rating: ***
the story: A gunslinger comes out of retirement.
review: This is one of those movies that looms large in aficionado circles, but has never particularly interested me. So I gave it another chance, and at least I can say I'm starting to enjoy Unforgiven.
I think mostly it's the kind of movie that's celebrated for what it meant rather than what it was. It was Clint Eastwood's final western (which, remarkably, remains true in 2019, and given his ever-advancing age, even if he remains as active as ever, isn't likely to ever change), and made at a time when westerns had somewhat definitively lost their role in the continuing lore of cinema, which made it instantly iconic if nothing else. This is not to say it isn't a good movie in and of itself, but that those fans who particularly identify with it (as fans of anything will do) are prone to exaggerating its worth.
I recently watched a slew of westerns, including a few of Eastwood's, and on the whole, I'm less interested in watching Unforgiven again than Pale Rider or Outlaw Josey Wales (which Unforgiven might be considered an unofficial sequel to, and all but functions as such). Among them was also the far less celebrated The Quick and the Dead, which in hindsight seems like a deliberate rephrasing of Unforgiven, but a bit more on that in a moment.
What's most interesting about Unforgiven is perhaps the idea that Eastwood's character isn't really a hero so much as an opportunist the audience has every chance to root on, so of course we're going to, while Gene Hackman's sheriff perhaps isn't as much a villain as he's made out to be, even though as far as the narrative goes, he certainly is. There's an unreliability to the whole thing that's pretty interesting to think about. Hackman's sheriff is perhaps most intriguing as a guy trying to do the right thing but badly botching it, which is something observers of politics would have plenty to say about, and as such there's an allegorical worth to the movie that's perhaps its best feature.
But strip away the legacy and it's a pretty rote experience (which is why I rated, a while ago, The Fugitive much the same way, because when it comes right down to it, the only thing that really stands out about it is Tommy Lee Jones, and pretty much just the "I don't care" line, which is admittedly brilliant, and brilliantly undermines the whole movie in the process, and leads to a whole movie with him as the acknowledged lead, but no one really cared about that, ironically). We don't even get a proper ending, but rather screen text. This is really just an exercise in setting up Eastwood's later career as an aging star. (Clearly it worked.)
But what's so interesting, really, is the Quick and the Dead connection. Lots of commenters have said that Sharon Stone is blatantly playing Eastwood's Man With No Name (though it would be interesting to hear fresh perspectives, now that Charlize Theron uses the exact voice in her action roles), but Gene Hackman plays a more bombastic version of his evil sheriff, and it plays much better the second time, without any confusion about what he is, and Leo DiCaprio plays a better version of the kid who's trying to make a name for himself, with the same basic notes being made there, too. It's harder to think of Russell Crowe's presence in Quick and the Dead, and perhaps the entirety of his popular career, without thinking of Eastwood, once you begin thinking about it. (It's worth arguing that even Eastwood borrowed the persona, possibly from Charlton Heston.)
In Unforgiven, you have a few notable supporting players. Saul Rubinek, who never quite broke out, for instance, and more notably Morgan Freeman, who was on the verge of exploding (which he would, two years later, in The Shawshank Redemption). And then there's Richard Harris. Harry Potter fans like me will forever be seeking out the original Dumbledore's earlier days, and here's an interesting one, as he portrays English Bob, who perhaps most accurately sums up the film as a depiction of American savages, barely grasping the concept of civilization, something a lot of westerns tried to illustrate, but seldom as, well, savagely.
Showing posts with label 1992. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1992. Show all posts
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Saturday, September 7, 2019
The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
rating: *****
the story: A conman runs for congress (stop me if you've heard this one).
review: Wow. So until I randomly ran across a DVD of it in a library book sale, I'd never heard of The Distinguished Gentleman. Seems kind of odd. I mean, it stars Eddie Murphy, one of the best-known comedic actors of the past forty years. He'd made a considerable splash in the '80s with movies like Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, and Trading Places, and while it's true he went into a box office dry spell in the early '90s, before The Nutty Professor revived his career, I still thought I'd at least knew the stuff in-between. But apparently not. There might be a very good reason, and it has nothing at all to do with the quality of the movie itself.
The Distinguished Gentleman was released in theaters in December 1992. You may recall that the US presidential election had just been held the previous November, and that Bill Clinton won. It was a highly-publicized political season. Clinton's popularity surged in part thanks to his appearance playing a saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, and he was later called "the first black president." Distinguished Gentleman makes no direct references to Clinton (other than borrowing part of his campaign material evoking H.W. Bush's "read my lips"), but anyone paying attention to the movie will understand how it perfectly evokes Clinton-style politics, and as such, it can be viewed as a criticism of Clinton on the very eave of his presidency.
