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Fall Movie Review Roundup: California, Paris, Doors and Sex Dolls
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (B+)
Lars (Ryan Gosling), a tremendously shut off guy in his twenties, lives in a garage behind the home of his brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer). He can't connect with anyone -- until he orders a lifelike sex doll. Lars is delusional, and won't pay attention to naysayers. He believes the doll is real, so...she's real. Far less creepy and off-putting than the setup might make it seem, Lars is an incredibly sweet movie.
The film walks quite the tight rope, and I was mighty uneasy for the middle third of the movie. Every person in this tiny town comes to approve of Lars' romance far too quickly, and it's just unbelievable. I got very sick of people enabling Lars, and wanted them to slap him and tell him to wise up. Ultimately, though, that's not what the movie is about. It's about acceptance, and connection, and it's about how difficult it can be to even make contact with the opposite sex. Maybe it's just my love for the song, but around the time Lars and the doll "dance" at a party to Talking Heads' "Naive Melody," I fell for the movie hook, line, and sinker.
The script is also a great metaphor for growing up and becoming a man, and, as such, a much less irritating and more interesting one than something like The Last Kiss or In the Valley of Women. Unlike the whiny, pathetic protagonists in those films, Lars has a genuine problem. It should make people struggling through their twenties take a step back and examine themselves a bit.
Craig Gillespie does a fine job directing Nancy Oliver's wonderful script, but he also did Mr. Woodcock, so I'll hold my praise until I see what he does next. The movie is certainly perfectly cast and acted. Ryan Gosling is now officially the best actor of his generation. He never shows off, and he makes difficult performances look as natural as breathing. Mortimer is great as his supportive sister-in-law, Schneider is very funny speaking the audience's mind in criticizing Lars. The whole movie is stolen, though, by Kelli Garner, who is not a magically single dream chick like the one Natalie Portman played in Garden State, but someone nearly as broken as Lars. Their final scene together is beautiful, and washed away any ill will I had toward the story.
To read my full Cinematical interview with the film's screenwriter, Nancy Oliver, click here.
PARIS JE T'AIME (B+)
A collection of 18 fiveish-minute short stories, mainly about love, each set in a different part of Paris, and each with a different cast and director. Such a fantastic idea, and for the most part this is a delightful movie. As is always the case with anthology films, it's a mixed bag, but the few that suck are over in five minutes, so quit your bitchin'.
It's a pretty amazing opportunity to see some of today's best filmmakers have some fun. It was also a great chance to experience some new directors. There were some names in the mix I'd never heard before, and now I'm eager to check out their work.
The best:
-In the Coen Brothers' segment, Steve Buscemi sits in the Metro and accidentally gets involved with the wrong couple. Very funny.
-Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run) shows us a relationship between Natalie Portman and a young blind man start-to-finish, in five minutes. (Isn't it a waste for a blind man to date Portman? It's like a man with no taste buds getting a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's factory.)
-Best In Show: Alexander Payne's short. Margo Martindale (trust me, you'll know her when you see her) walks around Paris as we hear her recount the trip to her French class. It's deeply sad and funny in equal measure, a Payne specialty.
The lamest:
-Oliver Assayas' short with Maggie Gyllenhaal goes nowhere.
-Christopher Doyle's entry about Asians, hair, and...I'm not really sure, to be honest.
-Worst In Show: Nobuhiro Sawa's film has Juliette Binoche mourning the loss of her son...until Willem Dafoe, as a mystical cowboy, shows up to help her through her grief. Pretentious, retarded, unbearable.
It's on DVD now, decide for yourself...
KING OF CALIFORNIA (C+)
Michael Douglas plays a mentally disturbed (but wacky and lovable!) man who is released from a mental institution and moves back in with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). Shortly after his release, he decides there's Spanish gold in the local Costco, and he wants a taste.
I saw this movie months ago, and I completely forgot to review it because I completely forgot I had seen it. I think that says something. First time writer-director Mike Cahill is friends with Alexander Payne, who helped finance the film. I hoped that some of that sweet Payne magic would rub off on Cahill, but no such luck.
Douglas is fine, but as when anyone plays a brain-damaged character, his performance feels mighty "actory." Wood is adequate at best. The story doesn't have much momentum, and Cahill shoots for the kind of vague ending that sends you into the lobby passionately discussing and dissecting. He misses.
It's got a certain underdog charm, though, and is probably worth a rental. There's an awesome, creepy scene at a middle-aged swinger party that borders on classic, and will leave you wondering where it came from and why they didn't make that scene the entire film. Bonus points for using Wilco & Billy Bragg's "California Stars" over the end credits. Love that song.
RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR (D+)
Another one I forgot, Right at Your Door has such a cool premise, it's a shame it's so shitty. An L.A. man (Rory Cochrane, Dazed and Confused) says goodbye to his wife (Mary McCormack, Private Parts) as she heads out to work. A dirty bomb goes off in Los Angeles, and a toxic cloud is sweeping through the streets. (How is this any different than your average Monday morning in L.A.?) The rest of the film mainly takes place in the man's home -- a perfect way to do an "action" movie on an independent budget.
But unfortunately, the characters aren't set up in the least, all we really know about them is that they are unlikable and don't seem to be having a great marriage. If the whole movie is going to have us rooting for the survival of two people, why not make them...tolerable?
When police ask that nobody let anyone from the outside world into his or her home, it's not hard to figure out the wife will be there shortly, coughing and demanding entry. What will he choose? No matter, I was totally fine with both parties dying.
Naive Melody was a favorite of mine and an old boyfriend whom I broke up
with after 3 months because I thought he was gay. Turns out he was.... I
also loved the song in Wall Street.
I too saw KING OF CALIFORNIA a few months ago, but cannot for the life of
me remember what scene you reference as bordering on classic.
Day two of the clense...
Nutsy,
Three months of no sex (especially with me) equals you are gay.
LOVE Ryan Gosling...and not just because I want to do him. He's an
incredible actor..can't wait to see this movie!