The Eclectic Choice: Family Plot

Family Plot (1976)
dir. Alfred Hitchcock

This isn't Rear Window (1954), Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958) or Strangers On A Train (1951). Hitchcock has a list of classics a football field long, and sure, this isn't one of them. Sure it may be flawed, silly, fluffy fun, but it is Hitch's last film and there is a lot more to it than you might expect.

The main plot circles around a fake, or is she, psychic who along with her cab driving boyfriend decide to hunt down an heir to a fortune. These characters are played with charisma and some real genuine chemistry by Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris. It's a blast to watch these two together. they have this rhythm that feels like a couple in love, even through the minor bickering of everyday life. Dern is a very different character than we are used to seeing. Sure he's quirky, but far from the nut-ball borderline psychos hat he is famous for. It is a real shame Barbara Harris was dealing with personal problems that stifled her career. Between this, Nashville (1975) and Freaky Friday (1968), it's impossible not to notice her incredible range and the cute-as-a-button looks this lady has. I really wish she was able to do more.

The weakness of the movie is William Devane who is always dependable, but is always William Devane. The character is weak and his subplot to kidnap people and ransom them for diamonds never really takes off. Karen Black plays Devane's accomplice, but isn't given much to do.

It's fun and frothier then most of Hitchcock's work, but it also includes a lot of the masters touches that made him such a great filmmaker. Does it stand up to his best films? Of course not, but few movies can or ever will be able to hold up such standards. Hitch may have not gone out with a bang, but as he literally ends his cinematic career with a wink at the camera, it reminds us that the man was never about delivering the normal set of expectations.

R.I.P. Henry Gibson

Henry Gibson (1935-2009)

Henry Gibson will be remembered for two major things. The first is a regular on Laugh In and the second was as the leader of the Nazi's in The Blues Brothers (1980). But for me there are three roles that really single him out as a major talent. The first two are for Robert Altman films.

His portrayal of Haven Hamilton in Nashville (1975) is great stuff. He captured all of the hypocrisy of Christianity and the entertainment world. All smiles and glad handing in public and just a royal judgmental prick in private. It's a stroke of genius in a movie that has genius at every turn.

The second was his take on Dr. Verringer in The Long Goodbye (1973). It's a tough thing to make intimidating Sterling Hayden look legit and Gibson did it with flying colors. Cold, steely eyes and the delivery of "Sign the check Roger!" You actually think he could kill Hayden with that look. Fantastic.

The third is in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), as the snobbish barfly Thurston Howell. He takes down a crumbling William H. Macy with his one-liners and wandering eyebrows with the creepy grace and elegance of a serial killer. Plus his name is Thurston Howell, which is awesome.

There is also his work in Innerspace (1987), The Wedding Crashers (2005) and several episodes of King Of The Hill to take into account. The man worked rigorously and brought a touch of humor and ingenuity to every character he performed. It was an excellent career and one that will stand the test of time.

Not On DVD: Ride The Pink Horse

Ride The Pink Horse (1947)
dir. Robert Montgomery

The second (official) film directed by Montgomery, this may not be as stylistically experimental as his debut effort Lady In The Lake (1947), but this is a tighter story and grimy as hell.

Montgomery plays Lucky Gagin. He's tough, ruthless and is seeking to avenge, in the form of blackmail, a murdered friend. His adventure leads him to a dirty border town where he runs into a Fed, played brilliantly by Art Smith, who is after the same guy.

With a wicked-mean femme fatale, a Latino psychic predicting the worst for our hero and a smooth-as-glass bad guy who plays up his hearing aid like a badge of honor, this is hard boiled dipped in wrought iron. It's tough, mean, brutal and ornery. A real overlooked gem.

To ice the cake, the script is written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer who supply some great dialog that is endlessly quotable. A tight well paced piece that ranks with the best of their work.

This is a mandatory watch for any noir buff and a real shame that it doesn't have a DVD release.

Review: Whiteout

Whiteout (2009)
staring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short, Tom Skerritt
dir. Dominic Sena

A real waste of time and potential. Go and read the graphic novels by Greg Rucka, they are superior in every way. Bad dialog, shit direction and bland acting. It felt like the actors wanted to get off the screen as much as I wanted to get out of the theater.

I would like to point out a moment that got some big laughs for the audience. Unintentional, of course. Carrie Stetko, played by Beckinsale keeps having crappy flashbacks of a situation gone wrong. She and her partner have arrested some drug trafficker and have holed u in a hotel for some unknown reason. They handcuff the guy to one of the beds and Stetko decides to get some rest. She wakes up and sees the empty handcuffs on the bedpost where her Bad Guy once was. Her narration spouts, "I felt something was wrong as soon as I woke up." No shit, the guy is gone sweetie. Open handcuffs, hmmmm that seems fishy. Fuck, it was just ridiculous.

I will give props to some of the production design. there was some decent work done there guys, unfortunately the director only knows how to do closeups of faces, so the odds of your work getting any screen time are little to none. Sorry.

Oh, I'll also give credit to Skerritt. Not for his acting, but for his attempt to look as much like Kris Kristofferson as possible. Apparently Kristofferson had something better to do than this role. Like clean up the dog shit from his back yard.

It's just a shame, there was so many possible for tension and horror and mystery that just seems tossed out and wasted. If you can't figure out who the bad guy in in ten minutes, you're not paying attention. No matter how hard they try to pull a shifty eyed dog on you.

4 out of 10