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DVD Angie
This slice-of-life film out of Bensonhurst begins like a Working Girl rip-off: earnest and endearing woman leaves neighborhood boyfriend (James Gandolfini) to find happiness with a suave professional (Stephen Rea). But there Angie turns into a tale of self-discovery. As with Todd Graff's previous script, Used People, the characters are colorful but never seem more than broad brush stokes. What is left is an admirable acting piece by Geena Davis, who shoulders an entire movie for the first time with winning success, although many will see her mother-to-be as unrealistic. Director Martha Coolidge's (Rambling Rose) direction underscores Angie without wild mannerisms or a heavy accent, making her a memorable character that was originally to be played by Madonna. The trailers were misleading, showing clips from the back half of the movie. It's more about independence than motherhood, and Davis stubbornly desires to be happy and on her own. Plenty of laughs thrown in, mostly from Rea's endearing loafer. Gandolfini is excellent in his first major role. --Doug Thomas
I'm not quite sure why anyone felt it was necessary to make this movie. This is the story of Angie, a young Brooklyn woman of Italian descent who leads a rather routine, bridge-and-tunnel sort of existence as an office worker who commutes to her job in Manhattan. She has a circle of friends who seem to lead lives which are more or less similar to hers, the closest of whom are Tina, her overweight, lifelong buddy, and Vinnie, her plumber de facto fiance who has been her steady since high school. Angie and her father both carry the scars of having been deserted by Angie's mom--an incident shrouded in mystery due to her father's reluctance to discuss the actual events. Angie often ponders her mother's desertion, which eventually motivates her to take drastic action near the end of the film. We're given to understand that Angie isn't quite as happy as she should be with the routine of her life. When she discovers that she's pregnant, she--realizing it's probably her last chance to do something different--decides to go for broke and not marry the doting Vinnie. She finds her catalyst in Noel, a glib Irishman who practices international law and who has picked her up in Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art, which Angie is visiting alone, having been unable to convince the boorish-but-sweet Vinnie to accompany her. Noel takes Angie's eventual revelation of her pregnancy in stride, carrying on a part-time affair with her right up to her admittance to the delivery room, at which point he abruptly dumps her. Angie's child has a birth defect and refuses to nurse from her. After walking in on her loathsome stepmother nursing the baby, our overwhelmed heroine flees to Texas in search of her mother, closure, and enhanced self-awareness. The ending is rather predictable. I can't imagine that anyone male (at least of my acquaintance) would find anything to enjoy in this film. It's concerned only with female issues and addresses them on a rather superficial level. I also found it quite unbelievable that Noel would hang around as long as he did; in fact, what possessed him to get involved beyond a possible one-night stand in the first place? Angie is a very pretty, wisecracking young woman, but she's coarse, somewhat vulgar, and a potential embarrassment every time she opens her mouth (a contemporary Stella Dallas?), whereas Noel, despite the eventual revelation of his caddishness, is a cultured professional. Is the clue to his infatuation to be found, perhaps, in his truly appalling haircut? No answer is ever given, although we're nearly as shocked as Angie at his unbelievably callous defection (it transpires that he's married and "kind of" separated, presumably to someone more appropriate but less attractive). In fact, this entire movie stretches credulity. Post-partum crazies aside, are we really expected to believe that a working-class American girl with a loving, supportive family is going to abandon a newborn? This film's saving grace lies in its performances; all are excellent. Davis' Angie is appealingly played (although her "Bensonhurst-ese" is a tad over the top) and the support characters shine as well. Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack is, predictably, excellent. The problem is that despite strong performances, these characters are caricatures and the story is one-dimensional and rather ridiculous, strewn with cliches and the occasional silly platitude that's meant to sound profound. This one can be avoided with no great sense of loss. Incidentally, for my money, the "Santa scene" is one of the most tasteless performances ever captured on celluloid. Perhaps this was the final straw that broke the camel's back for Noel? We'll never know for sure.
REAL EMOTIONS ABOUND
I found this to be an endearing movie. I didn't want to watch, but couldn't turn away from Angie's pain during her self discovery. She has made poor decisions and was always looking for the greener grass, but comes to find she is her own worst enemy, and best friend.
