Posts Tagged ‘Steve Martin’
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I don’t know what it is, but something about Steve Martin’s latest movie smacks of desperation. From the trailers, it looks like Martin was in it for the payday. Damn shame, ’cause I’m a big fan.
I can’t understand why any rational person would pay good money to see Bringing Down the House in the theater. This looks like a movie we’ve seen a thousand times before. And I’m not kidding when it looks like the bastard spawn of Housesitter and Bulworth.
Just like in Housesitter, Martin is saddled with an unruly woman who commandeers his home and stodgy, white bread world. Bulworth has this element, too, but with a political spin — i.e. White man becomes enlightened of black struggles by hanging out in clubs with them, smokin’ blunts and downing a 40 ounce.
I about passed out when I watched the previews for this film with Martin decked out in hip hop regalia talkin’ smack to the brothers in the hood. I’m sorry, but there is something gross and UNFUNNY about a 50 year old white man using Ebonics (which is another load, by the way) for comedic purposes.
It’s like when they put Gwenneth Paltrow in that fat suit for Shallow Hal. The jokes weren’t originating from the character, they WERE the character. It’s all supposed to be an inside joke where everyone says “Okay, we all know Gwenneth is thin an attractive, but let’s make her fat and ugly! That’s it! That’s the joke!”
Pass.
I think most people will agree that Martin is at his best when he is being subtle and intelligent. Why stoop to this? It’s Sgt. Bilko all over again. Steve, Steve, Steve…
Anyway, today is my last strip before going on vacation to New York. I’m excited to go and I miss Cami a lot. It will be good to see her again. Three days is a long time.
While I’m away, keep coming back to the site for an ultra dose of guest strip mayhem! I already have 4 in the bin, and I’m expecting at least two more. That’s 6 strips people. You’re getting a better deal here than if you had me doing the work!
And don’t forget to check us out on the 17th when I get back, because we’re going to premier the Theater Hopper Documentary. It’s going to be a blast!
Before I take off, I want to give a general shout out to everyone who is helping to keep the site running while I’m away. The individual artists providing their guest strips will get their due on the day their strip is posted, so don’t worry about that.
But I really want to thank Jared for uploading all of this new content. I’m preparing all of the guest strip pages in advance while Jared does the dirty work of getting them posted. With his help, he’s allowed me to take a something that would otherwise result in plummeting readership and turn it into a genuine opportunity. Thanks.
To the rest of you, take care! I’ll be back in this spot on the 17th!
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Oct21
THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS TRIVIA
October 21st, 2005 |
(7 votes, average: 6.71 out of 10)
I wanted to do something kind of romantic for today’s incentive sketch. It seemed like this would have been the natural conclusion of today’s strip if it were five panels instead of four…
The punchline for today’s comic was originally going to be something different. Something to the effect that Cami suggests Tom read more books and Tom storming off in a huff.
But after drawing the third panel and the pure look of glee on Tom’s face… I decided to go another way with it. I’m happy with the result. As fun as it is to wring humor out of the foibles of marriage, I also like to promote the fact that Tom and Cami have a very well adjusted relationship.
That goes for INSIDE the comic and OUTSIDE as well!
So, Shopgirl comes out today and it kind of snuck up on me. Back when I read Steve Martin’s original novella back in 2001 or 2002 (got it as a Christmas stocking gift, if I remember correctly) I thought about how great this would be if it were a movie. Martin writes in a very economical style. Things are very precisely described and there is never much superfluous conversation between the characters. It was ready-made for a port to the big screen. Four years later, here it is.
For those that haven’t read the book, it’s essentially about an older man (Martin) with great wealth and fine taste forging a relationship with a very disillusioned (and heavily medicated) young woman (Claire Danes) who sells gloves at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. In many ways, both people are looking to have aspects of their lives fulfilled by the other person. It’s kind of a right place, right time scenario. But as things evolve, the two uncover that they are not the perfect fit they built each other up to be in their heads.
On plot alone, Shopgirl is going to get a lot of comparisons to Lost in Translation. The situation likely amplified by Martin and Bill Murray’s Saturday Night Live connection. Still, I have high hopes that the movie will do a good job communicating Martin’s trademark dry wit sprinkled with a dash of melancholy. No one captures the prefabricated detachment born of the utter irreality of Los Angeles better than Martin.
