The Savages: A Four-Sentence Movie Review

Maybe a film about a brother and sister dealing with putting their elderly father in a nursing home isn't the best choice for a matinee with your mother (who's far from elderly, by the way) on a Saturday afternoon (though perhaps you'd enjoy having "This is a preview of my life.  Are you trying to tell me something?" whispered in your ear while you're watching).

With Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney leading the cast, I'll admit I was predisposed to enjoy this movie before I even took off my coat and sat down, but it's difficult to imagine any other actors playing their characters because they inhabit the roles so completely, and Tamara Jenkins's script gives them so much emotional baggage and just enough backstory to play with.

Ultimately, Mama Cass actually enjoyed this movie because, in her words, "That's how life works," and that's exactly the poignant, bittersweet note that Jenkins hits while following two people still trying to put their lives together after an utterly dysfunctional upbringing.  I realize that sounds mopey and depressing, but Jenkins never tries to make you feel sorry for her characters, or bogs down the story with unnecessary exposition explaining exactly what may have transpired between father and children (or brother and sister), nor does she try to create comedy, insert slapstick scenarios, or shoehorn cleverness where it doesn't belong.

Today's Reading - 12/17/07

● MICHAEL ROSENBERG: U-M didn't make a good hire -- it made a great one

The University of Michigan's long football nightmare is over.  After missing out on at least two other candidates to take over as head football coach, Michigan finally got their guy - and Rich Rodriguez looks like the right one.  (I was hoping to get a call.  The opening line of my introductory press conference would've been "You can't spell 'Michigan' without 'Ian.'"  T-shirts and bumper stickers would've eventually followed.)

The people of West Virginia (such as Fried Rice Friend, Wabi-Sabi) are surely sick of seeing their coaches migrate to Ann Arbor (men's basketball coach John Beilein left WVU for U-M in April), but a program with the Mountaineers' kind of tradition will likely bring in a fine replacement.

I don't blog much about sports other than baseball anymore, but I love this hire.  I like that he's a young coach who could stick around for a while.  But most importantly, he represents a break from a coaching tree and mindset that was becoming increasingly fossilized, and brings some long overdue creativity to Michigan football.  Go Blue!

● Changing Courses at the Food Network

Fewer people are watching and the top-rated food show on TV belongs to Bravo.  So Food Network apparently has to freshen things up.  Neither Emeril Lagasse nor Mario Batali are part of that new direction, it seems.   Hell, the food shows I watch the most are on Travel Channel, so maybe Food Network knows what it's doing.

● Out of South Africa

A grateful memory from my two years at Iowa is the opportunity to have read virtually all the works of J.M. Coetzee.  If there's a better chronicle of the divisions existing in post-apartheid South Africa than Disgrace, I'd like to read it.  (Well, not right now.)  So when an author whose work seems so intertwined with a particular region moves to another country, it's bound to raise a few eyebrows in curiosity.  But his admiration for other writers who have re-invented their cultural identity may have tipped off his eventual intentions.

● An Actress Who's As Great as the Sum of Her Parts

I think Laura Linney has been in a decent amount of the movies I've enjoyed in recent years.  She's kind of the female equivalent to Philip Seymour Hoffman, so isn't it interesting that they're in a new film together?  The Savages opens next week in Ann Arbor.  I'm there, man.

I Hope the Poster's Not Better Than the Movie

With Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney in the lead roles, I was already interested in seeing The Savages.  But the movie's poster might actually have me more excited about the film.  It's a Chris Ware original:


That is a thing of beauty, man.  It just has to be framed on a wall in my home.  I might have to see the movie by myself, however.  Team Casselberry caught a trailer with Dr. Lil' Sis was visiting over the summer, and the subject matter of two siblings caring for an ailing parent seemed to make everyone uncomfortable.  Maybe the poster would make us all feel better.

(via The Beat)

Monday mess-around

Anyone remember Larry King's old "News & Views" column that ran in USA Today on Mondays? The one where he'd just throw a bunch of random non-sequiturs together and call it a column? Oh, just asking...

▪ It snowed yesterday in Michigan. Some areas received up to 14 inches of the white stuff! The Detroit Tigers game was postponed because of snow on April 24. That $#!+ is crazy. My Michigan peeps don't need me to tell them that, of course. But I thought it was worth noting.

▪ I watched Closer last night, and wished I'd written every single line that came out of Clive Owen's mouth. I'm still not sure whether or not it was a good movie; the ending was kind of a head-scratcher. But I bet Owen had fun playing his character.

