Movie Review: "After The Wedding"

"After The Wedding": C.  A couple of weeks ago Momma Cuandito's sister, The Great Aunt Margaret, explained to her why she had given up watching the television mini-series Yellowstone. "To get into a show I need there to be at least one character I like."   From what I've heard, the Kevin Costner western drama does not meet that minimal requirement.  I thought about Margaret's statement about half-way through After The Wedding.  It was then I realized I was in the same boat as she.  At least with respect to the three female leads, I did not like any of them.  However, I did not walk out; I fulfilled my blogger responsibilities and took one for the team (the "team" being my plethora (?) of readers).  You're welcome.  (Note: Since the turn of the century I have walked out on only one movie, 2001's Moulin Rouge.)

The dialogue in After The Wedding is particularly hard to accept.  There are too many times when a conversation will be taking place in normal fashion, only to be turned upside down by a totally incongruous remark, some taking the form of an outcry.  This is a film with lots of face-to-face meetings, often when a simple phone call would have sufficed.  More meetings result in more dialogue.  Ordinarily I don't mind an above-average quantity of dialogue, provided the script is well-written.  But, the dialogue must flow, not end in a blow up coming out of the blue.

Isabell (Michelle Williams) runs a small orphanage in India.  She has dedicated her life to this mission.  Included among the children is a boy about eight years old named Jai (Vir Pachisia).  Later we learn that Isabell rescued Jai from the streets and has considered him her adopted son.  One day the orphanage learns that it is being considered for a six figure donation from a corporation headquartered in New York City.  This is beyond the wildest dreams of Isabell and her small, grossly underpaid staff.  Up to that point the movie's set up sounds promising.  Then a series of odd circumstances begins to unfold.

The CEO of the prospective benefactor is Theresa Young (Julianne Moore).  By phone, Young insists that Isabell, whom she's never met, fly to New York to discuss the details of the gift.  Young will not consider the orphanage's preference of sending Isabell's top assistant in her stead.  Isabell's absence will be very disruptive, but Young is adamant.  A few days later, when Isabell shows up for her appointment, Young is totally unprepared.  This is unheard of for an executive who runs a huge, highly profitable company.  Young only gives Isabell a couple of minutes of her time, then invites Isabell to her daughter's wedding which is to take place the very next day.  "We can talk more then."  Really?  At her daughter's wedding?

Isabell arrives late for the outdoor wedding.  It's there she spots Oscar (Billy Crudup), Young's husband and the father of Grace, the bride (Abby Quinn).  Isabell had no desire to go to the wedding in the first place, but felt she had to for the sake of keeping the prospective gift to her orphanage in play.  Now, having seen Oscar from the back row, she really does not want to be there.  The two share a history, and it involves Grace.

In the second half of the movie there is a revelation which makes some of the preceding oddities somewhat fathomable, but much of what transpires is still illogical.  In an attempt to avoid a spoiler, I will simply state that the big controversial event from the past which now stirs the pot does not rise to the level of justifying most of the behavior of the three female leads.

Moore is a talented actress, and almost all the super-dramatic moments in After The Wedding are allotted to her character.  Crudup doesn't have that much to do relative to the the females, but he is solid.  Knew You For A Moment, performed by Quinn, is a great song which airs during the closing credits.  I wish I enjoyed her acting as much as her singing.  As for Williams, this is the first of her many screen appearances which left me disappointed.  I still look upon her as a skilled artist, but I must score her work on this one a swing and a miss.

Movie Review: "Rocket Man"

"Rocket Man": B.  The year 1970 was one of the most interesting and important in the history of pop and rock music.  Of course, it was the year that the bickering Beatles officially dissolved.  It was the beginning of the period when songs getting radio play were more likely to be four and a-half minutes long instead of two and a-half.  People seemed to start paying more attention to lyrics.  That impression is supported by the popularity of such singer-songwriters as Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, who each made their Billboard debut in 1970 with Big Yellow Taxi and Fire And Rain, respectively.  Cat Stevens just missed the "cutoff" with Wild World, which hit the charts in mid-February, 1971.  The ensuing decade saw the emergence of what, today, we call "classic rock" bands, such as Journey, Styx, Heart, Boston and Foreigner.

