Just got back from the multiplex and I have to share: You can skip Across the Universe. Julie Taymor is clearly talented (witness Frida, the first five minutes of The Lion King, um, did I already say Frida?), but her new movie is a mess: A grand collision of clever ideas and oh so tedious cliches, lessening the impact of the former and underscoring the wretchedness of the latter.
In no particular order, the ten best things about Julie Taymor's Across the Universe.
1. Selma Hayek's cameo... (wait for it) in a hot nurse outfit... (wait for it) replicated through the magic of special effects so that there are one, two, three, four, FIVE of her.
2. I saw Sean Penn. He was at the E Street Cinema for a special screening of Into the Wild. He was coming in as we were going out. I stopped him and we chatted about the state of cinema in America today, good Chinese restaurants in San Francisco and the Bush administration's failed foreign policy (I said, "They have one?" "Nice one, bro," Sean replied, "Up high!" and then we high-fived.) He's stopping by later tonight for drinks... OK, most of this wasn't true. But he was there.
3. Prudence was portrayed as a cute lesbian with a birthmark on her lip. Revolutionary.
4. Eddie Izzard continues his unparalleled success of being outstanding (or at least pretty good) in really crap movies. Additionally, Eddie's portrayal of Mr. Kite allows him to say that he's performed a role on screen originated by George Burns. Perhaps an Oh, God! remake isn't too far off?
5. I saw Evan Rachel Wood's boob. I chatted with it for a bit in the lobby about Sean Penn. It's pretty, but a little dumb.
6. Bono does a great Robin Williams impersonation.
7. The Joe Cocker "Come Together" sequence stands out like a perfect little 1980's music video (think Billy Joel's "Keepin' the Faith" video with better production values) to bridge the gap between the slow beginning of the movie and the dull middle and end parts. Joe Cocker is still the man; "Come Together" is the only song from the soundtrack I'd ever want to hear again.
8. Bread and Puppet Theatre is utilized and that's cool. I assume I could do a few seconds of Internet research and see if that's where Ms. Taymor got her start, but that would mean I care. I mean, I'm sure they've worked together in the past and I'm glad their work is put in the film because that's some of the best stuff.
9. Speaking of puppets, it's good to know black people can still be used as puppets to illicit an emotional response. Similar to the way that lone black man shows up out of nowhere for thirty seconds of screen time at the Lincoln Memorial in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, so too can an angel faced 10-year-old black boy sing "Let It Be" in the middle of a horrifying inner-city riot scene (the burning shell of a car he's crouched next to is truly gorgeous) in order to illicit that knee-jerk lump in our throats. Why show genuine interest in the African-American experience when you can trot them out as noble symbols instead?
10. Lastly, "Across the Universe" is still one of my favorite Beatles songs despite this movie.
Your (former) Quizzomaster and Scorebabe: Ready for Action
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3 comments:
Julie Taymor has never been a member of Bread & Puppet but a number of puppeteers who have worked in Bread & Puppet have also worked for her.
There has, in fact, been something of a dispute between Taymor and Peter Schumann (B&P's founder and director)over the use of puppets that were so clearly in the style of B&P (though in accounts I have read, Taymor did attempt hire B&P for the film.)
Wow, drama in puppet-land! Thanks for the update. See, why do research when it can be brought to you?
Rightly linked to Rufus' cover of Across the Universe. And this cover was for... wait for the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon connection: I Am Sam, starring: Sean Penn! Wait, did you do that on purpose? No, maybe you just did it to satisfy the pervs at Quizzo who make Dakota Fanning jokes...
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