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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 August 2003

View From The Top is the first film I can recall based on the life of a flight attendant.  Donna Jensen (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) is looking for direction in life and reads a book on the industry written by high-flier Sally Weston (Bergen).  It provides inspiration but the only job she can find is for a cheap airline which serves a very low class of clientle.  Despite the lack of glamour, she grows to love her work and makes two best friends.  She also meets Tim (Ruffalo), a man looking for his own direction, and the two become increasingly close.

Looking for a step up, Donna heads to a job convention and gets a chance to train for the more lucrative Royalty Express.  This scenario provides the entrance for Mike Myers who provides all of the film’s humour as John Whitney, the head instructor.  There’s even a few more snippets of Myers’ wit during the closing credits so don’t sneak off early.

Once the premise has been set up, it’s all largely predictable from there.  Donna succeeds in her quest at Royalty Express but has to sacrifice her relationship with Tim.  Will she learn that love is more important than work?  Need I answer?

Adding spice to the film is Candice Bergen in a role that befits her.  It’s certainly better than recent parts in Sweet Home Alabama and Miss Congeniality.  Sally Weston is an interesting character who helps Donna throughout and I enjoyed that fact her successes haven’t inflated her ego.  Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count On Me) is an actor I’m expecting big things from and he gives delivers another fine performance in a role that wouldn’t otherwise offer much.

I’m not sure what writer Eric Wald was aiming for with the screenplay.  There aren’t enough jokes for it to be a comedy and yet it’s too fluffy to be classed as a drama.  Flight attendants must have so many stories to tell about annoying passengers and strange incidents.  This angle needed to be explored further to give us more humour and a sense of purpose.  Plenty of flight attendants will be off to see View From The Top and they may be even more disappointed than the general public.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 July 2003

Practically the entire cast of Best In Show also appear in A Mighty Wind and this, along with other similarities, give a slight “been there, done that” feel.  The two films are identical in style and the novelty and humour associated with the genre has worn a touch thin.

Here, famous folk music producer Irving Steinbloom has passed away and one of his sons, Jonathan (Balaban) is putting together a concert as a tribute to his late father.  New York’s Town Hall is the venue but there’s only two weeks to prepare.  The headline act is Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) who were once the biggest item in the world of folk music but broke up in the early 70s and haven’t performed together since.  Also performing will be The Folksman (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean) and the nine-member group, The New Main Street Singers.

The first act of A Mighty Wind plots the history of all the characters and Steinbloom’s organisation of the concert.  The second act watches them rehearse, prepare and rekindle old memories.  The third and final act sees the concert performed, but not without a few hiccups.

The story is told through a mixture of regular scenes and staged interviews.  Some characters are hilarious (such as Fred Willard who plays a lively agent) but others are time wasters and their idiosyncratic personalities were more annoying than funny.  Also working against the film is the limited interest and appeal I have for folk music.  The dog owners in Best In Show provided more opportunities for humour.

Despite these shortcomings, A Mighty Wind has enough one-liners to justify a look.  If you’re a lover of folk music however, there’s no doubt that you’ll want to be there front-row centre!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 July 2003

Chuck Barris has lived an interesting life.  He wrote a song called “Palisades Park” which climbed as high as third on the American charts.  He wrote three novels including “You and Me, Babe” which peaked in the top 10 on the New York Times best-seller list.  He created several televisions shows including “The Dating Game” (which was known as Perfect Match in Australia) and “The Gong Show”.  He was an award winning photographer.  On top of all of this, Barris also killed 33 people.

Such an unlikely tale is perfect big screen material and a powerful combination has taken on that responsibility.  In his directorial debut, George Clooney shows he has learned a great deal about what goes on behind the scenes whilst working in front of it.  His suave cinematography and obvious mixture of brightness and darkness are the perfect metaphors for the story.

Clooney is fortunate to have talented writer Charlie Kaufman adapt the screenplay from Barris’s autobiographical novel.  Kaufman is currently the most talented writer in film circles with two of his recent screenplays, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, receiving world-wide acclaim and Academy Award nominations.  The screenplay does drag towards the end and is not as inventive as his previous works but it’s still enjoyable.

The underestimated Sam Rockwell was a surprising choice for the lead role when you consider that bigger Hollywood stars - Clooney, Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts – have the supporting roles.  Rockwell is a talented actor whom I first saw in 1997’s brilliant Lawn Dogs.  Subsequent parts have come in films such as The Green Mile and Galaxy Quest but this is his highest-profile role to date.  More will be coming soon I’m sure.

The film follows his life through the 1960s and 1970s.  Searching for success, he formed his own television production company and made a host of game shows that appealed to American audiences because of their “improvisational responses and reactions”.  On one such show, The Dating Game, a holiday was offered as the prize for the winning couple.  Barris would sometimes even accompany the couple as a chaperone.

