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Movie Journal #4: The Outsiders

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The Outsiders I had never seen Coppola’s film of The Outsiders , for a number of reasons. It came after Coppola’s great period, and it seemed almost painful to watch a bad film from that great director. Also, I am averse to nostalgia of any kind, especially that of the 1960s (how grating was Across The Universe ?), a period by now mythologized into something that can be nowhere near its truth. There are, of course, exceptions, such as the Coppola-produced American Graffiti , but these films are usually set in a specific time and place as opposed to celebrating that time and place. Or perhaps there is no hard rule separating a nostalgia piece from a period piece, only a filmmaker’s restraint. In any case, the examples of ‘60s nostalgia pieces far outweigh the period films. I needn’t have been so skeptical of The Outsiders . It avoids nearly all of the pitfalls of a film of this type in its depiction of the lives and characters of a small group of rough kids from the wrong side of the tr...
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Movie Journal #2: Clerks II

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Clerks II It is fourteen years since I first saw Kevin Smith’s Clerks . I have grown up, and Smith has not. He showed signs of it once, with Chasing Amy , and certain parts of the unfortunately uneven Dogma . But he never followed through, or perhaps he never escaped his own crude instincts or his fan base of groundlings clamoring for more of his clever idiocy. He is, honestly, still a very funny fellow. Clerks II is bursting with outrageous dialogue and spot-on pop culture references; I was nearly on the floor when drug dealer Jay performed the Buffalo Bill dance from Silence Of The Lambs . But, as always, he strives to make a more heartfelt, wise experience, and where Chasing Amy stung with truth, Clerks II is only unoriginal and uninspired, no more ambitious than any generic sitcom. The film is not irredeemable. It stars Rosario Dawson, after all (a bright spot in a cast of amateurs), and has enough crude laughs to entertain. It’s only that Smith is so much smarter than this. Jer...
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The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

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There are fifty-three episodes of the late sitcom Arrested Development . This is a longer run than many failed shows are able to achieve, and three or four times the amount of episodes of nearly all British comedy series. This includes Fawlty Towers (12 episodes), The Office (14 episodes), and Monty Python’s Flying Circus (45 episodes). By these standards, it had a good run, and, like those timeless shows, its wealth has been secured for posterity. Why, then, the indignation? Why the great sense of loss? Why can’t we let go of the fact that Arrested Development is dead dead dead, no matter what we heard of Showtime wanting to pick it up or a possible feature film? It debuted in November 2003 to critical acclaim. It was an instant classic, something unlike nearly everything else on television: a single-camera farce, irreverent as Python , fast as Fawlty , and more brilliantly cast and timed than anything since Seinfeld , or beyond. In short, it was the very best comedy anywhere on t...
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