Stand By Me (9/10): The father of all coming of age films

“It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like busboys in a restaurant.”

Stand By Me is Rob Reiner’s love letter to friendship and nostalgic memories. It’s ironic that Reiner’s film looks at the past with such high regards because we can do the same with his filmography. His best films were all  made in the 80’s (and we can squeeze Misery and A Few Good Men into that list as well although they came out in 1990 and 1992 respectively), and despite not having directed many great films over the past few decades we can still look back at his early films and appreciate his classics. Stand By Me reminds us all of our early childhood and the friendships we made. It doesn’t matter what decade we grew up in, we all cherish special memories of adventures we shared with our friends and how they helped shape us. That is what is so universal and appealing about Reiner’s film; even though we may never have grown up in a small town or had similar outdoor adventures it still recalls us back to a time where we were discovering new things about the world and standing up for our friends when they were in trouble or running with them when we got caught playing in our neighbor’s yards. Stand By Me focuses on these memories and it’s not just about the adventure in itself but the bond these friends shared together. It’s probably the go to movie when we are comparing or referencing other coming of age films, and in my opinion one of the best ever made considering how much I appreciate the genre. I’m sure the film itself was a life changing experience for many who grew up watching it and dreaming of having similar adventures with their friends.

Based on Stephen King’s short story, “The Body,” the screenplay for the film was adapted by Raynold Gideon and Bruce Evans. It takes place in 1959 and centers on four 12 year old friends from Castelrock, Oregon who overhear a conversation about the location of the body of a dead boy who had been missing for several days. The news about the disappearance of this boy had spread all over town, so these kids decide to embark on an adventure through the woods and bring back the missing body so they can be received as heroes. Since the journey would take more than a full day, they plan to tell their parents that they are staying at each other’s home. Gordie (Will Wheaton) had recently lost his older brother (played by John Cusack in the flashback scenes) a few months prior to this in a car accident so he knew his mourning parents wouldn’t even mind him being gone for a few days. His best friend, Chris (River Phoenix), came from a troublesome family and despite knowing he’d get into trouble if they’d discover his lie he didn’t think it would be any different if he stayed with his drunk father. Teddy (Corey Feldman) still has the scars from the abuse he suffered from his mentally unstable father, and currently lives with his mother. Vern (Jerry O’Connell), the clown of the group who isn’t taken very seriously is the one who came up with the idea of looking for the body, but he also is the first to back down when it comes to it. The four finally decide to go ahead with their plan and begin their adventure, which will eventually shape who they are. The story is narrated by the grown up version of Gordie (played by Richard Dreyfuss) somewhere around 1985.

The strong performances in this film are one of the reasons why it continues to work today. River Phoenix was such a natural and is so charismatic that he steals every scene he’s in. The chemistry he shares with Wheaton’s character is strong and it reminds us all of that best friend we had in our childhood. Corey Feldman must have had the best agent because he starred in some of the best films that were released in the 80’s (Gremlins, The Goonies, The Burbs, and The Lost Boys). Jerry O’Connell is probably the one that has undergone the greatest physical transformation, but he was perfect for the role of Vern and he reminded us of that friend who always seemed to be the butt of every joke. These four young actors carry the film and despite not having the most exciting of adventures, the way the story is told is what makes it such a fascinating one. There are small moments like the one where they gather around the camp fire to listen to Gordie’s story, or when they are crossing the pond and discover its full of leeches, that stand out. The film is told through Gordie’s recollection of these events and each scene feels like an authentic memory someone would have of such a life changing experience. The 50’s soundtrack also plays a key role in the film since it adds to the overall sense of nostalgia. Reiner’s film reminds me how much I actually have enjoyed Stephen King’s non-horror stories (this along with Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are my favorite film adaptations of his work). Since its 1986 release, all the coming of age films that have followed it seem to heavily borrow from it. Stand By Me is the measuring stick for films in this genre.

High Fidelity (8/10): A great ensemble cast and a wonderful soundtrack make this a fun experience.

“Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”

Stephen Frear’s High Fidelity breaks the fourth wall from the very opening scene as Rob Gordon (John Cusack) begins sharing with us about his top 5 breakups right at the time his girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), is moving out of his apartment and leaving him. It is evident he is hurt, but he brushes it off by saying she doesn’t even rank in his list of the most hurtful breakups. That is when he begins listing who each one of them were while we get flashbacks of those memories intertwined with the present in which we are introduced to his job, friends, and his passion for music. Rob is a vintage record store owner and his two employees, Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black), are as much music snobs as he is, and they too enjoy making lists of their favorite things usually involving music. The more we get to know Rob, we realize that he isn’t the typical romantic character we’d find in a film like this. He is deeply flawed, he has cheated on his girlfriend, he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere with his life, and he is afraid of commitment. Somehow he always believes to be the victim in the break-ups, but from what he says we know that he has never been boyfriend of the year material. It is hard to root for a character like Rob, but John Cusack delivers such a charismatic and engaging performance that we accept his flaws and want him to get over the heartbreak. Along the way he realizes that Laura really belongs on the list and decides to revisit some of his past flames to discover what he has been doing wrong. 

Frears has directed some great films (The Queen, Philomena), along with not so good ones that feel like direct to TV movies, but High Fidelity belongs in his top list of best films. It is a romantic comedy that has an entertaining script, some great performances, and of course a wonderful soundtrack. The screenplay was adapted from Nick Horny’s book but instead of setting the story in London they bring it to Chicago and it absolutely works. Jack Black and Todd Louiso give strong supporting performances and you believe they actually are these snobs who are living music encyclopedias. They complement Cusack’s performance and deliver most of the comedic moments. As for John Cusack I believe this is one of his best performances although I still need to see a couple more of his films to solidify that claim. The romance in High Fidelity is also incredibly believable and relatable which is hard to come across by in most rom-coms. Neither Cusack nor Hjejle are portrayed as these perfect role models in a relationship, they are both flawed characters who have made some poor decisions.

Even though my music knowledge is very limited, I was able to relate to these characters because of their shared passion. I may not have that same passion for music, but I do for movies or sports so I understood where these characters were coming from and believed the culture this film created surrounding music. The screenwriters knew what they were writing about and each one of the actors delivered, and that is what has made High Fidelity such a cult favorite for many teens. It manages to be smart and funny at the same time. It is also one of the best examples of a film successfully being able to break the fourth wall and including the audience in the genius of the movie and its charm.   

My Review: Maps to the Stars (5/10)

“On the stairs of Death I write your name, Liberty.”

I don’t consider myself a David Cronenberg fan since some of his recent films didn’t appeal to me and I haven’t had the chance to see his earlier movies, but I do tend to appreciate his work more than I actually enjoy it. This was the case with the incredibly twisted and dark Hollywood satire, Maps to the Stars. It wasn’t a joyful or pleasurable experience for me, but I did admire some aspects of this film. I tend to go for more straightforward narratives than surreal films so that explains why I enjoyed A History of Violence and Eastern Promises much more than his other films. Those two films remain my favorite from Cronenberg. Maps to the Stars was a major improvement from Cosmopolis, but I still had a hard time accepting some of the dark humor and Cronenberg’s hyperrealistic style. I’m sure Cronenberg fans will love this film because he uses plenty of symbols and makes fun of the vein world of celebrities. Using Hollywood itself to establish his familiar dark backgrounds, Cronenberg goes full mode with these messed-up and unpredictable characters. The film has a Greek tragedy structure as well as incorporating familiar ghost story elements to the narrative. Maps to the Stars is as insane as the world of the celebrities it tries to portray. There is also a lot of industry talk going on in this film exploring the Hollywood dynasty and the obsession people have for celebrities. 