His reasons for doing so were kept hidden from everyone - including his long-time girlfriend (Barrymore).  Barris had been contracted by a secret government agency to kill targets who posed a threat to security and stability in the United States.  Fitting “the profile”, he was selected and his regular job provided the perfect cover.  Many criticised Barris in the press because his tv’s shows were trashy and demeaning.  I can’t even imagine what their thoughts would have been if they known the other side to his life!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 July 2003

John Connor (played this time by Nick Stahl) has gone into hiding.  There was no “judgement day” as prophesised by robots from the future but to keep things safe, he doesn’t reveal his true identity and keeps no friends.  This has left his life a shambles and a small drug addiction has developed.

Breaking into a vet surgery to look for drugs, John is caught by Kate Brewster (Danes), who doesn’t initially recognise John but then remembers him as his the young boy she shared her first kiss with in the 9^th grade.  The two have no time to catch up because a powerful female terminator, T-X (Loken), arrives to obliterate them both.

In the nick of time (as it always is), the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) arrives to rescue them.  The previous Terminator was killed at the end of the second movie but this is another model sent from the future to keep John safe.  He reveals that John will marry Kate in the future and together, they will start an importance alliance to save the human race from the deadly machines.  T-X has been sent to eliminate them before they get the chance to do this and only the Terminator can ensure their survival.

The best compliment you can pay a visual effects artist is that you didn’t even notice their work.  That adage applies here and with very few exceptions.  From the major details (such as the opening car chase) to the minor details (such as Arnold’s face), the special effects are well woven.  Director James Cameron loves using visual effects in his works but the Oscar winning director did not direct this film despite making the first two.  The honour here fell to Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown, U-571).  Curiously, Cameron has not made a film since 1997’s Titanic.

Arnie is back where he belongs and throws in some new catchphrases (along with the old favourites) to get the laughs.  Edward Furlong, who starred alongside Schwarzenegger in T2, was asked to return due to his own drug problems.  Upcoming actor Nick Stahl (Bully) got the part and works well with the talented Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet), who is finally landing some decent roles again.

Filled with predictable close shaves, Rise Of The Machines is still an interesting story which wraps with a well thought out conclusion.  The more serious philosophical issues of man and machines aren’t addressed but this is an action film and I wouldn’t expect anything more.  If you’re looking along those lines, Steven Spielberg’s A.I. will provide a more intellectual perspective.  But if you’re looking for some strong action, here’s a film that will deliver.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 July 2003

Having seen Mick Molloy’s sly wit on display in Crackerjack, one of last year’s best comedies, I knew I’d be in for a treat with Bad Eggs.  Molloy has bulked up for his role as Ben Kinnear, a high-ranking detective in Melbourne’s new special police force known as the Zero Tolerance Unit (ZTU).  The ZTU was established nine years ago as an initiative of the Victorian premier, Lionel Cray (Micallef).

Beginning his career as a background extra on Australia’s Most Wanted is Ben’s partner, Bob Franklin (Paddock).  They’ve been trying to solve a high-profile case for almost a year but their  reputations are ruined in three hilariously coincidental incidents.  After innocently pumping 12 bullets through an already dead magistrate in a crowded shopping centre, accidentally setting fire to the house of his widow, and inadvertently dropping his casket down a flight of stairs at the funeral, they’re relegated to “night desk” duty.

Not helping them is media journalist Julie Bale (Lucy) who is splashing the woeful tales of Ben and Mike all over the front page of the leading newspaper.  Julie has a vendetta against Ben – for years they worked together at the ZTU but Ben left Julie out to dry after a blunder and she was booted off the force.  Her media blitz of Ben’s own follies is giving her the satisfaction of revenge.

When their boss is shot dead in his ZTU office, Ben and Mike suspect that corruption is rife within the force.  Finding an unlikely ally in Julie, the three begin a private investigation to expose those responsible but it soon appears that everyone is involved and no one can be trusted.  Thus begins an elaborate plan to clear their own names and discredit those that deserve it.

This story isn’t meant to be serious.  It’s a crafty tale filled with many subtle one-liners.  If you’re familiar with Molloy’s brand of humour, you’ll know what to expect.  The director and writer of the film is Molloy’s long time friend and workmate Tony Martin (who makes an uproarious cameo as an Eddie McGuire-like character).  As a team, they’ve produced a film which spoofs traditional crime thrillers without become overly silly.  It is a unique style of comedy.

Judith Lucy uttered an all-time classic line in Crackerjack when she said to John Clarke, with gleaming contempt, “your fucked”.  Her background in comedy has her ideally suited to these roles and she once again gave me the biggest laugh in Bad Eggs with a sarcastic wave in one of the final scenes.  Other cast members you’ll enjoy are Bill Hunter (in his 100^th Australian film in the last two years) and Shaun Micallef, who sets the platform for some great Victorian political jokes.

Crackerjack was the highest grossing Australian film in 2002 and I’m tipping Bad Eggs to receive that same honour in 2003.  Molloy’s movies are creative and it’s a quality that Australian audiences are evidently searching for.