Another singer-songwriter who came along in 1970 was Elton John, whose Border Song and Your Song both appeared on the Billboard charts that year.  The film Rocket Man is his story, taking us through most of the '70's by which time he was an international star.  Even though the movie is about a musician, I did not know beforehand that it was a musical.  Thus I was taken by surprise when the opening scene segues from a support group conversation, not unlike an AA meeting, into a full-fledged song and dance extravaganza to the tune The Bitch Is Back.  As it turns out, virtually all the characters with speaking parts are called upon to sing.

Twenty-nine year old British actor Taron Egerton, an Elton lookalike who does his own singing, plays the troubled entertainer.  In addition to vocal talent, the role calls for a display of a variety of emotions, mannerisms and oddities.  Egerton nails each challenge.  In fact, as I shall attempt to explain below, it is the performance of Egerton that justifies my grade of B for this film, which otherwise merits a B-.

Much of the story takes place via flashback, beginning with the sad childhood of Reginald Dwight, the real name of Elton John.  His mother, Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard), is practically a floozy, while his father, Stanley (Steven Mackintosh), is as psychologically abusive as they come.  (Since director Dexter Fletcher takes great pains to match the sound track's many hits to the context of the respective scenes during which they are played, I wish the Foreigner song Cold As Ice had been an Elton song.  It would have fit perfectly when Stanley was on-screen.)  Were it not for little Reginad's kind-hearted paternal grandmother, Ivy (Gemma Jones), he may have run away from home.  It was Ivy who encouraged his musical gift and saw to it that her grandson found his way to London's Royal Academy Of Music.  In a predictable but still tender scene, Reggie astonishes an academy instructor who is auditioning him by performing a short complicated piano piece from memory.  Nine year old actor Matthew Illesley is adorably cute playing the part of young Reggie.

Once Reggie is on his own he changes his name to Elton John, a metaphorical act to put his childhood behind.  According to the film, he chooses "John" as his new surname on the spur of the moment while glancing at a picture of John Lennon.  I do not know if that snippet of information is fact or fiction, but it does beg the question of what name he would have chosen had a picture of Ringo instead of John been on the wall.

The film delves into Elton's sexual orientation without leaving much to the imagination, at least for a mainstream musical.  Early in his career Elton is outed by a member of a singing group for which he'd been hired as a sideman.  But it isn't until he crosses paths with manipulative manager John Reid (Richard Madden) that his private life turns in a decidedly different direction.  How will his relationship with Reid affect his acceptance with music fans, disc jockeys and record label execs?

Apparently it's standard that a story about a rock celebrity should include a manager who is either deranged, diabolical, disapproving or dishonest.  Examples include Brian Wilson's manager, Eugene Landy, in Love & Mercy (reviewed here June 20, 2015; B),  and Freddie Mercury's manager, Paul Prenter, in Bohemian Rhapsody (reviewed here January 29, 2019; B-) .  In Rocket Man we get a double dose with Reid, whose unethical professional practices contribute to Elton's drug addiction, and record label exec Dick James (Stephen Graham), who for the longest time fails to see the musical brilliance of his prospective client.  To give credit where it's due, however, James is responsible for setting up Elton with a gig at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, the gateway to success in America.  (Note: The film's most ludicrous episode shows Elton taking the stage for the most important moment of his career without rehearsing even one song with the house band which will be backing him up.)  

Among the shortcomings of Rocket Man is the short shrift given to two female characters.  The marriage of Elton to Renate Blauel (Celinde Schoenmaker) is possibly the low point of the movie. Who is this bride, what is her background, and how did Elton meet her?  None of these questions is answered.  My guess is that director Fletcher thought he needed to check that particular box, heterosexual marriage, to make the biopic complete.  I don't believe Schoenmaker is on the screen more than ninety seconds.  Secondly, I was dismayed by the failure of the movie to give any information whatsoever regarding Elton's duet partner, Kiki Dee (Rachel Muldoon), who teamed up with him on the hit Don't Go Breaking My Heart, one of my three favorite Elton songs.

The hero of the story is Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell).  Introduced to Elton by Dick James, Bernie was the guy who furnished the lyrics to Elton's music.  Bernie stood by Elton through all the ups and numerous downs.  In one memorable early scene, Elton makes a romantic pass at Bernie, who by this time knew Elton was gay.  Bernie, a heterosexual, smoothly and without insult, tells Elton, "I love you, but not in that way."  Message delivered.  Leave it to the man who makes his living with words to come up with the right language to say, in effect, "no" without severing the friendship and partnership.  Without Bernie's relatively unheralded contributions, we may never have heard of Elton John.

