Guilty Pleasures: The ScottDS Edition

by ScottDS

Wikipedia defines a guilty pleasure as “...something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilty for enjoying it.” At the end of the day, my personal definition of a guilty pleasure, as it relates to films, is: “A movie that, if I mention to a friend that I like it, will elicit a reply to the effect of, ‘Really? That?’” Some of this might have to do with my film school background and we all know film students are only supposed to like little indie films and dark dramas about tortured artists. [sarcasm off]

I like all of these movies. Some I own, others I haven’t seen in years, but the mere thought of them never fails to bring a smile to my face. Away we go...!

Congo (1995) – Based on the Michael Crichton novel and starring Dylan Walsh, a then-unknown Laura Linney, and Ernie Hudson, this film tells the story of an expedition to the Virunga region of the Congo. Linney’s character works for a telecom company and has been sent by her boss to search for a rare diamond but she’s also on a mission to locate her missing fiancé. Meanwhile, Walsh’s character, a primatologist, is attempting to take his sign language protégé gorilla Amy back home. This movie is a blast! It never takes itself too seriously, Tim Curry and Joe Don Baker chew the scenery – Curry plays a Romanian philanthropist; Baker plays Linney’s boss – and the gorilla effects, courtesy of the late Stan Winston, aren’t bad. There’s some downright ridiculous dialogue in the film along with some entertaining cameos from Joe Pantoliano, Delroy Lindo, and Bruce Campbell as the aforementioned fiancé. Whenever this film airs on TV, I know to clear my schedule for a couple of hours. “Stop eating my sesame cake!”

Executive Decision (1996) – Produced by action maestro Joel Silver and directed by former (and current) editor Stuart Baird, this film is probably more relevant now than when it was released. It involves the hijacking of an international flight by Islamic terrorists and the Special Forces team that’s sent to retake the plane. Kurt Russell is David Grant, a think tank expert who doesn’t quite get along with the mission commander, played by Steven Seagal (this conflict comes to a rather abrupt end). This film is fun and, despite the real-world nature of the plot, it’s not dreary or depressing to watch. The characters are likable, the flying effects are near perfect (though some of the model work at the end is a bit shoddy), and I admire any film with the guts to show the lead character learning how to fly in the first act. What do you think will happen at the end? The film does a few things that most films today probably wouldn’t do, including mentioning Islam and Allah by name, as well as crediting Israeli intelligence for their help. “If you screw up, you’ll never know it.”

Dick Tracy (1990) – I remember dressing up like Dick Tracy for Halloween that year (despite not yet having seen the film) and buying the making-of book at the 2nd grade book fair. Warren Beatty directs and stars in this big-screen adaptation of Chester Gould’s comic strip. I saw the film once when I was younger and didn’t appreciate it. I watched it again years later and thought, “This is pretty good!” It’s as much an ode to old Hollywood – complete with dance numbers, stylized matte paintings, and obvious studio backlot locations – as it is a loud 90s-era blockbuster, complete with Oscar-winning make-up effects, a heroic Danny Elfman score, original songs by Stephen Sondheim, and a design aesthetic that uses only seven colors. Beatty acquits himself nicely here, despite looking nothing like the original illustrated character. Glenne Headly is charming as Tracy’s girlfriend, Tess Trueheart. I’m indifferent to Madonna but she’s just fine as nightclub singer Breathless Mahoney. The supporting cast steals the show, starting with an Oscar-nominated Al Pacino as crime boss “Big Boy” Caprice. Add to that Seymour Cassel, Charles Durning, William Forsythe, Paul Sorvino, and cameos by James Caan and Dustin Hoffman, and you have yourself an underrated film that managed to create a comic book world without CGI. “You are not out! When you are dead, then you are out!”

Brain Donors (1992) – Directed by Adam Sandler regular Dennis Dugan, executive produced by the Brothers Zucker, and written by their Naked Gun collaborator Pat Proft, this film is a screwball comedy loosely based on the 1935 Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera. The jokes and physical gags fly by at a mile a minute and the actors are perfectly cast, including John Turturro in the Groucho role of an ambulance-chasing lawyer, British comedian/filmmaker Mel Smith in the Chico role, and prop comic Bob Nelson in the Harpo role though, unlike Harpo, he gets to talk. Rounding out the cast is the late Nancy Marchand playing the Margaret Dumont dowager role. The story is typical latter-day Marx Brothers, including a young couple in love and sleazy villains who are after the dowager’s money. It’s a shame this film isn’t better known, having bombed miserably at the box-office. It manages to take some great Marx Brothers-style set pieces and mix them with some sexual innuendo that went completely over my (then) 9-year-old head. They throw everything in, including the kitchen sink (really!). “You can have my children. In fact, they’re out in the car if you want them.”

Trapped in Paradise (1996) – Or, as co-star Jon Lovitz refers to it, Trapped in S---. Written and directed by George Gallo (best known for writing Midnight Run), the film tells the story of the Firpo brothers – restaurateur Bill (Nicolas Cage) and his two recidivist brothers just out of prison, Dave and Alvin (Lovitz and Dana Carvey) – who rob a bank on Christmas Eve in the town of Paradise, PA. Due to a snowstorm, they find themselves stranded and treated wonderfully by the townsfolk, including the bank manager and his family. There are some twists at the end and it seems everyone is after these guys, including the feds and a couple of escaped cons that also want the money. The cast includes some familiar faces, including Donald Moffat, the lovely Mädchen Amick, and a hilariously deadpan Richard Jenkins as a harried FBI agent. Dare I say it, this film is something Frank Capra might’ve made 70 years ago. It’s not perfect and the romantic subplot is a bit ham-handed but there are some fun gags and Cage’s mannerisms are in fine form here. It’s also nice to see a well-shot comedy that takes advantage of the widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. “Four lefts is a circle, you idiot!”

Alien 3 (1992/2004) – I’m biased because I saw the extended “Assembly Cut” on DVD before I saw the theatrical version. To this day, director David Fincher (this was his feature debut) disowns the movie and, despite being approached, refused to have anything to do with the new cut and declined to be interviewed for the 2004 DVD and 2010 Blu-Ray sets. As for the new cut of the film, in a word: wow! I was floored. I’m no sadist but I love the feeling invoked by the first frame: you’re f---ed. The acting is exemplary. While there are some conceptual flaws and character inconsistencies, these guys could’ve made their money by performing the film on stage. I think this is the best looking of the Alien sequels, thanks to the late Alex Thomson’s stark cinematography. Much of the sets (which consist of two colors: rust and gray) were constructed for a previous draft of the script but they add to the foreboding atmosphere with darkness lurking around every corner, large (and lethal) fans, and shafts of light. The visual effects are fine but the rod-puppet aliens are not up to par, despite being state of the art for their time. Elliot Goldenthal’s score is wonderfully melancholic. I should qualify for affirmative action because liking this film (in any version) puts me in a minority. “...we tolerate anybody. Even the intolerable.”

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) – This dark comedy, shot in mockumentary format (which wasn’t as common then as it is today), chronicles the contestants in the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Pageant in the fictional town of Mount Rose, MN. It features some familiar faces, including Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Ellen Barkin, Amy Adams (in her film debut), and Kirstie Alley as Richards’ mother and pageant organizer. (Plus a cameo by Adam West!) The film isn’t nearly as mean-spirited as you’d think but it doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at small-town life and it also has a nice un-PC streak as well. One of the pageant judges is clearly retarded and another might be a sexual predator. One contestant is being raised “Asian American” by adoptive Asian parents who neglect their own Asian daughter. Another is anorexic and needs to be wheeled around in a wheelchair for her talent portion. On a slightly political note, I’m glad no one knows about this movie because, if the media did, we would’ve seen footage from it airing non-stop in late 2008. (Take a guess.) “I’ll be doing a dramatic monologue. Right now, I’m thinking Othello. Or Soylent Green.”

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) – I think this film is a masterpiece but, considering how well it didn’t do at the box-office, I’m probably alone. Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley (who would later adapt Congo) and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in their first of three on-screen pairings, this film tells the fairy tale story of Joe Banks, a hypochondriac who is diagnosed with an incurable “brain cloud” and, in exchange for being able to briefly live like a king, is sent to the island of Waponi Wu where he will jump into a volcano, sacrificing himself to appease the gods. Hanks is his usually everyman self, Meg Ryan is hilarious in three separate roles, Dan Hedaya steals the show as Hanks’ dyspeptic boss, and Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, and Ossie Davis all lend solid support (per usual). This film is unique and downright odd at times but it all works, thanks to Shanley’s vision and steady hand at the wheel. I saw this film during a rather unpleasant time in my life and fell for it instantly. If I ever meet Mr. Shanley in person, I owe him a big hug. “Dear God, whose name I do not know… thank-you for my life.”

There’s more, but I’ll spare you. That means my piece on Weekend at Bernie’s will have to wait till next time!