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Filmboy's Clips
Fall movies bring laughs, action, and a little Dickie!
STARRING: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, and Sarah Silverman
 We all have our weaknesses and mine is Jack Black. A lot of people think this rotund comic dervish is obnoxious and annoying, but I think he’s a genius. I could watch him eat soup and be entertained. Maybe it’s because he’s a chubby guy doing skinny guy things. A matinee idol trapped in the comic relief’s body. Whatever the reason, the dude just makes me laugh.
I admire how he goes joyfully balls-out with everything he does, whether it’s a scene-stealing supporting part (“High Fidelity” or “Orange County”), a lead role (“Shallow Hal”) or as half of the quirky music duo, Tenacious D. Now, I have another reason to think Black’s the bomb. He just made a wonderful little feel-good flick called “The School of Rock.”
Black plays Dewey Finn, a loutish rock star wannabe at a crossroads. He’s been fired from his band and after several years of mooching, his roommate is finally pressing him for rent money. Intercepting a call for his roomie, who is a substitute teacher, Dewey decides to take a gig at a prep school teaching fifth grade. Once there, he’s impressed with the musical talents of his charges and proceeds to turn them into a rock band in time for the local battle of the bands competition. Of course, he must do all this without rousing the suspicions of the other teachers, parents, and the school’s uptight principal (expertly played by Joan Cusack).
In the wrong hands, “School of Rock” could have been just another forgettable yukfest, the incessant mediocre delivery of a one-joke premise. But Black, director Richard Linklater (the wonderful “Dazed & Confused,” “Slacker” and “Waking Life”) and screenwriter/co-star Mike White (“The Good Girl” and “Orange County”) elevate the material. Like Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven,” the joy of this movie is watching talented people (on both sides of the camera) play to their strengths and make high powered, crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Sometimes we overlook mainstream movies, especially comedies, when handing out accolades because we underestimate the value of simply being entertained. Some movies are valuable just because they make you smile and laugh. “School of Rock” is not some three hour epic about an oppressed 17th Century chronic bed wetter who unified the beleaguered turnip farmers of Bulgaria, but it’s still worthy of your kudos.
As you would expect from a movie titled “The School of Rock,” there is a passion for classic rock pulsating throughout the film. This flick’s best moments are when Black is preaching the gospel of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to disciples of Christina Aquilera and Puff Daddy. Watching the kids connect with the music and mesh as a band is great fun. The young actors are cute without being precocious. Linklater has coaxed strong, but modest, performances from the fresh-faced talent. They look and sound like kids rather than tiny adults – the sin of many a movie youth.
In typical movie fashion, however, the children are wiser than their years and they ultimately help their mentor grow up while he in turn shows them how to have fun. The steady hands of the film’s star, director, and screenwriter make Dewey’s relationship with the kids and his character growth subtle enough to be endearing rather than annoyingly saccharine.
A lazier filmmaker would have coasted on the easy laughs generated from Dewey being a slob stuck in a prep school, but thankfully, this crew takes the road less traveled. Rather than devolve into “Kindergarten Cop” with rock music, “The School of Rock” gets laughs from Dewey’s spastic glee at sharing his joy of music with the kids. If anything, the movie is less “fish out of water” and more a “fish swimming confidently in other waters.”
When you think about it, comedies are like the janitors of the film world: they get in, do their job and get out, often without a lot of recognition. We don’t even notice them most of the time, but we’d sure miss them if they were gone. That said, “The School of Rock” is one helluva good janitor. A comedy like this one may not solve the problems of the world, but making us forget about them for awhile is good enough for me.
STARRING: Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes, and Willem Dafoe
 Wunderkind Robert Rodriguez is like a hyper-caffeinated mix of Kevin Smith and Sam Raimi. Like Smith, he mixes sharp dialogue with pop culture and dark cynical cool. Like Raimi, Rodriquez’s pure love of filmmaking shows in every frame. From “Desperado” to “From Dusk to Dawn” to the “Spy Kids” movies, it’s fun to watch this crazed multi-tasker (he writes, directs, shoots, edits, even scores the music) mature as an artist.
“Once Upon a Time in Mexico” is a wild contemporary western with Antonio Banderas reprising his role as the gun-toting mariachi from “Desperado.” While Antonio struts his stuff, the real star of this movie is Johnny Depp. As a rogue CIA agent, Depp is the coolest, quirkiest badass to hit the big screen in quite awhile. You can’t take your eyes off this guy. He owns this flick.
Depp has long been one of the more interesting actors of my generation. He’s been weird. He’s been intense, but he’s never been dull. Looks like he’s finally hit mainstream success with this role and his foppish blockbuster turn in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” And he did it without sleepwalking through some braindead action role where he’s nothing more than a talking prop. (Nic Cage, this means you).
