Brave the Dark: A Review

BRAVE THE DARK

It seems a bit strange to think that Brave the Dark is based on a true story. I say this because the plot of Brave the Dark seems almost standard in "inspirational films". Brave the Dark though transcends any suggestions like an afterschool special with sincere performances and flawed characters.  

Troubled high school student and track athlete Nathan (Nate) Williams (Nicholas Hamilton) causes trouble for his small Lancaster County, Pennsylvania community in 1986. He breaks into businesses with his ne'er-do-well friends. He also has been living in his car for months. No one is aware of Nate's plight. 

One of those unaware is high school drama teacher Stan Deen (Jared Harris). Mr. Deen is well-liked, even beloved, by everyone he knows. He is still coming to grips with the recent death of his mother, his only relative. Mr. Deen is shocked when Nate is arrested during school. He is more shocked when both his fellow teachers and Nate's longsuffering grandparents do not come to bail him out. 

Eventually, Mr. Deen takes more and more responsibility for Nate. Nate's grandparents themselves have never come to terms with the death of their daughter and Nate's mother Gloria (Meredith Sullivan). They surrender guardianship to Mr. Deen. He takes Nate into his home and does his best to show Nate genuine warmth and kindness. Nate, for his part, struggles to accept Mr. Deen's kindness. He also struggles to maintain his anger when his girlfriend Tina (Sasha Bhasin) dumps him.

Mr. Deen sees something good in Nate, who can be fun, friendly and even a bit humorous when he isn't being watched. However, the darkness of Nate's past, which comes in pieces, still has a great hold over Nathan. Nate must navigate his shocking childhood and his survivor's guilt to pull himself out from his past. Stan Deen, in turn, needs to learn to push and pull back when dealing with Nate. He might be using Nate as a substitute for his mother and his own unspoken grief. As Nathan comes to terms with the truth about his mother and father, sometimes in shocking ways, he eventually emerges out of the dark thanks to Mr. Deen.

Brave the Dark may be based on a true story. However, I think some might see the "troubled but good young man saved by kind adult" narrative a bit too cliched. IF so, I think they would be unfair in dismissing a film that is sincere. Brave the Dark does not idealize either Stan Deen or Nathan Deen (he took on his patron's name in tribute). Instead, we see Nathan as sometimes violent towards Tina and Carl (Sung Yoon), her new boyfriend. Over and over, Nate pushes one to throw his hands up in despair.

At one point in Brave the Dark, Mr. Deen does exactly that. After a raucous party that Nate throws when Mr. Deen is off with his students at a competition, Stan is shocked, appalled, angered and disappointed at what he comes home to. He has reached the end of his patience. In perhaps another film, we might have seen one or both openly admit to mistakes. However, Mr. Deen is shown as enraged that his orderly home has been wrecked. 

We also see in this section two important elements. We do see Nathan highly upset at how Mr. Deen's home is being abused by his so-called friends, down to having a water leak in the basement. We also, more importantly, see the truth of Nate's horrifying early years. Throughout Brave the Dark, director Damian Harris (Jared Harris' brother) has given bits and pieces of how Nate lost his mother. The full impact of Nate's guilt and trauma is well-handled.

This carries over into the two lead performances. Brave the Dark is a strong calling card for Nicholas Hamilton. He skews the temptation to play Nate as wholly sympathetic. Instead, Hamilton gives Nathan a deeper complexity, a young man who has a deep struggle. When he finally reveals the truth about his mother's death, Hamilton and director Harris do not make it a big, dramatic moment. Instead, the scene is played in a soft, almost matter-of-fact manner. This, I think gives it a greater impact. One is more moved when we hear what we already know. The audience, I think, is more moved precisely because Hamilton underplays the drama. There is an understated manner in much of Hamilton's performance. When Nathan tells Stan that he joined the track team just so that he had a place to shower, many actors might have made that a big moment. Nicholas Hamilton does not. Instead, he delivers this information very directly. 

Brave the Dark does give Nicholas Hamilton a chance to also show Nate's youthful, even goofy side. While working alone creating sets for the school's production of Flowers for Algernon, Nathan begins an impromptu dance to A Flock of Seagull's Space Age Love Song. Here, we get to see that Nathan is more than just "troubled young man". We see that he is also a teen, who dances to music that he likes and has a desire for joy within him. This is a strong performance from Hamilton, and I hope that he gets more chances to show his range.

Brave the Dark also gives Jared Harris a chance to play a sympathetic character. His Stan Deen is genuinely caring. More than that, Harris makes Deen into a generally cheerful fellow, who is friends and friendly with just about everyone he meets. At one point, a slightly irritated Nate asks Deen if he knows everyone. As if on cue, Deen points to a random person and says, "I don't know her", and then does this a couple more times until he does find someone that he does know. 

Harris does a standout job as Stan Deen. He gets to show little moments of vulnerability when his friend and fellow teacher Deborah (Kimberly Fairbanks) chides him for still having his late mother's wheelchair. Fairbanks also has a great moment when she comes to Deen's house to help him clean up the mess from the unauthorized party. As she looks around, she starts chuckling, then laughing. The sight of the highly organized Deen within the aftereffects of teenage hijinks causes her to find the situation amusing.

Brave the Dark is something of a Harris family project. Jared Harris is one of the two leads. His brother Damian is the director and contributor to the screenplay. Their other brother Jaime is Nathan's gruff parole officer. 

There might be a temptation to see Brave the Dark as an inspirational or even faith-based film. There is one shot of a crucifix prominently shown as Nathan is driven by his grandparents to their home. Apart from that, however, Brave the Dark makes no calls to God or having any metaphorical or literal "come to Jesus" moment. The closest is when Mr. Deen is seen making something of a prayer for Nathan in a climactic moment. This, however, is not a specific call for any specific deity. It could be seen as a general plea. We even have some swearing within the film.

