Cool News
Abby Normal looks at GO and AMERICAN PIE
Well... our dear Abby... Abby Normal has chimed in with a pair of looks at films approaching us. In my opinion, GO is one of those films that... enters that great blackness of mediocrity... where it will simply float from memory. (That's my take anyway) THen we have Abby look at that AMERICAN PIE... so... read on.
I know people will like this movie, but I ain't that kind of people.
That is to say, I am not a seedy Los Angelesian who can identify with the
gritty honesty of "Go." All I can do is appreciate that this seems to be a
realistic look at a world I am thankfully detached from.
"Go" will draw comparisons to "Pulp Fiction" and "Trainspotting," but
similarities are only suface-deep. Actually, "Go" is pretty much only
surface anyway. It is one of those movies that will appeal primarily to two
groups: the lost souls it portrays, and the out-of-touch who hear the techno
score, find a lack of meaning, and assume it must be "edgy."
What is good about "Go" is that it feels real. There is a certain amount
of genuineness in it that saves it from being a complete waste of time.
The director obviously identifies with his subject on some level, and that
is the film's strongest aspect.
The acting in "Go" is good: Scott Wolfe is surprisingly (?) believable as
a gay actor; Katie Holmes impresses as a seemingly-quiet-but-actually-angr
y check-out girl; and Jay Mohr continues to show us why he is one of
Hollywood's most employed utility guys. So, everyone seems real. The
problem
with all this reality is that it makes for a pretty boring movie.
There is just nothing interesting in the characters, the stupid things
they do, or the "adventures" that result from the stupid things they do.
There are some mildly amusing moments, but they are few and far between.
Only one of the four stories has any charm (part 3), and by the time you get
to it you are too busy hoping it is the last one to really enjoy it.
Imagine your dismay when you find out there's more!
This could have been a more tolerable--even enjoyable--movie if it was at
least a half hour shorter and if someone revamped the script. I'm not
asking for a Hollywoodized look at the world of young angst--Lord knows we
get enough of that--but at least have something to say. Or, if you don't
have anything to say, at least write good dialogue to keep me conscious.
Good acting can only do so much.
All I got out of watching "Go" was that lives like these characters' are
empty and undesirable. I think this message could have been communicated
in a film half as long and ten times as interesting as "Go."
And now for Abby's AMERICAN PIE review...
I (Abby Normal) almost gave up after my last endeavor, but I somehow
mustered up the strength to sneak into a secret lab and watch some bits and
pieces of upcoming projects. After digging awhile, I found an unmarked tape
and began to watch. Within five minutes my faith in film was restored--I
had found "American Pie." I will never doubt the worthiness of my career
as a spy again.
This is a great movie. There are so few movies that don't force anything
on you and don't make you feel like you're being sucked in by the
marketing machine. "American Pie" is a simple, funny, genuine movie that is
a
lot of fun to watch. It is a movie about teenagers that doesn't pander or
self-aggrandize; it is the much-needed antithesis of nausea-fests like
"Varsity Blues," "Can't Hardly Wait," and "She's All That." And as much as
I
loved "Scream," it was soooo nice to be able to watch "American Pie"
without having to constantly refer to my Williamson pop-culture-to-English
dictionary.
Of all the good things in this movie, the casting has to be one of the
best. Not only are they great, down-to-earth actors, but they actually look
like real people. You get to escape the cover of Teen Beat and feel more
connected to the characters all at once--I love it! Eugene Levy is
hysterically deadpan as always, and Natasha Lyonn (sp?) is great as the
amused
overseer. The five main guys are perfect in their roles--each of them
worth a thousand James van der Beeks--and the girls are just as good. I'm
sure it won't be long before they become prominent names, so I won't feel
bad about not knowing them right now.
The magic of "American Pie" is in its total lightheartedness. There is
no effort to be politically correct or appease parents. This is an
unrestrained, hilariously funny look at high school guys on a quest to lose
their
virginity. Some of the funniest moments are Farrelly-like outrageous,
but most of the humor is just natural to the characters and their
situations. There are maybe one or two moments where the director tries to
do a
little too much, but they are minor and are definitely forgivable in the
charming context of the rest of the film.
"American Pie" is gross, but teenage boys are gross. They are also a lot
of fun. Charming may not be the first word people will use in praising
this movie, but I can't remember the last teen movie that left me smiling
throughout watching it and makes me smile now when I think of it. Actually,
I just can't remember the last movie like this that wasn't done by John
Hughes. Long live his successor!
