Reviews
Falling from Grace (1992)
Not as good as Roeper led me to believe
I watched this movie because Richard Roeper said that it was a "hidden gem" and that he had offered a "money back guarantee" to anyone who didn't like the movie. He said this on an episode of "At the Movies" where Mellencamp was the guest reviewer.
Anyway...I'm not going to demand my money back from Roeper, but I thought the movie was only so-so. I agree with others who thought the beginning was much stronger than the end. I also thought that the movie didn't adequately resolve the (admittedly difficult) problem of how to convey the numbing boredom of small-town life without itself being boring.
Some good moments, but overall too clichéd and too pat an ending. I do agree that it was WONDERFUL to see the great Claude Akins and Dub Taylor.
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943)
Didn't Laugh Once; Didn't even come CLOSE to laughing
What a disappointment! I'd been wanting to see "Miracle of Morgan's Creek" for YEARS. I LOVE "Lady Eve" and ESPECIALLY "Sullivan's Travels." But this one I found loud, obnoxious and unfunny. Brian Donlevy as "McGinty" was about the only thing I liked. Oh...and Diana Lynn as the little sister - very droll.
The cast is a big part of the problem, I think. Consider the actors in the Sturges movies I love - Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, the great Joel McCrea; even Veronica Lake was a real talent. I'm sorry, but as far as I can tell, Betty Hutton is just loud and energetic - not funny. (It always makes me so sad that we got stuck with her instead of Judy Garland in "Annie Get Your Gun.") As for Bracken - just unable to carry the film. I love William Demarest in a number of other films, but here he's just loud and even somewhat violent and unpleasant.
A lot of the laughs are SUPPOSED to be in the physical comedy - pratfalls, double takes, etc. I never even grinned. The situation, the speed of the movie - I see how they're all POTENTIALLY hilarious. But, for me, it just never happened.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
Delightful. The best romantic comedy I've seen in a LONG time
My husband and I (both over 50) had a GREAT time at this movie. Yes, it was funny, and yet it was remarkably uncrude. The writing was clever and the cast uniformly excellent. Carell is an amazing actor - likable, and BELIEVABLE in a role that could have gone so wrong so easily. In a way, he reminds me of a less good-looking version of the young James Garner. He makes it look easy - and that's the hardest kind of acting of all. Also like Gardner, he seems to LIKE women - and there is NOTHING more attractive (and sexy) than that!
Catherine Keener is a blessing to every movie in which she appears, including this one.
What really distinguishes "40 Year Old Virgin" is how SWEET it is. There are no villains and we're really rooting for these people. Normally, I think two hours is too long for a comedy. But I was glad this one went as long as it did, because I wanted to spend some more time with Andy, Trish, and the other characters.