SLC Punk
August 11, 2009 by Relationship Advice · Leave a Comment
In the early 1980’s Stevo and Heroin Bob are the only two dedicated punks in conversative Salt Lake City.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-APR-2007
Media Type: DVD
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars THE BEST MOVIE I EVER SAW IN HIGH SCHOOL!
This is the best movie I ever saw in High School. 80′ punk was something I never saw but after hanging out with emo kids in 00′, my freshman year, was something I adored. Emo kids loved this movie for something I couldn’t reach but I loved this movie for what it was, a glorified coming of age tale of adolecence that couldn’t be touched without a ten-foot pole. I partied like there wasn’t a tomorrow nor a dirrerence of being one after which, but this movie served a greater meaning in my adulthood, mistake the future as the present and forsake the present as something of the past.
3 Stars Fun, but really conservative in punk drag…
“SLC Punk” is a shallow good time disguised as a sociological study. While seeming to laude the tenets of both anarchy and punk rock, the film is profoundly conservative and insulting once you dig a little deeper beneath the surface. Lillard is great, even during the obnoxious “speaking-directly-to-the-camera” portions, but what stands out is an underlying contempt for both punk specifically, and rebellion generally. “I didn’t sell out, I bought in.” That perhaps best sums up the sensibility behind “SLC Punk.” Turn off your brain and it’s all cool — otherwise, you will want to hunt down and kill James Merendino.
4 Stars Poignant and Full of Contradictions
SLC Punk is about a couple of punk/anarchists stuck in the middle of conservative, Mormon-dominated Salt Lake City. This is a pretty good film, as long as one bears in mind that the kids in it represent more of a “lifestyle anarchism” than a political philosophy, and as Stevo (the main character and narrator) self-consciously admits at several points, their actions and attitudes often stand as a flagrant contradiction of the punk ethos they espouse. While the movie does not accurately portray the “authentic” punk or anarchist philosophy, it does accurately and poignantly portray a widespread, popular bastardization of it, so it still creates relevant social commentary. As a coming-of-age story, it is poignant and affecting, particularly as tragedy descends upon Heroin Bob, ironically named for his aversion to needles and drugs.
Throughout the movie is an undercurrent of dissonance between an anti-oppression philosophy and the characters’ aimless,testosterone-fueled adventures. While Stevo and his friends rail against “fascism,” they glorify violence and act in ways that perpetuate the “macho” dominant culture. Fights are a way of life, and in one scene, Stevo (who claims earlier that “nobody owns anybody”) catches the woman he likes with someone else and proceeds to beat the daylights out of the rival, who he accuses of “invading his territory.” A less obvious irony is Stevo’s…well…patriotism! He goes to great lengths to extol the superiority of America’s punk scene, in one instance harassing a singer from the UK who’s been roughed up by Stevo and other patriotic punks.
An excellent soundtrack adds another layer to the realism of the film.
3 Stars descent movie
This movie is ok, not gonna win any awards. There is a lot of talk about punk posers in this movie. This is not about real punk rock. Which is fitting, because it’s about posers. It’s entertaining nonetheless.
5 Stars Much more than I expected.
This movie is proof that you should never judge an item by its appearance. When I first saw the cover of this DVD, I groaned, thinking it would be clich
Boomerang
August 9, 2009 by Relationship Advice · Leave a Comment
A manhattan playboy gets a new corporate boss and she treats him the way he has always treated women. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/17/2005 Starring: Eddie Murphy Tisha Campbell Run time: 118 minutes Rating: R Director: Reginald Hudlin
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star WHAT THE HELL
I do not understand why this film was considered a minor success and critics trashed Harlem Nights in 1989. I have seen both films, and I think Boomerang is a worse movie, and i say that as a minor fan of Eddie Murphy. as a man myself, I have to say i hate these kind of men who try to play women, who are interested in sex and nothing else. That is being purely selfish and a sign of pure stupidity. Men like that give a bad name to our gender. I think Marcus deserved more punishment that what he got (getting the tables turned on him). They should send a basket of flowers to the people who later made Norbit, because i think that only Norbit is a worse movie that this.
