Bitchin’ Film Reviews

Finally.  A second trailer to Inglorious Basterds.

It’s that time again. The time where I go to library and feel completely overwhelmed by my choices. Fortunately, I had some really great suggestions as to what I should watch next. But as for last weeks loot, here are some quick thoughts:

Welcome to the Dollhouse – This movie is sad as crap.  Really.  It’s just sad.  It only seems fitting that this guy would direct it.

Blowup – This film was shot very well, and had some interesting moments.  I was taking back by how attractive Vanessa Redgrave was back in the day.  Compare this Redgrave to this one.  Blowup was actually quite disappointing after watching L’avventura, but at least I understand Austin Powers better now.

Miller’s Crossing – This flick was just a very solid movie.  I have no complaints.  I always enjoy a Coen brother’s film, and this was no exception.

I went a little crazy this week at the library.  School’s out for the summer, and not a final too soon.

Sam Mendes is, for me, one of the most interesting directors putting out films right now.  He’s definitely had his misses.  Jarhead was uneven and overly trite in it’s portrayal of affected American soldiers in Iraq, The Road to Perdition was a solid, good film, but vastly overrated.  But he, at the very least, has a competence behind the camera that makes any of his films interesting to watch.  Away We Go, written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, is no different.  It’s effectively charming, funny, and a little sappy, but falls just short of the mark.

The film begins with an extremely intimate scene between our protagonist couple, pregnant Verona (Maya Rudolph), and Burt (John Krazinski).  Two thirty-somethings confused at their inability to assimilate into normal adult society and expectations.  Both are damaged goods (lots of emotional baggage), and a little scruffy, but their sincerity and modesty (presented in front of a backdrop of heartfelt acoustic music) is enough to win over all but the most jaded of viewers.  Burt and Verona are clever and talented, nearly perfect.  Quickly after the film starts, in a particularly vulnerable moment, Verona asks, ‘Are we fuck-ups?’  It seems the two actually don’t know the answer to this question.  But boy, do we ever learn the answer.

Having extremely flexible lives, the two decide to find a suitable place to raise their daughter, giving them the excuse to travel the country, visiting family members and old friends and reopening old emotional wounds.  The couple encounters an extremely diverse array of people.  But unfortunately, the script doesn’t allow any sort of real human exchanges since the characters we meet aren’t really characters, but caricatures of bad people.  Burt’s parents (Jeff Daniels and Catherine O’Hara) are the definition of self-involved and passive aggressively racist–’Do you think the baby will be black like you?’ the mother asks.  An old boss of Verona’s (Allison Janney) and her husband (Jim Gaffigan), hate each other, and hate their overweight children, berating their kids in front of guests with the dirtiest of mouths.  A seemingly happy couple of old college friends (Chris Messina and Melanie Lynskey) seem to have it all together until they break down, confessing to recently experiencing their fifth miscarriage, and a looming feeling of helplessness that all the adopted children in the world can’t seem to cure.  There are more examples, but this seems to cover it.

All of these maladjusted characters are pocketed away as proof that despite Burt and Verona’s uncertainty, they are, in fact, superior to everyone, with no actual flaws to speak of, besides slightly untrimmed facial hair.  It’s this notion that makes the viewer feel a little robbed of what could have been an interesting meditation about entering adulthood, becoming a parent, and finding one’s own place in the world.  The performances are so unassuming and well done, and the script provides enough laughs, and tender moments that these flaws can easily be (and most certainly will be) overlooked. Praises to Krasiniski and Rudolph who clearly establish themselves as actors to be taken seriously.  Away We Go is certainly better than your average fare, but I think it’s safe to say it isn’t what Mendes hoped it would be.

Bitchin' Stars:

Prostitution is a stigmatized word in America. Not even Las Vegas allows it, pushing it out far into the desert suburbs, at brothels with names like The Bunny Ranch. The mention of the word brings to mind undercover cops soliciting sex and Dateline exposes. So it came as quite a shock to me to discover that it’s actually legal to work in the sex industry in Rhode Island, one of the most affluent communities of the world. Tara Hurley’s first feature length documentary Happy Endings? explores the world of legal sex trade in Asian massage palors in Providence, Rhode Island.

