You never see the color blue in “Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies,” an unassuming slice-of-life family drama in brittle black and white. But Edward Burns still dares you to imagine the soothing shade stretching over the nearly identical middle-class homes of a commuter town outside of New York, symmetrically assembled with unexceptional yards rubbing shoulders with one another. For a film that has more quiet distress than cheeriness in store, this resembles an ironically happy image once considered in color. But through a low-key rhythm that informs much of his fiercely independent work, including that of “The Brothers McMullen” (the actor-writer-director’s 1995 Sundance-winning breakout),
Attentively shot by William Rexer with elegant lighting and deep contrasts — a sweeping look in a modestly-scoped film that warrants a big screen — it all starts with alcohol inside a domesticated kitchen that could be out of a “Pleasantville”-ish 1950s. We watch as Tina mixes...
Attentively shot by William Rexer with elegant lighting and deep contrasts — a sweeping look in a modestly-scoped film that warrants a big screen — it all starts with alcohol inside a domesticated kitchen that could be out of a “Pleasantville”-ish 1950s. We watch as Tina mixes...
- 9/25/2019
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Agent Marie Perry has joined Gersh to serve as the newly created head of the Commercial Production Division. She will rep below-the-line talent with an emphasis on commercials and music videos. She is bringing to Gersh a client list that includes Crille Forsberg ("Cadillac" for director Joseph Kosinski), David Lanzenberg (Age Of Adaline for director Lee Toland Krieger, a Lionsgate feature with Blake Lively), William Rexer (Public Morals for Ed Burns/TNT), Ross…...
- 3/23/2015
- Deadline TV
Written and directed by, and starring the great Ed Burns, The Fitzgerald Family Christmas looks to be a solid drama worth heading out into the cold for this holiday season.
Arriving on VoD later this month, and released in Us theatres early next, the film sees Burns reuniting him with Connie Britton, who’s starred in a handful of Burns’ earlier films, and now EW have released a new poster for the film.
“With The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, Burns returns to the working-class, Irish-American roots of The Brothers McMullen. Reuniting with McMullen co-stars Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), and Mike McGlone, along with Noah Emmerich (Little Children, Beautiful Girls) and Kerry Bishe (Newlyweds, Red State), Burns seamlessly weaves an ensemble story of adult siblings dealing with the desire of their estranged father (Ed Lauter, The Artist, The Longest Yard) to return home for Christmas for the first time since he...
Arriving on VoD later this month, and released in Us theatres early next, the film sees Burns reuniting him with Connie Britton, who’s starred in a handful of Burns’ earlier films, and now EW have released a new poster for the film.
“With The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, Burns returns to the working-class, Irish-American roots of The Brothers McMullen. Reuniting with McMullen co-stars Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), and Mike McGlone, along with Noah Emmerich (Little Children, Beautiful Girls) and Kerry Bishe (Newlyweds, Red State), Burns seamlessly weaves an ensemble story of adult siblings dealing with the desire of their estranged father (Ed Lauter, The Artist, The Longest Yard) to return home for Christmas for the first time since he...
- 11/9/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
By Allen Gardner
A Separation (Sony) This drama from Iran won the 2011 Best Foreign Film Oscar, telling the story of a couple who file for a legal separation, with the wife pushing for a divorce. He won’t leave his Alzheimer’s-afflicted father behind, while she is wanting to take their young daughter with her to the United States. After a series of misunderstandings, threats and legal actions, the couple find that there is more than just their marriage that’s on the line. Hyper-realistic to a fault, reminiscent of the neo-realist films that came out of post-ww II Europe, but also repressive and redundant in the extreme, with the characters seeming to throw the same temper tantrum for two hours straight while the story, meanwhile, seems stalled. Wildly overpraised film is a real litmus test, with viewers seeming to be staunch defenders or equally impassioned detractors. It did win an Oscar,...
A Separation (Sony) This drama from Iran won the 2011 Best Foreign Film Oscar, telling the story of a couple who file for a legal separation, with the wife pushing for a divorce. He won’t leave his Alzheimer’s-afflicted father behind, while she is wanting to take their young daughter with her to the United States. After a series of misunderstandings, threats and legal actions, the couple find that there is more than just their marriage that’s on the line. Hyper-realistic to a fault, reminiscent of the neo-realist films that came out of post-ww II Europe, but also repressive and redundant in the extreme, with the characters seeming to throw the same temper tantrum for two hours straight while the story, meanwhile, seems stalled. Wildly overpraised film is a real litmus test, with viewers seeming to be staunch defenders or equally impassioned detractors. It did win an Oscar,...
- 8/1/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Chicago – The cover of “Friends with Kids” sells it as a fun ensemble comedy with three cast members from “Bridesmaids,” one of the stars of “Parks and Recreation,” and the super-talented Jon Hamm looking particularly cheery. It’s false advertising. In truth, the movie belongs to Adam Scott and co-star/writer/director Jennifer Westfeldt and even the small roles by the rest of the cast are often more dramatic than comedic. Even without the false bill of goods, “Friends with Kids” is a disappointing. It’s a strong vehicle for Scott and Hamm has a few good scenes but it’s ultimately less than the sum of its talented parts.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
I think the problem with “Friends with Kids” is that it’s a film that fails the classic “write what you know” test. Westfeldt has crafted a story about how parenthood changes relationships but she’s not a parent herself.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
I think the problem with “Friends with Kids” is that it’s a film that fails the classic “write what you know” test. Westfeldt has crafted a story about how parenthood changes relationships but she’s not a parent herself.
- 7/31/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Pick of the Week
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952)
Director: Stanley Donen
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Story: Hollywood, 1927: the silent-film romantic team of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is the toast of Tinseltown. While Lockwood and Lamont personify smoldering passions onscreen, in real life the down-to-earth Lockwood can't stand the egotistical, brainless Lina. He prefers the company of aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), whom he met while escaping his screaming fans.
On the Disc:
The 60th anniversary edition comes with all the special features included on earlier releases, plus a new documentary on how the choreography of the film changed dance forever.
Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: N/A
Where to get it
Amazon: Blu-ray - $13.86, Digital Download - $9.99, Digital Rental - $2.99
Apple: Digital Download - $9.99, Digital Rental - $2.99 (HD: $3.99)
Netflix Instant: Not available
"Lockout" (2012)
Director: James Mather, Stephen Stain Leger
Cast: Guy Pearce,...
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952)
Director: Stanley Donen
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
Story: Hollywood, 1927: the silent-film romantic team of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) is the toast of Tinseltown. While Lockwood and Lamont personify smoldering passions onscreen, in real life the down-to-earth Lockwood can't stand the egotistical, brainless Lina. He prefers the company of aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), whom he met while escaping his screaming fans.
On the Disc:
The 60th anniversary edition comes with all the special features included on earlier releases, plus a new documentary on how the choreography of the film changed dance forever.
Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: N/A
Where to get it
Amazon: Blu-ray - $13.86, Digital Download - $9.99, Digital Rental - $2.99
Apple: Digital Download - $9.99, Digital Rental - $2.99 (HD: $3.99)
Netflix Instant: Not available
"Lockout" (2012)
Director: James Mather, Stephen Stain Leger
Cast: Guy Pearce,...
- 7/17/2012
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
Credit William Rexer Caitlin Fitzgerald and Edward Burns in “Newlyweds” distributed by Tribeca Film.
Several years ago, I had just completed a screenplay which I planned to direct, so I headed out to La for a series of meetings with a number of financiers, hoping to get the funding needed to get the film off the ground.
As I went, hat in hand, practically begging these guys to finance my movie, I was becoming increasingly frustrated as the terms of...
Several years ago, I had just completed a screenplay which I planned to direct, so I headed out to La for a series of meetings with a number of financiers, hoping to get the funding needed to get the film off the ground.
As I went, hat in hand, practically begging these guys to finance my movie, I was becoming increasingly frustrated as the terms of...
- 1/12/2012
- by Edward Burns
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
The Newlyweds comedy-drama starring Edward Burns, will be distributed by Tribeca Films, picking up U.S. and Canadian rights, reports Variety. The film was the closing night selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Burns wrote, directs and stars in Newlyweds which tells of a newlywed couple whose honeymoon is disrupted by the grooms younger sister as well as the failing marriage of his in-laws. Also in the cast are Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishe. Burns produced Newlyweds with William Rexer, Aaron Lubin and executive producer Mike Harrop.
- 8/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Newlyweds comedy-drama starring Edward Burns, will be distributed by Tribeca Films, picking up U.S. and Canadian rights, reports Variety. The film was the closing night selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Burns wrote, directs and stars in Newlyweds which tells of a newlywed couple whose honeymoon is disrupted by the grooms younger sister as well as the failing marriage of his in-laws. Also in the cast are Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishe. Burns produced Newlyweds with William Rexer, Aaron Lubin and executive producer Mike Harrop.
- 8/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Newlyweds comedy-drama starring Edward Burns, will be distributed by Tribeca Films, picking up U.S. and Canadian rights, reports Variety. The film was the closing night selection of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. Burns wrote, directs and stars in Newlyweds which tells of a newlywed couple whose honeymoon is disrupted by the grooms younger sister as well as the failing marriage of his in-laws. Also in the cast are Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishe. Burns produced Newlyweds with William Rexer, Aaron Lubin and executive producer Mike Harrop.
- 8/4/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The Tribeca Film Festival will close its 10th edition with the world premiere of Edward Burns’ “Newlyweds.” The film will premiere Saturday, April 30, at Bmcc Tpac.
“Newlyweds” is the 10th film written and directed by Burns and the sixth to premiere at Tff. Burns, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, has had a strong connection with Tff since its founding. “Ash Wednesday” world premiered as part of the inaugural Tff lineup in 2002, and “Looking for Kitty,” “Purple Violets” and “Nice Guy Johnny” have also been festival premieres over subsequent years.
The film, shot almost exclusively in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood, is a chronicle of modern marriage, pointing out an essential truth: When you get married, you’re not just getting a husband or wife—you’re getting the family, the friends, and even the exes. The cast includes Burns, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishé.
“Newlyweds” is the 10th film written and directed by Burns and the sixth to premiere at Tff. Burns, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, has had a strong connection with Tff since its founding. “Ash Wednesday” world premiered as part of the inaugural Tff lineup in 2002, and “Looking for Kitty,” “Purple Violets” and “Nice Guy Johnny” have also been festival premieres over subsequent years.
The film, shot almost exclusively in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood, is a chronicle of modern marriage, pointing out an essential truth: When you get married, you’re not just getting a husband or wife—you’re getting the family, the friends, and even the exes. The cast includes Burns, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishé.
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
The Tribeca Film Festival will close its 10th edition with the world premiere of Edward Burns’ “Newlyweds.” The film will premiere Saturday, April 30, at Bmcc Tpac.
“Newlyweds” is the 10th film written and directed by Burns and the sixth to premiere at Tff. Burns, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, has had a strong connection with Tff since its founding. “Ash Wednesday” world premiered as part of the inaugural Tff lineup in 2002, and “Looking for Kitty,” “Purple Violets” and “Nice Guy Johnny” have also been festival premieres over subsequent years.
The film, shot almost exclusively in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood, is a chronicle of modern marriage, pointing out an essential truth: When you get married, you’re not just getting a husband or wife—you’re getting the family, the friends, and even the exes. The cast includes Burns, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishé.
“Newlyweds” is the 10th film written and directed by Burns and the sixth to premiere at Tff. Burns, who wrote, directed and stars in the film, has had a strong connection with Tff since its founding. “Ash Wednesday” world premiered as part of the inaugural Tff lineup in 2002, and “Looking for Kitty,” “Purple Violets” and “Nice Guy Johnny” have also been festival premieres over subsequent years.
The film, shot almost exclusively in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood, is a chronicle of modern marriage, pointing out an essential truth: When you get married, you’re not just getting a husband or wife—you’re getting the family, the friends, and even the exes. The cast includes Burns, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Max Baker, Marsha Dietlein Bennett and Kerry Bishé.
- 3/28/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Sneak Peek the comedy feature "Nice Guy Johnny", from Marlboro Road Gang Productions, written, directed and produced by Edward Burns. Aaron Lubin and William Rexer also produce with co-producers Benjamin Cheah, Mike Harrop and Nicolas Newbold.
Burns co-stars in the film as 'Uncle Terry', alongside Matt Bush as 'Johnny Rizzo', Kerry Bishe as 'Brooke', Max Baker as 'Max', Anna Wood as 'Claire', Brian Delate as 'Frank', Marsha Dietlein as 'Nicole' and Jay Patterson as 'Dr. Meadows'.
"...Sure, she can be a little overbearing sometimes, but baby-faced 'Johnny Rizzo' loves his fiancée 'Claire and he made her a promise: by the time he's 25-years-old, he'll trade his current dream job as a local sports talk radio host (even if it is the 2 a.m. slot) for something that'll pay bigger bucks. And Johnny's nothing, if not a man of his word.
"Now he's flying to New York to interview for some...
Burns co-stars in the film as 'Uncle Terry', alongside Matt Bush as 'Johnny Rizzo', Kerry Bishe as 'Brooke', Max Baker as 'Max', Anna Wood as 'Claire', Brian Delate as 'Frank', Marsha Dietlein as 'Nicole' and Jay Patterson as 'Dr. Meadows'.
"...Sure, she can be a little overbearing sometimes, but baby-faced 'Johnny Rizzo' loves his fiancée 'Claire and he made her a promise: by the time he's 25-years-old, he'll trade his current dream job as a local sports talk radio host (even if it is the 2 a.m. slot) for something that'll pay bigger bucks. And Johnny's nothing, if not a man of his word.
"Now he's flying to New York to interview for some...
- 10/21/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Reviewed at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival.
There is a natural analogy to be made between "Ceremony" executive producer Jason Reitman and director Max Winkler, son of Henry, but that's probably not the one either would want to hear first. It's a good thing then that Max also happens to share Reitman's eye and ear as a filmmaker, making his first feature, after honing his skills on Web series like "Clark and Michael" and "Wainy Days," the promise of greater things. However, their styles shouldn't be confused as Winkler seems to come more from the Wes Anderson/Whit Stillman school where style is dictated by dialogue, the energy of the scenes derived from the rat-a-tat rhythm of its players who exist in a reality that's only partially identifiable to our own.
This is immediately evident when we meet Michael Angarano's Sam Davis, a character who has wandered out from the...
There is a natural analogy to be made between "Ceremony" executive producer Jason Reitman and director Max Winkler, son of Henry, but that's probably not the one either would want to hear first. It's a good thing then that Max also happens to share Reitman's eye and ear as a filmmaker, making his first feature, after honing his skills on Web series like "Clark and Michael" and "Wainy Days," the promise of greater things. However, their styles shouldn't be confused as Winkler seems to come more from the Wes Anderson/Whit Stillman school where style is dictated by dialogue, the energy of the scenes derived from the rat-a-tat rhythm of its players who exist in a reality that's only partially identifiable to our own.
This is immediately evident when we meet Michael Angarano's Sam Davis, a character who has wandered out from the...
- 9/16/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Translated, Jangaweed means "devil on horseback." The Jangaweed burn, shoot, rape, slaughter and pillage the western part of Sudan, Darfur. They are the Arab militia supported by the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and bent on wiping out the African and Christian population of Sudan.
In this scorching documentary, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg document the genocide perpetrated in that African nation, where more than 400,000 non-Arab people have been slaughtered. Nearly 3 million have been forced from their homes.
Filtered through the eyes of a gallant ex-Marine, Capt. Brian Steidle, who served as a military observer with the African Union in the western part of Sudan, the docu is an unnervingly powerful picture of atrocity. Steidle documented the unspeakable cruelty in more than 1,000 pictures that inspired a New York Times expose.
The Devil on Horseback is a cinematic salvo of heart-breaking interviews, onsite footage and pictures of unimaginable carnage. It is a powerful warning of another Rwanda in the making -- another one that world powers have not acted on. The U.N. Security Council has issued nine resolutions condemning the atrocities, all with abstentions from China, which has massive oil interests in the region. Sudan thumbs its nose, and the U.N. backs off.
Perhaps this powerful docu, to air this year on HBO, will spur action from more effective entities. Meanwhile, famished Darfur citizens pour into poverty-stricken, barren eastern Chad, living in refugee camps and searching for family members.
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
A Break Thru Films production in association withGlobal Grassroots & Three Generations
Credits:
Producers: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells
Screenwriters-directors: Anne Sundberg, Ricki Stern
Directors of photography: Jerry Risius, Phil Cox, Tim Hetherington, William Rexer II, Anne Sundberg, John Keith Wasson
Editor: Joey Grossfield
Music: Paul Brill
Cast:
Brian Steidle: Brian Steidle
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In this scorching documentary, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg document the genocide perpetrated in that African nation, where more than 400,000 non-Arab people have been slaughtered. Nearly 3 million have been forced from their homes.
Filtered through the eyes of a gallant ex-Marine, Capt. Brian Steidle, who served as a military observer with the African Union in the western part of Sudan, the docu is an unnervingly powerful picture of atrocity. Steidle documented the unspeakable cruelty in more than 1,000 pictures that inspired a New York Times expose.
The Devil on Horseback is a cinematic salvo of heart-breaking interviews, onsite footage and pictures of unimaginable carnage. It is a powerful warning of another Rwanda in the making -- another one that world powers have not acted on. The U.N. Security Council has issued nine resolutions condemning the atrocities, all with abstentions from China, which has massive oil interests in the region. Sudan thumbs its nose, and the U.N. backs off.
Perhaps this powerful docu, to air this year on HBO, will spur action from more effective entities. Meanwhile, famished Darfur citizens pour into poverty-stricken, barren eastern Chad, living in refugee camps and searching for family members.
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
A Break Thru Films production in association withGlobal Grassroots & Three Generations
Credits:
Producers: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg, Gretchen Wallace, Jane Wells
Screenwriters-directors: Anne Sundberg, Ricki Stern
Directors of photography: Jerry Risius, Phil Cox, Tim Hetherington, William Rexer II, Anne Sundberg, John Keith Wasson
Editor: Joey Grossfield
Music: Paul Brill
Cast:
Brian Steidle: Brian Steidle
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the theatrical release of "I Think I Love My Wife".In "I Think I Love My Wife", Chris Rock does something entirely unexpected. He isn't funny.
No doubt Rock -- who directed, co-wrote, co-produced and stars in the comedy -- is trying to stretch. He is not thoroughly convincing as a buppie, married with children, but you would feel much better about the role if his mischievous sense of humor had come along. When Edward Herrmann has the most amusing line, something is seriously wrong.
Playing a henpecked, straightforward investment banker unable to make any move whatsoever with a gorgeous and willing dream girl is not what Chris Rock's fan base will expect. Again, if he were funny, that might not matter. Because he is not, boxoffice for this Fox Searchlight release might suffer.
Rock insists that his film is based on the last film of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, "Chloe in the Afternoon", a French New Wave film made 35 years ago. Actually all he borrows is the premise: A happily married, bourgeois businessman daydreams about other women but has no intention of following through on any of these afternoon delights. Then an old friend, a former girlfriend of a buddy from the past, drops by his office with seduction on her mind.
There are a couple of odds things even about how the premise develops in this movie, however. For one, if Rock's Richard Cooper is as happily married as he says he is, why does wife Brenda (Gina Torres) refuse to have sex with him, and why is the couple in therapy? Also, what kind of "old friend" is Kerry Washington's Nikki? When Richard was sowing his wild oats as a young man in his 20s, Nikki would have been in junior high.
But never mind the details; let's go looking for laughs.
After re-entering his life, Nikki appears at Richard's office at all hours in outfits more appropriate for nightclubbing. Before you know it, he goes AWOL on clients and associates as Nikki leads him around town by his, um, nose. But they remain just friends. So far, all situation no comedy.
One night, Nikki persuades Richard to slip away from home for a rendezvous at a nightclub. She never turns up, and he gets stoned with a couple of salesgirls. No yucks here.
Another time, Nikki forces Richard to accompany her on a shuttle flight to D.C. to sneak her things out of the apartment of a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend arrives home unexpectedly, smacks Richard around, the police arrive, and shots are fired. No laughs here. Worse, there are no repercussions: Richard and Nikki slip out the door without the police noticing they fled the scene.
The sole dramatic tension in the story stems from the will-they-or-won't-they question that hovers over the Richard-Nikki relationship. Few are going to care as character motivation is seriously lacking in a script Rock wrote with Louis C.K.
Why don't the married couple have sex? Brenda seems to love her man, and she certainly fights to keep him. Why after all these years does Nikki turn up? She seems to have nothing more on her mind than playing him for all he's worth. For that matter, why does Richard seem terrified of all women, even his secretary?
The script could have developed genuine inner conflict in its hero -- a family man devoted to his young children but with a frigid wife and possibly a hot mistress -- but never does. All of which leaves the three main actors playing very tentative characters. There is clarity with two of Rock's office comrades: Steve Buscemi as a womanizing married man and Herrmann as a stuffy boss. But these fine character actors are wasted on such lightweight roles.
As a director, Rock has little visual flair, so the film looks clumsy and stilted. Solid location work in and around New York does give designer Sharon Lomofsky something to work with while Suzanne McCabe has fun with all the revealing and stylish costumes for Washington.
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight and UTV Motion Pictures present a Zahrlo production
Credits:
Director: Chris Rock
Screenwriters: Chris Rock, Louis C.K.
Based on a film by: Eric Rohmer
Producers: Chris Rock, Lisa Stewart
Executive producers: Adam Brightman, Ronnie Screwvala
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Marcus Miller
Co-producer: Zarina Screwvala
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editor: Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cast:
Richard: Chris Rock
Nikki: Kerry Washington
Brenda: Gina Torres
George: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Landis: Edward Herrmann
Mary: Welker White
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
No doubt Rock -- who directed, co-wrote, co-produced and stars in the comedy -- is trying to stretch. He is not thoroughly convincing as a buppie, married with children, but you would feel much better about the role if his mischievous sense of humor had come along. When Edward Herrmann has the most amusing line, something is seriously wrong.
Playing a henpecked, straightforward investment banker unable to make any move whatsoever with a gorgeous and willing dream girl is not what Chris Rock's fan base will expect. Again, if he were funny, that might not matter. Because he is not, boxoffice for this Fox Searchlight release might suffer.
Rock insists that his film is based on the last film of Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales, "Chloe in the Afternoon", a French New Wave film made 35 years ago. Actually all he borrows is the premise: A happily married, bourgeois businessman daydreams about other women but has no intention of following through on any of these afternoon delights. Then an old friend, a former girlfriend of a buddy from the past, drops by his office with seduction on her mind.
There are a couple of odds things even about how the premise develops in this movie, however. For one, if Rock's Richard Cooper is as happily married as he says he is, why does wife Brenda (Gina Torres) refuse to have sex with him, and why is the couple in therapy? Also, what kind of "old friend" is Kerry Washington's Nikki? When Richard was sowing his wild oats as a young man in his 20s, Nikki would have been in junior high.
But never mind the details; let's go looking for laughs.
After re-entering his life, Nikki appears at Richard's office at all hours in outfits more appropriate for nightclubbing. Before you know it, he goes AWOL on clients and associates as Nikki leads him around town by his, um, nose. But they remain just friends. So far, all situation no comedy.
One night, Nikki persuades Richard to slip away from home for a rendezvous at a nightclub. She never turns up, and he gets stoned with a couple of salesgirls. No yucks here.
Another time, Nikki forces Richard to accompany her on a shuttle flight to D.C. to sneak her things out of the apartment of a soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend arrives home unexpectedly, smacks Richard around, the police arrive, and shots are fired. No laughs here. Worse, there are no repercussions: Richard and Nikki slip out the door without the police noticing they fled the scene.
The sole dramatic tension in the story stems from the will-they-or-won't-they question that hovers over the Richard-Nikki relationship. Few are going to care as character motivation is seriously lacking in a script Rock wrote with Louis C.K.
Why don't the married couple have sex? Brenda seems to love her man, and she certainly fights to keep him. Why after all these years does Nikki turn up? She seems to have nothing more on her mind than playing him for all he's worth. For that matter, why does Richard seem terrified of all women, even his secretary?
The script could have developed genuine inner conflict in its hero -- a family man devoted to his young children but with a frigid wife and possibly a hot mistress -- but never does. All of which leaves the three main actors playing very tentative characters. There is clarity with two of Rock's office comrades: Steve Buscemi as a womanizing married man and Herrmann as a stuffy boss. But these fine character actors are wasted on such lightweight roles.
As a director, Rock has little visual flair, so the film looks clumsy and stilted. Solid location work in and around New York does give designer Sharon Lomofsky something to work with while Suzanne McCabe has fun with all the revealing and stylish costumes for Washington.
I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE
Fox Searchlight
Fox Searchlight and UTV Motion Pictures present a Zahrlo production
Credits:
Director: Chris Rock
Screenwriters: Chris Rock, Louis C.K.
Based on a film by: Eric Rohmer
Producers: Chris Rock, Lisa Stewart
Executive producers: Adam Brightman, Ronnie Screwvala
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Music: Marcus Miller
Co-producer: Zarina Screwvala
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editor: Wendy Greene Bricmont
Cast:
Richard: Chris Rock
Nikki: Kerry Washington
Brenda: Gina Torres
George: Steve Buscemi
Mr. Landis: Edward Herrmann
Mary: Welker White
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
NEW YORK -- This latest effort from filmmaker-actor Edward Burns, like so many of the predecessors in its genre, raises the question of whether there have ever been any private investigators with happy personal lives. A dark-tinged portrait of a morose, down-on-his-luck private eye and his equally forlorn client, "Looking for Kitty" is a downbeat experience that lacks the warmth and humor of "The Brothers McMullen", the debut that put its director on the map. Like Burns' last effort, "Ash Wednesday", the film is likely to prove too off-putting for mainstream audiences. It recently received its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival -- wholly appropriate as much of the film takes place in the same downtown environs.
While not a versatile actor, Burns is an engaging and likable screen presence, though this is not particularly evident in his recessive performance as Jack Stanton, a widower who has retreated into an emotional shell. Unable to pay the rent, he begs for an assignment from a former employer (Peter Gerety), who informs Jack that the world of private investigation is now far more about online research than tailing suspects. But he finally hands him a case involving Abe Fiannico (David Krumholtz), a sad sack high school baseball coach from upstate New York whose wife has left him, apparently for a British rock star named, ironically enough, Ron Stewart (Max Baker).
Equally colorless is the film's visual depiction of Manhattan as a bleak, wintry, dark-gray landscape all too closely mirroring the characters' emotional desolation.
LOOKING FOR KITTY
Marlboro Road Gang Prods.
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Edward Burns
Producers: Edward Burns, Aaron Lubin, Margot Bridger
Co-producers: Vebe Borge, Mark Kassen
Associate producers: Ben Cheah, Steve Weisberg
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Film editor: Sarah Flack
Music: Robert Gary, PT Walkley
Sound designer: Ben Cheah
Costume designer: Johanna Argan
Cast:
Jack Stanton: Edward Burns
Abe Fiannico: David Krumholtz
Ron Stewart: Max Baker
Ms. Petracelli: Connie Britton
KK: Kevin Kash
Guy Borne: Chris Parnell
Maggie: Elizabeth Regan
Julie: Rachel Dratch
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
While not a versatile actor, Burns is an engaging and likable screen presence, though this is not particularly evident in his recessive performance as Jack Stanton, a widower who has retreated into an emotional shell. Unable to pay the rent, he begs for an assignment from a former employer (Peter Gerety), who informs Jack that the world of private investigation is now far more about online research than tailing suspects. But he finally hands him a case involving Abe Fiannico (David Krumholtz), a sad sack high school baseball coach from upstate New York whose wife has left him, apparently for a British rock star named, ironically enough, Ron Stewart (Max Baker).
Equally colorless is the film's visual depiction of Manhattan as a bleak, wintry, dark-gray landscape all too closely mirroring the characters' emotional desolation.
LOOKING FOR KITTY
Marlboro Road Gang Prods.
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Edward Burns
Producers: Edward Burns, Aaron Lubin, Margot Bridger
Co-producers: Vebe Borge, Mark Kassen
Associate producers: Ben Cheah, Steve Weisberg
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Film editor: Sarah Flack
Music: Robert Gary, PT Walkley
Sound designer: Ben Cheah
Costume designer: Johanna Argan
Cast:
Jack Stanton: Edward Burns
Abe Fiannico: David Krumholtz
Ron Stewart: Max Baker
Ms. Petracelli: Connie Britton
KK: Kevin Kash
Guy Borne: Chris Parnell
Maggie: Elizabeth Regan
Julie: Rachel Dratch
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
The title "Unmade Beds" is a metaphor for the messy, harried lives of its four protagonists, but it could have been titled "Empty Beds" in reference to their loveless lives. An unsparing but empathetic docudrama about four New York singles who search for love in all the wrong ways, the film is an indie gem.
Part cultural ethnography, part soap opera, "Unmade Beds" is dicey and involving -- in fact, it's so personal in its documentation of its four main character's lives that we often feel voyeuristic, as if we're intruding too far into the personal domains of its four love-seeking characters. Shaped and distilled from more than 400 interviews selected from the New York singles scene, this insightful entertainment will likely cause mixed reactions among viewers: Some will find the characters' self-delusions and dating philosophies hilariously pathetic, while others will be saddened by their obviously self-destructive patterns of behavior.
There's nothing glamorous or saccharine-coated in this glimpse into the mundane world of these four very desperate people. No facile rays of hope obviate what is likely to become their eventual romantic fates: We see that they are all dating losers destined to flounder in their predictable, and unchangeable, downspins.
The four are Brenda (Brenda Monte), an overt exhibitionist who can't figure out why men always think of her in sexual terms; Michael Michael De Stefano), a bitter homophobe who blames his dating woes on outside circumstances; Aimee (Aimee Copp), a sloppy 225-pounder who downplays her physical unattractiveness while deluding herself with off-the-wall personal plans; and Mikey (Mikey Russo), a 54-year-old schlub whose self-image is so low he bores gullible women with tales of his screenwriting career (no sales, natch).
We're never sure if these four players were the real people or if they're actors. That says it all. You believe them as everyday, flawed human beings. Most touchingly, all four characters are not only unloved but have made themselves, through their own miscalculated exertions, unlovable.
Although it is often brutal and its probings into the inner lives of the four daters deeply invasive, "Unmade Beds" is resolutely fair-minded and ultimately empathetic. Clearly, it would be easy for a filmmaker to make fun of these types of characters with heightened cinematic aesthetics, but writer-director Nicholas Barker's kindly clinical depiction is scrupulously nonjudgmental and, as such, ever more revealing.
Technical contributions laudably serve the filmmaker's compassionate aesthetics; in particular, cinematographer William Rexer II's static, medium-shot framings are, by their nature, fair, nonshaded compositions. Praise also goes to the music supervisors (New State Entertainment, Rupert Lord, Tom Parkinson) for the jaunty, contrapuntal sounds, including some deliriously balmy '70s disco music, which counteracts the dreary and depressing aspects of these affecting and sobering human stories.
UNMADE BEDS
Chelsea Pictures
and Acetylene Entertainment
A Nicholas Barker film
Producer: Steve Wax
Screenwriter-director: Nicholas Barker
Chief researcher: John Delk
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Associate producer: Sam Bickley
Editor: Paul Binns
Sound: Brad Bergbom
Music supervisors: New State Entertainment, Rupert Lord, Tom Parkinson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Brenda: Brenda Monte
Michael: Michael De Stefano
Aimee: Aimee Copp
Mikey: Mikey Russo
Running time -- 93 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Part cultural ethnography, part soap opera, "Unmade Beds" is dicey and involving -- in fact, it's so personal in its documentation of its four main character's lives that we often feel voyeuristic, as if we're intruding too far into the personal domains of its four love-seeking characters. Shaped and distilled from more than 400 interviews selected from the New York singles scene, this insightful entertainment will likely cause mixed reactions among viewers: Some will find the characters' self-delusions and dating philosophies hilariously pathetic, while others will be saddened by their obviously self-destructive patterns of behavior.
There's nothing glamorous or saccharine-coated in this glimpse into the mundane world of these four very desperate people. No facile rays of hope obviate what is likely to become their eventual romantic fates: We see that they are all dating losers destined to flounder in their predictable, and unchangeable, downspins.
The four are Brenda (Brenda Monte), an overt exhibitionist who can't figure out why men always think of her in sexual terms; Michael Michael De Stefano), a bitter homophobe who blames his dating woes on outside circumstances; Aimee (Aimee Copp), a sloppy 225-pounder who downplays her physical unattractiveness while deluding herself with off-the-wall personal plans; and Mikey (Mikey Russo), a 54-year-old schlub whose self-image is so low he bores gullible women with tales of his screenwriting career (no sales, natch).
We're never sure if these four players were the real people or if they're actors. That says it all. You believe them as everyday, flawed human beings. Most touchingly, all four characters are not only unloved but have made themselves, through their own miscalculated exertions, unlovable.
Although it is often brutal and its probings into the inner lives of the four daters deeply invasive, "Unmade Beds" is resolutely fair-minded and ultimately empathetic. Clearly, it would be easy for a filmmaker to make fun of these types of characters with heightened cinematic aesthetics, but writer-director Nicholas Barker's kindly clinical depiction is scrupulously nonjudgmental and, as such, ever more revealing.
Technical contributions laudably serve the filmmaker's compassionate aesthetics; in particular, cinematographer William Rexer II's static, medium-shot framings are, by their nature, fair, nonshaded compositions. Praise also goes to the music supervisors (New State Entertainment, Rupert Lord, Tom Parkinson) for the jaunty, contrapuntal sounds, including some deliriously balmy '70s disco music, which counteracts the dreary and depressing aspects of these affecting and sobering human stories.
UNMADE BEDS
Chelsea Pictures
and Acetylene Entertainment
A Nicholas Barker film
Producer: Steve Wax
Screenwriter-director: Nicholas Barker
Chief researcher: John Delk
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Associate producer: Sam Bickley
Editor: Paul Binns
Sound: Brad Bergbom
Music supervisors: New State Entertainment, Rupert Lord, Tom Parkinson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Brenda: Brenda Monte
Michael: Michael De Stefano
Aimee: Aimee Copp
Mikey: Mikey Russo
Running time -- 93 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/26/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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