“Some people can’t play sports. I can’t make friends.”

My Best Friend, from director Patrice Leconte, is a comedy about self-focused antique dealer Francois Coste (Daniel Auteuil). Middle-aged Francois is divorced and has a casual, emotionless relationship with a girlfriend, and he’s the business partner with lesbian Catherine (Julie Gayet). The film presents three social situations that collectively sum up Francois’s life–a funeral, an auction, and a dinner with business acquaintances.

When the film begins, Francois attends the funeral of another antique dealer and notes a mere 7 people attend the ceremony (and that includes the man’s widow). Later that day, Francois and Catherine attend an auction together, and here Francois rather impulsively buys a Greek vase for 200,000 Euros from the 5th century B.C. The vase comes with a story–apparently it was made to commemorate the death of a friend.

Catherine is annoyed by the purchase of the vase. The gallery doesn’t have the money to float this sort of purchase the vase, unless Francois turns it over quickly with a profit. To her surprise, Francois admits that he wants to keep the vase himself, and he ignores the fact that he’s not exactly working in unison with his partner on this deal, or that he’s jeopardizing their business in his selfish pursuit. Things come to a head that evening at a restaurant when Catherine challenges Francois to produce a ‘best friend’ within 10 days, and with the vase as the prize to the winner, Francois begins a hunt to find a friend. It isn’t long before he hooks up with gregarious taxi driver, Bruno (Dany Boon). This scenario opens up many episodes of clumsy attempts by Francois to make friends.

While on the surface, Bruno seems to be the sort of person who makes friends easily (hence Francois employs him to give lessons), in reality, he’s not much better off then Francois. The difference between the two men is that Bruno makes an effort, and is genuinely interested in people. Francois, on the other hand has a tendency (like most of us) to confuse acquaintances with true friendship. But both Bruno and Francois are terribly lonely people. The difference is that Francois doesn’t really understand that until he’s confronted with the notion of how many people would show up to his funeral.

My Best Friend is a change of pace for Leconte. With the impressive Widow of St Pierre, The Hairdresser’s Husband, The Girl on the Bridge, Intimate Strangers and Monsieur Hire in his past, My Best Friend–with its warm and fuzzy, clichéd moments, is much lighter fare. I prefer Auteuil in serious roles (Heart in Winter, The Elegant Criminal, Sade), but if you have to stick him in a comedy, at least give him one of those dastardly comedy roles. My Best Friend is a decent film, lighthearted with strains of meaning (what is life all about, etc), but for this Leconte fan, it doesn’t come close to some of previous films.

Cineaste interview with Leconte:

http://www.cineaste.com/articles/making-friends-the-hard-way.htm

The family that fights together…

In The Daytrippers Eliza Malone (Hope Davis) thinks she’s happily married to Louis D’Amico–until a note that may or may not be a love letter falls out of his pocket. Eliza goes to her mother–played by Anna Meara–for advice, and Mrs Malone decides that the best thing to do, under the circumstances, is for the entire family to load up in the station wagon, drive to New York, find Louis, confront him, and demand the truth.

Things immediately go wrong–the heat in the station wagon doesn’t work, so by the time the Malones make it to New York with Eliza, and her sister, Jo (played by Parker Posey), and her fiance, Carl (Liev Schreiber), everyone is frozen, tempers are short, and the family members are soon at each other’s throats.

The mission to find Louis–and the truth, brings the family into contact with many misfits along the way–an odd father-son team who become unwilling good samaritans, a squabbling pair of sisters who are dividing up the spoils after their mother’s death, a sex-obsessed junior editor, and a hysterically lonely party-goer are just some of the characters they meet on their search for Louis.