With hope, Cami and I will see Shopgirl sometime this weekend. We both loved the book – one of the few we actually agree on!
Wait, that’s not right. It’s not so much that we don’t agree on literature as we don’t read the same kind of literature. Shopgirl was one of those rare books that had crossover appeal in our household. Ironically, Martin’s follow-up "The Pleasure of my Company" also earned a similar distinction.
Needless to say, we’re fans. Our radar is up for this one.
I’ll be back later with a familiar reminder. Or, you could cut right to the chase and order a t-shirt, hoodie or baby-doll tee before I close off that section of the store October 31. Your choice.
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Have you seen Claire Danes’ ass? Seriously, it’s fantastic.
It’s kind of difficult to do a joke like this and not come off as crass or objectifying women. So to any ladies upset by today’s comic, please know that it’s all in good fun. I think you’re all aware that there are just certain things – no matter the value of what surrounds it – that guys are just gonna focus on. It’s sad. We try to be good, but we can’t help ourselves.
It’s true that you get to see a bit of Danes’ goods in this movie. To me it came as a total shock. I wasn’t expecting it at all. Mostly because Danes’ doesn’t strike me as the kind of actress that might weild her sexuality in that way. She seems more sensitive. The scene isn’t exploitive at all. It’s brief and very tasteful. While exciting for the less sophisticated parts of my brain, my real higher-level opinion of Shopgirl is much closer to the thoughts expressed in the first panel than the fourth. Steve Martin has adapted his novella with a screenplay that takes the richest ideas and lets them breathe on the silver screen.
Being a big fan of the book, it was certainly through that prism by which I judged it. Did it feel true to the characters? We the actor’s interpretations accurate to what I had envisioned in my head?
Let’s put it this way: You know when you read a book and they make a movie of it, the movie never lives up to your imagination? Alternatively, when you see a movie based on a book that you haven’t read and then you go back and read it, the book doesn’t seem as vivid to what you saw on screen? Shopgirl is probably one of the few movies I’ve been to where I’ve read the source material first and preferred the filmed version. I don’t know what it is about it that I find so winning except that I just think it does a better job of capturing Martin’s overall idea of disconnect in a modern society and our larger search for finding someone to help us feel complete.
I don’t know who was in charge of the set and light direction in this movie, but hopefully they win an Oscar for their work. It’s subtle – almost subliminal – but the way they cast L.A. as a character from the gleaming channels of commerce to it’s dingy apartments makes you feel like the city these characters inhabit is alive. There is great use of light to reflect the mood and isolation these people feel over the course of the movie.
Performance-wise, I think all three leads hit the mark. As I mentioned before, Danes effortlessly exudes the quality of a very intelligent and sensitive person quietly dissatisfied with her surroundings. Martin’s character as the dry, sophisticated Ray Porter was tailor-made for him and it shows. You wonder how much of Martin’s own personality he wove into Ray. Jason Schwartzman totally walks away with the picture as it’s focal point for comedy relief as Jermey. Sweet-natured if maybe a little unorganized, he so perfectly symbolized the frantic wandering that are your twenties. I’m so glad Jimmy Fallon walked away from the role. No doubt his performance would have been too winking, coy and knowing. Not an honest expression of that fuzzy logic that motivates the male imperative at that age. All the dumb moves you’re making that you think are right. Trying your best, but not having the social where-with-all to communicate properly.
I can’t recommend Shopgirl highly enough. I’m already talking about going back to see it again. The movie has a very comfortable feeling that I enjoyed and is probably one of my top 10 this year.
Things have been pretty grim in movie theaters this year. Shopgirl gave me an injection of hope right when I needed it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to enjoy a mohito!
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Hey, guys. Sorry that the comic is late. But after live-blogging the Oscars last night, I sat down to work on today’s comic and started feeling terrible. I was light-headed and started seeing flashcubes like a migraine was coming on. I decided to rack out early to prevent totally wrecking myself.
I woke up this morning still not 100%, but functional. I went to work thinking I could plow through it before working on the comic over my lunch hour. I didn’t make it. I felt so terrible, I had to leave work early to go home and rest.