Brave the Dark has a realism that befits its true-life origin. There are moments of warmth and humor within it. When Deen asks why Nathan is at school, he replies, "Girls and sports". "Wrong answer", Mr. Deen replies. Later on, Nathan is surprised that he was given a surprisingly light sentence: 72 hours in jail. Amazed at how lenient the judge was, an astonished Nathan cannot believe Deen tells him that he did great. "I didn't do anything. I just stood there and kept my mouth shut", Nathan tells his teacher. Patting him on the shoulder, Deen merely replies with a smile, "Exactly". 

Brave the Dark is worth watching for a variety of reasons. It has solid performances from Jared Harris and Nicholas Hamilton. Its story is interesting and handled well. I think audiences will embrace and be inspired by this true story to do what Stan Deen did: love all people, even the seemingly unlovable ones. One act of kindness can truly do wonders for an individual and for the world.

DECISION: B+

The Rose Tattoo: A Review

THE ROSE TATTOO

It must be, I imagine, one of the greatest compliments that an actor can receive to have a part written specifically for them. Such is the case with The Rose Tattoo. This adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play was written specifically for its star, Italian actress Anna Magnani. She could not play the role on Broadway due to her limited command of English. Once the film came about, Magnani's English had improved enough to let her play the part. After seeing The Rose Tattoo, one can see why Williams was set on having Magnani play the role. 

Sicilian seamstress Serafina Delle Rose (Magnani) adores her husband Rosario and her daughter Rosa (Marisa Pavan). While she lives in the American South near the Gulf of Mexico, Serafina is still closer to the old world in outlook. Her adoration if not idolization of Rosario is such that she will not contemplate the thought that he has been stepping out on her. She also won't accept that he is a smuggler who is killed attempting to outrun the law.

Three years on, Serafina has become a recluse. While still working as a seamstress from home, she will not come out of her house for almost anything. She also has a tight hold on Rosa. Despite her sewing skills, Serafina will not make Rosa a formal dress for a dance. Despite this, Rosa meets Jack Hunter (Ben Cooper), a sailor who is a friend's brother. An instant romance between them begins. Serafina, however, does not approve. Serafina debates attending Rosa's graduation but is held up by two women demanding their blouses. They are eager to meet with New Orleans conventioneers and mock Serafina for her airs of respectability, down to throwing the stories of Rosario's mistress at her. This mystery woman, they tell her, went so far as to get a rose tattoo on her chest that matched Rosario's.

Determined to find the truth, Serafina ventures out to the church to ask Father De Leo (Sandro Giglio) if Rosario ever confessed anything. De Leo will not say what was said in confession, enraging our fiery Sicilian baroness (Rosario having an old title despite his poverty). The church is coincidentally having a bazaar. Here, simple truck driver Alvaro Mangicavallo (Burt Lancaster) is enthusiastic about Serafina. He takes her home and she offers to repair his shirt. From this, Alvaro cheerfully prods Serafina into a potential romance. Alvaro is so smitten with Serafina that he too gets a rose tattoo on his chest.

However, Serafina cannot rest with the doubts about Rosario. Will she be able to confront Rosario's mistress, card shark Estelle Hohengarten (Virginia Grey)? Will Serafina lose Rosa and Alvaro, or will everyone manage a happy ending?

The Rose Tattoo is interesting in that unlike some of Tennessee Williams' better-known works, it has a positive conclusion. It is as optimistic an ending as I think Williams ever gave one of his works. The film is surprisingly upbeat, with the suggestion that both Serafina & Alvaro and Rosa & Jack will have happy endings. I cannot say whether this is due to the habit of having happy endings in films of the era or not. However, I enjoyed that we got a Tennessee Williams adaptation that did not end in despair but in hope.

Anna Magnani has always been seen as a force of nature. In her Oscar-winning performance, Magnani is theatrical without being big, straddling being grandiose and being natural. She is fierce, almost unhinged whenever she is attacking someone. However, she is also amusing, even tender, when expressing regret or sorrow. Given that English is not her first language, The Rose Tattoo allows for unintentional moments of malapropisms. Early on, Serafina is told by one of her fellow Italian neighbors, "You dressed for a party?". "No, I'm dressed for a big celebration", Serafina replies. She did not mean it as a joke or as sarcasm. It is a credit to Anna Magnani that she made it sound as if Serafina was actually answering the question and not just being silly.

I was trying to remember what Anna Magnani's performance reminded me of. Now I remember. She is similar to Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment. Both play respectable, perhaps excessively prim and proper widows, who find the most outlandish suitors imaginable. Yet, I digress.

Anna Magnani's biggest stumbling block would have been the language barrier. The Rose Tattoo does give her many opportunities to speak in her native Italian. She handles Serafina's anger and shock at Rosario's ultimate betrayal and Rosa's burgeoning love. However, Magnani is not big. She manages moments of almost shyness and coyness, particularly when dealing with the excessively cheerful Alvaro.

Marisa Pavan also received a nomination for her performance. That one I found a bit harder to accept. She was fine as Rosa, the dutiful American daughter who chafes at Rosa's forced confinement. She does have good moments with an equally good Ben Cooper. There is almost something sweetly lustful about Rosa. She is coy or defiant when she needs to be. However, at times, Rosa comes across as a bit whiny.

As a side note, Pavan's character's name translates to "Rose of the Rose" (Rosa Delle Rose). Granted, my Italian is not strong. That is just how it sounds to me.

As mentioned, Cooper makes it believable that Jack too is, in his words, innocent. I think it is understood that he means "a virgin", but we were not about to hear that term used here.

