Bowfinger - A Movie for Fans of Movie-making

I bought a 21-year-old comedy that only rate 6.3 on IMDb this weekend and I couldn't be happier.

1999's Bowfinger is a comedy by Frank Oz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Indian in the Cupboard) featuring Steve Martin as down-on-his-luck wanna-be Hollywood producer Bobby Bowfinger. He can't get action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in the sci-fi film "Chubby Rain" that his accountant has written. Rather than give up, he hits upon the idea of having his actors (including veteran stage actress Christine Baranski and ambitious ingenue Heather Graham) walk up to Ramsey unawares and say their lines, filming his inevitably shocked and increasingly panicky reactions surreptitiously (with a film crew he picked up at an illegal border crossing).

Now, it's a ridiculous premise that has barely enough traction to work in a sitcom, let alone a feature film filled with gifted comic actors. But it turns out the idea has a historical precedent. Well, sort of. Okay, the story has a precedent at least.

The 1927 Russian film Potseluy Meri Pikford (A Kiss From Mary Pickford) was reputed to have been shot without the knowledge of the silent film star and her companion, Douglas Fairbanks. In truth, these two silver screen icons happened to be in the U.S.S.R. on vacation and willingly shot cameos for it.

It is, of course, unreasonable to imagine that such a contrivance could hold up under even moderate scrutiny, but the set-ups are well-thought-out in Steve Martin's script, from Bowfinger's insistence that Kit Ramsey has asked for the cameras to be hidden in order to maximize realism to the contrivances used to capture the shots (such as having a duct-taped piece of cardboard with "Will work for food" scrawled on it turn it to a lighting reflector when "action" is covertly called.

I won't call it a great film, but there is a lot to like in it, especially if, like me, you appreciate reading about the real-life madness that occurs behind the scenes on a Hollywood picture, like Steve Martin's rant against ageism as he bemoans approaching 50 (although the money he claims to have saved since age 10 at $1 a week would actually put him at 52). Christine Baranski's stately demeanour does not suggest a character who almost took an offer of dinner theatre in Edmonton during the opening scene, and Eddie Murphy arguing that even though his character is the world's premiere black action hero, he won't be able to win an Oscar unless his agent finds him a script with "a retarded slave" in it has just enough realism in it to make us cringe - and laugh.

Of particular delight to me, however, are all the thinly veiled swipes at the Church of Scientology, lampooned here as MindHead, and led by the incomparable Terrence Stamp.

I don't know what I like more in this scene; Murphy's perfect pivot from egomaniacal celebrity to eager-to-please disciple, his brilliant portrayal of a man barely in control of his feelings (and possibly faculties), or Terence Stamp's brilliantly deadpan response to Murphy's earnest delivery of lines like "Happy principle number three: even though I feel like I might ignite... I probably won't."

Eddie Murphy is at his best when he is either making fun of his won reputation and image or portraying someone totally unlike him, and in Bowfinger, he gets to do both, playing both Kit Ramsey and his hapless lookalike and Burger King employee Jiff. Jiff is by no means the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Murphy still manages to convey a sweetness and likability to the character instead of a broader drawing of a gullible poltroon.

Having said that though, a scene where he is haunted by footsteps in a parking garage, not knowing that they belong to Bowfinger's dog wearing high heels in another row really showcases Murphy's actual acting ability. Watching him transition from paranoid to annoyed to angry and combative and finally to straight-up terrified is an amazing bit of craft which is easy to miss when you are laughing so hard.

If you are the kind of person who sits through the end credits of a movie or can name two or more cinematographers, or, like me, who believes it is nothing short of miraculous that any movie gets made, ever, let alone good ones, check out Bowfinger.

Putting the 'F' in Fun - Birds of Prey, Reviewed

Do you know the difference between a gritty crime movie and a comic-book movie with gritty crime?

Wait, maybe we should start with commonalities first: they both tend towards the melodramatic and make violence the principle solution to most issues that arise in the story. In fact, they both tend to romanticize or fetishize that violence to some degree or another.

The biggest difference is that the crime movie typically wants that violence to be believable, while a comic book (if done correctly) leans into the unbelievability of it. As a result, a person doing karate kicks off a trampoline while wearing rollerskates is less likely to evoke an eye-rolling "oh, come on now," and far more likely to provoke a"woo!"

Being only mostly okay with Harley Quinn's debut feature, Suicide Squad, I didn't have much interest in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn until some of the later trailers came out, spotlighting a clear sense of irreverence and self-awareness.