I thought I could still salvage today’s comic this evening before I realized that I left all of my drawing materials at my desk. So, even though I’m feeling better now, there’s no comic today. Just this Oscar roundup.
I’m not happy. This is the second deadline I’ve blown in a week and there’s no excuse for it except maybe “Real Life” is starting to catch up with me. It sucks not to have a comic ready after the biggest night in movies all year. At the very least, I hope you enjoy this recap.
Anyway, my apologies again. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
So, as we know, the Oscars were last night. For me, they were a wildly uneven affair. I thought co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were curiously M.I.A. considering how much ABC pushed them forward as a comedy duo unlike any other in their advertising. Having Neil Patrick Harris open the show with a bombastic music number – while entertaining – seemed out of place, as well. Shouldn’t – y’know – the hosts open the show?
I feel like I don’t have a lot to say about the winners themselves. There weren’t really a lot of upsets last night. There was a bit of a question mark hanging over whether or not The Hurt Locker or Avatar would take Best Picture, but I think The Hurt Locker set the tone for the show early on by snagging awards for Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Screenplay. When they picked up the award for Best Editing later in the night, I knew it was in the bag. Films that win Best Editing usually end up winning Best Picture.
It was certainly a triumph to see Kathryn Bigelow win Best Director. She looked positively gobsmacked when she emerged on stage moments later to claim her award for Best Picture. Considering her ex-husband was James Cameron, the reward must have been that much sweeter.
It’s easy to be excited for Bigelow considering this historical context of her win as the first female director to be recognized by the Academy in this way. But among the other major categories, I can’t muster up much enthusiasm.
Jeff Bridges winning Best Actor for Crazy Heart was expected and long-deserved. Christoph Waltz winning Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds has been sewn up since last summer. Same for Mo’Nique winning Best Supporting Actress for Precious.
I don’t if you can say that Sandra Bullock was the most deserving for her Best Actress win in The Blind Side. I felt like the Academy was maybe responding more to the box office success of that film than her performance in particular. When Bullock asked “Did I really earn this, or did I wear you all down?” I bristled. Because it implies that she’s been giving great performances for years and has been overlooked. I know she was making an attempt at humor, but when compared to Jeff Bridges who actually HAS been delivering excellent performances for years and had been overlooked, it seemed shallow.
That said, I thought she gave the best, most emotional speech of the night. She really is America’s Sweetheart. It’s hard to hate her. She’s just been stuck in so many ridiculous romantic comedies over the years, its difficult to imagine her in another context. Hopefully her win last night will afford her the opportunity to be a little more selective with her roles. I mean, what other actor wins a Razzie and an Oscar in the same weekend?
Something that stuck out to me last night was the lack of musical performances for the compositions nominated in the Best Original Song category. Cami figured out that the reason why was because they needed the extra time to introduce each of the 10 Best Picture nominees over the course of the evening.
The economy of time made sense to me until we reached the the Best Original Score category late in the show. At first I was confused when a phalanx of dancers performed flips and high kicks to the score for Sherlock Holmes. But I was positively enraged when one of the dancers inexplicably started doing THE ROBOT to Michael Giacchino’s score for Up.
Giacchino’s score was the heart of Up and a well-deserved win for the composer last night. “Ellie’s Theme” not only serves as the centerpiece that plays behind the “Married Life” montage that emotionally devastated so many of us, but Giacchino expertly weaves it through the rest of the score. So any callback to that piece immediately takes us back to that moment in the film and connects the dots between the motivations behind Carl’s journey and the emotions he’s trying to bury. Having a guy dance THE ROBOT to this music seemed beyond offensive to me.
I mean, I don’t typically get this worked up over the Best Original Score category, but the dancing was by far the tackiest and most jarring piece of an off-balance telecast. If you want someone to blame, point your finger at show producer Adam Shankman. Who, shockingly, is also a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Ugh. Let’s hope that Shankman isn’t invited to produce next year.
At this point, I feel like if I say any more about the Oscars, I’ll start talking in circles. So why don’t you let me know what you thought of the show and the winners. Leave your comments below and we’ll get a conversation started!
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