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Working
Class Comedy
The
11-year itch.
BY
LOIS WADSWORTH
THE GOOD GIRL: Directed
by Miguel Arteta. Written by Mike White. Produced by Matthew Greenfield.
Executive producers, Kirk D'Amico, Philip Von Alvensleben, Carol Baum.
Cinematography, Enrique Chediak. Production design, Daniel Bradford.
Editor, Jeff Betancourt. Music, Joey Waronker, Tony Maxwell, James
O'Brien, Mark Orton. Costumes, Nancy Steiner. Starring Jennifer Aniston,
with Zooey Deschanel, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Tim Blake Nelson
and Mike White. Also, Deborah Rush and John Carrol Lynch. Fox Searchlight
Pictures, 2002. R. 93 minutes.
 |
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CHERYL
(ZOOEY DESCHANEL) AND JUSTINE (JENNIFER ANISTON) HOLD DOWN THE
MAKE-UP COUNTER AT RETAIL RODEO, BUT ONLY CHERYL BRINGS COMIC
RELIEF TO BORING WORK.
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Jennifer Aniston gives a winning performance
here as Justine Last, a make-up sales clerk at Retail Rodeo, a Texas
super-store complete with intrusive store announcements and depressed
employees. Justine is bored beyond bearing with small-town life. At
30, she hates the job she has worked for 11 years, and she hates her
marriage to Phil (John C. Reilly), a house painter whose ambition
long ago went up in smoke. His pot buddy, Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson),
also makes Justine's black list after he sprawls on her new sofa with
paint on his pants. Justine's mini-rant after this episode rings true
to that moment when the need for new life in old routines is overwhelming.
In this emotional frame of mind, Justine notices a
new employee, a brooding, post-teen outsider who sports the name Holden
on his name tag (as in Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger's The
Catcher in the Rye). Justine works up just enough interest in
Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal) to wander over to his register. Justine's
lethargy and low spirits are so physically pronounced that it's an
effort for her to speak. The conversation between Justine and Holden
is basically "What's up?", "Not much," which is the naked truth. But
a spark jumps between them, and hope leaps up. Soon enough, they attempt
to fix what's wrong with their lives through sex, forgetting that
small town secrets never stay secret very long.
Aniston is a revelation in the role of Justine, thoughtful
and natural. Justine seems surprised at her own self-absorption but
doesn't let that stop her from stirring up the strong emotions inherent
in the triangle. Gyllenhaal is perfect for Holden, the studied outsider
who fancies himself a writer but has neither the experience nor the
talent to live up to his ambition. Holden is not just a dreamer, but
also a potential suicide. His moods switch without warning, which
makes him dangerous. Likewise, John C. Reilly brings a sturdiness
to his portrayal of Phil that makes him seem harmless enough, but
when Phil is riled up all his pent-up resentment boils over.
My favorite performance is the brief but hilarious
bits from Zooey Deschanel (the sister in Almost Famous) as
Cheryl, who works with Justine. She is a jewel, a bright, satiric
light in the dim, deadly serious, commercial world of Retail Rodeo
corporate life. Some smart filmmaker should give Deschanel a leading
role and let her run with it. The other memorable supporting role
is filled by Mike White, who played lollipop-sucking Buck in Arteta's
2000 independent film, Chuck and Buck. Here White plays Corny,
the security guard at the store. who's also a proselytizing born-again
and a snoop. White wrote the screenplay for The Good Girl and
Chuck and Buck.
My disappointment with the film comes only in the
last 10 or 15 minutes. When a good movie goes off the rails it's often
because the writer introduces a gun into a complicated human situation.
Even if there is no violence on camera, guns are a device signaling
a failure of the imagination. If Arteta and White had stayed with
the juicy human mess onscreen and let the characters stew in it, then
find their way out of it legitimately, I could recommend the film
without reservation. As it is, I can urge you to see it and recommend
it highly for 90-95 percent of its length. Then you can join me in
lamenting the spoiler ending as a cheap way out. Opens at the Bijou
on Friday, August 30.
Back to Top
Nature
Sprites
Whole
lotta kissin' going on.
BY LOIS WADSWORTH
AGAIN KISS AGAIN: Directed
and produced by David Koteen. Director of Photography, Sabrina Siegel.
