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Pathall looks over BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, THE LIMEY and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES at the Toronto Film Festival
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Hey folks, Harry here. I've actually been quite looking forward to BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER. Being a long time fan of the cheerleader genre (PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW, REVENGE OF THE CHEERLEADERS and THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS being just three) So... while Pathall here enjoyed the film but didn't love it, it gives me hope. Hopefully it'll be coming to Austin soon. Well, here's Pathall...
Pathall Here reporting in as ordered! I've only got time for some brief reviews, so I will hop right to it.
Other Festival movie ratings for comparison:
AMERICAN BEAUTY 9/10
HUMAN TRAFFIC 7/10
BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER w/Natasha Lyonne, Clea Duvall, RuPaul; dir. Jamie Babbit.
A comedy about a cheerleader (Lyonne) sent away to a "homosexual rehab camp"
by her straightlaced parents. Possibly a controversial subject, which this
movie handles strictly for laughs -- such "rehab" is patently impossible,
so what would really happen if you put a bunch of gay teenagers together?
The director Jamie Babbit was at the screening (the world premiere!) and
mntioned that she grew up in an alcohol rehab camp run by her mother, and
wanted to do a comedy about life in such a camp. She succeeds with a funny
movie, but it does suffer in comparison to other festival movies I've seen
so far; it's amusing but not particularly original and the acting is a bit
stiff in places. Still, worth seeing if you want a simple comedy. 6/10.
PS Yet another example of the incomprehensibility and double standards of
the MPAA: the director said they had her cut references to female oral sex
to get an R, but that references to & suggestions of male oral sex were OK.
THE LIMEY w/Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman;
dir. Steven Soderbergh; written by Lem Dobbs (DARK CITY, KAFKA)
An outstanding performance by Terence Stamp as a British ex-con who comes
to LA to discover the truth behind his daughter's "accidental" death. Peter
Fonda and frankly everyone else in the film turn in excellent performances
as well. It was introduced as a "tight, taut" film, which I thought meant
"fast-paced" but which really meant that it's a very focused character study
of Stamp's character, the Limey. But the movie also makes use of flashbacks,
flashforwards, quick cuts, acting out of the Limey's thoughts, etc., which
make it very distinctive. Terence Stamp (at the screening along with
Soderbergh) said that to get such and excellent part "this late in my career"
was a minor miracle. But his performance shows it's a deserved miracle. 8/10.
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES w/Tobey Maguire, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo,
Erykah Badu, Charlize Theron; dir. Lasse Hallstrom; screenplay by John Irving
from his novel.
An excellent, beautifully filmed story of the young orphan Homer Wells (Maguire)
growing up in Maine in the 1940s. Dr. Larch (Caine), who runs the orphanage,
treats him as a son and teaches him medicine. The doctor also performs illegal
abortions, of which Homer disapproves. Another potentially controversial
subject, which the movie does a good job of handling by having two characters
who disagree but do so in a civil manner, both making their cases and doing
what they feel is right. Eventually Homer decides to leave the orphanage,
getting a job picking apples with a group of migrant workers (Lindo, Badu, and
featuring Heavy D as "Peaches") and getting involved with Candy (Theron) while
her boyfriend is off at war. I don't know if John Irving is happy with his
adaptation of his novel and the filming of it, but I certainly was, and the
very good performances (esp. Maguire) and excellent direction of Hallstrom put
it over the top. Take your folks to see it during the holidays. 8/10
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Can't believe I'm first for one of these. Anyway-- I saw John Irving read from his then upcoming book "The Cider House Rules" at the University of Texas at Austin in the mid eighties. I've always loved Irving and his books. Best wishes to him (although, I can recall thinking at the time that Matthew Modine would have made a perfect Homer)
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ARRRGH!!! Death to Charlize Theron!!!
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Charlize Theron, a hack?
Um...
You *like* Ashley Judd as an actress, don't you?
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Indy2, I had the exact same idea! Whoa, great minds think alike. And for the record, didn't Matthew Modine play Homer in the stage version of "Cider House" at one point?
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Ashley Judd?? Huh? Yeah, 'cuz Double Jeopardy looks sooooo good. Nope, Judd sucks too. You really like Charlize Theron? I mean, don't get me wrong, she's a cutie, but she wouldn't know good acting if it kicked her in the rump. Seriously- she's awful, not to mention dumb as rocks.
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I think I was at the same screenings as you. I definitely agree with both your reviews. Terence Stamp is amazing in the Limey (I thought Peter Fonda was a little weak though). I found Cider House Rules to drag a little in the middle, however, I think John Irving is a God, and loved that book, so I really enjoyed watching it on screen. Thought Michael Caine and Tobey MacGuire were excellent as well.
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Is it a surprise to anyone that the MPAA has imposed its narrow-mindedness again on a film that deals mostly with female sexuality. Someone tell me why it is ok to mention any form of male sexuality and, in most cases, to represent it, but not to admit that women have orgasms, sexual fantasies other than Fabio-types, and do the deed that most people do but don't admit? What do they think lesbians do, sit around and talk about clothes until they orgasm?...and why was it ok to talk about it in Chasing Amy but not in this movie?
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In the article it mentions whether or not John Irving liked this adaptation. I would just like to make sure that everyone realizes that he wrote the adaptation himself after he thought that "A Prayer for Owen Meaney" was butchered.
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AJUDD was great in Ruby in Paradise and CTHERON wasn't so bad in Trial and Error.
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You didn't mention that CIDER HOUSE RULES received a standing ovation from the audience at the public screening on Sunday night- or did you see it at the industry screening ? John Irving was in attendance and received the loudest applause of anyone connected with the movie - including the stars. I thought it was virtually a perect film.
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1) I don't know why the MPAA was so uptight about this movie; I would have guessed it was PG-13. The director was of the opinion that there's a lot of variation among the different people who work for the MPAA.
2) I thought Peter Fonda was good, though not as good as Stamp, and not as good as the hitman sent out after Stamp (as another AICN agent mentioned), who took a minor part and stole all the scenes he was in... just wish I could figure out his name from the IMDB entry on the movie!
3) I saw Cider House on Monday morning; it didn't get a standing ovation, but it was very well received, as were American Beauty, The Limey, and American Movie. -
In the film "The Limey", there is a character portrayed by somebody named Terence Stamp. Keen-eyed AICN fans might actually know that this "Terence Stamp" person is actually GENERAL ZOD! Yes, I didn't think it possible either, but apparently Zod DIDN'T die when he fell into the depths of the Earth after fighting Superman in his Fortress of Solitude. He must have crawled out later, when Supes was porking Lois, and retreated in anonimity to the U.K. Strange that he would be so careless to become an actor, allowing himself to be recognized so easily. I betcha he's hatching an evil plan to take over the Earth right now.
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