into to doing her bidding and bending others to her iron will but it sure as hell ain't going to happen in this universe. She didn't strike a single chord of fear in me, although she did make me giggle a few times when she tried to be all bad ass and shit. I'm praying she won't be in the sequel.
Death at a Funeral is one of those very droll, very British comedies that Anglophiles like me usually love. This one had it moments and over all it's worth seeing once but it's not knee slapping funny. The extras on the DVD are so slim they're non existent, they only offer two commentary tracks and a gag reel that is uncomfortable to watch at times. If you like dry British films then this one is right up your alley.
That's right kids, Dr. Monkey is going to see actor/activist/film director Spike Lee
speak at East Tennessee State University. If you never see any other Spike Lee film, you owe to the people of New Orleans to see his documentary on the aftermath of hurricane Katrina called
We finally saw The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters last night. I had heard about how good it was and I read about how much Chris and Kristi loved it, so I couldn't wait to see it. When I picked it out at the video store Sparky was not too thrilled about it, she thought it was going to suck but I told her to hang loose and to give it a try. When I put it in the DVD player last night she said, "I'll probably fall asleep, so don't mind me," and she laid down on the couch and snuggled under her favorite couch blanket. 
Don't get me wrong, I like the films of Wes Anderson, but this one wasn't that great. It's very pretty to look at because they filmed it on location in India and it's filled with the usual quirky Wes Anderson movie characters but it just didn't do much for me.
Hubba hubba. She's actually Sri Lankan by ethnicity but in this movie she played an Indian woman who worked on the train where some of the action takes place. She was cuter than cute in her small role and I hope she goes on to be in bigger and better projects than this one. And I also hope she develops a thing for pasty middle aged white guys who blog incessantly. Amara, Dr. Monkey likes his brown actresses don't ya know so give him a call sometime if you're ever in east Tennessee.
I was skeptical about it at first but from the get go it got me. It's funny, sweet, off beat and I liked it immensely.
Bonnie Hunt 
Perhaps you like a movie that has hot man on bird action in it:
Or maybe you like movies that have lots of shooting of guns but the violence is very cartoony:
Maybe you like movies where Paddy Consindine plays a loutish oafish Detective that torments the hero played by Simon Pegg?
I finally watched this movie last night and I feckin' loved it. It's from the team who brought you Shaun of the Dead, which I also loved.
This sweet funny comedy is about a couple of socially awkward misfits in New Zealand who find one another, hook up, break up, and well you know what happens next. It's a quirky comedy that deserves a wider audience. All the actors are wonderfully deadpan and laconic in it and their New Zealand accents make their characters all the more charming. 
Some of you may recognize Jemaine Clement from his HBO series Flight of the Conchords. He essentially plays the same character in this film as he plays on that show but it's one he plays very well and one I never get tired of seeing. He's great at playing the awkward sap who is never what he thinks he is. His portrayal of his character in this film is laugh out loud funny, especially the scenes where is is taunting his old high school bully on the phone. He also sports a fine mullet in this movie.
His co star, Loren Horsley, is pitch perfect in her role. She is at times sweetly charming, stunningly awkward and out of place, and just plain adorable. Her character is the kind of gal you'd just like to give a hug to. I hope this film leads to other roles for her because she is a good comedic actor with a lot to offer.
And as much as it pains me to say anything bad about a Reece Witherspoon film, avoid this one. It was long, dull, and lifeless. Sure Reece was cute in it and boy do her boobs look good all pushed up and out but they could not save this movie. Neither could the Irish gal who was in I Capture the Castle. I was sorely unimpressed with this film and with Mira Nair's direction of it.