Reviews

Those of you that have seen this will understand, it can be summed up in one

line: "Come over here...lemme get that gravel out of your scalp." It took three men to write that. Three. Good Good Laughs. Nothing else.

I really don't understand why people get so upset and pan this movie! Remember folks, this is an SNL movie, not anything that is supposed to be unpredictable and original in plot or direction! The Ladies Man is a hilarious movie, albeit stupid at times, with a wacked-out cast and, as usual, WONDERFUL performances by Will Ferrel and Tim Meadows. Yes some of the jokes are stupid, and yes, the characters are unbelievable but its comedy! I really don't understand how anyone couldn't laugh a lot during this hilarious film. Anyway, all I ask is that people take this as it is--an SNL, silly and irreverent comedy. Nothing that will win awards, but nonetheless, some modern comedy gold. "10-4 Apricot!"

Zoolander is honestly one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long long time. Yes it is stupid, pointless and at times crude, but the quality and depth it is produced with makes these negative qualities into good ones. The writing was wonderful--full of those great little nuggets of comedy--and Zoolander is one of the most quoteable movies I have ever seen! People pan this movie for being stupid--that it is "made by idiots, for idiots." Zoolander is a clever and refreshing comedy. I love the fact that there is a model named Hansel--I mean, that is hilarious!! And then Will Ferrel's Mugatu was just fantastic (but then when is Ferrel anything other than hilarious). I think that anyone who wants to see this movie needs to give it a solid chance--you'll probably love it! "I'm sorry, did my pin get in the way of your a**? Do me a favor and lose five pounds immediately or get out of my building like now!!"

All I have to say is that once I saw "A Kelly McGillis Production" on the screen I should have turned it off. Too bad I had to watch it for a class. I have read the book that this is based on, called "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin. The novel is very good and is well-respected. It made me sad to see such a masterpiece butchered by this film. What I hated: The acting, the directing, the cinematography and the fact that EVERYTHING THE BOOK STOOD FOR WAS TRAMPLED BEYOND BELIEF! Despite that fact, the acting was terrible. First off, Madam Ratignolle, played by Glenne Headly, was abominable. For those who like the hear perhaps the worst French accent ever captured on film, I invited you to view this movie. I'm really going to dig in now, and talk about Kelly McGillis. She plays Edna, a confused and unique woman truly finding herself through an emotional "awakening," as Chopin originally intended. McGillis transformed Edna into a confused, unrealistic and terribly shallow excuse for a character. I'm being honest here folks, I honestly think the woman can't act (or at least in this movie). Her performance consists of butchered lines from the novel, spoken while looking off into the distance. After the delivery she will look down, smile to herself and shake her head, often continuing with another terribly adapted line from the film. Another amazingly poor part of this film was the direction. Often scenes would end with the screen going bright white, then fading in on another one. This was not a constant thing however, and any sort of theme it was supposed to represent of highlight is lost upon the viewer. The director seemed to lack any sort of ability to coax decent performances out of the actors, and I highly doubt that she had even read the novel.

One more complaint: the shooting itself. The camerawork was boring, typical and trivial. Also, the exposure was blurry, poorly-focused and B quality. Seriously, I wonder if they even used professional cameras to shoot this.

Overall, Grand Isle is a poor excuse for a movie. McGillis indulges herself in gratuitous nudity, often unrelated to anything that is going on. I am ashamed that one of our film industries would not only approve the script, but let McGillis have ANY sort of creative power over it. Folks, read the book. Pretend the movie doesn't exist. That is all I have to say. Thanks.

So much has already been said about this film. Largely ignored, however, is the absolutely FANTASTIC incorportaion of Mozart's music into the film. Granted, it is not a completely faithful biography, but how appropriate to use his music as the sountrack to his life. All I have to say is that the musical direction of this film is some of the best I have ever heard.