Charlie Rose Is The Best

Finally caught the AO Scott-David Denby discussion on the Oscars. Great discussion.

AO Scott rips the Reader apart and it's fucking brilliant. It is a perfect dissection of the fundamental problems with the movie. In fact, I'd go so far as to say makes the whole experience of watching the movie worthwhile just to cheer at AO's diatribe on it. Harvey Weinstein - you owe AO Scott the $12 you previously owed me.

And they say a lot of smart, interesting other things as well about Sean Penn's performance, Slumdog, Frost-Nixon (very, very good comments), and others... But every year I find myself strongly disagreeing with the "the New York critic" consensus on a few key movies. My impression of New York movie critics - they specialize in explaining why bad Hollywood (LA) movies don't work. But I don't think they are particularly good at identifying...PLEASURABLE (and not necessarily good) movies. Perhaps there is a reason they are critics...

This year, the movie is Rachel Getting Married. Denby loved it. He gushes about it. But this movie is firstly a bore and secondly, a sloppy mess. I'd rather take a slap in the balls before rewatching it. The only good part is Rachel DeWitt (on that we can agree), but the movie has some seriously gaping retarded elements. Denby likes how they handle the DeWitt interracial marriage by not making anything of it. But his comment reminds me a little bit of George Costanza in the Seinfeld episode where he tries to find a black friend to prove he's not a racist. At one point George says, "Oh, you're black? I didn't even notice. I don't see race." Denby - you doth protest too much. Rachel DeWitt would NEVER marry the man cast as her husband in the movie. Not because she wouldn't marry a black man, but she wouldn't marry THAT black man - a quiet, almost mute, dude who sits around most of the movie with a slightly out of place grin...whereas she is this cute beyond belief in her early 30s, charmer. I've never seen a couple exhibit such little chemistry - and believe me - that looked like THAT. Some ladies critique Sideways because never in a million years do they imagine Virginia Madson going for Giamatti. If you think that coupling is a stretch, let me tell you, Rachel Getting Married is beyond ridiculous. But beyond that, they never mention the father is miscast - he's gayer than Liberace and doesn't have the decency to act around it. Where's Sean Penn when you need him? And it's not like this movie style is new - for crissake - The Celebration is over ten years old now. No one can seem to get close to it.

Last year, it was Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, a lame ass bore of movie (also with an improbably couple - Marisa Tomei as a hotass 40 year old with Phillip Seymour playing a disgusting and uncharming version of himself). I can't even remember why this movie was so bad - but it was pretty much interminable.

Now...there is another movie I disagree with them about: Milk. But I may be wrong about this one (I'm definitely not wrong about RGM or BTDKYD). Milk is a highly overrated film. Biopics in general are overrated and milk is no exception. Sloppy, sloppy writing. A real lame "philosophy" in the movie, suggesting Milk's killer was a closeted homo. I mean, come on. I know a lot of dull gay dudes think the rest of the world is in the closet, but we're talking Gus Van Sant here. The man is a baller. And to try to explain away the killing of Milk through such a silly devise - I mean - it's almost anathema to some of the rest of Van Sant's work. Take Elephant where he deals with Columbine and doesn't moralize or try to find the "rosebud" reason for why those two dudes shot up the school. It's a brilliant movie and I'd watch it again over Milk any day. Fine, Sean Penn's technical performance is great. I can see that. His physical ticks, etc. But it's not more impressive to me that Meryl Streep in Doubt or Heath in Brokeback and a performance alone does not make a movie. And as good as Sean Penn is, no way you can tell me - gay or straight - we as an audience enjoy seeing his old ass wrinkled face making out with pretty boy James Franco. GROSS!!!!