Fast-Tracked

Nobody likes a long sermon, or "homily" if you prefer that euphemism.  It follows that no one wants to read a lengthly piece about a sermon.  With that in mind I will keep this post on the short side.

This past Monday, August 5, the Catholic Church celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration.  As church holidays go, the Transfiguration gets scant attention.  For example, it is not a holy day of obligation, so attendance at Mass is not mandatory.  In 2002 Pope John Paul II decided that the three traditional sets of mysteries of the rosary (Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries and Glorious Mysteries) which had been in place for decades did not suffice, and he therefore added the Luminous Mysteries.  Until that proclamation the Transfiguration was not a mystery of the rosary at all.  There are not as many parishes named in honor of the Transfiguration as there are for other other mysteries such as the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection or the Ascension.  According to my crack research team, the number of parishes named for the Incarnation easily surpasses the number for the Transfiguration, even though most Catholics view the two events as commemorating the same thing, i.e., the human nature of God.

In all honesty, when I attended Mass at Our Lady Of Lourdes last Monday, I did not know it was the feast of the Transfiguration until the celebrant, Father David Haschka, S.J., who is the parish's senior associate pastor, announced it at the start of his five minute sermon.  I'm often guilty of tuning out sermons, but his intro caught my attention and it turned out to be five minutes well spent.  Any time a priest or minister has a personal experience to tie into a scripture reading, that's a plus.  Father Haschka's little talk has stuck in my mind all week, so I want to memorialize it here before I forget.

He started by stating he wanted to tell us a short story going back to his days as a young student at the Jesuit seminary in St. Louis.  At the beginning of spring break he made a cardboard sign that indicated his home destination, Omaha, and went out to the highway to thumb a ride.  "In those days you could do that sort of thing," he wistfully lamented.  As one who hitchhiked hundreds of miles in the sixties, I had to agree.  It certainly was a different time, in many ways.

Young Haschka wasn't standing on the side of the road long before a car picked him up.  The driver told him he was headed to Des Moines.  This was great news for Haschka, as Des Moines, 340 miles from St. Louis, was only 130 miles from Omaha.  Thus, a good chunk of his odyssey would be taken care of in one ride!  But about fifteen minutes into the trip, the driver pulled into the St. Louis airport.  "I thought you said we were going to Des Moines," the seminarian protested.

"We are," came the reply.  It turned out the driver owned a private jet and sure enough, he flew Haschka to Des Moines.  It took less than forty-five minutes!

"I guess you could say my journey home was fast-tracked," recalled Father Haschka from the pulpit.

He then recounted the story of the Transfiguration.  In a nutshell, the Transfiguration occurred when Jesus took three of his apostles, Peter, James and John, to the top of an unnamed mountain, ostensibly to pray.  While there, the face of Jesus changed brilliantly, his clothes became dazzling white, and two Old Testament figures, Moses and Elijah, stood next to him and conversed with him.  Shortly thereafter, a voice from an overhanging cloud proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.  Listen to Him."

Keeping in mind that these three apostles were simple fishermen, you can imagine how astonished and terrified they were.  Up until that point they had witnessed a few miracles, but those were performed by Jesus, not to Jesus.  He had spoken of his Father, but this episode on the mountain was a first-hand experience for the three hand-picked followers.  They were seeing something previously unseen by any other human.  The Church considers this event, the Transfiguration, as a key to establishing two of its principles, the dual nature of Christ, human yet divine, and the existence of "God the Father."

The twelve apostles were selected by Jesus to spread his word.  To do that effectively, they had to believe in their hearts and minds that Jesus was truly the son of God.  Although all of the apostles (excluding Judas) and many other disciples were willing to follow Christ, the degree to which their faith was steadfast probably varied.  But for Peter, James and John, having been present for the Transfiguration and seeing it first hand, the challenge of acquiring the requisite faith was made easy.  As Father Haschka put it, "Their faith was fast-tracked."

Movie Review: "The Quiet One"

Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?

- Anonymous (1964)

"The Quiet One": B.  When the Rolling Stones first came to the U.S. in 1964, and for many years thereafter, Bill Wyman was their bass player. One of the band's founders, Wyman preferred to avoid the limelight, standing off to the side or in the back while Mick Jagger was shaking and baking in front. The Beatles and the Stones each had a member dubbed "The Quiet One." For the Beatles it was George Harrison; for the Stones it was Wyman.

