Movie Review: Boys On The Side (1995)

Genre: Dramedy  

Director: Herbert Ross  

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughey  

Running Time: 117 minutes  

Synopsis: New York-based vocalist Jane (Whoopi Goldberg) is still pursuing a performing career despite the passing years. She decides to relocate to Los Angeles, and through a share-the-drive ad connects with Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), who is frail and wants to retrace a family road trip from her childhood. In Pittsburgh Jane and Robin rescue the bubbly Holly (Drew Barrymore) from an abusive relationship. The trio make it as far as Tucson, where health and law enforcement issues force them to settle down and explore their options.

What Works Well: There is enough character depth to create rich cross-currents of emotion, laughs, and tears among a trio of interesting single women. Jane is a headstrong black lesbian refusing to give up on a career in music, Robin is seemingly fragile and suffering from AIDS and the lingering trauma of a family tragedy, while Holly carries a perpetually positive attitude but is a magnet for the wrong kind of men. Matthew McConaughey augments the cast as a police officer who falls in love with Holly but also arrests her, and director Herbert Ross maintains balance between humour, drama, and a few off-the-wall surprises.

What Does Not Work As Well: Once the road trip yields to domesticity in Tucson, momentum stalls and edginess gives way to predictability. Robin gets involved in a tepid romance with a non-entity bartender (James Remar), a few secondary characters like Jane's friend Anna are victimized by editing, conflicts (including a privacy intrusion) are contrived, a courtroom showdown is half-baked, and the is-it-friendship-or-is-it-more tension between Jane and Robin is resolved by a sappy song.

Key Quote:

Jane: I'm not after you.

Robin: I'm not worried...Why?

Jane: Luck of the draw, I guess.

Robin: No, I mean... why aren't you after me?

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Movie Review: Red Dragon (2002)

A serial killer suspense drama, Red Dragon is a fulfilling mix of mortal psychological mind games and dogged detective work.

In 1980, the FBI's Will Graham (Edward Norton) barely escapes with his life when he identifies his mentor and confidant, forensic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), as a cannibalistic serial killer. Lecter is imprisoned for life and Will retires.

Years later, two families are slaughtered in their homes, one month apart. The FBI's Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) presses Will back into service to investigate the crime scenes before the killer strikes again. Recognizing the work of a psychologically disturbed killer, Will turns to the incarcerated Lecter for advice, while tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds (Philip Seymour Hoffman) salivates after the next headline.

Meanwhile lab technician Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes) is fighting self-hate, insecurities about a minor facial disfigurement, and boiling inner demons. He starts dating work colleague Reba McClane (Emily Watson), who is blind. Dolarhyde and Lecter exchange correspondence, and Will's wife Molly (Mary-Louise Parker) and son are soon placed in danger.

A satisfying prequel to Silence Of The Lambs, Red Dragon is a taut and moody suspense thriller, benefitting from a strong cast, two deranged villains, and an emphasis on patient detective work. Director Brett Ratner adopts a stark and straightforward style, allowing the characters to dominate and confining visual artistry to the background. Ted Tally's script (adopting the 1981 book by Thomas Harris) avoids horror cliches, focusing instead on the painstaking work required to penetrate sick minds.

Despite building excellent momentum, the film does suffer from a few weaknesses. Edward Norton is an unconvincing presence at the centre of the drama, his Will Graham lacking sufficient weight to counter Lecter and Dolarhyde. The massacres of two families and the race to prevent a third atrocity are somehow relegated to a sideshow in the final act, as the danger becomes more personal for Reba and Will but also less broadly threatening. And for all the red dragon artistry and literature references, the damage in Dolarhyde's mind remains superficially abstract.

But working with what he has, Ralph Fiennes as Dolarhyde does open a second front of twisted yet almost pathetic criminality, and Ratner invests in the world of a serial killer struggling to overcome severe inferiorities. His strife is revealed through the enhanced emotional senses of Reba, Emily Watson bringing to life an intriguing character desperate to be treated as a woman rather than a blind person.

Although Hannibal Lecter is sidelined in his cell for most of the film, Anthony Hopkins ensures his malevolence is never far from Will's psyche. Lecter's gift of manipulation knows no bounds, and he uses Will's request for help as an opportunity to plot a remote yet savage revenge. The brilliant cannibal may be incarcerated, but everyone else is just a pawn on his heinous chess board as he orchestrates a fearsome collision between fragility and fury.

