Van Sant Goes Capra

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Price Honor in Corporate America?

By Skip Sheffield

First, be aware “The Promised Land” is an ironic title. I don’t think people would flock to theaters for “At What Price Fracking?”

Yes, “Promised Land” is a tale centered on the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, but it is also a cautionary tale about corporate greed and arrogance along with the ethical and ecological danger of selling out to the highest bidder.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film is based on a story by David K. Eggers, whose “Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” was a runner-up for a Pulitzer Prize and earned him the sobriquet “The J. D. Salenger of Generation X.” The screenplay is a collaboration between its two stars, Matt Damon and John Krasinsky.

Damon is Steve Butler, a hotshot salesman and candidate for vice president of Global Crossover Solutions, a New York-based conglomerate with a natural gas drilling division. The strategy is to breeze into some depressed hick town, ingratiate oneself with the locals, and convince them to sell the drilling rights of their land, preferably for the least amount of money, for maximum corporate profit.

Steve exploits his own history as a former farm boy from an Iowa town that went bust when its tractor factory pulled out of town.

The rural town of McKinley in western Pennsylvania is a perfect target. Most of the farms, in many cases in a family for generations, are on the verge of bankruptcy. Under those farms is a fortune in natural gas. However, hydraulic fracturing requires toxic chemicals which leach into the water table and soil.

Steve is picked up on the outskirts of town by his soft-sell partner, Sue Thompson (Frances McDormand), who has bought an old pickup truck to blend in. The couple’s first stop is a general store where they stock up on blue jeans, flannels and provisions. The store keeper is no fool.

“You’re from the gas company, aren’t you? He says with a knowing smile.

While many of the farmers are eager to take the money and run, there are holdouts. They are represented by Frank Yates (Hal Holbrook), a retired high school science teacher who knows all about fracking and its dangers.

So does Dustin Noble (John Krasinsky), a crusading environmentalist who comes to town to preach of the horrors of fracking, complete with photos, charts and diagrams.

Offering a diversion from the main plot is Steve’s interest in Alice (Rosemarie DeWitt), a pretty teacher who is also a family landowner.

It all boils town to a town meeting very much in the Frank Capra tradition. Matt Damon is ideally-suited to play the basically good guy seduced by the power, prestige and profit of corporate America. Frances McDormand adds some depth to her one-dimensional character with her scenes as a single mother, keeping in touch with her son via Skype.

There is a dandy twist to the plot that will have liberals cheering and conservatives scoffing. As with most all morality tales, “Promised Land” is simplistic, with clear-cut heroes and villains. The real story of economic survival in 21^st century America is a heck of a lot more complicated.  At two hours, 20 minutes it could have used some judicious editing, but it is a story that deserves to be told.

Quentin Tarentino's Revenge Kick Continues

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Cartoonishly Violent “Django Unchained”

By Skip Sheffield

In “Django Unchained,” writer-director Quentin Tarentino does to slave-owners and traders what he did to Nazis in “Inglourious Basterds.” He blows them all the way.

Yes, “Django” is ridiculously, recklessly, relentlessly violent, in a cartoon-spatter kind of way. Tarentino gives a black man, Jamie Foxx, the hero’s role of freed slave Django. Playing co-hero, if you will, is a white man, Dr. King Schultz (Christophe Waltz), a German-born dentist-turned-bounty hunter who buys Django’s freedom in 1858 and sets out in search for Django’s wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who is being held in bondage by a particularly obnoxious and cowardly Southern plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

DiCaprio seems to relish playing such a reprehensible character. Dandy Candie is a kind of a blond-haired, blue-eyed Snidely Whiplash.

While it is beautifully, lovingly photographed, “Django” is not for delicate sensibilities or sensitive ears. The story practically revels in the cruelty and injustice of slavery, leading the audience to cheer the righteous vengeance of “Django” all the more.

“Django” is the dark yang to the idealistic yin of “Lincoln.” Abraham Lincoln was a real-life hero who paid the ultimate price for his courage and determination in freeing America’s slaves: his own life.

“Django” is as crude and simplistic (yet entertaining) as “Lincoln” is lofty, stately and noble. There is a place for both approaches in America. I happened to prefer “Lincoln” as my choice for best movie of 2012.

