Today I saw To Rome with Love, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin.
This film was just what I needed.
Woody Allen directs and stars in this delightful dance around Rome. Using his signature themes of adultery and infatuation, he shows us four stories of life and love—all entertaining and pleasant to follow.
First, there's Jack (Eisenberg), an aspiring American architect living in Rome with his girlfriend, getting to know an architectural legend, John (Baldwin) whom he met on the street. John comes for coffee and then materializes magically (hilariously) for days thereafter to offer advice. Monica (Ellen Page) is the seductress that John is advising Jack against.
Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni) is an everyday business man until he wakes up famous for no reason. The paparazzi hound him, he enjoys the pleasures of popularity and exhibits behavior associated with those who gain fame too fast.
Antonio (Alessandro Tiberian) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) are newlyweds who have come to the city to introduce Milly to Antonio's family. She feels frumpy and sets out to find a beauty salon and gets lost. By days' end, both sides of this happy couple will be sexually tempted by strangers.
Hillary (Allison Pill) falls in love and becomes engaged to Michaelangelo (Flavio Parenti) and wants her parents Jerry (Woody Allen) and Phyllis (Judy Davis) to meet him. When they arrive in Rome, they learn of Michaelangelo's father who is an undertaker with a gift for song. Jerry, a former music man, wants to jump start his career, but needs to come up with a creative way for him to overcome stage fright.
Each story is told with heart and humor, and every path leads to at least one character to root for.
This film isn't a masterpiece like Match Point or Midnight in Paris, but it is very satisfying.
I only wish Woody would continue this trend of basing his films in European cities.
I can only imagine what he'd do with Dublin.
~~~
Showing posts with label Jesse Eisenberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesse Eisenberg. Show all posts
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Solitary Man
Tonight I saw Solitary Man, starring Michael Douglas and Jenna Fischer.
Car salesman are seldom liked and rarely respected, but you get the sense that before his dealership began running scams, Ben Kalmen (Douglas) may have been both. And when you're used to everyone adoring you and your world falls apart, it's hard to dissolve the natural arrogance that comes with the former privilege.
Susan (Fischer), Ben's adult daughter, just wishes he'd act his age. Instead of chasing skirts 30 years younger, she'd like for him to rebuild his life with a new job and a reasonable stability. His ex-wife Nancy (played by a cleavage-bearing Susan Sarandon) is apparently still fond of him, and his current girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) chooses to look the other way as he cheats his way around their relationship.
All hell breaks loose when Ben takes Jordan's daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) to a college interview out of town and sleeps with a barely legal girl. The consequences don't dent his conscience, but they do wreak havoc on his finances, his reputation and his ability to start a new car dealership.
Faced with eviction and homelessness, Ben turns to his daughter for help until he also betrays her and she's forced to cut him off. He has also received word that he may have heart trouble, but instead of getting the necessary tests to find out either way, he puts himself on a steady diet of baby aspirin and alcohol.
The entire film is a character study of a man choosing to live his life the way he pleases, regardless of the consequences. It's not that he doesn't love his family, or respect the natural 'order' life is meant to impose; he just feels his charm will overcome any situation too difficult to bear, and when that doesn't work, he just moves on.
Michael Douglas plays Ben superbly without an ounce of self-loathing, complete with slimy appeal. You really believe he would easily talk these young women into his bed because despite his flaws, he's sexy and smooth.
Supporting characters are also perfectly cast—Sarandon as the wistful, yet independent divorcée, Danny Devito as a long-lost friend and Jenna Fischer, an innocent, wounded daughter.
The ensemble is strong, the writing (which could've easily been one-note) is sharp without being too precious, and the direction is organic enough to make you feel as if you're in New York and Boston alongside the characters.
I have no idea why this interesting indie with an all-star cast isn't getting more attention.
~~~
Car salesman are seldom liked and rarely respected, but you get the sense that before his dealership began running scams, Ben Kalmen (Douglas) may have been both. And when you're used to everyone adoring you and your world falls apart, it's hard to dissolve the natural arrogance that comes with the former privilege.
Susan (Fischer), Ben's adult daughter, just wishes he'd act his age. Instead of chasing skirts 30 years younger, she'd like for him to rebuild his life with a new job and a reasonable stability. His ex-wife Nancy (played by a cleavage-bearing Susan Sarandon) is apparently still fond of him, and his current girlfriend Jordan (Mary-Louise Parker) chooses to look the other way as he cheats his way around their relationship.
All hell breaks loose when Ben takes Jordan's daughter Allyson (Imogen Poots) to a college interview out of town and sleeps with a barely legal girl. The consequences don't dent his conscience, but they do wreak havoc on his finances, his reputation and his ability to start a new car dealership.
Faced with eviction and homelessness, Ben turns to his daughter for help until he also betrays her and she's forced to cut him off. He has also received word that he may have heart trouble, but instead of getting the necessary tests to find out either way, he puts himself on a steady diet of baby aspirin and alcohol.
The entire film is a character study of a man choosing to live his life the way he pleases, regardless of the consequences. It's not that he doesn't love his family, or respect the natural 'order' life is meant to impose; he just feels his charm will overcome any situation too difficult to bear, and when that doesn't work, he just moves on.
