At the
Movies Stages of Life -- Three satisfying autumn films
By JOSEPH CUNEEN
A movie columnist is at the mercy of
Hollywood moguls who glut the summer market with action spectaculars and give
us an excess of possibilities before Christmas. Since their research shows that
the back-to-school period is a bad time to build major successes, there are
fewer big films demanding attention right now.
This has its advantages, making it more possible to take a chance
on movies I might otherwise have missed, of which Buena Vista Social
Club (Artisan Entertainment) is a joyous example. Some of you may be
familiar with producer Ry Cooders 1996 hit recording by that name,
featuring wonderful but long-neglected Cuban musicians and singers. In 1998
there was a second recording session in Havana, followed by concerts in
Amsterdam, Netherlands, and New York. Director Wim Wenders went along to make a
movie of the proceedings. In view of my vast ignorance about Cuban music,
its an unlikely beat for me to cover, but friends of impeccable taste
insisted I shouldnt miss the film.
They were right. The happiness of these elderly musicians in
sharing their talents is infectious from the start. Wenders camera
follows them walking proudly through Havanas back streets, expressing
their camaraderie in the recording studio and recalling anecdotes from their
past as the stately architecture of an earlier era provides an appropriate
background.
Wenders takes his time and gives us a chance to study faces:
90-year-old composer-guitarist Compay Segundo smiles as he says hes been
smoking cigars for 85 years; octogenarian Ibrahim Ferrer carefully explains the
details of the household altar he maintains in honor of St. Lazarus; and
74-year-old Rubén González plays elegant variations on the piano
as an accompaniment for an irresistible group of young dancers and
gymnasts.
Theirs is a folk music of power and sophistication, its roots
century-old among a people far from the capital. The singers believe in the
passion they communicate; they have suffered but they have lost neither dignity
nor delight in an open sensuality. In the song Silentio, it seems
all too possible that the flowers would die if they knew of the pain the
singers have endured, but we also know that pride in their art continues to
sustain them.
Unlike Buena Vista, a
surprise hit with limited distribution, Bowfinger (Universal) got
maximum visibility and acceptance from Day 1. It would be hard to miss
popularity with Steve Martin in the title role as a producer-director who has
little going for him except an insane self-confidence, and Eddie Murphy as both
Kit Ramsey, the unavailable star around whom Bowfinger shoots his movie without
Kit knowing it, and Jiff Ramsey, his goofy-looking brother with glasses who is
down on his luck.
Bowfingers accountant Afrim (Adam Alexi-Malle) has written
Chubby Rain, a screenplay about space aliens hiding in drops of
water, prompting the delusional promoter to rush to the Mexican border to round
up frightened illegal immigrants -- I want the best damn crew we can
afford! Before long we see these apprentice technicians absorbed in the
latest issue of Cahiers du Cinéma, the avant-garde film review.
Kit Ramsey may be hard to contact, especially since his
psychological uncertainties are being exploited by Terry Stricter (Terence
Stamp), who presides with absolute authority over a religious cult for the
wealthy. (One example of his spiritual counsel to Kit: There is no giant
foot trying to squash you.)
Meanwhile Jiff, who thought he had been hired just to run errands,
is asked to play his famous brother crossing a Los Angeles freeway during the
rush hour. He thinks theyre all stunt drivers; we know theyre not.
Its one of the craziest, funniest bits in a movie this year. The targets
are admittedly obvious, but director Frank Oz (Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels) has a good sense of pace and Martin is obviously having a
grand time debunking the pretensions of moviemakers and the very idea of movie
reality.
Carol (Christine Baranski) believes she is playing passionate
scenes for an art-house classic but admits that she would like to meet her
leading man. There is also the naive Daisy who rushes into the Bowfinger
menagerie determined to be a star even if it means throwing herself at anyone
who might be a springboard to advancement. Her high-minded response to
Bowfingers inquiry as to whether she would be willing to do a
particularly kinky sex scene is a marvelous send-up of adult movie
hypocrisy. Martin is not only a good actor but also a satirical writer who
pinpoints his targets perfectly.
Murphy is also in top form whether as the accommodating Jiff who
accepts Bowfingers crazy assignments, or as the terrified super-celebrity
who has to repeat Renfros mantra: I feel like I might ignite, but
probably I wont.
Even if Steve Martin is coasting, hes written the best space
alien movie in years.
Outside Providence (Miramax)
may be fake realism but its surprisingly likeable. Its growing-up story
dumps a dope-taking, working-class Pawtucket, R.I., teenager, Tim
Dunph Dunphy (Shawn Hatosy), down in the lush Connecticut prep
school world of Cornwall Academy, circa 1974. There his brash indifference to
rules and his ability to obtain pot win him a degree of acceptance among his
upper-class schoolmates, and he falls in love with Amy (Jane Weston), a highly
motivated young woman headed for Brown University. (Dunph is so naive he tells
her, Theres one of those in Providence, too.)
The movie is based on a novel by Peter Farrelly, and both Peter
and Bobby Farrelly are credited -- along with director Michael Corrente -- with
the script. Those familiar with Theres Something About Mary
will not be surprised by the relentless obscenity of both Dunphs
Pawtucket buddies and his fathers bigoted poker-playing regulars. But the
sweetness of Outside Providence outweighs its raunchiness. We
observe Dunphs vulnerable nature as his bicycle pulls along his crippled
brothers wheelchair so that the latter can complete a newspaper delivery
route, and we easily believe he has learned to see Amy as more than a sex
object. Most convincing of all is Alec Baldwin as Dunphs widower-father,
a complex figure whose need to express affection has been too long
repressed.
The movies weakness is that not only is the story told from
a young male point of view, but no one connected with it seems to have a clue
about women. Amy is simply a prep school boys dream girl. Though
supposedly the smartest and most unapproachable young woman at Cornwall, she
pairs off with the unschooled, lower-class Dunph without skipping a beat and
even appears unfazed when she meets his rowdy Pawtucket crowd. Even worse is
the emotional exploitation of Dunphs dead mother, who becomes merely a
memory of a beautiful victim.
Though the realism of Outside Providence is highly
selective, the most outrageous of the young Pawtucket crowd, the appropriately
named Drugs Delaney (Jon Abrahams) is memorably alive, an edgy figure who
nevertheless gains our sympathy. One of the movies most successful comic
bits occurs when his hilariously outspoken letter falls into the hands of
Cornwalls dean, who reads it aloud to a squirming Dunph. In general,
however, the prep school scenes seem flat. Dunphs classmates are merely
types, and Mr. Funderberk (Tim Crowe), the school disciplinarian, is such an
extreme caricature that it is hard to understand his motivation at the
climax.
Despite these limitations, the upbeat good humor of Outside
Providence carries the day. Hatosy makes us care about Dunph, and
Corrente, who grew up in Pawtucket, clearly identifies with the material. Best
of all, the movie doesnt try to resolve everything; by the end, Dunph has
learned a few things, but he still has a lot of growing up to do.
Joseph Cunneen is NCRs regular movie
reviewer.
National Catholic Reporter, October 1,
1999
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