Mrs. Miniver

‘Mrs. Miniver’ looks at wartime England
GREER GARSON and Walter Pidgeon in “Mrs. Miniver.”

“Mrs. Miniver” is an astonishly good picture about England early in World War II.
First off, it came out in 1942, when the bombings of London by the Nazis were still going on.
Greer Garson is a middle-aged Mrs. Miniver, looking lovely and married to Walter Pidgeon. They are described as middle class.
Early on, we learn the entire community participates in a competition to determine who grows the best rose. Mrs. Miniver is so respected, she is asked if it is OK to name a rose in the competition after her.
The Minivers have a super polite, handsome son, Vin, played by Richard Wilcoxon.
While described as middle class, they do, of course, have a maid and dress like they are going to the opera at all times.
Young Vin falls for highbrow Carol Beldon, played by Teresa Wright. Her grandmother, Lady Beldon, played by Dame May Whitty, is the upper crust of the community. She’s not sure if her grandmother should set sail as a Miniver. She might come up with something better.
Vin goes off to fight in the war, leaving his love at home, knowing their relationship could be interrupted at any point by death.
In one of the best scenes in the picture, the Minivers are hunkered down in the basement because of threat of an air raid.
Often they are false alarms. But just in case, they go to their sanctuary, complete with beds for the children and canned food and coffee.
The kids sleep while Mr. Miniver puffs on his pipe in the close quarters, wearing his suit and tie. Fortunately, this was before the time when smoking was dangerous.
The scene is gripping and realistic. You hear the whistle of the bombs as they are dropped from the planes and grimace while waiting for the loads to explode.
The plaster falls. The children scream. I jump. And suddenly, the scene switches to a train station, where young Vin is coming home on leave.
Your immediate reaction, why switch the scene when we don’t know the outcome of their home?
But when the family arrives home we get the answer. There are gaping holes in the roof and walls, but the family nonchalantly continues to live in the wrecked abode like everything is normal.
There’s a heartfelt scene between Garson’s Miniver and new wife Wright. Yes, they are in love. But the Wright character tells mom-in-law she’s smart enough at age 18 to know the war makes it possible that one of them may not survive. Let’s just say it is a harbinger of things to come.
William Wyler won an Oscar for best director. Garson was nominated for best actress and Wright for best supporting actress. It was also nominated for best picture.
It is a very human film with very real characters and high drama. At times you will gasp.
It is a great film about war, survival and determination. Oh yes, and a community than in the depths of rubble and destruction, still has time to stop and smell the flowers.

MRS. MINIVER
• Directed by William Wyler
• Written by Arthur Whimpers and George Forestall
• Runtime: 134 minutes
• Not rated but intense war scenes
• 4 stars out of 5

Dinner Game

‘Dinner Game’ filled with zany characters

Jacque Villeret is the idiot in "The Dinner Game."

“The Dinner Game” could almost be a done as a stage play, an exceptionally funny stage play.
This is a zany film stuffed with bizarre characters and unusual situations. In the 1930s, it could be one of those madcap films with Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn and directed by George Cukor.
But this film is written and directed by Francis Veber, the screenwriter behind the hilarious classic “La Cage Au Folles.”
This is a 1998 French film which spawned a recent American remake, “Dinner for Schmucks.”
The premise is simple. Rich executives who are full of themselves schedule weekly dinners. Each is supposed to bring an idiot, an eccentric weirdo whom they can pretend to be interested in but they are really making fun of.
For instance, there’s the man in full business suit who spends his afternoons in the park throwing boomerangs.
Then there’s Thierry Lhermitte, who plays a handsome, rich publisher, Pierre. He needs someone to take to this dinner. A friend meets Francois, played by Jacque Villeret, a short, chunky accountant who copes with being abandoned by his wife years ago by recreating famous structures with matchsticks.
So bizarre and boring is Francois, he appears to be the perfect idiot for the dinner.
He is working for the equivalent of the French Internal Revenue Service. When he gets invited to the dinner, he is told a book may come out of this. Cruel indeed.
So Francois is asked to stop at the Lhermitte character’s spacious apartment and they will be off to the dinner.
Unfortunately, Pierre has thrown out his back and his doctor prescribes bed rest, not dinner with idiots.
Pudgy Francois shows up and he is all of the idiot that Pierre could hope for. Unfortunately, Pierre is no shape to go anywhere. So he promises Francois they will go another time. Francois, who has already stumbled over Pierre and made his back worse, bids adieu but before he leaves, the phone rings. The answering machine gets the call. It is Pierre’s wife, stating he is going to leave him.
Francois, hoping to console poor Pierre, stays. In fact, a running joke in this film is that Francois frequently gets ready to exit, but something happens in the plot requiring him to stay.
Make no mistake, Francois is an idiot and hatches schemes but then messes up, making things worse. Pierre has a girlfriend as well as the estranged wife. His wife’s old lover shows up at the apartment, as does a tax agent.
Chaos and absolute hilarity ensues.
This film is an absolute hoot and I found myself laughing loudly in many situations.
You can’t take these characters seriously, but then, you can’t take the plot seriously at all.
I can’t vouch for the American remake, “Dinner for Schmucks,” which has Steve Carell as the idiot.
But the original “The Dinner Game” is a match you should play. You are guaranteed a good time.

