Why See This...The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [2012]

      The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a coming of age story in a rather unlikely way.  Its main characters are not novice youngsters or young adults feverishly searching for their life’s purpose in the many daunting years ahead of them.  Hardly.  Instead, the characters that make up this story are all well over the hill and have had plenty of that kind of life experience.  But despite its displacement in the traditional sense of that genre, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel basks in the seemingly youthful splendor and energy of a coming of age story.

      Immediately, the audience receives a crash course of introductions by way of the film’s seven main characters, all living in various parts of England, all unknown to each other’s own existence.  There’s the newly widowed housewife, Evelyn (Judi Dench), looking to sell her home and pay off her family’s debts; another woman, Muriel (Maggie Smith), in need of an affordable hip replacement (who is also racist); a judge by the name of Graham (Tom Wilkinson), who has been telling himself for years he will soon retire; Norman (Ronald Pickup), a single man of the Don Juan type always looking for some fun under the sheets despite his old age, Madge (Celia Imrie), a woman of similar stature that, despite a few unsuccessful marriages, still hopes to be swopped off her feet by a beloved Prince Charming.  And then there’s the groups’ only married couple, Douglas (Bill Nighy) and Jean (Penelope Wilton), who still appear much too young for their retirement community home, fit with too many handrails and an emergency button- but it’s all they can afford.  What groups these people together is the tight budget they must plan their retirement on, making this comfort that much harder to attain.  The introductions become hectic at first and almost too much too soon, but through each of their three minutes of screen time, we see that none of these folks are cinematic caricatures.  Each one is cleverly thought out and totally real.  No doubt there is a lonely Evelyn and a feisty old Norman out there in our world.  Their individual stories make the film much more real and relatable.  In their own ways, each character is trying to re-attain the peace of mind they had from years prior and this subsequently takes them to the same destination- India, where they all meet.

Reel News..."To Rome With Love" First Trailer

      On the eve of his most successful box office feature, Midnight In Paris (2011), Woody Allen returns this year with the much-anticipated release of To Rome With Love, as it sits on a June 22 U.S release.  Originally titled The Bop Decameron, then Nero Fiddled and now To Rome With Love.
      It's hard to resist the temptation to compare it with his last production, which also had a European setting, far removed from Allen's beloved New York.  Yet, comparisons do not abound because the two movies really do not share much in common with each other.  Midnight in Paris gave a nostalgic glance at the charm and splendor that shined on any warm summer night in 1920s Paris.  The appearances of some of the elite artists as Picasso and Hemingway gave it an  unexpected  charm that propelled it to its own elite status on Allen's list.  Heck, even Owen Wilson was great.

      But from what we can see in the trailer, there appears to be no secret time traveling in To Rome with Love. It seems to evoke the more traditional obscure, yet witty comedy on which Allen has built his career.  Then again, watching the trailer didn't clarify what the movie is about; perhaps I was distracted by the immense star power of the cast. Alec Baldwin, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page and Greta Gerwig all make it into this movie.  Woody Allen's right there too, on the screen of his own movie for the first time since 2006's Scoop. But he doesn't stop there.  Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) has a role too and it has been way too long since we last saw him on an American movie screen.

      The incredible success of last year's Midnight in Paris could either help or hurt To Rome With Love.  Surely, if it misses the mark, you can argue it was because of the high expectations set by the former.  Then again, Midnight in Paris' warm reception could be contagious.  And if success comes in pairs, then we can surely say that Allen has once again hit his stride in his 6th decade as a filmmaker.  Chances are we will.

                     

Reel News...First Trailer for Moonrise Kingdom

      From his quirky, satirical comedies in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou to his last film, the stop-motion animated Fantastic Mr. Fox, complete with talking animals, anyone who is familiar with the work of Wes Anderson knows the age old phrase "expect the unexpected" thoroughly applies to this man almost more than anyone.  His latest film, Moonrise Kingdom, in which he resorts back to live animation, is no exception to this.

      Other than Fantasctic Mr. Fox, Anderson's films have generally been seen as comedies aimed at adult audiences.  Yes, they are sometimes crude but what adult comedy isn't these days?  In tune with the laughter, what Anderson does so marvelously in his films is create these "grown up comedies" with a charming and nostalgic hint to them.  His ensemble pieces tend to have more than their fare share of off-beat characters who can do nothing else but screw up and yell at each other.  One can feel no shame in laughing at these people but more so, in the case of The Royal Tenenbaums, a smile might arise when instinctively seeing your own family members on the screen.  Thus, more times than not, the laughter then comes from these engaging and seemingly personal moments.

      It appears no different in the case of Moonrise Kingdom.   Set amidst a children's summer camp in the 1960s, two young campers, Suzy and Sam, take on a relationship that provokes them to run away from their camp.  As a result, all hell breaks loose at the camp.  All of the adults in this film are completely inept and dysfunctional as superiors to these kids and Anderson has an elite cast of A-listers to go with in Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Harvey Keital, who between the six of them have nine Oscar nominations (two wins).  With that bunch on had, its anyone's surprise that none of them take a lead role in the film.  Instead, Anderson leaves the top bills to the youngsters who play Suzy and Sam, both of which have never acted on the big screen before.  It looks terrific, but I expect nothing less from Anderson these days. It's certainly a top pick of mine for 2012.

Moonrise Kingdom is set for a May 25th  release in the United States

Useless Clatter...What's Wrong With 'Harold and Maude' (1971)

      In my fevering quest to like every movie I watch, I had to try hard for Harold and Maude.  I had immediate expectations for the film seeing Cat Steven’s name roll by on the opening credits for the film’s music; however, that was not really enough to sustain the rest of the film.  Harold and Maude is an interesting film in its reception- fans adore it and critics despise it.  It’s not the first case like this and it certainly won't be the last.  A romantic relationship between a young boy and a 79 year-old woman is both awkward and unlikely, and this cannot be avoided within this film.  It goes far beyond the already risqué affair seen in The Graduate.