Michael Douglas plays Ben superbly without an ounce of self-loathing, complete with slimy appeal. You really believe he would easily talk these young women into his bed because despite his flaws, he's sexy and smooth.
Supporting characters are also perfectly cast—Sarandon as the wistful, yet independent divorcée, Danny Devito as a long-lost friend and Jenna Fischer, an innocent, wounded daughter.
The ensemble is strong, the writing (which could've easily been one-note) is sharp without being too precious, and the direction is organic enough to make you feel as if you're in New York and Boston alongside the characters.
I have no idea why this interesting indie with an all-star cast isn't getting more attention.
~~~
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Adventureland
Tonight I saw Adventureland, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.
James (Eisenberg) has just completed his college degree and looks forward to graduate school with aspirations of travel writing; his parents have recently fallen on hard times and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he plans to attend Columbia (where he's been accepted), he'll have to earn the tuition himself that summer. As he's always been the "mow the lawn for money" kind of kid, he has trouble finding work and ends up at Adventureland, a local amusement park with all of the typical rides, games and characters that come with such a place.
Assigned to "Games," James befriends fellow booth slaves Joel (Martin Starr), a Jewish athiest clearly too smart for the job, and Emily (Stewart), who will be headed to NYU in the fall, and just happens to be beautiful.
Without warning, James falls for Emily, and she for him, but the situation is complicated by the sexy maintenance man Connell (Ryan Reynolds), who is married, but sleeping with Emily.
James doesn't know this, nor does Emily know that James accepted a date with Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva), the resident hottie at Adventureland, when she hurt his feelings during a double date of theirs. Drama ensues.
Recounting it in those few paragraphs, this sounds like formulaic fluff with classic love triangles and summer romance conventions, but for some reason it plays better than that.
The chemistry between Eisenberg and Stewart does seem genuine—and that helps—but more than that, there's a heart that lies deeper in the characters, which enables us viewers to empathize instead of judge. Hasn't everyone made a mistake in a relationship at some point? Probably so, and though this film may make you remember those mistakes, it will also (hopefully) remind you that you have to learn some lessons before you get it right. That is, if your human.
Furthermore, the situations in Adventureland are completely believable, and even the silliest of characters (Frigo) are somewhat real, despite how obnoxious their behavior is.
And since the story takes place in the 80s, my nostalgia radar picked up on several relics from the past, which added a nice ambiance to the overall feel of the film. I recognized the plastic bracelets and heart earrings the girls were wearing, the headband Frigo was sporting, and appreciated the brilliant soundtrack featuring Falco and Crowded House, which played naturally in the background.
Adventureland is a refreshing change from the usual bathroom-humor-laden "college" films involving frat houses and shock jokes. Instead of gratuitous language, you have appropriately timed outbursts that may contain a word or two; instead of clichéd sex scenes, you witness kisses that you would remember all of your life if you were living as one of the characters.
I hope other filmmakers will take a cue and make more smart comedies like this one, that come with a side of heart.
James (Eisenberg) has just completed his college degree and looks forward to graduate school with aspirations of travel writing; his parents have recently fallen on hard times and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he plans to attend Columbia (where he's been accepted), he'll have to earn the tuition himself that summer. As he's always been the "mow the lawn for money" kind of kid, he has trouble finding work and ends up at Adventureland, a local amusement park with all of the typical rides, games and characters that come with such a place.
Assigned to "Games," James befriends fellow booth slaves Joel (Martin Starr), a Jewish athiest clearly too smart for the job, and Emily (Stewart), who will be headed to NYU in the fall, and just happens to be beautiful.
Without warning, James falls for Emily, and she for him, but the situation is complicated by the sexy maintenance man Connell (Ryan Reynolds), who is married, but sleeping with Emily.
James doesn't know this, nor does Emily know that James accepted a date with Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva), the resident hottie at Adventureland, when she hurt his feelings during a double date of theirs. Drama ensues.
Recounting it in those few paragraphs, this sounds like formulaic fluff with classic love triangles and summer romance conventions, but for some reason it plays better than that.
The chemistry between Eisenberg and Stewart does seem genuine—and that helps—but more than that, there's a heart that lies deeper in the characters, which enables us viewers to empathize instead of judge. Hasn't everyone made a mistake in a relationship at some point? Probably so, and though this film may make you remember those mistakes, it will also (hopefully) remind you that you have to learn some lessons before you get it right. That is, if your human.
Furthermore, the situations in Adventureland are completely believable, and even the silliest of characters (Frigo) are somewhat real, despite how obnoxious their behavior is.
And since the story takes place in the 80s, my nostalgia radar picked up on several relics from the past, which added a nice ambiance to the overall feel of the film. I recognized the plastic bracelets and heart earrings the girls were wearing, the headband Frigo was sporting, and appreciated the brilliant soundtrack featuring Falco and Crowded House, which played naturally in the background.
Adventureland is a refreshing change from the usual bathroom-humor-laden "college" films involving frat houses and shock jokes. Instead of gratuitous language, you have appropriately timed outbursts that may contain a word or two; instead of clichéd sex scenes, you witness kisses that you would remember all of your life if you were living as one of the characters.
I hope other filmmakers will take a cue and make more smart comedies like this one, that come with a side of heart.
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