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Reviews
Man on the Moon (1999)
You'll Laugh So Hard You'll Cry; You'll Cry So Hard You'll Laugh.
I'm what one might call a casual Andy Kauffman fan...if he was on a TV show, I'd watch him (and laugh), but I didn't seek out shows just to see him perform. Having said that, this movie really captures the essence of who Andy Kauffman thought he was. Jim Carrey, of whom I am not a fan, turns in a remarkable performance, and everyone else in the cast is first-rate. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Milos Forman has given us yet another deeply emotional cinematic experience. Oh, that it should be every bio-pic is this moving and interesting. A solid 9 out of 10.
Heist (2001)
Hackman Must Have Needed Some Fast Money.
This is far and away the worst movie in which Gene Hackman, who happens to be one of my all-time favorite actors, has appeared. In fact, its the only bad movie I can think of that he's been in. There are no likeable characters in this film, the plot is contrived and the violence truly is gratuitous. 3 out of 10.
Independent Lens: Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew (2004)
Would be excellent program material for PBS, A&E, BRAVO, etc.
I saw this exquisite documentary at the Atlanta Film Festival last month where it got a standing ovation and subsequently received the Audience Choice Award as the festival's best overall film. Although the story of Jimmy Scott's tragic life and singing career has been covered previously in other documentaries, and his story of being the victim of unscrupulous musical industry executives is not unique, this film tells his story in a thoughtful, empathetic manner that grabs and holds your attention from beginning to end. Certainly Scott is a compelling subject, and the film maximizes that fact by not just presenting us with a stream of talking-head friends, relatives, peers, etc., but by focusing on Jimmy Scott telling us who Jimmy Scott is. The film really gets it right when it allows Scott to reflect on how and why his life unfolded the way it did, and then drives these points home with Scott's renditions of poignant songs in their entirety. The filmmakers clearly understand the dramatic value of Scott's jazz vocals and his choices of material. They expose us to the anguish and pain of Scott's life in his own words and music, yet at the same time make it inspirational. The film is crafted in a loving and reverential way, and this may be its one minor weakness because it only alludes to the less attractive aspects of Scott's life and glosses over the 10-15 year period when Scott was not recording or performing. I suspect that presenting this part of Scott's life more fully would have revealed some other fascinating anecdotal evidence that ignited Jimmy's infectious enthusiasm for living and led to his "rediscovery." Yet, in just under 80 minutes, the film ultimately accomplishes something unusual for a bio-documentary...it takes the viewer on a full-gamut emotional journey. It certainly deserves a wider distribution and larger audience than it is receiving on the film festival circuit.