Get Low

‘Get Low’ suffers from underwritten script

ROBERT DUVALL (left) and Bill Murray in “Get Low.”

“Get Low,” to tell you right off, means to die.
And that’s almost the premise of this film starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray.
Duvall plays crusty Felix Bush, a real-life hermit in the 1930s for whom legends are made. Everyone had a story about Bush, the fights he got in. The people he supposedly killed.
He lives in a shack with no electricity. Well, it was the Great Depression, lots of people didn’t have electricity.
After a friend died, Bush decides to visit the local church and ask the minister to give him a big funeral while he is still alive.
His idea is to be there and enjoy the event and hear everything people are saying. Bush even shows the pastor a roll of cash.
The pastor declines the offer, but in the church overhearing the discussion is Buddy Robinson, played by Lucas Black. Buddy happens work for the local mortician, Frank Quinn, played by Bill Murray. Frank and Buddy decide to drive out to Bush’s shack and offer to give him the grand sendoff he can live to tell about.
It is an interesting premise, a great cast and it’s one of those pictures you can breath in the authenticity of the 1930s.
Add to the mix Sissy Spacek as Duvall’s former love interest and you have the makings of a compelling story.
Except this film isn’t compelling in any respect and only mildly interesting.
Director Aaron Schneider got all of the elements together except the story. It just sort of plods along.
All of the actors are excellent and they all have original, clearly defined characters, especially Duvall.
But the story is underwritten.
At times it looks like the plot will pick up. Take for instance when the Duvall character goes on a rickety local radio show to discuss his unusual funeral.
Not expected by anyone, the Duvall character announces on the air there will also be a lottery. Send $5 to the funeral home with your name and address. At the funeral, someone’s name will be pulled and win his farm and pristine timber after he dies.
Plus Bush wants to sit back and hear all of the stories people have to tell about his supposed fights and killings.
But there’s a soft side, too. Spacek plays his former love interest who married another and moved away, only to return when her husband died.
The two start talking again, but when the Spacek character sees a worn photo of a woman in his kitchen area, she grabs her things and leaves.
Ah, a mystery? Who is this woman and why did it make Spacek storm off?
OK, that part of the mystery is solved relatively quickly in the movie. It’s Spacek’s sister and although married, she was having an affair with Duvall’s character, while Duvall was supposedly courting Spacek!
Meanwhile, someone smashes a window to get into the funeral home and whams Buddy on the head. Duvall visits another minister a distance apart.
What does this all mean? How does it enter the festivities as everyone gathers on Duvall’s land for the big funeral.
Ah, there’s the rub. The big conclusion is pretty much a dud. Somebody needed to go back to the word processor and work on the script some more.
But good, authentic 30s scenery and a stellar cast makes the film worthy of a rental.


GET LOW
• Directed by Aaron Schneider
• Written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell
• Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and brief violent content
• Runtime: 100 minutes
• 2 1/2 stars out of 4

China Moon

My One and Only

Zellweger seeks man to care for her in 50s comedy

CHRIS NOTH and Renee Zellweger in “My One and Only.”

