Much as I would like to review as I go, despite choosing not to review some of the more god-awful things I see, it just takes a day or so of houseguests to make me fall behind. So here's another multiple entry of films that probably each warrant more space than I can find the time for at present:
La Cage aux Folles (1978): It's been some years since I last watched this French farce, but it has held up well. As probably everyone now knows from the abysmal Hollywood remake, it concerns two devoted gays pretending to be straight for the sake of their son and his fiancee's straight-laced family. While not consistently hilarious, it has an underlying sweetness which makes the funny bits even funnier.
A New Leaf (1971): This Walter Matthau movie has disappeared from view in recent years, but it deserves to be better-known. He plays a jaded playboy on the verge of bankruptcy whose only chance is to marry a rich woman. Then he meets Elaine May's botanist, a clumsy woman with no social graces, but stinking rich; May wrote and directed the film and is happy to play the fallguy as well. Both actors are brilliant in their interpretation of two unlikely characters finding a way of life together despite themselves and certainly despite Matthau's initial intentions.
The Aviator (2004): Everyone expected Martin Scorsese to finally win his long-denied directing Oscar for this film and surprise, surprise, he didn't. Frankly he shouldn't have, as he has missed out with far better movies than this one. While beautifully put together with a true period feel, the story of Howard Hughes' early years and his love affair with aviation (to say nothing about his other love affairs) is far too bloated with unnecessary touches that slow the action down. (Who needs five minutes of Jude Law pretending to be Errol Flynn?) And I could scream when I remember that Cate Blanchett, a normally fine actress, was given an Oscar for imitating Katharine Hepburn's voice. Far more Oscar-worthy (but he didn't win) was Leonardo DiCaprio's interpretation of the title role; his gradual descent into madness was brilliantly intimated and his strength against the Senate investigating committee that sought to destroy him was masterly. Definitely a parson's egg of a film.
Roseland (1977): A Merchant-Ivory production not seen for some time, but notas good as I remembered. Basically a three-parter set in New York's Roseland Ballroom, it sets out to tell three poignant stories, but only half succeeds in reflecting the longing for happiness of its principle characters, particularly those in their twilight years. Standouts in the cast are Teresa Wright as a widow craving the romance of her past and Christopher Walken as a very young gigolo. Before you get the wrong idea, I should emphasise that they appear in different segments.
Ella Enchanted (2004): This will be the last for today but a very agreeable surprise, possibly not as clever as it hoped it would be and possibly trying too hard, but good fun regardless. Set in a fairytale world and and a riff on the Cinderella story, Ella, played by Anne Hathaway -- one of the few Americans among a largely British cast -- has been given the gift of obedience at birth by a malicious fairy godmother. She goes through life doing everything she is told even when this conspires against her own happiness, until, as in all good fairytales, the spell is broken at the last moment to give us the happy ending we need. A cheeky little film and a pleasant note on which to end today.
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