Tootsie

Tootsie (1982)

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Sydney Pollack, Doris Belack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, and Charles Durning

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Written by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: A-

Movie Review - Wild Oats

Wild Oats (2016)

Starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange, Billy Connelly, Howard Hesseman, Matt Walsh, and Demi Moore

Directed by Andy Tennant

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

There were a few moments at the beginning of Wild Oats when laughter was vocalized by this reviewer and I wondered why this film got such a limited release in theaters last year.  And then the last hour rolled around and the story fell utterly apart, throwing in a kitchen sink's worth of plot that ends up being laughable...and not in way comedies should be.

Shirley MacLaine is Eva, a recently widowed former school teacher who receives a $5,000,000 life insurance check for her husband rather than the $50,000 one she was supposed to receive.  With the help of her recently divorced best friend Maddie (Jessica Lange), the duo deposit the check and head off to the Canary Islands for a little fun before the insurance company comes knocking with a correction at which point they'll just "play dumb."  This vacation sets up a chaotic set of misadventures involving weird old men, attractive young guys, machine guns, gambling, backstabbing, and insurance fraud -- all of which elicit eye rolls of idiocy.

Awkwardly directed and very poorly written, Wild Oats languishes its two leading ladies in a miserable state of affairs.  Although MacLaine and Lange at least make this watchable, it's not enjoyable in the least.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - In Secret

In Secret (2014)

Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Tom Felton, and Jessica Lange

Directed by Charlie Stratton

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

We have a tendency to think that just because something was written centuries ago, there's an inherent heft and gravity to it.  Émile Zola's 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin is the basis for first-time director Charlie Stratton's In Secret and if the film is any indication, the book Thérèse Raquin could very well be the basis for modern-day soap operas seeing as how cinematically this is melodramatic to the nth degree.

Elizabeth Olsen is Thérèse who as a young girl was sent to live with her aunt Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange) and her sickly son Camille (Tom Felton as an adult).  As Thérèse and Camille age, it soon becomes a given in the Raquin household that the two cousins will marry and start a life together in Paris.  They do just that despite hesitation from Thérèse who feels no semblance of love emanating for or from Camille.  Failing to be sexually appeased by her husband, Thérèse finds herself being drawn to artist Laurent (Oscar Isaac) who frequents the Raquin household for weekly card games.  Their lustiness-at-first-sight for each other fuels a passionate forbidden love affair between Thérèse and Laurent and leads them down a path strewn with tragic consequences.

Skipping over the fact that the story itself is extravagantly hammy and histrionic, director Stratton (who also wrote the screenplay) fails to create complex characters with any modicum of depth.  Considering the chaotic feelings Thérèse and Laurent are experiencing, one would have expected some passion and driving force behind their actions, but their love (or lust?) happens too quickly to create the needed character study for their roles.  These two lovers (and the actors who portray them) are simply going through the emotional motions needed to get themselves to the next plot point.  There's no slow build or momentum and it frankly ruins the piece considering the deplorable depths to which Thérèse and Laurent stoop to continue their relationship.

It certainly doesn't help matters that in the film's second half the character of Laurent makes a complete 180-degree turn from where we in the audience have seen him heretofore.  His actions become inconsistent with his prior demeanor and his motivations become incoherent.  Oscar Isaac attempts to clue the audience in to his character's changes of heart, but we're oblivious to why things are moving in particular directions.  Similarly, Elizabeth Olsen has nothing to latch onto with Thérèse except for the character trait of horny housewife and that's simply not enough to carry a film that is trying to be more art-house than frat-boy comedy.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Starring Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, and John Colicos

Directed by Bob Rafelson

**Currently streaming on Netflix** 

I've already reviewed this story twice -- once in book form here and once in a foreign re-telling of the tale here (which made my Top Movies of 2009 list).  The story itself is winning, but the execution in this 1981 version of the tale is a little long in the tooth, wearing out its welcome about two-thirds of the way through.

Frank Chambers (Nicholson) is a 1930s drifter, hitchhiking his way across the country.  One day, he stops at a California diner for a quick bite and becomes enthralled by the young woman running the kitchen.  Cora (Lange) is married to Nick Papdakis, a Greek immigrant who loves his wife, but also is incredibly overbearing.  It's obvious to Frank that Cora doesn't love Nick and they begin a torrid love affair, full of masochistic tendencies.  As their love blossoms, Cora and Frank plot to murder Nick so they can spend their life together.

When the film is focused on Frank, Cora, and Nick, it succeeds.  However, as the film trudges on, screenwriter David Mamet adds some superfluous characters that just drag the film down.  It's also a bit unfortunate that the plot to kill Nick seems to arise much too quickly.  A little more time in developing the love affair between Frank and Cora would have been welcome.

All that being said, I never thought I would say that Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange were sexy, but they really were in this flick.  Raw, sensual, and passionate, the love scenes between Frank and Cora were surprisingly hot...and performed with shockingly little nudity for the intensity on display.  It's a credit to Nicholson and Lange for making their roles entirely believable.  I never really felt that there was a false note on display (particularly from Jack).

Still, the better version of this film is in my previously reviewed Jerichow, but it's certainly not a waste of time.

The RyMickey Rating: C+