9/11/08

Bob's Big Screen

Contrast dramatic indie film with Clooney's screwball comedy

by Bob Connally

This issue I take a look at a somber indie drama from the director of "Pineapple Express" and a stab at 1920s screwball comedy from the director of "Good Night and Good Luck."

Snow Angels

(Avail. 9/16, Rated R)

Every so often a movie comes along that is so depressing that, after I see it, I never want to watch it again. Often, though, I am glad I made it through that one viewing because, despite its ability to--for lack of a better term-- “totally bum me out,” that film happened to be very good. David Gordon Green’s “Snow Angels” is that kind of film.

In the opening scene we see a high school band practice interrupted by the sound of far-away gunfire. No one on screen is in danger but, when the next scene is accompanied by the caption “Weeks earlier,” we know that “Snow Angels” is not headed for a happy ending.

In fact there's very little about this film that offers joy. It certainly doesn't come from the life of Annie (Kate Beckinsale), a frustrated single mother working in a Chinese restaurant. Her two best friends are co-workers, Barb (Amy Sedaris) and Arthur (Michael Angarano), a high school student she used to babysit. Her ex-husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell) is struggling, but it looks as though he may finally be getting his life together, and if this were any other film, he might.

The sense that everything is headed somewhere dark and tragic permeates each scene, even the rare lighter ones. The way the characters relates to one another is continually intriguing because, throughout the film we learn more about their pasts, and how these people have connected.

"Snow Angels" is the sort of film that really gives actors a chance to act. Rockwell is excellent as always. His Glenn is a man falling apart, and each attempt to pull himself back together only makes things worse. Beckinsale gives a terrific, understated performance. She's able to earn the audience's sympathy in spite of Annie's glaring shortcomings.

The real revelation here is Angarano, though. Previously I'd only seen him play the younger versions of main characters. He had probably less than fifteen minutes of combined screen time in "Almost Famous" and "Seabiscuit," playing the young Patrick Fugit and Tobey Maguire respectively. Here he's in the whole film and he does a wonderful job as a young man trying to make sense of the world around him.

"Snow Angels" won't make you feel good about humanity, but you will be able to say you saw a good movie, and that's more than I can say for most of what's come out in 2008. 8/10.

Leatherheads

(Avail. 9/23, PG-13)

George Clooney has been dubbed "the last movie star." I don't agree with that statement, but I will say that in the right role, Clooney can shine brightly. I'm not talking about his award-winning work in high minded films like "Syriana" and "Michael Clayton." I'm talking about fast-talking screwballs like Ulysses Everett McGill in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" It's the kind of character Clooney does best.

Based on this and my love of the snappy dialogue in films like "His Girl Friday," I was very excited for "Leatherheads."

In a wonderful opening sequence, Clooney the director shows us the spectacle that was college football in 1925, followed by the decidedly unspectacular world of pro football at that time. At least the cow on the sidelines seems entertained.

Clooney plays Dodge Connelly (yes, he spells it wrong), "the slickest operator in Duluth," and star player of the Bulldogs. With the team on the verge of bankruptcy, he and his teammates face the frightening probability that they will all have to work square jobs for the rest of their lives.

In a desperate bid to save the team, Dodge convinces college star and World War I hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to play for pay. In 1925 the offer was not as persuasive as you’d think. Still, Carter joins the professional ranks and his star brightly outshines Dodge's.

Meanwhile, a journalist named Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) is out to prove that the story of Carter's war heroics is nothing but a fabrication. To do this she must get close to Carter. But Dodge won’t be pushed aside.

Written by first timers Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly (with an uncredited re-write by Clooney), "Leatherheads" is a likeable look at football in the '20s, but it's not nearly as funny as it ought to be. There is the occasional screwball moment, but Clooney doesn't come close to his amazing work in "O Brother." He and Zellweger are decent together, but they never catch fire and, unfortunately, they're not Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.

The film's best moments are when the two are joined on screen by Krasinski. The three of them together really make a few scenes fly. Krasinski's natural likeability keeps the audience on his side throughout, even if that's not where Clooney really wants us to be.

It's a reasonably fun movie but ultimately a disappointment. For brand new screwball laughs I'd say the better bet is "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day" (reviewed in the August 14 issue of North County Outlook). 6/10.

Also Coming to DVD:

September 16

Pushing Daisies: Season 1

Chuck: Season 1 (I love this show!)

Speed Racer (PG)

Young at Heart (PG)

88 Minutes (R)

September 23

The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Gift Set (R) (Blu-ray)

Sex and the City: The Movie (R)

L.A. Confidential (R) (Blu-ray)

Run, Fatboy, Run (PG-13) – 6.5/10