Happy Birthday to
Jack Nicholson
74 today
Easily one of the most recognised actors on the planet, those eyebrows alone are infamous. Jack doesn't work terribly often these days, taking a couple of years between projects, but his fanbase still loyally attend even when the movie is rubbish (see How Do You Know).
Showing posts with label Jack Nicholson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Nicholson. Show all posts
Friday, 22 April 2011
Jack Nicholson
Thursday, 24 February 2011
How Do You Know
2010. Dir: James L. Brooks. Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson and Kathryn Hahn. ●●○○○
How Do You Know if the movie you're in is an absolute dud? Well a good clue is when an extra walking into a building steals a scene from the romantic leads who you just know will end up together when the final curtain falls. Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd should really have looked behind them during the hospital scenes and handed in their notice at that point.
I apologise for starting the review using the title is such an obvious and derivative way. I'm not the first (much more learned critics have done the same) nor am I the most inventive but then neither is this movie. The title is so anodyne and bland it's difficult to imagine the rest of the film being able to crawl out of it's pointless premise.
Reese Witherspoon is the aging (32?) softball player dropped from the national team and so finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Amazingly she's the only member of the team replaced in this particular year even though her record appears to be impeccable. Owen Wilson is her philandering boyfriend - it's spot on casing even if Wilson is coasting with a dreadful accent. Paul Rudd and his father Jack Nicholson are facing FBI investigations into corporate corruption in Egypt (ooh, timely) and it takes no brains at all to work out who's taking the fall for whom in this company.
Note that of these central characters only Rudd comes close to having multiple sides to his personality, Witherspoon appears to need post-it notes to remind her to feel anything at all. In fact it could be said that Rudd is the only cast member able to walk away from this project with any dignity.
The fault lies with writer/director James L. Brooks who is clearly trying to repeat his 80's success with Broadcast News but forgetting to insert the vulnerability that made control freak Holly Hunter and vapid William Hurt such rounded characters. Here the instantly dislikeable characters have nothing hiding underneath to allow us to warm to them later, even when Brooks is clearly wanting us to let go and admit we all love each other.
Instead we have a series of sketch like scenes which often don't relate to each other with some lame humour thrown into the dialogue. The stand out of these follows on from Rudd secretary giving birth and her partner asking her to marry him, effectively played twice there is genuine humour and pathos in the reactions and memories of all of the performances in the scene. Something sadly lacking in the rest of the movie.
Sadly this is immediately followed by an extra in scrubs missing an automatic revolving door. Reese and Paul were saying something profound to each other at this point but I was far too busy bein istracted by the figure in blue. When that happens you know you're in trouble, and you know this is a movie best avoided.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Jack Nicholson
Happy Birthday to
Jack Nicholson
73 today
There are some actors who need no introduction. Three time Academy Award winner Jack Nicholson is one of them. If I had just said happy birthday Jack on it's own in todays post everyone would'v known who I was taliking about. Next up seeshis long awaited reunion with James L. Brooks in How do you Know, they have a really successful history so maybe it's time for Oscar 4.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
20 for 2010 - Number 12 (Untitled)
At least number 12 might be untitled, or it might be called How Do You Know, I guess we'll have to wait on James L. Brooks for confirmation of a title.
I will admit upfront that this film is my little cheat in the top 20 as I know it won't be coming out in the UK until 21 January 2011, but in the spirit of the rules of my countdown it fits in as a 2010 film (and I'm more curious about this than, say, Valentine's Day).
The plot revolves around a girl (Reese Witherspoon) choosing between the two men in her life played by Owen Wilson and Paull Rudd - I should imagine that the working title refers to how you know whether you're with "the one". I can also imagine that if you have Wilson and Rudd both throwing themselves at you then it would be hard to choose between them.
Brooks has previously directed 5 feature, 3 of which were critical and commercial hits with recognition from the Academy, and all of those starred his luck charm: Jack Nicholson. Jack is back for this piece, as the father of one of Reese's suitors so we can probably expect some metal on the matlepiece for someone involved.
Let's start the best supporting actor campaign for Owen Wilson now, even if he will be playing a thinly veiled version of himself no-one does that better.
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