The big drawback, and it is a big drawback, is Burt Lancaster. I don't think there is any universe where Burt Lancaster can be believed as a Sicilian immigrant. He seems too big in his manner, exaggerated, cartoonishly so, as someone meant to be seen as "happy-go-lucky". He comes across more as a grinning idiot, someone who in Serafina's words has the body of her husband but the head of a clown. Lancaster's big grin and very forced manner made it pretty much impossible for me to see him as Alvaro Mangicavallo. He came across as Burt Lancaster trying to play something that he was not suited for. 

The Rose Tattoo received Oscars for its Art Direction and James Wong Howe's cinematography (back when the categories were split between black-and-white and color films). These awards, like Magnani's Best Actress win, were deserved. Some of the sequences, such as Serafina's confrontation with Rosario's mistress at the Mardis Gras Club, are effectively filmed. 

I do have some quibbles with The Rose Tattoo. In the film, Rosa is graduating from high school and ends off going with Jack with Serafina's blessing. However, it is also mentioned that Rosa is 15. I was puzzled as to how Rosa could be 15 and be graduating from high school. I won't even go into going off to marry a sailor at that age. The film's screenplay, credited to Tennessee Williams and adaptation by Hal Kanter, also could not fully escape its theatrical background. The scenes of the two women haggling with Serafina over blouses and men, as well as some of Serafina and Alvaro's scenes, felt like a filmed play. However, on the whole director Delbert Mann kept things going well.

The Rose Tattoo seems to be a Tennessee Williams work that is not as well-remembered as something like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire. It may be because it does not deal with Southern characters or crazy people. As stated, The Rose Tattoo has as optimistic an ending to a Tennessee Williams work as I have seen. At one point, someone advises Serafina to have no outburst of emotion. That seems something that does not seems impossible for someone as volcanic, fiery and earthy as Anna Magnani. However, she is a standout in The Rose Tattoo, a perhaps long but entertaining film of love's labor's lost and found. 

DECISION: B+

Viktor und Viktoria: A Review

VIKTOR UND VIKTORIA 

(VICTOR AND VICTORIA)

Viktor und Viktoria came just as the Weimar Republic was coming to its end. It is highly unlikely that a story of a female female impersonator would have gone over well in the new Third Reich. With a breezy charm and amusing musical numbers, Victor and Victoria is a pleasant delight. 

Viktor Humpel (Hermann Thimig) considers himself the greatest Shakespearean actor in all German-speaking nations. He is also the only one who thinks this. His latest audition is a fiasco. Here, he meets aspiring chanteuse Susanne Lohr (Renate Muller), an eager and talented kid looking for her big break. Viktor talks Susanne into filling in for him as "Viktoria", a drag act that he uses to supplement his income when he can't get any other jobs. She, albeit reluctantly and with barely hidden hostility, goes along with it.

"Viktoria" is a bit success. Impresario Francesco Alberto Punkertin (Aribert Wascher) eagerly takes "Mr. Viktoria" as a client, with Viktor as her right-hand man. Susanne soon eagerly goes along with this scheme and takes London by storm with her Spanish dance. She also takes in Robert (Anton Walbrook, billed as Adolf Wohlbruck). He is delighted, then shocked to find that Viktoria is a drag queen. He, however, wonders if Viktoria really is male. His companion Ellinor (Hilde Hildebrand) finds this amusing. She is also a flirt, letting both Robert and Sir Douglas Shepperton (Fritz Odemar) squire her to all the chic London nightclubs.

Robert is determined to find out the truth. He finds it when he overhears Susanne tell Viktor that she is tiring of this bizarre double act. Viktor is not sympathetic to her plight. He is, however, sympathetic to chorus girl Lilli (Friedel Prisetta), who is also German and who maintains a friendly flirtation with Viktor. As Susanne and Robert fall in love, there is danger that "Viktoria" will be unmasked. Will our four to six lovers be matched? Will "Viktoria's" farewell performance be a triumph or a comical farce?

Victor and Victoria is a wildly clever musical. It embraces its musical heritage by having characters sing while in conversation. While the film does have stage musical numbers, Victor and Victor is not afraid to have the characters sing within the film.

The songs are charming and delightful. Of particular note is One Day in Spring, which Viktor and Susanne sing on their way to the hotel dining hall after "Viktoria's" London triumph. Starting as conversation, One Day in Spring switches to song, which in turn carries on to the tune the orchestra is playing. One does not pause to question the logic of it all. That is part of Victor and Victoria's charm, how open and unashamed it is about being nothing more than a romp.

The stage number I've Got a Little Castle in Spain is impressive for a variety of reasons. First is the number itself: cute, coy, flirtatious and pleasant musically. Second, you have Renate Muller's beautiful singing voice. It is clear, sparkling and delightful. Muller also does something intelligent: she lowers her voice during the song. I think that lends credibility to the idea that "Viktoria" is really a man in drag. Third, I've Got a Little Castle in Spain shows that the German film industry was capable of creating musicals that could match what Hollywood did. One part of the number has an overhead shot in the style of a Busby Berkeley sequence. If one thinks on it, this visual would be illogical on a stage setting. Again though, as Victor and Victoria is a film musical, we keep rolling with it. 

Renate Muller is an absolute knockout in Victor and Victoria. She is beautiful. She is also effective when dressed as a man. In a top hat and tails, she has a similar manner to her counterpart Marlene Dietrich. However, unlike Dietrich's sultrier and more erotic manner, Muller in drag seems more playful and joyful. Muller has a wonderful comic scene when attempting to dress for her debut while surrounded by men. In a wonderful bit of silent film acting wonderfully directed by Reinhold Schunzel, we see Susanne being both timid and pushy whenever Viktor tries to get her to put on her Viktoria outfit. 

