Not The Flick of The Day: Rock of Ages

Hey YOU! Do you like spandex? Do you like poodle haired soft rock from the 1980's? Do you enjoy the particular visual triumph of singing sunset strip hookers? Wanna see Alec Baldwin (now) in the denims he wore in the 80's? Do you think Tom Cruise can play whatever role he wants? Well Hollywood has the movie for you, Rock of Ages, the big screen adaptation of the boundlessly popular stage musical.

 Rock of Ages

With a plot seemingly taken from an old Guns n Roses video (I am being facetious of course, Axl Rose would never use a plot so mundane when swimming with dolphins was an alternative), a pretty young thing named Sherrie played by Julianne Hough of the recent and even more risible Footloose remake arrives in Los Angeles (On a Greyhound no less) seeking fame and fortune. Unfortunately her baggage  is robbed almost as soon as she arrives and penniless she gets a job working at a famed rock club owned by Alec Baldwin's Dennis Dupree. It is harsh doses of reality like this which give this film its best moments. Ah, I remember the time I was mugged, Alec Baldwin gave me a job too and then sang a great Foreigner tune. Anyway, Sherrie meets  an equally vacuous male companion in the form of Diego Boneta and before long the pair are an item. Of course, there is trouble in paradise in the form of right wing mayor Mike Whitmore, played by a slumming it Bryan Cranston and his batty wife Catherine Zeta Jones. Together they plan to clean the city of its undesirable elements starting with migrant workers. Oh wait, that's real life sorry, no they want to start with the poodle haired rockers. Into this veritable feast of nonsensical bullshit steps quite aptly Tom Cruise. Tom is Stacee Jaxx, a rock god of the confused variety. Cruise plays Jaxx as a kind of perma-stoned demonic messiah who exudes befuddlement and craziness in equal measure. This is Tom Cruise by the way. No irony there at all.

At one point a reporter asks Stacee what the real him is like which causes him to burst into a version of the old Bon Jovi number "Wanted Dead or Alive". This happens quite a lot in Rock of Ages. In lieu of actual plot development characters burst into another soft rock classic. Perhaps this is how modern musicals are supposed to be. Maybe somewhere in the world somebody is sitting in a theatre waiting for a musical to start and saying to their partner "Thank god there is none of that difficult plot stuff, just songs". There is nothing wrong with the musical numbers, nobody makes a fool of themselves, well not any more of a fool, but it just seems at times likes many of the songs are shoehorned in for no good reason other than: 

"Ooh, we've paid for that Journey song, better use it here. "

"But it's a scene where somebody is throwing up?"

"Yeah, a bit of Don't Stop Believing will work"

Maybe I'm just not being fair? Maybe this is exactly what the people of earth wanted to spend their 7 quid on? Maybe the world hasn't tired of Russell Brand? Maybe the world wants to see Tom Cruise singing "I want to know what love is" while face to face with a woman's rear end? That being the case, this is your film world, enjoy it.

Anyway it all comes to a climax in an orgy of Journey and Starship tunes. I know, Starship! I thought they were tied up in a basement somewhere for crimes against music. If there is a ray of light in an otherwise depressing two hours of my life, Paul Giamatti is excellently sleazy as Stacee's manager.
To finish then, rather than the usual trailer which would give this risible trash too much credit, below is Starship's We Built This City (On Rock and Roll) in full.

Flick of The Day: Jerry Maguire

Tom Cruise has had a storied career both on and off the screen, playing roles as diverse as a disabled Vietnam vet in Born on the 4th of July, an Irish peasant in Far and Away, lawyers, racing drivers, fighter pilots and secret agents. Up until recently he was untouchable at the box office, delivering consistent profits for everyone. However perhaps his best roles have been those very few where he has pushed himself as an actor such as today's flick of the day, Jerry Maguire, a potent mixture of comedy, romance and the vacuous nature of the corporate world.

Jerry Maguire

Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, a flick of the day favourite with Singles, Say Anything and the great  Almost Famous, this is a tale of a self centred sports agent, Jerry Maguire played by Tom Cruise, who having sold his soul decides to grow a heart with terrible consequences for his career. After writing a preaching memo about the future of his agency in the dead of night, he soon finds himself out of work, single and with a solitary client. This is the egotistical big mouth football star Rod Tidwell played by a career best Cuba Gooding Jr. In an oft parodied scene, he requests Jerry to show him the money. Jerry's only other support is an idealistic single mother Dorothy Boyd played by Renee Zellweger who follows Jerry out of the agency because she believes in him. Jerry has to try and put his life back together while doing the best for Rod and becoming romantically entangled with Dorothy. Along the way he learns how to be a better man then he ever was when on top of the world.

The real selling point for this movie is its heart. Jerry falls hard, his wife leaves him and his friends abandon him and it is only through this callous betrayal that he learns something about himself. It is an unusually nuanced performance from Cruise, giving Maguire a soulful edge. All round the cast is excellent though. Cuba Gooding Jr is as good as he has ever been as the always over the top Tidwell, the kind of irritating whiny professional sportsman we have becomes used to seeing. Zellweger makes the most of her girl next door role as the single mother who goes against her practical nature to help a man she believes in and harbours secret feelings for.