The beauty of this film–for me, at least, was in the family dynamic that exists–Anna Meara plays the true battle-ax who rules with an iron hand, and her subdued, detached husband finally finds the energy to defy her. Carl, as Jo’s fiance is wonderful as the naive–yet pretentious–would-be-writer–and while he manages to impress Mrs Malone with his novel about the man with the Pointer’s head–he simply bores everyone else, and resentment rains down on Carl’s head as he becomes Mrs Malone’s new favourite. Parker Posey as Jo Malone is suitably brittle and sarcastic. Stanley Tucci as the tortured Louis is magnificent–as always. And Hope Davis, as the wife who loves and wants to believe in her husband, really plays her role extremely well. Her emotional responses were perfect. The acting in this film was quite superb, and the looks cast back and forth between the characters are absolutely priceless. Directed by Greg Mottola.

Campbell Scott plays a Lounge Lizard

In Roger Dodger, Roger (played by Campbell Scott) is the man who has all the answers–or so he thinks. When we first see Roger, he is both entertaining and appalling workmates in a bar with his “World According to Roger” philosophy–and this philosophy includes his views on women (bedworthy or not), relationships (short and they begin in a bar), and sexuality (Roger thinks he’s a stud).

While Roger appears to have an answer for everything, he can’t take “no” for an answer when it’s delivered to him, so when a woman rejects Roger’s continued advances, Roger’s self-confidence spirals just enough for him to decide to recoup his pride by impressing his 16 year old nephew, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg).

Nick seeks his Uncle Roger’s advice about women and sex, and Roger is only too happy to oblige, and throughout the remainder of the film, Roger spouts his views and pontificates to Nick who is innocent and naive enough not to question his uncle’s tried-and-true methods of picking up women EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

Just how Uncle Roger sets out to ‘teach’ his nephew a few tricks, is very, very funny, and while Roger’s snide approach is intended to humiliate Nick at every turn, Roger’s nastiness always has a way of backfiring. This is not a good ‘date’ film–or a film to watch if you are easily offended. There are some scenes–talk mostly–which include frank sexuality. If you enjoyed The Company of Men, and Red Meat, you will probably also enjoy Roger Dodger. Isabella Rossellini also stars as Roger’s patient–yet rather fed-up boss, and Jennifer Beals plays a girl who Roger and Nick meet in a bar. The dialogue of the film is very witty and fast, and you really have to pay attention to catch it all. Written and directed by Dylan Kidd.

“All my life, I’ve been like an unused clockwork toy.”

In the British comedy, Carry On Camping, Sid Boggle (Sid James) and Bernie Lugg (Bernard Bresslaw) take their girlfriends to see a film about nudist camping. The film is supposed to be an icebreaker, but the fact that Joan Fussey (Joan Sims) and Anthea (Dilys Lane) are outraged by the film doesn’t deter Sid from plotting a cosy holiday for four at the Paradise Nudist Camp. Unfortunately, things don’t go and smoothly as planned, and Sid, Bernie, Joan, and Anthea end up camping in a grotty field owned by crafty farmer, Mr Fiddler. Things look grim for Sid’s devious plans, but then a busload of budding schoolgirls arrives from Chayste Place led by headmaster Doctor Soaper (Kenneth Williams), and Matron, Miss Haggerd (Hattie Jacques). The effervescent Barbara Windsor stars as one of the more mischief-seeking schoolgirls.

To add to the merriment, various other peculiar campers also merge onto Farmer Fiddler’s field. Mr and Mrs Potter are perennial campers. Mr Potter longs to dump the tent and the tandem, but Mrs Potter skillfully ignores all of her husband’s objections while she giggles in the most annoying fashion. Charlie Muggins (Charles Hawtrey)–is a tentless hiker who “isn’t fussy” where he sleeps, and he enroaches on everyone’s politeness. The film is worth renting just to see Hawtrey in shorts.

The Carry On team produced a large number of films from the 50s through the 70s, and the team consisted of a core group of British comedians with new talent added for each film–I suppose the closest equivalent in America would be National Lampoon films. A great deal of the comedy is in the double entendre lines delivered almost non-stop. And while the films are loaded with adult subject matter, it’s really all good clean fun in the end. If you’ve never watched a “carry on” film before, I recommend starting with either Carry On Camping or Carry On Nurse. These are both gems and some of the best in the series. Carry On Camping is from director Gerald Thomas.