Like in most of Cronenberg’s films the characters are difficult to sympathize with and of course it is the case once again with these self centered celebrities who seem to be completely messed up. No one does a better job than Julianne Moore who plays a manic-depressive washed up movie star. She is amazing in this film, but completely annoying at the same time. I wasn’t a huge fan of Evan Bird and John Cusack’s performances. Cusack went over the top with his character and it didn’t really work for me. Mia Wasikowska on the other hand is very subtle in her performance. She seems to pick some strange roles, but she pulls them off. Her character has scars in her body from burns, but they aren’t nearly as disgusting as the souls of these celebrities. Cronenberg seems to be obsessed with disfigured women in his films, but he makes sure we notice that what really is disfigured in Hollywood are the souls of these celebrities. I can give Cronenberg credit for his style, but I can’t say I enjoyed this film. I still don’t understand what was going on with that fire sequence in the film. The CGI was terrible and the scene looked completely fake, but I’m not sure if Cronenberg was intentionally trying to make it so considering he has a twisted sense of humor. 

My Review: Grand Piano (3/10)

"If you miss a note, you're dead."

Not only does Grand Piano miss a note, it misses on nearly every note beginning with a very laughable plot and some pretty bad performances. Directed by Spanish composer Eugenio Mira (Agnosia and The Birthday) and written by Damien Chazelle (who recently won at Sundance for his direction in Whiplash), Grand Piano is a thriller that has a Phone Booth vibe to it by centering the action in a single location. The problem I had with this film is that I never felt the tension or the suspense because I never believed these were real characters or believable situations. I am on the minority here because a lot of critics were impressed with the De Palma like style of the film, but I found the entire action and suspense scenes completely ridiculous. John Cusack is no Kiefer Sutherland and his voice work here didn't impress me at all. The script also explains everything to the audience so shamefully like if we were stupid and needed everything to be spelled out for us in order to understand. I can't believe the hype this film has been getting because I found it to be the first truly bad film of 2014. Despite some nice camera work and style, there is nothing else to recommend here.

Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) is a very talented concert pianist who has kept away from the spotlight for more than five years after having messed up during an important presentation. He was playing one of his mentor's compositions which only he and his mentor were considered talented enough to play. However after his failure he decided to retire, but now has accepted to come back and face his stage fright in honor of his mentor who has passed away. He is accompanied by his wife, Emma (Kerry Bishe), a famous actress who also has an angelic voice. Once the concert begins, he discovers a strange note on his music sheet threatening his life. If he messes up a note he and his beautiful wife will be killed. Tom discovers that Clem (John Cusack) is the man threatening him with a sniper rifle aimed at him while he is given instructions by him through an ear piece. All he can do is keep on playing and try not to mess up a single note. 

Grand Piano at least has a good musical score, but every time Mira tried to build the tension I couldn't believe how ridiculous the premise was. I wasn't a fan of Elijah Wood's wooden performance either and didn't find any redeeming performance from the entire cast. The climax at the end was also extremely laughable, the facial expressions were completely over the top. The films is extremely short as well, if you don't include the long credits the running time is less than 80 minutes. This might have been an interesting idea for a short film, but at 80 minutes it felt extremely long.

My Review: The Butler (8/10)

"Everything you are and everything you have, is because of that butler."

Lee Daniels' The Butler is an ambitious film that has Oscar bait written all over of it. It may have an uneven and overlong narrative, but the impressive cast makes up for it. The film covers an extended period of time where political and racial history was being made in the United States, but it does so in a very quick and safe way. That is where some of the comparisons with Forrest Gump come in, but this film takes itself more seriously. I wasn't a fan of Lee's previous film, The Paperboy, but Precious was a solid movie. The Butler is not as good as Precious, but it's still a solid effort and an engaging film with some great performances. We get to see through the eyes of the butler how each of the historical events presented in the film affected his life and society as a whole. It can be manipulative and melodramatic at times, but the film does work and it's emotionally affecting. Many of the characters come in and out of the film so quickly that we barely have time to get to know them. The only three characters in this film that get some depth are the butler, his wife, and oldest son. That was enough to engage the audience and keep them hooked to the story despite the pacing issues. 

