filmfun

Paul Rudd has become one of my favorite actors from when I first noticed him at a young age with the film Clueless and then my interest grew with his appearances on Friends and then Stella and now his recent appearances in Judd Apatow films. I recently was lucky enough to meet Paul Rudd, saying it was an amazing experience would be an understatement, so I decided to post something I wrote about the film Clueless.

There have been written stories found and dated as far back as 2750 BCE and movies date back to 1895. Although film is much newer than written stories there is still quite a bit of history behind them. Therefore with all these stories it is almost impossible to create an entirely new story. There is bound to be repetition seen especially in newer stories and movies. But what makes an adaptation an adaptation is there being numerous similarities rather than just one or two, that being said, there are still many adaptations that still prove to be interesting and non-repetitive because of the differences they provide as well.

Clueless, even though it is not credited, is a clear adaptation of Emma. An adaptation is changing something so it can survive in a new medium but also keeping some things similar. There are two main aspects of a story that adaptors focus on when they are adapting; these are the cardinal aspects – the events that move the story along, and the catalyser aspects – the stylistic functions of the story. When it comes to adapting something, such as a book into a film, usually the cardinal aspects are the same or similar and the catalyser aspects of the book are more drastically changed. This is true in Clueless as well, because few events of the story are changed whereas the style of the film is drastically changed into a late 20^th century American idealized world as opposed to the original 19^th century British world of Jane Austen. Therefore Clueless is an adaptation of Emma but Amy Heckerling’s choice of style or catalyser differences is what makes this film more than just an adaptation but a satire of consumerism.

This film, besides satirizing the consumerist world, is also satirizing other films. “[T]he film pokes fun at the pretensions of ‘art’ films that use the classics as their basis even as it shows that an appealing comedy about teenage girls can be highly effective in presenting the truth in Austen’s critique of a status- and consumption-obsessed society” (Dresser, 237). Critics have considered both Emma and Clueless as low culture with no artistic value and rather poor literature and cinema. Just because this movie focuses on the lives of teenagers, and in particularly teenage girls, it does not seem to get as high esteem from the critics because they believe that focusing on these lives the film can not present any great value or lesson. These critics are definitely wrong and they are proven wrong with this movie, Clueless, because it deals with a very important lesson and that is too much consumerism has negative consequences. Clueless portrays this lesson, just as well as, if not better than, other films because there is humour and pleasure involved. “[T]his appealing comedy about wealthy young women succeeds in providing the truth in Austen’s satire of a consumer society much more so than the more traditional ‘art house’ rendering of Emma that came after it” (Dresser, 246). Heckerling’s adaptation of Emma into Clueless, a satire on consumerism and filmmaking, is made possible with the use of exploiting an idealized version of reality, the use of voiceover narration, and the application of irony throughout the film.

The beginning sequence sets up the film as a satire by showing the viewer an idealized version of reality, suggesting that there will be more to this film than what lies on the surface. “[L]ike Austen, [Heckerling] transforms a documentary rendering of the quotidian into an imaginative lively delight in fictionality” (Stern, 223). This sequence shows a group of teenagers from Beverly Hills living rich and fabulous lives that are very different from the majority of typical teenage lives. Then the voiceover of Cher, the main character, comes in saying “So OK, you’re probably thinking, ‘Is this, like, a Noxema commercial, or what?!’” This suggestion of their lives being like a commercial further emphasizes how they are living an idealized version of a life that the viewer dreams of living but can not. “Through its satire of this advertising, the film calls into question the message of control, providing a potent criticism of the role that consumption plays in defining the ‘new woman’ of the commercial advertising of the 1980s and 1990s” (Dresser, 239). As the movie progresses Cher’s transformation of Tai begins to go differently than planned because soon Tai has left nearly everything of her old existence behind and has become an extreme replica of Cher and her group of friends. This is an even more extreme replica of the already idealized version that the film creates of Beverly Hills teenagers. And with this, Cher begins to be disgusted with Tai’s behaviour suggesting that “just as Cher comes to rethink her social mores through seeing them parroted back at her [by Tai], Clueless suggests that viewers can learn to take a critical look at the role of consumption in their own society by seeing these practices imitated, albeit in excess fashion” (Dresser, 245).

Another aspect of Clueless that provides this film with satire is Heckerling’s use of voiceover narration. “Nora Nachumi astutely points out that this voiceover narration closely approximates Austen’s ironic third-person narrator” (Parrill, 117). There is a scene in the movie where Cher observes Tai and Elton dancing at a party and there is a voiceover of Cher thinking she is successful in matchmaking, “I had to give myself snaps for all the good deeds I was doing. It was so great. Love was everywhere.” This provides the audience with a false sense of security with Cher’s character. But later, Cher and the viewer realize that this was an incorrect assumption when Cher finds out that Elton is uninterested in Tai because he believes she is socially and economically below him. By the use of this voiceover in the party scene and then showing that Cher is incorrect helps the audience to realize that Cher is clueless just as the title of the film suggests, and this is reflected throughout the film because she is a product of her consumer-obsessed society. At the end of the film, after Josh and Cher admit their love for one another there is a voiceover of Cher saying, “Well you can guess what happened next,” then the viewer is shown a wedding scene in which Cher’s voiceover cuts in again and says, “As if! I’m only fifteen and this is California, not Kentucky.” The use of voiceover here, corrects the viewer’s preconceived notion that this is Cher’s wedding in which the movie will end with just another Hollywood happy ending. “The film does not simply present the happy romantic ending, but suggests it, then uses pleasurable, but not hard-biting, satire to make fun of the viewer’s expectation of such an ending for this movie” (Dresser, 243).

There are many uses of irony throughout the film to suggest its satirical content and commentary of the consumerist world and filmmaking. “[I]rony is a key element in its strategy of looking critically at Beverly Hills consumer society, which functions in the film as a microcosm of the American consuming lifestyle” (Dresser, 238). It is quite ironic when Cher explains that the death of her mother was caused by “a freak accident during a routine liposuction,” because Cher lives her life allowing consumerism and perfect looks control her, such as when she risks her life to save her Alaia dress, even though it was the same thing that took her mother’s life. Music is also used ironically throughout the film such as the song “Kids in America” played for the opening sequence suggesting that these are normal kids in America when ironically these are a very isolated and different group of kids than typical Americans. Another moment is when Cher is waiting for a call from Christian and the 2001: A Space Odyssey music is played while the camera focuses on Cher’s telephone. One more use of ironic music is when Cher descends down her front staircase and the viewer realizes Josh’s attraction to her by his gaze and the song “Gigi” is played. (Parrill, 122). The use of music from other films is Heckerling’s way of making fun of how the lifestyles of these characters are very movie-like and idealized, but at the same time, because of the irony of Heckerling being aware of this, suggests that there is more to this movie for the viewer to understand.

When adapting a book into a film the adaptor has many aspects of the original piece to question, what to leave in, what to remove, and what to change. But they also must have in mind the major lesson or theme they want to portray to the audience and how to create this theme through the changes they make. The theme throughout Clueless is the consequences of a consumer-driven life and also the hypocrisy of filmmaking in which is made possible with the use of exploiting an idealized version of reality, the use of voiceover narration, and the application of irony throughout the film, making this movie a satire as well as an adaptation.

Work Cited

Dresser, David, and Garth S. Jowett. Hollywood Goes Shopping. Minneapolis:

University of Minnesota Press, 2000.

Parrill, Sue. Jane Austen on Film and Television: A Critical Study of the Adaptations.

Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2002.

Stern, Lesley. “Emma in Los Angeles: Remaking the Book and the City.” 2000.

-Shavon Keller

A few blog entries ago I recommended everyone to check out Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, a 40 minute supervillain musical miniseries. It was streamed for free in three parts: Act One (Wheee!) July 15^th, Act Two (OMG!) July 17^th, and Act Three (Denouement!) July 19^th. If you missed the opportunity to watch Whedon’s new masterpiece for free, don’t fret because you can still watch it at a minimal fee (that’s definitely worth it) when you download it from Apple’s iTunes.

Whedon explains that during the writer’s strike he was “frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.” He fronted the project with his own money with the intentions “to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.”

Well Mr. Whedon was successful in his first goal: in creating “a piece of entertainment.” But I knew he had it in him from his last great musical, “Once More With Feeling” of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is an intriguing story about a lovable supervillain played by none other than the always phenomenal Neil Patrick Harris (NPH). I couldn’t wait to see NPH’s performance in this musical after watching his musical rendition with Jason Segel on the Megan Mullally Show. The musical is about Dr. Horrible as he is working on his goal of becoming a member of the Evil League of Evil, while trying to keep his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer at bay, and planning to win over the girl he loves, all while keeping his fans posted through his online blog. Once again, as in HIMYM, NPH brings a catchphrase to his character with “I’ve got a PHD in Horribleness.”

Whedon makes things more interesting by turning the typical musical on its head, as we assumed he would. We root for the seemingly bad guy, the villain, Dr. Horrible and we scoff at the superhero Captain Hammer for his egotistical, dim-witted, and womanizer personality. (To understand the character of Captain Hammer you can also read a the online comic, created by Zach Whedon and Eric Canete.) Nathan Fillion gives a hilarious performance portraying the one dimensional Captain Hammer with his cheesy smile and smug talk. Soon on in the miniseries, the two men begin a fight for the same love interest, the sweet activist Penny (Felicia Day), but we know the only reason Captain Hammer wants her is because he finds out Dr. Horrible wants her, and because he wants to show her the power of his “hammer.” Therefore we have more desire for the nerdy, skinny, but sincere Billy/Dr. Horrible to win the love of Penny.

An entertaining and humorous musical from a most creative mind, with a great cast of powerful singers and actors, and an interestingly well written story and music, what else is there to ask for? I suggest you all to check out Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog on Apple’s iTunes, otherwise you will be left out of an incredible experience. I’ll also keep you posted on when the DVD version will be available which will include many bonus features.

-Shavon Keller

SPACED the complete series is now finally on DVD in the US! The hilarious and inventive sitcom from the minds of (and also starring) Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson), and the vision of director Edgar Wright was released in the US yesterday July 22nd.

First off if you have never heard of or seen Spaced, get out there and start watching it and then buy it. If you have heard of and/or seen Spaced, what are you sitting around for, buy it immediately.

For those of you who don’t know Spaced, I’ll fill you in. It’s a quirky sitcom about friends Tim (Pegg) and Daisy (Hynes) who pretend to be a couple in order to share a flat. The sitcom focuses on their everyday lives as Tim plays video games and works on his comics while trying to get over his last girlfriend and Daisy unsuccessfully tries to make it as a serious writer and eventually trades her boyfriend in for a new dog named Colin. We meet their land lady Marsha a chain smoking alcoholic who’s in love with Tim and Daisy’s downstairs neighbor Brian (Mark Heap) the disturbed painter. We also meet Tim and Daisy’s best friends Mike (Nick Frost) a childish lovable character who is obsessed with combat and Twist a ditsy fashion designer.

For all you film and television nerds out there, (I’m included in that group) your in for a real pleasure because the series is filled with film and television references some obvious and many are amazingly obscure. Star Wars, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scooby Doo, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The A-Team, along with many others. In one episode they make a reference to Pulp Fiction and now in the US DVD extra features, Quentin Tarantino provides commentary about this particular scene and reference.

There were several promotional events and I was lucky enough to attend one in NYC on Monday the 21st. It was a treat and I can’t wait to watch the entire series again and all the bonus features on my new Spaced DVD set and I hope you will do the same.

-Shavon Keller 

 My boyfriend was lucky enough to attend the July 18^th midnight showing of The Dark Knight and then see it for a second time the next day. All the while he was telling me over and over again how amazing it was and how it was even better than his high expectations. With all this hype from him, never mind the media, I was a little afraid that the film wouldn’t meet my very high expectations – but boy was I wrong, it was even better!

What I love about Christopher Nolan’s take with his Batman films, Batman Begins and the The Dark Knight, is the way he brings so much depth to the characters and the story, he includes metaphors and complex lessons. This is very different than all the other typical super hero films out there such as Spider Man, X-Men, Superman and Iron Man. Those films serve their purpose as fun super hero films but they all fail to be great films as The Dark Knight has achieved. I’ve heard people say that this film deserves Academy Award status and I would have to agree, because this film should not be seen as just another fun super hero film.

I really appreciated the message Nolan was trying to send in this film, dealing with the fine line between heroes and villains. In the film the Harvey Dent says to Batman “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” and this sums up the theme of the film. We see this message most clear through Batman’s personal struggle and then Harvey Dent’s transformation.

Performances:

Heath Ledger as the Joker. I’m sure if you haven’t seen his performance you must have heard all the praise. People are even saying he should be nominated for an Academy Award. His character is so dark and demented and Ledger makes it absolutely believable. We never see a soft side to the Joker but we do learn his past and what caused him to go crazy and become the freak that his today. We feel sorry for his sad life but he is always dedicated to his plan to “Introduce a little anarchy… Upset the established order…” that way “everyone loses their minds!” He even compares himself to a dog chasing cars, he just does it and if he ever caught the car he wouldn’t know what to do with himself, so his desire to wreak havoc will never be satisfied, rather it is just endless tasks to keep himself busy. He doesn’t care about dying, this is why he eggs Batman to beat him up and to even push him over the edge of a building. He tells Batman to stop saving him, because he believes “whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you… stranger” and this strangeness gives him his power. This is a difficult character to pull off so completely as Ledger has done, it’s a character so far from any sane human can imagine being, therefore Ledger definitely deserves the Academy Award nomination and even the win.

Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon. Oldman is always good at whatever he does and he never fails to bring something extra to his characters and this one was not an exception. I was really glad Nolan allowed us to see more of this character and his relationship with Batman than there was in the first film, and also with the addition of his relationship with Harvey Dent. He acted like a father figure to these two men in which he tried to inspire their good doing in order to create the needed hero for Gotham City. There is more depth and emotion to Nolan and Oldman’s version of Gordon unlike the Pat Hingle version in Tim Burton’s series of Batman films in which he is played as frumpy and very one dimensional.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face. Another acknowledgeable performance. This is the one prime character in which we are allowed to witness his complete arc in the film. We trust him and love him as all of Gotham’s civilians. He is the only man who can stand his ground keeping his role as the hero and leaving Batman in second place as the outlaw superhero. But then within this same film we witness his transformation into Two Face, a villain, in which we understand this transformation as caused by losing the one he loved and we accept him as a villain, because just as Harvey Dent said earlier in the film, if a hero lives long enough he becomes the villain.

I understand now why my boyfriend is going to see this film for his third time today at an Imax theater because I can’t wait to see it again, not even long enough to wait for the eventual DVD release. There is a lot that happens with each character and the entire story that on one viewing there has to be at least a few things that you didn’t catch or could have missed. This is nothing negative against the movie, it’s actually a compliment to how good of a storyteller Nolan is to provide us with so much in one film. So I don’t just recommend seeing this The Dark Knight, I recommend seeing it at least twice. I am sure this is what many people have done by evidence of the outstanding box office numbers this film has received.

-Shavon Keller

Different people may have different reasons and levels of expectations for going to see Mamma Mia . There are those who were ABBA fans or just from that era and want to hear the songs again and see how they will be portrayed in a feature film musical. There are those who have seen the Broadway production and want to see the film adaptation in order to compare the two. There are those who may like the star list actors and are interested to see how they sing and perform in a musical. And there are those who may not know what they are getting themselves into and are just curious about all the hype-I was one of these people and to my surprise and delight I really enjoyed myself.

I’ve seen several Broadway musicals and I grew up watching all the classic musical movies with my mom, therefore I’ve never found them to be cheesy and silly as many people of my generation, but I couldn’t help but think these same thoughts when I began watching Mamma Mia. Now your probably wondering, ‘but wait I thought you said this was an enjoyable film?’ Well as the film progressed it occurred to me as though the film was playing with the conventions of the musical and almost knowingly and respectfully making fun of musicals in order to provide pure entertainment, which is the musical’s primary goal.

Once I began viewing the film with this new frame of mind I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the film. With such comical moments as when the characters Sophie and Sky sing about their love for one another on the beach and are interrupted by a gang of bachelors rising out of the ocean to steal Sky away for his bachelor party. Also, praise must be given to Christine Baranski as Tanya and Julie Walters as Rosie, Donna’s best friends and two ex-back-up singers of Donna and the Dynamos, for their endless humor they provided throughout the film. Their characters helped bring Donna back to her wild days of the 70s and their crazy one piece sequined jump suits. I especially liked their performance of “Dancing Queen.”

Besides my curiosity caused by the hype of the Broadway production and anticipation for this film, I was also curious about the performances from the well known actors. Meryl Streep gave an impressive performance, as she always does, completely taking over the part and presented a believable character as a caring single mother with a wild past. Her singing performances are also one to take note of; especially her heartfelt duet with Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) “Slipping Through My Fingers” followed by her powerful solo “The Winner Takes It All”, both brought a few tears to my eyes. There was a believable chemistry between the characters of mother and daughter Sophie and Donna as they dealt with their conflicting feelings of cherishing the memories they’ve shared and letting go to live separately, pursuing their own separate dreams.

I was very intrigued to see Pierce Brosnan, who I associate so strongly as James Bond, sing and dance in a musical. After I got over the initial weirdness of seeing James Bond singing, I was pulled more into the story and his character and was able to acknowledge his charming singing voice. It was more than what I would have expected from Brosnan and I was pleased. I didn’t know what to expect of Colin Firth but without knowing the story line of Mamma Mia I was really in for a surprise with the turn that his character takes near the end of the film. I don’t want to include any spoilers so I’ll just say it’s a hilariously entertaining surprise and a surprisingly hilarious performance by Firth.

Mamma Mia is a film that is meant to make you laugh, sing, and just have a grand time. It’s a musical that isn’t meant to be taken too seriously but at the same time can cause some tears with its heartfelt moments too. If you are looking for a film to see as mother and daughter or for a fun night with a group of girlfriends Mamma Mia is your best bet.

-Shavon Keller