And yet it's strangely nonpartisan. Murphy's conman spends the whole movie, in which he quickly wins congressional election based on name recognition alone (he shares a last name with the recently-deceased congressman played by James Garner) and plunges straight into Washington affairs, without once worrying whether anyone is a Democrat or Republican. The '90s were a period where the feud between the parties hotly intensified. Aside from probably Air Force One, Hollywood presidents tended to be Democrats in the Clinton years, typified by The American President (which in turn gave birth to The West Wing but perhaps most honestly, Spin City).
But anyone who began to suspect that politics had become a sort of cynical, get-rich-quick lifestyle might have found Distinguished Gentleman very familiar. It's just not how people were actually talking about it. Clinton's most direct satire, Primary Colors, began as a cynical book phenomenon but eventually became a somewhat fawning movie. But Distinguished Gentleman blows it out of the water. It's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the modern age.
Where Jimmy Stewart plays an irrepressible idealist, Murphy at first has no interest in the job itself, until he begins to see the responsibility he's accepted, and the colleagues who have completely rejected it. Lane Smith plays his mentor, and in name he evokes Nixon (Smith even played Nixon three years prior, in The Final Days, so it can hardly be considered coincidental), but the story, in an era where Watergate's legacy remains as relevant as ever, never really reflects Nixon himself. This is called biting satire.
The somewhat anonymous cast includes Chi McBride when he apparently was being billed simply as "Chi." He remains a hidden treasure wherever he pops up. The spotlight rests, then, on Murphy, who gets to pull off, instead of his familiar trick of Peter Sellers ubiquity, a number of killer accents, including an MLK impression that if he'd ever turned into a full performance might've totally transformed his career. But he never mugs for the camera. This is a fairly straight performance for Murphy, which is probably one of the reasons it's been so easy to overlook. It's obviously a comedic movie, but its famously spastic star restrains himself. It's the absurdity of the story that's the source of the humor this time.
And the sad part is that politics remains exactly like this today, making Distinguished Gentleman increasingly relevant material, created at the dawn of an era, dismissed as poorly timed, but in the end, quite timeless. And well worth rediscovering because of it.
the story: A conman runs for congress (stop me if you've heard this one).
review: Wow. So until I randomly ran across a DVD of it in a library book sale, I'd never heard of The Distinguished Gentleman. Seems kind of odd. I mean, it stars Eddie Murphy, one of the best-known comedic actors of the past forty years. He'd made a considerable splash in the '80s with movies like Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, and Trading Places, and while it's true he went into a box office dry spell in the early '90s, before The Nutty Professor revived his career, I still thought I'd at least knew the stuff in-between. But apparently not. There might be a very good reason, and it has nothing at all to do with the quality of the movie itself.
The Distinguished Gentleman was released in theaters in December 1992. You may recall that the US presidential election had just been held the previous November, and that Bill Clinton won. It was a highly-publicized political season. Clinton's popularity surged in part thanks to his appearance playing a saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show, and he was later called "the first black president." Distinguished Gentleman makes no direct references to Clinton (other than borrowing part of his campaign material evoking H.W. Bush's "read my lips"), but anyone paying attention to the movie will understand how it perfectly evokes Clinton-style politics, and as such, it can be viewed as a criticism of Clinton on the very eave of his presidency.
And yet it's strangely nonpartisan. Murphy's conman spends the whole movie, in which he quickly wins congressional election based on name recognition alone (he shares a last name with the recently-deceased congressman played by James Garner) and plunges straight into Washington affairs, without once worrying whether anyone is a Democrat or Republican. The '90s were a period where the feud between the parties hotly intensified. Aside from probably Air Force One, Hollywood presidents tended to be Democrats in the Clinton years, typified by The American President (which in turn gave birth to The West Wing but perhaps most honestly, Spin City).
But anyone who began to suspect that politics had become a sort of cynical, get-rich-quick lifestyle might have found Distinguished Gentleman very familiar. It's just not how people were actually talking about it. Clinton's most direct satire, Primary Colors, began as a cynical book phenomenon but eventually became a somewhat fawning movie. But Distinguished Gentleman blows it out of the water. It's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the modern age.
Where Jimmy Stewart plays an irrepressible idealist, Murphy at first has no interest in the job itself, until he begins to see the responsibility he's accepted, and the colleagues who have completely rejected it. Lane Smith plays his mentor, and in name he evokes Nixon (Smith even played Nixon three years prior, in The Final Days, so it can hardly be considered coincidental), but the story, in an era where Watergate's legacy remains as relevant as ever, never really reflects Nixon himself. This is called biting satire.
