I've long thought that recent movie comedies are not as funny as some of the best television situation comedies, certainly not funnier than top-notch episodes of "Frasier," or "Will & Grace," or "Seinfeld," or my new favorites "30 Rock" and "Big Bang Theory." Yes, I have sinned. I watch certain sitcoms. Sometimes I think it has more to do with my staying power for some of the junk that passes for hourlong dramas. I mean, come on, don't you think that Vincent D'Onofrio is just too weird on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"? How many different ways can he cock his head and bug out his eyes?
Actually, if you want to know the truth, a big bit of hilarity for me is the cable news show that's consistently funny: CNN's "Larry King Live." King really makes me laugh with his truly stupid questions. He gives the egregiously awful Jay Leno a run for the money as the most ill-prepared host on television. Yes, I'm a David Letterman fan. The man does talk the way it should be done. You watch King wondering if he's ever read a newspaper or a magazine. You burst out laughing and think: Doesn't this guy watch TV? Or surf the web?
I bring up comedy and laughter because I have seen a truly hilarious movie. It's called "Juno," and it arrives from being a smash hit at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
The story is this: A teenage girl wants to experience sex and ends up pregnant. The girl, named Juno MacGuff, is brilliantly acted by Ellen Page, who has comic timing that's as good as the great female comediennes of all time, women like Judy Holliday, Myrna Loy and Rosalind Russell. The movie, superbly directed by Jason Reitman, who previously brought us the hilarious "Thank You For Smoking," has surprises in it that cause an audience to burst into laughter as one. The intelligent screenplay is by Diablo Cody, and this is her first produced work. She's 29 years old and writes like Preston Sturges is whispering advice to her.
The prigs and bluenoses out there may tsk-tsk at the notion of a comic delight centered around a pregnant high school girl, but the picture has a strong moral center and a keen eye for the way the real world works.
J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney as Juno's parents, Michael Cera as Paulie, the student in over his head when it comes to sex and fatherhood, and Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as potential adopters are all exceptional.
Cody nails the dialogue of a girl who considers her pregnancy an inconvenience but who has depth and understanding beyond her age. You'll get no spoilers here. I want you to see the movie fresh, so don't read too much about it or listen to people talk about it. Just go see it. Simply put, "Juno" is comic nirvana and shouldn't be missed.
Science fiction writer Richard Matheson's dystopic drama "I Am Legend" has been made into a movie twice before. Vincent Price starred in "The Last Man on Earth" in 1964, and Charlton Heston was "The Omega Man" in 1971.
A third version originally was going to be a 1999 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Ridley Scott, based on a screenplay by Mark Protosevich. I guess the stars and the moon and who knows what else weren't aligned, so we've now got "I Am Legend," as directed by Francis Lawrence, who gave us the stylized "Constantine" starring Keanu Reeves as a detective of the supernatural. Lawrence is a music video-maker from Vienna. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
This time around, "I Am Legend" stars the talented Will Smith (rapper, sitcom hero, hugely popular movie star, and personal friend of Tom and Katie). Smith plays a military scientist caught up in the chaos caused by a virulent epidemic of some sort that makes him the last person on earth. Or so he thinks.
For most of the film, Smith wanders the empty streets of Manhattan in scenes that are impressive but slowly become repetitive. I mean, come on, it's interesting for a while, but for an hour? What was wrong with 40 minutes? Or 30? Or 20? We get it: He's alone. And he senses that he's being watched, but by whom? Or what? Smith is a good actor but not a great one, so he can't carry the effect. I didn't like it when a solo Tom Hanks talked to his volley ball in "Cast Away" and I don't like it here. Drama needs conflict or it isn't drama.
Some of the time Smith sits in his very swell townhouse (not bad digs for a military man, by the way) and tries to contact anyone anywhere in the world. When he isn't playing radio guy, he's wandering around the vacant streets with his dog, Sam. Cue the cloying sentimentality. Lots of quizzical looks from the dog in that cocked-head way dogs do so well.
The movie's final third is a mess. It's as if director Lawrence and his screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman, didn't read the novel. Or did read it and thought: What the heck does a sci-fi genius know anyway?
What triggered the end of humankind? Don't worry your pretty little heads about it, gang. That's because what was science fiction gold turns to horror pyrite. Yes, it's zombie time. Oh no, not them again? Yep!
I liked the Z-people better in "28 Days Later." If Richard Matheson were dead -- which he isn't (he's 81 years old and still writing) -- he'd be spinning in his grave.
As for the tried and true and tired "I Am Legend," there's nothing legendary about it.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 18 2007 |