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Movie Review: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

A drama about friendship and women's empowerment across the generations, Fried Green Tomatoes has a sprawling story and good performances, but lacks narrative focus.

The story is set in Alabama over two timelines. In the present, while on a visit to her husband's aunt at a seniors' care home, middle-aged and frumpy Evelyn (Kathy Bates) bumps into the kindly and elderly Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy). Evelyn is suffering from neglect in her marriage to Ed (Gailard Sartain), and over the course of several visits is comforted and inspired by Ninny's family history stories.

Just after the Great War in the tiny rural community of Whistle Stop, spirited tomboy Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode lost her loving brother Buddy (Chris O'Donnell) in a train accident. She withdrew further from her family and church, and gravitated towards the edges of the community, enjoying drinking and poker. Her worried mother (Lois Smith) eventually calls upon Ruth Jamison (Mary-Louise Parker), Buddy's former love, to try and cajole the growing Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) out of her shell.

After a rough start, Idgie and Ruth become best friends. But eventually Ruth gets married to the oily Frank Bennett (Nick Searcy) and moves to Georgia. Idgie later has to rescue the pregnant Ruth from an abusive marriage, and the two women open and operate the Whistle Stop Café. But with the Ku Klux Klan growing in influence and Frank determined to reclaim his child, trouble lies ahead.

Back in the present, Evelyn is empowered by the stories of the resolute and tenacious Idgie and Ruth, and starts to make changes in her life to seek he own happiness.

An adaptation of the novel by Fannie Flagg (who co-wrote the script) directed by Jon Avnet, Fried Green Tomatoes aims for a wistful story of women inspiring each other across generations, but is only partially successful. The episodic structure of Idgie's story, which may work well on the written page, translates into choppy cinematic presentation, lacking a cohesive arc. The jumping back and forth between the post-war depression era and the much less interesting modern-day story featuring Evelyn and her husband Ed does not help.

What carries the film over its rough patches is a strong theme of friendship between Idgie and Ruth. In the book this is an unambiguous romance, but in search of a broader vanilla audience the film unfortunately reduces the relationship to coy hints of  love. Fried Green Tomatoes could have carried a memorable edge, instead it settles for bland instead of brave. Nevertheless, the soulful connection between the resourceful Idgie and the more circumspect Ruth radiates plenty of warmth at the heart of the film.

Other social themes pop up as expected in the nostalgic look back at simpler but still dangerous times. Racism, loss, abuse, and fiery religious sermons intermingle with plenty of family support and a sense of small community where everyone knows everyone and they all depend on each other to varying degrees.

The performances are uniformly good from the cast of mostly women, with Jessica Tandy and Mary Stuart Masterson notable standouts. Tandy finds the glint in the eye of an old woman with stories to tell, and is the only good thing in the modern-day episodes. Masterson is the rebel woman with a cause, pushing her tiny community towards the future by her sheer force of personality.

The final act of the film veers towards a half-baked investigation of a missing-person mystery introduced in the opening scene, and finally a mini courtroom drama complete with a surprise witness and spiritual payback of sorts. While the secret hidden within the lake near Whistle Stop keeps the fires burning, the further the film moves away from the core bond forged between Idgie and Ruth, the weaker it gets.

Like all side dishes, Fried Green Tomatoes taste better when surrounded by the genuine glow of family and friends.

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The Movies Of Mary-Louise Parker

All movies starring Mary-Louise Parker and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Grand Canyon (1991)

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

The Client (1994)

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Boys On The Side (1995)

Red Dragon (2002)

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Solitary Man (2009)

RED (2010)

Red Sparrow (2018)

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: Solitary Man (2009)

An impressive study of a late-onset middle age crisis, Solitary Man delves into the damaged soul of a man on a desperate run from change.

Aging car dealer tycoon Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) is advised by his doctor that his heart may not be healthy, and more tests are needed. Ben refuses to follow up with any further exams. Six years later, Ben's life is in a downward spiral. He has left his wife Nancy (Susan Sarandon), and his business is in trouble. Found guilty of fraud, Ben had to pay a ruinous fine just to stay out of prison. He is now in a relationship with Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker), primarily because she has high-level contacts that can help him land a sweet new car dealership location.