The somewhat anonymous cast includes Chi McBride when he apparently was being billed simply as "Chi." He remains a hidden treasure wherever he pops up. The spotlight rests, then, on Murphy, who gets to pull off, instead of his familiar trick of Peter Sellers ubiquity, a number of killer accents, including an MLK impression that if he'd ever turned into a full performance might've totally transformed his career. But he never mugs for the camera. This is a fairly straight performance for Murphy, which is probably one of the reasons it's been so easy to overlook. It's obviously a comedic movie, but its famously spastic star restrains himself. It's the absurdity of the story that's the source of the humor this time.
And the sad part is that politics remains exactly like this today, making Distinguished Gentleman increasingly relevant material, created at the dawn of an era, dismissed as poorly timed, but in the end, quite timeless. And well worth rediscovering because of it.
Friday, February 26, 2016
1992 Capsule Reviews
Malcolm X
rating: *****
review: Spike Lee's masterpiece, a biopic of the '60s black leader not named Martin Luther King, Jr. Denzel Washington has his first great starring role as the eponymous icon.
Reservoir Dogs
rating: ****
review: Quentin Tarantino's explosive debut features a complete revision of the hoodlum genre and career-making performances for every member of the cast.
Aladdin
rating: ****
review: Disney's third exceptional animated film in as many efforts brings the quality level back down to earth, although finds a real phenomenon in giving Robin Williams perhaps his greatest role as the Genie.
A Few Good Men
rating: ****
review: The only thing wrong with this movie is that Jack Nicholson ultimately steals the show right from under lead Tom Cruise, who proves overmatched on this occasion.
The Cutting Edge
rating: ****
review: For a nation that was at that time obsessed with figure skating, it's good that someone made a really good movie out of it at the same time.
Sister Act
rating: ****
review: Whoopi Goldberg's greatest role fires on all cylinders except in the plot that is kind of shoehorned in to make it happen in the first place. But it's nice to see Maggie Smith and Harvey Keitel try to redeem thankless roles around her.
Batman Returns
rating: ****
review: Tim Burton's second dance with the Dark Knight takes all of its notes from the Burton playbook, and succeeds as everything, basically, except a Batman movie. Which is just weird.
A River Runs Through It
rating: ****
review: Robert Redford delivers one of the two ridiculously earnest movies Brad Pitt made in this period (along with Legends of the Fall). You can swap the term "earnest" with "elegiac," depending on how much you go along with it. This was like a movie version of The Waltons.
A League of Their Own
rating: ****
review: This was an era in which supporting performances could very easily upstage the main event. Hence why I still love quoting Tom Hanks' immortal: "There's no crying in baseball!"
Bram Stoker's Dracula
rating: ****
review: This sensational revision of the character back to its roots is perfectly in-line with the rest of Hollywood in this era.
Chaplin
rating: ****
review: Robert Downey, Jr. matures as an actor in this portrait of an early Hollywood favorite.
Wayne's World
rating: ***
review: Like Bill and Ted, Wayne and Garth are two comedy icons from this period that kind of became period specific.
Noises Off
rating: ***
review: A fine adaptation of classic live theater farce.
Brain Donors
rating: ***
review: An attempt to revive classic Hollywood farce. (Previously I pointed out how Hollywood seemed to so eagerly try and bury this period. I think it's because it tried so hard to reinvent the wheel.)
Unforgiven
rating: ***
review: Almost like an update of The Shootist, John Wayne's classic final film, Clint Eastwood introduces the new normal of the Hollywood Western, in which something big (an aging cowboy played by an iconic actor returning to form) is necessary for anyone to care again about the genre.
Scent of a Woman
rating: ***
review: Ironically, another emerging actor (this time Chris O'Donnell) unwittingly duplicates Tom Cruise's experience in A Few Good Men, this time with Al Pacino, and far too early in his career.
The Muppet Christmas Carol
rating: ***
review: The Muppets concede that they need to do something drastic to be relevant again, and turn to adapting classic novels. My dad swears by this version. Doesn't hurt to feature Michael Caine.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
rating: **
review: Exactly like the first one, only not as fresh.
The Mighty Ducks
rating: **
review: Kicked off the young actors craze. Ended up inspiring a real NHL team. About what you'd expect, otherwise, from a sports film.
Honey, I Blew Up the Kids
rating: **
review: Yeah, somehow this happened. No doubt fun to watch, but...
Toys
rating: **
review: Not bad, Robin Williams, but also a waste of your potential.
rating: *****
review: Spike Lee's masterpiece, a biopic of the '60s black leader not named Martin Luther King, Jr. Denzel Washington has his first great starring role as the eponymous icon.
