Gran Torino

Clint still able to make your night

VIDEO VIPER with ROBERT LEBZELTER for June 26, 2009

Warner Bros.

CLINT EASTWOOD with, in back, left, Bee Vang, Brooke Chia Thao, Chee Thao and Ahney Her in "Gran Torino."

I wonder why when 78-year-old Clint Eastwood decided to direct and star in "Gran Torino," he didn't simply make the character Dirty Harry Callahan.
You remember Dirty Harry back in 1973. He was sexist. He was set in his ways. He didn't like those new police procedures which gave all of those rights to the bad guys.
He skirted the law. He took short cuts when battling the crooks.
He also meted out punishment when necessary.
Callahan could have easily aged into Walt Kowalski, the Korean War veteran who hates what the world has become.
"Gran Torino" opens with the funeral of his wife. But Walt doesn't mourn so much as sit there, teeth gritting, because of the piercings of his grandchildren, the fact that they text-message in church, because they make fun of aspects of the church. Not that Harry, er Walt, had much to do with the Catholic Church himself. He just went because of his wife.
Christopher Carley, looking like a young Spencer Tracy, plays Father Janovich, who pledged to Walt's dying wife that he would look after him and make him go to confession.
Walt is an interesting character. He wants to live out his days on his porch with his dog, chain smoking and beer drinking.
But he is disgusted with the changes in the neighborhood. It has been taken over by Hmong immigrants from Vietnam. They have taken over the homes of his old friends but they don't keep the property up.
One major gang emerges. Walt keeps his rifle handy. He also has a gun.
When the gang forces the leader's shy cousin to join, the boy's initiation is to steal Walt's beloved 1972 Gran Torino. Walt, of course, thwarts the theft and forces the gang on the run.
The quiet boy, played by Bee Yang, is hassled by the gang until Walt puts a stop to that, too. He earns the respect of the Asian community and slowly gets to know his neighbors, including the perceptive sister, played by Ahney Her.
Walt teaches the Yang character about tools and craftsmanship. He gets him a construction job. But the gang keeps getting in the way until Walt, estranged from his own family and in failing health, decides to take real action.
The plot is fairly predictable and the ending not as satisfying as I would like, but for the most part the characters and the storyline are worth the experience.
There is speculation this will be the last film for Eastwood. Not certain why. Maybe it is similar to every tour being the last for the Rolling Stones.
But you get a lot of Clint in this film and he's just as you want him to be, stoic, unyielding, determined.
If you are an Eastwood fan, you've already seen this movie. If you are not, you will want to see it anyway. There are plenty of imitators, but only one Clint.
Why not make it a double-feature with "Dirty Harry" or "Sudden Impact?"
Go ahead, make your night.