After spending the past few years watching mainly "classic" films, I became desensitized to a certain level of filmmaking. I came to expect movies that were well written, with sharp dialogue, facinating characters portrayed by talented actors and stylish or insightful direction. But, there's only so many "classic" movies a guy can watch and there are times when I just like to watch something while on autopilot. I saw a few movies this week, some I saw all of and others just little bits-but enough to know what I was seeing-mediocrity at its best. Movies like:
Vanity Fair (2004) - Reese Witherspoon plays a plucky social climber who schemes and manipulates her way to the top through pure blond ambition. I don't think there's been a movie like that since...any other Reese Witherspoon movie. To her credit, Witherspoon infuses her character Becky Sharp with wit, cunning, energy and a touch of desperation. Its actually not a bad performance, though like many Americans playing Brits the accent slips a lot.
The movie itself is pretty much period films by numbers stuff (frilly clothes, big posh buildings and a lot of talk about "proper" society) except for sudden excursions into Indian dress and music. The Indian influence punches up the stuffy British costume drama hoo-hah, but about half way through the film just loses its luster. The first half had me caught up in ol' Becky's struggle for social acceptance, but by the end I wanted to be the first in line to kick her out of the room. Becky Sharp and Vanity Fair overstays their welcome and to call the ending inconclusive is an understatement.
Laws Of Attraction (200?) stars Pierce "the real Bond" Brosnan and Julianne "slumming for a big pay day again" Moore as opposing divorce attorneys in New York. Both actors excel, as Brosnan lays on a laid back, shaggy charm he couldn't do as Bond. Moore takes a one dimentional character and injects as much complex realism into it as the flimsy film would allow. The two stars charisma carries the day as the rom com putters through its paces.
Assault On Precinct 13 (2005 ) stars Ethan Hawke and Lawrence Fishburne acting typecast in a violent shoot em up about cops wanting to kill an incarcerated drug dealer while he's in the Police Station. Hawke acts exactly like he did in Training Day while Fishburne takes out a patent on his I-AmMobius schtick. Gabriel Byrne plays the cunning bad guy in both Assault and Vanity Fair. It's a good thing he doesn't get typecast or I'd be worried. It just seems like he plays the same character from movie to movie. The gritty action is exciting and the movie makes the implausable seem like something you want to believe in (the good guys are in a police station surrounded by crooked cops and no one seems to have a cell phone to call, I don't know, anyone else?).
One thing that can never be described as mediocre is Number 80:
Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)
To say Stevie Wonder is a musical genius is like saying water is wet or the sky is blue-it's a truism. Wonder can write, sing, perform and produce his music without other musicians or songwriters. Songs In The Key Of Life has Stevie Wonder's stylish romanticism and grounded optimism in full form. One of the rare double albums that plays well both thematically and musically, Songs In The Key Of Life is a treat to listen to.
The well known hits on the album are "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "Another Star". "Sir Duke" is the bigger hit, with its swinging horn parts and Stevie Wonder's estatic vocal about Duke Ellington's music-"You Can Feel It All OOVVERR!" The other hit, the funky "I Wish" throws down a bumpin' groove that moves the listener on a happy, determined journey. "Another Star" rides a calypso disco beat with fiery optimism.
Other songs on the album shine and even had an influence on later music. "Pastime Paradise", with its pensive vocal and stabbing string section, was sampled in the mid 90's into Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". "As" with its smooth, gliding melody about an endless love was later copied into Johnny Gill's early 90's hit "Fairweather Friend." While "Isn't She Lovely", a wonderfully warm ode to his child, has been mangled by several American Idol contestants.
Musically, the album darts between a cornocopia of influences ranging from classical, disco, funk , r&b and pop. Lyrically, self contentment and motivation to achieve goals sustains the soul in the face of racism and poverty. "Loves In Need Of Love Today" and "Village Ghetto Land" illustrate this feeling.
My personal favorite is "Knocks Me Off My Feet", a gorgeous ballad that exudes a blissful warmth with a killer hook. It's common to hear a romantic love song, but it's rare to hear a happy one. Melodrama often plays out better, but Wonder is such an excellent songwriter he could make happiness sound engaging and peaceful.
There are certain albums that give a sort of portrait of a performer. The space a double album provides allowed Stevie Wonder to do just that with Songs In The Key Of Life. The music ultimately reveals a person who loves his family, is concerned for his community and aware of societal issues. A person who believes in the healing power of love. After the 70's ended, Stevie Wonder's talent diminished a touch while his living legend reputation encased him in a musical stasis. But there was a time when Stevie Wonder's music had impact and purpose. This was that time.
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