Problem Child 2

Problem Child 2(1991)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Brian Levant

Starring: John Ritter, Michael J. Oliver, Laraine Newman, Jack Warden, Amy Yasbeck, Ivyann Schwan

From: Universal

RIP James Tolkan

He passed away a few days ago but the news broke last evening. He will forever be known as Principal Strickland in the Back to the Future franchise-although was a recognizable face in other famous movie and television efforts like Top Gun and Masters of the Universe. While diminutive, he had an outsized personality with his gruff demeanor & bald head, making him a perfect fit for either tough guys or those in positions of authority, like a high school principal, a coach, a police Detective, or a military man.

His small role as an elementary school teacher in Problem Child 2 was far from his most dignified (there’s a joke concerning him penguin-waddling to the toilet to have a bowel movement!) yet this was selected as the film’s script was fascinating-I’ll elaborate at the end of the review-and I saw the first two movies as a kid. The first was reviewed 4 years ago; an OK rating was given, the same as for the sequel.

The first Problem Child was odder than you’d expect; the same goes for 2. Poor sap John Ritter and son move to another town, where he’s suddenly the hottest hunk in town-an opinion I know at least one Letterboxd mutual agrees with. Specifically, he is eyed by Laraine Newman, the richest dame in town; all her ex-husbands (shown in photos) is Ritter in different disguises, which made me chuckle. There’s something to be said for that, or that Amy Yasbeck returns, but playing a different role. I’m sure many fall for those that resemble their ex-partner, although the obvious reason is that this movie brought back many actors for the immediate sequel, including Gilbert Gottfried.

2 is PG-13 rather than the first’s PG; the crass level does in fact increase. Junior gives someone the middle finger, urinates in a pitcher and tells a pair of twin girls it’s lemonade, says “bitch” in reference to a woman twice & turns up the speed on a version of a Tilt-A-Whirl to make everyone on the ride projectile vomit! Right after this was a serious heartfelt scene concerning Junior’s still-lingering fear that his adopted father won’t love him any longer.

After that, the buffoonery continued, including an inexplicable scene involving a pair of animal control officers shot like a dog food commercial where there’s a brief tease of a homosexual relationship between the two… but they managed to fix the failed hypnosis attempt that Junior tried on grandfather Jack Warden’s dog. At least Junior is better at setting up A/V equipment, in that he somehow created a projection of his babysitter making out with her lover in a bedroom, with the men in the neighborhood watching on!

Please don’t ask.

In fact, the screenwriters of the first film returned, but were miffed that the studio rushed this into production due to fears that child actor Michael J. Oliver would age out of the part so they went OOT in gross/weird ideas; somehow, Universal accepted this weird script. The “big idea” of this sequel is that Junior meets a girl who is even more outrageous than he is. The film’s nonsense yet laughs were still present-I can’t proclaim this as a catastrophe. There’s a Bryan Adams song that opens the film & there’s another tune from-no kidding-before they were famous Alanis Morrisette!

Oh, and there were no memories that this was filmed in Orlando. For those that remember the brief moment in the opening credits where father & son purchased ice cream from a building shaped like a soft-serve ice cream cone… Twistee Treat still exists in Florida, & those buildings are the same. One’s literally a few minutes from where I live. Also amusing me was something more subtle: a background vehicle seen even more briefly; Truly Nolen pest control still uses bright yellow company vehicles.

Apologies for the longest review of Problem Child 2 you’ll ever read. Tolkan’s role wasn’t as extensive as I faintly recalled. In the future, a more substantial part for a memorable actor will be discussed here.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Who names their dog JEFF?

There was no review posted yesterday; several factors caused that, including but not limited to an internet outage and my watching the start of the Major League Baseball season. However, free time was had last night and I did not want to turn down the opportunity to see my first new (to me) Studio Ghibli movie in years… & theatrically to boot. To answer a question someone would ask, I saw the subtitled version.

