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'Kings of Comedy' still funny on small screen
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001
The Original Kings of Comedy
Bernie Mac, left, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey take the stage in The Original Kings of Comedy.
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(R) Spike Lee breathes new life into the concert film format with this raucous chronicle of the Kings of Comedy tour, featuring D.L. Hughley, Bernie Mac, Cedric the Entertainer and emcee Steve Harvey.
The film gives each of these stand-ups 20 minutes to do their respective things, but much of the fun comes from watching the mostly African-American audience responding to the jokes. Lee's film isn't just a concert, but an electrifying slice of modern black culture.
First impressions: "Different from every concert film since Woodstock because the audience is an equal co-star with the performers onstage. Lee often frames shots with the comedians dwarfed by the crowd, a raucous mass of gleeful motion and fashion statements. . . .
"It's a black thing, yet such energy can't avoid being colorblind. That's why hip-hop thrives across cultural lines, and that's why the Kings of Comedy are important."
Second thoughts: Fits television screens well and remains funny.
Rental audience: Stand-up comedy aficionados, African-Americans enjoying inside jokes.
Rent it if you enjoy: Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at the Apollo, Richard Pryor's movie concerts.
Nurse Betty
(R) Golden Globe winner Renee Zellweger plays Betty, a waitress addicted to a soap opera and carrying a torch for its star (Greg Kinnear).
Betty lapses into delusional psychosis after witnessing her husband being murdered by hit men (Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock). She goes to Los Angeles to meet her fantasy lover with the killers on her trail. Directed by Neil LaBute with lighter tones but the same acid bite of In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors.
First impressions: "Nurse Betty is a shaggy-dog story matted with blood, a tall tale that Doris Day could have made in her twinkly prime -- if a ruthless artist like Sam Peckinpah directed it. . . . LaBute's film operates at two wildly opposite poles: glossy, chaste romantic fantasy and violent interludes getting down and very dirty. . . .
"So many vivid characters populate the movie that LaBute can't possibly do justice to everyone. . . . Nurse Betty simply expires from satirical exhaustion and an overdose of stagy material. But, it's a giddy ride until then."
Second thoughts: Zellweger was robbed in Oscar balloting; Freeman and Rock should team again.
Rental audience: Adventurous viewers who can handle rough language and occasionally graphic violence.
Rent it if you enjoy: I'm not sure. This is a very original screenplay, tough to compare. Take a chance.
Lost Souls
(R) Former victim of demonic possession (Winona Ryder) tries to warn away the next devil's plaything (Ben Chaplin). John Hurt co-stars in the Father Merrin-style role, with Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia, Boogie Nights) as a devious priest. Any resemblance to The Exorcist is purely accidental.
First impressions: "Lost Souls spreads its dull theology over too many characters and twists to matter. Possessed people don't endure gruesome transformations, they just yell and thrash a bit. Exorcism looks easy, performed three times here with minimal prayer and collateral damage. . . . The scariest thing . . . is watching so many fine actors slumming."
Second impressions: One of the 10 worst films of 2000.
Rental audience: People suckered in by the usual fire-and-brimstone routine.
Rent it if you enjoy: Wasting rental fees.
Bedazzled
(PG-13) Remake of the 1967 British comedy starring Dudley Moore as a lovestruck guy selling his soul to Satan (Peter Cook) in exchange for the woman of his dreams. This time, Brendan Fraser (Monkeybone) plays the seller, and co-producer Elizabeth Hurley creates the sexiest Satan ever.
First impressions: "The new, unimproved Bedazzled is ugly American humor, meaning lots of cleavage and crotch jokes. Even when dialogue is lifted directly from the original, all sense of sophistication is missing. . . . The film isn't as funny as its mugging actors seem to believe.
Second thoughts: Lost Souls is funnier.
Rental audience: Fraser and Hurley fans, indiscriminate viewers.
Rent it if you enjoy: Sitting on pitchforks.