The Stones first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show on October 25, 1964, eight and a-half months after the Beatles' first appearance on that all-important Sunday evening variety show.  We teenagers had been listening to Stones' music on the radio for months, but never got to see them until their national television debut.  When the time finally arrived, most fans were devoting their collective attention to lead singer Jagger and lead guitarist Keith Richards.  But I was more intrigued by rhythm guitarist Brian Jones, probably because he had the greatest hair in the rock world, and by bass player Wyman.  There was something about the latter's stoicism which set him apart.  He held the neck of his instrument cocked upward at an 80 degree angle instead of parallel to the floor like other guitarists.  He appeared aloof, even while performing in front of hundreds of screaming girls.  Was he being cool, or was he disinterested?

The Stones seemed darker with more of an edge than their fellow countrymen like the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits or Gerry & The Pacemakers.  Their first top ten hit in the States, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard charts, was Time Is On My Side, of which the band actually recorded two versions.  The version which got less airplay was my favorite because of its spooky falsetto fadeout.  Contributing to the eeriness was Wyman's Prince Valiant hair style, an accurate description for which I must credit Star Tribune critic Jon Bream.  Ed Sullivan made room for just two Stones' songs that memorable October night, a cover of Chuck Berry's Around And Around, a strange choice given the fact that the Stones never released that tune as a single, and Time Is On My Side to close the show.

The Quiet One is a documentary which relies almost exclusively on Wyman's comprehensive, invaluable and historic stockpile of Rolling Stones memorabilia which he has painstakingly curated over the last six decades.  Wyman explains that he felt an obligation to make a written record of events which transpired during his days with the Stones.  We are the beneficiaries of Wyman's sense of duty.  It ironically turns out that this quiet, almost reclusive performer has a lot to say, and a personality belied by his on-stage persona.  Some of his ideas are expressed through his photography.  Additionally, Wyman has amassed a huge collection of tape recordings and videos, complete with a variety of compatible devices on which to play them, plus posters, buttons, costumes, instruments, charts, set lists, and all things apropos to Rolling Stones.  This bounty is securely stored in a home library, with complete inventory lists on file.  It is a safe bet that an accounting of anything Stones-related since the band's 1963 formation is contained in Wyman's archives.  Undoubtedly referring to his days of heavy drug usage, Richards has said, "If I want to know what went on in those years, I have to ask Bill Wyman."

The documentary could use a little more -- in fact a lot more -- concert footage.  In spots it suffers from too many slow horizontal pans, reminiscent of most of Ken Burns' offerings.  One clever production gimmick is the use of shots from a camera positioned at a distance directly behind a man with a full head of gray hair.  The silent subject is sitting at a desk.  Sometimes the camera gets closer, but it isn't until the end of the movie that we see his face.  Is it Bill?

It is likely that The Quiet One will be appealing only to rock music fans and historians.  Still, for those of us who fall into one of those broad categories, it does furnish insight and behind-the-scenes snippets of the band which is in its seventh decade of existence.  What was once unofficially a sextet and officially a quintet is now a quartet.  From the original lineup, Jagger, Richards and drummer Charlie Watts are still touring.  Wyman, who is almost seven years older than Jagger and had a brief career in the British air force as a teenager, retired from the band in 1993.  Some of the documentary takes us up to the present day, as Wyman has kept busy with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.  But as one would expect, the main focus is on his days as a Stone.

Wyman tells filmmaker Oliver Murray that in his view, the job of the bassist is to complement the music without drawing attention to himself.  Wyman is the personification of this approach.  Wyman and drummer Watts, another understated musician, will go down in history as one of rock's best rhythm section duos.           

Quarterly Cinema Scan - Volume XXXVI

SPOILER ALERT!  This post contains spoilers relating to The Godfather.

I recently watched The Godfather for what was probably the fifth or sixth time since its release in 1972.  It is one of the best films I have ever seen -- hence, the A rating you'll see below -- and is one of only two movies which I feel was clearly superior to the related book.  (If you must know, the other was 1964's Fail Safe, graded A- here on April 1, 2012.)  My count of five or six viewings is nothing compared to that of my mother, the Pook. For sure, she was comfortably in double digits.  If there's a cinema in heaven the Pook is there right now, attending a Godfather triple feature.

