DVD Review: Groundhog Day (A-)

Groundhog Day (1993)
Directed by Harold Ramis
Starring Bill Murray, Andie McDowell and Chris Elliott
MPAA: PG
Grade: A-

Review by Bobby Nashville

There's an old saying that goes "dying is easy, comedy is hard". I would imagine that "dramedy" or comedy with dramatic subtext must be even harder. That's probably why I have so much respect for one of the true comedic geniuses of our time, Bill Murray. He's been fantastic in dramatic/comedic roles in Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and many more. But perhaps his best role was as Phil Connors, the weatherman stuck inside Groundhog Day.

Murray is Connors, a bitter weatherman stuck in the Pittsburgh market. He's assigned to cover the Groundhog Day festival in Punxsutawney every year, much to his dismay. He covers the grand ceremony (Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter) and hopes to head straight back to Pittsburgh.

Connors gets snowed in and has to stay the night back at his comfy Punxsutawney bed and breakfast. When he awakes at 6 AM, he finds himself forced to live through Groundhog's Day all over again. Same people, same happenings, exact same day here, with free reign to act however he pleases. Stuck to relive the same day over and over, he explores all of the possibilities: extreme driving, shameless womanizing, even suicide. No matter what Phil does, he always reawakens to 6 AM, Groundhog's Day in Punxsutawney.

The transformation that overcomes Bill Murray's character is mesmerizing. He starts out the film crabby: "You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life". As the effect of being stuck in the same day takes hold, he turns alarmed: "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!" Realizing that he can use this bizarre twist of fate to do some good, he actually turns into a sweet gentle soul: "When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."

A kind comedy with it's comedic edges intact, it's hard to find anything to truly criticize about Groundhog Day. Only time will tell, but I think this one ranks right up there with the classics of Billy Wilder and Frank Capra.

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DVD Review: Rules of Attraction, The (B+)

Rules of Attraction, The (2002)
Directed by Roger Avary
Starring James Vander Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Fred Savage, Eric Stoltz and Faye Dunaway
MPAA: NC-17
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

I recently spent a week lounging in the Florida Keys. Other than a little time jet skiing, I spent most of the week just lying on the beach sipping Vodka tonics and reading Bret Easton Ellis' college opus The Rules of Attraction. It was a great read for that kind of lazy, cocktail sipping week. Could the movie be as good as the book? I was intrigued.

The Rules of Attraction is your basic trashy character study of rich kids at an east coast liberal arts college. The main characters of the book spend their time having sex, binge drinking, doing drugs, and most of all, simply trying to figure out where they fit in with the world around them.

The novel is told through multiple viewpoints, and the stories often overlap chronologically. The multiple character viewpoints offer slightly different perceptions of the exact same event. My thought was that although this structure made for a very interesting book, it would be impossible to turn it into an effective movie. I now stand corrected. Rising young director Roger Avary (Killing Zoe) has done a fantastic job of bringing the shallow, angst ridden, drug fueled world of Bret Easton Ellis' book to life.

The Rules of Attraction focuses on a love triangle between Sean Bateman, Lauren Hynde and Paul Benton. Sean is an evil, self absorbed drug dealer that for no real reason in particular, has fallen for Lauren. Paul is infatuated with Sean and despite his suave efforts, he just can't seem to get Sean to respond. Lauren has a mild interest in both but decides to remain a virgin as she waits for her true love Victor to return from Europe. Throughout all of this, there is a ton of booze, drugs, "dress to get screwed" parties, "end of the world" parties- you get the picture.

The acting is surprisingly good. Shannyn Sossamon is fantastic as Lauren. Shannyn conveys both the naiveté and the intelligent hipper than thou attitude that the role of Lauren required. Fred Savage, Faye Dunaway and Eric Stoltz also show up in minor roles.

Roger Avary uses some pretty nifty tricks to allow for the multiple viewpoints of the characters, using split screens, reverse motion and other cinematic devices. It works quite well and its obvious that Avary wanted to be as true to the novel's structure as cinematically possible. The duo of Roger Avary and Bret Easton Ellis seems to be a good one and I can't wait to see their next film, Glamorama (another movie that should be very hard to bring to the screen).

Delightfully trashy and surprisingly intelligent, The Rules of Attraction is a very good book turned into an even better movie. If you enjoyed American Psycho or Less Than Zero (also based on Bret Easton Ellis novels) than you will love the finely crafted Rules of Attraction.

