Gracie

Posted on May 30, 2007 at 3:57 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for brief sexual content.
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	None
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

When it rains, baseball players go to the locker rooms and put on their street clothes, but soccer players stay on the field, according to father/coach Bryan Bowen (Dermot Mulroney). So we get not one but two high-tension moments as drenching rain comes down on a soccer team – and on one particular soccer player — with just once chance to make the goal that will win the big, big game.

This film has a lot of the conventional high and low points of sports films, including a “Win one for the Gipper” goal of fulfilling the dream of a player who died. But the strong family ties on screen and behind the camera and some gritty authenticity of place and feeling remind us how what could have been cliché can have the power of archetype.

Gracie Bowen (“Mean Creek’s” Carly Schroeder) is the only girl in a soccer-mad blue-collar family in New Jersey. Her younger brothers tease her without mercy, but her older brother Johnny, a star athlete, always encourages her. When he is killed in an accident, she decides to make his dream of beating the rival team come true – by taking his place on the team. The boys’ team.

Bryan refuses to help her. The coach will not let her try out. For a while, Gracie gives up, trying to obliterate her sense of loss with by drowning her pain in broken rules and risky behavior. Her parents understand this is a cry for help and attention. They agree to support her. Before she can take on the rivals in the big game, she has to take on the coach, the school board, the boys on the team, and her own fears.

This was a labor of love for co-writer/director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) and his wife Elisabeth Shue (Adventures in Babysitting), who plays Gracie’s mother. The story was co-written by Shue’s brother Andrew (who plays the assistant coach), inspired by Elisabeth’s experiences as a soccer player following the death of her brother, and it was filmed on location in the town and at the school where it all happened. The story may be predictable, but it unfolds as though every one on screen and behind the camera is telling it for the first time. I could not help wishing that it had cut out about 10 minutes of inappropriate language and material to merit a PG, but I could not help appreciating its heart, commitment, and moments of specificity and wanting that last goal just as much as Gracie did.
Parents should know that this movie has about five minutes of strong and homophobic language (s-word, bastard, boobs, lesbo), teen smoking and drinking, underage driving without a license, and some risky sexual situations. A strength of the movie is its portrayal of determined female characters and their fight for equal treatment.

Families who see this movie should talk about what has – and has not – changed in sports for girls and women. They should also talk about how much it mattered to the people in this movie to have – or not have — the support of their family members. Why is it so hard for siblings to behave like Johnny? They should also talk about the different ways the family members react to Johnny’s death, some in ways that may appear to be unfeeling.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Bend It Like Beckham and Remember the Titans. They might also want to find out more about Women’s Soccer.

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Drama Movies -- format

Mr. Brooks

Posted on May 23, 2007 at 4:10 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for strong bloody violence, some graphic sexual content, nudity and language.
Profanity:	Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Explicit and graphic violence, theme of the film is serial killing
Diversity Issues:	Strong female character
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

I have to give this film credit for embracing its craziness. This is one movie that proudly raises its freak flag high and lets it wave. But that does not mean it works.

Mr. Brooks (Kevin Costner) is an upstanding member of the community, a very successful businessman, and a loving husband and father. He is also a compulsive serial killer who relishes — fetishizes — the preparation and clean-up every bit as much as the act itself. His compulsion is personified by William Hurt, who shows up like one of those little devils who sit on Sylvester’s shoulder, whispering in his ear that Tweetie-Pie looks mighty yummy.

Mr. Brooks goes out on one last hit and makes one big mistake. This leads to a nasty encounter with one “Mr. Smith” (comic Dane Clark). He doesn’t want money; he wants to come along on the next kill.

Brooks has another problem, too. His daughter (Danielle Panabaker) has dropped out of school and isn’t telling him the whole truth about why. And there is a very determined detective (Demi Moore) who seems to be getting closer.

It has some style, and Costner makes good use of his weak chin, turning his aw-shucks All-American quality on its side. There’s a moment when Costner and Hurt turn to each other and laugh demonically that has some grab to it. But for a movie about a guy who plans everything so meticulously, the script is a mess, with careless distractions that seem helpless and random, impossible coincidences that make it appear that there are only about six people living in Portland, and one big fake-out that is nothing but a giant bloody speed-bump on the way to the who-cares-at-this-point conclusion.