In the I've Got a Little Castle in Spain number Muller also sings in English. Her diction is practically perfect. Renate Muller was sparkling and delightful as Susanne/Viktoria, full of joy and lightness. Sadly, her early death at 31 was a great loss to cinema. The circumstances of her death (perhaps suicide, perhaps accidental, perhaps even murder by the Nazis) will forever be shrouded in mystery.

Hermann Thiming was equally pleasant as the pompous, grandiose Viktor Humpel. He has a great early scene where he tortures the theatrical agents with his almost unhinged Shakespeare recreations. Despite Viktor's shady manner, he too is also in his way sweet and amusing. His flirtations with an equally charming Pisetta as Lilli, whose job is to carry numbers across the stage to signal the next act, is charming.

Anton Walbrook fled Nazi Germany, which was a loss to German film. His Robert was dashing and a worthy foil to Viktoria's attempts at deception. He plays Robert as a Lothario but also as someone who is both intelligent and caring. 

Schunzel, who also wrote the screenplay, has some wonderful moments of wit and intelligence. He at one point has a dog act that serves as a counterpoint to the Viktor/Lili romance. He also ends Viktor and Viktoria with a logical and delightful conclusion. The cast and crew first tell each other of Viktoria's secret in a great montage. At the end, we see all the couples united, bringing our frolic to a delightful conclusion.

Viktor und Viktoria is a sparkling gem that should delight the viewer. With not one but two remakes and a Broadway musical adaptation as one of its legacies, I hope Viktor und Viktoria is not forgotten.   

DECISION: B+

First a Girl: A Review (Review #2080)

FIRST A GIRL

It is a curious thing that sandwiched between the original German comedy Viktor und Victoria and the 1982 American remake Victor/Victoria there is another English-language remake that is all but forgotten now. First a Girl is a surprising and undiscovered treat. It is a jolly, charming little film that comes close to equaling the better-known Julie Andrews film. 

Aspiring theater actress Elizabeth (Jessie Matthews) simply cannot find her big break. She is down to her last farthing when she encounters Victor (Sonnie Hale). He is a Shakespearean actor of the first order. He also has a drag act to keep body and soul together. Both are caught in a major rainstorm. For their troubles, Elizabeth gets her clothes shrunk and Victor gets laryngitis. It couldn't come at a worse time, as Victor just got a last-minute booking for his drag alter ego, Victoria.

In desperation, Elizabeth agrees to fill in for Victor as "Victoria". As "Victoria", Elizabeth is a rousing success. So much so that major theatrical impresario McClintock (Alfred Drayton) caught "Victoria's" act and wants to hire her immediately for a European tour. "Victoria's" agent Victor quickly agrees. Elizabeth, who now has to go by "Bill", is horrified at the thought of being a female impersonator. However, the lure of the stage quickly wins her over.

"Victoria" is a hit. She also astounds audiences when she removes her wig and reveals that she is a man. One person who is not thrilled is Robert (Griffith Jones). He is something of a Lothario who has ensnared or been ensnared by Princess Helen (Anna Lee). Robert is deeply embarrassed when he apparently found himself attracted to a drag queen. However, something about "Bill" seems off, almost distinctly feminine. Could Victoria really be a woman? Robert, and later the Princess, both begin suspecting as such.

Things get complicated when the real Victor falls for the Princess, or at least the chance to have an angel fund his Shakespearean efforts. Elizabeth for her part has fallen for the handsome Robert. Efforts to unmask "Bill" fail, but eventually Robert and the Princess separately find out about the female impersonator being female. Will Victor/Victoria be exposed? Will our two couples manage to stumble into each other at the end?

What surprised me about First a Girl is just how good its musical numbers were. One does not think of British cinema having the capability of big, splashy musicals like their American cousins. First a Girl makes a case that the British could make big, elaborate musicals that could match those from a Busby Berkeley. The opening number set in on a stage is a big number or numbers really. You have the stage show countered with Jessie Matthews' Elizabeth and her hatcheck girls doing their own version. Another number, I Can Wiggle My Ears, is also incredibly filmed and choreographed. 

I Can Wiggle My Ears is ostensibly a floor show at the nightclub that the four characters go to after "Victoria's" debut. As filmed by director Victor Saville, the number is wildly inventive. You have the chorus girls appear and disappear almost in a mirror-like manner. An earlier number, It's Written All Over Your Face, is a nice English music hall presentation. It is funny and clever and altogether charming.

First a Girl is a wonderful way to discover the charms of Jessie Matthews. She is an absolute standout as Elizabeth/Victoria. Matthews has a large, expressive face that is charming and beautiful. She in the film gave a fully rounded performance. Matthews excels in the musical numbers. No matter how big or small they are, Matthews is never overwhelmed or diminished in them. She also handles the comedy very well.

There is a long scene where Robert, Victor and "Bill" have to share a room. Robert, convinced that "Bill" is really a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, tries to get everyone ready for bed by undressing. That also means that two of them will have to share a bed. Elizabeth/Bill does not want to do either. Matthews' manner of escaping this delicate situation is played with great humor. Credit to Marjorie Gaffney's adaptation to keep things going for as long as they could.

Matthews also did have a wonderful sense of drama when confessing her gender and love for Robert to the Princess. In every way possible, be it singing, dancing or acting, Jessie Matthews was top notch. It is, to be fair, a bit ludicrous to think anyone would be fooled by "Bill". However, we go along with this.

One is never quite sure what to think of Sonnie Hale's Victor. He could be comical, such as in a montage where he attempts to recite various bits of Shakespeare to an uninterested director, mistaking the director's comments to an aide as acting direction. He could also be ruthless, like when he pushed to downright bullied Elizabeth into one odd situation to another.

He was also supposed to be smitten with the Princess. However, sometimes he seemed to suggest that Victor was gay. He did enjoy the drag a bit too much. His love scenes with Anna Lee's Princess seemed a bit curious. It was not completely unrealistic that Victor and the Princess would eventually be coupled. It did, however, look a bit peculiar.

The same could be said about Lee's Princess. I think she was meant to be something of a villain, the figure who would keep Elizabeth and Robert apart. However, she also seemed to be if not smitten at least amused by Victor. It was a bit curious. Griffith Jones' Robert was handsome. He also gave a good performance overall as the hoodwinked Robert. He had a good way with humorous lines. After being jokingly reprimanded for falling for "Victoria", Robert sneered at seeing her again. The Princess told Robert that he should think of Victoria as successful for coming across as a marvelous girl. "I dislike men who make marvelous girls", he tells the Princess. Later, "Bill" attempts to pass himself off as a man. "Bill" claims to know a lot about women. "I'll bet there's nothing about women you don't know", he replies.

First a Girl has as stated some wonderful musical numbers. They are full of energy, sometimes frenetically so. The film moves mostly well and has a lot of nice comical touches. "What do you want?", Victor whispers to Elizabeth just before she hits the stage as "Victoria". Her reply? "I want to be sick". With great musical numbers and a delightful performance from Jessie Matthews, the musical First a Girl is a film that should be better known. It is a nice romp, one that delights in literally winking at the audience.

DECISION: B-

Victor/Victoria: A Review (Review #2079)

VICTOR/VICTORIA

Gender benders never came as frothy as Victor/Victoria. The second remake of the German comedy Vicktor und Victoria, this adaptation has a wonderful songbook and strong performances that elevate it to a delightful musical comedy.

Paris, 1934. Openly gay cabaret singer Carrol Todd or Toddy (Robert Preston) is having romantic issues with a handsome but sleazy lover. He also sees chanteuse Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) audition at Chez Lui, where Toddy is the headliner. Chez Lui's owner Labisse (Peter Arne) is totally unimpressed despite her vocal range. Victoria is at the end of her rope, going so far as to offer to sleep with her hotelier for a meatball.

Things take a great turn when Victoria and Toddy reunite at a restaurant. Circumstances force them to spend the night together. In the morning, Toddy's lover returns and is shocked to find a "man" in the closet. Toddy then hits on a brilliant idea. He will pass Victoria off as Count Victor Grazinski, a gay Polish aristocrat who is also the world's greatest female impersonator. Victoria scoffs at the idea of a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Nevertheless, they manage to fool Andre Cassell (John Rhys-Davies), Paris' premiere talent agent.

Now hired at a chic club, "Victor" fools everyone into buying this drag act. Everyone except Chicago nightclub owner King Marchand (James Garner). He is convinced that "Victor" is really a woman. At first, Marchand's moll Norma Cassady (Leslie Ann Warren) is bemused by the apparent mistaken identity. Marchand, however, is not. Norma's violent nature at being scoffed is such that Marchand forces her to return to Chicago. 

Eventually, King does confirm that Victor is a woman. He and Victoria soon become lovers. The deception about "Victor" is such that Marchand's bodyguard, Squash Bernstein (Alex Karras) finds the courage to come out as gay to Marchand. Norma, still bitter about getting dumped, starts performing at a Chicago club. She also tells Marchand's gangster partner Sal Andretti (Norman Chancer) about King and "Victor". 

Soon, one other person starts doubting the Count Victor Grazinski routine. Labisse is still miffed that Toddy has caused not one but two riots at Chez Lui. He goes to the club and becomes convinced that Count Victor Grazinski is really Victoria Grant. He is determined to unmask this fraud. Andretti for his part is determined to take over King's club. Will Victor be unmasked? 

Victor/Victoria has a very pleasant and amusing manner for most of its admittedly long runtime. A lot of Victor/Victoria is really farce and everyone plays it as such. Of particular note is the scene where Marchand breaks into Toddy and Victoria's hotel suite. He is determined to confirm his suspicions that Victor is really Victoria. This also involves Squash finding himself outside in the Paris snow, freezing as he tries to break back in.

There is also another section where Norma continues to rant despite no one being able to hear her. This brief moment concludes with her opening her coat, revealing her undergarments. That in turn causes a poor traveler to fall off the platform, astounded at the sight. 

The movie is blessed from strong performances from the cast. Julie Andrews had been working hard to move her image past that of the sugary-sweet Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp. She had done so when she famously revealed her bosom in S.O.B. Now, she is playing a female drag queen. Andrews keeps a deft balance between the farcical and the serious. Her desperation at offering sex for a meatball is well-played. She also has wonderful monologues about being able to see things from a different view. I think she puts it as being her own man so to speak. 

She rightly earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Joining her in receiving recognition were Robert Preston and Leslie Ann Warren. Preston was delightful as the quippy Toddy, instigator of this wild scheme. I do not know if it is right to use the term "flamboyant" when it comes to Preston's performance. He is appropriately effeminate at times. However, he is also not a mincing caricature. Preston is broad, but he also plays Toddy as someone who is enjoying all this. 

Warren for her part is delightful as the dimwitted moll who finds herself duped over and over again. She and Preston have a great scene when she discovers that Toddy is gay. "You know, I think that the right woman can reform you", she coos. "You know, I think the right woman can reform you too!" Todd replies amusingly. There is such a great interplay between them here. Warren knows to play this broad as broadly as she can. 

Alex Karras, former football star, does quite well as Squash, the tough bodyguard who comes out. In his smaller role, John Rhys-Davies also did well as Andre Cassell, the talent agent who was duped. My surprise is that James Garner did not receive recognition for his turn as King Marchand. Yes, he was the straight man so to speak in this farce. However, Garner is the key to sell the wild premise. He was not fooled by Victor's drag act. And yet, it took time to prove he was right. That initial doubt, that sense of keeping a straight face amidst all the craziness around him is a hard task. James Garner did it quite well.

