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Capone takes a look at both DROWNING MONA and WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM
Hey folks, Harry here with two reviews from the one time denizen of Alcatraz, but who is currently living the high life in Chi-Town... That's right... It's Capone. Capone has recently sat through both DROWNING MONA and WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM... and did he unload his tommygun at em? Well... Read on and see for yourself...
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago checking in. I wasn't going to write about a
recent screening I saw of Bette Midler's DROWNING MONA, because I'd just
assumed this film had been covered on you site, but I did a search and found
absolutely nothing in terms of a review. I have to confess that I hated
Bette Midler's ISN'T SHE GREAT so much that I was truly dreading seeing this
latest offering, but man was I surprised. First of all, she's not really in
it that much, and when she is it's just in quick flashbacks. Having said
that...DROWNING MONA owes a tremendous debt to the works of John Waters, in
particular is early masterpiece PINK FLAMINGOS. Although MONA does not dwell
quite as deep in the pile of filth and tastelessness, it aspires to Waters
lofty heights of showing us the lives of people on the fringe of society.
Director Nick Gomez has written and directed three fairly credible films in
the past--all of which were sort of Scorsese-light--is probably best known
for his skillfully directed episodes of T.V.’s “Homicide,” “Oz,” and most
recently “The Sopranos.” He has a real flair for gritty realism and an
unblinking camera. But MONA marks the first time he’s attempted comedy,
albeit some of the darkest mainstream comedy I’ve seen in a while. Unlike Waters, Gomez avoids the truly vulgar and outrageous, opting instead
for the fairly believable yet still shocking. The film takes place in
upstate New York in the town of Verplank, which we are told was the testing
ground for the Yugo. This explains why every vehicle in town is a Yugo,
including the police cars. The story begins with the death (by drowning, of
course) of Mona Dearly, played with unusual venom by Bette Midler. I’m not a
huge Midler fan, so any film that begins with her death immediately gets my
attention. What follows is an investigation by the local sheriff (Danny
DeVito) into her death, which he believes was actually a murder.
Unfortunately for DeVito ever member of the community is a likely suspect
since Mona was the most hated woman in Verplank. Gomez captures the
mentality and almost non-existence of these small towners with his usual
biting style. Among the townsfolk (and suspects) or Mona’s son (a creepy and
uncaring Marcus Thomas), Mona’s husband (the perfectly sleezy William
Fichtner), the son’s business partner Bobby Calzone (Casey Affleck, who has
never had a chance like this to show how good an actor he can be), and
Bobby’s his wife-to-be (Neve Campbell, who I always knew would be good
playing white trash) who also happens to be DeVito’s daughter. Jamie Lee
Curtis also does a good job as a mullet-headed waitress, who is having an
affair with Mona’s husband and son. The performances are top-notch and the
script is good, but the film does have a tendency to drag at times, which is
bad for a 90-minute movie.The reason this movie worked for me had to do with Gomez’s attention to
detail. If you see this film, look around the rooms behind the actors, look
at what’s on tables and end tables and shelves, look at what’s sitting in
people’s yards or what they have in their cars. The identity of the killer
is not the point of this film (actually it’s revealed well before the end of
the story); the focus is on fringe living and a different and less-evaluated
type of white trash, the kind that live north of the Mason-Dixon line. Don't
get me wrong, DROWNING MONA is without a doubt a comedy, but its dark edges
ooze around the sides and through the cracks. Laughing out loud isn't the
point of this movie; I found myself smiling at the situations not because
they were wacky, but because I recognized some of the personae. Although
some of the gags have much in common a Farrelly Brothers film, MONA doesn't
have the heart of, say, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. The film may not be
for everyone, but the freak-loving among us know who we are. Thank goodness
somebody recognized John Waters’ films for what they were: profiles of the
unpretty people.Capone
And now for this ginrunner's look at WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here with a look at the surprisingly strong
Garry Shandling/Mike Nichol's collaboration, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? There
were some public screenings of this one nationwide this past weekend, so
you'll probably get a bunch of reviews of this one, and with good reason.
In his first feature-film starring role, Garry Shandling breathes real life
into the clever and hilarious relationship/sex comedy WHAT PLANET ARE YOU
FROM?, perhaps one of the most off-putting film titles in decades. Shandling
(who also co-authored the story) plays Harold Anderson, an alien from a
planet comprised entirely of emotionless men, led by Ben Kingsley.
Reproduction on this planet is done with cloning and, as a result, the
reproductive organs of the inhabitants have withered away. For some
ridiculous reason that I can’t remember, the aliens feel the need to take
over the Earth by impregnating earth women and creating a race of alien
babies who will facilitate an invasion. After extensive training on how to
seduce women (which includes saying “You smell nice” and complimenting
footwear), Shandling is chosen among his people to be sent to earth and lay
the ground work for the invasion.
Posing as a human (which isn’t hard to do since all of the aliens look
human), he gets a job as a bank executive (“The perfect job for an
emotionless man,” says Kingsley.) The silly kind of cleverness that the
film’s script has is what sold me on this movie from the early minutes.
Without giving too much away, one of the funniest recurring jokes involves
how men with no reproductive organs can function sexually. It involves loud
motorized humming. But there are also dozens of great details here, from
Shandling being transported to and from earth via an airplane bathroom to
his co-worker (Greg Kinnear) taking Shandling to an AA meeting to meet
women. (“Look for the weepers,” he advises.) Harold does eventually meet a
woman (Annette Bening), but it turns out she won’t have sex until after
marriage. So they race to Las Vegas and get married.
Bening, although playing yet another real estate agent, couldn’t be playing
a more different character here than she did in AMERICAN BEAUTY. Here, she’s
nervous and uncertain, trying to put her life back together after a string
of self-destructive relationships. She just wants to find the right guy. Ha!
Greg Kinnear is surprisingly great (why do I start to laugh every time I say
that about him) as the ultimate male pig, seducing anything that crosses his
line of sight. In smaller roles are John Goodman, as an FAA investigator who
may be on to Shandling’s transportation method, and Linda Fiorentino as
Kinnear’s equally sex-crazed wife. Obviously this is not a science fiction
film, but a metaphor on how far apart two people can be sometimes in terms
of long-term goals for a relationship. But the film works on so many levels
and almost none of the jokes bomb.
It seems a lot of work went into crafting this script (by four writers,
according to the credits) and sure there are some flaws (including a sap
ending), but just seeing Shandling back in top form allowed me to overlook
these minor problems. In addition, much of the film is very R-rated thanks
to some well-placed nudity (including a nice shot of Shandling's ass) and
some deviant language, plus the fact that the whole damn movie is about
fucking! I have to give credit to director Mike Nichols, who once again (as
he did in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE and even THE BIRDCAGE) has given us a fresh way
to look at the very overdone subject in the movies of relationships. This is
probably the hardest I've laughed in the movies so far this year.
Capone
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+ Expand All
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I'm confused. Wasn't Bening's ABeauty character also nervous and uncertain. She was all talk, but she had some problems and seemed constantly nervous. Is it just me or does anyone else think that Neve Campbell could have done just as good a job in Shakespeare in Love as Gwyneth Paltrow . . . I know, I know. I must be on crack. Am I a loser?
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well, As for Neve Campbell playing white trash, u need to look no further than Wild Things! Yeah, after the Denise Richards/Neve Campbell/Matt Dillon scene its not worth watching but she does do a good job. But she does need to play different parts. It seems like she has three characters in her entire repitoir (sp?): Sydney, her PO5 character and her white trash character.
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I can't remember if I read it here or at another movie scoop site (DH or CA), but a reviewer there hated this movie as the ultimate sophmoric romp. The "humming" sound, without also giving it away gets old quick that reviewer said, and Shandling wasn't enough of a presence to carry the concept through 2 hours. I am perfectly capable of "lightening up and just enjoying the fun" as with movies like Galaxy Quest or American Pie, but I'm not sure I'm going to shell out the $7.50 to see this one in theaters... I'd like more from the reviewer about WHY this rose above the basic attempt at separating me from some of the contents of my wallet? What's new and different? Do I have to like Shandling going in? If I didn't like Larry Sanders all that much, will I hate this? I'm not disparaging your review, if fact you've peaked my interest. More please... Anyone?
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I mean, she's pregant with Warren Beaty's FOURTH child and they've only been married, what, less than 10 years?! I mean, give it a rest! Don't your legs get tired from all that fucking and popping out kids all the time? I mean, sheesh. . .
