Martin's Musings

Masculinity be damned, I went to see Marley & Me by myself, without any coaxing. And take my word for it when I tell you the movie is more entertaining and engaging than I ever expected it being. Yes, it has some cheeseball elements — like a soundtrack that includes R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People” — and it’s a little too long, but while Marley does tug on the heartstrings quite a bit and it does go for a couple of easy laughs, it certainly earns all the emotions. In short, I feel no embarrassment in telling y’all how much I enjoyed it.

Where does the credit for this lie? I give some to screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos, whose credits include Out of Sight and The Opposite of Sex. They’ve taken John Grogan’s book, which I haven’t read, and fashioned an earnest screenplay from what I can only assume is a highly sentimental book. Of course, additional credit has to go to director David Frankel, who also helmed the surprisingly enjoyable The Devil Wears Prada. But I think you have to give most of the kudos to Owen Wilson, who gives a charming and very likable performance. Heck, maybe the guy’s growing up. Whatever it is, he’s really great. Jennifer Aniston is also good, but it’s Wilson whose role is the stand-in for the audience and who has to do more heavy lifting, emotionally.

Let’s just get one thing clear, though, and this is where your SPOILER WARNING will come in. The trailer and the ads for Marley are selling it as a laugh-a-minute cutesy movie about a family and their dog. Don’t be fooled. You should know full well that the ending of this movie is very very sad. I don’t mind telling you I was crying a bit, and might have shed more tears if I didn’t work so hard to hold them in. I’m sure you can guess why it’s sad, and I can say I’ve had first-hand experience with a dog of my own (that’s Doc down below) meeting the same kind of fate, so that had something to do with my reaction. Thankfully, Frankel and co. do not overdo these parts. It’s all very real and honest, not cloying. You’ll be hard-pressed not to get caught up in the moment too, no matter how tough your exterior. Just be ready.

Yeah, call Marley & Me a real holiday surprise. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll run the gamut of emotions. And you’ll be recommending this one to your friends, like I am doing right now. I’m giving Marley a strong B.

According to Philly.com, a guy in Philadelphia shot another man yesterday when he wouldn’t stop talking during a screening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The movie’s not so good, so I’ll bet this made it a lot more exciting.

But seriously, folks, I think this kind of thing is pretty sad. Yes, talking during a movie — or sending text messages, or failing to turn off your cell phone, etc. — is a pretty big offense, but if it was me (and I don’t have any tolerance for this kind of thing), and it was that unbearable, I’d probably have walked out or something to get an usher, so the talker would be removed. (Actually, probably not. I would have stayed in my seat, not enjoyed the movie, and then gone home to passive-aggressively blog about it.)

I mean, I went to see Marley & Me this afternoon in Chestnut Hill and the audience there was pretty annoying, with folks getting up to go to the bathroom seemingly every five minutes. But it’s not like I stood up in the middle of the theater and yelled out, “HOLD IT IN, PEOPLE!! I’M TRYING TO WATCH A MOVIE HERE!!” (I was tempted — ha ha ha — but I didn’t do it.) Sometimes I guess you just have to know how much you can stand. You don’t get out a gun and shoot someone, though. Sigh.

(Thanks to Jeffrey Wells for the tip on this story.)

I thought about beginning this review at the end, with my grade, and working backwards from there … but that would imply that I liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button more than I actually did and that it deserved such effort on my part. Instead, this film, based on a quirky and very short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald (one that I have actually read), is definitely one of the bigger disappointments of the year for me. And I really wanted to like it. Oh well.

It’s worth noting right at the start that the story and the movie have only one commonality: They both tell the tale of a man who is born old and grows younger. Other than that, they’re very different. The original story is funny and odd and, well, it’s short. The movie is very long (2:45), it takes itself way too seriously, and it’s almost too straight-forward. The movie is so conventional that it even employs one of the worst movie clichés out there: it’s told looking back as one of the characters lies on her death bed (during Hurricane Katrina). The whole thing is nearly devoid of humor — save for a random gag about a guy who was hit by lightning seven times — and feels like an “Oscar movie.” While I don’t fault the film’s creators (including writer Eric Roth and director David Fincher) for embellishing the source material and making Benjamin Button a grander and more romantic story (Cate Blanchett’s character is a totally new addition, for example, as is the fact that Benjamin is raised in a retirement home and not by his own father), they’ve overdone it, making the film feel totally bloated.

The effect of having Brad Pitt’s head on other people’s bodies in the early scenes works well, but when it’s all Pitt, he’s less exciting. It feels as if the role is entirely physical (as opposed to emotional) and that we’re supposed to take his handsomeness as “acting.” In addition, much of the dialogue is spoken in that slowed-down style that makes it overly dramatic, and, well, I could probably go on as long as the movie did with things that frustrated me. If I could live my life in reverse, I’d probably choose to see a different movie before I went to see this one. I’m giving Benjamin Button a very unfortunate C–.

In the unnecessary remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, a large green orb drops down out of the sky and lands in — where else? — New York City’s Central Park. (Why New York? Well, aside from being a total cliche, why wouldn’t aliens want to visit New York?) Out pops Klaatu, a strange creature who turns out to be an alien messenger in the form of Keanu Reeves. He tells astrobiologist (and of course she’s an astrobiologist) Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) that because the humans have treated the earth so poorly, he is going to destroy them all. How trendy. (In the original 1951 film, Klaatu was there to address nuclear warfare and other Cold War–era concerns.) But this is the Age of Barack Obama, so the good scientist (and really — why are they always scientists?) believes that she can convince Klaatu that the humans can change, and thus, she can prevent Klaatu from accomplishing his mission. Thankfully, you only have to wait an hour and 45 minutes to find out if she succeeds. DTESS feels like it wants to be part horror film, thriller, and action flick, but it never really succeeds as either of those. It’s science fiction, but as mentioned, it’s pointless, ineffective science fiction. Characters — including Kathy Bates’ Secretary of Defense — speak with all the expected gravitas, but none of it seems particularly worth watching. On the plus side, DTESS looks great. But I’m still giving it a C+.

Of this I am certain: Doubt is one tough, challenging, and not all that festive movie. The story of a young Jewish boy and his rabbi, Doubt explores what it means to be Bar Mitzvahed when you’re … alright, of course it’s not a Jewish movie. That much is clear from the movie’s poster. Doubt is actually the story of a priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who is suspected by a nun, Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), of having abused a young boy. Does Sister Beauvier have any proof? No. But she has her certainty, and that is all she needs to lead a full-on crusade to remove him from the parish. Caught in the middle is Sister James (Amy Adams), who initially brings the charge to Sister Beauvier’s attention, but has doubts that Father Flynn is actually guilty.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning play, Doubt is one of those awards-bait movies that deal with heavy themes and feature top-notch casts. Sure enough, while it may not be career-best-level, the acting across the board — by those mentioned and by Viola Davis, who plays the young boy’s mother — is good. Streep in particular plays one of the most intimidating figures I’ve ever seen. She’s terrifying just looking at her. Set in 1964, a year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Doubt explores not just themes of truth and religion, but also ones of change, and how the forces of tradition try to strike down any attempts to move society forward. Despite this seemingly fascinating subject matter, Doubt often fails to be fully engaging. It can also be slow at times. That said, it can also be intimate and not stuck in its theatricality, always welcome with an adaptation of a stage play.

Overall, I can’t say I loved this movie. Perhaps a more intellectual viewer will rate it higher. I’m giving Doubt a B.