Review #44: Little Miss Sunshine

Release Date: July 26th 2006
Writer: Michael Arndt
Director: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Logline: A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. (IMDb)

Comedy, Drama. 101 minutes. 

Bechdel Test: Passes all 3 tests

Review

How many screenwriters get nominated for an Oscar for their first produced movie? Michael Arndt is in that club. It's no fluke either, the guy is incredibly talented. He has gone on to write for movies like Toy Story 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Little Miss Sunshine is peanuts compared to those big budget franchises, but it's easy to see that he is a fantastic storyteller because Little Miss Sunshine is a fantastic story.

With an all-star cast of characters, Little Miss Sunshine tells the story of one family trying to get the youngest daughter, Olive Hoover (Abigail Breslin) get to California for a beauty pageant. Along for the ride comes her overworked Mom, Sheryl (Toni Collette) and her Dad, Richard (Greg Kinnear) who is a life coach and motivator chasing a book deal. Olive's step brother Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until he can join the Air Force, a career making performance by Paul Dano. Rounding out the trip is Sheryl's brother, Frank (Steve Carell) a gay scholar who is at the bottom of a downward spiral, and Richard's Father Edwin, played by the outstanding Alan Arkin, who both antagonizes Richard with his free living philosophy and coaches Olive in her pageant. 

The effect created is this endearing train wreck of a dysfunctional family. There is so much depth to the characters and their journeys, that the superficial goal of getting to the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant is a delightful contrast. It's a little bit funny, and a little bit nostalgic with some heavy emotional punches, and memorable capers along the way.

A family road trip movie might seem predictable and tired, but Little Miss Sunshine is anything but. It's a modern feel-good movie that gives quirky indies a good name.

Portrayal of Women: While it's not necessarily the point of the film, there is definitely an interesting commentary on how gender impact's family roles. Sheryl is really the glue that keeps everyone in the family together. She is constantly being railroaded by everyone else's problems, leading to a secret smoking habit. Part of the condescension and arrogance that comes from Richard is the pressure to be the breadwinner for his family, while Sheryl has to deal with the fallout of his failures.

And then there's Olive. This sweet little girl who the audience falls in love with over the course of the movie. The moment of her walking into the beauty pageant dressing room for the first time brings such an incredible sense of levity to the film. Olive became this beacon for innocent sincerity throughout the rest of the movie, and the reality that she came to compete with these hyper-sexualized and experienced young girls is so distressing. The knee jerk reaction that the boys in the family have to pull Olive from the competition makes so much sense, and yet this is Olive's dream, these are the girls Olive idolized.

Whether that's an intentional criticism of the way young women are sexualized or just a commentary on pageants, I'm not sure. The effect is an emotional punch that resonates with the audience and brings the family closer together in the end. 

Sisterhood Moment: Olive's Superfreak superstar moment. If you don't want to dance with them, you might not have a soul. 

Rating: A crown, scepter, sash, bouquet of roses, and a standing ovation. 

IMDb - Little Miss Sunshine (7.9)

Wikipedia - Little Miss Sunshine

Rotten Tomatoes - Little Miss Sunshine (91%)

Review #43: The Debt

Release Date: August 31st, 2011
Writer: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan
Director: John Madden

Logline: In 1965, three Mossad agents cross into East Berlin to apprehend a notorious Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, the secrets the agents share come back to haunt them. (IMDb)
Thriller, 113 minutes
Bechdel Test: Passes all 3 tests

Review
I love a good spy movie. There aren't nearly enough of them. Give me Jason Bourne over Captain America any day.

The Debt is an American/British remake of an Israeli film. The adaptation was written by the action film duo of Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Kickass) and spy film writer Peter Straughn (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.) The director John Madden has a few Oscar films under his belt, including Shakespeare in Love.

The reason I'm outlining all that information is to explain why I has such high hopes before I watched this film. When you bring together a stellar list of experienced hit-makers, you do so expecting a hit. Maybe The Debt was a success; it made it's budget back, and put Dame Helen Mirren on the poster for an action film. I'm not sure it lived up to all of my many expectations.

Sold as a tangled web of deception around a CIA operation that happened during the Cold War, The Debt has a narrative that shows what happened in the 1960's and the fallout many years later. Agent Rachel Singer, portrayed as Jessica Chastain in the 1960's and as Helen Mirren in the 1990's, was part of a three man operation to capture and bring to justice a Nazi war criminal.

Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington in The Debt

The first half of the movie brings the audience on several spy missions that are beautifully shot and executed. There is a nail biting sequence during which the CIA operatives pose as ambulance drivers to extract their target, with the real ambulance on the way, only moments behind. Many action movies rely on technology to keep a sequence interesting, or the counting clock of a man set to watch out for the team. John Madden plays into the fear of the unknown in The Debt, reminding the audience that there is no fall back, that time is ticking and there is no way of knowing if or when the agents will be found out.

The weakness of the film, is of course the very narrative structure by which it is framed. The characters have been introduced as old men and women, so there is a bit lost in watching their younger selves in dangerous situations. We know they make it out alive. Ironically, I found the second half of the film, taking place 30 years later, to be the slowest part. While the characters are more interesting and complex, with secrets to cover up and uncertain allegiances, the action significantly drops off.

Helen Mirren in The Debt

I'm not sure I can place The Debt in the list of spy movies I really love. While there are some great scene of tense action, and gut wrenching suspense, the story itself falls off the map. With characters who swap actors, and motives that become muddled, I didn't get suspense all the way though the film.

Portrayal of Women: Before going into the movie I had a fleeting thought "how nice that they put a woman in the spy movie," for now. While she appeared to portray an important character in the trailers, I had a suspicion that her role would be undercut by some stereotypical trope.

