Used To Be The One Of The Rotten Ones And I Liked You For That

the Last Song (Robinson, 2010)

A common complaint leveled against the present day Hollywood system deals with the lack of originality. Every film seems to exist as a remake or an adaptation, leaving creative filmmakers in the dust and keeping a fine control over exactly what ideas and perspectives are brought to a wide audience. While I do not find the constant desire to remake films or adapt existing franchises to the screen as a necessarily bad tactic, when looking at a film like the Last Song, based on a Nicholas Sparks novel that at the time of filming was still a work in progress, certainly could have used a bit more originality, and a much larger injection of creativity. But many films have enough intangibles to transcend typical flaws, so can the Miley Cyrus factor shoulder the weight of the film on her shoulders?

I Want Your Everything As Long As It's Free

Bandslam (Graff, 2009)

With The Secret of Kells I watched a stunningly beautiful and utterly captivating re-telling regarding the creation of a famed Irish manuscript. With Un Prophete I was sucked in to a tense prison drama ripe with thematic depth and engrossing characters. Likewise, Shutter Island and Alice in Wonderland are two insanely enjoyable entries from what I consider to be two of my favorite director's best fictional films in impressive filmographies. Hell, I even finally had a chance to watch the stunning 2001: A Space Odyssey, likely cementing the third of three Kubrick films I have seen that will appear on my Top 97, and the mildly amusing In the Mood for Love from Wong Kar Wai. And of all these films, during this far too long hiatus, is it any surprise the that film that inspired me to log back in and share my thoughts would be Bandslam?

Let us make one thing abundantly clear before going much farther in to this reflection: Bandslam is not a complex film, it does not take twists or turns, you know where this film is going right from the cliche voice over beginning to the puzzling cameo at the end. So what, you may ask, has this film done to make me want to start writing again? One scene, that's it, one magical, beautiful, reserved, fascinating, charming, wonderful scene. One scene that, after I get the boring majority of the film out of the way first, I will devote a full paragraph to later in the reflection.

Basically what we have with Bandslam is the love child of Adventureland and 17 Again without all the complexity or hilarity of the Greg Motolla film or all the charm and charisma of any non-High School Musical film headed by Zac Efron. Speaking of High School Musical, series alumni Vanessa Hudgens has a prominent role in this film, and for the most part she turns in a solid performance. Actually, performances are solid across the board, which I suppose is part of the problem. Nothing really stands out. Even Lisa Kudrow, who had a decent enough turn in Hotel for Dogs, does nothing of merit in a role that she probably could have taken a couple of liberties with here and there. Much like a majority of the humor, the actors are all so bland.

But what is not bland, at least not as much as most other aspects of the film, is the direction. I am always puzzled when films like this, mainstream affairs that tend to bomb at the box office, consistently surprise me on a technical level. In recent years many more directors have been making wonderful use of the wide shot, one of my favorite ways to frame a scene, and the use of symmetry, or at the very least the positioning of actors in a frame, is generally used to great success. A shot of Hudgens' Sa5m (the 5 is silent) and lead actor Gaelan Connell's Will Burton sitting on an overlook is absolutely stunning, quiet, and reserved. All of these aspects add to selling the romance between the two, but they sell it not in the bombastic kiss me in the rain manner that so many mainstream romances impress upon the viewer; instead it's calm, it's quiet, it's beautiful, and it's a bit awkward, and a bit natural. And this tone, when present in the film, is mind blowing.

Unfortunately, this tone is not in the film very often. The main premise of Bandslam is that a band from across the country wins a big battle and gets a record deal. And while the film is quick to tout its rock and roll knowledge and name drop The Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and countless other classic acts with little regards for the target demographic, the desire to cater to a PG crowd and the notions that casting Vanessa Hudgens forces the audience to bring to a film result in such figures being placed alongside the modern notions of the genre has progressed in the modern era. For so many kids who claim to be inspired by Bowie and Lou Reed it certainly does not come through in the type of music they play. Not to say the music is bad, just that the maths don't really add up.