Even though “Once Upon A Time in Mexico” picks up where “Desperado” left off, it’s more a new film with the same character rather than a sequel. You can enjoy this movie and not feel like you’re missing out if you didn’t catch the first one. You also don’t get the impression that the movie has been churned out to cash in on the popularity of its predecessor. “Mexico” stands on it’s own and it’s the most entertaining movie I’ve seen in months.
I wish that this summer’s flicks had buzzed with this same freewheeling movie mojo. It would have been a lot more fun at the multiplex if they had. Rodriguez has crafted a fast and lean film bursting with eclectic characters (Willem Dafoe probably got lockjaw from all the scenery chewing as a brutal drug lord) and sizzling action. The stunts are organic to the story and don’t seem thrown in just for eye candy. The scenes are raw and effective, free of Hollywood glitz and crackling with energy.
There’s a boyish enthusiasm flowing from the screen as if Rodriguez were channeling every 10 year-old who ever jumped out of a tree with two toy guns pretend-blazing to faux-mow down an army of neighbor kids. How dare I equate scenes of death and violence with child’s play? Maybe because it’s make-believe? This film’s action is dark and violent, but never exploitatively so. During moments when the screen is filled with blood and dust, you never grimace in shock and horror. You smile and know that Rodriguez and his amigos had a blast making this movie. You’ll have a blast watching it.
Uno mas, Senor Rodriguez . . . uno mas.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
(Filmboy’s Rating: 2 Popcorns)
STARRING: David Spade, Mary McCormack, Jon Lovitz, Alyssa Milano, and Leif Garrett
 In my opinion, David Spade is a smarmy little gnome. He’s occasionally funny, usually when he’s getting the crap kicked out of him or if he’s acting like a smarmy little gnome. I probably enjoy his antics more than I care to admit, but for the most part, his comedy is marginal at best. He’s just another SNL alum trying to hit big fat multiplex glory. Good luck, David and remember for every Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler, there’s a Rob Schneider and Joe Piscopo. Oh, poor misguided Joe Piscopo . . . but that’s another story.
In this tacky little nugget, Spade plays an actor who was a huge star as a kid and then hit the skids once his balls dropped. The movie follows his attempts to get back to the big time, including an appearance on “Celebrity Boxing” (where he gets trounced by Emmanuel Lewis), attempts to sell a tell-all biography and failed auditions. Spade, who co-wrote the film with pal Fred Wolf, has picked a great concept for a comedy. As a culture, we seem obsessed by the trials and tribulations of former child stars. How else do you explain the success of E’s “True Hollywood Story?”
To that end, this movie’s high points are cameos by actual former child actors. Dickie’s best friend is Leif Garrett, playing himself and having fun taking shots at his own decaying celebrity. Either he’s a really good sport or he needs the money. I’m thinking probably both, but he holds up well on screen. A scene where they play poker with Corey Feldman (“The Lost Boys”), Barry Williams (Greg from “The Brady Bunch”), Danny Bonaduce (Danny from “The Partridge Family”) and Dustin Diamond (Screech from “Saved by the Bell”) is a real chuckler. They all dish on current stars while Williams uses the E-Bay value of old “Brady Bunch” props as poker money.
This scene is also indicative of the movie’s total vibe. After someone ranks on George Clooney or Brad Pitt, someone else will chime in with a compliment like “yeah, but he’s worked really hard” or “he loaned me money one time.” The lines give this bit some sad sack charm, but it also dilutes the comedy’s bite. There’s certainly an ironic punch to a pack of has-beens dissing big stars, but it’s lost when the script gets all warm and fuzzy. It’s a problem that pervades the entire film.
Rather than stay focused on the comic potential of the former child stars, Spade and director Sam Weisman (“George of the Jungle”) venture into sitcom territory as Dickie moves in with a suburban family to learn what it’s like to be “normal.” Ultimately, instead of a wicked TV land satire, we get a milquetoast collection of lukewarm gags and “heartwarming” epiphanies. The genuine laughs are few and far between.
Stomp Tokyo Pal Joal Ryan took this same idea and achieved darker comic success with her zany, low-budget film, “Former Child Star” (Check the Stomp Tokyo archives for a review). This subject just lends itself more to cynical humor. Former child stars overdosed on sweetness back in their heyday so why wallow in it now when you can get big laughs by being nasty?
It seems to take Spade and Weisman an entire movie to learn this point because they close out the flick with a “We are the World” parody featuring a flock of former child stars singing about their fleeting fame. The nostalgia buzz alone from seeing Nicholas from “Eight is Enough,” Greg, Peter and Bobby Brady, Corey Haim (“Lost Boys” and “License to Drive”), and the cast of “What’s Happening” (love that Rerun!) singing about what happens after puberty in Hollywood almost makes it worth the price of admission.
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