I smile every time I recount the story Jill told about watching The Godfather with "Grandma Marie."  The concept of spoiler alert was foreign to the Pook.  So, every time the movie switched to a different scene, my mom could not resist telling her granddaughter what was about to happen.  "Now this is where the guy wakes up with the horse's head in his bed." "Now this is where a bomb explodes in the girl's car."  My mom could not help herself.  She had dialogues memorized verbatim throughout the three hour film.

Each time I see The Godfather I pick up on something I hadn't noticed before.  Without question, the story itself and the acting are pure brilliance.  But there are other flourishes and nuances which combine to complement the obvious attributes.  Here are several positive aspects which have kept The Godfather at or near the top of the list of the public's all time favorites.

* Famous quotes: How many times have you heard someone say, "Make him an offer he can't refuse"?  Other noteworthy pieces of the film's dialogue include "Leave the gun, take the cannoli"; "It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes"; "It's not personal, it's strictly business."

* One memorable scene follows another:  Two of my favorites are (i) the Louie's Restaurant conference among Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), gangster Sollozzo (Al Lettiere) and crooked cop McCluskey (Sterling Hayden), and (ii) the hospital scene featuring Michael and an extremely nervous Enzo the baker (Gabriele Torrei).

* Casting: Almost every character, major or minor, is perfectly cast, from Marlon Brando as the title character and Pacino as his youngest son Michael, to the other two brothers, Sonny (James Caan) and Fredo (John Cazale), plus the family's two main henchmen, Clemenza (Richard Castellano) and Tessio (Abe Vigota).

* Creepy killings: Moe Greene (Alex Rocco) gets plugged with a bullet through his glasses; Carlo is strangled from behind within seconds after getting in the front seat of a car; a mobster is shot after being trapped inside a store's revolving front door; Sonny is assassinated at a toll booth by a flurry of machine gun fire.

* Authentic Italian culture: The sprawling outdoor family wedding of the Godfather's only daughter, Connie (Talia Shire); Clemenza showing Michael how to prepare a huge pasta dinner for the family's associates; characters choosing to speak Italian to each other so people around them can't eavesdrop; Sonny sitting around in his "wife beater" undershirt.

* Putting intended victims at ease before they are killed:  Sonny asks driver Pauli (Johnny Martino), who is suspected of betrayal, if he wants food or a drink, then orders Clemenza to rub Pauli out; Connie's husband Carlo (Gianni Russo) is handed an airplane ticket to Vegas moments before he gets in the car for his last ride; Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) is poured a drink in a bar by a rival of the Corleones, then is bumped off while he stands at the rail.

* The evolution of Tom and Kay into acceptance of family business:  Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) is the family consigliere who functions as a legal adviser and is considered a son of the Godfather.  Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) is Michael's girlfriend and eventual wife.  At first they seem removed from the shady, corrupt operations of the Corleones, but as the story evolves it becomes impossible for them to distance themselves from the mafia world.

* Distinct traits and personalities of the brothers. Each of the three brothers plus Hagen has distinct personalities which hold true throughout the movie.  Their words and actions realistically stay within the parameters attributable to those personalities.  None of the men acts out of character for the convenience of the script writers, Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola.

One scene in particular stokes personal, fond memories for me, Momma Cuandito and our friends Sue and Bob Cipolle.  In 2017 the four of us embarked on a road trip around Sicily, where we visited the mountain village of Savoca.  There we sat outside Bar Vitelli to enjoy beers and a snack.  That small outdoor seating area is also the location in The Godfather where Michael Corleone meets the father of Apollonia (Simonetta Stefanelli), the girl of Michael's dreams.

****

Here are the films I watched at home during the second quarter of 2019:

1. Bottled With Love (2019 romance; Bethany Joy Lenz and Andrew W. Walker are flirtatiously chatting on-line, not realizing they are co-workers in his father's family-owned business.)  C+

2. The Godfather (1972 drama; Marlon Brando is the head of the Corleones, a powerful New York mafia family.)  A

3. Gunfight At The O.K. Corral (1956 western; Burt Lancaster as U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp is joined by alcoholic gambler and gunslinger Doc Holiday, played by Kirk Douglas, as they head to Tombstone to help keep the bad guys out of town.)  A-

4. The Mule (2018 drama; Clint Eastwood owns a failing floral business but strikes it rich when he, at first unwittingly, agrees to transport illegal drugs for the Mexican cartel from Texas to Illinois, an enterprise which DEA agent Bradley Cooper is determined to end.)  B+