Edited by Ashley Haber. Musicians: Darcy DuRuz, Allison Rickenbaugh,
Barbara Dzuro, Charlie Doggett, Mark Schneider, Sylvie Rubinstein,
Bruce Newhouse. Music by Scott Smith, Bjork, Mike Vargas, Air, Evilimes
and Jack Johnson. Starring Meagan Orion and Ben Fogelson. With Julie
Deskin, Juno Deskin, Pam Geber, Eric Handman, Tyler D. Moline, Amy
Impellizzeri, Dave Impellizzeri, Dawn Tumin, Quint Ehley, Sarah Macrorie,
Stuart Phillips, Linda Kay Stevens, Bright Crosswell, David Sommerville,
Lilly Steinlicht and Peter Walker. Fox Hollow Productions, 2002. 60
minutes.
David Koteen's homegrown art video, Again Kiss
Again, employed only local artists and performers and was shot
entirely in Lane County, he notes in a press release. It is a fanciful,
light-hearted romance with many beautiful people set in the woods,
fields, gardens, river and sea of bountiful, mid-Oregon country. The
picture will show at 7 and 9 pm on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 at the WOW
Hall. $5 at the door.
What the film is not is also worth noting.
There is no story, no narrative arc, no dialogue and only two actual
characters. While Again Kiss Again is not a documentary, in
part it records an actual wedding between Meagan Orion and Ben Fogelson,
complete with toasts from their respective mothers. But around this
slender story line, nature sprites called Aethaers dance and play,
while Megan and Ben themselves frolic through the environs, finding
sweet little love nests here and there, where they pause to kiss.
Koteen is known locally for his improvisational approach
to dance and drama, so it is not surprising that many scenes appear
to be concocted in the moment. While that gives the film a sense of
immediacy, it can also lead to silliness. One such scene is when the
Aethaers perch on a log, then fall backward in a wave onto the forest
floor. Their togas afford them scant assurance of dignity.
Nature herself is the star of the show, embodied in
Meagan and expressed through the dances she performs as she runs through
the gardens and woods, embraces her lover, feeds him petals and plays
with and on a large yellow ball at the ocean. Ben also dances, but
his movements are primarily supportive of his consort, following rather
than leading. Meagan is beautifully unselfconscious except when the
situation seems contrived, as when Ben stuffs handfuls of an unidentifiable
leafy plant in her mouth, leaving her quite speechless.
Meagan's costumes add to her dance performance. They
include a white slip, a red cape, a ruffled tangerine sheer dress
and her wedding dress itself. Meagan is very photogenic, and the camera
lavishes its love on her. With her light hair and Ben's dark good
looks, they make a handsome couple.
Percussive sounds as well as music and the voiceovers
did not come through very well on my television speakers, but that
should not be a problem with the hall's excellent sound system. So
I missed the words from Ben's and Meagan's voiceover readings of their
letters. Meagan's letter ends: "Carry this image with you: I am in
a vast blowing field of daisies, loving you forever." Ben reads from
his letter, written in Istanbul: "Meagan, if you were here I'd pick
you up, and spin you on the sprint and dump you down and kiss your
lips and tug you up again like a fisherman hauls a net with eager
arms."
Again Kiss Again is a paean to young love and
nature. Take this opportunity to see it with your friends and lovers.
OPENING
OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication
unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com.
Again Kiss Again:
Art romance video locally produced and directed by David Koteen, made
with all local cast and crew. Stars Meagan Orion and Ben Fogelson.
NR. 7 & 9 pm on 9/5 & 9/6 at WOW Hall. $5. See review this
issue.
Country Bears, The: An 11-year old bear decides
to reunite his favorite bear rock ban for a benefit concert. Musical
performances or appearances by Don Henley, John Hiatt, Elton John,
Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson,. Bonnie Raitt and Brian Setzer. G. Movies
12.
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood: Sandra
Bullock plays a NY playwright who'd like to keep some distance from
her eccentric mother, played by Ellen Burstyn. Also Fionnula Flanagan,
Shirley Knight, Maggie Smith and Ashley Judd. Made for women and girls
to enjoy. Leave the men at home. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.
Fear Dot Com: Thriller/horror flick stars Stephen
Dorff, Natascha McElhone and Stephen Rea. Includes grisly images of
torture; nudity; violence. No one under 17 admitted. R. Cinema World.
Cinemark.
Good Girl, The: Jennifer Aniston, Zooey Deschanel,
Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Tim Blake Nelson and Mike White star
in Michael Arteta's blue collar romantic comedy. Highly recommended,
despite its flawed ending. R. Bijou. See review this issue.
Mr. Deeds: Adam Sandler plays an ordinary guy
who inherits $40 billion in this remake of Frank Capra's 1936 comedy,
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Also stars Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher,
Steve Buscemi, Jared Harris and John Turturro. PG-13. Movies 12.
