DVD Review: Vanilla Sky (C+)

Vanilla Sky (2001)
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz
MPAA: R
Grade: C+

Review by Scott Standish

It has been quite interesting to see Cameron Crowe's growth as a writer and director over the years. As the writer of the 1982 cult classic Fast Times at Rigemont High, Crowe burst onto the Hollwood scene with plenty of notice. Let's face it: Fast Times went straight to the heart and for many of us, that was our high school right there on screen. Fast Times was the "American Graffitti" of our time, and along with director Amy Heckerling, they helped influence teen movies for years to come.

In the 80's Crowe's ability to portray America's youth as sensitive, comical, and of course a bit angst-ridden was right on target. Unlike his contemporary John Hughes, Crowe was able to show the complexities of being young, without resorting to cliches or low brow humor. Crowe graduated from the high school genre with the underrated Say Anything, a charming film that has aged very well over the years.

1992's Singles can now be seen as what it was: a transition girlfriend of a film, a necessary but painful exercise that had to happen in order to get to Jerry Maguire, the film that he was born to make. Smart and well paced, Jerry Maguire was pure pop magic. Maguire was a perfect blend of Crowe's patented sentamentalism and what the public wanted to see: Tom Cruise looking hot but acting shallow, Rene Zellweger being cute but playing naive, Cuba Gooding being funny yet exuding confidence, and of course everyone learns something from each other by the time the movie ends. The follow-up to Maguire (Almost Famous) was critically lauded and it was clear that Crowe had started to outgrow the simple storylines of "boy meets girl" set to a great soundtrack. Tired of the Capra-esque sucesses of his early films, and pop meets Hollywood sweetness of his last two movies, it was time to move on: Crowe was ready for the art film.

Enter Vanilla Sky, Cameron Crowe's ambitious yet troubled film that might just be seen later as his transition girlfriend number two. Forget Fast Times, this film is serious business. Unfortunately Vanilla Sky tries so hard to be dark spirited (even though it never convinces in that regard) that it fails to connect deeply.

A remake of Alejandro Amenabar's 1997 film Abre Los Ojos, this complex film tells the story of a young successful publisher who has everything. Cruise plays David Aames, a rich, very powerful "Citizen Kane" type who can get any girl he wants. Cruise plays an arrogant bastard here (is it me or does he seem to be cast in those roles alot?) and it is hard to identify with him. At least in Rain Man, he had frustrations (his brother, his business, his girlfriend, etc.) to try and pin things on, but here, he's just a jerk. In fact, the first 45 minutes of Vanilla Sky seems completely focused on detailing what a jerk this character is.

Aames meets the beautful but dense Sofia (Penelope Cruz) and they start to get something going. As he begins to learn about himself, Aames' arrogance catches up to him.His jealous lover (Cameron Diaz) blows a gasket and drives them both over a cliff. He survives, she dies, and Aames' life is shattered into a million pieces. With no other real sympathetic characters in sight, there was no real reason to feel for anyone here when things go awry.

Interestingly, the film shifts into a sci-fi mode halfway through, and the visual impact heightens as things get a bit weird. The second half has alot of twists and turns, but don't worry we won't give anything away. Perhaps with different casting, or a tighter pacing (especially the first act), this might have connected on a deeper level. But Vanilla Sky is a bit all over the place, and one can't really feel too much for the characters. Cameron Crowe has some great films ahead of him, and some great ones behind him. Unfortunately, Vanilla Sky just doesn't pull it together fast enough to do the filmmaker justice.

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