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Psychotic Reactions
-- John Shea
26 May, 2003
It's a holiday weekend so news is scarce tonight. As a result, the column is a tad short today. Bear with me though, it will get better tommorrow.
This afternoon my wife announces that she wants to go to a movie. That may not sound earth shaking but understand that while I am a hopeless, drooling movie fanatic, she is a casual fan. She watches about as many movies a month as I do in a couple days. So naturally I'm delighted by this announcement. What movie? The In-Laws. Ah. Have you considered the other possibilities? I'll spare you the negotiations but eventually we settled on Bend It Like Beckham.
This little indie dynamo has been slowly broadening its release and feeding on strong word of mouth, an almost identical approach as last year's My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Interestingly, although quite different films, the two share common themes of culture clash and stepping out of a parent's shadow. Also similar are the film's tendency to hang on sitcom conventions where the plot is concerned. So, you've probably guessed this already, if you liked Greek Wedding you should like Beckham just fine. Both light hearted charmers that thrive on giving warm hearted laughs and nice fuzzy feelings to the audience. That's not usually my sort of thing but I couldn't help feel the film's charm.
Oddly though, I found the charm in the small things like the main character's father, played by Anupam Kher with a convincing blend of toughness and caring. The Sikh wedding was also a blast, if for no other reason than it's wild energy and style. The star, Parminder Nagra, is just about perfect in the role and actually appears to be as good at soccer as her character is supposed to be. It's always nice to see an actor display some of the actual talent their character supposedly has. Those little things add up to a rich tapestry for the film and that allows it move confidently, even when saddled with silly plot contrivances that wouldn't seem out of place in an episode of Three's Company.
So getting back to my story, my advice is to steer your wife/girlfriend to this one. She should love it and you likely will too, giving the impression that you actually have taste and sensitivity. That will come in handy when you want her to go with you to see The Hulk later in the summer.
Random observation
This is why I don't gamble. Obviously the weekend isn't over yet but an upset appears imminent. Over the first three days of the holiday weekend, Bruce Almighty is actually beating the pants off The Matrix Reloaded. Bruce is looking at approximately $70.5 million so far compared to a mere $37.2 million for Reloaded. So much for my attempt at prognostication...
News
Elephant: Gus Van Sant's film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie was about a murderous attack on a high school by some of its own students, very much like the Columbine incident. The film is most notable for offering no explanation for the events, instead just presenting the images and letting the audience decide for themselves. Imagine that, a movie that actually insists the audience thinks for itself. Someone stop this Van Sant guy before his dangerous idea gets out.
Alexander: Morocco is out, Australia is in. Fearing becoming a terrorist target, director Baz Luhrmann and producer Dino De Laurentiis have decided to move production of his epic to Luhrmann's native Australia. It's been tough for the project of late, first moving its release date back a year and now moving production altogether. Still, Luhrmann intends to start work on special effects in November and start rehearsing Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman in January. Those dance numbers can take an awful long time to perfect you know. (Variety)
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