2012 In Memoriam, Part I

Thirteen years into the 21st century, Back to the Future Part II is looking less prophetic than I once imagined.  Supposedly, we are now only 24 months from hover boards, self-drying jackets, and dehydrated pizzas.  In reality, we have a re-elected African American president, the Cubs have yet to win the World Series, and poor Marty McFly has Parkinson's.  One thing that never changes though, is the inevitable passing of celebrated figures we all know.

Before embarking on my annual tribute to those who said their final goodbyes, I'd like to offer a fond farewell to Shana, our family dog since I was in college.  My parents brought her home in 2002 when our first dog Lucy was 13 and aging fast.  I challenge anyone to produce a sweeter pair.  Quickly realizing that Lucy, a Brittany Spaniel three times her size, took first pick of food bowls every morning, Shana learned to eat quickly.  This is most definitely a Pava trait.  Remarkably Lucy stayed healthy another three years, no doubt due to the exuberance provided by her new best friend.   

Shana eased the eventual transition for my parents, brothers, and I and quickly forged her own quirky personality.  She had a funny habit of spacing out and staring in one direction as she got older, although somehow she always heard the cookie jar.  After long days at the hospital and bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95 this past year, Tarah often came home exhausted.  But upon arrival, Shana typically sprinted over, jumped up her leg, and stretched her little body as far as it would go.  This wonderful hello only took seconds and forced a smile every time.  

In August, my parents had to put down our beloved Mini Schnauzer, who was suffering from a heart murmur.  Shana spent the day outside in the sun with us.  She enjoyed a virgin McDonalds' grilled chicken (meaning no bun) and trotted around the yard.  I still miss her.  Shana was 15.

Several notable writers left us this year, including children's author Maurice Sendak (83), best remembered for the timeless classic Where the Wild Things Are.  Science fiction pioneer Ray Bradbury (91) wrote Fahrenheit 451 and many other popular novels.  Jan Berenstain (88) collaborated with her husband Stan on dozens of Berenstain Bear books, whose covers somehow still remain instantly recognizable decades later.  And the title family continues to provide moral lessons to young children all over the world.    

Henry Hill (69), who relayed his experience in the New York Mafia from the confines of the Witness Protection Program, died in June from decidedly uncinematic causes.  His story of betrayal later made Ray Liotta a star and inspired the best American film of the past 25 years, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.  Another individual who made waves was Rodney King (47), whose videotaped beating by the LAPD in 1991 sparked racial tension and deadly riots.

Music took a hit this year with the loss of pop icon Davy Jones (66), lead singer for The Monkees.  The catchy hit "I'm a Believer" was the most popular song of 1967.  Donald 'Duck' Dunn (70), brought his formidable bass talents to multiple soul acts, including Booker T, Sam and Dave, and The Blues Brothers.  Beastie Boys co-founder Adam 'MCA' Yauch (47) died following a three year battle with cancer, which sadly also claimed "At Last" singer Etta James (73), The Bee Gees Robin Gibb (62), and the "Queen of Disco" Donna Summer (63).  Robert Sherman (86) wrote and composed many classic Disney songs, while the esteemed Marvin Hamlisch (68) won a Tony, three Oscars, four Emmys, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.  His numerous Broadway credits included A Chorus Line, The Goodbye Girl, & They're Playing Our Song.  He also figured prominently in 70s films The Sting & The Way We Were.  

On television Neil Armstrong (82) provided one of the great moments of the 20th century, becoming the first man to set foot on the moon on July 20th, 1969.  Mike Wallace (93) always sought the truth over four decades as a news correspondent on 60 Minutes.  Puppeteer and voice actor Jerry Nelson (78) brought his unique talents to Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, & The Muppets over the years.  He created dozens of memorable characters, including Statler, The Count, Gobo Fraggle, Crazy Harry, Floyd Pepper, Herry Monster, Camilla, Uncle Gobo, Lew Zealand, & Snuffleupagus.  And Dick Clark (82) was America's host for multiple generations, helping all of us usher in the new year with dignity from his annual booth in Times Square.  Don't get me started on his replacement.

Andy Griffith (86) was on a short list of the most beloved television figures of all time, playing Sheriff Andy Taylor on the appropriately titled The Andy Griffith Show.  But despite his connection to Mayberry and later Matlock, my brother and I are probably the only two on the planet who will remember him best as General Rancor opposite Leslie Nielsen's Dick Steele in Spy Hard.  Jack Klugman (90) was most famous for his role as Oscar Madison, one half of TV's The Odd Couple with Tony Randall.  He later starred on Quincy M.E. and was the last surviving jury member from the classic courtroom drama 12 Angry Men.  

Larry Hagman (81) became an 80s icon playing villainous oil tycoon J.R. Ewing on Dallas.  He was also well known for I Dream of Jeannie and submitted a great latter-day performance as a politician with a hidden past in Mike Nichols' Primary Colors.  Sherman Hemsley (74) will forever be George Jefferson to millions of fans who watched him "movin' on up" to his own spin-off The Jeffersons, following a successful run on All in the Family.  Ian Abercrombie (77) provided laughs as Elaine's lunatic boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld.  One of my favorite episodes focused on his obsession to find a spaceship in a 3D painting.  Others of note included trendsetting comedian Phyllis Diller (95), Family Feud host Richard Dawson (79), Don Grady (68) of My Three Sons, and Welcome Back Kotter sweathogs Ron Palillo (63) & Robert Hegyes (60).

Happy New Year!

Part II Coming Soon . . . . .

Spielberg's Lincoln: A Man of One Hat

Around the 75 minute mark of Lincoln, I noticed my wife fidgeting in her seat.  I leaned over to ask if she was ok, since she had been looking forward to this particular movie.  She rolled her eyes, sighed, and declared, "It's Tommy Lee Jones in a funny wig."  I chuckled, careful not to offend a mostly older audience that seemed captivated.  Minutes later, I handed over the car keys so that she could find a more entertaining way to fill her weekend afternoon (i.e. Marshalls).  Now alone with my thoughts and popcorn, I refocused my attention to the screen, hoping the second half would prove more involving than the first.  Although the pace intensified as the film built to a climax, I eventually left the theater thinking her brief summary had somehow been on target.    

Where was the magic?  This years encore presentation of Lincoln, following last summers slight but entertaining Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is a two and half hour account of the fight to pass the 13th amendment.  Naturally, a movie poster featuring the scroll for the Bill of Rights wouldn't sell too many tickets, so instead we have the 16th president's distinguished mug taking the form of our generations most intense actor, Daniel Day-Lewis.  To be sure, the two-time Oscar winner looks great in the role and disappears into the title character within minutes of the opening credits.  The film is handsomely designed, intelligent about politics, and contains the years most impressive roll call of actors.  And yet, the most accurate compliment I can pay Steven Spielberg's newest prestige pic is that there is nothing overtly wrong with it.

Lincoln is a curiously lifeless epic, despite some of the most talented behind-the-scenes people in the film industry.  Spielberg chose several frequent collaborators for this project, including cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and maestro John Williams.  Make no mistake, this will be an awards contender.  Except for the upcoming Les Miserables, I suspect Lincoln will be flush with more nominations than any other 2012 release.  These will probably include best picture, director, lead actor, supporting actress (Sally Field as Mary Todd), supporting actor (Jones as Thaddeus Stevens), adapted screenplay (Tony Kushner), original score, cinematography, film editing, costume & production design, makeup, and possibly sound editing & mixing.

Lincoln is undoubtedly the years most loquacious movie with numerous monologues and anecdotes, as well as debates both within the White House and between political parties.  Much opposition to the proposed amendment that would eventually end slavery involves the ongoing Civil War, which we are told might've ended faster had Lincoln dropped his more pressing agenda.  Though no student of history or politics, I was able to follow most of the dialogue once I got passed certain language that didn't seem all that far removed from Shakespeare.  But I would argue "most dialogue" doesn't necessarily equate with most successful script.  Reportedly Kushner's first screenplay stretched some 700 pages, an unfilmable amount.  He and Spielberg wisely opted to focus on a shorter, paramount period in Lincoln's life.  However, I'm not convinced they made sufficient character cuts to accommodate this reduction.

This is a giant cast, but other than Day-Lewis and maybe David Strathairn, who plays right-hand man and Secretary of State William Seward, no actor has more than a handful of scenes.  That we come to recognize these characters at all has more to do with audience familiarity with their faces than writing depth.  I'm sure this project generated huge interest throughout Hollywood.  How else to explain brief appearances by Hal Holbrook, Bruce McGill, Gloria Reuben, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jackie Earle Haley?  John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, and James Spader turn up as an amusing 19th century version of Three Stooges lobbyists trying to secure votes needed to pass the 13th amendment.  Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who became a bona fide movie star in 2012, has only a few scenes as Lincoln's son Robert.  None of the them are bad or even miscast, so much as superfluous as presented in the final cut.

Spielberg's film feels trapped on the surface, lacking the emotional resonance that helped define his best dramatic works.  His unmistakable visual flair, a trademark in everything from Close Encounters to Minority Report, is largely muted in Lincoln, almost as if he didn't want to upstage the material.  There are a few shots depicting the aftermath of battle, but nothing to pack the punch of Saving Private Ryan.  Kushner's background as a playwright is apparent throughout: large individual sets, heavy chatter, little action.  What's surprising is that he also wrote Munich, a more demanding examination of political themes that simultaneously managed to raise the viewers pulse.  In that film, audiences were allowed inside the head of Eric Bana's character, whereas Lincoln continually seems just outside our reach.  Schindler's List, which remains the directors crowning achievement, contained three exceptionally well-developed leading roles.  Spielberg correctly realized this structure would be far more effective than presenting a dozen one-dimensional characters.  I wish he had remembered that here.      

I never felt completely engaged by Lincoln, and repeatedly got the impression that Spielberg wasn't as connected to this material as with his previously mentioned efforts.  Amistad, which depicted a mutiny aboard a slave ship heading to America, was another historical drama from Spielberg that fell somewhat short of expectations.  I suppose this isn't entirely shocking given his background.  The most famous Jewish filmmaker of all time, he has spoken at length in the past about deep feelings toward the Holocaust and the 1972 Olympic Games massacre.  His father served as a Communications Chief in a B-25 Squadron during World War II.  Even Indiana Jones' most formidable adversaries were the Nazis.  Maybe personal passion needs to fuel the engine to be at your best.

Lincoln is a professional, workmanlike production.  If the subject interests you, it's certainly worth seeing.  But it falls considerably short of greatness, despite what academy lobbyists will tell you.  In an election year featuring a double dose of Lincoln, I knew I would favor whichever film took more chances.  I never dreamed it would be the one with vampires.