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stephe1605
Reviews
Disorderlies (1987)
Lots of laughs
It's an homage to the Three Stooges shorts in which they're hired by rich people and wind up destroying the mansion.
Two surprises, it's unexpectedly funny. I found myself laughing out loud at the outright silliness of it, and second, it's family friendly, at least the TV version I saw.
At this point in his career, Ralph Bellamy had been a movie star for 50 years, and it's easy to see why, he was hilarious, and he was game to look silly. Not a lot of 80 year old movie stars are willing to do that.
Good for a rental.
The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)
Wizard of Oz precursor
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how much "The Wizard of Oz" had borrowed from this film.
A little girl goes to a fantasy dreamland where she meets characters who are dopplegangers of the people she knows in the real world.
And in the end, she's in bed, with a compress on her head, surrounded by loved ones.
The only difference is in this film we go back and forth between the fantasy and the reality, where in "Oz" we don't know it's a dream until the end.
(The back and forth device reminded me of an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in which in one reality she's fighting vampires, but in another reality she's in a mental hospital being treated for having delusions that she's a vampire slayer.)
Either way, this is obviously an extremely influential film.
The Rockford Files: Sleight of Hand (1975)
cool noir, but questions...
The mystery and its solution was a great noir conceit. I do have some questions though, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention.
Who killed the neighbor and why? Who killed the replacement girl and why?
And some minor quibbles, they should have shown the stopoff at the hotel for the switch. Not that they should have shown the switch, but they should have shown Jim and the girl going in the hotel, Jim going to the bathroom, coming out and being told by the bartender that his girlfriend went to the car without him.
then, Jim getting back in the car and seeing the sleeping woman, and little girl in his back seat.
This would have given the viewer a sporting chance at figuring out the solution.
I wish I taped it though, I'd like to see it again.
Genesis II (1973)
Clearing up some misconceptions.
Genesis II was made for CBS, who turned it down in favor of the Planet of the Apes series, with the thinking that a network could have only one science fiction show on its schedule at a time.
Planet Earth was made for ABC, and it wasn't a sequel, rather, the next episode of the same premise, with a new male lead and a lighter tone.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture's script was written to be an episode of Genesis II. (and was in turn, stolen from an older episode of Star Trek! (Earth satellite comes back looking for its maker))
Andromeda uses two of the characters' names (Dylan Hunt and Harper Smythe)though it has little to do with the original concept. By using the names I suppose the producers could call it "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda") I really wish they would have made a Genesis II series instead,
IMHO: I liked that Mariette Hartley was set up to be a recurring, love-interest/villain for Dylan. It could have been a good show, though I have to agree with the poster who said it probably would have only lasted one season. Still, 26 episodes would have been great to have.
Planet Earth (1974)
fun Planet Earth facts
Apparently, networks at the time were only comfortable with one sci-fi series at a time.
CBS picked "Planet of the Apes" over Genesis II, and ABC picked "Six Million Dollar Man" over Planet Earth.
The main character in each was Dylan Hunt, though they were played by different actors. This is interesting because when Roddenberry made the second Star Trek pilot, he gave the new lead actor a new name. (Capt. Pike became Capt. Kirk)
The name Dylan Hunt would be used in Andromeda, which was an outer space version of Planet Earth, which in turn was a land-based version of Star Trek.
The script for Star Trek: The Motion Picture was based on an unused Planet Earth script. In fact, several of the first season episodes of ST: TNG were written for either the unrealized new Star Trek series in the 70s, or Planet Earth,
Roddenberry believed in recycling.
She's the Man (2006)
not as good as "10 Things I Hate About You"
First, the good stuff: Amanda Bynes is an extremely talented comic actress. I can easily see her making the kind of light comedies in her 20s that Reese Witherspoon made in her 20s. She has a great expressive (and pretty) face, and a way with a line.
And there were a few good one-liners that surprised me. Jokes I never see coming lift any so-so movie.
But...where it should have been subtle like "10 Things I Hate About You," everything was so broad, parts of it stopped making sense. Like when she's called into the principal's office. Why *is* she called into the principal's office? It's never explained, the scene doesn't move the plot, nor is it particularly funny (except when she gets her wrap caught in the drawer.) The scene's only purpose was to introduce the wacky principal...who really isn't all that important.
Why does she speak like Elvis when she's dressed like a man? Her brother doesn't speak like Elvis, wouldn't she imitate him?
There's a fight in the ladies room which is as needless and unfunny as the fight in the ladies room in "Bringing Down the House." (Only minutes earlier, Amanda was hilariously eating a chicken leg, then the film stoops to this cliché)
It's also unfortunate the film came out after "Bend It Like Beckham" which had these great , dizzying soccer sequences. The soccer in this movie was kind of boring. Furthermore, Keira Knightly was absolutely believable as an ace soccer player, watching Amanda play was kind of like watching some kind of soccer little league.
And the jokes at Eunice's expense were just cheap. Let's make fun of the ugly girl!
The theme of "Twelfth Night" and "Tootsie" is learning to be a better man by being a woman, (or vice versa), the contrivance of getting a man into a dress, or a woman into soccer gear should always be secondary. Here, Viola learns nothing! Not that every film should have a weepy message, but by skipping the theme, the characters just come off as cardboard cut- outs in a contrived story.
Made on Broadway (1933)
"Chicago" without the music
Interestingly enough, it has the same plot as "Chicago." A dame kills a Lothario who was getting a little too amorous with her, and her press agent has to spin the media and courts to get her off. A funny scene of a photographer shooting pictures of her holding a gun, and her desire to go into show business at the end to capitalize on the scandal would both be used in "Chicago" years later. Surprisingly funny, worth a rental, if you can find it; certainly worth catching on TMC. (There's also a 2003 French film called "Bon Voyage" which has a scene where a woman kills a man in her apartment, and calls her friend in the middle of the night to pick up the pieces.)