Reservoir Dogs
rating: ****
review: Quentin Tarantino's explosive debut features a complete revision of the hoodlum genre and career-making performances for every member of the cast.
Aladdin
rating: ****
review: Disney's third exceptional animated film in as many efforts brings the quality level back down to earth, although finds a real phenomenon in giving Robin Williams perhaps his greatest role as the Genie.
A Few Good Men
rating: ****
review: The only thing wrong with this movie is that Jack Nicholson ultimately steals the show right from under lead Tom Cruise, who proves overmatched on this occasion.
The Cutting Edge
rating: ****
review: For a nation that was at that time obsessed with figure skating, it's good that someone made a really good movie out of it at the same time.
Sister Act
rating: ****
review: Whoopi Goldberg's greatest role fires on all cylinders except in the plot that is kind of shoehorned in to make it happen in the first place. But it's nice to see Maggie Smith and Harvey Keitel try to redeem thankless roles around her.
Batman Returns
rating: ****
review: Tim Burton's second dance with the Dark Knight takes all of its notes from the Burton playbook, and succeeds as everything, basically, except a Batman movie. Which is just weird.
A River Runs Through It
rating: ****
review: Robert Redford delivers one of the two ridiculously earnest movies Brad Pitt made in this period (along with Legends of the Fall). You can swap the term "earnest" with "elegiac," depending on how much you go along with it. This was like a movie version of The Waltons.
A League of Their Own
rating: ****
review: This was an era in which supporting performances could very easily upstage the main event. Hence why I still love quoting Tom Hanks' immortal: "There's no crying in baseball!"
Bram Stoker's Dracula
rating: ****
review: This sensational revision of the character back to its roots is perfectly in-line with the rest of Hollywood in this era.
Chaplin
rating: ****
review: Robert Downey, Jr. matures as an actor in this portrait of an early Hollywood favorite.
Wayne's World
rating: ***
review: Like Bill and Ted, Wayne and Garth are two comedy icons from this period that kind of became period specific.
Noises Off
rating: ***
review: A fine adaptation of classic live theater farce.
Brain Donors
rating: ***
review: An attempt to revive classic Hollywood farce. (Previously I pointed out how Hollywood seemed to so eagerly try and bury this period. I think it's because it tried so hard to reinvent the wheel.)
Unforgiven
rating: ***
review: Almost like an update of The Shootist, John Wayne's classic final film, Clint Eastwood introduces the new normal of the Hollywood Western, in which something big (an aging cowboy played by an iconic actor returning to form) is necessary for anyone to care again about the genre.
Scent of a Woman
rating: ***
review: Ironically, another emerging actor (this time Chris O'Donnell) unwittingly duplicates Tom Cruise's experience in A Few Good Men, this time with Al Pacino, and far too early in his career.
The Muppet Christmas Carol
rating: ***
review: The Muppets concede that they need to do something drastic to be relevant again, and turn to adapting classic novels. My dad swears by this version. Doesn't hurt to feature Michael Caine.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
rating: **
review: Exactly like the first one, only not as fresh.
The Mighty Ducks
rating: **
review: Kicked off the young actors craze. Ended up inspiring a real NHL team. About what you'd expect, otherwise, from a sports film.
Honey, I Blew Up the Kids
rating: **
review: Yeah, somehow this happened. No doubt fun to watch, but...
Toys
rating: **
review: Not bad, Robin Williams, but also a waste of your potential.
Monday, January 12, 2015
1992
Viewed/Ranked
- Malcolm X
- Reservoir Dogs
- Aladdin
- A Few Good Men
- The Cutting Edge
- Sister Act
- Batman Returns
- A River Runs Through It
- A League of Their Own
- Bram Stoker's Dracula
- Chaplin
- Wayne's World
- Noises Off
- Brain Donors
- Unforgiven
- Scent of a Woman
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- The Mighty Ducks
- Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
- Toys
Other Notable Releases
- 3 Ninjas
- 1492: Conquest of Paradise
- Alien 3
- Bad Lieutenant
- Basic Instinct
- Beethoven
- The Bodyguard
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Candyman
- Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
- Cool World
- The Crying Game
- Encino Man
- Far and Away
- Glengarry Glenn Ross
- Honeymoon in Vegas
- Johnny Suede
- The Last of the Mohicans
- Lethal Weapon 3
- My Cousin Vinny
- Of Mice and Men
- Patriot Games
- Sneakers
- Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me
- Under Siege
- Universal Soldier
- White Men Can't Jump
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