The screenplay was written by Danny Strong inspired by an article written by Wil Haygood entitled "A Butler Well Served by This Election." The film is very loosely based on a true story, but several liberties were taken for dramatic effect. It centers on the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who grew up in the south as a domestic servant in the 20's. He later decides to continue his life on his own and becomes a hotel valet under the guidance of Maynard (Clarence Williams III) who teaches him everything he needs to know about becoming a servant. He does his work so well that eventually he's called to serve at the White House during the 50's. Beginning his service during President Dwight Eisenhower's (Robin Williams) term he observes the radical changes from the inside for decades serving seven more presidents in the process. His service eventually affects his family life including his relationship with his wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) who has a drinking problem and with his oldest son Louis (David Oyelowo) who becomes involved in the Civil Rights movement. The Butler allows us to experience the changes in America during the 20th century through his eyes and the effect it had on his family.

Despite being manipulative and playing it pretty safe, what The Butler does best is focusing on the duality of its main character and the inner struggle he must face. That is the key element in this film and what works best because there are several flaws with the pacing considering its ambition to cover such an extensive period of time. Cecil learns at a very young age that he must remain invisible and thus learns how to control his emotions and keep to himself. That is why he becomes such an efficient servant, but on the inside he struggles with the injustice despite remaining passive. His son, is the opposite, and that is where the duality is expressed as he represents everything his father isn't. The Butler works best when it centers around this conflict between father and son, and the conflict between the two differing ideologies. It was interesting to see this dynamic in play and it worked much better than the extensive and broad biopic that it was trying to be. The impressive cast also lifts this film and makes it seem much better than it really is. David Oyelowo is probably the best here, although Whitaker is receiving a lot of credit for his restrained performance as well. It was good to see him sharing a short scene with Robin Williams (since I was a huge fan of their 80's film Good Morning Vietnam, it had a nostalgic effect on me). The Butler isn't a groundbreaking film and as a period film it doesn't impress much, but it gets credit for trying to explore the duality in The Butler and his relationships.

My Review: The Paperboy (3/10)

¨He never did get over his first true love.¨

The Paperboy is an early contender for worse film of the year. This pulpy film noir thriller is so messy that it´s hard to make sense of everything that is going on. The story is just horrible with characters that are too hard to identify with. I couldn’t care less for what was going to happen to them because they were all dislikeable characters, and I really couldn’t figure out why they wanted to help each other out or why they were even together in the first place. The Paperboy tries too hard to mix everything together: a pulpy film noir, with some racial drama, a detective story (that never even solves anything), several anti-romances, and some unfunny comedy. This is just one of those trashy films that succeed in making you feel dirty, but you don’t get anything of real value out of it. I also hated the way that the film was narrated in some scenes trying to explain everything to the viewer like if we were stupid and needed everything pointed out at us (yes, we can all understand that Efron´s character was in love with Nicole Kidman because of his abandonment issues with his mother, there was no need to tell us that through voice over). The other problem I had was that the film tried too hard to shock us through several unpleasant scenes, like the close up of the gator being gutted, and these gross out scenes didn’t really connect with the movie. That is the reason why I felt this film wasn´t cohesive and was too messy. It is a shame because I loved Lee Daniels´s previous film Precious, but this is a huge step backwards from that movie.

  

The film was based on Peter Dexter´s novel of the same name and it takes place in South Florida during the late 60´s. The story centers around the life of a reporter named Ward (Matthew McConaughey) who decides to return to his hometown to investigate a case about an inmate on death row. Ward is trying to catch a big break on this story involving the murder of a local police officer and the conviction of the supposed murderer, Hilary Van Wetter (John Cusack). Apparently there were some irregularities in the trial and Ward has decided to investigate the case with his partner, Yardley (David Oyelowo). They heard about the story through Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) who happens to be sort of a death row groupie, who corresponds with these men through letters. She falls in love with Hilary and believes he is innocent, so she contacts Ward and Yardley and convinces them to chase this career making story. Together they work on the case in Ward´s father´s home where his younger brother, Jack (Zac Efron), still lives. Jack becomes the driver for the group taking them to the different locations they are investigating and immediately falls in love with Charlotte despite knowing she´s attracted to the psychotic Hilary. The story is narrated by the house maid, Anita (Macy Gray).