"Zero Dark" is Right

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Dark, Controversial “Zero Dark Thirty”

By Skip Sheffield

Like “Lincoln,” “Zero Dark Thirty” is a movie whose outcome is already known. “Zero Dark Thirty” is the story-behind-the-story of the dramatic invasion and execution of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in bin Laden's Afghan stronghold in May of 2011. It is a second collaboration by director Kathryn Bigelow with journalist-turned-screenwriter Mark Boal.

There was a lot more planning in the attack that meets the eye: literally ten years worth, starting right after the vicious USA terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Boal gives a richly-detailed but controversial account of the political and military strategies of the mission. Boal was the screenwriter of Bigelow’s Oscar-winning breakthrough film, “Hurt Locker,” which also was tough on the U.S. military.

In Boal’s telling, a female CIA officer, Maya is the clear-cut heroine.

Maya is played by the gifted Jessica Chastain, who has been named on a number of critic’s Best Actress lists. Maya was head of a special group within the CIA investigating suspects and possible collaborators in the 9/11 attacks. The controversial part of the screenplay is its rather explicit and lengthy depictions of torture by U.S. and allied interrogators. While there is little doubt that very forceful interrogation went on in the hunt for bin Laden, critics say the film implies that torture is an effective way of extracting information. Others say there was no torture.

“Zero Dark Thirty” (the title is a military tern for half-past midnight) is a literally dark film, shot in jerky documentary fashion with hand-held cameras. The kind of meticulous research and planning that went into the project could be perceived as boring, but Bigelow presents the unfolding of the story is a suspenseful manner. There are typical bureaucratic heroes and villains, but it is the Navy S.E.A.L.s who executed the difficult and daring mission who deserve the lion’s share of the credit, along with the stubborn, persistent and brilliant CIA strategist who pointed everyone in the right direction. For that, bravo Bigelow and right-hand woman, Jessica Chastain.

It's not Called "Les Joyeux"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Les Miserables” an Innovative Approach to Movie Musical

By Skip Sheffield

Three major motion pictures will be in theaters by Christmas Day Dec. 25. All three are included on the top ten lists of most professional critic groups.

The most eagerly-awaited is the screen adaptation of the stage musical “Les Miserables” by British director Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”).

Hooper had the inspired idea of having his actors sing their lines live with just a single piano as accompaniment. The lush orchestrations would be overdubbed later.

This works brilliantly for the most part, as all the dialogue is sung and actors are better able to emote naturally.

“Les Miserables” has a long and illustrious history, starting with the 1862 publication of the novel by French writer Victor Hugo. For our purposes we will stick with the film, which is based on the stage musical that debuted in London in 1985 and is running to this day.

There is a reason for the title. This is not a cheerful or joyous story, but one of injustice, struggle, rebellion, revenge and redemption.

Jean Valjean (Broadway and movie star Hugh Jackman) is a victim of injustice at an early age. He was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving sister and children and sentenced to five years in prison. Headstrong and extraordinarily physically strong, Valjean escaped from prison repeatedly, which stretched out his sentence to 19 years.

When he is finally paroled by Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe), Valjean promptly breaks parole by stealing silver candlesticks from a kindly Bishop (Colm Wilkinson) who gives him shelter.

In court the Bishop not only lies to protect Valjean, he gives him more silver. For the first time Valjean realizes the power of forgiveness and renewal. He assumes a new identity and becomes the prosperous owner of a factory and Mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. When Valjean performs a feat of strength to save another man, Javert realizes the Mayor has a familiar face: that of the man who broke parole.

So begins a tale of pursuit that continues to the end of the 156-minute film, played against the love story of Valjean’s devotion to tragic factory worker Fantine (Anne Hathaway), who is unjustly fired from her job and forced into prostitution, degradation and death.

It is Hathaway’s searing performance that garners the most acclaim. Surely she will be remembered at Oscar time as one of the greatest actresses (and singers) of her generation.

Fantine has an illegitimate daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), who has been taken in by two comically disreputable innkeepers (Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen), who treat her like a slave while they dote on their daughter Eponine (Samatha Barks from the 25^th anniversary production).

Valjean buys Cosette’s freedom for 1,500 Francs and becomes her guardian. Cosette falls for fiery, rebellious student Marius (Eddie Redmayne), who is involved in the bloody June Rebellion of 1832.