Possession: Adapted from A.S. Byatt's 1990
novel, Neil LaBute's new film is a romance starring Gwyneth Paltrow
and Aaron Eckhart as scholars who discover a secret romance between
two great Victorian poets, played by Jennifer Ehle and Jeremy Northam.
PG-13. Cinema World.
CONTINUING:
Austin Powers in Goldmember:
If the third time is charmed, here is Mike Myers, back in multiple
roles as Austin Powers. Michael Caine plays his secret-agent dad and
Beyoncé Knowles is Foxxy Cleopatra. Directed by Jay Roach. PG-13.
Cinemark. Online archives.
Bad Company: The unlikely duo of Anthony Hopkins and
Chris Rock in a spy action/comedy. Directed by Joel Schumacher, it
also stars Peter Stormare and Kerry Washington. PG-13. Movies 12.
Blood Work: Clint Eastwood's film adaptation
of a sensational crime novel by Michael Connelly stars Eastwood as
a retired FBI agent with a heart condition who chases down a serial
killer. Connelly's book lends itself to the Eastwood treatment. Also
stars Anjelica Huston, Jeff Daniels, Wanda De Jesus, Paul Rodriguez.
R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives.
Blue Crush: Directed by John Stockwell, this
romantic surfer adventure stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez
(Girlfight) and Matthew Davis. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Bourne Identity, The: Matt Damon, Franka Potente,
Chris Cooper, Clive Owen and Brian Cox star in Doug Liman's character-based
spy thriller based on Robert Ludlum's best seller. A man with amnesia
(Matt Damon) sets out to discover who he is and why everyone wants
to kill him, and along the way he discovers love (Franka Potente).
A subtle skewing of the genre, it's highly recommended. PG-13. Movies
12. Online archives.
Crocodile Hunter, Collision Course: In this
comedy of errors, undercover CIA agents suspect Steve and Terri Irwin
of information theft and go to Australia to prove it. PG. Movies 12.
Insomnia: Christopher Nolan (Memento)
explores sleep deprivation in this remake of a 1998 thriller from
Norway. Set in Alaska, it stars Al Pacino and Robin Williams, Hilary
Swank, Martin Donovan, Maura Tierney, Nicky Katt and Paul Dooley.
Highly recommended thriller. R. Movies 12. Online archives.
Like Mike: Lil Bow Wow plays an orphan who
dreams of playing pro basketball. When he finds a pair of magic sneakers,
he makes the team. Also stars Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki,
Crispin Glover and Eugene Levy. PG. Movies 12.
Lilo and Stitch: Animated Disney comedy about
Lilo, a lonely Hawaiian girl, and her small, ugly dog named Stitch.
The dog is an alien experiment that's crashed to earth. Six by Elvis
on the soundtrack. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Men in Black 2: Jay (Will Smith) drags a reluctant
Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) back into the agency with the mission of "Protecting
the earth from the scum of the universe." Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld,
it also stars Lara Flynn Boyle as Serleena, an alien masquerading
as a Victoria's Secret model. With Rosario Dawson, Johnny Knoxville,
Tony Shalhoub and Rip Torn. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives.
Minority Report: Steven Spielberg directs Tom
Cruise in this sci-fi where killers are arrested and convicted before
they commit murder. In 2054, Cruise heads the Pre-Crime unit until
he's accused of the murder of a man he hasn't yet met. Based on a
short story by the genre's master, Philip K. Dick. One of Spielberg
and Cruise's best. Highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinemark. Online
archives.
Monsters Inc.: From Pixar, the creators of
Toy Story, comes a new computer-animated feature about a scare
factory, Monsters Inc., and its top monster, Sulley (voice of John
Goodman). Also voices of Billy Crystal, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly,
Steve Buscemi and Mary Gibbs. G. Movies 12. Online archives.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Based on Nia Vardalos's
one-woman stage show, it's about the 30-year old, unmarried daughter
(Vardalos) in an engaging, passionate but demanding Greek family in
New York. She meets the man she wants to marry (John Corbett), and
he isn't Greek. Yikes! Another humorous reminder that weddings are
also a family and community affair, this sweet romantic comedy entertains.
Recommended. PG. Bijou. Cinemark. Online archives.
Reign of Fire: After a slumbering fire-breathing
critter wakes up, all hell breaks loose, and the world descends into
Medieval times. Matthew McConaughey comes as savior, Christian Bale
is fire chief. Rob Bowman directs. Violent. PG-13. Movies 12.
