Review of Valley of the Dolls (1967) by Courtney W — 20 Jan 2007

[color=magenta]Everytime I go to the movie rental place, I find so many movies that I have not seen and that I didn't know were coming out on DVD so soon. So, I have been making frequent trips there to catch up.[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff][i]The Black Dahlia[/i]. Not so much about the murder of Elisabeth Short. More about turning it into a contrived, wannabe Bogie and Bergman noir spliced with boxing and lesbianism. I would've preferred it to be about the murder investigation, but whatever. It is a joke of a movie. Sarah said she wants to start a petition to revoke Hilary Swank's two Oscars after seeing it. Swank has this over the top society girl accent, that is just so ridiculous, we could not help but laugh at it. Especially when she says "Family's in Laguna!"[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]Josh Hartnett. Cute guy. Not so much a good actor, though. And I am sad to report that Scarlett Johansson--once a promising, young leading lady has been reduced to "the girlfriend" role. Gone are the days of [i]Ghost World, Girl With A Pearl Earring[/i] and [i]Lost in Translation[/i]. [/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]And the whole fact that the movie SOLVES the case is so stupid. Because it HASN'T been solved. I realize that it is a fictionalization of the realy case, but come on...[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]I love Mark Wahlberg movies. And football movies. So, [i]Invincible[/i] was an obvious rental choice on my part. Wahlberg plays Vincent Papale, the 30 year old rookie found at an open try out for the Philadelphia Eagles back in 1976. It is a fun, touching and inspiring movie. It was a little on the long side, but I really liked it.[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]I am not a huge fan of Oliver Stone movies. There is a certain amount of tedium that comes along with each one. Ugh, [i]JFK...Alexander...Nixon[/i]...even [i]Natural Born Killers[/i]...excess. All excess. However, I am happy to report that [i]World Trade Center[/i] lacks that tedium and the ENTIRE Oliver Stone feel. It's like he deconstructed himself and his technique. He made a really reverent, touching tribute to September 11th. Michael Pena, once again, broke my heart...he made me cry like a baby in [i]Crash[/i].[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]I have to say, that I adore [i]Valley of the Dolls[/i]. It is candy-colored and so sixties...and Patty Duke is so freaking awesome! Neeley O'Hara has got to be one of the ballsiest roles for a girl who was Helen Keller and a wholesome teen with an identical cousin on television. She's just so brash, bitchy and drugged up...it's incredible. So far from what the 60's viewing public would want to see her as. Therefore, Patty Duke is ballsy.[/color].

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[color=#ff00ff]What can I say. [i]Valley of the Dolls[/i] [/color][color=#ff00ff]is classic camp at its finest...It's camp-tastic![/color].

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