THE DINNER GAME
• Directed and written by Francis Veber
• French with English subtitles
• Runtime: 80 minutes
• Rated PG-13
• 3 1/2 stars out of 4

Me and Orson Welles

Nostalgia drips from 30s-era Welles film

ZAC EFRON (left) and Christian McKay (right) as Orson Welles in “Me and Orson Welles.”

“Me and Orson Welles” just breathes nostalgia.
Zac Efron plays a young, idealistic actor named Richard Samuels who ditches high school to become a member of Orson Welles’ acting troupe at the Mercury Theatre.
This fledging but talented group is attempting to put on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The pay isn’t too good. Nothing. The workload is heavy.
But the cast senses a greatness in Welles and vie to be part of the troupe and perhaps carve their own slice of fame.
As backdrops, Adolph Hitler is taking over in Europe. David O. Selznik is making a film called “Gone With the Wind.”
Efron’s character hungers to be an actor and Welles demands perfection from the start. Everyone must know their lines immediately and must know absolute pronunciation and voice diction.
There can be no room for error.
Welles, played by Christian McKay, is the absolute monarch of the troupe. All women must submit to him if asked.
Cast members know they can never disagree with Welles. When one member does, it eventually ends in dismissal.
In real life, Welles was called the Boy Genius and his talent was prevalent. While in his 20s he acted and produced “Citizen Kane,” a thinly disguised biography of newspaper magnet William Randolph Hurst. The film ranks No. 1 on most lists of the greatest films of all time.
But this takes place a few years before.
Claire Danes is Sonja Jones, an actor in the troupe. While there are numerous relationships amongst the cast, nobody apparently can seduce the lovely Jones.
Until young Zac comes along. And what kid wants to go to high school when he can bed beautiful actresses and appear in productions with the future Boy Genius of the entertainment industry?
Efron does an exceptional job as the young, naive actor, learning his craft and about life.
And McKay certainly looks and sounds like Welles. He nails down that distinctive voice made famous the world over when his theater troupe put together “The War of the Worlds,” the radio play that had the world thinking we were being invaded by aliens.
The Welles in this film knows how to be stern and absolute, as well as gentle and flattering.
Efron’s character gets a cold slap of worldly reality at the end of the film
There are many side characters, from actors to a young, would-be author the Efron character meets.
Richard Linklater directed this film. His wide-ranging talents are responsible for such films at “A Scanner Darkly,” “Dazed and Confused” and “School of Rock.”
This film got little notice when it was released in December 2009. It wasn’t in 3-D and Optimus Prime wasn’t a character.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t deserving of attention. In fact, why not watch it as a double feature with “Citizen Kane?” Now that’s a good idea.

ME AND ORSON WELLES
• Directed by Richard Linklater
• Screenplay by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo from a novel by Robert Kaplow
• Rated PG-13 for sexual references and smoking
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• 3 1/2 stars out of 4

Kick-Ass

‘Kick-Ass’ bloody fun, takes chances

AARON JOHNSON is "Kick-Ass."

