Sour Grapes: Appreciating Larry David's essential bridge between "Seinfeld" and "Curb"

(1998, 91 min) Barely released by Warner Brothers in 1998, it's easy to forget that Larry David wrote and directed his lone feature film between his two popular and wildly overrated TV series, "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Yet while tackling many of the same petty gripes about humanity, the expanded format of the feature film allowed him to fully realize his vision for the first (and perhaps only) time.

Larry David's first stroke of genius was to replace Jerry Seinfeld in what is clearly a Seinfeldian role. This has been done before, most successfully by Roberto Benigni replacing the late Peter Sellers in Son of the Pink Panther (Ted Wass is a close second in Curse of the Pink Panther, substituting ace comic timing for Benigni's manic energy). Seinfeld, who didn't win a single acting Emmy, was wisely passed over in favor of Steven Weber, one of very few actors with the chops to fill the big screen... and he had a Saturn Award to prove it. Clearly, Larry David was watching the massive ratings of "Wings" every Thursday night, and knew that it was Weber, and not the "Seinfeld" coattails, that were driving the Nielsens. Pair him with the comic stylings of Craig Bierko, and even a subpar script would have been elevated; but Larry David was aiming much higher.

In Sour Grapes, he tackles nothing less than the greed of ugly Americans, and comparisons to Von Stroheim's bloated silent epic are no doubt intentional. In place of tragedy, however, David sees comedy, in the form of hilarious shouting matches and zippy one-liners like "I don't know. Roberta's out of town. I'll probably just go home and blow myself." Sick of "Seinfeld"'s everyday observational comedy, David places his characters in the unlikely fantasy world of Las Vegas, fighting over a slot machine jackpot – the unlikely events allowing the audience plenty of distance from the characters, allowing laughter to flow forth unabated by emotional connection.

Apparently, these aspirations were too much for the average moviegoer, and David has not directed a feature since. Relegated to the HBO ghetto, where a tiny audience is enough to generate "hit" status, he has continued to churn out uninspired "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episodes. Here's to wishing he decides to challenge himself, and us, again on the big screen.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

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Dungeon Girl

(2008, 81 min) Ulli Lommel's Dungeon Girl isn't so much a horror film (and definitely not a torture porn) as an exploration of the relationship between captor and captive. Well not so much that as a half-baked student film from one of the worst directors of all time. It's almost as if instead of a script, Lommel puts together three half-developed ideas and then edits them together with all the glee of a sophomore film major playing with After Effects for the first time while tripping balls. Even when it comes to nudity, usually Lommel's saving grace in the other stinking piles of garbage he's hurled at the world, he falls short giving viewers hoping for skin more male nudity than female with one recurring shot of Wendi Jean Linn's buttocks and another recurring image of an anonymous woman tied up on a cross wearing rags which are sliced to reveal her naked breasts and, pehaps, a glimpse at her bush. Linn is certainly an absolutely stunning creature and the exploitative pretense is almost a work of art on its own, but Dungeon Girl fails on almost every conceivable level.

– Rick Stanko

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Brain-dead packaging by Paramount

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Get Smart

(2008, 110 min) Given the history of TV-to-Movies adaptations, it would entirely reasonable for discerning viewers to dismiss this big screen remake of Mel Brooks' and Buck Henry's classic spy spoof as yet another unpalatable slice of Hollywood junk heaped onto a pile of unoriginal garbage. It would be reasonable, that is, until one remembers that Steve Carell is currently the most likable comedic actor working. His charm alone lifts Get Smart far above most of its inferior counterparts. Carell's Maxwell Smart is slightly less arrogant and slightly more self-aware than Don Adams' was, but this, if anything, simply establishes the film as its own entity and not a cheap carbon copy knockoff. Carell begins as an analyst for CONTROL who'd recently lost weight and desperately wants to be promoted to agent, a promotion that no one who isn't named Maxwell Smart thinks he is qualified for. However, KAOS strikes and strikes hard and soon enough Max is tagging along with Agent 99 (a competent Anne Hathaway) on a mission to locate the nuclear devices that the villains have stashed in Russia.