It’s quirky. It’s fun. It has interesting characters.
“My One and Only” is definitely worth 108 minutes of your time.
Wonderfully nostalgic, the film stars Renee Zellweger as an aging socialite in 1953, married to a womanizing band leader, played by Kevin Bacon.
Zellweger’s character is Anne Deveraux, a ditzy blond who spends her time traveling and relaxing. She returns home early to find her husband, Dan, in their bedroom with another woman.
She’s not surprised. She takes it in stride. She even helps the woman get her clothes on, remarking she looks like a tramp. “What am I saying,” she then says. “You are a tramp.”
She leaves hubby with sons George and Robbie in tow, played respectively by Logan Lerman and Mark Rendall.
They empty out hubby’s account, jewels and all, buy an expensive $3,000 vehicle and head out to Pittsburgh where the Zellweger character has an old friend. Everywhere she goes, she has an old friend.
The thought of actually working for a living is totally foreign to always smiling Anne. She lives in an age where beautiful women find a man to care for them.
A reoccurring theme in the movie is Anne and sons meet people who steal from them. She meets an old friend in Pittsburgh she thinks can help her financially. When he begs her for money over dinner, she excuses herself to go to the powder room. When she returns, the money in her purse is gone and the restaurant manager is only interested in getting the dinner tab paid.
Enter Chris North, playing a man in uniform who comes to her aid. They court and eventually become engaged. The North character gives young George a lecture on how there can only be one top dog in a family and he, not George, has that roll.
George replies with a bark but is able to plant a wedge that eventually breaks off the engagement.
George appears the most stable. Mom has no head for money or a sense of responsibility. When she decides to take her kids out of school to start their cross-country trek, she doesn’t even know where they go. Brother Robbie is very gay and vapid.
Anne keeps smiling through it all. When she tries to spark a relationship with a man in a bar, he turns out to be a house detective who charges the Zellweger character with prostitution.
When she tries to spark a relationship with an old flame, she discovers he has a new, younger girlfriend who remarks her mother has a dress like Zellweger’s. She asks if Anne can dance the Charleston.
Amongst the running jokes is Zellweger’s oldest son, played by Rendall, wants to be an actor. Each town they move to, he gets a part in the school play. But he never gets to perform in front of an audience. In once instance, they move before play night. In another, the play is about to start when it is announced a tornado has been spotted and everyone must exit to the school basement.
It’s hard to fathom all that happens to this trio, including Zellweger’s almost marriage to a hardware store owner and the surpise reason she doesn’t.
The kicker is this isn’t exactly fiction. George is telling the story and George really exists today. I won’t reveal his identity although a search on the Internet will get you the answer fairly quickly.
It would be more fun to go for the ride from New York to California with the Zellweger character and the two sons and learn his identity at the end of the film.
“My One and Only” is a wonderfully human, beautifully nostalgic piece of cinema. The film is truly a hoot!

MY ONE AND ONLY • Directed by Richard Loncraine • Written by Charlie Peters • Runtime: 108 minutes • Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language • 3 1/2 stars out of 4

Straw Dogs 1971

Violence flows in original ‘Straw Dogs’

ABC Pictures
IT'S THE CALM before the storm in the original “Straw Dogs” for Dustin Hoffman and Susan George.

If you frequented the drive-in theaters back around 1971, chances are you discovered “Straw Dogs.”
I think for the entire summer, it was the second feature at every theater. You could have “Bambi” followed by the Sam Peckinpah, violence-ridden “Straw Dogs.”
Peckinpah was a leader in realistic violence in films. Before him, people who were shot showed no blood. It’s as if they were shot and died of a heart attack.
Well, there was the union soldier who got his face blown off in “Gone With the Wind,” but that didn’t happen too often.
Peckinpah gave us spraying blood and great heaps of guts on walls behind where people were shot.
“Straw Dogs” has kitty cats hung, a sex-charged girl strangled and many others killed with guns, animal traps and more. It has rats running around. Baby, this film has everything. It was indeed a drive-in classic.
A “Straw Dogs” remake will be released next week, so you need to get out and see the original in preparation. I’ll be checking to make certain you do.
I did my duty and pulled out the $6 version I bought at Half Price Books. Now there is a Blu-Ray version with a DVD of extras. Prepare to pay more than $6.
Dustin Hoffman is a bookish, Clark Kent-cloned American living in a hard drinking English village with his mouth-watering wife, played by Linda George. She wears skirts the size of a washcloth and no bra. She gets two stars just for her appearance.
George’s character happens to be from that village and had a relationship with one of the burly louts there, played by Del Henney.
The Henney character and the other yokels spend most of their time in a pub and when not, working on the Hoffman character’s garage, putting on a new roof.
OK, they spend time there. Little work is done. Who can concentrate on work when the George character parades in front of her window topless?
Plus, time must be spent raiding her underwear drawer.
Little pranks are pulled and the yokels on the roof roar with laughter.
Even when the family cat is found strangled, the Hoffman character lets it role off his back.
Until things get REAL bad. Then it’s time to take action. You see, the patriarch of the yokels discovers his horny daughter has taken off with the town dullard (played by David Warner) and is missing. The Warner character, after accidentally killing the girl, is whacked by Hoffman’s car. Hoffman takes him to his home and all of the village cutthroats descend on the house to bring the killer out.
“Straw Dogs” is best known for its rape scene which engrosses and repels, along with its endless string of violence at the end.
The film is well executed and interesting. There is a sincere attempt to provide real characters, too. Hoffman’s character is a mathematician who received a grant to write a book. But with all of the violence and incidents leading to violence, the poor guy never gets anything done.
The new “Straw Dogs” moves the action to the deep South, rather than a charming English village.
We’ll see about the new version, but the old “Straw Dogs” holds up just fine, thank you.

