lavignebiz1 Reviews

Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Always a pleasure to see

[10/10 · 14 April 2019]

In preparation for seeing the show with Betty Buckley next week, I'm watching the movie again, a movie I will defend over and over again. Streisand is too young for it? Think about this. The life expectancy in the 1890s was about 40. A widow, no matter her age, who was tired of living hand to mouth, would set her sights on a man like Vandergelder. The production is glorious, and the performances are solid.

I've seen Shirley Booth, Dorothy Lamour, Carol Channing, Sally Struthers, two community theater actresses and Bette Midler in this role, Lamour will always be the best, Midler was in the best production (which Buckley will appear in) and I love how this film opens up the story and shows us a lovely, bygone New York.

A Night to Remember (1958)

Still the best film about theTitanic ever made!

[10/10 · 13 February 2019]

While the 1953 version starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck is good at portraying the relationships of people on board the fated ship, this film is by far the best portrayal of the events of April 14, 1912, and it doesn't take an unbearable amount of time the way that dreadful 1997 thing with Kate Winslet did. I was so bored, if it hadn't been pouring rain, I would have walked out, so all I did was note how many inaccuracies were presented.

This version focuses on the tragedy itself, and it features characters who were based on the actual people, such as Molly Brown and the Strausses. Don't waste time on the most recent version. This is the best version ever done!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

It holds up well!

[8/10 · 19 January 2019]

I saw this in the movie theater when it first came out, and when I was looking for a movie to help out a friend who was directing a children's show, this is the one we watched. Having just read the book again, I watched it. The script is solid and of course, Angela Lansbury gives it such charm and grace.

The thing is, except for the names of the children and Lansbury's characters, none of this plot is in the book. The children aren't orphans, and it's not set during the war. Dr. Browne isn't a character and instead, in the second half of the book, Miss Price meets an 18th Century philosopher and witch, with whom she falls in love.

I wouldn't mind seeing this remade, perhaps as a mini-series, using the original stories, although this movie is, indeed magical!

Splitting Heirs (1993)

A treat!

[6/10 · 25 November 2018]

I'd never heard of this until I read about it in Eric Idle's superb new sortabiography, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. As I was watching it, I realized that it's an updated version of Kind Hearts and Coronets, the Ealing Studio comedy starring Alec Guinness as eight characters. This movie is delicious entertainment! Eric Idle wrote the script and stars in it, with sporadic appearances by John Cleese.

My guess is that the film was a box office failure because it was released at the wrong time. It's utterly delightful, on the order of the original Death at a Funeral (the UK production, of course!)

Romeo and Juliet (1954)

There's a reason this one has been forgotten

[6/10 · 21 August 2018]

A friend of mine lent this film to me, because I'm doing research before directing the play. I've now seen about 9 different productions, and while the production is handsome and offers some interesting scenes to try and move the plot along, it features costumes woefully wrong for the period. The interpretation of the text is probably as good as it can be, but huge chunks of dialogue, including the Queen Mab Speech are cut, and Mercutio, always a vivid character, has been reduced to a few lines and an unimportant character. Sebastian Cabot is marvelous as Capulet, and Flora Robson offers some fine moments as the Nurse. Susan Shentall's Juliet is not bad, but except for occasional scenes, Laurence Harvey is phoning it in. I don't completely hate this one -- that would be the Baz Lurhmann disaster, but in comparison, while I've always loved the 1968 Zefferelli version, I'm seeing it from different eyes now, and as I watch the 1936 MGM production, I'm liking the interpretation of the text in that far better than the 1968. This film is an interesting artifact, but it's not especially inspirational. Enjoy it for what it's worth.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill (2016 TV Movie)

Now this is a faithful version of Holliday's Life

[10/10 · 12 August 2018]

I've seen this onstage twice and was mesmerized by it both times. I saw this on HBO when I was in New York and thought it was terrific. I've seen Audra McDonald onstage twice, in Ragtime and Shuffle Along, and she was outstanding in both. She works hard to sound like Holliday in this remarkable biopic, and it's a vast improvement over Lady Sings the Blues, which was essentially a black version of Funny Girl. (Nicky Arnstein wasn't the hero Omar Sharif made him out to be, just as Louis MacKay wasn't the rescuer Billy Dee Williams played. They were both users who got plenty out of these women, only to abandon them when they were really needed. Don't miss this one!

Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)

Far better than it sounds

[6/10 · 14 January 2018]

I saw this movie in the theater when I was a kid. I think I paid a quarter to see it. In doing research for a project on Snow White, I watched it again a couple of times, and the movie is actually a pretty good version of the story. I like the added dimension of the Prince's back story, the Stooges, while not playing their usual characters, are integrated nicely into the story, and even though Carol Heiss can't act or sing, she is a lovely dancer and skater. Patrica Medina is superb as the witch and it's a pretty enjoyable film.