A musical lives or dies by its numbers. Victor/Victoria does two things right thanks to Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse's Oscar-winning Original Song Score Adaptation. First, they crafted music that fit the situation or mood. The opening and closing music, an instrumental version of the film's song Crazy World, gives it a mix of romantic and melancholy. Its use of an accordion added a touch of French taste. Pretty much each song moved the story forward without having the characters break out into song (all the numbers taking place on a stage).

Todd's opening number Gay Paree works on two levels. It can be about the underground flamboyant gay world in the City of Lights. It can also be about his life and his unapologetic nature. The big musical number is Victoria's nightclub debut of Le Jazz Hot! which is splashy and energetic. This might be the only number that may not reflect the story's situation. However, I will not argue against anyone that can find a meaning with it. 

Toddy and Victoria have a smaller duet in You and Me, which again works on two levels. It could be a casual song about finding the ideal partner. It could also be about what a wonderful pair they make in their friendship and deception. For me, the standout number is not big or splashy. Crazy World, directed by screenwriter Blake Edwards, keeps thing simple. Everything in the Crazy World number works brilliantly. You have the Mancini/Bricusse music. You have Julie Andrews' beautiful voice carrying it. She is full command here, being vocally strong or weak when needed. The camera does a complete circle around her, keeping things focused on Andrews and the song. For me, Crazy World is the best song in Victor/Victoria. It is a shame that few people remember it the way that they do with something like Le Jazz Hot! or the clever and amusing Shady Dame from Seville. 

The hilarious Shady Dame from Seville reprise is one of two numbers that Andrews does not sing (though she did the first time). Chicago, Illinois is sung by Norma when she is back home entertaining at King's club. Both these numbers are clever and amusing. The Shady Dame from Seville reprise will have you laughing. It will also make the long performance of the first version slightly more tolerable in retrospect. Chicago, Illinois is charming and witty. "Smack on the lake, this is the report! Someday they say we'll have an airport" is a hilarious lyric given the future that awaits Chi-town with O'Hare. 

The film only starts falling off at the end. I think Edwards could not figure out a way to land the ending. Labisse is coming with the police to prove that Victor is really a woman. There is no real explanation how Cassell, who up to this point had been duped, suddenly went along with keeping up the fraud. I figure that he had both his reputation and his career to think of. However, whether he was once more fooled or Toddy and Victoria had to suddenly confess, we do not know. I also think all the sight gags involving private detective Charles Bovin (Herb Tanney, billed as "Sherloque Tanney") fell flat. Each of them was too much slapstick. Finally, a quick scene of Bovin and Labisse was jarringly cut into the Shady Dame from Seville reprise. I think that was a mistake.

Victor/Victoria, minus the jumbled ending, still holds up as an amusing farce with some wonderful songs. Well-acted, written and directed, oh how I love this Crazy World too.

DECISION: B+

The Wedding Banquet (2025): A Review (Review #2078)

THE WEDDING BANQUET (2025)

One might not think that the 1993 film The Wedding Banquet would be remake material. Apparently, the comedy that blended gay and culture clashes needed updating. Thus, we get 2025's The Wedding Banquet, a wild and misguided effort that plays like tragedy.

Seattle is awash with gay Asians. There is lesbian couple Angela (Kelly Marie Tran) and Lee (Lily Gladstone). They are struggling to conceive via invitro fertilization. There is gay couple Chris (Bowen Yang) and Min Hyun (Ha Gi-Chan). Chris and Min are staying in the shed in Lee's backyard. Chris and Angela met in college, where they had a one-night stand. Now, our foursome is committed to their partners and each other.

Things become complicated when artist Min feels pressure from his wealthy Korean grandparents to take a greater role in the company.  Min's grandmother Ja-Young (Youn Yuh-jung) puts gentle pressure on Min to return to Korea. He, however, does not for a few reasons. One, he likes his artistic life in Seattle. Two, he is deeply in love with Chris, even though Chris will not commit. Three, he is still closeted to his traditional Korean family.

Chris, forever hesitating on everything, turns down Min's marriage proposal. Despite having been together five years, Chris protests that Min just wants to stay in America. The solution to Min's dilemma is simple: he will have a quick marriage to Angela. In turn, he will pay for a third round of IVF treatment. Angela did not count on her PFLAG waving mother, May Chen (Joan Chen) to be flummoxed by all this. Our four couples permit themselves a bachelorette party. The end results are Angela and Chris going at it again in a drunken state. 

Min, however, did not count on Grandmother Ja-Young coming to Seattle. Everyone will have to try and keep up the rouse. Ja-Young, however, is no fool and quickly figures things out. She will go along with the rouse so that there be no scandal back in Korea. How will things work out for our potentially expecting mothers and thwarted lovers?

I confess that as of this writing, I have not seen the original The Wedding Banquet. I do know a little bit about it and its overall plot, though. As such, I think I have some idea of differences between the two. However, a comparison between 1993 and 2025 is for another time. Right now, I should focus on this version. 

It is terrible. It is like seeing highlights from a bad sitcom played out. Director Andrew Ahn cowrote The Wedding Banquet with Andrew Schamus. Schamus cowrote the original. Judging by the final product, I think Schamus got a little muddled. 

The Wedding Banquet thinks that by expanding things to two couples, one lesbian and one gay, it improves things. It does not. Whatever conflict Min may have about staying closeted get watered down by Angela and Lee. It is almost as if The Wedding Banquet was made up of two separate stories that were welded together.

You have the Angela and Lee relationship. We have to see their dramas. There is Angela's barely enthusiastic support for Lee being a mother. There is Angela's barely concealed anger at how May is showing wildly enthusiastic support for her lesbian daughter. 

