QUICK TAKES: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, A Wrinkle in Time Blu-ray, and Peter Pan Blu-ray
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| Courtesy of Netflix |
Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life
(Rated TV-14 for strong language and innuendo. Now streaming on Netflix.)
The cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short and Jeff Babko.
What it’s about: Martin and Short, good friends since making Three Amigos together in 1986, reunite for an evening of jokes, stories and music at a live performance recently filmed in Greenville, South Carolina.
The good: As a huge stand-up comedy fan, I look forward to most of Netflix’s new specials (John Mulaney’s and Ali Wong’s are particularly terrific). However, many of them veer toward risqué humor or a brand of postmodern “anti-comedy,” in which most of the jokes involve deconstructing the medium itself. Neither of those are for everybody.
No one is going to accuse Martin and Short’s vaudevillian routine of being trendy, but that’s a big part of its charm. Simply put, it’s fun to watch two old-school comedy greats working at the top of their game and making it seem effortless, while also genuinely enjoying each other’s company.
The 74-minute special alternates between solo routines, musical performances (both comedic and straight, as Martin is an incredible banjo player and Short has a great singing voice), and segments where the guys just sit on stage and tell stories. The result is a refreshingly no-frills hour that made me smile the whole time.
It helps that each comedian’s style is so different. Martin’s stage persona has always been a smug guy who seems smarter than the audience, while Short’s is someone desperate to be loved. The different energies work great together.
The not-so-good: At times, the guys’ familiarity with one another and their sometimes over-polished delivery suggests a lack of spontaneity. But those instances are few and far between. Most of the time, the routines feel unplanned – even though logic dictates they’re clearly not.
Grade: A-
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| Courtesy of Disney |
(Rated PG for thematic elements and some peril.)
The cast: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis and Chris Pine.
What it’s about: Four years after the disappearance of her scientist father (Pine), young Meg (Reid) is visited by three celestial guides (Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling) who accompany her on a journey across dimensions to rescue him. She’s accompanied by her younger brother (Deric McCabe) and a popular classmate (Levi Miller). The film is loosely based on Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book, although screenwriters Jennifer Lee (who co-wrote Frozen) and Jeff Stockwell make some big changes.
The good: I’ve admired director Ava DuVernay since 2014’s Selma, so I’m ecstatic she got the chance to tackle a big-budget Disney extravaganza. Her artistic vision is all over this film, from the compelling way she tackles special effects (always with characters at the center rather than pixels) to her eye for refreshingly diverse casting.
Reid is terrific in the lead role and DuVernay surrounds her with a stellar cast. From Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling (who have much less screen time than the trailers suggest) to Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who get even less screen time, despite being the most attractive parents in movie history), there’s no doubt everyone involved is performing at the top of their game. Combine that with the film’s CGI wonderlands and there’s never a dull moment when it comes to spectacle.
The not-so-good: Unfortunately, the screenplay is a mess, proving that good intentions don’t necessarily equal a good movie. The first hour is surprisingly lethargic, full of setup that leads to very little payoff. Then, when the second half finally kicks into gear, it seems like giant chunks of exposition were cut out in favor of more CGI.
Overall, the film plays like a series of cool, baffling screensavers rather than a complete narrative. It doesn’t help that the climax rests on the shoulders of a child actor who isn’t up to the task. I feel monstrous beating up on a kid, so I’ll just say you’ll know what I mean when you see it.
Special features: “A Journey Through Time” making-of featurette, deleted scenes, audio commentary with director Ava DuVernay and other crew members, bloopers, and music videos.
Grade: C+
The cast: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis and Chris Pine.
What it’s about: Four years after the disappearance of her scientist father (Pine), young Meg (Reid) is visited by three celestial guides (Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling) who accompany her on a journey across dimensions to rescue him. She’s accompanied by her younger brother (Deric McCabe) and a popular classmate (Levi Miller). The film is loosely based on Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book, although screenwriters Jennifer Lee (who co-wrote Frozen) and Jeff Stockwell make some big changes.
The good: I’ve admired director Ava DuVernay since 2014’s Selma, so I’m ecstatic she got the chance to tackle a big-budget Disney extravaganza. Her artistic vision is all over this film, from the compelling way she tackles special effects (always with characters at the center rather than pixels) to her eye for refreshingly diverse casting.
Reid is terrific in the lead role and DuVernay surrounds her with a stellar cast. From Winfrey, Witherspoon and Kaling (who have much less screen time than the trailers suggest) to Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who get even less screen time, despite being the most attractive parents in movie history), there’s no doubt everyone involved is performing at the top of their game. Combine that with the film’s CGI wonderlands and there’s never a dull moment when it comes to spectacle.
The not-so-good: Unfortunately, the screenplay is a mess, proving that good intentions don’t necessarily equal a good movie. The first hour is surprisingly lethargic, full of setup that leads to very little payoff. Then, when the second half finally kicks into gear, it seems like giant chunks of exposition were cut out in favor of more CGI.
Overall, the film plays like a series of cool, baffling screensavers rather than a complete narrative. It doesn’t help that the climax rests on the shoulders of a child actor who isn’t up to the task. I feel monstrous beating up on a kid, so I’ll just say you’ll know what I mean when you see it.
Special features: “A Journey Through Time” making-of featurette, deleted scenes, audio commentary with director Ava DuVernay and other crew members, bloopers, and music videos.
Grade: C+
Blu-ray Review: Peter Pan
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| Courtesy of Disney |
The cast: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Paul Collins and Tommy Luske.
What it’s about: In Disney’s classic adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s play, fantastic adventures await the Darling children – Wendy, John and Michael – when Peter Pan takes them to his home in the magical world of Never Land. Once they arrive, they explore the enchanted island with help from Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys. But the fun is cut short when they are forced to do battle with the dastardly Captain Hook.
The good: As with all films from Disney’s golden age, the hand-drawn animation is glorious. In today’s CGI-dominated world of entertainment, it’s easy to forget how much time and effort went into making classic films look so stunning. Imagine the looks on children’s faces in 1953, when they witnessed the Darling children fly thanks to Tinker Bell’s pixie dust and a few happy thoughts.
Although there’s not much in terms of plot, the film makes up for it with spectacle – those colors! – and a host of terrific songs (well, most of them… more on that below).
The not-so-good: Boy, talk about movies that don’t hold up well over time. Most of us think fondly of Peter, Wendy, Tink, the Lost Boys and “You Can Fly.” But how many people remember “What Makes the Red Man Red,” the song that reduces Native Americans to the most offensive caricature possible? There are large sections of the movie that are shockingly racist.
Granted, I know it’s ridiculous to hold a 65-year-old movie to 2018 standards, but I was dumbfounded that there wasn’t even a bonus feature on the new Blu-ray that attempted to contextualize these sequences for modern audiences. (For an admirable example of what I mean, research how Warner Brothers approached their most recent Looney Tunes DVD release.)
Special features: Featurettes including “Stories from Walt’s Office” and “A ‘Darling’ Conversation with Wendy & John: Kathryn Beaumont and Paul Collins,” classic features from previous editions (including an audio commentary from Roy Disney and an assortment of deleted scenes and songs), and a host of others.
Grade: B
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