Well, my life's about to get a lot more busy. Classes start up next week and both schools are already abuzz with students and doings.
Spent most of last week in the pictureseque RM of Gimli, Manitoba. My brother-in-law got married and many people from my wife's family came in for the wedding. We all stayed in a quaint little cabin.
Went to see Mr Bean's Holiday on Tuesday and I don't think I've been as disappointed in a film since Star Wars: Episode One. Many of the reviews I've seen since have stated that you either like Mr. Bean or you don't; your response to the movie rests on this. I like Mr. Bean, and have for many years, but I HATED this movie. I hardly laughed at all. Most of the good bits were just rehashed (in one way or another) for more interesting bits of the television show. There was a subtextual theme of art and filmmaking (Bean travels to Cannes and wackiness ensues at the Cannes Film Festival), but frankly I couldn't have cared less. Instead of Willem Dafoe, I thought the role of the arrogant, self-absorbed filmmaker should have been played by Rowan Atkinson. Heck, if Mike Myers can do it in every Austin Powers film, why not? Most people in North American only know Atkinson as Bean, but his work as the charmingly wicked Blackadder is far superior to the mostly-silent character. Allowing Atkinson to do a Blackadder-like character within a Mr. Bean film would give some exposure to this talented comedic-actor.
While I was sitting in the theatre watching Mr Bean go through the motions, I got to thinking about sketch-based films and movies that should be short subjects. Mr Bean works as a half hour show, but when he screws up for the umpteenth time and, one more time, can't manage to get on the train for Cannes, we move past funny. Most Saturday Night Live films fall into this category: it was funny as a sketch, but a 90 minute film is pushing it. Then I began thinking about the number of trailers for upcoming movies that seem to be trying to make a full-length feature out of a 10 minute concept. Take Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, for instance. Yes, there's a talented cast (Jenna Fischer, John C. Reilly) and crew (Judd Apatow) but is a full-length spoof of Walk the Line really necessary?
2 comments:
Aw, now I have the Blackadder theme song in my head . . .
I agree with you about the 10 minute concepts being stretched to long.
I found with the Wallace and Gromit movie it was the same. They are brilliant as the 30 minute sketches, but the full length just didn't do it for me.
Is it just me, or is there an enormous increase of too-long movies since Lord of the Rings??
I'm not against long movies, but I am for editing.
hear hear. i'm not sure actors from the office should leave the office. if you've seen License to Wed you'll know what I mean.
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