"Angela Scacciapensieri"
Originally intended for Madonna (who can't act & would have definately STUNK!), this was an excellent role for Geena Davis. "Angie" is a film about an Italian/American woman from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, N.Y. Her mom left her when she was a child & because of this she has a romanticized notion of her mother & a deep fear of abandonment. She wants more out of life than her working class plumber boyfriend (and father of her child) can offer her so she falls in love with a lawyer from Ireland while pregnant(someone as far removed from her Brooklyn world as possible!) After the baby is born, the lawyer dumps her & she also feels rejected by her son (you'll have to see the movie to find out why) so she heads off to Texas to finally face her mom for some type of closure. Yes, this character's angst & situations can be overwhelming , but real life can be like that too sometimes. The musical score, by Jerry Goldsmith, is excellent (particularly "Angie's Theme") & compliments the movie wonderfully. The movie also has a knack for capturing the New York Italian/American experience authentically. At times, "Angie" feels like a hybrid of other films ("Working Girl", "Beaches", "Saturday Night Fever", & "Moonstruck") but it works.
This 1991 thriller by Joseph Ruben (True Believer) works up to a point: Julia Roberts plays an abused wife who fakes her death and starts anew under a different identity in Iowa. Her psychopathic husband (Patrick Bergin) figures it out and stalks her and her new boyfriend (Kevin Anderson). The best part of the film is the moody isolation of Roberts's life with Bergin. Ruben ingeniously stakes out the story by presenting what looks like an ideal life between the two--a nice house on the ocean, a seemingly healthy sex life, etc.--and then, whammo! Vital to the plot but less interesting is everything afterward, but that's less an inherent script problem than it is obvious studio pressure to push Roberts as a cute star. There's even a sequence where the actress tries on a series of... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Julia Roberts - Patrick Bergin Director(s): Joseph Ruben DVD Release Date: Released the 02 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Lawrence Kasdan adapted Anne Tyler's novel into this mopey comedy which, oddly enough, took the New York Film Critics Circle's best picture award (a case of strategic voting getting out of hand). William Hurt plays a depressed travel writer struggling to come to terms with his son's death. He buys a dog for companionship, then hires an eccentric dog trainer (Geena Davis, who won an Oscar for her role) to teach it to behave. She, in turn, teaches him to reconnect to life. But as he is beginning to admit his feelings for her to himself, he is blindsided by the return of his estranged wife (Kathleen Turner), who attempts to rekindle their marriage. A muffled, low-key affair--so low-key that it sometimes seems positively stationary. --Marshall FineMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): William Hurt - Kathleen Turner - Geena Davis Director(s): Lawrence Kasdan DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I saw this at Movie Trading Company for $3.99 and on sale for $1.99. So I went on a big limd and bought it. I wasn't that suprised about it, it wasn't that good. Goldie Hawn did a pretty good job. The actor for the husband was a little pradictable. The ending was a suprise, but all in all a pretty good movie. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Goldie Hawn - John Heard Director(s): Damian Harris DVD Release Date: Released the 30 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Three Oscar-winning actresses have a go at one of playwright Beth Henley's southern-fried comedies, and cook up an agreeable gumbo. In the town of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, Diane Keaton dithers her birthday away as one sister (Jessica Lange) returns from a flopped attempt at a singing career in Hollywood, and the other sister (Sissy Spacek) languishes in jail after shooting her abusive hubby. Truth be told, all three have been a little touched in the head ever since the long-past day when their mother hanged herself along with the family cat. Bruce Beresford provides the workmanlike direction, and Sam Shepard and Tess Harper contribute supporting turns. But this one's all about the three skillful stars, who eschew showboating and defer to each other with real grace--they have the rhythms... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Diane Keaton - Jessica Lange - Sissy Spacek Director(s): Bruce Beresford DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This film is an intelligent examination of an easygoing doctor (Liam Neeson at his teddy bear best) and his discovery of Nell (Oscar nominee Jodie Foster), a woman who was raised in the woods with no human contact except her speech-impaired mother. The movie covers a familiar "fish out of water" story unlocking Nell's soul (by deciphering her incomprehensible language) and then taking her into the modern world. What makes Nell special is the earnest work by Neeson, Natasha Richardson (as an uptight psychologist), and a rich, small array of supporting members (journeyman Nick Searcy as the town sheriff is marvelous). At its center is another extraordinary job by Foster, who also produced. Director Michael Apted (Thunderheart) brings his regular load of realism into the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jodie Foster - Liam Neeson Director(s): Michael Apted DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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