Academy Award

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At Long Last, The Sterile Cuckoo

Posted by Gloria on October 17, 2012

Posted in: Film, Movies, Reviews. Tagged: Academy Award, Alan J. Pakula, Come Saturday Morning, Dory Previn, film, Fred Karlin, Liza Minnelli, movies, Sterile Cuckoo. 1 Comment

The teenaged me received quite an education in life from the movies of 1969.

There were MIDNIGHT COWBOY, THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN, LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS, EASY RIDER, THE WILD BUNCH, DE SADE, WOMEN IN LOVE, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE, MAROONED, THE STEWARDESSES, MEDEA, and SWEET CHARITY – just to name a few of the most memorable. Scenes from each of these films — feats of daring! blood splatters! nude male wrestlers! beheadings! bare breasts! — are permanently etched into my brain.

But the one film that still resonates the most strongly after all of these years is THE STERILE CUCKOO, a heartbreaking story of young love, longing, and loneliness. Liza Minnelli shines in the role of Pookie Adams, a fragile and kookie college coed desperate to make an impression and a connection.

Liza’s performance, for which she received an Academy Award nomination, is riveting in its honesty and depth. In fact, ever since 1969, I have used her portrayal Pookie as the benchmark to compare other actress’s acting chops, as in, “She was OK in the role, but she sure wasn’t Liza in THE STERILE CUCKOO.” Consider the telephone call scene….

Director Alan Pakula created a visually stunning environment to frame the development of this quiet story and Ms. Minnelli’s fragile character. And to add even more intensity to the sad tale of young love lost is the film’s theme song, “Come Saturday Morning,” by Fred Karlin and Dory Previn, which was also nominated for best song.

This little crystal of a movie was released on DVD just yesterday, October 16. If you have never seen it and you have a fondness for coming of age stories that will break your heart, put THE STERILE CUCKOO on your to-be-watched list today.

Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow

With campaign season in full force, we can’t help but think about movies that delve into politics. One of the best, and most depressing, is ALL THE KING’S MEN, the 1949 classic and Oscar-winning Best Picture, based on the Pulitzer novel by Robert Penn Warren. It’s filled with some great slap scenes too.

Broderick Crawford plays Willie Stark, the honest idealist, champion for the “Everyman,” turned power-hungry politician. You know Willie is going to turn out to be the ultimate jerk when his wife sweetly says “I love you,” and he snarls, “Get me some coffee.” And that’s when he’s still playing the good guy.

I wish the film would take a longer and more thoughtful road for us to travel with Willie as he leaves behind his principles and succumbs to the power of political position and his own narcissism, but director Robert Rossen is dealing with a long story here. The pace is as frenetic and choppy as the staccato, quick-fire delivery of the lines. But the lines are sometimes oh so good.

Broderick, who won Best Actor in this role, shines when he’s on the stump spitting out rallying cries like, “Listen to me, you hicks. Nobody ever helped a hick but a hick.” And later, “You wanna know what my platform is? Here it is. I’m gonna soak the fat boys and spread it out thin.” Gotta love language like that on a campaign trail.

But once he’s done flailing about as the sincere guy that “Everyman” can count on, and he’s decided that playing politics means playing rough, Willie is no longer that interesting as a character. Mercedes McCambridge’s role as his campaign confidante, Sadie Burke, carries the day. I get tired of Broderick’s bluster in this film, but I can’t wait for McCambridge, who won Best Supporting Actress in this role, to appear on screen, especially when she’s in slap scenes like this with co-star John Ireland:

One of the creepiest moments in the film is Willie showing his father-in-law how to use the new police radio he’s bought him. When they hear the dispatcher say, “Tom Jones is beating his wife again,” both Willie and his father-in-law share a big laugh. These are not good people. In fact, Stark’s driving belief is that good can only come out of evil, and it’s an unsettling philosophy that leaves one pondering a bit about the dark side of human behavior. Everyone here, in one way or another, caves in to something, be it to power, greed, booze, lust, envy, and all those other deadly sins.

As a perfect antidote to the ugliness and cynicism in ALL THE KING’S MEN, cue up the Capra classic, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), starring an ever-principled James Stewart. You’ll feel a lot better about the human spirit.

Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow

Spy Night Lineup

Posted by Gloria on July 18, 2012

Posted in: Film, Movies, Reviews, Themed Events. Tagged: Academy Award, Dujardin, entertainment, James Bond in film, Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, Middle East, Nest of Spies, OSS 117: Cairo Nest Of Spies, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, sight gags. Leave a comment

What is it in our collective DNA that makes us like bumbling spies so much? The Agent-Without-a-Clue is an enduring force in the movies, from which many sequels have been spawned. There’s Natasha and Boris from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle show to the contemporary Austin Powers.

And there’s also Hubert Bonissuer de la Bath, alias French Agent OSS 117 — alias Jean Dujardin.

The world (myself included) fell in love with Jean Dujardin last year for his Academy Award-winning lead role in THE ARTIST (2011). And when I discovered that Dujardin and The Artist’s director and writer Michel Hazanavicius had teamed up earlier to create two throwback spy movies, they were on the “must watch” list in seconds.

The first, OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES (2006) takes Dujardin’s thick-headed but oh so debonair Hubert to Egypt to take on the task of “straightening out” the Middle East.

The film has all the standard spy send-up elements, including the beautiful female agent and super villains. It’s silly and totally entertaining, with a number of laugh out loud and did-he-really-say that politically incorrect lines. I didn’t get all the French colonialism jokes, but no matter. NEST OF SPIES is great fun.

And the follow-up feature, OSS 117: LOST IN RIO (2009) is just as satisfying, taking us to South America for some Nazi-hunting with the continuing clueless and incredibly stylish playboy spy. The sight gags and groan-inducing laughs continue, but this time with extra and effective visual tricks with the split screen, gorgeous scenery, a hippie orgy (which is funny but a bit disappointing nonetheless), and the tropical sounds of bossa nova. How can you go wrong?

With these two OSS films as testing ground, you can see how the Hazanavicius team, including Bérénice Béjo, were able to perfect the homage film we saw in THE ARTIST. They have imitation down as the sincerest form of flattery.

One of the best things about being a Home Projectionist is designing your night’s programming, and I am still torn about which OSS I would show on an upcoming spy night. For me, I think two OSS films in a row would be overkill. I would rather fill out the night with a classic Spy V. Spy cartoon, a Get Smart episode, and then most likely, LOST IN RIO.

And during cocktails — both before the screening begins and when the watching is over — there’s so much fabulous ’60s music to play.

Remember to wear something fabulous.

Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow