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Perfect Strangers (2001)
Disappointment...
I waited eight years for this? It's disappointing to find such uninspired casting choices as Michael Gambon, playing Larry Appleton (though strangely renamed "Raymond" in this film) in an unassuming, uncharismatic and decidedly raw interpretation of the nervous Cousin Larry. One would expect our classic principals in a reunion film, but the one surprise twist was seeing Balki as a woman! Lindsay Duncan takes the wacky foreigner to a whole new level with her feminist spin on the classic character. Not for the purist, but any hardcore fan might well want to give Stephen Poliakoff's reinterpretation a hard look, taken, of course, with a grain of salt.
Grease 2 (1982)
Cinema with a flair of brilliance.
Patricia Birch's masterpiece is a stand-alone film, as possibly the greatest movie musical of all time. As a sequel, it outlasts classics like the Godfather II or Porky's II: The Next Day. It's timelessness and themes of the struggle of power versus love leave a lasting impression on even the least enchanted viewer.
The characters of Michael and Stephanie are lovers from afar- he the mysterious answer to her dreams, she the temptress the likes of which can only be named Aphrodite. Stephanie's struggle is outlined beautifully, as she fights to escape the clutches of the menacing Johnny, to find freedom in the wind on the back of Michael's motorcycle. Her drop in class and status is simultaneous with her spiritual awakening found in Michael.
To properly examine the acting acting, the cinematography, the set design, the directing, could take a lifetime. Let us say simply this- there are three great films in cinema history. They deal with power and love with unique, riveting dramatics- the first of those two: Citizen Kane, The Godfather. The third is the word- again!