50/50 Review #24: Scotland, PA.

The last film of Rachel's/Shakespeare's Month is actually not only not in Elizabethan English, but also based on a play I've actually read/am familiar with. Here we take a more modernized look at the tragedy of Macbeth... by turning it into a dark comedy. Taking place in 1970s Scotland, Pennsylvania, this film tells a story surrounding the burger joint Duncan's, owned by Norm Duncan (James Rebhorn). Under him are married couple Joe 'Mac' McBeth (James LeGros) and Pat McBeth (Maura Tierney), who just want to move up in the world, especially after three hippies (Timothy Levitch, Andy Dick, and Amy Smart) give him the idea that he (Mac) could. So after killing Duncan, the McBeth's take over the business from his sons, Donald (Geoff Dunsworth) and Malcolm (Tom Guiry), and start to do really well. At least, until Lieutenant McDuff (Christopher Walken) shows up looking for answers. It also doesn't help that their fry cook, Anthony 'Banko' Banconi (Kevin Corrigan), is a little suspicious of them himself.

Updates of stories, particularly Shakespeare, are almost always a ton of fun. You always try to make connections to the source material, and it's always a hoot seeing how they make it work in the present (or at least in a more modern time period). I haven't really read the play in years, so I actually did a refresher before really getting into the movie. And I'd say it did a pretty bang-up job. Of course, I was disappointed not to hear even any attempt to add in even hints of famous lines "Double double, toil and trouble... Something wicked this way comes" or "Out, out, damn spot!"). But they still managed to play really well with the slipping mental state of the McBeth's. Oh, and I guess the curse of the Scottish play lives on... considering this was the one and only movie this director ever made.

The cast was fine with it, too. The language was updated, which on the one hand made it infinitely easier to follow... but at the same time saddened me that I didn't get to hear Christopher Walken do Shakespeare. Though Walken was fantastic and goofy, as per usual. Maura Tierney stole the show as the obsessive and then slowly-going-insane "Lady Macbeth" character. But somebody please tell me that I'm not the only one... who couldn't stop thinking about Mark Wahlberg anytime James LeGros was on screen, which was the majority of the movie. Seriously, as long as you weren't right in the guy's face, he looked almost exactly like him. Not to mention it would be a perfect character (or at least version of this character) for Marky Mark to play.

Otherwise I don't have many thoughts on the film. Of this month of Shakespearean films, it might not have been the technically best, but it was certainly one of if not the most entertaining. Again, that might have something to do with the fact I actually knew the play this time around. (Also, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the others weren't entertaining--except Richard III... sorry, Rachel--I particularly loved Much Ado About Nothing, and Titus was also bizarrely fascinating). But on the whole, while not perfect, this film was really fun.

A Keanu 'Whoa'

(P.S. And that's it for Rachel's/Shakespeare's Month! It was certainly an experience! I honestly didn't know what I would feel going into this month, but on the whole it was pretty enjoyable... with just a little stumble here and there. Next month belongs to Dylan with a few of his personal favorites. So let's hope we're still friends after it's over.)

60/60 Review #15: Annie Hall.

I've had only one other experience with Woody Allen--Match Point--and I seriously hated that movie. So I was a bit nervous going into this. As for this film, besides it being like... the ultimate rom-com (in more of the classic sense, not today's definition), I didn't know all that much about it. Well, it's about a dude named Alvy (Woody Allen) and his relationship with a woman named Annie (Diane Keaton). That's basically it. There's not really much of a plot outside just... his life.

And I loved every minute of it. Most of you know I'm a sucker for anything meta. This movie has him breaking the fourth wall; it has him talking to nothing, background characters as if they should know the entire plot and what's going on; it has them showing what-if situations in the middle of what's actually going on; it has them walking into flashbacks and commentating on the past events; and more. This film played to my heart and was right up my alley.

It has amazing dialogue/writing. It's very quick and very sharp witted and very smart, but that's pretty much what Woody Allen is known for (and which was completely absent from Match Point). There are so many moments to love that I can't even start to name them all. The one that keeps sticking out to me is earlier on in the movie theater where the patron behind him is going on about films loudly, and you can see Alvy's getting annoyed, and he eventually stops and walks up to talk to the audience at the camera. But then the guy walks up and joins him. And then they walk to the side and pull the guy they're arguing about out of nowhere, only so Alvy can make a comment like "don't you wish it could be like this?" There were so many fun moments, and that's only one of them.

The acting was of course top notch. I didn't even recognize Diane Keaton as I'm used to how she looks now, but she was very good. Woody Allen was great, as well. There are so many short bits with good actors that I wish could have been longer; Carol Kane, for instance. But I can't get onto this subject without mentioning the completely random appearance by Christopher Walken. I'd heard about this random moment a long time ago, but I'd completely forgotten about it by this point until he showed up and I was like "WTF?" It's out of left field, but it's bizarrely funny. Also, unless I'm just crazy, I'm pretty sure I saw Jeff Goldblum for like... 3 seconds.

During the film, one of the things that kept popping into my head--for whatever reason--was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I couldn't stop comparing the two. This, of course, led me to thinking about remakes. Could you imagine Michel Gondry remaking this film with Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara? Now that'd be interesting. I dunno how much charm it would have, and I doubt it would match up to the original, but it would still be interesting.

Anyway, there's not a whole lot else to say. If I had a negative, it would be that I started to feel a drag around the hour mark, but it didn't bother me all that much. I still loved the film--mostly thanks to its clever writing and meta sensibilities. If you like that kind of thing, definitely check this movie out. It's well made, and while it's not laugh-out-loud funny (at least to me), it's pretty dang amusing through and through.


Royale With Cheese