Got behind on the blog due to writing a play, titled “Thanks for Giving a Damn”, my apologies.
Three flicks on tap, two about cons, one doc and the other based on a true story.
First, “The JT Leroy Story” about a woman who, due to trauma either caused by or combined with sexual and physical abuse as a child, summoned an alter ego who eventually needed a separate ‘body’ in order for JT to profit from her writing. (Perhaps it’s not too late for my pseudonym, Faith Perry, to rise like a phoenix, but where would I find a kook like me:)
But seriously folks, I have mixed feelings about exploiting mental illness which I think can glamorize problems that beg for healthy intervention. BUT, I also see the other side of the argument that genius is sometimes wrapped in dysfunction, so how is JT’s troubles any less relevant than, say, Shirley Jackson*. * A name/author from the past who is the subject of a new book featured in yesterday’s NY Times Book Review section which sounds riveting. But I digress.
Second film of the recent past is ‘Masterminds’ with Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig. I enjoyed it, needing a laugh in a very big way. Ironically, just like my dad’s misgivings with Tallegdaga Nights, another close relative of mine, didn’t see the humor in this film. I think it’s due to generational differences and the fact that I have a soft spot for Zach and all the modern cast of SNL: Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudekis. True, the movie’s like cotton candy, and to be honest, if it weren’t for the based on a true story aspect, I’d probably think it was juvenile. I was in the mood, what can I say? A feather in my cap for those few ho think I’m a simply high brow intellectual.
Third, last, and best of the three was ‘Deepwater Horizon’. I’ll get the minor problems out of the way first. Kurt Russell’s Mr. Jimmy while expertly acted, was faulty in the screenwriting. Meaning, Mr. Jimmy can’t be blind one minute and seeing an oil clad John Malkovich (aside: JM is great in that unique-John-Goodman-Jeff-Goldblum can show up in anything and make it great-routine) and reading a clipboard the next minute. Besides that, the film was excellent. Suspense was built rapidly and stayed tense, Mark Wahlberg, though he might be a cad in real life (beating up people in Boston years ago) is a great actor in the tough Boston guy mode. Like me, he hasn’t gone too highbrow as fellow ‘Bahston’ natives, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have done. He’s the Bill Burr of movie making.
To give credit to the ladies, Kate Hudson who has annoyed me after her brilliant ‘Almost Famous’, was palatable as the sexy dutiful wife. Even better was Gina Rodriguez, who is definitely headed for an Oscar one of these days, a rock solid performance making me wish her role was bigger.
good
