I’m all for movies that call out the inherent stupidity of romance comedies, and how we can often lose sight of reality if we spend too much time lost in fantasy and Hollywood manufactured clichés. “Isn’t It Romantic” is a confused comedy though, that can ironically be identified as a romantic comedy, even though it purports to be a movie that tears the whole illusion of Hollywood romantic comedies down all around us. It never seems to know if it’s endorsing the idea of romantic comedies, or still spoofing them. The results are a mediocre, flat, albeit occasionally charming film.
The Films of Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky was one of the most prolific and versatile filmmakers, creating such classics as “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” “Harry and Tonto,” “Next Stop, Greenwich Village,” “An Unmarried Woman” and “Moscow on the Hudson.” Film scholar Nat Segaloff is our guest on this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” which highlights Mazursky’s directing career plus his little-known work as an actor in Stanley Kramer’s first feature “Fear and Desire” and his role in creating “The Monkees” television series.
The episode can be heard here.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s “Foreshadowing: The Movie”! It’s the exploitative account of the last days of Sharon Tate, but with a lot of clunky foreshadowing thrown in to shove down our throats that Sharon Tate will and did die a horrible death. Characters sit around discussing fate, destiny, and alternate realities, Charles Manson shows up in the first ten minutes set to dramatic and very terrifying orchestral music, and Sharon Tate plays a fortune telling game with her friends asking in a child like pout “Will I Live a Long and Happy Life?”
Booksmart (2019)
I feel every generation should have a movie or two that defines them and how hard it is to grow up during that period. We’ve had movies like “Dazed and Confused,” “Mean Girls,” and “Breakfast Club,” and we’re very fortunate to have had two very good movies (“Eighth Grade”) about the modern youth culture in the last five years. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is one of the finest drama comedies of the year. It’s an honest and entertaining look at two girls trying to find out who they are before they graduate high school and enter in to college–possibly without one another.
The Bootleg Files: Going Spanish
BOOTLEG FILES 686: “Going Spanish” (1934 short comedy starring Bob Hope).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On public domain labels.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A lapsed copyright enables anyone to duplicate prints.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: The chances of a digitally restored version are nil.
Eighty-five years ago, Bob Hope made his film debut in a dinky little two-reel comedy. And thanks to an indelicate wisecrack about the film’s quality, he almost saw his film career end with that debut effort.
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Double Impact (1991): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
A mix of nostalgia value and genuine entertainment value, “Double Impact” is the Van Damme movie I’ve come to value over all of his other work. As someone who was a big Van Damme geek in the nineties, he’s had a better shelf life than people like Steven Segal, and films like “Double Impact” have held up big time. Even with the camp value and goofy comedy in the first half hour, “Double Impact” still amounts to a great action flick with Van Damme being given a test of how far he can stretch his acting chops.
Avengement (2019)
An imprisoned man out on special permission to visit his dying mother finds out she has passed away and decides this is the moment to put his revenge plan into action. As he goes after his brother and associates, the reasons for his revenge are made clear.