Not even Ghibli film has been viewed by any means and not every one of Miyazaki’s movies has been rated as high as everyone else. Thankfully, people don’t have to take out their pitchforks & torches to go after me-I agree with the consensus, re: Kiki’s Delivery Service. I’m a heterosexual male in my 40’s yet this tale of a 13-year-old witch leaving her family w/ her black cat Jiji to a city resembling one in the Europe of the past as part of her path to maturity & the typical teen struggles she experiences… incredibly charming, this was.

An extensive discussion concerning the studio’s animation and the Joe Hisaishi score aren’t necessary-both are as top-notch as expected. Instead, I’ll note that the journey Kiki undertook was pleasant; while she naturally came across some that didn’t understand her due to her differences, many kind people were met along the way, some becoming friends. It was simply nice seeing her start up her own courier service and become more mature while at the same time dealing w/ typical teenager anxieties and fears. I don’t know why there’s a dog named JEFF, but of course that’s not a criticism of the film itself.

I enjoyed this pleasant, methodical trek that Kiki took where my attention never wavered as she figured out w/ the assistance of everyone from Jiji and the bakery owners who took her in to potential love interest Tombo and an artist living in the woods to determine her path in life; it was irrelevant that only the finale featured any peril when I was so enthralled in this world.

This successful viewing of Kiki’s Delivery Service also served as a reminder to seek out more from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli in general.

Can't Stop the Music

Can’t Stop the Music (1980)

Runtime: An overlong 124 minutes

Directed by: Nancy Walker

Starring: The Village People, the person now known as Caitlyn Jenner, Valerie Perrine (RIP)

From: More than one entity that soon went out of business, this movie bombed so hard

RIP Valerie Perrine. I’m sure she’d be honored that I chose THIS instead of Lenny or Slaughterhouse-Five for tribute! After all, she got along w/ director Nancy Walker-yes, the actor-so poorly, the movie’s cinematographer had to direct her scenes. The direction wasn’t bad yet the movie failed so badly and wrecked two entities (EMI Films & Associated Film Distribution), she never directed another film. Perrine passed away at the age of 82 due to Parkinson’s Disease.

As a little kid in the 80’s, I’ll always know her as Eve Tessmacher from the first two Superman movies. For someone who has seen similar movies of the era (Xanadu, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Apple) & guffawed at each one, I was glad to have tracked down a copy of the film in better than potato vision-nevermind how-& give my thoughts on a movie that helped give a certain organization the inspiration to create The Razzies, which is not a positive but that's another topic for another time.

Yes, Can’t Stop the Music is preposterous; a Hispanic dude name Felipe wears a scanty amount of clothing while cosplaying as a Native American out in public, among many weird and sometimes even off-color moments. The film shouldn’t have been two hours long and the attempt to make THE VILLAGE PEOPLE (including the guy dressed like an extra at the Ramrod club in Cruising!) a heterosexual act failed, regardless of this being an origin story, of all things. Then there’s the person known now as Caitlyn Jenner… I know not to use their deadname. The band aren’t great actors, but compared to her—it’s clear why they are best known not as thespians. At least Jenner wore Daisy Duke shorts & a white crop-top for those interested in such things…

No wonder Music has ratings across the spectrum, one of the more polarizing motion pictures on Letterboxd. Your opinion of disco music is a factor, and to address the elephant in the room, your sexual orientation is a factor. I’m a heterosexual man; those of a different persuasion will naturally feel different. I can admit that the film is subversive, featuring numerous characters that were obviously queer or queer-coded. There’s also a progressive (for the time) line concerning acceptance of those that are “different.”

Wisecracks concerning their acting aside, I’ll echo the thoughts of a few & note that the movie was less interesting and undoubtedly dull as dishwater when The Village People weren’t on screen. Yes, there are legit funny moments to go along w/ the unintentional ones; however, I’ll always gravitate towards such wackiness as the split screen and other period visual effects used during the singing of YMCA, or the big song-and-dance number devoted to… MILKSHAKES.