STRAW DOGS 1971
• Directed by Sam Peckinpah
• Written by David Zelaq, with screenplay by Peckinpah
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Rated R for lots of violence and sex, including rape
• 31⁄2 stars out of 4

Hangover Square

‘Hangover Square’ offers sex, murder

LAIRD CREGAN goes into a trance and kills people in “Hangover Square.”

I had heard little about “Hangover Square” before Netflix delivered it to my door.
Most of the cast is pretty much unknown or forgotten, except for the sexy Linda Darnell and Alan Napier, who two decades later played Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler, on the campy TV series “Batman.” He didn’t change much either from 1945 when this film was made.
It opens with a harrowing murder and storefront apartment set afire. The scene was done on the cheap compared to today’s standards, but it still worked shockingly well.
The Jekyl-Hyde story centers on George Harvey Bone, played by Laird Cregar, a pianist and composer. He is torn between cultured Barbara Chapman (Faye Marlowe) and her father, the future Alfred; and classical compositions vs. the bawdy Netta (Linda Darnell), who sweettalks old George in order to get him to write original songs for her.
Not only does he have his conflict between the cultured and the sexy, he’s got that Jekyl-Hyde situation. George, when he hears a loud noise, his eyes widen, he goes into a trance and then he, well, kills people and days later finds himself wandering about, forgetting all that happened.
Lovely Netta, who dresses and dances in a pretty-darn risqué manner for 1945, appeals to George’s purulent interests. However, when he goes into his trance, she meets her end with spectacular results as part of the biggest movie fire since “Gone With the Wind.”
The DVD commentary includes some interesting backstories. Cregar had weighed 300 pounds and went on a crash diet and lost 100 pounds. But that put a strain on his heart. He ended up having stomach surgery and died four days later at age 31, long before “Hangover Square” was ever released.
Darnell lived another 20 years . On April 9, 1965 she was staying at the home of her former secretary in suburban Chicago when the house caught fire. She died the following afternoon at a Chicago hospital. She was watching her fourth movie, “Star Dust,” when the blaze broke out.
Marlowe contributes audio commentary to the DVD. She remains alive today at 83.
At only 77 minutes, this film was a lot of fun and true film noir. If you’re a fan of this genre, this is a tight, sweet little picture that will leave you pleasantly surprised.
Watch it right now by going to the Internet Movie Data Base (imdb.com) and do a search for the film. The movie can be streamed from the site.

HANGOVER SQUARE
• Directed by John Brahm
• Written by Barre Lyndon (screenplay) and Patrick Hamilton (novel)
• Runtime: 77 minutes
• Not rated but some taunt scenes for younger children
• 4 stars out of 5

Jane Eyre

Great classic film actors in 1943 ‘Jane Eyre’

mptvimages.com
ELIZABETH TAYLOR (left) and Peggy Ann Garner in “Jane Eyre.”

The tragic story of “Jane Eyre” has been filmed numerous times.
It’s been a miniseries. A new version was released early this year and is coming to home video.
Ah, but one of the best comes from 1943. As you would expect, it’s filled with film noir.
It has also plenty of recognizable stars.
For example, the young Jane is played by Peggy Ann Garner, best known as the optimistic little girl in the holiday classic “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”
And Jane’s sickly little friend (you know what that means) is played by (drumroll) a very young Elizabeth Taylor, before she was married to anybody.
Sharing writing credits with Charlotte Bronte was none other than John Houseman, best known as Professor Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase.” Also helping was Aldous Huxley, author of “Brave New World.”
Orson Welles plays the dashing Edward Rochester, who chooses Jane as his governess to his young but annoying ward. Jane as an adult is played by Joan Fontaine, who seems rather pretty for plain Jane.
Ah, but the best is Mrs. Reed, the aunt who cared for the young Jane, if you can call it caring. She’s played by the great Agnes Moorehead, one of the best character actresses of all time, as in “Citizen Kane,” the Orson Welles epic. Anyway, Reed labels young Jane an evil child and she’s shipped off to a boarding school. And yes, Moorehead went on to play the nosy mother in the TV series “Bewitched.”
Jane screams her hatred for Reed as she rides away, happy at the thought of learning and meeting children her own age at school.
Hey Jane, did you forget, this is 19th century literature? You must earn your happy ending.
At the school, the sadistic head master, Mr. Brocklehurst, played by Henry Daniell, proclaims little Jane is evil and of the devil and nobody is allowed to talk to her.
Ah, but young, sweet, frail Liz Taylor does anyway. Did I mention she was frail?
Of course Jane grows up to become Joan Fontaine and takes the job at the huge, spooky mansion of Rochester, aka Welles.
Jane falls in love, things don’t go well, more tragedy awaits before true love comes calling.
The acting is first-rate and all of those big stars are fun to watch. The matte shots do get a little tiresome after awhile.
But “Jane Eyre” is an interesting film to revisit, especially in the wake of the newer remakes. The 1940s lilt seems more conducive to the novel.
And while not trying to be too political, check out the beginning of the book and see if it suggests anything from modern life.
“...I was born in 1820, a harsh time of change in England. Money and position seemed all that mattered. Charity was a cold and disagreeable word. Religion too often wore a mask of bigotry and cruelty. There was no proper place for the poor and unfortunate.”
“Jane Eyre” is available for streaming for Netflix subscribers.