Parents should know that this is an extremely violent film with scenes of very graphic murders and shoot-outs with a lot of blood. The main character is a serial killer who kills because he enjoys it, because he is addicted to the thrill and sense of power. There are explicit sexual references and situations, including nudity and an out of wedlock pregnancy. Characters use very strong language. They drink alcohol and there are references to substance abuse.

Audiences who see this film should talk about the way that Earl’s compulsion is portrayed. Is he right in describing his impulse to kill as an addiction? Why is Mr. Smith interested in coming along? Do you believe Atwood’s explanation?

Audiences who enjoy this film will also enjoy the underrated Panic, with William H. Macy as a reluctant hit-man following in a family tradition, One Hour Photo, and the Showtime series “Dexter.”

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Georgia Rule

Posted on May 9, 2007 at 10:19 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for sexual content and some language.
Profanity:	Strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, character abuses alcohol, references to drug abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Some mild peril and violence, minor injuries
Diversity Issues:	Mildly disrespectful portrayal of Mormons
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

Minow rule: If Hector Elizondo barely makes an appearance in a Garry Marshall film, watch out.

Or, I should say, don’t watch.

Marshall wisely does his best to include the talented Elizondo in every one of his films. If the only place Marshall can find for him is a few seconds on screen as a character with a ponytail and a funny name, the movie is in trouble. Especially when that brief appearance has more class and authenticity than anything else in this uneven mess of a film.

The title refers to the no-questions, no-arguments, no-compromises, no-prisoners edicts handed down by Georgia (Jane Fonda, still looking great in jeans and a t-shirt) to just about everyone, especially her angry daughter Lily (Felicity Huffman) and rebellious granddaughter Rachel (Lindsay Lohan).

In what must feel like a reprise of On Golden Pond, where Fonda’s character dumped an unhappy teenager on her parents for the summer so that she could spend time with his father and so that everyone could Learn Important Lessons about Life, Lily dumps Rachel on Georgia for the summer. Let the Life Lessons begin.

Georgia lives in a small town in Idaho, set design seemingly inspired by Norman Rockwell by way of Kinkade. Intended-to-be-cute cuddly little small town moments collide uneasily with grand drama and dysfunctional laundry-airing among and between the three generations of women. What we get are less life lessons than a lot of recrimination and more “you were never there for me” accusations than a week with Dr. Phil.

While she was making this film, Lindsay Lohan received a widely circulated letter of admonishment from the producer for “ongoing all night heavy partying” and missing her call times. Onscreen, she looks uncomfortable and jittery. Her character is supposed to be struggling with desperation, self-hatred, and deep sadness, to be vulnerable and needy. But all she shows us is the character’s anger, which comes across more like brattiness. She can’t let go of the cute thing.

Huffman seems to still be channeling her Transamerica character’s obsession with meticulous attention to external appearances as a cover-up and compensation for internal disarray. Lily is very big on high high heels and just-right clothes and exquisitely tasteful gifts. But she’s a mess and she knows it, even though she tries everything she can — including booze — to help her run away from her insecurity and doubt. Cary Elwes shows up more pudgy than sleek as a big-time, big-city lawyer who may or may not be a very bad guy.

Fonda injects powerful rays of real emotion as often as she can and Dermot Mulroney manages some nice moments as the town vet who is just too darned nice to refuse to treat those adorable townsfolk, doing his best in spite of a cornpone set-up and the tiredest of revelations.

Comedy and drama can combine beautifully as this film’s screenwriter, Mark Andrus, did so well with As Good as it Gets. But this time it just doesn’t work, lurching unevenly back and forth with at least two too many fake-outs that make Rachel seem like the girl who cried wolf. And you know what that means — when she calls, stay home.

Parents should know that this film has a good deal of very mature material, including themes of child sexual abuse and incest. Rachel is sexually provocative and seductive in a number of inappropriate situations involving a young boy, a young man who is engaged and has made a moral and religious commitment to chastity, and an older man. Characters use strong and crude language. A character has a drinking problem and gets drunk. There are references to drug use and tense and emotional confrontations and some mild violence.

Families who see this movie should talk about why Lily was angry with Georgia and why Rachel did not think she could tell Lily the truth.

Families who appreciate this movie will also appreciate Charms for an Easy Life and Down in the Delta.