The film does succeed in bringing the hot and steamy Florida weather on the screen and only watching the characters move make us feel hot and sweaty as well. This trashy film reminds us of some early 70´s film noir movies with Nicole Kidman playing this sort of modern femme fatale character. Her gritty performance stands in deep contrast to Efron´s sweet innocence. I had no problem with the cast. I thought they all gave strong performances, especially Nicole Kidman and John Cusack as these two sort of psychotic characters. I had never seen these actors in a role like this before. My major problem with the film was the messy story which ended up wandering all over the place and getting lost in the mix of everything. It is no wonder this film ended up getting booed at Cannes because it does fail to connect the major plot points. It was just a little too pulpy and steamy for my taste and it didn’t work at all because I really disliked all these characters.  

     

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My Review: Serendipity (8/10)

¨Serendipity, it`s one of my favorite words. It`s such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident.¨

I never thought the time would come in which I`d see this movie because unfortunately I had caught the ending on cable and therefore spoiled the rest of the film. However, I happened to come across Serendipity again and decided to watch it from the beginning this time, and what a pleasure it was. Even though I knew how the story was going to end, it was a delight to watch the story unravel. We know how these romantic movies are going to end most of the time, but the important thing is the story and the chemistry between the lead characters; and Serendipity didn’t disappoint me. I was hooked from the very opening scene in the store, and there seemed to be something magical going on. It didn’t matter whether or not I had seen the ending because the important thing was seeing this romantic story come to life. The chemistry between the two lead roles was really believable. It`s as if I was destined to watch this movie the way I did so that I wouldn’t focus so much on how predictable the movie might be, but rather enjoy the love story and the chemistry between the actors. The dialogue in this film, written by Marc Klein, was also great and there were several memorable lines. In my opinion this is by far Peter Chelsom`s best film thanks to a great dual performance from John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale who really shine together on screen.

 It all happens one magical night: Jonathan (John Cusack) is doing some Christmas shopping for his girlfriend and while grabbing the last remaining pair of black gloves he runs into Sara (Kate Beckinsale) who is also thinking of buying them for her lover. Being the gentleman he is Jonathan insists that Sarah take the gloves, but he can`t help but feel some magical connection between them. They decide to share a drink together at Serendipity and they spend the night getting to know each other, although Sara never reveals her last name to him. She says that if they are meant to be together then fate will make them cross paths again. She writes her full name and phone number on a book cover (¨Love in the Time of Cholera¨) and says she will give it away to a used bookstore. If they are meant to be together then he will be able to find the book; Jonathan does the same thing on a five dollar bill. Unfortunately fate doesn’t give them a hand at first and each goes their separate way. Seven years later Jonathan, who still lives in New York and works for ESPN, is about to get married with Halley (Bridget Moynahan). His best friend, Dean (Jeremy Piven), gives a funny speech on their engagement night, but Jonathan begins to see some signals that remind him of that magical night he shared with Sara. Meanwhile, Sara is living in California and is also about to get married with a New Age musician named Lars (John Corbett). She also begins to get cold feet about the wedding and begins to see some signs that remind her of the night she spent with Jonathan. She decides to travel to New York for the weekend with her best friend, Eve (Molly Shannon), and see if she can find information on Jonathan. Thus the plot thickens and the fun begins.