Road to Perdition: Sam Mendes (American
Beauty) directs this fathers-and-sons drama set in Chicago during
the Depression. It stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Tyler Hoechlin, with
Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci and Liam
Aiken. R. Cinema World. Online archives.
Scooby Doo: TV's 1969 Great Dane, Scooby, returns
as a computer-generated detective dog in this comedy starring Freddie
Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Matthew Lillard. PG. Movies
12.
Serving Sara: Matthew Perry. Elizabeth Hurley
and Bruce Campbell star in Reginald Hudlin's romantic comedy. Also
stars Cedric the Entertainer and Vincent Pastore. PG-13. Cinemark.
Signs: Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan
and starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, this supernatural thriller
about crop circles looks like a box-office bonanza. Also stars Rory
Culkin and Abigail Breslin. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. See
review this issue.
Simone: Writer, director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) has
high hopes for his new comedy, which stars Al Pacino, Catherine Keener
Jay Mohr, Jason Schwartzman and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Pacino creates
a synthetic star — Simone. She becomes successful, then everyone
wants to meet her. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron: Animated
Western adventure with the voices of Matt Damon, James Cromwell and
Daniel Studi is an action picture, not a comedy. Co-directed by Kelly
Asbury and Lorna Cook. G. Movies 12.
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams: Robert Rodriguez
says his sequel has lots of action, is fun and nobody dies. Stars
Antonio Banderas, Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: George Lucas'
second of three Star Wars' prequels comes to the screen with
Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid
and Samuel Jackson doing all the heavy lifting. PG. Movies 12. Online
archives.
Sum of All Fears: Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman are
Central Intelligence agents trying to prevent terrorists from getting
weapons of mass destruction. Also stars James Crowmell, Liev Schreiber,
Alan Bates and Philip Baker Hall. Based on Tom Clancy's bestseller.
PG-13. Online archives. Movies 12.
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing: A teasing
riddle that casually links the stories of nine contemporary men and
women, this interesting film by filmmaker sisters Karen and Jill Sprecher
includes an outstanding ensemble cast: Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro,
Alan Arkin, Amy Irving, Clea DuVall, Tia Texada and William Wise.
Highly recommended. R. Bijou. Online archives.
Undisputed: Walter Hill's boxing drama about
a heavyweight champ who goes to prison stars Wesley Snipes and Ving
Rhames. R. Cinemark.
XXX: Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson star
in this athletic spy thriller directed by Rob Cohen. Sony is betting
big on this "Vin Diesel film" to become the next hot franchise. PG-13.
Cinemark.
MOVIE
THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.
Bijou
Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater 686-2458
| 492 E. 13th
Regal
Cinemas
Cinema World 342-6536
| Valley River Center
Springfield Quad 726-9073
|
Cinemark
Theaters
Movies 12 741-1231
| Gateway Mall
Movies before 12:30 are Sat. Sun. only. $1.50 all shows all days.
Cinemark 17 741-1231 |
Gateway Mall
ew
Releases on Video
Releases subject to change. Available the
Tuesday following date of EW publication, sometimes
sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
Best of the Muppet Show:
25th Anniversary compilation DVD stars Elton John, Julie Andrews,
Gene Kelly in classic episodes from the show. G.
Don't Look Now (1973): Nicolas Roeg directs
Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland in this psychological thriller,
as a couple's grief at the loss of their daughter hardens into a dangerous
compulsion. Steamy sex scene, beautiful shots of Venice and a really
frightening ending. New to DVD. R.
Friends Complete Season 2: All 24 episodes
plus never seen footage and lots of extras. Four-disc DVD set.
Mickey's House of Villains: VHS, DVD from Disney.
Animated adventure stars 150 of The Mouse's favorite villains in classic
cartoons, with music and shorts. 70 minutes. G.
Sheltering Sky (1990): Bernardo Bertolucci's
grand scale epic set in the Sahara Desert in 1947 stars. Debra Winger
and John Malkovich as Manhattan sophisticates whose marriage is challenged
by traveling. Campbell Scott plays an exciting young stranger. Based
on a novel by Paul Bowles, who appears as a narrator in the film.
Should be gorgeous on DVD. R.
Star Trek Fourth Season: Seven-disc boxed DVD
set has all 26 episodes plus five featurettes, a look at the characters
and how they've changed. Behind the scenes with the crew.
Next week: The Alec Guiness Collection, CQ, Changing
Lanes, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Red Curtain Trilogy of Baz Luhrmann,
The Salton Sea.
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