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These two movies open the same day as THE NEXT BEST THING the new Madonna vehicule. I wish it will do well. Madonna is so cool. She's a modern day godess.
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I saw "What Planet" Saturday night in Emeryville CA and wrote a review, which seems did not get published on this site. It's an okay movie, nothing special. The motorized humming sound that Capone refers to as being funny is, for the first 40-50 minutes. After that, it just gets fucking irritating.
Just warning you. -
Feb 28, 2000 3:32:39 PM CST
"What Planet are You From?" is a lot smarter than it looks
by smilin'jackruby
This is a pretty run-of-the-mill formulaic comedy, but it doesn't suffer from being stupid, at least. The buzzing of Anderson's penis, which everyone says is so annoying, I thought was actually kind of an interesting device. It is used as a joke in the beginning, but then used as a semi-dramatic device to show how his relationship is going with Sara (hard to explain, you've just got to trust me). Not the worst movie ever made and the "Graduate"+30 ending works pretty well. I suppose a lot of the movie hinges on whether you like Shandling or not.
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3 characters preacher? I think if you check the tapes you will find that there is, in fact, only one character in Ms. Campbell's repertoire. And even that weepy-eyed one is flat.
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I have been keeping an eye on this site since I last left, and was extremely angered at the lack of respect I was receiving in my absence. I spoke to a few of my co-workers about this scenario, and they all felt that I was wrong in leaving; that I should stay and present my argument to the best of my ability. So a big THANK-YOU goes out to Judy and Carol! Regarding "Which Planet are you from", I am of two separate minds on this movie. On one hand, I do find it amusing that the male dominated film industry churned out a movie which attacks the "penis drive" of men, revealing them all for the potential rapists they are. I know some men may be offended by that statement, but it is undeniable that all men have the potential to become a rapist, where women are physically incapable. On the other hand, I was looking at the list of female characters in the movie: a sex-driven wife. A desperate woman who is so hurting for a "man" that she marries after only one day. Is this the way Mr. Shandling views womyn? We are either driven by sex or desire sex? If Mr. Shandling had done a little more research, he would have discovered that there are many womyn, like myself, who are perfectly capable of surviving without our male counter-parts. Alone and lonely are from from synonyms. I may check this movie out regardless; I admit that "The Larry Sanders Show" was a guilty pleasure of mine. Good night.
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I can see, due to the nature of crime and some of the more well crafted camera use employed by Nick Gomez, how you could compare him to Scorcese...the same way people compare all thrillers to Hitchcock...but go watch Illtown again...notice the pace! the crowded tracking shot w/dissolves on Lilli Taylor, and the hazy, dreamy filters, the trance inducing lullaby's of Cibo Matto and others...Illtown is THE Quintessential heroin film...Rappaport has never been better as a fading drug dealer..Adam Trese was mad bent..the kid with blonde cornrows was evil incarnate....and barring Tony Danza's embarrassing role...everyone did a Fine job...NJ Drive was fun..those guys just couldn't stop taking cars..it was frustrating and amusing...And Laws of Gravity with Peter Greene and Trese...while flawed was a rambling escapade..deserving of Scorcese references...Drowning Mona trailer looked decent..John Water's was nothing if not amusing...I love Mike Nichols and Shandling,but WPAYF looks pretty bad...
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...I'm there, dude!
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That Drowning Mona review is a blatant studio plant. I saw this film a few weeks ago, and it is probaly the unfunniest piece of shit I've ever seen in my life. Neve Campbell, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis. What a waste of talent. The only (almost) funny thing about the movie is Will Ferrell (the tall brother from Night At The Roxbury), he plays a mortician. He made me smile, like 3 times. Everyone else tries way too hard, to act like trailer trash. And it shows. I can't forget to mention Casey Affleck. He makes his brother Ben look like Marlon Brando. He looks like he lost about 30-40 pounds, and got his teeth capped (like Ben did for Armageddon). Poor kid can't fucking act. I recommend this film for any guy who's trying to bang his date. Give this movie half an hour, and you'll have the theater to yourselves.
