Friday, November 24, 2006

Review: Double Feature

A pleasant little surprise this week, my wife didn’t have to work on Friday! The workshop she thought was for teachers was actually for students and she didn’t have to go so last night we had a date. It was nice to hang out and spend some time together. We had dinner at the Hourglass in Langley which was decent. I had received a gift certificate from a family in the congregation so it was a very pleasant free supper. The company was the best part. We debated about whether we wanted to go out to the movies or get into comfy jammies and rent a movie or two… the jammies won out (of course). We ended up renting a pair of movies and watching them both, which brings us to the reviews for today.
First up…




Yes Kinky Boots. Funny name for a movie huh? The basic storyline is that there is a struggling shoe factory in England that makes quality shoes for men, the problem being the quality is too good and stores aren’t stocking their shoes any more because people don’t have to come back. There is the threat of closure, when through happenstance young Charlie Price meets Lola, the lead singer in a drag act. They begin talking and Charlie figures out there is a market for women’s shoes that can support a man’s weight and they are off to the races. Sounds kind of weird right? The cover compares it to Full Monty and there is definitely that feel about it. It is endearing and the characterization is really well done.

There is a terrific contrast between Charlie and Lola in the way they both have issues with living in the shadow of their fathers. Charlie’s because the factory is three generations old and he doesn’t want to be the son who fails, and Lola whose father rejected him because he was different. In short, two lonely people find friendship and inspiration in one another. The relationships and characters are what really make this movie shine. It has some good laughs, and is somewhat predictable, but you really want them to find what they are looking for, which brings me to my one complaint. There is a lot of pay off in the end for the characters but one is left wondering whether the movie’s central endeavour, reaching that niche market with Kinky Boots is a big success or not. It is a minor complaint, I just would have liked to know more of what happened. I suppose that is a good thing though. I would highly recommend this one, very much worth watching.

Which is why I wish we would have watched it AFTER we watched this…




The Break Up is one of those movies in which real life happenings almost entirely wreck the movie, although on its own merits the more I think about it the more I dislike it. This movie was made when Bradiffer(?) Pittiston(!?!) had kind of just fallen apart and Aniston hooked up with Vince Vaughn because of this film. If you know that there is a very weird vibe throughout the movie that way because even though these are actors acting you get the sense that some of the emotions are NOT acting but just onscreen outbursts of very real anguish, like when Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey both release songs on their albums about how they are no longer together. You know what? I don’t need to know, just keep it to yourselves and sing pop songs without underpinnings and accusations… sigh I digress. There is a scene towards the middle of the film for example in which Brooke (Aniston) finally realizes this might be it for the relationship for real, and there is crying, lots of crying, and at some point it moves from this-is-a-movie to this-is-awkward-because-it-doesn’t-feel-like-she’s-acting. So there is this aspect running through the entire film.


The one very positive aspect of this movie is the acting. Both Aniston and Vaughn prove that they can really really act because I did feel attached to the characters and there was a very real feeling to the script as well. I felt for them, I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Quick poll, based on the ads what kind of movie do you think this is? Anyone? Anyone? I thought it was a comedy, it seemed billed as one, even the poster with the tape down the middle of the bed seems to indicate a sense of whimsy and light heartedness right? Even the trailer, I remember seeing it and laughing at it but in the actual movie those scenes are placed in such a way that it just doesn’t seem right to laugh because for the characters it really really isn’t funny. They are so mad at each other its hard to laugh at their problem.


Ultimately I need to give something away in order to tell you my biggest problem with this movie, so if you really want to see it and don’t want the ending wrecked, stop reading.
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Still here? Good. Now cover your ears.

IF YOU HAVE A MOVIE ABOUT A COUPLE BREAKING UP AND YOU WANT IT TO BE A COMEDY HAVE THEM GET BACK TOGETHER IN THE END OR IT MEANS I HAVE JUST SPENT NEARLY TWO HOURS WATCHING A TOTAL TRAIN WRECK IN WHICH EVERYONE INCLUDING THE CUTE DOG DIED AND DUE TO SEVERE GRIEF THE FAMILIES OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE ON THE TRAIN COULD NOT HANDLE THE GRIEF AND TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES IN ORDER TO END THE PAIN!

They don’t get back together in the end, they never realize they are better together than they are apart, that they whole is greater than the parts or anything like that, EVEN THOUGH THEY GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO SHOW THIS IN THE FILM! Why would I want to watch a movie about people breaking up in a very real way and then they just… stay broken up… is this a movie or is this the most expensive therapy session ever!?! Do they find closure? Yes. Do they move on and end up happy? It would seem so. Does the ending feel satisfying at all? NO! What is even more troublesome is that the building blocks are all there. It would have been a quick jump to get them back together, stronger and wiser for the whole thing. The way it is just makes it seem like its OK to give up on someone you love, and that if relationships require work that you should just call it a day and move on. That happens enough in real life, I don’t need a “comedy” to be realistic or cynical, and definitely don’t need it to be sad. And that is really the ultimate failure of this film, the credits roll and there is no payoff. The Break-Up is broken, don’t waste your time.

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