Movie Meme, Day 4: A Movie That Always Makes Me Laugh

I know it would sound weird to most, but the movie that always makes me laugh isn’t my favourite comedy. I’ll eventually feature my favourite comedy when I reach it on my list of favourite films but when I think of a film that always makes me laugh – sometimes ridiculously I must return to America’s consummate comedian (writing-wise) – Woody Allen.

It’s ironic that the Woody film I find funniest (NOTE: it’s not my favourite film of his) is the one that he writes with the help of an ally. Bullets Over Broadway is a film that’s so brilliant I’m always a little irked that it’s not remembered more. John Cusack takes over the role as the bathetic hero (a stand-in for Woody). “I’m an artist” – those are the first words from his mouth, of the film actually. And the story is a hilarious comedy of errors wherein Cusack’s David comes to question his artistic worth. One of the things that makes Bullets Over Broadway so brilliant is the fact that it has a serious and honest message underneath – one that hits home even as you’re laughing tears through the antics of the characters.

I highlighted it months ago as one of the best ensembles of the nineties – and it is. Cusack has always been woefully ignored, and though he’s had the usual missteps he’s given a number of good performances. Chazz Palminteri tries his utmost to the steal the show and Jack Warden, Jim Broadbent and Bob Reiner offer timely comedic support. But like so many of Woody’s pieces it’s all about the women. Mary Louise Parker does a lot with a role that doesn’t seem as much, Tracy Ulman elicits a laugh (or at least a wan smile) with each appearance on screen, Jennifer Tilly channels her inner Jean Hagen taking the concept the concept of dumb to a whole other level. But it is Dianne Wiest in her splendid diva-esque glory that hijacks the film and educes the heartiest laughs. Blink and you’ll miss the fact that she has the broadest of characters, a character type really, the film is all about the vignettes’ but Woody knows to kill us with the one-liners and the cast knows to kill us with the deliveries.

           
I reviewed Bullets Over Broadway some time back, and I stand by my belief that it’s the best film 1994 had to Oscar…if this doesn’t make you goofy with laughter…well, I’ll not finish that sentence. Just see it, because You stand on the brink of greatness. The world will open to you like an oyster. No, no, not like an oyster. The world will open to you like a magnificent vagina. That's a direct quote.


And I'm still MEME-ing....

1994: Get Out Of Jail...and Go to Broadway

People always lament the state of 1994 because Pulp Fiction lost to Forrest Gump. You know me well enough to discern that I’m not too hot on Tarantino (even if I will admit that Pulp Fiction is one of his more tempered pieces). The thing is, neither of the two was the best film that year so it’s really an argument to no end. Morgan Freeman is a bit of an anomaly as far as I’m concerned. I genuinely like the man, and he’d be somewhere in my top 100 perhaps even my top 50 actors but I’m never particularly fond of his performances. Time after time, he just seems to be on autopilot. Still, I can let these moments of autopilot pass because there is one Morgan performance that never fails to impress; his enviable performance in The Shawshank Redemption. It’s a brilliant performance that stands out in an ensemble. Incidentally, the same can be said for Dianne Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway, the other juggernaut from 1994. Woody has always had a thing for big casts, and in Bullets Over Broadway (though not his best film) he found his most expansive and talented cast. It’s a bit of a tug-of-war for me when I think of 1994. On one hand lies the sedate and poignant Shawshank Redemption and on the other hand Woody’s atypical comedy of show business Bullets Over Broadway.

                

The two films could shake hands when it comes to their heroes. Tim Robbins has gone on to win an Oscar, but he and John Cusack have much in common. Both have thing for playing the innocuous heroes, and in both The Shawshank Redemption and Bullets Over Broadway they’re surrounding by a group of zany characters. I suppose the similarities stop there. Andy’s incarceration at Shawshank is a far cry from David’s predicaments in New York. It’s weird, though, that Shawshank Redemption made a mere 25 million at the box-office, but it’s even more ridiculous when you realise that Bullets Over Broadway made just about half of that. What’s the reason? The films are conversely different, each playing to different emotions and yet neither found (immediate) success with the audiences. I like to think of Bullets Over Broadway as Woody’s most structured film. It’s not my favourite of his, but it’s easily the tightest (it’s just below 100 minutes), and the script is just so quick-paced. The Shawshank Redemption goes on for well over two hours, and though it’s based on a novella, it never drags. Presentation is everything, really. The quickness of Bullets Over Broadway is as essential to the joie de vivre of New York as the meticulous detail is necessary to the jail at Shawshank.

                 

Darabont makes The Shawshank Redemption sneak up on you, a little. I always seem to forget that it’s such an ensemble piece until after I’ve seen it. It’s the opposite with Bullets Over Broadway. It’s so short, and it’s not really about everybody, but it seems so. Sure Morgan Freeman and Dianne Wiest each seem to think that they’re the leads in their respective piece, though. Morgan...I like him much, but I like few of his performances. Still, I won’t argue with the brilliance that is him in The Shawshank Redemption. It was the perfect opportunity to give him that Oscar, but at least Dianne got hers. On the subject of Oscars, though. It’s so weird that neither Tim nor John went nominated. As brilliant as Morgan is, Shawshank depends completely on Tim he easily trumps the majority of that sorry actor lineup, so does John actually – and three of his co-stars were nominated. Both films actually went home empty handed for the most part, between the two of them they racked up 14 nominations and the only one was for Ms. Wiest. They should have at least won their respective screenplay categories, but why am I lamenting on the fickle Oscars?

                 

The Shawshank Redemption is a brilliant ensemble drama, a poignant tale and a story worthy of remembrance. I know three people who are very fond of this film – Emma, M. Carter and The Mad Hatter. Three people whose opinions are valuable, and they’re not wrong. The Shawshank Redemption is that good. Unfortunately, Bullets Over Broadway doesn’t seem to have as many people championing it, but it’s just as good. The Shawshank Redemption ranks at #43 on my list of favourites and Bullets Over Broadway at #35.

                 

What were your thoughts on 1994 in film? Is either of these your favourite?

The Nineties Revisited: Ep 5

...wherein we come to the end. It's been lovely looking at the nineties in review, and I'm not going to end with a list of my favourite films from the period. That would be boring. Instead, I will highlight the ten best Ensemble Works from the decade. Firstly, remember this list is purely personal. So you may disagree. Secondly, this is not a list of my ten favourite films of the nineties. It's all about the ensemble, those films where you feel every actor is working in tandem with each other. The sort of "You jump, I jump" scenario from the actors. Yes, that one's there.

So, let me hear your thoughts? Give me your top three casts of that decade? Which of my choices have you reeling? Which makes you happy?