I had a bit of a disagreement with a female co-worker.
She didn’t care for “Kick-Ass,” but her husband loved it.
I said I would be the tie breaker.
I found it a, well, kick-ass kind of film.
Sure it is a goofy movie, but it took a few chances with the story and characters that made it a little different and more engaging.
So here is the premise. What if people out in the world decided to use their talents to become crime fighters and wear costumes, just like in the comic books.
Certainly, you point out, there’s nobody from the distant planet Krypton who came to Earth with powers more powerful than mortal man, like Superman.
And nobody we know of has been bitten by a radioactive spider, creating Spider-Man.
But look at Bruce Wayne. He built himself up, trained his body and mind and became a superhero with no powers, Batman. Ollie Queen was able to use trick arrows to nab the bad guys as Green Arrow.
So what kid hasn’t dreamed at some point of being a superhero, whether with real super powers like Superman or just an athletic guy, like Batman?
Thus the appeal of “Kick-Ass.”
Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson, gets picked on at school and decides to become a super hero.
Now what should any self-respecting kid do first if he wants to battle the bad guys in costume garb? Why, build a Web site and get a fancy costume.
Trouble is, Dave doesn’t worry too much about the physical part. So when he tries to stop two guys from breaking into a car, he in his Kick-Ass costume and the baddies almost become incapacitated from laughter.
They also beat, kick and stab him.
So his first attempt at truth, justice and the American way ends up in a trip to the emergency room.
But Dave’s thoughts of being a super hero aren’t original.
Because Nicolas Cage has become the crimefighter Big Daddy, along with his ruthless 11-year-old daughter, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, who is Hit Girl.
They are battling a crime boss played by Mark Strong. With all of these super heroes showing up, the Strong character decides to use his son, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as yet another super hero, Red Mist.
Now the only one in this sea of tights and capes who could be considered a super hero is Hit Girl. Sure she is only 11, but she can take out a room full of macho men in a blink of an eye.
She isn’t disturbed as she leaves a dozen bloody corpses in her wake.
There are some subplots. Somehow Dave captures the heart of the hot chick at school, even though she doesn’t know he is Kick-Ass.
There is no curbing of the violence in this film. When the crime boss captures the heroes, he shows their torture on TV. America watches as Kick-Ass gets his groin kicked to the point it is doubtful he will ever father children.
But don’t worry, he bounces back to battle the bad guys.
Big weapons, sharp knives, lots of blood. It’s been done before, but it works.
Now when I was a kid, there was a code for super heroes. You never killed anyone.
Not so in “Kick-Ass.” In many ways this could be called “Kill-Ass.”
Now I can enjoy an English drawing room drama where the most action is when the butler adjusts the Lord’s tie.
But the fast action, don’t-give-a-damn how bloody and politically incorrect it all becomes is appealing as well.
Give it a look and then maybe hang out at Dairy Mart, in case somebody tries to shoplift a carton of chip dip. Grab your cape and kick some ass.

KICK-ASS
• Directed by Matthew Vaughn
• Written by Jane Goldman, Vaughn and Mark
• Runtime: 117 minutes
• Rated R for violence, language
• 3 stars out of 4

I Served the King of England

‘King’ serves viewer well with lots of plots

IVAN BARNEY (far left) in “I Served the King of England.”

