The Spin-Off: 2.1

I've been remiss about some of the running features on the blog and it’s been some time since I delivered on an episode of The Spinoff – wherein I find ideas for sequels (prequels, spin-offs – you name it) more inspired than what Hollywood is tossing out. Of course, in Hollywood’s defence that’s not a difficult task when the most recent sequel in production is Ghost Rider, but I digress.

CS actually had a post a few weeks ago about knowing when to keep supporting characters supportive so I should probably tread lightly in the resuscitating of the feature. But, I’m starting with a kick-ass supporting character – Matron Mama Morton from Chicago as played by Queen Latifah. Chicago was a major high in 2002, what with its 13 Oscar nominees and whatnot. And, sometimes people remember Queen Latifah’s nod as one of those coaster nominations but I think that’s a bit of an underestimation of the work she does. But, this post isn’t about her specifically – it’s about Mama.

Chicago runs amok with interesting characters on the side-lines, and Mama Morton’s number is one of those pseudo-biographical musical numbers (I am ---, and so on) and it’s not just a significant number for the double entendre moments. I do wonder if Marshall and Condon were being anachronistic when they cast a black woman as a prison matron in the twenties, but wouldn’t that be an interesting (non-musical) story to tell? Just imagine all the hijinks she could get herself caught up in. Hollywood has been known to make money off ass kicking females, although Mama Morton’s brand of justice probably won’t be very altruistic. I’ve got faith in Queen Latifah, but I’m tempted to bring in Viola Davis for the spin-off. And who better than Martin Scorsese to direct? He knows his gritty crime dramas - and yes, Mama's tale is going to be a gritty crime drama, and Alfre Woodard will show up to play her mother.
        

Would you watch this spin-off? How would you rate it as against Hollywood’s own sequel ideas?

Forgotten Characters 3:5 (2010 in Review)

We all know those types of movies, the one where the one actor mugs the camera for 120 minutes and no one gets a chance to get a significant scene in edgewise. Sometimes it works because some actors can actually make than 120 minutes splendid – Julia Roberts, case in point. The thing about Julia, though, is that it doesn’t really seem like she’s mugging. She’s just doing what she does best, being luminous for the camera. Even when the film seems made for her only she’s always bound to have that important connection with her scene partners which is a reason I feel the need to remember a performance like this:

                   

Viola Davis in Eat Pray Love

 as Delia Shiraz

Eat – Pray – Love, those are the three parts of the story that we’re told about, but what about the part before in New York? Which incidentally happens to be the strongest arc of the film? It’s weird – well not really, Gilbert’s “plight” is not really that. She just seems like an unsatisfied woman, and there’s no shame in that. And that chemistry that Viola and Julia create early in the film is the sort of thing you wish we could have an entire film on, my review. Viola has a bulk of scenes opposite Mike O’Malley (charming as ever) and the two manage to create that sort of off-kilter New York relationship that’s both traditional and unusual. The thing about Viola is that she’s so naturally charismatic, that her sometimes effusive charm is often used for the niche roles in films – the austere government official, the intrusive wife, the secretly evil agent, etc. So, it’s nice to just see her relax and not play anything particularly overwhelming. She doesn’t have to carry the brunt of any exposition on her shoulder, just exist in conjunction with Julia – and she does.

                                                         

It’s like that fairly funny moment when she takes out the “box” from under her bed to show how much she’s been waiting for marriage and motherhood. What’s always struck me for Viola – and the way she’s managed to grow on me after all these years, is how full of her characters she seems. Not in an annoying way, but she always seems so in touch with them and what I love about her relationship with Delia is how she doesn’t decide to trivialise her and her estimations. A lesser actress might have tried to amplify the tension by turning her into a best friend with vaguely jealous inclinations – but Viola doesn’t even care to do that. But she doesn’t care to turn her into that crazy carefree stereotype either – you know the type I’m talking of. True, the New York chapter works because there are SO many actors doing good work in small bits – O’Malley, Crudup, Franco all work better with Julia than most of the cast. But it’s Viola I single out because she’s so good with her protagonist. I’d love to see her and Julia team up again, but done right this time with her actually having a real role to play.

                       

Eat Pray Love was undoubtedly the Julia show, but could you spare any love for Viola’s Delia?

                    

Previously Forgotten in 2010

Cillian Murphy in Inception

Yaya DaCosta in The Kids Are All Right

Crispin Glover in Alice in Wonderland

Tammy Blanchard in Rabbit Hole