Hurley spent four years of her life following a few of these women, their managers (or pimps), interviewing politicians and law enforcement, and her four years was well spent. She manages to bring to light a very serious issue that is frequently swept under the rug, and kept out of sight. She examines the double standard that law enforcement adheres to when arresting the ‘masseuse’ but not the ‘John.’ But most of all, she manages to remind us that the women who claim prostitution as their profession are not statistics, or stories to be heard on the nightly news, they’re real women, with a face, and history and a story. To achieve her goals of poignantly exposing problems with anti-prostitution legislation, she interviews several politicians, including RI senator Rhoda Perry, the mayor of Providence, David N. Cicilline, Rhode Island state representative Joanne Giannini. These interviews are so forward in their dynamic, they sometimes end with explosive results (particularly the interview with Mayor Cicilline). While these interviews are good, and informative (they certainly provide another needed view point), its the interviews with the actual masseuses that bring the issue home, and make this documentary well worth watching.

Hurley was kind enough to answer some questions for Bitchin’ Film Reviews. Here’s are her answers:

BFR: Am I to understand that Happy Endings? is your first feature length project?
Happy Endings? is my first feature length project. I have done other shorter works for musicians, artists, tattoo studios, and non profits like AIDS Project RI.

BFR: According to the commentary you and Nick Marcoux (editor and cinematographer) provide on the DVD, you spent four years working on this project. Why did you choose to bring awareness to this particular subject, and spend so much time on it?
Back in 2005 when I started this film, I was going to grad school for Gender and Ethnic studies. I had actually thought of selling my cameras and equipment to help finance the courses. When I read in the local paper about how RI didn’t have a prostitution law I figured I could spend money on getting a degree or doing a film. I chose this subject for the film because I wanted to get all sides of the issue and see what I thought about prostitution in my state. When I started researching, I found that only the women were being arrested and I wanted to bring that and these women’s stories to light. It took a long time for a few reasons, but one of the things that worked against us was not having money and working with a foreign language. The thing that worked for us was we are both passionate about making films, so passion wins over the problems we faced.

BFR: You state in the commentary that you neither sell nor purchase sex, so you try not to have a view point as a director or filmmaker (correct me if I’m mistaken), do you have a view point, or opinion on prostitution as a citizen of Rhode Island?
When making the film I put in all sides of the argument for and against prostitution laws. I couldn’t force an opinion on anyone because I didn’t really have one. After making the film, doing all the research, and meeting all the people, I personally believe that all prostitution laws harm the women that they claim to protect. When a woman is arrested and gets a criminal record, she no longer has a chance to get out of sex work even if she wanted to. When filling out a job application it will be difficult to explain the criminal record, especially with all the stigma that comes with prostitution. To add insult to injury, I am offended that only the woman is arrested. The woman is making a difficult choice to sell her body, the man makes an easy choice when he chooses to buy sex, yet in all states where prostitution is illegal the rate of arrest is approximately 90% prostitute, 5% john and 5% pimp. Like Heather says in the film “You can’t clap with one hand” so why is it only the women get blamed?

BFR: I want to compliment you on your directing style, it was vastly entertaining to watch. One of my favorite devices you used is splicing interviews with people on both sides of the argument, each recounting the details of a certain event, but wildly differing on their respective versions. Is there a side (law enforcement/politicians v. the masseuses, and managers of the spas) you feel was more truthful, or earnest when it comes to the information they were providing?
I am not sure who said this but I will agree “Of the 3 oldest institutions in the world, prostitution, government and religion, prostitution is the most honest.”

BFR: Happy Endings? provides a plethora of opinions, or at least support for these opinions, (ie – equal treatment for Johns and masseuses, the need for legislation outlawing indoor prostitution, and the need to protect these sometimes victimized women), is there one, main thought you’d like your viewers to take away from your film?
What I hope people do is see the humanity of the women in the spas. These women who are usually just referenced jokingly in tv and movies are actual women. I hope people will see that, and then they can make decisions on prostitution laws not from a place of moral judgement.

BFR: There’s a lot of things in the works in RI to solve some of the problems you discuss. Is there any hope for new laws to be put in place any time soon?
Actually tonight (June 25th, 2009) the legislation will be voting on two different Human Trafficking Bills. There is also two different bills to re criminalize indoor prostitution waiting for a full vote. We will know the outcome in the next week if the prostitution law will change.

BFR: Do you have any upcoming projects planned, or in the works?
I have a ton of ideas about social issue documentaries, but the one I am starting right now is on the Compassion Centers in RI. Just recently RI passed a law that allows for 3 non-profit medical marijuana “Compassion Centers”. I like the idea of following this for a few years, actually see the centers built and follow the stories of it’s patients. I think I am going to try for the trifecta. Sex, drugs, and then a rock n roll documentary.