You then have to shift to Chris and Min's story. There is Chris' total lack of commitment. It is not just a lack of commitment to Min. Chris is a birder who guides birdwatchers rather than finish his almost decade-long dissertation. There is Min's fear of coming out. There is Min's concerns about having to go back. 

That is a lot of material already. That, however, does not touch that The Wedding Banquet is supposed to be a comedy. There was very little comedy in The Wedding Banquet, which is odd. It is odder when we do see some stabs at comedy. They fall horrendously flat. Of particular note is the elaborate Korean wedding scene itself. I figure many of the audience members are not Korean. As such, things like the best man having to carry a duck (or in this case, duck figure) and having the bride hop on the groom as he gives her a piggyback ride look bizarre. 

Granted, all of these things may be part of the Korean wedding ceremony. They should be given respect. However, it is hard to make that case when we are treated to Angela vomiting over Min as he carries his bride around on his back while both are wearing traditional Korean clothes.

You do get some chuckles. Min, seeing Angela's wedding ensemble for the first time, says that she looks like Queen Amidala from Star Wars. Learning that Grandmother Ja-Young referred to Angela as "a lesbian snake" is amusing. Angela and Chris' discovery of their second one-night stand did make me chuckle. Yes, it was more out of embarrassment than actual amusement. However, The Wedding Banquet treated things with such seriousness that it failed to be amusing. 

The overall performances do not help. Ha Gin-chan was probably the worst. His line delivery at what I presume were meant as humorous lines were uncomfortable to watch. After having his marriage proposal turned down, Ming says "This is all very hard on my ego". I figure the line was meant to be funny. The end result was anything but. Earlier, Ming rails against Chris' suggestion that he wants to marry him just for the green card. "Your trains are so slow, and I never know how much to tip! I don't even want to be an American!" he exclaims. Again, as written, they were meant to be funny. As delivered, they were not.

I figure that it might be an uncomfortableness with English. Gin-chan was more relaxed when speaking in Korean. He had to spend many scenes with an online Youn Yuh-jung, speaking to her via laptop or large screen. However, Gin-chan was more expressive and less hesitant.

Ha Gin-chan has the language to explain his weak performance. None of the others save Yuh-jung have that excuse. She was good in her role both in Korean and English. Her last scene where she talks about how surprisingly similar her marriage circumstances are to her grandson's is effective.

The rest of the cast though failed to rise above sitcom level. That might be expected out of Bowen Yang. He seems to play the same type of parts: obnoxious, gay, requisite Asian or a combination thereof. He was not funny when he was supposed to be. He was not dramatic when he was supposed to be. To use dialogue from the film, he was a dick with a duck. 

Kelly Marie Tran's Angela just came across as a surly, obnoxious bitch. Forever scowling, Angela was a terrible character. To be fair, the dialogue does not help. When she and Lee contemplate a future child, Angela comments that they can live it up when the brat is at summer camp. That reveals Angela to see a child as a burden rather than a blessing. What kind of person would feed her partner's desire for a child in such a fashion.

Lily Gladstone was better than the material. She could play the drama well. She just did not have anything when attempting comedy. Bobo Le as Chris' quippy cousin Kendall is a thoroughly useless character. She contributes nothing to the plot. The few times that she is there, it is bad.  

At one point in The Wedding Banquet, the lesbian couple and Chris are scurrying around the house. They need to remove everything that suggests sapphic love. "Everything in this house is gay!" one of them shouts. This keeps to the sitcom level of The Wedding Banquet. Unfortunately, it fails to be a comedy or a drama. 

DECISION: D+

The Good Earth: A Review

THE GOOD EARTH

Confucius, I doubt, would say that The Good Earth was right in how it was cast. Now hampered by yellowface, The Good Earth is barely passable despite itself.

Simple Chinese farmer Wang Lung (Paul Muni) is excited and anxious. Today is his wedding day, but he has yet to meet the bride. It is off to the Great House, where he comes to collect his new bride. She is O-Lan (Luise Rainer), a simple slave girl. She is simple, humble and a willing partner for Wang.

Soon, she provides a son, the first of three children. Wang manages to start buying up property, convinced that there is wealth in the good earth. He is initially right, as China is experiencing prosperity and good weather. However, soon drought comes to their world. Wang comes close to selling his land, but O-Lan quietly talks him out of it. Instead, the Lung family along with Wang's Uncle (Walter Connolly) go to the big city in the south to look for work and food.

The Lung family struggles to keep body and soul together. They are forced to resort to stealing, begging and taking the jobs of dead people to scrape together an existence. They, however, also have the gods smile on them in this dark hour. They learn that the rains have returned to their area. A revolution also unwittingly helps them. O-Lan gets caught up in the storming of a mansion. Though she is not a willing participant, she spots a bag of diamonds that can provide badly needed funds. She barely escapes with her life when the troops sent in to restore order and shoot looters are recalled before they search her.

Now, the Lung family is restored to fortune. Wang Lung has grown so wealthy that he can afford to send his two sons to university. He can also fall prey to the temptress Lotus (Tilly Losch). This erotic dancer has bewitched Wang so much that he does something he had never contemplated. He takes her as his second wife. He, however, does not need to divorce his first wife. O-Lan meekly goes along with this, though she mourns having to surrender her beloved pearls to Number Two Wife.

Number Two Wife, however, finds Number Two Son (Roland Liu) a tasty morsel. He does his best to resist his stepmother's siren call, but he eventually succumbs. Will Wang Lung disown his Second Son after the liaison is revealed? Will the Elder Son (Keye Luke) and O-Lan be a bridge between them? Will the locust destroy the Lung fortune and way of life?

Even for 1937 the casting in The Good Earth should have been seen as downright scandalous. The characters of Wang Lung and O-Lan are simple Chinese peasants. Who are cast in those parts? A Hungarian and an Austrian. 