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Comedy Drama Movies -- format Romance

Jindabyne

Posted on May 5, 2007 at 11:09 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for disturbing images, language and some nudity.
Profanity:	Some very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Character is killed, nude and wounded dead body, references to rape, brief domestic violence
Diversity Issues:	Race and gender differences a theme of the movie, some homophobic humor
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

Parents should know that this film deals with very disturbing themes, including the discovery of the dead body of a young woman who may have been raped. There are scenes of nudity and graphic wounds. Characters drink (sometimes to excess), smoke, use very strong and crude language, and have tense and unhappy confrontations. There are references to mental illness and the death of a little girl’s mother. Children are in peril. They also get in trouble for bringing a knife to school and killing the class pet. The situation in the film raises issues of gender, race, ethnic, and cultural differences as well as differences of opinion about how to respond to painful and confusing circumstances.

Families who see this movie should talk about why the different characters felt differently about the right way to respond to the discovery of the body. What do their different attitudes tell us about what was most important to each of them? What is the role of the children in helping to tell the story?

Families who like this movie will also like The Vanishing (the original, not the American remake) and Deliverance (both with very mature material). They might also like to read some of the short stories by Raymond Carver, including “So Much Water So Close to Home,” in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: Stories, which was the basis for this film.

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Crime Drama Movies -- format Thriller

Lucky You

Posted on May 2, 2007 at 11:25 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual humor.
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril and violence, emotional confrontations
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	2007

Maybe if it had been made in the 1940’s or 50’s in black and white, maybe if it starred Frank Sinatra and Lee Remick, maybe if we had never seen better films like “The Hustler,” maybe this script might have worked. But today it just seems formulaic and out of date. As a poker hand, it’s not even a pair of deuces.

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Huck (Eric Bana) is a poker player. He has a lot of natural skill and a lot of experience. His weakness is that at the big moment he does not go by the book. Sometimes that means a good decision based on intuition. Other times it means a bad decision based on anger. He understands the concept of "left pocket money," your "real" money that can't be bet. But when the moment comes, he bets not only his left pocket money but everyone else's too.

Huck lives in Las Vegas, where the world series of poker is about to start. He needs to qualify for a seat and he needs to have the $10,000 entry fee. The first part of the movie is about whether he will make it — not much suspense there, as we wouldn’t have a movie if he did. Then we have the tournament itself. In most movies in this genre, our young hero must take on a father-figure, an Oedipal metaphor, the champion, the establishment guy, the man our hero both looks up to and longs to triumph over. It is emblematic of this movie’s absence of subtlety or complexity that in this case the father-figure is in fact Huck’s literal father, English professor-turned professional gambler Robert Duvall, who insists on calling his son “Huckleberry.” (The English professor background suggests the name is inspired by Finn, not Hound.)

And there must be The Girl, in this case Billie, played by Drew Barrymore, still the effervescent flower child, even as a brunette, but who cannot and should not sing. It was okay in “Music and Lyrics,” where she was not supposed to be a good singer. Here, it is a performance that cries out for Simon Cowell. She and Bana have no chemistry, a real problem when their supposed overwhelming attraction and powerful connection is expected to not just capture our attention but justify most of the decisions and developments throughout the movie.

The movie’s one great strength is a brief appearance by Robert Downey, Jr. as a friend of Huck’s who answers a variety of 900-number calls while he sits at a bar and refuses to loan Huck money. As he juggles the calls on his cell phones, the conversations a witty counterpoint to his dialogue with Huck, the movie briefly comes alive. But all too quickly, his scene is over and we’re stuck watching people play cards. You gotta know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em — in this movie, the wise viewer will toss in his cards as soon as Downey’s scene is over.

Parents should know that this movie has some strong language and some sexual references and a non-explicit situation. Characters smoke and drink. The movie includes a lot of bad behavior including lying and stealing and a discussion of cheating, plus excessive and possibly compulsive gambling and some peril and violence.

Families who see this movie should talk about the significance of the ring. What did Huck decide was most important?

Families who enjoy this movie will enjoy The Hustler and the sequel, The Color of Money. Rounders has Matt Damon and Edward Norton as poker players. Families will also enjoy a true story about the world series of poker, Positively Fifth Street.

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Comedy Drama Movies -- format