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Reviews
Slither (1973)
An off-beat comedic classic rarely seen
"Slither" is a perfect, subversive, character-driven comedy that in its own way belongs in the same category as "Pocket Money." Both are sly, low-key studies of American losers, with McGuffins in both films merely serving as excuses for the characters to bump up against each other and to wrestle with their sweet, ever-lasting ineptitude. Not the least of "Slithers"'s triumphs is its perfect cast. Could any film fan in his right mind have imagined James Caan, Peter Boyle, Sally Kellerman, Allen Garfield, Richard B. Schull, and Alex Rocco (the latter was "Moe Green" in "The Godfather") in the same movie? Caan is wonderful as a laconic, recently released con whose brief visit with an old friend turns into a comedic nightmare involving murder, the hunt for a bag of money, and continuing sinister goings-on. The plot, which isn't meant to be taken seriously, never gets in the way of the picture's real interest: examining the human off-kilteredness that lies just inches below the surface of American life. Boyle steals the film as a classic American type, the small-town third-rate entertainer who performs masterfully at Kiwanis Club dances and similar venues. His patented shtick while emceeing an event is so breathtakingly awful, you either want to condole with him or grab a barf bag. Kellerman is equally good as every man's worst nightmare, a nut case who is likely to remind many males in the audience of a certain former girlfriend known briefly. To Caan's--and our--astonishment, she goes from intriguingly sexy to nutty to dangerously nutty in all of 15 minutes of screen time; nor can he get rid of her once he's bedded her. Louise Lasser's role is small and offers her less opportunity to shine, but she's perfect as Boyle's loyal, compliant wife who never seems to know that she's married to a squirm-inducing jerk. Script and direction mesh perfectly, and Caan is terrific as an unflappable stoic who seems to have wandered into the wrong film by mistake and finds himself confronted with one outrageous situation after another. It feels cathartic when he finally lets go and belts Kellerman towards the end of the movie. An A+ for this exceptional off-beat "little" film that one day may be rediscovered and hailed as a classic of its kind.
The High and the Mighty (1954)
A damned good movie but not a great one
"The High & the Mighty" is a damn good film but far from a great one, and awfully far from Wayne's best work by a long shot. In "TH&TM" he is merely low-key and inexpressive most of the time, practically a background character. This and the fact that he plays a very sympathetic "man of sorrows" have confused some people into mistaking this role for one of his best. Acting-wise, it isn't. For his best work see "The Searchers" "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "Fort Apache," "The Quiet Man," "In Harm's Way," and "True Grit." The passengers are all pasteboard cliches and a lot of fast-forwarding with the VCR remote is desirable if you're to enjoy the better parts of this movie. Although Ernest Gann is given sole credit for the screenplay, he either dumbed down much of the script or, more likely, some hacks in the studio writer's building did it for him. Much of the dialogue among the passengers is cringe-inducing. Jan Sterling does an outstanding job in giving some depth to her character, as does Robert Newton; the rest range from barely adequate to awful. Worst Supporting Actress of the Year should have gone to Dove Avedon, playing the stewardess as a sappy, one-dimensional naif; granted, she was also given some of the worst lines in the film. As for Dmitri Tiomkin's score, by the third time you hear this soupy tune--and you hear it an awful lot--it bores. He's done much better work elsewhere, cf., "Giant," the several Hitchcock films he scored, and many of his other films, where his scores are marked by far more musical color and complexity. The fact that this film has been lampooned mercilessly in both subsequent films and TV indicates not how great it was but how corny, and thus how ripe for satirizing. Really great films are virtually never satirized--e.g., "Citizen Kane," "Casablanca," "On the Waterfront," Ingmar Bergman's best films, etc., and if satire is attempted of any of these films it usually falls flat. Again, a damn good movie for its time, not a great one then or now.