Ben tries to maintain a relationship with his daughter Susan (Jenna Fischer) and his young grandson, but his erratic behaviour doesn't help: Ben has become an irresponsible sex addict, particularly lusting after college girls. He accompanies Jordan's daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) to a college interview weekend, where they meet earnest student Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg). Ben and Allyson sleep together, which ruptures Ben's relationship with Jordan, destroying his business prospects and driving him deeper into the financial hole. He has to turn to humble campus restaurant owner Jimmy (Danny DeVito) for a job, but his troubles are far from over.

At almost exactly 90 minutes, Solitary Man is an efficient drama about the fear of losing the prime of life. Written by Brian Koppelman and co-directed by Koppelman and David Levien, the film follows the trajectory of Ben Kalmen as he veers off course and into an orbit of his own making, where rules can be flaunted with no consequence as long as the march of time is covered by a veneer of superficiality. Kalmen is a tortured soul denying the certainty of aging, seeking immediate and accelerated profit and youthful sex in a futile attempt to compensate for the creeping years.

Michael Douglas delivers one of his most complete performances, understated, determined and raw, finding the anchor of self-deception that keeps Ben grounded in his own world while reality slips by, his life deconstruction obvious to all except himself. In support, Imogen Poots is particularly memorable as Allyson, coldly demonstrating the other side of the coin, revealing why college-aged girls may enjoy a fling with a much older man. It's not about being attracted to power anymore; the experience has much more to do with ticking off fantasies and pushing the buttons of irritating parents.

The other women in the movie suffer somewhat at the hand of the sharp editing, Susan Sarandon and Mary-Louise Parker particularly short-changed. Jesse Eisenberg's role as a potential protege is also underwritten. Jenna Fischer fares better as Ben's suffering daughter, trying to keep her young boy in touch with his grandpa while resenting her father's descent into a life of irresponsibility.

Not surprisingly, Kalmen's suppression of the self-evident leads him headlong into a brick wall, a figurative and literal physical bruising which at least forces pause and reflection. The trip towards selfish self-gratification may seem exhilarating, but it ends in a lonely place.

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Movie Review: RED (2010)

A lighthearted romp with old spies reliving former glories, RED is entertaining, funny, loud, and almost instantly forgettable.

Retired CIA special operative Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is living in Cleveland and lonely to the point of destroying his pension cheques just so that he can nurture a long distance romance with Kansas-based call centre employee Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). Suddenly Moses finds himself the target of a ruthless professional hit squad. He eliminates the danger and swings back into action, trying to piece together why someone wants him dead.

Moses takes refuge with Ross and reconnects with several fellow retired CIA colleagues: mentor Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), wacked-out conspiracy theorist Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) and understated sharpshooter Victoria (Helen Mirren). With the help of the ancient CIA records keeper (Ernest Borgnine) and a former Russian foe (Brian Cox), they uncover an elaborate political plot to silence a reporter and all loose ends related to a botched 1980s secret mission in Guatemala involving the CIA and many dead civilians. Moses and his friends have to stay one step ahead of ambitious current CIA agent William Cooper (Karl Urban), while figuring out the shady role of their former colleague Alexander Dunning (Richard Dreyfuss).

With a recognizable star face in every role, RED (which stands for Retired, Extremely Dangerous) just wants to have fun. The action is exaggerated, the coolness amplified, the explosions extremely frequent and noisy, and the humour sharp and delivered dry. Director Robert Schwentke keeps the action hurtling fast enough to almost conceal the large absurdities in the plot. An adaptation of a limited comic book series, RED is not a film to question the logic of a large hit squad marching through a sleepy Cleveland suburb with machine guns blazing to further the supposedly top secret cause of a sitting politician.

Bruce Willis holds the action together with his weathered, seen-it-all-before grimace, poking fun at his overall screen persona as much as the character. Mary-Louise Parker is in the movie solely to provide a non-combatants perspective to the joyous mayhem, and she sparkles with a charming freshness, television's gain (The West Wing, Weeds) proving to be a significant loss for the world of film. While it is a remarkable pleasure to see Borgnine on the screen at the grand age of 93, the rest of the cast does not rise much above barely concealed comic stereotypes, with a gawky romance between the characters of Mirren and Cox only helping to trip up the frantic action.

RED has plenty of style, limited substance, and an abundance of attitude. It adds up to an easy couple of hours, with no aftertaste.

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