5. One Is A Lonely Number (1972 drama; while she's going through a divorce, twenty-seven year old Trish Van Devere turns to elderly shop keeper Melvyn Douglas for counsel, and to handsome contemporary Monte Markham for a serious fling.)  B-

6. Ring Of Fire (2005 music biopic; Joaquin Phoenix plays the Man In Black, Johnny Cash, who falls in love with Reese Witherspoon's June Carter from the moment they meet.)  A

7. The Tattooed Stranger (1950 detective noir; New York City detective John Miles, assisted by botanist Patricia Barry, follows clues, including unusual blades of grass found at the crime scene, to figure out who murdered a woman bearing a tattoo on her arm.)  B-

8. 3:10 To Yuma (1957 western; financially desperate rancher Van Heflin agrees to guard and transport captured outlaw Glenn Ford, knowing Ford's gang stands in the way.) B+

9.  Woman On The Run (1950 crime noir; with the help of tabloid journalist Dennis O'Keefe, Ann Sheridan looks all over San Francisco for husband Ross Elliott who witnessed a gangland murder.)  B

Movie Review: "Booksmart"

"Booksmart": B-.  The night of high school graduation has served as the setting for several films over the years.  The action in Booksmart takes place the day and night before, when leading character Molly Davidson (Beanie Feldstein) and best friend Amy Antsler (Kaitlyn Dever) discover, however belatedly, that all through high school their classmates have deemed them dull and humorless book nerds.  Molly's acceptance into Yale and her role as student council president only fortify that reputation.  The truth is that these gals are truly comedic and fun to the core.  Unfortunately they have kept that side of themselves to themselves.  They still have a very limited amount of time to go out with a bang before graduation and prove to their would-be friends they've had the pair pegged incorrectly.

We movie viewers do not share the same mischaracterization of Molly and Amy as do their classmates.  From the opening scene in which the girls go into a mini-dance routine in front of Amy's car, it's apparent to us that they score an 11 on the Zany Meter.  Our first take on these chicks is that they must be the life of the party.  The problem is, they're never invited to parties.

With graduation only one day away, Molly and Amy have some catching up to do.  They get wind of a huge "let it all hang out" bash hosted by classmate Nick at a mansion owned by his aunt, who conveniently is out of town.  But where, exactly, is this place?  The girls' endeavors to locate the blowout take up the majority of Booksmart's run time.

Their quest includes a few side tracks and dead ends, including time aboard a yacht and crashing a murder mystery house party.  These scenes are mildly humorous but at least furnish opportunities for some of the supporting cast, particularly eccentric George (Noah Galvin), to have their moments.  One clever creation is the girls' use of the term "milala," which, when invoked by one, requires the other to accede to any request.

Speaking of the supporting cast, Jason Sudekis' turn as Principal Jordan Brown is nothing short of brilliant. The unshaven administrator can't wait for the school year to be over, and thus does not want to be bothered with what he brushes aside as mundane, petty issues which reach his desk during these final hours.  When he shows up later in the film as a Lyft driver, it is clearly a laugh-out-loud moment.  If Booksmart ever shows up on television, I plan to DVR it and then fast forward through everything except Principal Brown's scenes.  By the way, Sudekis is engaged to the film's director, Olivia Wilde.

When Booksmart first arrived in the Twin Cities in early June, most of the local critics raved about it.  I suspect their high praise may say more about the present dearth of well written comedies than it does about this film's merits standing alone.  There is no dispute here that Booksmart contains some chuckle-worthy moments.  And, Feldstein shows promise as a talented young actress -- with a name like "Beanie" the sky is the limit.  Nevertheless I can't join the ranks of those who gushed over this film.  I am not sorry I went to see it, but part of that feeling is due to my only having to spend $2.50 at the Hopkins Theater. 

Movie Review: "Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary"

"Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary": A-.  Three essential ingredients are often found in excellent documentaries: an interesting topic, one or more main characters with whom the viewers can connect, and luck.  The first two requirements are obvious, but what about the third?  Exhibit A is the 1994 film Hoop Dreams, the best documentary I have ever seen.  It is the story of two black, inner-city youngsters, William Gates and Arthur Agee, who commuted on Chicago's L for an hour and a-half each way to attend a mostly white high school, St. Joseph, in the western suburbs.  The attraction was St. Joe's powerhouse basketball program.  More on the "luck" aspect later.