But who cares? You know why? Because this film could be 18 hours of trite, humorless, monotonous bullshit and still get a pass from me. Remember when I talked about tone and mood? Well here come some spoilers as I attempt to accurately convey my reaction to that majestic occurrence that happens a little more than halfway through the film. We are in class, presenting on the Who Is Your Partner (my title not the film's) Project. Last weekend Will totally blew off his first official date with Sa5m, unintentionally, to scope out the competition from one of the rival bands. So a vindictive same, in a stunningly effective reserved turn from Hudgens, is armed with a mirror as she, word by word, tears Will apart. She is vicious, you know Will deserves it and so does she, as she works in a wonderful extended metaphor about how he will casually reflect upon anyone exactly what they want to hear, obliging anyone except his nonexistent self. As my mouth is agape at the intensity of what is transpiring the teacher injects some throw away comedy about how it is mean. And I feel bad, bad for Sa5m, and bad for Will, who I had completely bought in to by that point in the film. And then it's his turn. He takes a DVD and places it in the projector. I assume it's of Sa5m singing as a child, a DVD shown to Will a few scenes early that Sa5m told her mom never to show anyone. But it's not. It's a Will Burton film featuring the director and a cardboard cutout of Sa5m sitting on a blanket, drinking Coca-Cola from Twizlers, one can, two straws. And the music plays, and the montage within the film happens. We need no words, it's teenage infatuation, it's fleeting feelings and an eternal magic that lies dormant, or perhaps awakened, in myself, likely in any adult watching the film. And the juxtaposition. I do not do my scene, nor my reaction, justice, but it's one of the most emotional reactions I've had to a film in quite some time. Why can't more films do this?

What more can I say? Bandslam is generic, it is bland, it is puzzling, contradictory, and all types of other adjectives that make it not even half as entertaining as 17 Again and barely a fraction as profound as Adventureland. But it has one of the most spectacular scenes in any film I have ever seen, and God damn is that impressive.

C+ or 3.182376218462178946239845623

And with that, at least for now, I am finally finished with 2009, I think. What a year. I need to do a complete re-cap in the near future.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

Baby, Who Turned The Temperature Hotter?

Fired Up! (Gluck, 2009)

Let's get this out of the way right here, right now. I have a soft spot for coming of age films, I have a soft spot for high school films, I am a 20 year old male and I am naturally inclined to like grotesque jokes about sexuality because I'm an immature prick. There, we have it. Mercy street! Despite all of those affections, even I have a hard time calling Will Gluck's Fired Up! anything resembling a solid comedy. Covering territory that other 'should have been rated R' teen comedies such as Accepted have tread upon before, the film is a hodge-podge of solid ideas that are kept in check by a studio's desire to market to as large an audience as possible.

Anchored by Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen playing two high school super stud football players, Shawn and Nick, we watch them sign up for cheer leading camp in an attempt to hook up with as many girls as possible in two weeks. We have seen this story before, and before that, and probably even before that. Thankfully at least half the time D'Agosto and Olsen actually do the comedy thing really well, especially individually, and when there is noticeable chemistry between the two the film gets fairly funny quicker than it takes the blood to rush to these oversexed teenagers' sperm poles. Wow, a lot of phallic references in this post.

The supporting cast here is really interesting as well, and they all play to the material they are given as well as they can considering how devoid of humor some of the gags are. It was interesting to see Margo Harshman who played Tawny on Even Stevens show up, but she is mostly wasted because her running joke makes little sense in context. John Michael Higgins has a few funny bits as well, but the standout is obviously David Walton as Dr. Rick, the generic frat boy tool bag who slides nicely into the role of antagonist. Not only does he nail the part perfectly, he is given the best recurring jokes. Hearing him proclaim how "Tubthumpin'" by Chumbawumba is part of the soundtrack of his life is simply hysterical. He is a breath of fresh air in a sea of generic, age appropriate, semi-edgy teen humor.

Yes, the film is mostly mediocre, but I have to admire the film for instituting a number of running jokes that it never gives up on, whether they are funny or not. The narrative takes no turns, the direction is sub-par at best, and the script is not deep or anything of the sort, but the film is as funny as the rating will allow and all of the pieces of a great comedy are present. Hopefully in the future projects like this can get an R rating and be phenomenal, because seeing all of this potential go to waste is simply frustrating.

C+ or 2.989473825467328516

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

I Know What My Weaknesses Are, Probably Better Than You Do

17 Again (Steers, 2009)

Going into this film I found myself rather skeptical. Zac Efron headlined those High School Musical films which were, to be slightly positive, rather underwhelming and mostly dull musicals. He also left me really alienated and I was not really impressed with the performances that he gave in any of the three films. So when this movie opens up with Mr. Efron clad in a sports uniform taking basketball shots I was ready to write the film off as a shameless attempt to back pack off the High School Musical success. But then Jim Gaffigan shows up and things start to get weird. The movie starts getting kind of funny, but then a big college scout is coming to check out Zac's character Mike, yet he just can't get his head in the game because his girlfriend told him something that upset him. What is it though? Well, it does not take a long time to find out. She is pregnant. Cue Matthew Perry as older, depressed, soon to be divorced Michael. And meet his rich, nerdy, Star Wars loving best buddy Ned. But don't get used to Perry because we are given just enough time to get to know the situation before things get all crazy and Zac Efron is back on screen. The plot is pretty basic.