▪ I usually hate reruns, but I'd love a spring-summer repeat of the Detroit Pistons winning the NBA championship. The Pistons looked awesome on Saturday, smacking down the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-85, in game 1 of their playoff series. Could Detroit have an even better team than they did last year? Hmm... could be.

▪ Last night's episode of Deadwood was disappointing for only one reason. Last week, Mis Hooz and I did shots of whiskey every time someone said "cocksucker." (And if you've ever watched the show, you know that could get a person stinkin' drunk by the end of an episode.) Unfortunately, I only counted one "cocksucker" last night. (Did I miss any?) Oh well. I did have to get up early today.

▪ Am I starting to get attached to Iowa City before I leave? I thought this town was full of $5.00 pitcher/$1.00 shot frat bars. But I went to a couple of cool places over the weekend, both of which had some good live jazz and a nice beer selection. I wish I'd have found those joints earlier in my Iowa tenure.

▪ Another movie I watched this weekend: P.S., starring Laura Linney and Topher Grace. This didn't get nearly the amount of attention it should have; I don't know how many cities it even played in. It's about a woman in her late-30s who meets a younger man, and becomes convinced he could be the reincarnation of a boyfriend who died in an auto accident 20 years ago. Linney is great in everything she does, but I might be biased since I'm totally in love with her. (A couple of my friends just nodded their heads and rolled their eyes.)

▪ I noticed the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs went back to "classic" uniforms, with no player names on the backs of the jerseys. They only have numbers on their backs, like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. (However, the Red Sox and Giants have player names on their road uniforms.) It's a little thing, but I think it looks great. The less stuff on the jersey, the better. A clean, simple look. I wish the Tigers would do the same thing, at least with their home uniforms.

At the movies, part 2

Now, Bill Condon's "Kinsey" is a good movie. (But in all fairness to Kevin Spacey and "Beyond the Sea," Alfred Kinsey is a much more interesting character than Bobby Darin.) Kinsey, as portrayed by Liam Neeson, is depicted both as a scientist and a man in the film, and it's fascinating to watch his dual aspects play out. Kinsey is presented with a question he doesn't know the answer to, and works to find those answers, backed by substantive proof. Isn't that what a scientist does? But it's later revealed that it wasn't just scientific curiosity that drew Kinsey to this field of study. Thanks to his puritanical preacher of a father (played by John Lithgow, in what could be seen as a follow-up to his role in "Footloose"), Kinsey lived in repression. Studying sex allowed him to address something he had always denied.



Of course, studying human sexuality is a bit more complicated than cataloguing gall wasps. As the film details so well, the sexual habits and tendencies of men and women can't be simply categorized. You can't encourage people to indulge their every sexual urge and curiosity - sleeping with (or as Peter Saarsgard says with such venom, fucking) members of the same sex, or other people's husbands and wives - and not expect sociological consequences. Plus, there's an X-factor called "love" that can muddy up the whole dynamic. (And if that sounds corny, it's my fault as a writer. Go see the movie and decide for yourself.)

Condon approaches this material with just the right touch. It's serious stuff, but you have to laugh at it too. What's more funny than watching a total nerd (complete with bow-tie) suddenly get laid regularly because he's studying sex? And from a modern point of view, it's also hilarious to be reminded of the restrictions and bafflingly misguided beliefs people once lived with. But in the end, this is a story about a fascinating man, one who not only tries to bring knowledge to the ignorant, but realizes he's also helping people become comfortable with aspects of their personalities that society told them needed to be hidden. Kinsey fights for what he believes in, because he knows he's providing a valuable service, despite the skepticism, prudishness, and elitism he's faced with throughout his career. Liam Neeson depicts all of that in his performance.

Every actor in this film is fantastic. Laura Linney is great as Kinsey's wife, Clara. But that shouldn't be a surprise, because she's terrific in everything she's in (even a so-so movie like "Love Actually"). Think about it: your square husband has told you he wants to study sex and because you believe in your husband, you support him, even if you're more aware of the consequences than he is. Linney makes it very believable. (I might be in love with her.) And Peter Sarsgaard does his usual top-notch job, too. (I might have a man-crush on this guy. But I admired his work long before his full frontal nudity in this film. Really. Go see "Shattered Glass" or "Garden State.") His character approaches this field of study with an almost-predatory curiosity. But in the end, he might've lost the most. Maybe even more than Kinsey, he represents the arc of this story.

The only thing I didn't like about the movie? Neeson doesn't do his own singing and dancing as Kinsey. Don't worry, my dad didn't laugh at that joke either. So it must not be that funny.