-
+ Expand All
-
I'm so glad to hear that AMERICAN PIE is not in the vien of Williamson. I fucking hate all this pop-culture refernce shit nowdaze. It was cool when Tarantino started the trend ("This cat is like Charles Bronson in the Great Escape... He's diggin' tunnels" "What's Fonzie like?") but now its just annoying. Also, to refernce another work of art in your work of art is to say that your work of art is either equal or lesser than the refernced work. Thats why I dont beleive in paying homage to other movies. Thats why ID4, with its endless references to past Sci-Fi flix was admitting, by doing so, that their Sci-Fi flick was hugely inferior. It's like saying "Ours is such a poor entry, that we will have to make a sacrafice to the movie Gods and pay due (homage) to them so they wont condemn us for making this piece of crap" When will we finally see a movie that isnt either loaded to the brim with refernces to past movies or just a tweak/remake/ripoff of a past movie???
-
Where did you see GO? I saw it at Sundance (the second screening) and it friggin rocked. I went in with pretty low expectations because a buchn of friends saw it a videotape that was going around (about 2 mo.s ago) and said it was only okay but what I saw was great. Hey, its a COMEDY and its supposed to be seen with PEOPLE. The movie had tits and ass and car crashes and god bless it. And it was like 93% of the people LOVED it there. Even one of my friends who had seen it on tape liked it. Oaky, he liked it before but he said it was better becaue of sound and editing adn everything. I would see it again.
Rant over. When does Amercian Pie come out? -
Ryalto-I'll be honest with you. I've read quite a bit of what you post in Talk Back, and everytime I read something of yours, I can't help but want to vomit. For one thing, you are so full of yourself that it makes me sick. That bullshit about mopping the floor with your scripts & them being better than Can't Hardly Wait, American Pie, et al.? What a load of crap. You know, I'm all for amatuer screen writers, but I'm also a big fan of MODESTY! Maybe you've heard of it? Anyway, not that Can't Hardly Wait, and Scream weren't pretty low on the brain scale--they were. But they were FUN! I haven't seen American Pie yet, but I am looking forward to it. Basically, all I'm trying to say is that if you read...actually READ what people are saying to you on Talk Back, you might get the hint and say something constructive.
-
lets get the difference between "homage" and "inspiration" straight. I KNOW that Star Wars was inspired by Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. That's inspiration. References are the things that ID4 is full of: "now thats what I call a CLOSE ENCOUNTER!" "i just wanna get up there and kick ET's ass" also, the image of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL as well as Goldblum's computer greeting him in a Douglas Rain-like voice with "Good Moring, Dave". These are REFERENCES, not INSPIRATIONS. And Citizen Kane did not ripoff the cinematic textbook, Citizen Kane IS the cinematic textbook! i KNOW that DW Griffith invented cinematic language, but Citizen Kane is the film the invented Cinematic Innovation! And as for Pulp, the best and most unique film of the decade, Fiction being "Fogettable", tell me, what movies do you like? It's easy to bash everything with this im-above-all-this-shit tone, but why sont you put the Jim-stamp-of-approval on a film and watch US tear it and you to pieces. Or was Pulp Fiction too complicated for you? Do you need someone to hold your hand during a movie telling you when to laugh when to cry when to cheer and who the good guy is and what the point is? Pulp Fiction did not make any of these things obvious, which is why I love it so: It farted in the face of EVERY Hollywood convention! People like you who need to be spoon-fed their 3-act happy endings should just stick to their Michael Bay movie star commericials.
-
Hey Harry youre site is F-U-C-T fucked! All the talkbacks are out of order. Please fix 'em quick, otherwise my beautifully construted comebacks towards those morons, Jim Ryalto and nelson, won't make any sense. And in case Jim Ryalto or nelson wish to comeback at me with "you dont make any sense anyway", dont bother. A joke like that is obviously predicable, which I just proved, and not even that funny. Plus, if thats all you can come back with, it proves how little you have to say, or how little you can think.
-
...Jesus Christ, Harry your talkback order is all fucked up...and on another note, i think Harry needs to set up two entirely different talkbacks and leave those up indefinitely...one would be for Jim Ryalto to post him opinions on movies...and then for (it seems) just about everyone else to go and bash him...
-
I liked Howard the Duck.
There's no such thing as a bad movie, because someone, somewhere likes it. Except Armageddon. That was a BAD movie.
(That was irony for those who have trouble.) -
Man, why does Lane always beat me to you, and then let you off easy?