“A Grab-a-Granny Fortnight.”

The gentle comedy film Shirley Valentine is the story of an underappreciated housewife played by Pauline Collins. Shirley and her husband, Joe, live alone (the children have grown and moved away) in a pleasant home. Shirley’s main companion is the kitchen wall–and she manages to have many a one-sided conversation with the wall while she cooks the meals and dreams of a holiday in Greece. Shirley’s unhappiness and loneliness goes completely unnoticed by Joe. His main concern is the evening meal. Then Shirley’s accidental meeting with an old schoolmate, Marjorie Majors (Joanna Lumley) confirms Shirley’s sense of lost identity, and a fight with Joe sends Shirley spiralling off to Greece with feminist chum, Jane (Alison Steadman).

Shirley falls in love with Greece, but more importantly, she falls in love with herself. Along the way, she meets Costas (Tom Conti) a wily Greek restauranteur whose charming ways guarantee a holiday fling. I especially loved the characters of Dougie and Jeanette–the tedious, self-righteous married couple who try to save Shirley from herself. The characters may be ‘types’ but they are all well-done and highly believable.

The film is based on a play, and I think this shows in many of the scenes. Also, there were a few places on my video where a word uttered was dubbed for the American audience. If you enjoyed the film Educating Rita,you will no doubt enjoy this film too. It’s an upbeat, enjoyable escape with a group of likeable, entertaining characters. There is a feminist message, but it’s not overwhelming. Directed by Lewis Gilbert.

“There’s a sort of idiot-honesty about you I find refreshing.”

In I’ll Never Forget What’s ‘Is Name, Oliver Reed plays Andrew Quint, an extremely successful 32-year-old advertising executive. While Quint’s professional life is a success, his private life is a shambles. Quint goes through a moral crisis, and he leaves his wife, dumps his mistresses, and chops his desk to bits with an axe. Sickened by the corrupt world of advertising, Quint attempts to find meaning in his life by taking a low-paying job at a humble–but respectable–literary magazine run by old school chum, Leonard. Leonard is not a success by anyone’s standards. In fact he secretly covets Quint’s sports car and envies Quint’s success with women. While Quint adjusts to his new poky little office, ex-boss, Jonathan Lute (played by Orson Welles) pursues Quint and pressures him to return to the world of corporate advertising. Jonathan is determined to get Quint back by hook or by crook. Quint deftly juggles his soon-to-be-ex-wife and two demanding mistresses while forming a relationship with Leonard’s very available assistant, Georgina (Carol White). Quint’s search for some meaning to life seems destined for disaster.

The character of Andrew Quint ironically mirrors many of the dilemmas Oliver Reed had in his own life. Oliver Reed was a rabble-rouser with a penchant for trouble, and I’ll Never Forget What’s ‘Is Name is a great film for any Oliver Reed fan. Although the film is relatively short, it is packed with action and drama. The story flows seamlessly, and no scenes are wasted. The film is very much a product of the 60s–complete with dolly birds running around in Mary Quant-style mini-dresses, and layers and layers of that 60s eye-make-up. The sexual freedom of the 60s peeks through–especially through Leonard’s lascivious envy of Quint’s social life. But in spite of the fact that the film is so obviously a product of 60s culture, it does not seem dated at all. Quint’s rejection of professional success, and the moral quandaries created by the need to succeed are still relevant issues today. While the story deals with serious issues, everything is treated with a light ironic touch, and both Oliver Reed and Orson Welles fit neatly into the film as antagonists who both know the game all too well. Orson Welles is simply marvellous as the corrupt, wily, decadent Jonathan Lute–a man who will go as far as necessary to sell whatever product he represents. This is my favourite Orson Welles role next to Citizen Kane. The scenes with Welles are some of the best in the film, and the character Welles plays has a way of popping up in the most unexpected places. This disturbs Quint, but adds to the mood of the film. Oliver Reed and his co-star, Carol White had an off-screen romance as a result of this film, and Oliver Reed and Orson Welles maintained a close friendship for the rest of their lives. Watch for Marianne Faithfull in a small part as Josie–one of Quint’s mistresses. Directed by Michael Winner.