Can’t Stop the Music has its lulls yet there are more than a few campy moments. While Steve Guttenberg & his charisma in the leading role was the acting highlight, Perrine was charming herself as a recently-retired model who doesn’t engage in romance w/ Guttenberg but instead Jenner—in hindsight, not a surprise their romantic chemistry wasn’t great…

As strange as the movie is, it served as a nice time capsule of an infamous (yet fun, IMO) musical genre, New York City, and several other ideas. Even if it’s far in the future, I’ll view something serious featuring Ms. Perrine.

Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror

I’m thankful that Netflix documentaries are better than their fictional movies. Yes, there is knowledge of controversial & polarizing documentaries on that platform-those are avoided by me. However, the ratio of hits to misses is far better, at least from what little has been tackled. As an American of course I remember the April 19, 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; this occurred at the age of 14.

This documentary is less than 90 minutes yet was still satisfactory in explaining the bombing, the trauma inflicted upon the innocent who survived but were forever emotionally damaged, why those SOB’s Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols committed those heinous acts, the first responders, and the law enforcement that quickly solved the case. No, I won’t comment on the far-right movement that played a critical role in the atrocity nor the ethnic biases that created the initial assumptions that the “Middle East” was responsible, including innocent people being looked at suspiciously solely due to their skin color.

A topic such as the Oklahoma City Bombing is worthy of books, longform podcasts and/or shows of multiple episodes. That said, American Terror does a swell job informing the viewer that knows less about the incident than me & don’t have the hours to become informed. The presentation was solid, was not overly flashy, & best of all, showed that after the horrific act, many people came together to help those in need. Oklahoma City isn’t constantly downbeat; don’t let those fears dissuade you from a view if you’re at all interested.

100 Rifles

100 Rifles (1969)

Runtime: 110 minutes

Directed by: Tom Gries

Starring: Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Fernando Lamas, Dan O’Herlihy

From: Marvin Schwartz Productions 

Is the movie a masterpiece that you’d perhaps want for something starring Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Fernando Lamas, Dan O’Herlihy, and even cult favorite Soledad Miranda for a few scenes, filmed in Spain and all set to a Latin-flavored Jerry Goldsmith score?

No. Also, Brown & Welch did not get along during filmmaking.

This does not mean that 100 Rifles wasn’t a pretty good time. Brown was a lawman who rode into early 20th Mexico to collect the bounty on the head of Reynolds, who had a white father and a Native American mother; Burt had a hell of a tan for this redface role; so did Welch in her Native American role. He robbed a bank to purchase the titular rifles for his people to fight against the Mexican government & a railroad built on their land.

The relationship between the three leads was a fractious as you’d expect; also expected (and delivered) for me was that this was a rollickin’ good time. They had an adventure in the wilds of Mexico-Spain was a nice substitute-at least one set I recognized as appearing in From a Few Dollars More. Colorful characters, a detestable villain-the General role Lamas had-and the Goldsmith score were further assets.

In my opinion, there are several quality shootouts involving large numbers of people which electrified & was an asset in making 100 Rifles enjoyable despite the film not coming together to form a classic starring a trio of legends. At least there was what amounted to a gratuitous shower scene involving Ol’ Raquel… but it’s done as a ruse so that moment didn’t serve no purpose for the plot.

The Delta Force

The Delta Force (1986)

Runtime: An overlong 129 minutes

Directed by: Menahem Golan

Starring: Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, many others

From: Cannon

Alan Silvestri’s all-timer of a score makes me want to run through a brick wall, it’s so epic & rousing!

There was no better time than now to revisit The Delta Force for the first time since long before I joined Letterboxd 13 (!) years ago. This is still one of the most famous films Chuck Norris ever did, it has the most distinguished cast, and is amazingly 80’s as only Cannon could deliver. That includes the topic of plane hijackings; the plot is loosely based on the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, along with a few details of Operation Entebbe.