5 Stars Players get played too
Man has this movie aged well. Boomerang was crass, raunchy, vulgar and funny as hell to boot. It was Eddie Murphy in top form just the way we like him.
Plot/story: Marcus Graham(Eddie Murphy) is a marketing executive with a player mentality who meets his match with a gorgeous boss by the name of Jacqueline(Robin Givens). Marcus eventually tries to cope after getting p-whipped and played by Jacqueline.
Opinion: Boomerang was funny as hell back then as it is funny now. The interactions between Eddie Murphy, David Alan Grier and Martin Lawrence characters are funny as hell. Grace Jones’s character Strange’ is a riot. I still lmao at the restaurant scene where Strange’ loudly proclaims her favorite part of the female anatomy 20 times in front of everybody. Eartha Kitt’s Lady Eloise is a hoot also. John Weatherspoon is just as funny as David Alan Grier’s character’s father. Boomerang works because it doesnt just rely on the comics being funny alone(like most comedies do). Its material is funny in its raunchiness and the chemistry between everybody works. I would strongly recommend this movie any day over the recent busts that Eddie Murphy has starred in. 5 stars.
4 Stars Just try making that out of a cola nut
Boomerang was not a huge success for Eddie Murphy, but I think it is a very entertaining film that unfortunately was too racy to appeal to a family humor audience, but not raw enough for the raunchy crowd. As a romantic comedy, it is perfectly adequate, but what really made it entertaining for me were the incredibly talented women.
Legendary Diva Eartha Kitt has done it all. She was born in South Carolina, but she sang and danced her way out of poverty, and by the 50’s she had performed with the Katherine Dunham troupe on a European tour, soloed at a Paris night club, and was the toast of the Continent. Orson Welles called her “the most exciting girl in the world”. Kitt was virtually exiled from the United States after making anti-Viet Nam war statements during a White House luncheon with Lady Bird Johnson in 1968. However, she was welcomed back to the White House by Jimmy Carter who took office in January of 1977. She played Cat Woman #2, after Cat Woman #1, Julie Newmar, on the Batman TV Show. Eartha Kitt was a good friend of actor James Dean. She had a sexy Christmas hit song with “Santa Baby”. She was a guest on the very first Late Night With Conan O’Brien, and her Raving Diva came out, as she berated the poor Conan as a talentless hack. Her name can be seen on a Marquee in the famous cult film Plan 9 From Outer Space.
In Boomerang, she plays Lady Eloise, the figure head for a cosmetics company. For a lady of 65, she is surprisingly sexy, and she has great legs.
Robin Givens got her start on The Cosby Show, then was on the TV sitcom Head of the Class. Her marriage to heavy weight champion Mike Tyson in 1988 thrust her into the spotlight, but the troubled marriage lasted only a year. On the 28th of January 2004 she accidentally struck an 89-year old woman with her SUV in Miami. That is something she has in common with Halle Berry, who also had a car accident, and was charged with hit and run. Both Halle and Robin also dated Boomerang co-star Eddie Murphy.
In Boomerang, she plays Jacqueline ‘Jackie / Jack’ Broyer. Murphy’s character is a womanizer, a successful ad executive who beds and discards women at an alarming rate. The tag for the movie is “The player is about to get played.” Jackie gives him a dose of his own medicine when he finds out that due to a merger, she is his new boss. She turns the tables on Marcus, using him for her own pleasure, but keeping him at arm’s length when he wants to take the relationship to the next level. In short, she treats him just like he treats all of his conquests. This makes for quite an amusing reversal of fortunes, as when he makes her a romantic dinner, but she wants to watch the Knicks game and drink beer.
Halle Berry is yet another amazing Black woman. She has had her ups and downs. She looked great as Cat Woman but the movie was a catastrophe. She was placed on three years probation and ordered to pay $13,500 in fines and penalties after pleading no contest on May 10, 2000 to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of a traffic accident. The judge also ordered the actress to perform 200 hours of community service and to make restitution as determined by the outcome of civil litigation arising from the February accident when she was driving a rented Chevrolet Blazer and ran a red light and crashed into another car on Sunset Boulevard. She showed great commitment to acting when playing a crack addict in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever. She didn’t bathe for days. Halle Berry is the first Black woman to win the Oscar in the lead category for her role in Monster’s Ball.