“I thought a big snail was sliding up my nightie.”

After watching director Jane Campion’s film Sweetie for the third time, I am more impressed than ever. The Piano is Campion’s more mainstream film, and some viewers may be disappointed in Sweetie.

It’s the tale of a dysfunctional Aussie family–Mum & Dad (Gordon and Flo) and their two daughters–Kay (Karen Colston) and Dawn (Genevieve Lemon). Kay, a nurse, is a very odd, quiet and withdrawn character. She’s terrified of trees and despised by her workmates. Kay and boyfriend, Louis, have serious problems, and Louis is mystified by Kay’s sudden recent withdrawal. But when Sweetie arrives on the scene, the root cause of Kay’s problem is suddenly clearer. Kay’s sister Dawn–also known as “Sweetie” is a perfect horror. Sweetie arrives announced at Kay’s house one day, breaks in, and makes herself quite at home. “You stopped taking your medication, didn’t you?” asks Kay in frustration, and apparently, Sweetie is unleashed on an unsuspecting world. Sweetie brings along her boyfriend/producer, Bob. Bob is apparently the only person left in the world who believes that Sweetie has talent. But he’s under the influence of illegal substances, so he’s hardly a reliable source. Sweetie is idolized by her dotty father, and she trades on a childhood skill of stepping off of a chair and tap-dancing. This is supposed to be the great talent that is going to get Sweetie a recording contract.

Sweetie’s behaviour may have drawn adoring crowds of relatives in her childhood, but now she’s delusional, and destructive. Meanwhile, Sweetie’s mother, Flo, unable to take the stress of living under Sweetie’s despotic rule, takes a job in the outback as a cook for a ranch full of Jackaroos.

Every family has a Sweetie. In this film, Sweetie is encouraged in her deviant behaviour by her father–note the bathtub scene. The film reminds me of a sentence from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina– “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Sweetie’s arrival has serious consequences for everyone, and her presence is sobering. A lifetime of doting parenting catches up with the characters in a catastrophic way. Louis has to take a long hard look at his relationship with Kay, and tells her “illusions don’t go away–they become more subtle.” As the film continues, many of the scenes take on a surreal quality and echo the bizarre nature of life with Sweetie.  Genevieve Lemon as Sweetie really steals the film with an incredible performance.

“There are a lot of repressed men–all with phones.”

In the Spanish comedy, Mouth to Mouth Victor Ventura has dreamed of becoming an actor since boyhood. As a pizza delivery driver in Madrid, he waits for his big break, but after a run of bad luck, he turns to ‘Hot Line’ –a telephone–I’ll euphemistically call it–entertainment operation run by a mother and son team. After telling himself that “rich guys get turned on by labourers”, Victor uses Robert De Niro for inspiration and soon becomes a natural in the world of adult telephone entertainment.

Victor (known as Salvador at the Hot Line) picks up a regular male customer known as Bill. Victor also breaks the rules and becomes rather intimately involved with another caller who calls herself Amanda. Suddenly Victor finds himself up to his neck in intrigue–there’s a femme fatale, a murder plot, and a multi-million dollar film.

