6.9.98

    Last Friday, T. and I went to a premier of The Truman Show at our local cineplex. We both heartily enjoyed it. I wouldn't say that Carrey is going to be doing any comic-turns-wise-sage a la Robin Williams, at least not with any success. But, I didn't mind that Carrey wasn't a bundle of slapstick laughs. He was good. The movie was good. I think I might see it again.

    I'm not going to get into the whole analysis of art imitating life or how we as a culture are such voyeurs because we all know that already. Any analysis of the movie along those lines is completely obvious. It's all the little quirks in the movie that made it so enjoyable. It's the fact that all the people featured as fans of the show, watching from the outside, were so ugly. That amuses me to know end. And, Ed Harris as the God character controlling Truman's life was especially fascinating. On the one hand you think that he's a cruel, money-hungry bastard (and maybe he is) but on the other hand you sort of have some weird sympathy for him. He's devoted his entire life to this other guy's life and orchestrating it to get ratings. How tormented do you have to be to take that job?

    Hannah Gill, who plays Carrey's Stepfordesque wife Meryl, is absolutely horrifying in her role and steals a scene by screaming, "It's just not professional!" What made me enjoy her role even more was some information I got from Entertainment Weekly. Apparently, the actors were required to write lengthy and detailed character histories and he had written that Meryl received a $10k bonus every time she slept with Truman. Nice insight.

    It was a good movie and will probably get some nominations. I don't know if it was the "best movie of the decade" (as I've heard boorishly touted) but it was pretty damn good. It beats the pants off of some other "blockbuster" movies I've seen this year.

    On Saturday night, after an artery-clogging meal at Dr. Hogly Wogly's, T. and I rented L.A. Confidential. I had been wanting to see this since it came out but somehow I never got around to it. It's also a damn fine movie.

    I thought the cinematography was great and the characters (with the exception of Kim Basinger) marvelously complex. Not one single person in this movie is completely likeable. You can't like the do-gooder (Guy Pierce as Ed Exley) because he's too much of a do-gooder. Nobody, especially me, likes a brown-noser — they're untrustworthy and will sell you up the river at the drop of a hat. (How ya like them clichés?) Every character has their moments of respect and likeability but it usually gets wasted in the next scene.

    I was not at all surprised when the Bud White character, Russel Crowe, gives Lynne Bracken, Basinger, a hefty smack. You could pretty much see that coming which is what gave his character the edge that makes him unlikeable. His fierce protectiveness of women masked an underlying psychosis which made those same women possible targets. I found his character to be the most interesting of them all. His code of honor and justice was pretty much at odds with what he did everyday. So, I was never able to give him the label of 'hero' that I think his character wanted. You could do a whole other movie just about him.

    Knowing as I watched the movie that Basinger received the Best Actress award at the Oscar's, I wasn't able to see what was so great about her performance. I found her character to be the least intriguing person in the movie. The hooker with a heart is so overdone. Of course she's incomparably beautiful. Of course she is "all natural" compared to her slutty, prostitute counterparts. Of course she is a small-town girl at heart with small-town girl dreams and, of course she will play mommy and helpless dependent simultaneously with whatever male lead she hooks up with. As virtually the only female in the movie I was a wee bit disappointed.

    I became completely fascinated with Guy Pierce, who played goody-goody Ed Exley, when I finally realized near the end of the movie what other movie he had been in — Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. So, I immediately had a huge respect for him as an actor who can cover the range of flaming, cross-dresser Felicia, also known as the only man who can make a pair of zebra-print, spandex pants look hot, hot, hot, to his character in L.A. Confidential who is so straight-laced and stiff that, if you didn't know any better, the thought of an animal print anywhere near him might make you gag. Maybe it still does, but...~~ I don't care if the sun don't shine, I get my lovin' in the evenin' time....~~

    As for the plot, the "everybody is in on it" theme is not uncommon for a mystery but that's what makes the film so cool. You know that everybody is probably in on it but you just don't want to believe it. All in all, it was intriguing and enjoyable. I wanted to watch it a second time so that I could pick up on all the subtle nuances but I didn't get the chance.