In Boomerang she plays Angela Lewis, a creative woman who quietly steals Marcus’ heart, only to have her own heart broken. A sadder but wiser Marcus Graham finally realizes that she is his true love, and struggles to win her back.
I’ve saved the most outrageous diva for last: Grace Jones plays Helen Strang
Duma Widescreen Edition
August 8, 2009 by Relationship Advice · Leave a Comment
Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion, Fly Away Home) directs the exciting story of 12-year-old Xan (Alexander Michaletos), who decides to return the cheetah he raised from a cub to the wild instead of allowing pursuers to place it in captivity. Harsh South African landscapes, stalking lions, crocodiles, river rapids and a mysterious drifter (Eamonn Walker) who may intend to turn the big cat in for cash - all will test Xan’s courage and resolve. Join him in this tale of growing up and letting go. It’s a journey you won’t want to miss.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Duma — A Wonderful Coming of Age Story
I orginally thought that this was a child’s movie and my child did thoroughly enjoy it, but I did too. This is a film for adults as well as kids. It is very well written, well acted and a beautifully filmed. This movie will make you laugh, make you cry, and inspire you. Do yourself a favor and view this remarkable little gem!
5 Stars Great movie - good for all the family
Holds your interest all the way through. A movie that the whole family will enjoy…no worry about crude words or trashy talk; just good entertainment for people who love animals. It will hold the attention of children very much also.
5 Stars one of the best movies
i love this movie this reminds me of milo & otis with the cat and the dog but this is a story about raising a cheetah is heart breaking and i love the sceanery the movie is one of my favorites i love movies like this
5 Stars Duma Review
This movie is fantastic and appropriate for all ages. I showed my 5th grader, my 5 year old and my husband. They all loved the scenery, the message and the plot.
4 Stars Not your ordinary dog and pony show
A boy and his dog on a road trip meet a dark stranger?
In a waste land a boy and his a cheetah meet a black fellow
and a bond of friendship is found in the trip north to
Duma’s home hunting grounds. Lions and crocodiles don’t stop
this journey into adulthood, for either the cheetah or
the South African boy. The pictures of the cheetah and the wildlife
are very entertaining.
So I Married an Axe Murderer
August 6, 2009 by Relationship Advice · Leave a Comment
When it comes to love charlie mackenzie has always had bad luck. By now he has met harriet michaels. Shes smart sexy and crazy about charlie. Harriet might have a few little idiosyncrasies but so what? after all the horrible women in his past whats the worst she could be? an axe murderer? Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/07/2004 Starring: Mike Myers Nancy Travis Run time: 93 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Thomas Schlamme
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars So I Married an Axe Murderer
This movie came out around the same time as the Wayne’s World so it slipped under the radar screen. If you like Mike Myers’ movies you will like this one. It has a good supporting cast and a not bad story line. It has made the rounds on premium cable channels and I’m glad to say is now part of my library.
3 Stars I care for “Apple Jacks” a great deal
So I Married an Axe Murderer is an early Mike Myers attempt at comedy that is somewhat of an unsuccessful experiment, but it still has lots of funny parts and is entertaining as long as you don’t demand too much of it. Myers plays Charlie Mackenzie, a San Francisco poet, and he also plays his own father, Stuart Mackenzie, an abrasive Scotsman. The Scotsman character is one that he cooked up for Saturday Night Live, but while it didn’t quite work out for SIMAAM (So I Married an Axe Murderer) it led to him doing the voice for the ogre Shrek, which is obviously based on his Scottish voice, and we all know how that worked out.