I will NOT spend time discussing how the terrorists were Palestinians or how they segregated the Jewish passengers on the plane, or the numerous photos seen of the Ayatollah, or the line “Israel is America’s best friend in the Middle East” or other details for MANY blatant reasons. I can note that some now won’t like that the villains were Arabs (despite all the turmoil in the Middle East I recall as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s) or that their leader was non-Arabic Robert Forster, who at least did a swell job in making the role not as stereotypical as was probably on page. Plenty of time is spent on that sweaty airplane; while not everything the villains did was vile, most of their behavior was. The drama on the airplane is best described as “histrionics.”

The cast of familiar faces does help: Chuck, Forster, Lee Marvin, Joey Bishop, George Kennedy, Bo Svenson, Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters, Lainie Kazan, Kim Delaney, Susan Strasberg, and Martin Balsam. There’s also Hanna Schygulla of Fassbinder and Bela Tarr fame who elevated a standard “heroic flight attendant” role. Heck, the titular Delta Force is so badass, Steve James is a key member (although as I always say, there needed to be more of his character) and three of the random background players in the group are Liam Neeson, Kevin Dillon, & Mykelti Williamson.

Most of the action is saved for the back half; those action beats thankfully delivered. Some moments are so OOT you might be reminded of Team America: World Police. Politics aside, a few times I giggled at the silliness on screen, whether it was s--- blowing up on screen or absurdly awesome deaths. To reiterate, the Alan Silvestri score-especially the motif-is tremendous and is an asset for the film. Heck, if the Marvel movies he scored had music like this, I’d actually want to watch those silly pictures!

The Delta Force was another nice way for me to tip my cap to the late Chuck Norris. The pushback on a Variety article concerning his politics was so strong, I shouldn’t have worried that much about that detail. Many people have noted him as a good, honorable dude (including a Letterboxd mutual that got to briefly meet him personally) so I was happy to finally discuss The Delta Force here. If I had any Budweiser on hand, at least one would have been cracked open during viewing…

 

A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind (2003)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Christopher Guest

Staring: The typical crew in these Guest mockumentaries… including (RIP) Catherine O’Hara

From: Warner Bros./Castle Rock

A belated RIP to Catherine O’Hara. When I saw Best in Show for the first time in January, the thought never crossed my mind that she’s passed away only about two weeks later. I pushed off tipping my cap to her until now; this film is on Netflix currently, but only until early April. As someone who grew up in the 80’s & 90’s, I’ll of course forever remember her for Beetlejuice & Home Alone but I’ve enjoyed her in other things, including Best in Show and now, A Mighty Wind.

Truth be told, I never listened too much to folk music; it’s not something I hate but it’s a genre I’ve never done a deep dive on. I wish my late mother was still around-at times she’d remembered the old folk music she used to listen to-this mockumentary spoofed the folk revival of the early 60’s, when Mom was a kid. I do recall she still remembered the songs of Peter, Paul, & Mary. Who knows if she’d be offended at even this light poking fun at that scene.

An old folk music producer passes away; several groups come together for a tribute concert. This includes The Folksmen act that was both on Saturday Night Live in the 80’s & are part of the Spinal Top universe. Of course, many wacky, colorful characters appear throughout. The usual crew for the Christopher Guest mockumentary subgenre are here: Michael McKean, Ed Begley, Jr., Harry Shearer, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, and many others. What a tremendous look Willard sported in this film.

The droll humor you expected was present; I was entertained by these characters & the scenarios. O’Hara was part of a former duo w/ Eugene Levy but they had the typical nasty split. His character had mental health struggles; thankfully, that wasn’t done in poor taste. To echo others, his character was clearly based on such musicians as Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. As expected, the O’Hara-Levy duo were simply a treat. Not a bad way for me to pay tribute.

Naturally, for a comedic movie concerning a musical genre, the songs needed to sound authentic while still ludicrous. Thankfully, A Mighty Wind succeeded on this front. The movie was also a success in terms of providing entertainment for 90 minutes, notwithstanding of my limited knowledge of the musical genre it mildly prodded.