I was reminded of Hoop Dreams when I recently saw Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary.  That documentary, which I might label Exhibit B, was a huge hit with the patrons of this spring's Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF).  Lucy Laney is an elementary school located in the Cleveland  Park neighborhood of Minneapolis.  The demographics of the student body reflect its impoverished surroundings: 90% minority and 90% from families living below the poverty line as determined by the federal government.  Eager and most willing to take on the challenges presented by such circumstances is principal Mauri Friestleben, as dedicated an administrator as you're likely to find in any school district.  Friestleben is a product of the same troubled North Side area and knows too well that the school, for many youngsters, provides the most steadying support of their day.  Like many great inner city principals, she is called upon to wear a multitude of different hats during the course of her constantly-on-the-move work day: counselor, advocate, enforcer, protector, cheerleader, planner, goal setter, etc.  In short, she is the face of the school.

With unlimited access, filmmakers Lindsey Seavert and Ben Garvin follow Friestleben through her grueling yet rewarding days.  Under the gaze of a huge portrait of Muhammad Ali, the principal sets the tone early on in the late-August faculty meetings days before the kids' first day of the school year.  Her message resembles that of a football coach's pre-game admonition to his underdog team.  "If you don't believe we can make a difference or don't think you can put in the hard work and sacrifice which will be essential, leave now."  That warning may sound harsh, but we viewers quickly learn that the faculty Friestleben is addressing has for the most part been specifically recruited by her due to their reputation as elite, caring educators.  Most of them could have chosen an easier career path within the Minneapolis Public Schools district, but have opted to work under this principal with these children.  As a group, the teachers constitute the epitome of dedication.

Why is there a prevailing worry regarding success at Lucy Laney?  The almighty standardized tests given to the students by edict of the Minnesota education authorities have proven to be too difficult.  Year after year, Laney's test scores have not passed muster, the result being that the school is flagged as one of the state's failures.  The sad irony here is at least threefold.  The teaching staff is top drawer, the students are generally enthusiastic about learning, and the resources afforded to Laney are more, per capita, than the majority of schools in the district.  But Friestleben and her subordinates do not allow the annual disappointment deter them from their mission.  They realize they owe it to their young charges to keep grasping for the brass ring.

Notwithstanding what I've written to this point, the tone of Love Them First is not doleful or pessimistic; the upbeat bouncy score by Charlie McCarron and Cornbread Harris stands in the way.  Rather, viewers witness countless instances of the three theological virtues, faith, hope and love, on display.  In fact, the title of the film is taken from Friestleben's motto of how to deal with children who are obviously going through physical or emotional trouble.  You don't go up to them and start pumping them with questions in an effort to analyze their issues.  "Any time anybody sees a child that looks forlorn, lost or not taken care of, spread your arms, scoop them up, ask questions later.  But love them first" by giving the child a comforting hug and, if necessary, a shoulder to cry on.

Although the principal is rightfully the focus of the documentary, her co-star, if you will, is a precocious fifth grader, Sophia, with an exuberant, sparkling personality whom filmmakers Seavert and Garvin wisely insert from time to time.   Her appearances on camera were my favorite portions of the film.  Speaking of "camera," watching the kids strike poses with glee on Camera Day is, by itself, worth the price of admission.

How does luck come into play in judging the merits of Hoop Dreams and Love Them First?  In the former, documentarian Steve James began filming Gates and Agee when they were still in middle schools of the Chicago ghettos.  The boys' basketball playing was done on the city's playgrounds with net-less hoops and ramshackle backboards.  The kids, at that point in their lives, had probably never heard of St. Joseph High School. James took a chance because there was no guarantee that the boys would continue their basketball careers years later at the high school varsity level, or that each of them would have personal stories which drew riveting attention.  As for the latter film, Seavert and Garvin were fortunate that the one school year they chose to film, 2017-2018, had a surprise twist pertaining to Lucy Laney's quest to remove itself from the dreaded list of failed schools.  To write more would run the risk of spoiling the viewing experience.

Seavert and Garvin are both employed by KARE 11, she as a reporter and he as a photojournalist.  They conducted hundreds of interviews and shot hundreds of hours of film, masterfully condensed to an eighty-nine minute feature.  The story is heartwarming and at times heartbreaking.  The cameras are there to catch the highs and the lows, leaving an everlasting impression on anyone who cares about little kids.  It is no wonder Love Them First won the MSPIFF's Peoples' Choice Award.  The film is currently being circulated for wider release across the country, and KARE 11 will show it in its entirety later this year.