Reviews

Matching the expectations of Broadway rendition enthusiasts would be difficult under any circumstances, let alone in the case of an operetta heralded as the breakthrough musical of the nineties, set in the eighties, and delivered in a 2005 screenplay. But that's precisely what director Chris Columbus achieved in Rent. It works in no small part due to original cast members playing 7 roles of the 9-member-chorus including Law and Order's vocally gifted Jesse Martin as the aids infected, she male-filial, and deeply soulful Tom Collins. As for the newcomers, much acclaim has rained upon the beautiful and exotic Rosario Dawson while Traci Thoms as the aristocratic African American lesbian lawyer, Joanne Jefferson enhances her character and upgrades the company despite the irony of her 9 unsuccessful auditions for the stage role. Open-minded viewers will find themselves treated to MTV-video-like vignettes that enhance the highlights (Santa Fe), awaken the yawners (Glory) and when appropriate, replicate the original stage (Seasons of Love). In both versions, the show stopper was Idina Menzel's plot turning "Over the Moon", in tribute to the lost art of "Performance." The instrumentals were somehow mixed and mastered to provide maximum impact and ambiance causing viewers to bop in their seats, a rare movie theater experience (compared to 1979's screen betrayal of Hair). The unusual combination of original cast, video drama, and powerful instrumentals however did not completely overcome the time-travel faux pas as in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. The "same sex" engagement party and Brooklyn's eye view of the still-standing World Trade Center were gratuitous references to the future. Awkward moments where the operatic libretto was changed to scripted dialog formed speed bumps that were aptly handled by omitting certain numbers. If this was necessary to reach audiences who would not otherwise see Rent,the ends justify the means. On balance, the film is a worthy tribute to the very best of Broadway though lacking the Oscar potential of Rob Marshall's Chicago.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. To the nostalgic viewer, the World spun faster in 1972 when Coppola brought us The Godfather and The Supreme Court brought us death penalty moratorium. Apparently, that was also the year when a few petty mobsters, modestly deformed and underpaid actors, and a Queens New York hairdresser brought us the film that changed the way America views, thinks, and talks about sex. Through rose-tinted glasses, the social enlightenment born of the previous decade had blossomed into a state of tolerance vast enough to allow everyday people to openly attend the "dirtiest" of movies with no shame. J.Edgar Hoover was dead and so too it seemed was the notion that right-wing "moral values" could over-rule the first amendment. Writer/directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato in their story of the production and aftermath of the most profitable film ever,remind us that today's cultural intrusion is not a Neo-Victorian era, but only the present chapter of an epic struggle that achieved an earlier climax courtesy of Deep Throat. In 90 minutes,the film provides an intriguing mosaic of present day and archival segments featuring everything from Walter Cronkite and Norman Mailer to a 5-second clip from the original film depicting the act that bares its name (the squeamish are on notice). Through the tragic life of Linda Boreman (aka Linda Lovelace 1949-2002)we are visited by contrasting perspectives of whether hardcore pornography objectifies or empowers women. The viewer by scientific proof is unharmed according to a Presidential commission that was set aside due to the inconvenience of its findings so that pornographers could be prosecuted under newly revised obscenity laws. Enter Harry Reems whose prosecution, conviction, and subsequent celebrity status rendered him as unlikely a constitutional martyr as Luther Campbell (2live crew 1990). Legitimacy as to the importance of the subject matter is augmented by comments from Hellen Gurley Brown, Dick Cavett, and Gore Vidal. For enthusiasts of contemporary American history, politics, media (pornographic or otherwise), feminism, and not least of all the social issues of the Presidential election of 2004, Inside Deep Throat is as entertaining as it is thought provoking.

As much of The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio relates to a bygone era, the visual elements beginning the film are critical in transporting the viewer to 1956.Julianne Moore herself is inserted perfectly among the other time pieces in the role of Evelyn Ryan, America's model "Mom" who now exists in conceptual form only. If this is the same Julianne Moore who played 'Amber Waves'opposite (or should we say underneath) 'Dirk Diggler' in Boogie Nights, we may be witnessing the greatest actress of our time,as these roles traverse not only the decades, but the spectrum of motherhood itself. The stylization of key characters, costumes and sets envelop us to the degree that it boggles the mind that this is a true story.It's hard not to compare 'Prize Winner' to Angela's Ashes given the overlap of a father's moral impotence against a large brood who he deprives by drinking his wages.Evelyn by contrast makes lemons from lemonade. Perhaps the only shortcoming was the suggestion of conflict between this good catholic family and the deficiency of the Church since the only religious inferences we are to draw are negative and overly obvious (too many children,the drunk, chastising priest,and kids in the closet rattling their rosaries). The evaporation of contesting was delivered as tastefully as any other cultural vanishing portrayed in Tin Men, or A League of Their Own. This is Americana at its finest.