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Feb 29, 2000 12:10:44 AM CST
"A nice shot of Shandling's ass" Yuck. That may scare me off mov
by cereal killer
"What Planet" looks like the first awful movie of the new year. Even worse than "Isn't She Great." And the last thing in the world I wanna see is Gary Shandling's ass. As for Ms. Foster and her ridiculous, feminazi rhetoric; if you wonder why you don't get any respect it's for the same reason that racists don't. You come on here and make blanket statements about all men based on stupid propaganda from some outdated, womyn's studies seminar. To say that all men are potential rapists just because they all have penises is as unfounded and stupid as saying that all women are potentail murderers because they all possess a trigger finger. Or that all women are potential child molesters because they have more access to children than men do. I'm sure even you can recognize that these two assumptions are unfounded. As for women being incapable of rape I guess no woman could hold a gun to a man's head and force him to go down on her? Unlikely but certainly not impossible. I'm glad to hear that you can get along without a man because your hateful, manhater attitude guarantees that you'll be alone for a long time. The next time you and your friends are lamenting the absence of any good men in the world look a little closer at yourselves. No man wants to be with a woman who dumps all the world's ills on his shoulders. Contrary to your narrow-minded, simplistic, man=evil beliefs, we're not all led around by our libido just looking for some poor, defenseless vagina we can attack with our evil penis.
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I saw a screening of this too and I'm glad Capone liked and although he's right about the many white trash details and Water-esque touches, this is basically a very funny laugh-out-loud movie. Every line is a keeper. I really hope this finds an audience. It's a tough sell. The TV spots don't really do it any justice.
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...RUTHLESS PEOPLE, with BM and Danny DeVito is one of the top ten funniest films of all time.
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Despite your DMFC-type megalomaniac beliefs...you weren't missed, although your particular brand of stupidity was lacking for awhile...oh well...I guess us raping, pillaging assholes of men (since that's all we are) will have to deal with it. sigh. -Loki
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Even though I don't agree with the statement that all men are potential rapists, if we humor that line of reasoning, we could also make the statement that all women are potential prostitutes.
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...flying out of Gary Shandling's ass. Ms. Foster, we should meet to explore our mutual potentials. Mine makes a noise rather like Mazda's aptly-named Wankel rotary engine. The rest of youse -- I don't want any trouble out of the rest of youse. Prepare To Die.
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If you use the "all men are potential rapists because it's in our genes", doesn't that make an argument that women should stay home and take care of the children, breast feeding, while the man goes out and kills things to eat? I hope not...I find my classes much more interesting with women in them; in my English class, there's five males out of 30, and in my honors class there's 4 guys out of 16 (including the prof), and I've so far managed to not rape any of the women (or the men, either)...in fact, I think I get along fairly well with them...none of this would happen, though, if I had your "Us vs. Them" mentality, Ms.Foster, and I resent your apparent attitude that you're fighting against the "evil" inside of us, or whatever you want to call it. -Loki
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"What Planet..." is a terrible, terrible film which insults both men AND women (forgive my sexist gender biased usage of 'women'.) That being said, Ms. Foster, I cannot hear such bazzfazz as "it is undeniable that all men have the potential to become a rapist" without hurling myself to the floor in rapturous laughter. Such vague, fog-bound rhetoric is the very cold, dark heart of intolerance, sexism and racism. Fine, all men (I'm assuming you mean 'all heterosexual men')have the potential to become a rapist. Ergo, all women have the potential to be shrewish fishwives, all Irish people have the potential to be lushes, all Polish folks are thick as planks and all Japanese are inscrutable.(And the Jews & African-Americans, I'm sure, Ms. Foster could write a book about.) My, what a slippery little bit of logic. If you must be sexist, Ms. Foster, at least be strong enough in your convictions to not use such circuitous blather as you have. Peace.
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Huh?
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In the wedding seen in Mona, Danny DeVito (The town sherif) lays out all of the evidence and we see flashbacks of Bobby Calzone puncturing the phetzer valve (sp?) and Mona's husband cutting the break lines. But earlier in the film, the mechanic had said that the break fluid resivoier was also punctured. So who did that? Do we have a mystery murder lurking about Verplank? Or simply a plot hole big enough to drive a Yugo through? I vote for the latter.
Oh, and by the way, I loved the film and darker, non-laugh-a-minute comedies are not for the simple-minded masses, so shut your yaps.
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