The main strength of the film (outside of Carell's unparalleled likability) is its pacing. It never gets bogged down too much in character development or over-the-top action sequences and keeps things moving at a very sharp (but never overly frenetic) clip. Adding to the fun are the consistently funny jokes. None stick out as moments of sheer, side-splitting hilarity, but very few fall flat and most provoke laugh-out-loud (but not too loud) reactions. Additionally, the action sequences, while never overdone, all entertain and few exceed the normal standards of believability expected from a Hollywood action movie. Adding supporting charm to the mix are Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who has nearly perfected affable, acutely masculine self-mockery, and Alan Arkin who plays the put-upon chief to perfection. Even Bill Murray has an amusing cameo as the always-hiding Agent 13 that will cheer up anyone longing for the days when Murray condescended to do broad comedies.

One notable drawback is the relative lack of romantic chemistry between Carell and Hathaway. They can bicker and banter perfectly adequately, but the deeper connection between them is seldom clear. Another drawback comes when the film inexplicably resorts to using flashbacks to demonstrate what the characters are thinking. This classic cheap trick has almost never worked in any film and this one is no exception. These minor flaws don't, however, cripple what proves to be an immensely likable film that instantly leaps to near the top of Hollywood's TV recycling bin.

– Daniel Reed

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The Bank Job

(2008, 110 min) Fans of hard-hitting, gritty '70s films rejoice! Hell, even the title is efficient. Now, The Bank Job doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but it's easy to forget that some of my favorite films from my favorite decade (including, say, Prime Cut and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) didn't do that either. They just deliver straight-up, smart thrills and snappy dialogue in a refreshingly adult package. And if Jason Statham isn't quite the new Lee Marvin, he's just about the best we have right now.

Statham plays a lovable rogue who, acting on a tip from his sultry ex (Saffron Burrows), assembles a scrappy crew for a massive heist of safety deposit boxes. It's all based on a real story, with emphasis on the word "story." Nobody really knows what went down during the heist, and details have been embellished over the years thanks to urban legendry. But the version that longtime writing team Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais invent could hardly be more entertaining.

Renting a shop two doors down from a massive bank on Baker Street, the Statham's crew conspires to dig a tunnel into the safety deposit area over a weekend and be gone by the time anyone notices. As if that wasn't enough, the contents of the boxes present a new problem... one that goes so far up the chain, that the actual facts in the case wound up sealed by the government for decades to come. It's a procedural, a conspiracy story, even a romance of sorts, all addressed without fluff and with respect for the audience's intelligence. The only false note I can detect is a brief foray into traditional Statham superhero mode near the end, though even that is exciting enough to tempt me into giving it a pass. It's surely more fun than whatever happened in real life, the details of which may be revealed sometime around 2054.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

(2007, 120 min [Director's Cut]) This fitfully amusing biopic parody attempts to walk the line between outlandish comedy and understated in-character tribute, but comes up a bit short on both counts. Still, there are enough good one liners and surprisingly catchy songs to draw comparisons to Top Secret! and its minor cult following.

Admittedly, the version I viewed is dubbed the "Unbearably long, self-indulgent director's cut," and it doesn't seem to be edited with the care and precision expected of comic experts like writer/director Jake Kasdan and cowriter Judd Apatow. Additionally much of the comedy is of the SNL repeat-a-gag-endlessly variety, which grows old after two hours. A recurring motif is of stating the glaringly obvious, with self-reflexive lines like "This is a dark period!" and "Let's go play machete fight. Ain't no terrible tradgedy's gonna happen today!" Repetitive gags, including the ripping out of sinks and Tim Meadows declaring "You don't want none of this shit" referring to, successively, pot, cocaine, pills and Viagra, also vary in effectiveness.

But the songs are where Walk Hard shines, running the gamut of styles from Buddy Holly to Bob Dylan to Brian Wilson. When John C. Reilly straps on his guitar, you can almost believe that Dewey Cox existed... at least until the gratuitious graphic nudity (from both sexes) shocks you back out of the moment. Then after the laughter comes another quiet, semi-amusing moment and... you get the picture. On the whole it's really not much better or worse than Ray or Walk the Line, but it's slightly funnier, and recommended most of all for fans of rock history.