“I Served the King of England” has precious little to do with a king or England.
But there are many other topics, like love, sex, hate, violence, work, relationships, advancement.
This film from the Czech Republic opens with main character Jan Dite, played at this age by Oldrich Kaiser, being released from prison in 1963. Why he was there, we don’t know.
He breaths the air of freedom and promptly moves into a wooded area, living in a decrepit old cabin.
The film is a comedy, but also political, a drama, even a fantasy.
The story is told in flashbacks, with the Dite character played as a youngster by Ivan Barney.
Young and wide-eyed, he seems a bit dense at first, but he seems to find a way to get the jobs and positions he wants, as well as the women.
As an old man, who works to build a road of stone, he thinks back to his storied life.
He spends many years working in upscale hotels, restaurants and resorts.
He marvels at the head waiter who can balance several dishes while dancing and dodging through the crowd. But when the waiter does drop a plate, he goes completely undone and leaves the restaurant with a few inches of china rubble.
Dite becomes the head waiter.
But no matter what formal position he has, living and working with the rich and famous, something happens that makes him decide to leave each job.
Dite also has a certain amount of disdain for the rich. He enjoys throwing coins on the floor, just to watch the wealthy on their hands and knees scraping up the loose change.
Dite gets involved with a young lady who comes into one of his establishments who turns out to be a prostitute. They end up with a relationship that is beneficial for both. He learns what women want and ends the evening with rose pedals all over the young lass.
Eventually he meets a woman, played by Julia Jentsch, who is sympathetic to the new rulers of the country, the Nazis.
She is so fiercely loyal she goes off to fight in the war. Meanwhile, his hotel is turned into a sort of resort of young, beautiful Aryan girls who are trained to be breeders to continue the German race. The girls swim and bounce about in the nude all day in front of Dite, as if he isn’t there. But they run and hide when other males appear.
Eventually, his young bride re-appears. They decide to marry but Dite must show his sperm is of proper quality to impregnate an Aryan girl. There are some pretty hilarious antics here, including some involving girlie magazines and a sympathetic older lady.
After the marriage, wife wants to give Adolph another pure Aryan, so the two jump in the sack. But during sex, wife insists on having in full view a large Monty Pyhonesque head shot of Hitler.
Back from the war, the Jentsch character shows millions of dollars worth of stamps she gleamed from Jewish homes.
Now Dite is no fan of the Nazis but goes along with his wife and takes the stamps and runs, after the war, to open his own palatial hotel. Unfortunately, wife doesn’t live to see the remnants of her wealth.
And when Czechoslovakia goes Communist, well, let’s just say, easy come, easy go.
“I Served the King Of England” is trotted out in a leisurely pace and covers much ground over the span of the film.
We see greed, hatred, love, determination. It is both funny and horrific. At one point, Dite seems to be noncommittal to his wife’s love of the Nazis, but suddenly grabs the sandwich of one of the elite and starts running down the railroad tracks, trying to give it to emaciated Jewish prisoners being carted off to their deaths.
Like many foreign films, this is one of those pictures you won’t easily see being translated into an American film. If you are a student of history, or people, this is a great movie to watch.

I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND
• Directed by Jiri Menzel, written by Bohumil Hrabal and Menzel
• Rated R for content and nudity
• Runtime: 120 minutes
• 3 1/2 stars out of 4

The Invention of Lying

‘Lying’ premise solid, needs better plot

ROB LOWE (left) and Rick Gervais in “The Invention of Lying.”

Suppose we all lived in a world where everyone told the truth all of the time, the blunt truth.
Such is the unique premise to “The Invention of Lying.” The concept opens itself up to all kinds of situations.
The fact the plot could have been fleshed out more can’t be denied. But what is here is certainly worth a look.
Ricky Gervais, a modern-day Lou Costello, is a historical writer trying to find himself some female companionship.
The film opens as he starts a date with the luscious Jennifer Garner.
It appears not only do the people in this world always tell the truth, they can’t keep their mouths shut to avoid inappropriate comments either.
So when Gervais’ character, Mark, shows up for a date, the Garner character tells him he interrupted her performing a rather personal act on herself. She also informs him she is way hotter than he and it is doubtful they will sleep together. While he sits down, she goes back upstairs and says she will finish that personal act, but will try to do it quietly so he doesn’t notice.
So there’s lots of openings for great comedy and often it works. In the restaurant, the waiter tells Garner’s character she is way hotter than her date. When he brings drinks, he admits taking a sip.
The truth and nothing but the truth results in a different world than we are used to. For example, movies have to be absolutley the truth. That means every film is based on real events and consists of an elderly man describing an historical event.
Well, Mark’s life isn’t going too well. No, he doesn’t get to sleep with Garner and after everyone tells him at work he will probably be fired, he is.
The next morning, his landlord tells him to pack up and leave, because he hasn’t paid his rent.
Mark goes down to the bank to take out his last $300, not enough to pay the rent. But the computers are down. Since nobody lies, the teller asks Mark how much he wants from his account.
Suddenly we see his brain. Something is happening to it. He lies and declares he needs $800.
Ah, but the bank system starts operating again and the clerk sees he only has $300. So what does she do? She gives him the $800 and tells him the computers aren’t working correctly, because they show he only has $300.
Ah, Mark has hit upon something. He starts telling friends wild stories and they believe them all. He gets a kick out of it.
And when his mother lies dying in a nursing home, he decides to comfort her by painting this rosey picture of the afterlife. He literally invents heaven.
Trouble is, the doctors and nurses hear this tale. News services pickup up the story of this pudgy guy describing the hear-after.
The next morning, he opens the door and as far as the eye can see, is lined with people. Everyone has a question about the afterlife.
As Mark tries to answer their questions, the lies get bigger and bigger. But no matter how wild, everyone immediately agrees.
Part of the humor comes from the fact there are no words for terms like “liar” and “truth.” Until Mark’s “invention,” there was no need.
Gervais, with his British accident, is able to carry the part. Rob Lowe is great as a co-worker who tells Gervais he is going to woo and marry the Garner character.
The film has underlying themes about truth and people and religion. It has its share of laughs and frankly, I’d like to see a better-written sequel, returning to this same world because there is so much humor that can be mined from the premise.
How about a story on the troubles ensued when everyone is compelled to be truthful no matter what? Don’t even go into the idea of people lying.
That’s a better idea. It’s a premise I came up with. No, I’m not lying.

