SUPER HAPPY FUN MOVIE TIME #19, #20, & #21: Award Season Special (Milk, The Wrestler, and Slumdog Millionaire)

By Mr. Death (He’s riding a fuzzy tractor)

Hey all! Over New Years, I was fortunate to see three of the big possible Oscar contenders. So rather than have three different articles, I decided to just condense all three articles into a SUPER-ARTICLE! UP UP AND AWAAAAAAY! Be warned, all reviews contain spoilers.

Milk is an interesting movie. After hearing about it in spades from practically every film critic out there, I figured that this would be this years big biopic. We had fantastic movies like Ray and Walk the Line, so this should follow in it’s footsteps. Well, it did not. Milk has become, to me at least, one of the year’s most overrated movies. It’s not bad, but it does not have that quality that I believe makes a real classic. But what makes it interesting is I can’t tell you why. It’s a good film in all respects, but I don’t see what makes it really special. After moving to San Francisco, the middle-aged New Yorker, Harvey Milk, became a Gay Rights activist and city politician. On his third attempt, he was elected to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors in 1977, making him the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the USA. The following year, both he and the city’s mayor, George Moscone, were shot to death by former city supervisor, Dan White, who blamed his former colleagues for denying White’s attempt to rescind his resignation from the board. Milk follows his political career leading up to his untimely assassination. (Synopsis lovingly stolen from IMDB)

Off the bat, the truly notable part of the film is Sean Penn. I think it’s safe to say that this movie’s success comes from Penn’s total immersion into the part of Harvey Milk. Not once in this movie does he come off as Sean Penn. He IS Harvey Milk, and not for one second did I think otherwise. The supporting cast is surprisingly strong. Josh Brolin, that guy who was the older brother in The Goonies, has really matured as an actor. He holds his own on screen and portrays his character not as some mustache twirling villain, but as a man who, not knowing what else to do, is driven to desperation. But perhaps the most surprising is James Franco. How the hell did Mr. Pineapple Express get into a movie like this and somehow be great! He was surprisingly compelling in this movie. It baffles my mind that this guy can go from such a silly movie to such a serious one and succeed on the level he does.

This movie is definitely a message film, but I kind of feel as if it sort of shoots itself in the foot a few times. This isn’t nessasarily a mark on the film itself, but sort of what it’s trying to say. Now, please don’t take me the wrong way. I am all for gay rights. But a couple times Harvey advocates basically outing every gay person in California. I just want to say here that I didn’t like this aspect of the movie’s message. People have a right to privacy just as much as they have the right to choose their lifestyle choice. You can argue that this is an intricate part to the film, but I still had a problem to it.

The other great flaw in this movie is that it fails to be truly memorable. This is a movie that is really kind of hard to pick out specific moments from a couple days after seeing it (last year’s Micheal Clayton had the same problem). I talk about how great the performances were, and by all means they were, but the plot can be kind of dragging. It feels sort of like a slow documentary, one that can never quite get off the ground high enough to become really interesting. That’s why I don’t believe it to be really Oscar worthy, even though it’s practically a shoe in. Honestly, I believe Iron Man to be just as worthy as this, and I don’t think Iron Man is Oscar worthy. Basically, Penn is worth checking out, but don’t expect this to change your life.

Well now, I’ve just written a review about a gay guy while listening to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, so lets get my manhood back!

This may just be the film geek in me talking, but I love Darren Aronofsky. Requiem For A Dream and Π, and although I have yet to see The Fountain, from what I’ve heard it’s excellent. So naturally I was excited about seeing The Wrestler, and I was not disappointed. The Wrestler is my second favorite movie of the year, no exaggeration. (BTW, number one is WALL-E. Good year for movies beginning with W apparently!) So many movies, from The Dark Knight to Tropic Thunder to Milk rely on the actors to carry the film. The Wrestler relies on it’s characters.

Back in the late ’80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life — trying to reconnect with his daughter, and striking up a blossoming romance with an exotic dancer (Marisa Tomei) who is ready to start a new life. Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling. (Lovingly stolen from IMDB)

Lets start out with what everybody is talking about; Mickey Rourke. My god, what a performance! He captures the role perfectly, partly because Rourke was essentially this guy if he acted instead of wrestled (although there isn’t much of a difference, amirite?). He is just superb and excels from his subtleness and total immersion into the character. Throughout a year that has been filled with great performances, it’s hard to become such a standout in a role, but Rourke’s portrayal is so sad and real it may be the best of the year. Yeah that’s right. Better than Heath as The Joker. He’s flawed, but not unlikable. Your rooting for him in one respect, but it’s just heartbreaking as he keeps failing and failing. He feels like a real person.

In fact, this whole movie feels like it could be real. No embellishments, no Hollywood pizazz. It feels like a straight up documentary. From the grainy sort of footage it uses to the way the camera follows him, the whole thing could’ve been The King of Kong. It’s kinda weird actually. How can a completely fictitious movie like this feel more real than a movie like Milk, which is actually based on a true story? On the other hand, Balto is based on a true story. This film doesn’t contain one weak link within the entire production. Both Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are great in their supporting roles. Marisa Tomei is especially good. How strange it is that she’s doing the best work of her life right now and won her (so far) only Oscar with My Cousin Vinny.

This movie is just great all around. It’s like a reverse Rocky. Instead of inspirational, it’s heartbreaking. Like most of Aronofsky’s movies, it deals with obsession. Whether it’s numbers or drugs or you career, you life can be engulfed and you may never get it back. The Wrestler is real, gritty, heartbreaking, and has the saddest shot I have ever seen in a movie (for those who’ve seen it, when Randy is signing posters at a rec center). One of the best in a great year for movies.

And finally…

Without a doubt the movie that I have heard the most unanimous praise for this year has been Slumdog Millionaire. I, being the sucker for surprises that I am, decided to completely avoid any plot points before seeing this film. You know, to surprise myself. Well, let me tell you, I was surprised!

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. (Lovingly stolen from IMDB)

Lets continue the trend I’ve been setting and start out with the actors. I have never heard of anyone of these actors at all, and I wonder why. All were great. I especially liked the child performances in this movie. Usually child actors are either too cute or just horrible, but these guys (who were apparently right out of the Indian slums) did a great job without hamming it up too much, as kids are apt to do. The actor who played grown-up Jamal was my personal favorite in the movie. He has this sort of humor to him throughout the film, but he still manages to be serious. Jamal’s brother Salim was awesome too. His death (oops…spoiler?) is one to be remebered.

The plot mixes the sad (I mean, for christsakes, look were they live! Look at it!) with the funny, including one scene where Jamal goes through a lot of shit to get an autograph from a movie star. And I mean that literally. The whole thing is inspirational and, honestly, something that needs to be experienced to understand. Just see this one. I still prefer The Wrestler, but this still makes the coveted Mr. Death Top 5 Movies Of The Year List©! Check it out.

IN CONCLUSION

So, in review, which of these should you see or skip? Well, Milk is an interesting film, if only for Sean Penn, but fails to reach my personal expectations for an Oscar Winner. It’s the weakest of the three. The Wrestler, on the other hand, is brilliant, and definitely warrants seeing. It’s one I’d buy when it comes out on DVD. As for Slumdog Millionaire, a good movie for certain, but doesn’t quite meet up for the expectations that The Wrestler has set. Still, it’s one to make a trip to the theater for.

As for Mr. Death Top 5 Movies Of The Year List©, so far we have;

1. WALL-E (Hell yes! I doubt any movie is moving this one from it’s spot on top.)

2. The Wrestler

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

4. The Dark Knight

5. Slumdog Millionaire

Coming up next on SHFMT, Benjamin Button and, just maybe, Doubt.

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