Jerry Maguire: I'm finished, I'm fucked. Twenty-four hours ago, man, I was hot! Now... I'm a cautionary tale. You see this jacket I'm wearing, you like it? Because I don't really need it. Because I'm cloaked in failure! I lost the number one draft picked the night before the draft! Why? Let's recap: Because a hockey player's kid made me feel like a superficial jerk. I ate two slices of bad pizza, went to bed and grew a conscience! 

 Rod Tidwell: Well, boo-fucking-hoo

Crowe's script perfectly juggles the different aspects of its story from the romance between Jerry and Dorothy to the drama of the ups and downs of professional football.

Special mention has to go to young Jonathan Lipnicki as Dorothy's son Ray. He steals almost all of the scenes he is in and there is a real spark to the conversations he has with a lonely Jerry. 

Jerry Maguire: The fuckin zoo is closed, Ray. 

Ray: You said fuck. 

Jerry Maguire: Uh... yeah... I... 

Ray: Don't worry. I won't tell.

As the film moves toward a feel good and heartfelt resolution, we are left with the believe that Jerry has learned to be a better person. After all, his only real crime was to tell the truth and look where it gets him. It's a telling example of how vicious the modern world is for the individual who steps out of the corporate line.

Ultimately, the film was a massive success for all involved giving Cuba Gooding Jr his only Oscar win and yet another nomination for Cruise. A fine film, it takes a different look at the world of professional sports and the lives of the people involved.  The ending is neither trite nor overly sentimental and it makes the best of its constituent parts. I define anyone not to find the final climax compelling viewing.

Flick of The Day: Far and Away

Given that it is Easter week and the 95th anniversary of the Easter Rebellion of 1916, it would seem ideal to take the opportunity to review a film with an Irish connection. The last such film we examined was John Ford's The Informer, which takes a romanticised look at the Irish rebellion. Today's flick of the day is an altogether more modern affair, Ron Howard's Far and Away.

Far and Away

Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, then very much at the height of their powers, Far and Away is an epic tale of romance and adventure in 1890's Ireland and America. At the film's open, we are given a brief outline of the struggles of Ireland's masses against the powerful Landlords that control their country before being introduced to Joseph Donnelly, played by Cruise sporting an Irish accent that is not awful but uneven, sounding as if he is from Ulster, Munster, Connacht and Leinster in the space of a few lines of dialogue. However, that said his performance is quite restrained and doesn't play to any stereotype too much. After Joseph's father dies and his home is burnt by his Landlord for non payment of rent, he vows revenge. He makes his way to the Estate of the Landlord, Daniel Christie, on the back of a donkey and with a rusty rifle in hand. Christie is played with wit and charm by the legendary Robert Prosky of Hill Street Blues fame. As he hides in the stables with the intention of murdering Christie, he is discovered by his daughter Shannon, played by Kidman. After a series of events, the two end up running away together, taking passage on a ship bound for America. Shannon is motivated by a wish to break free from her parents and Joseph by the prospect of owning his own land. Suffice as to all does not go according to plan on their arrival in Boston. Shannon is robbed of her wealth and forced to live with Joseph in a doss house, under the thumb of a Tammany Hall style Ward Boss played by Colm Meaney. After a series of trials and tribulations, including a bare knuckle boxing career for Joseph, the film climaxes with the Oklahoma Land Race of 1893.

The best compliment that can be paid this film is that it is at times visually stunning. It is probably the last film to be shot in 70mm Super Panavision and this gives the photography and epic grandeur. The land race is a highlight, using a huge amount of extras and shot with a wide focus, it is a spectacle to behold. It is a shame that the use of 70mm never really took off for it gives films the kind of stunning visual quality that television can never deliver. That said, key sequences of Christopher Nolan's Inception were shot in 70mm so hopefully it might tempt other film-makers to make use of this format.  The film is stylish throughout with location shooting in Ireland and lavish period sets throughout, the film's strongest suit is its visuals.

That said, the script is not without its moments, dramatic in tone but with some fine humorous scenes and interplay particularly between Shannon and Joseph. 

Joseph Donnelly: [about Grace] Grace isn't a tramp. She's a dancer in the Burley-cue. 

Shannon Christie: That's not dancing. That's kicking her knickers up. I suspect if you asked her to, she'd kick her knickers off. 

Joseph Donnelly: Oh, maybe she would. 

Shannon Christie: Has she? 

Joseph Donnelly: Let me see... I'm trying to remember. 

Shannon Christie: Well, think hard! If there's any brains left in your head!

Kidman and Cruise are fine in their respective roles and aided by a fine supporting cast led by Colm Meaney carry the film to its natural conclusion. As mentioned previously, the accents are none too heinous which is always key in any Irish role. It helps that they were a couple while making this film as there is obvious chemistry between the two which no doubt helps the film's romantic subplot. 

All in all, a worthy addition to the canon of the Irish themed cinema. Visually enjoyable and a decent snapshot of the immigrant experience in America in the 1890's. Cruise and Kidman are strong and the tale is compelling enough to carry the audience through to the end. Well worth a look.