THE INVENTION OF LYING
• Directed and written by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson
• Rated PG-13 for language including sexual material and drug reference
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• 3 stars out of 4

Whip It

Page film ‘Whip It’ a fun romp

ELLEN PAGE in “Whip It.”

It comes off as a bit far-fetched.
A petite 17-year-old with a pushy mother who finds herself in a myriad of beauty pageants decides what she really wants to do is join a roller derby team.
Huh? OK. It isn’t too realistic. But heck, the ride is still pretty fun.
Perky Ellen Page by herself is almost enough to make you want to see a movie. She’s so darn cute and you immediately pull for her in any plot.
So she’s in the mall with mom Brooke Cavendar (Marcia Gay Harden), buying new shoes, when in comes a herd of roller derby chicks, passing out leaflets, advertising their latest contest.
Now this roller derby league is a real by-the-seat operation. The building they play in is dilapidated. It regularly exceeds capacity, prompting a raid by the local fire department.
The film is directed nicely by Drew Barrymore, who is a fellow member of the Roller Derby team. She’s Smashley Simpson. Perhaps because of her directing, you see less of Drew than in most movies.
Somehow, little Page, whose name in the film is Bliss Cavendar, makes the team. Her ‘player’ name is Babe Ruthless. Other players include Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven, Kristen Wiig as Maggie Mayhem and others with monikers like Rosa Sparks and Eva Destruction.
TV host Jimmy Fallon plays ‘Hot Tub’ Johnny Rocket, the zany announcer and Andrew Wilson is the coach. Fallon appears to ad-lib a series of wisecracks in his game commentary and after an event, holds up a sign that he is available and STD-free.
The team is named the Hurl Scouts and each season, members resign themselves to last place. They get pushed and hammered and slammed, but they always come out on the bottom.
Page, who was 22 when the film was made, can easily play a 17-year-old high school student, lies and tells the team she is, well, 22.
Somehow, with help of a friend, she makes the rather lengthy trek to Austin for practices and games. She lies to her mother and father, saying she is practicing for her SATs when she is actually practicing Roller Derby. Well, close.
You have to suspend belief here.
She gets away with it and the team actually uses some of the plays put together by its hapless coach.
So with fast and feisty Babe Ruthless on the team, they have a chance at the championship.
But a raid because of too many people in the building causes a turn for the worse.
Her clueless parents learn Bliss, or Babe, isn’t really so studious.
But hey, fooling mother isn’t anything new. Her husband, played by Daniel Stern of “Home Alone” and “Breaking Away” fame, has told her for years he’s working on a big contract when he’s sitting in the family van watching football.
A sidestory really doesn’t go anywhere involving a boy in a mediocre rock band. In a throw-away scene, they sneak into a building and Bliss strips to her underwear while swimming underwater.
The finale is pretty special, although by now a bit less Fallon would have been better. Yes, shock of shock, Bliss or Babe, does get to participate in the final game. It is a doozy and her biggest fan turns out to be dear old dad.
Isn’t that usually the case?
“Whip It” isn’t nearly as good as “Juno” or “Hard Candy” but Page brings her fresh-scrubbed persona to his gritty role and it really works.
There are interesting characters, like the single-mother player, that make for nice sidetrips as the plot follows the main path.
There’s thrills, there’s chills, there’s fun in “Whip It.” So whip out some cash and rent it.


WHIP IT • Directed by Drew Barrymore • Written by Shauna Cross, who wrote the novel and does the screen play • Runtime: 111 minutes • Rated PG 13 • 3 stars out of 4