DVD: New and noteworthy for digital players
Kubrick classic comes with extras
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Special Edition)
[Publicity photo]
George C. Scott stars in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, now on DVD.
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The late American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick didn't live to join the trend of DVD commentary, and it's not likely that he would've talked anyway. Kubrick was notoriously reclusive, rarely leaving England, where he exiled himself to escape publicity and studio interference in his infrequent films.
Wouldn't you love to hear his take on the monolith's meaning in 2001: A Space Odyssey or Jack Nicholson's overacting in The Shining?
Kubrick's estate is slowly loosening the reins on his art, allowing video distributors access to previously unseen footage and commentary/interviews with those who worked with him. That seven-disc Kubrick collection released last year was just a profitable teaser for Warner Home Video without many bonuses.
The first Kubrick classic to get its DVD due is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a deliciously dark comedy about nuclear annihilation. There's still no alternate audio commentary by anyone, but the disc does contain promising extras.
An original theatrical trailer, filmographies and advertising art are included, plus a vintage split-screen interview with co-stars Peter Sellers and George C. Scott. Also included are a behind-the-scenes documentary and a featurette, The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove. Kubrick's fans still demand more, but at least this is more than before.
Most intriguing is the DVD's use of Kubrick's shifting aspect ratios for the screen. He filmed Dr. Strangelove in both wide-screen and full-screen dimensions. This disc uses both methods in a transfer approved by the master himself before his death in 1999. The image size and shape changes periodically between the two, as the director intended.
More good news: Criterion plans to release a new disc of Spartacus with comparable bonuses on April 24. We can hope there are more Kubrick surprises stashed away somewhere for future release.
REWIND
Videos worth another look
[Photo: Universal Picture]
Tom Hanks, left, commands the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in director Ron Howard’s version of the true story, with Kevin Bacon, top, and Bill Paxton. |
Ron Howard, post-Opie
He'll always be Opie, no matter how many fine films Ron Howard makes in his career. The boyish wonder turns 47 today, looking like he could still skip to the fishin' hole with Andy Griffith.
If he isn't too busy, that is. Howard is one of Hollywood's in-demand directors, since his films rarely fail at the box office. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, for example, was the No. 1-grossing film at the box office in 2000. His drama of a mentally disturbed math genius, A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, is Universal Pictures' Christmas holiday staple this year.
Until then, check out these Howard highlights on home video:
Grand Theft Auto -- Car chase flick marking Howard's 1977 debut behind the camera after a nice child actor career. Happy Days and happier ones were just a dream then, making this a lively curiosity.
Night Shift -- Howard's first good reviews as a director came in 1982. Michael Keaton became a star as Bill Blazejowski, ringleader of an escort service in Henry Winkler's morgue. Hey, that's what friends are for.
Splash -- Mermaid fantasy that allowed Howard to call his own Hollywood shots forever. Tom Hanks and John Candy became instant movie stars, and Daryl Hannah has been treading water ever since.
Cocoon -- Of course, we have a soft spot in our hearts for this 1985 hit, since St. Petersburg hosted the production. Elderly folks found youth and vigor through alien intervention. Something like the plot of the movie.
Parenthood -- What a great ensemble cast: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Dianne Wiest, Rick Moranis, Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton and Keanu Reeves when it appeared he could act.
Backdraft -- Thrilling arson adventure that firefighters embrace as Marines do The Sands of Iwo Jima. One of the rare action blockbusters with heart. Kurt Russell and Robert De Niro are terrific here.
Apollo 13 -- Patriotic rousers don't get any better than this. Hanks leads an ill-fated moon voyage to safety. Knowing how the true story turned out didn't blunt the film's tension and emotion.
Ransom -- Hard-boiled kidnapping drama with Mel Gibson and a creepy turn by Gary Sinise. Viewers were mildly shocked to see how nasty little Opie could be. Remember, Aunt Bee: It's only a movie.
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