I'm pleased to say Rachel Singer's character wasn't used as a love interest or reward, and she wasn't incompetent. She wasn't a cold, manipulative villainess either. At no point was she heroically saved by a man. Rachel Singer fought her own fights, and was the most valuable part of the CIA's mission. Her character was used for her vulnerability, and perhaps earned sympathy for being considered weaker, but I don't think that detracts from her capabilities as a woman. Her character captivated the audience, and ultimately controlled the story.

Sisterhood Moment: Rachel Singer recaps the events of the past through the book her daughter wrote about her. What a fantastic little tag to a movie about spy's, deception, and lies. Rachel Singer might be a lot of unsavory things, but she's also a mother and a hero to her child.

Rating: 3 Jason Bournes out of 5 franchises

IMDb - The Debt (6.9)
Wikipedia - The Debt
Rotten Tomatoes - The Debt (77%)

Review #42: Juno

Juno (2007)

Release Date: December 25th, 2007
Writer: Diablo Cody
Director: Jason Reitman

Logline: Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. (IMDb)
Comedy/Drama, 96 min.
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests.


Review

I love this movie.

For a while that sentence was the whole review. I love the story, the characters, the writing. When it came out in 2007 it was so fresh and endearing. Not a whole lot has changed since then.

I hate describing this as a quirky comedy because I want every movie to be as confident and stylized as Juno. The Wes Anderson meets indy music video visual style hasn't really been successfully replicated since. Juno put both Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman on the map for their bold innovation. Cody showed a phenomenal range of characters, from the crass wit of High Schoolers Juno and Leah, to the prim and educated Vanessa and Mark. It's a movie that deals with teen pregnancy, abortion, relationships, abandonment, divorce, plenty of difficult issues without a hint of being preachy or judgmental.

The iconic scenes and lines that came from Juno are worth talking about alone.

-Juno swigging Sunny D and Rainn Wilson's "you're eggo is preggo." and "This is one doodle that can't be undid, homeskillet." Come on. Every single person did an impression in their head immediately after those lines.
-Hamburger telephone. Worthy of getting a landline.
-"It's probably just a food baby." I've had food pregnancy before.
-Brenda telling off the ultrasound technician? What a great moment. No evil stepmother cliche just mama-claws ferocity.
-"They call me the cautionary whale" The image of preggers Juno walking the halls and the students parting like it's Moses and the red sea? What a great scene.
-"Thundercats are GO!"


Portrayal of Women: I love a movie that shows how bitches get stuff done without being an overt chick flick. Juno somehow managed to find that sweet spot of being a movie about girls supporting girls, without being patronizing or so boring that half the audience falls asleep. Juno makes her own decisions. She decides what to do with her body and what to do with her baby. Vanessa is a different kind of go-getter but hey she gets what she needs out of life even if it's not in a man-pleasing way. Bren and Leah? They are some fantastic supporting characters with their own personality and goals.

To see a film where there are two leading women have clear and present goals, and are basically the emotional core of the film? Oh, and that ISN'T a rom-com? That comes along once every few years at best. Juno is kind of an important film in that respect.

Sisterhood Moment: Despite all the fantastic moments Juno has with her friends that I could endlessly laugh about, it comes down to the ending for me. Juno writing that note for Vanessa? Come on, that's a REAL sisterhood moment. Juno and Vanessa both had their plans fall apart, but they still supported each other.

Rating: 5 feet of twizzlers and a jumbo blue slushie for good measure.

IMDb - Juno (7.6)
Wikipedia - Juno
Rotten Tomatoes - Juno (94%)

Review on the Side: Wild

Release Date: December 19th, 2014
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Writer: Nick Hornby (Based on the novel by Cheryl Strayed)
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests.

Last night I cleaned my kitchen. Took a nice hot bath. Made cup of tea. Got in my PJ's, with blankies and my puppy on the couch, ready for snuggles. Then I turned on this movie and was unable to look away.

I highly recommend anyone else who wants to watch this film to do the same. Not only was it a nice Sunday night, this movie is highly deserving of your focus and attention. And you will probably also need something to snuggle.

Wild follows the story of Cheryl Strayed as she hikes across the west coast of the United States via the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a story of her learning to deal with her past, as the journey on the hiking trail reflects the journey her life took to get to this point. You might even call the hike the b-plot because the "flashbacks" are really the focus of the film.

There is really something wonderful about the relatability of Cheryl in this film. Women are so often portrayed as either strong and cold, or weak and flirtatious. This is as close to the female "every-man" as I've seen on screen. Her character reflects the way people are composed of contradictions. She's a character full of love, compassion, and empathy, but also makes selfish and impulsive decisions. She struggles to deal with things that are hard to deal with. She doesn't have the answers. She has to make hard mistakes to figure out who she is. So rarely are women given the opportunities to see those stories told on film, even though this one made for one fantastic film.
Reese Witherspoon is vulnerable and raw, but also optimistic. She brings so much dimension to this already complex character. Laura Dern is undeniably charming, as she often is on screen. Her moments in the film are brief but haunting. I've always felt like she was an underrated actress. I think Jean-Marc Vallee brought out some quality performances from the cast.

So yes, I highly recommend Wild. It fits somewhere outside the normal convention of film. It's a drama that isn't agonizing. It's a female-driven film that doesn't dwell in romance. It's a biographical memoir told in an unconventional way. This is what I like about independent films. Sometimes going just a few steps outside of the 'expectations box' can lead to wonderful things.
(X-post from Sarah Does Movies)

Rating: 4.5/5
IMDb - Wild (7.3)