Strange but funny in a strange way, but also sort of funny in a ha ha ha way, is when Stuart Mackenzie sings pop hits from Scottish singers. The Bay City Rollers and Rod Stewart get the Stuart Mackenzie treatment, with the Do You Think I’m Sexy? lead guitar break done on bag pipe. Bizarre! The most effective use of music in SIMAAM is a cover of Here She Comes with stellar production done by the Boo Radleys (you have to like a band named after the scary character played by Robert Duvall in To Kill a Mockingbird). The song is the theme for Harriet, and illustrates the intense feelings she evokes in Charlie.
Nancy Travis as Harriet Michaels, the mystery woman who steals Charlie Mackenzie’s heart, is really good. She later married the producer, Rob Fried, and they had two kids together. I wondered if it was a casting couch audition situation, but she redeemed herself.
Charlie Mackenzie: How many people have you brutally murdered?
Harriet Michaels: Well, brutal’s a very subjective word. I mean, what’s brutal to one person might be totally reasonable to somebody else.
She was funny and cute and very likable, yet, she could also make you shudder with dread, thinking she really could be an axe murderer. She sang, she danced, she cavorted with Charlie, she sparkled, she sizzled, she spoke several languages, she sang “Only You” in several languages (just like the lounge singer who was murdered in Atlantic City!!!!!); but mostly she just fed Charlie straight lines:
Harriet Michaels: Do you actually like haggis?
Charlie Mackenzie: No, I think it’s repellent in every way. In fact, I think most Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.
Which reminds me of another hole in the plot. Harriet works in a butcher shop; The Meats of the World, but after a scene where Charlie helps her out (actually just an excuse for an extended Mike Myers medley of gratuitous meat jokes) the butcher shop is never mentioned or seen again. You’d think that it would provide at least some opportunity for axe murderer situations?
San Francisco plays much more than a cameo role. In fact, San Francisco is the real star, and Mike Myers merely a supporting player. I wonder how a Canadian could have such an affinity for Baghdad-by-the-Bay, as Herb Caen used to refer to it. Great San Francisco scenes, but when it zooms in on the club called Roads it is in Jack Kerouac Alley, and it is where City Lights Bookstore or Vesuvio’s bar would be. It was really jarring, because they had this great zoom in from aerial shot through the kitchen, like the scene in Good Fellas that was copied in Swingers. But then when they reach Jack Kerouac Alley, instead of Vesuvio’s the bar where Jack (and I) used to drink, or City Lights Bookstore, that published Howl by Allen Ginsberg, among many other great works of literature, we find instead the totally fictional club, Roads. And where were the strip clubs like Carol Doda’s on Broadway and Columbus, which was really right there just next to Jack Kerouac Alley?
[first lines]
Charlie Mackenzie: Excuse me, miss? There seems to be a mistake. I believe I ordered the *large* cappuccino. *Hello!* Look at the size of this thing.
Tony Giardino: It’s practically a bowl.
Charlie Mackenzie: It’s like Campbell’s Cup-O’-ccino!
This was kind of a cute scene, but a little too cute. Can we have a moratorium on *Hello!* spoken like Jerry Lewis used to say *Lady!*? This would have been better placed in Cafe Trieste rather than Roads, the faux Vesuvio’s. You know, there was another coffee shop that was right on Columbus and I once saw Rob Schneider in there drinking an espresso and writing. We made eye contact, and I was this close to doing the whole copy guy riffing on his name shtick, but I could tell by the look he gave me that was the last thing he wanted, and he was on a roll, probably he had just come up with a brilliant idea, like Deuce Bigelow, Male Gigolo. And I was never one to interfere with Great Art.
The faux Vesuvio’s can be forgiven, however, because for the most part they really got the flavor of San Francisco down, and I’m not talking about Rice ‘A Roni!!!!! No Ringold Alley, but still. The scene where Harriet scratches his back, directed by Charlie with references to the topography of San Francisco and Oakland alone is worth the price of admission.
Sometimes Mike Myers is cute and amusing in SIMAAM, but other times he is only trying to be cute and amusing, but failing miserably. Charlie Mackenzie is no Wayne, but perhaps Austin Powers can be seen as an extension of both Charlie and Stuart Mackenzie. for instance, there is a scene where Charlie drops his towel, but the full backal nudity is merely gratuitous. Later, he perfects the formula in Austin Powers, and it becomes hilarious.