JANE EYRE • Directed by Robert Stevenson • Written by Charlotte Bronte, John Houseman,Aldous Huxley and others • Runtime: 97 minutes • 3 stars out of 5

Solitary Man

MICHAEL DOUGLAS, Jenna Fischer and Jake Richard Siciliano in "Solitary Man."

What goes around in 'Solitary Man'

At the beginning of “Solitary Man,,” car magnate Ben Kalmen seems to have the world at his feet.

He’s rich. He’s about to open another car dealership in a prime spot. Even as he ages, he retains his finesse with women and can talk them into bed.

Oh, he has some problems. When he sees his daughter and grandson in the park, he has to sush them from calling him ‘Dad’ or ‘Grandpa’ because he has his eye on a young lady he’s thinking of picking up.

He has Susan Sarandon as his ex-wife and the luscious Mary-Louise Parker as a girlfriend.

He even gets to take his girlfriend’s pretty daughter, played by Imogen Poots, to his alma mater to help her gain admission.

And that’s where his life starts to crumble. Not willing to give an inch, he starts off getting in a fight with a college student and garnering the ire of the university’s chief of security.

The Douglas character ends up sleeping with his girlfriend’s 18-year-old daughter at the university. Again, he can’t let it go and pursues her until she tells her mother.

That’s when his life REALLY starts to plummet. Seems he is having real financial problems and his quest for the new car dealership is turned down by the town’s various boards.

A past indiscretion involving a car franchise and the fact he barely avoided prison doesn’t help the situation. He can’t even get a job as a car salesman.

He must go to his daughter for rent money for a cheap apartment.

His relationship with daughter is strained a bit too, when he sleeps with her best friend and as a result fails to wake up for grandson’s birthday party.

He indeed is a solitary man, burning any chance of a relationship with his girlfriend, his ex-wife, anyone. He treads water trying to have a relationship with his grandson.

Jesse Eisenberg of “Social Network” fame plays a nerdy college student who shows Douglas around the college. Douglas gives him some important advice about bagging chicks and Eisenberg becomes his biggest fan. At least for awhile. Until the Douglas character tries to bed Eisenberg’s girl, the one Douglas helped him get.

In many ways it is a fascinating morality play. It tells you that when you treat people as so many playthings and don’t establish and nurture relationships, you might be OK, for awhile. But it comes back to bite.

In one scene, the Douglas character discusses how he came to the realization in his life that while he was a car dealer, he did not necessarily have to be an honest car dealer.

Yet he discovered that nobody noticed, nobody cared.

But eventually his deeds and lack of relationships helped do him in.

He couldn’t pay his rent on his shabby apartment.

A man nearing his twilight years finds himself returning to his college town and asking for a job in the neighborhood restaurant owned by his former college acquaintance, played by Danny DeVito.

Even at this point he has no shame. He still woos the coeds and attends college parties.

That is until his ex-girlfriend finds out he’s in the same city where her daughter is going to school and causes him some more hurt.

He’s a man estranged from all, without a job, without any financial or emotional support. He’s a guy who thought he had it all, but ends up with nothing.

It’s a compelling film. One of Douglas’ best. Best yet, it is available for streaming through Netflix and other services. Like the Douglas character, you can seek immediate gratification. Watch it right now.

SOLITARY MAN

• Directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien
• Written by Brian Koppelman
• Rated R for language and sexual content
• Runtime: 90 minutes
• 4 stars out of 5