– David Gorgos

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Kenny

(2006, 103 min) Speaking with a mealy working-class accent so thick that it requires subtitles, Kenny invites us into his world of port-a-loos and septic systems with the razor-sharp, self-effacing wit it takes to survive one of the dirtiest jobs in the world. You may find yourself gasping for air between his constant barrage of quotable observations ranging in topic from marriage ("I once heard a wise man say, Find someone you hate, cut out the middleman and give 'em a house.") to his daily routine ("There is a smell in here that is gonna outlast religion."). But the job, coveted by a precious few, does take its toll. "When you spend more time with other people's poo than your own missus, then I guess you gotta pay the penalty." It's so truthful, so genuine, that it's easy to forget that it's all made up. Shane Jacobson, under the direction of his brother Clayton, is so convincing and likable as Kenny that it's a shock when the closing credits remind you that this is in fact a sophisticated mockumentary. Underneath the explosively funny potty humor (who knew there was still such originality to be found in bodily functions?) lie the daily struggles of the proletariat: the need to work constantly, the limiting of one's dreams and the disappointment of elders. As his dad says, "I didn't put you through school to become a glorified turd burglar." But it's men like Kenny who make the world tick, and you'll have a splendidly profane time with him. He's the shit!

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

The Philadelphia Film Festival website is now online

The festival begins in early April, so if you're thinking of buying tickets, act quickly. Two of the films I recommended from Palm Springs have carried over into this fest: Kenny, a very vulgar mix of toilet humor and blue-collar observational comedy that inevitably draws comparisons to Borat, and In the Arms of My Enemy, a breathless and thoughtful action film with plenty of eye candy. One look at last year's schedule will impress you with how many of those movies were later released nationwide to great acclaim, so you may well be among the first to see the films that your colleagues are buzzing about in the summer and fall.

– David Gorgos

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Funny Games (2008)

(2008, 108 min) Michael Haneke has basically remade his original Austrian movie shot-for-shot (unlike Gus Van Sant's Psycho, however, this one is made with the same precision and energy), hoping to torture a brand new American audience. It's expertly crafted and supremely manipulative, following two polite boys (Brady Corbett and Michael Pitt) as they seemingly randomly torture, maim and kill the three members of an upper-class family (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Devon Gearhart)... and their little dog too. But Haneke is more interested in the reaction of the audience, as he plays with our expectations, even going so far as to address us directly. After creating the deeply complex Caché, such a face-value experiment seems like a major step back. It's the type of film that resists criticism. If you enjoy the movie, then it obviously didn't work for you; if you hated it, then Haneke is a genius and accomplished exactly what he wanted. So I'll stay out of the fray, give it the same rating as we gave the original, and leave it to every audience member to write his/her own review. Engaging Haneke on this film is truly a losing game.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

10,000 B.C.

(2008, 109 min) There's no doubt that Roland Emmerich knows how to deliver a spectacle. Independence Day brings massive destruction, neat aliens and snappy wisecracking together so skillfully that, over a decade later, we take its craftsmanship for granted. Maybe Emmerich takes it for granted too, as he now seems to be running on fumes, cribbing liberally from past epics and slapping it together in a most perfunctory way. It's enough to remind you that Emmerich also brought us the remake of Godzilla.

Our reluctant hero is D'Leh (Steven Strait), an orphaned mountain tribesman who falls for a blue-eyed girl (Camilla Belle). She tells of four-legged demons who ransacked her town, and are eventually coming to get them as well. Unfortunately for us, these demons are merely Mongol-shaded despots, enslaving people to create a prototypical Mayan empire. For an ad campaign that focuses on wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and vicious giant emus, it's distressing that not only are these the only creatures who appear in the movie, but their total screen time is somewhere under 10 minutes. That leaves a lot of time to think about other films that did this stuff better, from Mayan adventure (Apocalypto) to slave rebellions (Ben-Hur) to tribal war (Braveheart). Emmerich may think he's being clever by including specific visual references to these films (as well as Alien), but he's only making 10,000 B.C. look even more like a B-movie in comparison.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group