Thankfully, the film is anchored by a ton of interesting aspects that distance the film from obvious comparisons that are to be drawn. 17 Again is not another Freak Friday clone, it is not a High School Musical rip off, it is not the poor man's Mean Girls; 17 Again is a better film than any of those three could ever hope to be for a variety of reasons. However, the most noticeable reason for this film's success comes, surprisingly, in the form of Zac Efron. Not only does he convey an incredibly striking slick and collected demeanor during the majority of the film, a swagger of impressive ability, but the role asks that he be able to show a range of believable emotion that would challenge the most accomplished of actors. The fact that he handles the role with such care, humanity, and brilliance cements him as one of the year's best performers so far. To say that I was floored with what Efron does in the role is an understatement, he hits every note in the film pitch perfectly.

Of course the supporting cast all are pretty solid as well and help Efron transition seamlessly in and out of the straight man/funny man role depending on whom he interacts with at any point in the film. Leslie Mann is charming as Mike's wife, Scarlett, and she is likely the strongest of the supporting actors. Seeing Thomas Lennon, following up a small but funny bit in I Love You, Man, as the eccentric best friend Ned was great and just about all of his comedic parts hit. He is pretty hysterical in the film and has the most memorable lines.

Well, at least in quantity because nothing beats Sterling Knight's "Yeah, I'd shake your hand, but it's taped to my ass," line. Actually, seeing Sterling Knight here kind of caught me off guard because he looks so different from how he looks in other recent works, despite this being a 2009 film. For those unaware, Knight is a co-star on Demi Lovato's Disney Channel series Sonny With A Chance where he plays the arrogant Chad Dylan Cooper, quite brilliantly I may add. Seeing Knight here in a completely different role, giving a Michael Cera~esque performance, shows that he is a versatile young actor and has me interested to see what else he does in the future. His performance here is slightly erratic, but seeing him branch out slightly is reassuring. However, the final major supporting cast member, Michelle Trachtenberg, looks pretty enough in her limited screen time to keep the viewer from noticing that she really does not do all that much, well aside from a funny quasi-incest scene.

Speaking of humor, that aspect is another of the film's strong points. The comedic scope is broad, the previously mentioned scene also features Trachtenberg slightly breaking the fourth wall as she question's Mike's, and by extension addresses the questions about Efron's, sexuality in regard to his appearance. But the film also has a fair amount of slap stick, a ton of pop culture references, some witty one lines, and just generic jokes scattered about to keep the film fresh. Which is good because, aside from the acting and the script, the film does not have too much else going on to make the experience compelling. The direction, despite having a few really great shots, is standard and hardly distinctive. From a technical perspective the film falls flat. Still, the script and cast are strong enough to easily transcend this technical mediocrity, much like Hannah Montana: The Movie.

In fact, 17 Again possesses many of the same charms that a film like Hannah Montana possesses*. Substitute Miley's music for Zac's dancing and dribbling, add in a bit more humor but less drama, and keep both film's standard in most technical aspects and, much like Hannah Montana: The Movie, 17 Again proves to be the high point of escapist entertainment. Marked by a surprisingly great performance by Zac Efron, 17 Again has to be one of my most overlooked films in recent memory, echoing a lot of things found in Mean Girls but lost upon my second viewing. I do think this film actually has enough to it that would allow it to hold up during a second viewing though, and I hope I am able to revisit 17 Again in the future. More proof that entertainment of this nature should not be needlessly dismissed and actually can provide a ton of entertainment to viewers of any age. The film also has put Efron on my radar of actors to keep an eye on in the future. I cannot believe I dismissed this film earlier in the year.

B+ or 3.8918249027148723015673156

*side note on the connections I draw between Hannah Montana: The Movie and 17 Again: Melora Hardin, who plays the principal here, also plays Lorelai in Hannah Montana: The Movie. Also, I couldn't find a place to insert this screen shot, but I really wanted to, so I'm going to put it down here before my usual ending. It is from one of the film's great confrontation scenes.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.