Redmayne is a revelation as a singer. His character inspires Valjean to sing the score’s most poignant song, “Bring Him Home.”

“Les Miserables” was spurned by critics the first time out, but it endured by word-of-mouth and popular acclaim. It is overblown, unsubtle and over-long, but by golly you get your money’s worth.

A "Sister Act" for the Holidays

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Skip Sheffield

Can I get an amen?

Amen!

“Sister Act” is one of those unexpected little blessings that sometimes come in the holiday season. The singing, swinging nun extravaganza runs through Dec. 30 at Broward Center for the Arts.

“Sister Act” is based on the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith and Kathy Najimy. For the 2011 Broadway musical version, which is produced by Whoopi Goldberg, the setting has been moved from Reno, Nevada to South Philadelphia. Additional music has been created by Alan Menkin (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Little Mermaid”) with lyrics by Glenn Slater (“Little Mermaid”). The time has been moved back to the peak of the 1980s disco area, which enables scenic designer (Klara Zieglerova) and costume designer Liz Brotherston to have some glittery, over-the-top fun.

The highly unlikely story has aspiring disco star Deloris Van Cartier (Ta’Rea Campbell) accidentally witness a mob execution.

Deloris flees to her friend “Sweaty Eddie” Souther (E. Clayton Cornelious), who happens to be a police officer.

Eddie long harbored a crush on Deloris and he is protective of her, so he urges her to hide in safety at the local convent, Our Queen of Angels. Deloris assumes the guise of a young nun, which allows for some sight and verbal gags.

The titular head of the convent is genial Monsignor O’Hara (Richard Pruitt), but the real power is with the Mother Superior, a stern, upright character played by Hollis Resnik. There is an immediate clash of wills, and it gets worse when Deloris takes over leadership of the convent choir and teaches the women some decidedly secular moves.

It’s all an excuse to stage some ever more elaborate musical numbers, backed by a 14-piece orchestra in the pit. There are some outstanding performers, starting with Ta’Rea Campbell, a woman with a voice more clear and powerful than Whoopi could ever hope for. Clayton Cornelious is an excellent singer with good dance moves and one truly amazing costume change for his showpiece number, “I Could Be That Guy.”

There is a tuneful, slinky male trio (Todd A. Horman, Ernie Pruenda and Charles Barksdale) that shows off slick dances moves behind bad guy Curtis Jackson (Kingsley Leggs).

The element of surprise is well-played by the casting of original Broadway cast member Lael Van Keuren as the shy youngest novice, Sister Mary Robert. We’ll just say she doesn’t remain meek for long.

“Sister Act” is the kind of show that builds to an inevitable grand finale, which really does “Spread the Love Around.”

You don’t have to be Catholic or even religious to appreciate the rah-rah show biz feel-good glitz of “Sister Act.”

Tickets are $39.50-$79.50 and may be reserved by calling 954-462-0222 or online at www.browardcenter.org.

A Road Trip With Mom

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Fairly Funny “Guilt Trip”

If you like Barbra Streisand you will probably like “Guilt Trip.” If not, back away slowly from the movie theater.

“Guilt Trip” stars Babs as Joyce Brewster, the overprotective New Jersey Jewish mom of nerdy Andy Brewster, played by Jason Segel.

Andy studied chemistry at UCLA and he fancies himself an inventor. He has concocted an all-natural cleaning solution that is so non-toxic you can actually drink it. Andy has poured seven years and all his money into developing the awkwardly-named “Scioclean.” Sadly, Andy’s presentational skills are even more awkward.

This proves a problem when Andy embarks on a cross-county trip from New Jersey to San Francisco, with Joyce riding shotgun, trying to convince major chains to carry his product.

That’s pretty much it with Dan Fogelman’s screenplay, inspired by an actual trip he took with his mother. Fogelman is the author of the romantic films “The Proposal” and “Crazy, Stupid Love,” so you can bet he is big on aw-shucks vulnerability.

However, thanks in large part to the comedic skill of Streisand, there are some hearty yucks in this anticlimactic journey. I came away from the film with a new realization how beautiful Streisand’s eyes are.

Is Fun Over at 40?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unflattering “This is 40”

By Skip Sheffield

“This is 40” paints a very unflattering picture of that milestone.

This is a Judd Apatow production, written and directed by the creator of the raunchy comedies “40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and television’s “The Larry Sanders Show.” Apatow does not have a delicate sense of humor.

“I like filth,” he has been quoted as saying.

“This is 40” takes place a few years after the characters Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) appeared as a young married couple in “Knocked Up.”

Lovely Leslie Mann is Judd Apatow’s wife. Obviously she understands her husband’s caustic sense of humor. She is a very good sport too, because Debbie does not relish the prospect of hitting 40, and much of the humor comes from her insecurity and humiliation.

Pete has already hit the big 4-0, and his sentiment is quite clear: “(bleep) forty.”

There are some good things about “This is 40.” Pete is a fan of British singer-songwriter Graham Party, who plays himself in the film. Pete wants to promote a Parker comeback tour in America. It is for this reason Pete’s record label is in financial trouble. Even Parker doubts his box office potential.

Another good thing about “40” is Albert Brooks as Pete’s dad, who reassures his son the years 40 to 60 are the best of a guy’s life. Yet another is John Lithgow as Debbie’s dad and luscious Megan Fox as her coworker.

And so it goes. Jason Segal makes a cameo appearance as Pete’s buddy Jason from “Knocked Up” and Apatow’s friend and collaborator. The movie just sort of mills around until the inevitable 40^th birthday party. Why it takes 134 minutes to get to this point is a bit of a mystery.

Bill Murray Charms, Seduces as FDR

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, That Rascal FDR

By Skip Sheffield

Franklin D. Roosevelt died before I was born, but his “New Deal” liberal policies were often a topic of my father’s grousing at our house.

“Hyde Park on the Hudson” is not as much about FDR’s politics or economics as it is about his love life. Who knew FDR was such a Don Juan?

When he is played by Bill Murray, perhaps you can believe it.

The title refers to Roosevelt’s family retreat, ruled over by Franklin’s starchy mother (Elizabeth Wilson). The story is set on a long weekend in 1939 in which the Roosevelts awaited the first ever visit by the King and Queen of England.

FDR knew King George VI (Samuel West) had an ulterior motive when he agreed to travel with his wife and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman), mother of the current British monarch. They desperately needed the help of the USA in the gathering storm of war, which would explode in just three months hence.

The royals were quite stuffy and formal, which allows for much of the movie’s humor. Queen Elizabeth in particular is horrified that their hosts plan to serve hot dogs at a family picnic. Evidently no royal has ever deigned to taste the humble American snack.

The social and political maneuverings are secondary to the allegedly true story of FDR’s affair with a distant cousin. She is called Daisy (Laura Linney) here, but the story (by Richard Nelson) is inspired by the diaries of one Margaret Stuckley, which were discovered after her death at age 99.

Whether or not FDR actually had an affair with Daisy is all a matter of conjecture. As presented here Daisy is but one of several mistresses FDR maintains simultaneously, despite the fact he was severely disabled by polio (which was hidden from the public with the complicity of the press) and married to unlovely Eleanor (Olivia Williams), who in this scenario knew full well her husband’s indiscretions.

“Hyde Park” depends heavily on the raffish charm of Bill Murray, who plays knaves and rotters we like anyway. FDR charms not only innocent Daisy, but the Queen and particularly the King of England, with whom he forms a bond. Director Roger Michell has given Murray free reign to be as outrageous as he needs to be. Laura Linney uses her considerable dramatic skill to expose the 32^nd President’s callous, thoughtless side.

This film would confirm my father’s worst suspicions about FDR. For me it humanizes a man who has been put up on a pedestal and idealized, and it accomplishes it with great wit and humor.

A Feminist Comedy and Classic Albee

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Very Funny Feminist Revenge Comedy

By Skip Sheffield

Some think feminists are dour, humorless people. Not so Lauren Gunderson.

Lauren Gunderson is the playwright of “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” playing through Dec. 30 in its Florida premiere at the Arts Garage, 180 NE First Ave., Delray Beach.

“Bear” is a comedy about an abusive husband and his long-suffering wife, who has decided to suffer no more.

That woman is Nan (Niki Fridh), a northern Georgia housewife is fed up with the abuse and neglect of her loutish husband Kyle (David Nail). Kyle is a good ol’ boy Neanderthal who loves hunting and guzzling Busch beer. If he gets a little too much- which is often- he may just haul off and smack his poor wife.

The play opens with Kyle duct-taped to a La-Z-Boy chair, gagged and immobile. Nan announces she is going to leave his sorry self. Furthermore she is going to drag him to the back yard and cover him with venison steaks, which will presumably provoke him to be devoured, if not pursued, by a bear.

Nan is empowered by her new best friend Peaches, aka Sweetheart (Lindsey Forgey), an aspiring actress with a fondness for Shakespeare. There isn’t much call for Shakespeare in north Georgia, so sweetheart makes ends meet by stripping.

It is amusing to note that the play’s title is lifted from a famous stage direction in Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale.” Sweetheart likes to quote The Bard in a thick Southern drawl.

More important to Nan is her devotion to and respect for America’s 39^th President, Jimmy Carter, whom she quotes often.

The idea of Carter as muse is funny. He was one of America’s less successful Presidents, but at heart he is a highly-principled, morally upright man. This is in stark contrast to Kyle, who has no redeeming value. Why Nan would ever get involved with Kyle in the first place is puzzling, but as the playwright says, this is a “shocking, violent and silly” play.

It is also very funny under the guidance of director Louis Tyrrell and the well-chosen cast, which includes David Hemphill as Nan’s other best friend Simon Beaufort, a gay, cross-dressing character in a cheerleader’s outfit.

“Bear” races along in about 70 minutes sans intermission. It’s not Shakespeare, but it is very funny entertainment and a good addition to Arts Garage.

Shows are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $30-$40. Call 561-450-6357.

“A Delicate Balance” at Palm Beach Dramaworks

On a more serious note, “A Delicate Balance,” runs through Jan. 9 at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach.

I must confess I was a bit daunted at the prospect of a three-act play with two intermissions. However, the show fairly flew by under the direction of William Hayes. The cast is absolutely first-rate, befitting of the three Pulitzer Prize-winning plays by “America’s Shakespeare,” Edward Albee.

A lot of playwrights have written about dysfunctional families. Few have done so with the eloquence of Albee, who was inspired by some of his own history growing up as an adopted son of a wealthy family.

Agnes (Maureen Anderman) and Tobias (Dennis Creaghan) are a wealthy married couple living in a large Connecticut estate with servants and a permanent houseguest, Agnes’ sister Claire (Angie Radosh).

Claire is cheerfully, adamantly an alcoholic. The booze shields her from the harsher reality of her situation, but it has not dulled her rapier wit.

There is an ongoing tension and resentment in this domestic triangle, but the three characters have learned to live with it. The balance is upset with the unexpected entrance of the couple’s neurotic “best friends,” Edna (Laura Turnbull) and Harry (Rob Donohoe). The couple has been seized with some inexplicable terror that has driven them from their house, and in desperation they ask if they can seek refuge in the spare bedroom.

Ever the gracious hosts, Agnes and Tobias reluctantly agree to the intrusion, but the balance is upset further with the arrival of the couple’s daughter Julia (Anne Bates), who has come home to mommy and daddy after the crumbling of her fourth marriage. The tensions that simmered in Act One quickly and forcibly come to a boil as Julia freaks out about the interlopers in her room.

“A Delicate Balance” asks some very big questions. How much can one partner forgive the other in a marriage? How long must a parent care, nurture and forgive a grown child? What responsibility does a friend have for a best friend? How long can one sibling tolerate the misbehavior of another?

Maureen Anderman is a specialist in the work of Albee and she is the very picture of a wealthy, upper-class society matron: cool and polished on the outside; raging on the inside.

Dennis Creaghan is suave and debonair as Tobias, but not without guilt, weakness and doubt. Angie Radosh is a master comedian who makes her character’s reprehensible behavior amusing rather than repulsive.

Anne Bates has the toughest job of all making her immature, clingy daughter sympathetic, but rest assured all characters have his or her moment to state their case, and with this cast’s skill, we care.

Tickets are $55 and may be reserved by calling 561-514-4042.

In conjunction with this production, a film documentary, “The Stages of Edward Albee,” will have its world premiere with three showings at 2, 5 and 8 p.m. Jan. 8. Tickets are $10. Visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.