Mike Myers poetry was a pretty good parody of the poetry scene. Kind of clever, especially with the jazz trio that backs him, but really bad. I have seen so many poets who had that forced cadence, but were just bad, not in a funny way. He reminded me a lot of a poet I knew, but who was actually very good and talented, but his poetry also had a great sense of humor. I think his name was Kevin Cline, not the actor, who spelled his last name with a K, but perhaps I am mistaken. However, if Kevin Cline or someone who remembers him from San Francisco State reads this, I would like to know what ever became of him.
Charlie Mackenzie: Harriet. Harry-ette. Hard-hearted harbinger of haggis. Beautiful, bemuse-ed, bellicose butcher. Un-trust… ing. Un-know… ing. Un-love… ed? “He wants you back,” he screamed into the night air like a fireman going to a window that has no fire… except the passion of his heart. I am lonely. It’s really hard. This poem… sucks.
There were lots of little cameos and small parts, like Bob Scarlatti, Cintra Wilson, Steven Wright as a pilot, and Alan Arkin, as Tony Giardino’s boss, the Police Chief. Cintra Wilson is more of a local celebrity, as she had a column that was like the new, hip, Herb Caen that ran in the Examiner, the Chronicle’s rival. Michael Richards (Kramer of Seinfeld fame) has a very amusing scene with character actor and Second City graduate Mike Haggerty.
Obituary Writer: There’s another one here. Native San Franciscan. Plumber. Elliot, Ralph. Moved to Dallas, disappeared four months ago, body was found in a sewer.
Obituary Employee: Well, guy takes his job too seriously, life goes down the drain.
[both laugh]
Charlie Mackenzie: Did they mention anything about his wife?
Obituary Employee: All right, okay. Look, I know that we’re talking about real people here. I’m sorry.
Charlie Mackenzie: No no, I’m serious. Did they mention the wife?
Obituary Employee: Look, I’m sorry you know. You know, I didn’t mean to make a joke about other people’s lives.
Charlie Mackenzie: No no, I’m really serious. Did they mention the wife?
Obituary Employee: You win, you win okay? I’m a bad person!
Obituary Writer: Just take it easy!
Obituary Employee: No, he’s sayin’ I’m insensitive! He’s sayin’ I’m a ****!
Obituary Writer: He’s not sayin’ you’re a ****!
Charlie Mackenzie: [yelling] Did they mention the wife? Did they mention the wife?
Obituary Employee: No! No! They didn’t mention the wife! Ya happy?
[speaking to the whole office]
Obituary Employee: YEAH! Oh yes, yeah. I’m insensitive! I’m a very insensitive man! Stop your job, look at the insensitive man! That’s what they’re paying you for!
[leaves]
Obituary Writer: He was my ride home.
Charlie Mackenzie: Understood…
In light of the subsequent Michael Richards melt down, the “insensitive man” tirade would seem to be prophetic.
Amanda Plummer is the daughter of Christopher Plummer and Tammy Grimes. She was in Pulp Fiction with Tim Roth. In So I Married An Axe Murderer she plays the strange sister of Harriet Michaels, Rose Michaels. Her best scene is where she makes Charlie breakfast after Charlie and Harriet have spent the night together for the first time:
Rose Michaels: Let me make you some breakfast.
Charlie Mackenzie: Oh, gee, you know, I’d love to. But you know, I’m really running late, but thanks!
Rose Michaels: What would you say to silver-dollar pancakes, fresh-squeezed orange juice, bacon, and Kona coffee?
Charlie Mackenzie: Well, that sounds great!
[Cut to Rose pouring cereal in Charlie's bowl]
Rose Michaels: Sorry. I didn’t have those other things.
Charlie Mackenzie: No, no, that’s fine. That other stuff will probably kill you… whereas “Froot Loops” are light, and reasonably high in fiber. I care for “Apple Jacks” a great deal.
