Review of Comedian (2002) by Alex R — 19 Mar 2004

Heaven (2002) ***1/2.

Talk about international filmmaking: Here we have an Australian lead actress, an American lead actor, an Italian cast, a German director directing from a script by a Polish writer... all of which is done in Italian and English. Cate Blanchett plays a schoolteacher who plants a bomb in the office of a man whom she suspects of selling drugs (to her own husband, who OD'd, and to her students); instead of killing the man, the bomb blows up in the elevator, killing four innocents. Arrested by the Turin police, Phillippa meets a young officer named Fillipo (Giovanni Ribisi) who plans her escape. Despite a plot that points towards half-baked thriller, Heaven is a slow, deliberate drama that owes more to the works of Kieslowski (who directed the Trois Couleurs trilogy) than to Twyker's usual hyperkinetic style. The film is frequently beautiful and although it eventually does bog down in heavy symbolism (especially towards the end), it remains a powerful film. It doesn't quite end the way it should... and it's not always as captivating as it seems to think it is, but it tells a good story and has great actors to back it up (Blanchett is especially great, unsurprisingly). This was intended as part of a trilogy that would also include Hell and Purgatory... but if this is heaven, I wouldn't want to see Hell.

All of Me (1984) ****.

Steve Martin out-flails Jim Carrey in this hugely entertaining comedy from Carl Reiner. Martin plays a lawyer who is sent to work with a dying millionairess (Lily Tomlin) who plans to use the skills of a bedfuddled fakir (Richard Libertini) to transplant her soul into the healthy, supple body of Victoria Tennant. Through a mixup, however, she ends up taking hold of half of Martin's body and Martin must now cope with his emerging "feminine side" as well as her conscience. Despite the wildly ludicrous set-up (typical of films of the era), All of Me is actually an incredibly funny film that showcases Martin as a physical actor (something that's rarely been done) but also has plenty of heart to go around. Martin is practically the whole show here, going absolutely all-out in a superb comic performance that will undoubtedly bring to mind Jim Carrey. But where Carrey's flailings seem wildly over-the-top (and don't get me wrong, I love Carrey), Martin has a more "natural" (if such a thing can be said) approach to the role. Tomlin gives sterling support in a role that's mostly voice acting, but she pulls it off very well. It's not too different from other films of the era: it's a bit close-minded, its concept is, from a logical standpoint, absurd, and it has all the trappings of any 80'S comedy... but Martin and Tomlin pull it off with such charm that it's hard not to fall for it.

Comedian (2002) ***.

Uneven documentary follows a year in the life of two standup comedians on both ends of the spectrum: Jerry Seinfeld, the biggest name in the business, and Orny Adams, an up-and-comer. It's basically a collage of interview footage, bits and pieces of performances, TV appearances, etc. which is a bit off-putting at first. The lack of any narration, title cards or any sort of directing line confuses at first, but the film soon takes its course. Adams is another problem; he's an asshole. Although the film will undeniably be skewed towards Seinfeld (he's a huge star... AND he produced), Seinfeld seems like a sympathetic kind of guy. Adams, on the other hand, is an immature, egocentric little shit who spends the entire movie telling everyone how great he is and doing second-rate standup comedy. The film oftens screeches to a dead halt whenever he's on-screen. Seinfeld is more interesting (and more tidied up, I suppose) and more charismatic, as well as... well, more human. Orny Adams feels like a sitcom parody. Being a video-to-35mm transfer, the film looks like crap... but there's some decent stuff here and there. Unless you're really interested or a fan of Seinfeld, however, I can safely say that you can pass this up and not regret it.

A Better Tomorrow (1987) ***1/2.

The first of John Woo's films to give him worldwide recognition, A Better Tomorrow is a sometimes-sloppy, sometimes-brilliant action film that showcases Woo's flair for action... if hardly anything else. The plot is the typical HK loyalty-n-guns story: an ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged brother, a policeman, but finds the life sucking him back in. It's certainly more wobbly that Woo's subsequent HK pictures: the actions scenes aren't quite as stylish or coherent as his subsequent films, and the plot drops in the background for a long time. It does, however, boast great performances from Tung Li, Leslie Chung and especially Chow Yun-Fat and a definite flair for cool that undoubtedly inspired Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers. It's not any more comprehensible than most of the films offered by the Woo-Hark team... but it's just as watchable.

The Devil's Backbone (2001) ***1/2.

Engrossing thriller from Guillermo Del Toro about a young boy who is sent to an orphanage during the Spanish civil war. There he is faced with bullying from the other boys, the constant appearance of a ghost-like little boy and the antics of the violent caretaker, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega). I was actually expecting the ghost angle to have a bigger part in the film, considering that the film is marketed as a straight-up ghost story. Instead, the film is a more traditional "adventure" tale that just happens to have supernatural elements. It's nothing fancy; just good old-fashioned solid storytelling... and this part it pulls off rather well. As far as emotion goes, the director finds himself less capable of handling that type of material; scenes between the old Professor and the headmistress (which are supposed to be emotional) come off as rather cold. The special effects (there are very few, but still) are rather shoddy, too... but it tells a gripping enough story that the incredibly lame digital explosions won't bring down the power of a well-told tale.