BFR: Where can people find more information about Happy Endings?
My website is http://www.happyendingsdocumentary.com
I am on twitter to, where you can get updates on the law @happyendings – http://twitter.com/happyendings
Facebook is http://www.facebook.com/happyendingsdocumentary
Myspace is http://www.myspace.com/happyendingsdoc
Youtube is http://www.youtube.com/happyendingsdoc
and my blog is http://happyendingsdoc.wordpress.com/

A huge thanks to Tara Hurley for sharing this documentary with Bitchin’ Film Reviews. Be sure to check out her websites for more information.

Bitchin' Stars:

I have an odd love/hate relationship with Sandra Bullock.  I think her comedic timing and humor are quite excellent.  But the projects she does are, well, it’s not that they’re just extremely low-brow, it’s that they’re mostly just insulting.  It was refreshing to see her take a small, but not self-important role in the wildly overrated Crash of 2005, but she quickly burned through any credibility that that film might have garnered her by following it up with projects like Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and Premonition.  Not many even took the time to see her critically-acclaimed Infamous (in her defense, it was insanely overshadowed by Capote).  After a three year break, she’s finally back on the big screen, and unfortunately, she’s up to her old tricks: shitty romantic comedies.

The Proposal’s premise isn’t difficult.  Margaret Tate (Bullock) is a successful book editor at a large book publisher in New York.  She doesn’t smile, she’s constantly at the mercy of her BlackBerry, has no empathy for co-workers, and no personal life to speak off.  She’s made a whipping boy out of her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), who adheres to her every whim.  A visa issue (Margaret is Canadian) forces her to bribe Andrew into marrying her (hence the film’s unimaginative tag line: Here comes the bribe).  Margaret and Andrew fly to a quaint Alaskan town to tell Andrew’s parents, where she’s stripped of her extremely high heels, cell phone, and is meant to regain that feminine humanity she was forced to lose by becoming a successful business woman.

The messages in the movie are more than a little offensive.  Women: you can’t be successful and keep any amount of normality.  Men: beware women in positions of power, you’ll have to break their spirits in order to get into bed with them.  But worse than being offensive, The Proposal just isn’t funny.  Bullock (who received an executive producer credit on the project) manages to do what she can with the mind-numbingly ridiculous script (penned by seeming misogynist Pete Chiarelli).  Reynolds, whom I frequently find funny, was so bogged down by the dialogue, he seemed to be as uninterested in the film as I was, mostly there as a prop, rather than an actor.  Betty White plays Andrew’s grandma, and couldn’t manage to pull a laugh from the audience at any cost.  The whole mess is directed by Anne Fletcher who’s last project was the annoying 27 Dresses.  Before that, it was Step Up. Good lord, who keeps giving her a budget?  Fletcher may have mastered pandering to  thirteen year-olds, but she seems to have really found her niche in unfunny cliches and stereotypes.

Bitchin' Stars:

I’m thrilled to report that I actually watched all four movies that I checked out the last time at the library.  This is quite a feat since I had a ton of family here last weekend and attended a wedding that included several days of activity.  Here are some quick thoughts about the last loot.

Topsy Turvy – I enjoyed this film much more than I expected to.  I have yet to find a Mike Leigh movie that I didn’t enjoy, so this shouldn’t have been a huge a surprise.  Jim Broadbent was hilarious, and although it ran around 210 minutes, it actually flew by.  I was impressed.

Twin Falls Idaho – I enjoyed this movie.  I’d probably give it three out of four stars.  It’s not really my type of genre, but I was impressed it was a first-time film for Michael Polish who also starred as one of the siamese twin brothers.

The Marriage of Maria Braun - I didn’t expect to really like this film, but it actually blew me away.  The fact it’s thirty years old and didn’t seem dated at all was really impressive.  But I was also thrilled by the direction style of Fassbinder.  I’ll definitely be checking out more of his stuff.

L’avventura – This was definitely my favorite of the bunch.  I have a tough time with slow pacing, but I didn’t at all here.  This is the first Antonioni film I’ve seen, and I think I may have already become a big fan.  I knew I liked the movie, but once I watched my favorite scenes again with the commentary by Gene Youngblood, I was completely hooked.  Not to mention Monica Vitti is insanely hot.

Here’s this week’s loot: