A John Hughes Film from '91 and a Good One about Mental Disorder (and Some Throwaways)
Film 351
"Abducted" (TV movie)
starring: Lauren Holly, Kaylee DeFer, Joe Lando
I guess 1 out of 3 isn't too bad, as far as finding and watching made-for-TV movies. Unfortunately, in this case, I'm not saying this is the good one. In fact, it's probably on my list of the worst films I've watched (for this project, or even ever, and that's saying a lot because I've seen thousands upon thousands of movies, I think). It's terrible in probably every imaginable way, and that's even taking into account that it's a Lifetime TV movie, so you already have to give it a little bit of slack.
Lauren Holly is all kinds of awful and definitely overacts throughout the whole thing (from being scared to being bitchy to being the female heroine). She plays Suzanne Hollingsworth, a real estate tycoon who's rich by default, thanks to her family, but it seems like she's a bitch all on her own. She has a big mouth and she's very bossy, especially to her young assistant, Rebecca (played by Kaylee DeFer), who seems to take it all in stride.
This movie is all kinds of unbelievable circumstances. After Hollingsworth gets laid-over in Detroit (really?!), she stays at a hotel that is less than appealing to this rich bitch, but somehow she doesn't complain (too much). I'm sure someone with her family connections and money could make something happen for herself. So, why doesn't she? Anyway, her hotel neighbors are loud, because, get this- they are sex traffickers who have kidnapped a group of naive and ridiculous girls (under the guise of entering them into a model competition). Suzanne gets kidnapped as well, after barging in on them in the middle of roughing up one of the girls. They take her to the other girls at an abandoned building in the middle of Detroit. In the meantime, she's made it known to her assistant, Rebecca, whom she's also fired, after deeming her unworthy of being her lowly assistant. And so, Rebecca takes to the case, with some help from a means-well guy, who pretty much takes a backseat and is there for the ride and moral support, because let's face it, this is a Lifetime movie, so the women are the heroes.
It's all quite ridiculous, but I powered through it, knowing exactly what was going to happen, but wishing the script could've been so much better. What get what you deserve in TV movies. It doesn't help that the poster is completely deceiving, and makes it look a lot grittier than it actually is, but again, it's just a TV movie.
What happened to Lauren Holly? She spent a good deal of time on NCIS as well as Chicago Hope, although she's never really shown herself to be a bankable star, so she's kept a rather low profile in the industry. I loved her in "Dumb and Dumber" as well as "Beautiful Girls" (which is one of my favorite movies).
Avoid this one at all costs.
..................................................................................
Film 352
"EM"
starring: Nathan Wetherington, Stef Willen, Sean Kaysen, Bre Blair, Jenny Gabrielle, John Colton
written and directed by: Tony Barbieri
Tony Barbieri is a seasoned writer and director now, with "EM" being his third indie film. He has the credibility now, too.
I like how he chose to begin the film, with a simple amount of eye contact between the two lead characters: Josh (who reminded me of a poor man's version Mark Ruffalo, especially in the way he talks and his mannerisms in certain scenes) and Amanda (Stef Willen, who is good looking, in an understated way, perfect for her role- she's just mildly plain, but that's okay). They are at an airport, in the baggage claim area and they connect. They go from eye contact to the sheets pretty damn quickly, and then they are talking about favorite literature as post-coital conversation. And then, they're moving in together. It all seems really quickly (and trust me, I'm someone who knows a thing or two about making rushed decisions, thanks to mistakes I've made). Barbieri, though, pays no mind in affording the audience any true sense of order and proper background information, because it doesn't seem all that important to the story. Time lapses, too.
Josh adores the mostly quiet, compliant Em (as he calls her) from the start and continues to; it’s as if he’s been waiting all his life for this woman and now considers his life complete. But after exhibiting mild hints of distraction, Em suddenly lands in hospital, and Josh is informed she’s got a bipolar condition heretofore resistant to medical treatment. The flaw in not given much or any background for either character is that we are seemingly hit in the head with a hammer by Em's disorder. Perhaps that's the point. The film is definitely about how a person in love chooses to handle and passively cope with someone who has a mental disorder. Josh is constantly supportive, but also blind to the real danger. Told by a shrink that they need to separate for Em’s own good, Josh never asks her what she feels about it or anything about her past, and evinces no interest in researching her disease. Josh’s willful naivete and inaction, along with his difficulty in understanding that love may not be enough in this case, provide a growing source of frustration.
The film is carried by the emotional inertia, mostly in connection to Josh. We get the sense, though, that without Em, there would be no Josh. He seems to only want to exist for Em, even when she's clearly done with him, which is disappointing, perhaps, because Josh seems to think he deserves to have love, but why does it have to be Em? He even goes on a couple of other dates, but he's obsessed with Em, and that's it. He cannot get over her, even though, it's in his best interest, after all, some people are just not meant to be together. And that's okay.
This is a great, emotional indie film.
.............................................................................
Film 353
"Dealin' with Idiots"
starring: Jeff Garlin, Dave Sheridan, Brad Morris, Hope Dworaczyk, Kerri Kenney, Steve Agee, Fred Willard, Bob Odenkirk, J.B. Smoove, Jami Gertz, Gina Gershon
written, directed, and produced by: Jeff Garlin
If you are familiar with Jeff Garlin and/or his comedy, then I think you would enjoy this film and its pace as well as its content. Garlin has made himself famous thanks in large part to his role as a secondary, yet important character in Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (of which I've only seen a few episodes here and there, but I like what I saw). This film definitely plans like an episode of that show...or even an episode of "Seinfeld." Garlin wrote the character of Max Morris specifically for himself. Morris is a comedian, a husband and a father. The story finds Max in between jobs and he really wants inspiration for a new film that he wants to write. He quickly finds inspiration while sitting in the bleachers of his son's little league baseball games and practices, because he observes the parents and/or adults as just slightly crazy (he's not wrong either). Max's idea is to spend some time with each parent and just get to know them through conversations and a little bit of time with them. It's all for research purposes, for his film, but you definitely get the sense that he wants to feel better about himself as a human being, but mostly as a parent by comparing himself to all the other parents, whom he deems as idiots (and again, he's not completely wrong, because each character is almost as ridiculous as the next one).
In between scenes at the ballpark, watching his son play baseball and feeling sorry for him and himself, we are presented with vignettes that seem real because they are equally uncomfortable and awkward for everyone involved. The cast of characters that Max researches include:
the coach (of both teams) who is also the manager of a Kinko's-type copy place (played by Bob Odenkirk, rather well). He's really pathetic.
a nutrition enthusiast/team mother (played by Jami Gertz) who insists on 100% parent participation and comes off as that overbearing mother who just won't take no for an answer and always gets her way (probably because people just get tired of listening to her)
a bickering lesbian couple (played by Gina Gershon and Kerri Kenney, from "Reno 911")
a gorgeous, modelesque nanny (played by Playboy Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk), whom Max cannot seem to muster the courage to say more than a couple of awkward, stuttered sentences to
a pathetic dad/husband (played strategically well by none other than Richard Kind, you probably know him better from "Mad About You")
Just to seem more like a film/story with a point or just a little bit of heart, Max also has random encounters with his ghost father (played by a graying Timothy Olyphant) at the ballpark which put things in perspective for Max. It's kind of his way of having his "Field of Dreams" moments in his own film.
It's an enjoyable film, if you know what you're getting into with Jeff Garlin.
...........................................................................................
Film 354
"Tabloid"
starring: Joyce McKinney, Peter Tory, Troy Williams, Jackson Shaw, Kent Gavin
directed by: Errol Morris
The subject of Errol Morris' new documentary is an ex-beauty pageant queen who was arrested in the late 1970s for kidnapping her Mormon "boyfriend, who happened to disappear on some kind of mission. Joyce wanted the love of her life (supposedly) and so with Errol Morris' documentary we get a detailed interview-style account of the entire debacle. It's funny that she comes off as not wanting that much attention, because all of her actions prove otherwise. As Joyce McKinney is retelling her side of the story, which is kind of the only side presented here (because the Mormon in question is no where to be found in this documentary- who knows why).
Joyce McKinney, now in her early sixties, a North Carolinian would-be femme fatale, is at the center of Errol Morris’s strange documentary, in which Miss McKinney chronicles her 1977 adventures, when she pursued a fleeing Mormon lover to London, hauled him off at gunpoint to a house in Devon, and had sex with him for three days, during which time he may or may not have been chained to a bed. When they returned to London—according to her, to get married—he fled again, McKinney was arrested for kidnapping, and, to her great pleasure, she became a tabloid sensation. She eats up the attention throughout the whole process (trial and documentary). She is always smiling, always playing for the camera. It's annoying.
Morris’s subject is sexual fantasy and a particular kind of American stupidity—the ability to substitute self-justification for self-knowledge. His tone is merry. There are montages of newspaper clippings and funny little animated episodes. The movie’s over-all metaphor is bondage—McKinney’s possible handling of her lover; her way of making money when she was young; her enthrallment to her image of herself as the heroine of a grand passion. The movie’s buried joke is that this lifelong sex queen is very likely not a sexual person at all.
A few questions come up: Is McKinney speaking the truth when she gives her version of the story? Or are the other versions offered by Morris more accurate? I believe Morris doesn't think it matters. It is Joyce McKinney he cares about. How she presents herself, how she copes, who she is to herself, what she does to explain a bizarre and contradictory story. Watching the film is a tantalizing experience. Everything seems right here within our grasp, like truth in a philosophy class. Yet there are so many questions that cast truth into doubt. When you leave at the end, you may feel you have the necessary materials, but don't know how to assemble them.
The entire documentary was a bit disappointing, because it's an interesting "true" story and it just seems to sensationalize a woman who comes off quite full of herself.
...........................................................................................
Film 355
"Career Opportunities"
starring: Jennifer Connelly, Frank Whaley, Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney
directed by: Bryan Gordon
written by: John Hughes
As a screenwriter, John Hughes knew the formula to write perfect, teen movies that have certainly lasted through the ages. Let's take a quick look at his track record:
Mr. Mom (classic)
Sixteen Candles (do I have to say anything)
The Breakfast Club (enough said)
Weird Science
Pretty in Pink
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (one of the best)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (love it)
Uncle Buck (not loved enough)
Home Alone (really, truly, didn't even know he wrote it)
Dutch (hilarious)
Curly Sue (cute and lovable)
....and then there's "Career Opportunities"
This is a film that sort of takes some of the good parts of a few of his movies and puts them into one constantly decent piece of work, although it definitely was a swing and a miss when you compare it with the breadth of his other films.
Frank Whaley plays the "Ferris Bueller" type character (in fact, one could almost assume this is what he would have grown up to be like if we'd traveled into the future) named Jim Dodge. He's a 21 year old with absolutely no drive or ambition. He lives at home, has to pay his parents rent because they're just fed up with his antics of drifting by. He doesn't really hold a consist job. We meet him at the tail end of a job (he didn't like anyway) and then he quickly gets a job at Target (whoa! I honestly didn't know Target stores were even around in the late 80s and early 90s- color me surprised). Although, the manager thinks he is there for a different position, Jim goes along with the misrepresentation (he's kind of a liar), but is soon found out and all he can get is a third shift store janitor job, which he takes. At least he doesn't seem to be picky.
And then we meet Jennifer Connelly's character! She was actually 21 years old at the time and he biggest film at that point was "Labyrinth" with David Bowie. Jennifer Connelly certainly was an absolutely stunningly gorgeous young lady (and she has certainly aged quite well, now in her 40s and still looking amazing). She's the daughter of a very wealthy man, but she wants to be a bit of a rebel. She goes shopping at Target (really?) on this particular day that Jim has started working, with the intent of shoplifting, but she has a conscious and just cannot bring herself to do it. She hides in the dressing room while battling her conscious (which by the way probably would've made an interesting side-story or rest of the film). Jim stumbles upon her after he's finished his entire obligation to cleaning the store (which apparently took less than an hour) and then there's a montage of him using all the merchandise he can find (re: rollerskates). Then, the two have the obligatory "Breakfast Club" like conversations about themselves and their lives. Since John Hughes has already written that film, he decides to throw a wrench in their love story and he injects a couple of bumbling burglars (one of them happens to be Dermot Mulroney- whoa!). Things go awry and Jim Dodge actually has to step up and play the hero, which he's not used to doing, and of course he gets the girl, because if there's anything John Hughes wants us to believe, it's that the underdog always wins!
It's definitely a feel-good, entertaining film. It will make you laugh at some points. The characters are likable, even though maybe they shouldn't be. And it shouldn't be forgotten that Jennifer Connelly is absolutely gorgeous, especially in this film, and it's like the director knew that for sure, because he certainly focuses on her red lips and ample chest throughout the film.
.....................................................................................................
Film 356
"Confined"
starring: Emma Caulfield, Michael Hogan, David James Elliott, Paul McGillion, Melanie Papalia
Here is another made-for-TV movie, with a bit of a "Rear Window" twist to it and the acting is far better than the aforementioned made-for-TV film at the beginning of this blog entry. It stars Emma Caulfield, whom I've always thought was a decent actress (with a great singing voice, by the way) thanks to her tenure on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"- one of my all-time favorite shows- as Anya. In this movie she plays Victoria Peyton. She's a stressed out architect, whom it seems has made her family relocate from the big, loud city to the quiet, subdued suburbs- after the obligatory nervous breakdown (which comes in handy when nobody really believes her as she tries to explain the weirdness she witnesses from her next door neighbors.
It starts with Victoria (Caulfield) spying her already-creepy neighbor, old man Fritz Wolfram (Michael Hogan) dragging a giant trashbag through his backyard in the middle of the night. This sends up a red flag for Victoria and she starts to do some investigating on her own. She even drags a friend of hers into it all, because she thinks Wolfran is keeping someone in his basement. Victoria's family dismisses her concern as just her boredom (she stays at home all day now) and the work of her over-active imagination. Then, Victoria steps up to find things out for herself and come to find out the truth of it all is a lot more terrifying than she signed up for.
Overall, it's a much better produced made-for-TV movie. I was drawn in right from the start. I was a decent way to spend about an hour and a half. Go figure, especially since it's the same film studio that made the aforementioned Lifetime movie.
"Abducted" (TV movie)
starring: Lauren Holly, Kaylee DeFer, Joe Lando
I guess 1 out of 3 isn't too bad, as far as finding and watching made-for-TV movies. Unfortunately, in this case, I'm not saying this is the good one. In fact, it's probably on my list of the worst films I've watched (for this project, or even ever, and that's saying a lot because I've seen thousands upon thousands of movies, I think). It's terrible in probably every imaginable way, and that's even taking into account that it's a Lifetime TV movie, so you already have to give it a little bit of slack.
Lauren Holly is all kinds of awful and definitely overacts throughout the whole thing (from being scared to being bitchy to being the female heroine). She plays Suzanne Hollingsworth, a real estate tycoon who's rich by default, thanks to her family, but it seems like she's a bitch all on her own. She has a big mouth and she's very bossy, especially to her young assistant, Rebecca (played by Kaylee DeFer), who seems to take it all in stride.
This movie is all kinds of unbelievable circumstances. After Hollingsworth gets laid-over in Detroit (really?!), she stays at a hotel that is less than appealing to this rich bitch, but somehow she doesn't complain (too much). I'm sure someone with her family connections and money could make something happen for herself. So, why doesn't she? Anyway, her hotel neighbors are loud, because, get this- they are sex traffickers who have kidnapped a group of naive and ridiculous girls (under the guise of entering them into a model competition). Suzanne gets kidnapped as well, after barging in on them in the middle of roughing up one of the girls. They take her to the other girls at an abandoned building in the middle of Detroit. In the meantime, she's made it known to her assistant, Rebecca, whom she's also fired, after deeming her unworthy of being her lowly assistant. And so, Rebecca takes to the case, with some help from a means-well guy, who pretty much takes a backseat and is there for the ride and moral support, because let's face it, this is a Lifetime movie, so the women are the heroes.
It's all quite ridiculous, but I powered through it, knowing exactly what was going to happen, but wishing the script could've been so much better. What get what you deserve in TV movies. It doesn't help that the poster is completely deceiving, and makes it look a lot grittier than it actually is, but again, it's just a TV movie.
What happened to Lauren Holly? She spent a good deal of time on NCIS as well as Chicago Hope, although she's never really shown herself to be a bankable star, so she's kept a rather low profile in the industry. I loved her in "Dumb and Dumber" as well as "Beautiful Girls" (which is one of my favorite movies).
Avoid this one at all costs.
..................................................................................
Film 352
"EM"
starring: Nathan Wetherington, Stef Willen, Sean Kaysen, Bre Blair, Jenny Gabrielle, John Colton
written and directed by: Tony Barbieri
Tony Barbieri is a seasoned writer and director now, with "EM" being his third indie film. He has the credibility now, too.
I like how he chose to begin the film, with a simple amount of eye contact between the two lead characters: Josh (who reminded me of a poor man's version Mark Ruffalo, especially in the way he talks and his mannerisms in certain scenes) and Amanda (Stef Willen, who is good looking, in an understated way, perfect for her role- she's just mildly plain, but that's okay). They are at an airport, in the baggage claim area and they connect. They go from eye contact to the sheets pretty damn quickly, and then they are talking about favorite literature as post-coital conversation. And then, they're moving in together. It all seems really quickly (and trust me, I'm someone who knows a thing or two about making rushed decisions, thanks to mistakes I've made). Barbieri, though, pays no mind in affording the audience any true sense of order and proper background information, because it doesn't seem all that important to the story. Time lapses, too.
Josh adores the mostly quiet, compliant Em (as he calls her) from the start and continues to; it’s as if he’s been waiting all his life for this woman and now considers his life complete. But after exhibiting mild hints of distraction, Em suddenly lands in hospital, and Josh is informed she’s got a bipolar condition heretofore resistant to medical treatment. The flaw in not given much or any background for either character is that we are seemingly hit in the head with a hammer by Em's disorder. Perhaps that's the point. The film is definitely about how a person in love chooses to handle and passively cope with someone who has a mental disorder. Josh is constantly supportive, but also blind to the real danger. Told by a shrink that they need to separate for Em’s own good, Josh never asks her what she feels about it or anything about her past, and evinces no interest in researching her disease. Josh’s willful naivete and inaction, along with his difficulty in understanding that love may not be enough in this case, provide a growing source of frustration.
The film is carried by the emotional inertia, mostly in connection to Josh. We get the sense, though, that without Em, there would be no Josh. He seems to only want to exist for Em, even when she's clearly done with him, which is disappointing, perhaps, because Josh seems to think he deserves to have love, but why does it have to be Em? He even goes on a couple of other dates, but he's obsessed with Em, and that's it. He cannot get over her, even though, it's in his best interest, after all, some people are just not meant to be together. And that's okay.
This is a great, emotional indie film.
.............................................................................
Film 353
"Dealin' with Idiots"
starring: Jeff Garlin, Dave Sheridan, Brad Morris, Hope Dworaczyk, Kerri Kenney, Steve Agee, Fred Willard, Bob Odenkirk, J.B. Smoove, Jami Gertz, Gina Gershon
written, directed, and produced by: Jeff Garlin
If you are familiar with Jeff Garlin and/or his comedy, then I think you would enjoy this film and its pace as well as its content. Garlin has made himself famous thanks in large part to his role as a secondary, yet important character in Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (of which I've only seen a few episodes here and there, but I like what I saw). This film definitely plans like an episode of that show...or even an episode of "Seinfeld." Garlin wrote the character of Max Morris specifically for himself. Morris is a comedian, a husband and a father. The story finds Max in between jobs and he really wants inspiration for a new film that he wants to write. He quickly finds inspiration while sitting in the bleachers of his son's little league baseball games and practices, because he observes the parents and/or adults as just slightly crazy (he's not wrong either). Max's idea is to spend some time with each parent and just get to know them through conversations and a little bit of time with them. It's all for research purposes, for his film, but you definitely get the sense that he wants to feel better about himself as a human being, but mostly as a parent by comparing himself to all the other parents, whom he deems as idiots (and again, he's not completely wrong, because each character is almost as ridiculous as the next one).
In between scenes at the ballpark, watching his son play baseball and feeling sorry for him and himself, we are presented with vignettes that seem real because they are equally uncomfortable and awkward for everyone involved. The cast of characters that Max researches include:
the coach (of both teams) who is also the manager of a Kinko's-type copy place (played by Bob Odenkirk, rather well). He's really pathetic.
a nutrition enthusiast/team mother (played by Jami Gertz) who insists on 100% parent participation and comes off as that overbearing mother who just won't take no for an answer and always gets her way (probably because people just get tired of listening to her)
a bickering lesbian couple (played by Gina Gershon and Kerri Kenney, from "Reno 911")
a gorgeous, modelesque nanny (played by Playboy Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk), whom Max cannot seem to muster the courage to say more than a couple of awkward, stuttered sentences to
a pathetic dad/husband (played strategically well by none other than Richard Kind, you probably know him better from "Mad About You")
Just to seem more like a film/story with a point or just a little bit of heart, Max also has random encounters with his ghost father (played by a graying Timothy Olyphant) at the ballpark which put things in perspective for Max. It's kind of his way of having his "Field of Dreams" moments in his own film.
It's an enjoyable film, if you know what you're getting into with Jeff Garlin.
...........................................................................................
Film 354
"Tabloid"
starring: Joyce McKinney, Peter Tory, Troy Williams, Jackson Shaw, Kent Gavin
directed by: Errol Morris
The subject of Errol Morris' new documentary is an ex-beauty pageant queen who was arrested in the late 1970s for kidnapping her Mormon "boyfriend, who happened to disappear on some kind of mission. Joyce wanted the love of her life (supposedly) and so with Errol Morris' documentary we get a detailed interview-style account of the entire debacle. It's funny that she comes off as not wanting that much attention, because all of her actions prove otherwise. As Joyce McKinney is retelling her side of the story, which is kind of the only side presented here (because the Mormon in question is no where to be found in this documentary- who knows why).
Joyce McKinney, now in her early sixties, a North Carolinian would-be femme fatale, is at the center of Errol Morris’s strange documentary, in which Miss McKinney chronicles her 1977 adventures, when she pursued a fleeing Mormon lover to London, hauled him off at gunpoint to a house in Devon, and had sex with him for three days, during which time he may or may not have been chained to a bed. When they returned to London—according to her, to get married—he fled again, McKinney was arrested for kidnapping, and, to her great pleasure, she became a tabloid sensation. She eats up the attention throughout the whole process (trial and documentary). She is always smiling, always playing for the camera. It's annoying.
Morris’s subject is sexual fantasy and a particular kind of American stupidity—the ability to substitute self-justification for self-knowledge. His tone is merry. There are montages of newspaper clippings and funny little animated episodes. The movie’s over-all metaphor is bondage—McKinney’s possible handling of her lover; her way of making money when she was young; her enthrallment to her image of herself as the heroine of a grand passion. The movie’s buried joke is that this lifelong sex queen is very likely not a sexual person at all.
A few questions come up: Is McKinney speaking the truth when she gives her version of the story? Or are the other versions offered by Morris more accurate? I believe Morris doesn't think it matters. It is Joyce McKinney he cares about. How she presents herself, how she copes, who she is to herself, what she does to explain a bizarre and contradictory story. Watching the film is a tantalizing experience. Everything seems right here within our grasp, like truth in a philosophy class. Yet there are so many questions that cast truth into doubt. When you leave at the end, you may feel you have the necessary materials, but don't know how to assemble them.
The entire documentary was a bit disappointing, because it's an interesting "true" story and it just seems to sensationalize a woman who comes off quite full of herself.
...........................................................................................
Film 355
"Career Opportunities"
starring: Jennifer Connelly, Frank Whaley, Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney
directed by: Bryan Gordon
written by: John Hughes
As a screenwriter, John Hughes knew the formula to write perfect, teen movies that have certainly lasted through the ages. Let's take a quick look at his track record:
Mr. Mom (classic)
Sixteen Candles (do I have to say anything)
The Breakfast Club (enough said)
Weird Science
Pretty in Pink
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (one of the best)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (love it)
Uncle Buck (not loved enough)
Home Alone (really, truly, didn't even know he wrote it)
Dutch (hilarious)
Curly Sue (cute and lovable)
....and then there's "Career Opportunities"
This is a film that sort of takes some of the good parts of a few of his movies and puts them into one constantly decent piece of work, although it definitely was a swing and a miss when you compare it with the breadth of his other films.
Frank Whaley plays the "Ferris Bueller" type character (in fact, one could almost assume this is what he would have grown up to be like if we'd traveled into the future) named Jim Dodge. He's a 21 year old with absolutely no drive or ambition. He lives at home, has to pay his parents rent because they're just fed up with his antics of drifting by. He doesn't really hold a consist job. We meet him at the tail end of a job (he didn't like anyway) and then he quickly gets a job at Target (whoa! I honestly didn't know Target stores were even around in the late 80s and early 90s- color me surprised). Although, the manager thinks he is there for a different position, Jim goes along with the misrepresentation (he's kind of a liar), but is soon found out and all he can get is a third shift store janitor job, which he takes. At least he doesn't seem to be picky.
And then we meet Jennifer Connelly's character! She was actually 21 years old at the time and he biggest film at that point was "Labyrinth" with David Bowie. Jennifer Connelly certainly was an absolutely stunningly gorgeous young lady (and she has certainly aged quite well, now in her 40s and still looking amazing). She's the daughter of a very wealthy man, but she wants to be a bit of a rebel. She goes shopping at Target (really?) on this particular day that Jim has started working, with the intent of shoplifting, but she has a conscious and just cannot bring herself to do it. She hides in the dressing room while battling her conscious (which by the way probably would've made an interesting side-story or rest of the film). Jim stumbles upon her after he's finished his entire obligation to cleaning the store (which apparently took less than an hour) and then there's a montage of him using all the merchandise he can find (re: rollerskates). Then, the two have the obligatory "Breakfast Club" like conversations about themselves and their lives. Since John Hughes has already written that film, he decides to throw a wrench in their love story and he injects a couple of bumbling burglars (one of them happens to be Dermot Mulroney- whoa!). Things go awry and Jim Dodge actually has to step up and play the hero, which he's not used to doing, and of course he gets the girl, because if there's anything John Hughes wants us to believe, it's that the underdog always wins!
It's definitely a feel-good, entertaining film. It will make you laugh at some points. The characters are likable, even though maybe they shouldn't be. And it shouldn't be forgotten that Jennifer Connelly is absolutely gorgeous, especially in this film, and it's like the director knew that for sure, because he certainly focuses on her red lips and ample chest throughout the film.
.....................................................................................................
Film 356
"Confined"
starring: Emma Caulfield, Michael Hogan, David James Elliott, Paul McGillion, Melanie Papalia
Here is another made-for-TV movie, with a bit of a "Rear Window" twist to it and the acting is far better than the aforementioned made-for-TV film at the beginning of this blog entry. It stars Emma Caulfield, whom I've always thought was a decent actress (with a great singing voice, by the way) thanks to her tenure on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"- one of my all-time favorite shows- as Anya. In this movie she plays Victoria Peyton. She's a stressed out architect, whom it seems has made her family relocate from the big, loud city to the quiet, subdued suburbs- after the obligatory nervous breakdown (which comes in handy when nobody really believes her as she tries to explain the weirdness she witnesses from her next door neighbors.
It starts with Victoria (Caulfield) spying her already-creepy neighbor, old man Fritz Wolfram (Michael Hogan) dragging a giant trashbag through his backyard in the middle of the night. This sends up a red flag for Victoria and she starts to do some investigating on her own. She even drags a friend of hers into it all, because she thinks Wolfran is keeping someone in his basement. Victoria's family dismisses her concern as just her boredom (she stays at home all day now) and the work of her over-active imagination. Then, Victoria steps up to find things out for herself and come to find out the truth of it all is a lot more terrifying than she signed up for.
Overall, it's a much better produced made-for-TV movie. I was drawn in right from the start. I was a decent way to spend about an hour and a half. Go figure, especially since it's the same film studio that made the aforementioned Lifetime movie.
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