While you're at it, watch the Fairie Tale Theater version. Now having seen Elizabeth McGovern in Downton Abbey, she's a fledgling as Snow White, but nice in the role. Vanessa Redgrave is excellent as the queen, Vincent Price perfect as the man in the mirror. One of the elves is in the Bad Santa movies, and it's nice to see him in an earlier performance.

A Christmas Story Live! (2017 TV Movie)

A very enjoyable production

[8/10 · 18 December 2017]

I'm thoroughly enjoying this production. The musical numbers are fresh and energetically presented, especially Jane Krakowski's tap number, the cast is amazingly talented, especially the kids and it's a fine interpretation of the story. I was once visiting an elderly woman for the holidays and the only thing worth watching was the repeated showing of the original movie. It took me at least a decade to get up the energy to watch that movie again, and I'm pleased with this production. It's not as good as either Hairspray or The Wiz, but it's nowhere near as dreadful as the Peter Pan! I will probably stream this again!

Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption (2012)

An Important Documentary

[8/10 · 20 October 2017]

No matter how you feel about it's topic, this is a vitally important documentary. I could relate to it, because 30 years ago, I directed Christopher Durang's Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You at a community theater housed in a park. The Catholic League came down on us, many people walked out (but didn't ask for their money back) and eventually the show was brought to the City Council. At the time Jesse Ventura was the Mayor and he was on our side. He concluded the topic by reading the First Amendment "for the record."

I saw this play about 15 years ago and thought it was quite good. I rather like McNally's work and while this is a minor work, it's still a marvelous theater piece.

I think this documentary is important because of what it reperesents: First Amendment Rights being challenged by the Christian Right. This is the kind of crap that Trump's minions are against. No one has the right to tell you what you can and cannot do ultimately. When Godard's Hail Mary came out, the print was stolen from the theater that showed it here and the Pope condemned it. Clearly he didn't see it, because it's a tedious bore. I fell asleep at the screening. When The Last Temptation of Christ came out, there were picket lines. No one bothered to interpret the title correctly. The movie, which depicts Jesus married and the father of children, is an hallucination, aka a temptation. It's from the Gnostic Gospels and has nothing to do with the Jesus we all know about.

Wake up, people! This is the 21st Century. People are entitled to new interpretations!! Grow up!

Metropolitan (1989)

It doesn't hold up

[5/10 · 15 October 2017]

I saw this film in the theater, and that theater is no longer showing movies. It's now a Cultural Center that hosts concerts, etc. That's good, because as a movie theater it was a dump.

I rather enjoyed this film when I saw it, but now, 27 years later, I find it a pompous, tedious talkfest about nothing important. A group of young rich kids meet in a classy New York apartment talking about socialism, relationships and so on. It's basically an upper class Breakfast Club, but it doesn't hold up.

What we thought was a sophisticated examination of these people is not at all intriguing. No one could possibly want to spend time with these vapid, cardboard cutouts, who probably would have elected Trump in these days. I didn't last an hour!

Silver Skies (2016)

A sweet little gem with terrific performances

[8/10 · 8 August 2017]

This is a little gem! I originally watched this because I'm a fan of Valerie Perrine, but what a cast. Marvelous performances from Alex Rocco, George Hamilton, Barbara Bain and especially Mariette Hartley. The plot isn't new, but the script has charm and the production is spare, but nicely directed, Check this one out!

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990)

Drama of a Kansas City Family

[8/10 · 3 August 2017]

Mr. and Mrs. Bridge is a fine dramatization of two novels and features one of Paul Newman's finest performances. It introduced us to Kyra Sedgwick and of course, Joanne Woodward gives her usual fine performance (She's the only one who got an Oscar nomination.

It's the story of a family in the Kansas City suburbs. When it starts out, the children are in HIgh School, but the film gives each of their stories time to develop.

However, for me, the performance that captivates is that of Blythe Danner as India Bridge's best friend, a woman being driven crazy by living in the Kansas City suburbs of the late 1950s and early 1950s. Unhappy, she (SPOILER) becomes a pyromaniac.

It's a marvelous movie, worth seeing again if you haven't seen it yet, and if you haven't read them, by all means, do!

Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)

Extremely Episodic, but lovely

[6/10 · 1 June 2017]

I saw this movie in the theater when it came out and haven't seen it since -- until now. I got it from the library on a double pack with Anne of the Thousand Days, which I also saw in the theater and until now hadn't seen it again.

I know far more about Mary now than I did at the time, and while the majority of the story focuses, as it should, on Mary, which Redgrave plays incandescently, the script is extremely episodic. Having been to Scotland several times, and visited places where Mary dwelled, I was so hoping to see structures similar, especially the Palace at Holyrood.

I saw the Donmar Warehouse production of Mary Stuart in New York, and a year later the opera, both of which are as lovely as this is, but I missed the authenticity here. I doubt I'll see this one again!