Another summer at the movies has come and gone, and my reaction is mixed. Part of me is ready to embrace the smarter, more mature fare that unspools throughout November and December, just in time for oscar season. The other part of me misses the hype, the explosions, and the ads featuring phony quotes. You know they're phony when you read blurbs like "Evan Almighty is the funniest movie I've seen since Caddyshack," says Joe Smith-Johnson from a periodical in a city you've never heard of. For the most part this past summer was as expected. A couple movies were great, a few were horrendous, and the remainder fell into the mediocrity zone (I'm copyrighting that phrase, so don't steal it). More than anything though, my confidence in the impact of screenwriting was reaffirmed. The script more than any other factor makes or breaks the movie, and this summer offered prime evidence. In fact, several actors clawed through uninspired remakes, unfocused plots, and unwanted violence just to make their films tolerable. Among those who survived mostly unscathed were Will Smith, Steve Carrell, Meryl Streep, and Harrison Ford, who made a welcome return as the greatest fictional adventurer of all-time (see blog entitled 'The Return of Indiana Jones' for a full review). However, the summer's three best performances belonged to . . .
Robery Downey Jr.: By any reasonable measure, the former drug addict was the star of the summer. Afer years of quirky performances in critical darlings, Downey Jr. broke through with Iron Man, which shattered industry expectations in becoming the year's 2nd biggest hit. Delivering sharp dialogue with cocky zeal, he infused Tony Stark with more personality than any other movie superhero on record. The character's surprise cameo at the end of The Incredible Hulk actually received more excitement than anything else in the latter movie. For an encore, he starred as Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus playing a black character named Sgt. Osiris in the self-referential misfire Tropic Thunder. Though the film spent way too much time winking at itself and tossing limbs around like confetti, Downey Jr. rose above it, providing almost all of the laughs with rapid-fire delivery and assorted accents.
James Franco: After years of whining at Peter Parker for killing his insane father, I'd nearly given up on the talented, though inconsistent Franco. But he restored my confidence with Pineapple Express, a stoner comedy in which he goes on the run with buddy Seth Rogan after the latter witnesses a murder. Franco played Saul Silver, a clueless drug dealer who hazily enjoyed BK chicken fries and reruns of The Jeffersons. Franco found the perfect tone for Saul, balancing sincerety with foolishness in a performance that deserves mention alongside celebrated cinematic potheads like Jeff Spicoli, David Wooderson, and Jeffrey Lebowski.
Heath Ledger: Alternately hysterical and horrifying, Ledger captivated audiences with one of the best villanious performances of the decade. It's not easy playing the most famous villain in comic-books, especially since Jack Nicholson made the character his own almost 20 years ago. But from the opening scene, Ledger left no doubt as to which Joker I will remember. He dominated The Dark Knight without hogging the spotlight, and forced the other A-listers (Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, etc.) to raise their game. The Dark Knight quickly become the biggest blockbuster since Titanic and one suspects fascination following Ledger's death last January was a major contributer. Ironically, his death will likely help earn him a best supporting actor nomination at years end, though he deserves one on the basis of his performance.
Others who merit mention for a job well done . . .
Gary Oldman: The Dark Knight's other great performance belonged to Oldman as Lt. Jim Gordon, the only honest cop in Gotham City. Oldman played the part as seriously as he would Shakespeare to assure us that we were watching something truly important. His performace was most crucial in grounding what became a morality tale filled with life and death choices in the midst of near anarchy.
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly: Comedy is not easy. If you put two lesser comedic talents in their place, Step Brothers could've sunk under the shear stupidity of the concept. But the summer's best screen duo drew laughs even when they weren't there, playing the most immature grownups since Harry and Lloyd. The best scene; when they unknowingly sleepwalked through their parent's kitchen.
The Creators of WALL-E: Pixar scored again with one of the best films of the year, animated or otherwise. WALL-E dazzled with clever ideas and impressive visuals as it followed the title character from his trash collecting duties on Earth to his adventures onboard the spaceship housing the remainder of humankind. Along the way he fell in love with EVE in what turned out to be the most convicing relationship of the year, amazing considering it involved two robots and hardly any dialogue.
Though it has absolutely nothing to do with performance, I'd be letting my readers down if I didn't stop to acknowledge the sexiest performance of the summer. It's a toss-up between Iron Man's Gwyneth Paltrow and Get Smart's Anne Hathaway. The former played Pepper Pots, Tony Stark's bombshell of an assistant. The latter starred as Agent 99, who oozed sex appeal as she helped keep the bumbling Maxwell Smart alive. Also worth mentioning is Mamma Mia's Amanda Seyfried, the ridiculously cute 22 year old (she's legal, relax) who somehow kept my eyes fixated in the midst of the dumbest movie musical since . . . well, ever!
For the first time in several years, the most popular films of the summer (The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indy IV, WALL-E) were actually the best, proving that filmgoers do occassionally discriminate between quality and hype. The lone exception was . . .
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