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DVD Review: Down With Love (B-)

Down with Love (2003)
Directed by Peyton Reed
Starring Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson, David Hyde Pierce, Rachel Dratch and Tony Randall
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: B-

Review by Scott Standish

I have a thing for those wacky Doris Day - Rock Hudson comedies, so I came into this one with much trepidation. Would this be a massacre of those memories? Would it be a fitting homage to those lighter care-free romantic comedies of yore? In truth, Down With Love is a little of both. At the same time, Down With Love is neither as good as I was hoping, or as bad as I had feared.

Rene Zellweger is Barbara Novak, a young writer that tells women to eschew love in favor of spending more time working on their inner selves. She also proposes that women work hard to have equal rights in the home and in the work place. Ewan McGregor plays the swinging Hugh Hefner type magazine editor that tries to make her fall for him, for the lone reason that he wants to break the Barbara Novak myth. Its stupid, but thankfully the filmmakers are aware of the kitsch factor and are playing it to the hilt. David Hyde Pierce and Rachel Dratch are wasted in minor roles, and we also do not get to see enough of Tony Randall, a veteran of the original Doris Day - Rock Hudson movies of yesteryear.

Down With Love has its moments, especially when it moves into split screen mode. However, if you fall for this film, I strongly recommend that you go out and rent a wide screen version of Pillow Talk, perhaps the best of the genre.

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DVD Review: Bob Marley The Legend Live (B+)

Bob Marley: The Legend Live (2003)
Starring Bob Mob Marley & The Wailers
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+

Review by Bobby Nashville

Talk about a big surprise - this one came out of nowhere and floored me. I am one of those guys that always liked Bob Marley and I even have a couple CDs of his (Legend and the masterpiece Exodus). However I never really realized how mesmerizing he was live until I saw this film. Needless to say, if you are a fan, you need to get a copy of this.

Bob Marley: The Legend Live is a live concert film of Bob Marley & the Wailers from his last recorded show, at Santa Barbara County Bowl, on November 25th, 1979. The group is solid, all the hits are there (Stir It Up, Get Up Stand Up, need I even go on) and the sound is impeccable. Marley's performance here seems to slowly build, as he focuses early on getting the groove on the right track. As the evening grows, the band finds its pace and builds into a crescendo. Fantastic concert, and thank god this was recorded.

If you are interested in reggae music, I can't think of a better place to start than this concert film. If you are a serious reggae fan, you probably already have Bob Marley: The Legend Live in your collection. If not, go get it!

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DVD Review: Near Dark (C-)

Near Dark (1987)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright and Lance Henriksen
MPAA: R
Grade: C-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Back in the day, vampire movies starred strange old guys in castles. They wore capes and lots of jewelry. They drank the blood of beautiful women freshly picked from the surrounding farmlands. Old timers with torches would storm the castle with torches and wooden spikes. Nowadays, vampires carry shotguns and hang out in bars. They listen to rock music and hang in gangs. Cops chase them with semiautomatics. My how times have changed.

Near Dark has been widely regarded as a cult classic and a favorite of the horror film set. Near Dark's director Kathryn Bigelow is the gal to held responsible for Point Break though so I had my doubts going in. Checking the records I found out that she also directed the very interesting Willem Dafoe biker movie The Loveless. So I gave in to temptation and gave this film an honest shot.

Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is a nice boy living on the family farm. He's seduced by Mae (Jenny Wright), a cute little gal that runs with a crew of hell raisers. Caleb gets dragged along for the ride and soon they are testing him to see if he really belongs. Caleb and Mae's love story is a little hokey but the actors do seem to really have some chemistry. Toss in Lance Henriksen (Aliens) as the crazed vampire ring leader and that punky little boy from River's Edge and you have some interesting characters to this indie film.

I can see why this film has a cult following as Near Dark does have some catchy dialogue and a few interesting scenes. But this low budget yarn takes way to long to get into second gear. The lead character Caleb is so naive and frankly, just plain stupid that he can't seem to get a grasp on exactly what is going on long after the audience has it all figured out.

Although Near Dark has its moments, they are a bit too few and far between. Stylish but raw, Near Dark is a decent rental if you are a fan of vampire hunter films. Otherwise, severely lower your expectations and you might find this one entertaining.

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