Anthony LaPaglia could have been good as the friend who works as an undercover cop, Tony Giardino. The part wasn’t written well, and he is forced to deliver some of the worst lines in the whole film. This scene is the worst:
Charlie Mackenzie: So Tony, what’s the deal with your clothes?
Tony Giardino: What do ya mean?
Charlie Mackenzie: You look like Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch.
Tony Giardino: What do ya mean? I look hip!
Charlie Mackenzie: No no no no no no, you look like an undercover cop TRYING to look hip.
Tony Giardino: I AM an undercover cop trying to look hip.
I am not kidding; he is wearing a derby wrapped with a fuzzy pink feather boa. No, really. Anthony LaPaglia plays Detective Jake Malone currently on the crime drama Without a Trace. He usually plays either cops or mobsters. Here, he is playing a cop, but mostly is under utilized, though he does get in a few chuckle inducing scenes, and even a chortle here and there. Debi Mazar is Tony’s girlfriend, but she doesn’t really have any good material here, either. Best thing about her scene is it was filmed in Fog City Diner, and afterwards Charlie and Harriet walk home in the rain.
Faring much better than Tony and Debi is Phil Hartman who is fantastic in a small but intense role, a cameo, practically, where he is Alcatraz Tour Guide John Johnson (but his friends call him Vicky). Don’t watch this film on TV because they will cut out this scene, guaranteed.
Preposterous plot, with huge gapping holes. The story of course, from the title you know, and I’m not giving anything away, that he thinks his wife is an axe murderer. He hears her say “Ralph” in her sleep, and Ralph is the name of one of the victims of Mrs. X, a mysterious woman who disappears when soon after the wedding her husbands are murdered. When Harriet introduces Charlie to Ralph, it is a woman. But later, they are still linking her to the murder of Ralph. In other words, if Ralph really was one of her ex husbands who was murdered, isn’t a little too much of a coincidence to have a female friend also named Ralph? I say, if you bring in a female Ralph, then you can’t keep the storyline about the murdered ex husband Ralph going. It is like the denizen of Amelia’s bar who wanted to have her Kate, and Edith, too.
TOP TEN MOVIES WITH SOME SLIGHT CONNECTION TO SIAAM
1. Pulp Fiction (1994) … Amanda Plummer is perhaps best remembered for this film.
2. The Fisher King (1991) …. Breakthrough role for Amanda with Robin Williams.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector’s Edition) (1962) …. Robert Duvall played Arthur “Boo” Radley, which provided a name for a band that played Here She Comes.
4. Shrek (Full Screen Single Disc Edition) (2001) …. Mike Myers as the voice of the ogre Shrek owes it all to Stuart Mackenzie.
5. Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery (New Line Platinum Series) (1997) …. Mike is both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil, and his propensity for playing dual roles is foreshadowed in SIMAAM.
6. Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat (Widescreen Edition) (2003) …. Myers is The Cat in the Hat, but he is no Jim Carey.
7. Wayne’s World (1992) …. Myers created the memorable Wayne Campbell character for SNL. Who knew he could sustain a feature length film?
8. 54 (1998) …. Myers plays Steve Rubell, owner of Studio 54
9. Coneheads (1993) …. Phil Hartman showed the way as Marlax, and Mike Myers took note. Perhaps you could sustain a feature length film with an SNL sketch?
10. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) …. Charles Grodin is Dr. C.C. Hill, and he also has a cameo in SIMAAM.
I care for “Apple Jacks” a great deal.
4 Stars Hysterical and witty A++
If you like Mike Myers, and you like to laugh, this movie is a classic best bet ! So many great lines and a good story line too. One of my top 10.
2 Stars “I Think I’m Dating Mrs. X”
Charlie Mackenzie (Mike Myers) has a bit of a commitment problem. It doesn’t matter how perfect his girlfriend is, he finds some reason to end the relationship.
Then, into his life, walks Harriet Michaels (Nancy Travis). With just one smile, she melts Charlie’s heart. It’s love at first site, and Charlie is ready to leave his bachelor days behind him.
There’s just one little problem. Reports are circulating the country about a Mrs. X who kills her husbands on their wedding night. And Charlie thinks that Harriet may be Mrs. X. Is he just coming up with another excuse not to commit? Or is he signing his life away by asking Harriet to marry him?