It is already bad enough that neither Paul Muni nor Luise Rainer spoke English as their first language. Muni started his career in Yiddish theater. Luise Rainer had made several German-language films before being essentially imported to America as a potential successor to Greta Garbo. Almost ninety years on, seeing these two Europeans valiantly, perhaps foolishly, trying to pass themselves off as Asian is still troubling.

The yellowface in The Good Earth cannot be ignored. It should not be downplayed. However, is it possible to look at Muni and Rainer's performances stripped away from the decision to cast European actors for Asian roles? I think it can be based on this. The Good Earth gave the characters a dignity and nobility that was probably in short supply with Asian, specifically Chinese, roles. Wang Lung and O-Lan were for the most part good people. They cared about each other. They cared about their family. They cared about the land. 

I would put the overall positive portrayal of Wang and O-Lan on the original Pearl Buck novel versus any forethought by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios. I found that Muni and Rainer were not horrendous in The Good Earth. I think that has to do less with their acting skills than with the roles themselves.

Muni gets a chance to play Wang Lung as a complex figure. He can be jolly. He can be desperate. He can be wise and foolish. Muni does give Wang Lung a complexity and dignity. This is a man who will work to keep what he has. Yes, it is still inexcusable that a non-Asian is playing an Asian. In a just world, Sessue Hayakawa would have been better suited for the role. Yes, he was Japanese, so a Hayakawa casting might still be a bit dubious. However, at least the film would have had an Asian playing an Asian. 

Luise Rainer, however, is another matter entirely. Her casting came about in a most perplexing way. Anna May Wong had lobbied hard for the part of O-Lan. She was Chinese. She had a respected film career. She, unlike Rainer, grew up speaking English and was American by both birth and custom. However, Wong lost out the lead in part of the miscegenation laws at the time. These laws prohibited interracial romances between Caucasians and non-Caucasians. Since the German Paul Muni was playing Wang Lung, it seems that the studio thought having Anna May Wong play his wife would violate said miscegenation laws.

I find that line of thinking idiotic. It would not be a romantic relationship between Muni and Wong. It would be a romantic relationship between Wang Lung and O-Lan. You, in a manner of speaking, would have two Asians involved, not a white and Asian. Moreover, in a bizarre twist, Walter Connolly's Uncle was paired with Soo Yong as Aunt. Yong was Asian, playing an Asian and in a cinematic marriage to a white actor in yellowface. The thinking behind the contradictory casting (no to Wong because Muni is white but yes to Yong despite Connolly being white) is so oddball.

It makes things more awful when one learns that Wong was offered another part. Instead of the heroine O-Lan, Anna May Wong was offered the smaller role of the villainous temptress Lotus. That part went to Tilly Losch, who like Rainer was Austrian. Now things get more muddled if downright loony. The rationale against casting Anna May Wong, a Chinese American, as a Chinese character was that her costar, who was playing a Chinese character, was white. However, she was instead offered a part where she still would have ended up having a torrid romance with not one but two Asian characters. Yet, I digress.

It, in retrospect, might have been difficult for Anna May Wong to play O-Lan, but for a surprising reason. Wong was seen as a glamorous screen figure. Could she have been convincing as a simple, humble, meek peasant girl?

I think Anna May Wong would have been far more believable than Luise Rainer separate from the yellowface. Luise Rainer, to be fair, does not embarrass herself in The Good Earth the way that she did in The Great Ziegfeld. In the latter, Rainer's Anna Held was all fluttery to where I thought that Held was genuinely stupid. Here, Rainer was the complete opposite. She was meek, silent, spending much time looking down and downcast. I do not think that characters have suffered the way that Luise Rainer's O-Lan has. 

That impression of range might be why Luise Rainer won Best Actress for The Good Earth. She earned a place in Oscar history as the first person to win consecutive acting Academy Awards. Luise Rainer went the complete opposite of Anna Held. In The Good Earth, her O-Lan rarely looked up. She was meek and weak, forever downcast. Looking at her performance now, I think she was better than she was in The Great Ziegfeld. At least she was on screen longer to justify, somewhat, a Best Actress nomination. I still think it is not a good performance overall. It is her stillness that becomes frustrating. You struggle to think that O-Lan as played by Luise Rainer would have the inner courage to sacrifice her child or the family ox. You struggle believing that within O-Lan there is a bit of iron. Instead, her passivity, her eternal acceptance of all sorts of indignities, makes for sometimes frustrating viewing. 

As a side note, I think that is another reason why Anna May Wong might not have been the best person for the part. You would not think that Anna May Wong would be as docile and weak as Luise Rainer was as O-Lan.

The Good Earth at least allows for some authentic Asians in Asian roles. I can only wonder what Roland Liu and Keye Luke must have thought in seeing Muni and Rainer play their parents. Liu in particular was good as the Younger Son. He was deeply troubled by Lotus' wiles, desperate to get away from her. However, circumstances forced them together to near-ruinous results.

One thing that The Good Earth cannot be criticized for is its cinematography, the second of its Oscar wins and of the film's five nominations. There are some beautiful visual moments in the film thanks to Karl Freund's camera work. The concluding locust attack is still wildly impressive, as is a storm early in the film.

The Good Earth is probably mostly remembered for Luise Rainer's consecutive Best Actress win. This is not the time to comment on whether she should have won. It is not the time to suggest which of her fellow Best Actress nominees should have, though she beat out Irene Dunne, Greta Garbo and Barbara Stanwyck, all of whom never won competitive Oscars. The film is a bit stodgy and slow, most likely due to it being seen as a prestige production. However, The Good Earth has barely enough to make it passable viewing. This is something that in the right hands might be worth a remake.

Said remake would at least afford a chance for correct casting. 

DECISION: C+