I was gonna rant, but then I remembered, you're not worth my time. -
I haven't seen "GO" yet, but it looks like another pathetic attempt at harnessing the sheer brilliance of "PULP FICTION". No, thanks, I'll wait for another Tarantino flick and pray to God he improves upon the ultra boring "Jackie Brown". This movie bored me to tears and really undermined the electric pulse of Elmore Leonard's novel. I hope he takes a hint from "Out of Sight". Now that was the best movie of 98, bar none.
As far as "American Pie", I haven't seen it, but I'm more inclined to agree with Harry's reviewers than you, Mr. Ryalto. You seem to do nothing but bash everything and offer nothing. I would very much like to see what films you consider to be worth seeing. (Un-produced, amatuer screenplays do not count.)
LaneMyers. What is it with you? You realize you're giving this stuff away for free? The thing about Mr. Rogers? I laughed. The thing about Zelda Rubenstein, not classic, but funny none the less. The thing about your parents? Cute and thoughtful. You're wasting your skills on Talk Backs that will only be seen by me and maybe ten other people. Write something that will reach a mass audience and I guarantee you will succeed. Unlike, Mr. Ryalto, you seem to have something resembling real talent, a sharp, acidic wit, but you maintain a heart underneath. That's why I'm officially declaring myself your first official fan. That way I can say, "I knew him when all he did was waste his talent posting to AICN." -
And so does Sarah Polley! First off, "Go" looks engaging, but forgetable. "American Pie" looks a little better, but I prefer the other titles. I was going to discuss Sarah Polley's earlier works including the dubious distinction of guest starring on the first episode of "Friday the 13th: The Series," but I'm gonna split and throw on Ridley Scott's "Legend (Euro version)."
-
I like to fantasize that LaneMyers is really Spielberg, and that Jim Ryalto is really Lucas, and that they come on here and bitch at each other and insult each other without even knowing who theyre bitching at... or better yet, Myers is Emmerich and Ryalto is really Devlin. L'Auteur... he can be Tarantino
-
You are all wrong,
"GO" rocks. It stole the show at Sundance. Sarah Polley is fantastic in this film. Doug Liman is a brillant D.P. and director. I've attended many screenings and everyone who has seen it loves it. If you don't agree, just wait until it comes out. You'll see how much people will embrace this movie. -
Can I be Kubrick instead? Tarantino's cool and all, but if I'm gonna be bitching with Lucas and Spielberg, I better have more cloat than QT.
-
Smolean is obviously very smart for relizing how great GO is. This movie is VERY funny.
That screening at Sundance was the bomb, huh? I was there too.
I didn't mean to include you in the "everyone who doesn't like GO is clueless" group.
-
Smolean is obviously very smart for relizing how great GO is. This movie is VERY funny.
That screening at Sundance was the bomb, huh? I was there too.
I didn't mean to include you in the "everyone who doesn't like GO is clueless" group.
-
Abby, you need to learn a thing or two. Let me describe you as a typical east coast, big sister, good school girl. You have a bad attitude and need to step off your pedistle, bitch. So bring it! YEAH! Maybe you should quit being involved in films altogther. Oh yeah, I'm talkin' the shit, bitch. What you gonna do?
-
What is everyone's problem with this movie? I saw it at the Miami Film Festival and I think everyone in the room would say it was the most fun movie we'd seen in a long time! The scene with the cat? The Kleenex? Friggin' priceless! Why don't you all lighten up and enjoy a film for what it is??!!!
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Quint sees some DJANGO UNCHAINED footage at CANNES!!! -- 290 total posts 285 posts
- A Fire Definitely Rises In The New DARK KNIGHT RISES One Sheet!! -- 202 total posts 201 posts
- Tom Cruise Saddles Up For A Remake Of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!! -- 102 total posts 100 posts
- Mark Millar Offers Some Interesting Insight Into The KICK-ASS Movie Sequel!! -- 77 total posts 77 posts
- "Some Men Are Coming To Kill Us. We're Going To Kill Them First." Teaser To SKYFALL! -- 245 total posts 77 posts
- "I Don't Remember An Episode." The Teaser For THE MASTER Is Here!! -- 146 total posts 65 posts
- Charlize Theron thinks it is pretty badass to be in a Ridley Scott Space Movie! PROMETHEUS featurette -- 86 total posts 61 posts
- When there’s no more room in Hell The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day will walk the earth. -- 48 total posts 48 posts
- When there’s no more room in Hell The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day will walk the earth. -- 48 total posts 48 posts
- Is Official!! BREAKING BAD’s Final Season Begins In Under Two Months!! -- 48 total posts 48 posts