I’m not normally a fan of Mike Myers’ comedy, and this movie reminded me why. The reliance on sexual jokes and situations for comedy never appeals to me. Mike also plays Charlie’s dad Stuart, and I just found that character annoying.
To further complicate things, the story is rather dull. We know what’s coming, and the movie takes too long getting there. If I had been enjoying myself along the way, I wouldn’t have minded. But since I wasn’t, I didn’t. I actually enjoyed the sub-plot about Charlie’s friend Tony (Anthony LaPaglia) and his disappointment in his job as a cop more then the main story.
The only thing that gives the movie that second star is the climax. It was actually funny and interesting. It’s not enough to make the movie worth watching, but at least it was entertaining.
Die hard Mike Myers fans do love this movie. The rest of us can just move right along.
5 Stars Top 5 Comedy
This is one of the funniest movies of all time. Mike Myers best and most memorable performance. The scenes with Charlie’s father (Stuart McKenzie, also played by Mike Myers) are so funny they will make you laugh until your stomach hurts. Heeeed, paper now!
Now Voyager Keepcase
August 5, 2009 by Relationship Advice · Leave a Comment
A tender love story, a taut psychological drama, an inspiring tale of physical and spiritual transformation. Now, Voyager is all three, as well as a Bette Davis career milestone, resulting in her sixth Best Actress Oscar nomination. She magically plays Charlotte Vale, a spinster who defies her domineering mother (fellow Oscar nominee Gladys Cooper) to discover love, heartbreak and eventual contentment. More magic is generated by a top-notch ensemble, Max Steiner?s Academy Award-winning score and an improvised moment by Paul Henreid that became an instant classic: he lights two cigarettes at once and hands one to Davis. For the ultimate in romantic melodrama, it?s Now Voyager now, then and forever.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars THE UGLY DUCKING, WHO BECAME A BEAUTIFUL SWAN!
I FOUND THIS MOVIE QUITE BY ACCIDENT ON TV, AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT! I HAD TO BUY IT, AND HAVE A COPY OF MY VERY OWN! IT IS ONE OF THE MOST TENDER, AND PROFOUND, HEARTRENDING, LOVE STORYS, THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN! EVENTHOUGH IT WAS IN BLACK AND WHITE, I DIDN’T CARE, IT WAS OUTSTANDING, AND WONDERFUL! CHARLOTTE WAS A UGLY DUCKING, WHO BECAME A BEAUTIFUL SWAN, IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT SHE HAD A HATEFUL, MEAN MOTHER. CHARLOTTE MET AND FELL IN LOVE WITH A VERY HANDSOME MAN, NAMED JERRY,BUT HE WAS BOUND TO ANOTHER WOMAN! BETTY DAVIS, AND PAUL HENREID WAS AWESOME! I LOVED THE CHEMISTY BETWEEN, JERRY AND HIS CHARLOTTE CAMILLE, YOU COULD FEEL THE LOVE THAT THEY HAD FOR EACH OTHER! ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCENES IS WHEN JERRY TELLS CHARLOTTE, “IF ONLY I WAS FREE, I’D SHOW YOU, THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE LOVED!” AND THE WAY JERRY LIT TWO CIGARETTES! WOW! AND THAT BEAUTIFUL SOUL-STIRRING MUSIC OF MAX STEINER! WOW! AND DOUBLE WOW! THE SCENE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE WHERE JERRY TELLS CHARLOTTE, AFTER THEY TALKED, TO “LET’S HAVE A CIGARETTE ON IT.” AND THE WAY HE LIT THE CIGARETTES, AND LOOKED AT CHARLOTTE, WITH HIS BEAUTIFUL SELF! OH! MY! THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SEXIST, PROFOUND, LOVING, ROMANTIC, THINGS I EVER SAW! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE! SIMPLY AWESOME! THEY DON’T MAKE MOVIES LIKE THIS ANYMORE, OH HOW I WISHED THEY DID!