Javier Bardem stars as Victor, and this role was created before Bardem became a recognizable name in Hollywood. Actually, I prefer Mouth to Mouth to any other film Bardem has made. He’s got great comedic talent, and his facial features naturally lend themselves to being cast as the innocent, guileless fall guy. Several times during Mouth to Mouth, Victor auditions for roles and comes off very credibly as the nervous wannabe performing an atrocious Broadway number, the foul-mouthed tough guy, and the great Latin Lover. He switches between characters and makes it look easy. When Victor takes his first phone call at the Hot Line he calls on all his acting talent to help him ’save’ the call, and the scene is really well done. The culture of the Hot Line office is particularly amusing, and some of the calls are hilarious.

Mouth to Mouth almost has the feel of an Almodovar film–but this is mainly due to pacing and the character of Victor’s agent, the semi-hysterical and babbling Angela. However, Mouth to Mouth is essentially a comedy and verves firmly away from the darker philosophical issues that Almodovar often wrestles with. Mouth to Mouth is a great foreign comedy, and I think most people could easily relate to its universal humour. Directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira.

“A Watergate in my own home.”

In the British comedy film, “Car Trouble” married middle-aged couple Gerald and Jacqueline Spong (Julie Walters) lead a domestic life full of squabbles and petty bickering. He’s an air traffic controller, and she stays at home lounging under a sun lamp planning their next holiday abroad. Their lives alter dramatically for the worst when Gerald’s eyes alight on a used red Jaguar. He detests their current car and claims it is “a hideous crustaceous death trap.” Gerald ridicules Jacqueline’s affection for their old car and argues that the leopard print seat covers (Jacqueline’s choice, of course) are destined to become “a garage fetish object.” He desperately wants the red Jag–Jacqueline does not. She’s worried that the cost of the car will impact their holiday plans for Acapulco. When Gerald discovers that Jacqueline has deliberately hidden damage on their old clunker from another car accident, he uses the information as leverage for purchasing the Jag.

The new Jag becomes a major source of conflict between the already tense couple. Gerald is busy waxing and polishing his new beauty, Jacqueline is banned from driving it, and the neighbours witness spats about the car on a regular basis.

Car Trouble is an out-of-print video, and that’s quite unfortunate, as it’s really quite a funny film. The first half of the film is much better, though, and it lags a bit around the half way mark. The depiction of the marital woes of Gerald and Jacqueline are reminiscent of the film “War of the Roses.” Gerald and Jacqueline are mis-matched, and all of Jacqueline’s pretensions that she is French annoy Gerald. Tightly-wound Gerald talks down to his wife and lectures her snidely at every opportunity. The couple alternate excessively polite behaviour with almost insane rage, and this works incredibly well. They apparently loathe one another; every verbal interaction between the couple rapidly degenerates into a verbal skirmish. The acting and a great script combine to deliver an excellent portrayal of a marriage in which two individuals are bound in a pointless struggle. And for an observer, it’s great fun.

“Go perm, and the firm will pay for your psycho–therapy.”

“Haiku Tunnel” is the story of a San Francisco based office temp, Joshua Kornbluth , who accepts yet another job–this time at an upscale lawyer’s office. Now Josh is writing a novel, so an office position–with misuse of company time and equipment–represents a wonderful opportunity. On the first day, Josh impresses his boss and the office manager so much, that Josh is offered a ‘perm’ position. From this point on, things go downhill for Josh.

This is a very low-budget film. It stars Joshua Kornbluth; it’s directed by Joshua Kornbluth, and the script is written by Joshua Kornbluth. There are moments that work–and moments that don’t. The strongest parts of the film occur in the office. Josh the Slacker, and Josh in the middle of office politics are absolutely the best parts. The film falls down in the scenes with Josh talking to the camera–usually in front of an eraser board as he lectures the audience on the many facets of office life. These scenes resemble a one-man-comedy-stand-up routine, and these scenes tend to be un-funny and repetitive.

Negativity aside–Haiku Tunnel was mostly original, funny and entertaining. I laughed out loud at several points in the film. I also enjoyed “Office Space”, but I found “Haiku Tunnel” to be subtler at its best moments, and slightly clumsier and amateurish at its worst moments. Can’t help myself–I love this film.