The chemistry between Beckinsale and Cusack is just unbelievable. Those few scenes they share together at the beginning of the film are so magical that we want the two of them to find their way back together. Somehow we want to believe in fate and soul mates, and these two characters represent just that because we want them to be together even though they both seem to have good relationships with their partners, who don’t play the typical bad boyfriend/girlfriend character. The movie is not all romance; there are also several funny scenes: Piven and Shannon have some memorable comedic scenes. Beckinsale is as beautiful as ever in this film, and Cusack is at his best playing this sort of charismatic role. The entire cast really shines in this film making this love story all that more believable. Serendipity is one of those few romantic Hollywood movies that actually works thanks to a great love story, good performances, and memorable dialogues. We all want to believe in love and how fate can give us a hand when it comes to finding our soul mate; and Serendipity works so well at getting this point across that it can turn the most skeptic person into a believer. It doesn’t matter if the ending is predictable or not, the most important thing about Serendipity is how we get to that finale; learning how to read those signs and enjoying the love story. In my opinion Serendipity will rank among those great romantic films.

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My Review: Hot Tub Time Machine (5/10)

¨One little change has a ripple effect and it effects everything else. Like a butterfly floats its wings and Tokyo explodes or there`s a tsunami, in like, you know, somewhere.¨

I was expecting The Hot Tub Time Machine to be this year`s The Hangover, but I was disappointed because I didn`t find this film funny at all. It had very few laughs and the only positive thing about it was John Cusack`s performance. There are some very few funny moments, but for the most part I was serious throughout. Perhaps my expectations were set a little too high because of the good reviews this film got, but it just didn`t work for me. I should have been warned just by the title itself. The film isn`t terrible, it`s just that I didn`t see anything different from the other comedies (puke jokes, poop jokes, etc.). At one point it even references Wild Hogs and to be honest with you this film felt like it as well. I didn`t enjoy the performances from the rest of the cast either like I did with last year`s The Hangover, I Love You Man, or Role Models. I am a big fan of comedies and usually like most of them, but this movie failed in my opinion. I guess I didn`t find the story all that interesting and perhaps couldn`t relate to the nostalgic feeling of the 80`s that the film brought for some. The story was written by Josh Heald as was the screenplay with the help of Sean Anders (director and writer of Sex Drive) and John Morris. Steve Pink, who is mostly known for writing the screenplay for another John Cusack film, High Fidelity, directed this picture.

The plot is pretty simple; three friends have grown apart from each other over time but an incident reunites them. Adam (John Cusack) is an insurance worker who has just been dumped by his girlfriend. Jacob (Clark Duke from Kick-Ass) is his nephew who lives in his basement and spends all day on his computer. One day Adam receives a call from Nick (Craig Robinson), one of his friends from his youth who is now married and working as a veterinarian having abandoned his dream of being a musician. Nick tells Adam that their friend, Lou (Rob Corddry from What Happens in Vegas), has been hospitalized for trying to commit suicide. In order to try to cheer Lou, Nick and Adam decide to take him to the ski resort they used to visit in their days. Once they arrive at the ski resort, which has been abandoned over the years, the four guys decide to get into a hot tub and get wasted. When they wake up they realize that they are in 1986 and they try to do exactly the same thing they did in the past so they don`t alter their future. The plot could have been much better, but the laughs are very scarce throughout the film.

For me the weakest thing about the film is the cast (with the exception of John Cusack who is charismatic) along with the plot which is pretty silly as well. I can understand why some people may have liked it for bringing some memories of the 80`s back, but it just didn`t work for me. The jokes aren`t very funny and there is even one scene in which Nick`s character says ¨It must be some kind of hot tub time machine¨ and stares directly at the camera, which really didn`t work and I still don`t understand the purpose of that scene which felt completely misplaced. The movie isn`t terrible either, but I wouldn`t recommend it. Comedies are probably the easiest to critique for me because I can measure them by how much they make me laugh and The Hot Tub Time Machine really delivers few of those, and it isn`t one of those comedies I would love to watch over and over again. The movie just relies on the same old jokes and the whole time travelling thing didn`t work for me, but a lot of critics have a different opinion from mine so this movie is one of those that clearly divides audiences and you might want to check it out and make your own conclusions.

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