5 Stars The Original “Divine” Bette
While Davis has legions of fans, and many find “Dark Victory” or “All about Eve” her best work, I always seek out “Now Voyager” as my favorite! It’s Pygmalion qualities of transformation from ugly duckling to chic grande dame are thrilling. While I would have urged more detailed scenes such as the actual dinner table conversation that her mother couldn’t attend because of a sprained ankle, it was a war-time film and likely had budget restrictions. The now-famous cigarette scenes with her co-star, Paul Henreid, still beckon with seduction. I suspect we are all guilty of wanting to reach for the stars. . . I have purchased this DVD many times, giving it away to the unacquainted young who don’t know the work of Miss Davis. It should be in any cinephile’s collection,
5 Stars Bette at her Best
“The untold want by life and land ne’er granted,
Now, voyager, sail thou forth to seek and find.”
~”The Untold Want” from Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”
It is perhaps one of Bette Davis’ best films, one in which she reputedly became quite caught up in the role, playing an active part in the production decisions. Perhaps that is why the sets, costumes, and screenplay, as well as the flawless acting, raise “Now, Voyager” above the soap operatic level to a serious drama exploring the psychological implications of certain moral decisions. Although Bette could be convincing as a Southern Belle, playing New England spinster Charlotte Vale, a Daughter of the Pilgrims, suited her mannerisms and natural accent impeccably. However, it is Bette’s ability to depict Charlotte’s transformation from a weepy neurotic into a vibrant and enthusiastic life participant that makes the film so engaging.
“Now, Voyager,” based on the novel by Olive Higgins Prouty, shows the fascination with psychiatry that would come to consume America, beginning in the 1920’s, so that in some circles it became a pseudo-religion. When used in the proper context, as a tool for healing, not as a substitute for Divine grace, psychiatry can certainly help people with emotional and mental problems. Charlotte Vale, the heroine of “Now, Voyager,” is certainly put back on course by the compassionate Dr. Jaquith, whose firmness, wisdom and tough love counteract the emotional abuse leveled upon her by her mother. The film is, overall, a study in bad parenting and good parenting. Charlotte’s healing is completed not by psychotherapy but by nurturing a disturbed child.
That is not to ignore the powerful love story which forms the basis of “Now, Voyager.” While on a cruise to South America to recuperate from a nervous breakdown, Charlotte meets and falls in love with Jerry (Paul Henreid), an unhappily married man. They decide not to pursue the relationship so as not to break up Jerry’s family and traumatize his children. Knowing that Jerry loves her from afar gives Charlotte courage, although the sorrow at not having him in her life intensifies, especially after her mother dies of a heart attack during a quarrel. Overwhelmed by guilt, Charlotte flees to Dr. Jaquith’s sanatorium, where instead of having another breakdown, she finds Jerry’s young daughter Tina, who is there for treatment. The mothering which Charlotte gives Tina is redemptive for both herself and the girl.
Later, when Charlotte and Jerry are reunited, she insists upon a platonic friendship, for the sake of Tina’s fragile psyche. That is when Charlotte says the famous line: “Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon… we have the stars.” It is fascinating that in a film which was actually quite worldly for its time, and did not purport to be religious, the needs of children are placed before adult passions. The adults find fulfillment not in seeking their own happiness, but in doing what is right for the youngsters, in spite of the personal sacrifice required. How different from the contemporary pursuit of pleasure in which our society drowns.
5 Stars I’ve seen them all but I own this one!
I’m a big fan of “old” movies, I love this particular movie genre but I was never a fan of Bette Davis, that is, until I watched this film. I’ve since become an avid fan and collector and I’ve come to believe she was the finest actress of all time. Isn’t that what’s so great about movies; that they often make profound impacts on our lives! Well this movie made an impact on mine and I hope it does the same for yours. And if you’re looking for the next Davis film - try Watch on the Rhine. Even hubby liked that one!
5 Stars Now, Voyager
This is a 3-box of Kleenex film. Wonderfully acted by the ever changing Bette Davis, the music score by Max Steiner has great melodies. Even Black and White cannot affect the interesting plot.