I also made sure to see the movie with someone closer to the movie's core target demographic - my 17-year-old daughter. The short of it is, we had a great time at this film, and if you enjoyed, say, Deadpool 2, you should probably go and check this one out.

(But first, can we take a moment to appreciate the brilliant typography in the BOP logo, with a variety of weapons and such making up the negative space and counters of the letters?)

Director Cathy Yan has only one previous feature under her belt, the as-yet-unreleased Sundance prizewinner Dead Pigs, but she manages a multi-character action-comedy-crime piece with astonishing deftness. The character moments feel right to me, the laughs are plentiful, but there are horrific moments that prompt gut-clenching tension too.

Watching Harley shoot her way into a police station using a grenade launcher loaded with beanbags, paint and glitterbombs is tremendously fun to watch, and as far as I'm concerned, leaves the previous high-water mark in the Terminator far behind. (To be fair, Schwarzenegger's turn has been the standard for almost a half-century ago now (ugh).) It also is also one of the rare occasions where I wanted even more slo-mo in an action scene.

Margot Robbie continues to be a wonder, bringing a surprising degree of vulnerability to a character never designed to have a ton of depth (Harley Quinn actually originated in the Batman Animated Series television show and migrated to the comics (and video games, etc. etc.) much later on.)

It was also epically pleasing to see Scott Pilgrim's paramour Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) appearing as comics vigilante The Huntress, with only a hint of the comic (and cartoon) costume reflected in her wardrobe, but with origin story and signature crossbow intact. Watching her kick Mafia ass female-Punisher-style is gratifying, but watching her practice delivering her gravitas-laden nom de guerre is absolutely delightful.

To be sure, the female form is in fine display here, but less of a male-gaze-y sort of way, and more of a kinetically-charged, fiercely independent, and self-sufficient kind of manner, while spouting A-level profanity instead of nurturing compassionately, and draped in edgy street-couture instead of spandex. (Glory said she wants all Harley's jackets from the film.) I'm not going to call BOP a milestone for female empowerment, but an ensemble cast of women, led by a female director in a story by a woman screenwriter and produced by Robbie herself is certainly a step in the right direction.

I don't know why there seems to be such antipathy towards this film. Well, that's not true - it's the same rotten, bald-faced misogyny that tried to sabotage Captain Marvel before it was even released, the same perpetually aggrieved toxic fanboys who feel indignant every time a movie comes along that dares to do things even marginally progressive and non-retrograde. It's discouraging that these trolls came out to celebrate this movie failing because -why? It's not Batman?  It's unapologetically female-centric and led? There's no "nice guys" in it? (Spoiler alert - there are no nice girls either.) (And hey, what is a film saying when the only likable male in a film is a hyena?)

If you are trying to find a sweet spot between a gritty crime movie and a comic-book film, you need to know that you are making your target significantly smaller than if you stuck to one or the other, even before you try to frame it in a woman's perspective. But that doesn't mean it isn't worthy to attempt it; you can have a great time and be successful even if you don't knock it out of the park.

For what it's worth, Birds of Prey gets a pretty good piece of it, for my money at least, and gave Glory and I a very decent time at the movies. It scratches a lot of the same itches that movies like Deadpool 2 do, and that sequel is a long ways off. As I write this, it is cheap movie night tomorrow, and if you want a good-looking action flick with a great soundtrack and cool new perspective, check out Harley Quinn and her crew.

Oscars 2020 - Surprises Galore

After a one-year hiatus, it felt good to host our Oscars party once again, and it turned out to be a great night to be watching with friends.

I only got 9 predictions right out of 24 (compared to Totty who led with 14, or Earl, who outscored us all from his home with an astonishing 20), but watching Bong Joon Ho's Parasite become the first foreign-language film ever to win Best Picture was truly exhilarating. Especially since we only watched it the night before. (It's a great but intense film - watch it before someone spoils it for you!)

The party itself was a lot of fun, as usual. Glory outdid herself getting all the decorations set up, and the dessert-heavy pot luck table was well-received by everyone.

Pete generously loaned us his kegerator again, and the Buena Vista Brown from Alley Kat was also a welcome addition to the festivities.

Most importantly, it was wonderful to have friends old and new take a night of tv-viewing and turn it into a wonderful occasion celebrating our appreciation of cinema.

Sadly, I "won" our March of the Dead drinking game, having recognized 8 names from the "In Memoriam" roll and not realized they were dead:

Diahann Caroll
Danny Aiello
Barry Malki
Robert Evans
Andre Previn
Franco Zeffirelli
Branko Lustig (one of the best Oscar speeches I've seen!)
John Singleton

Pete was close behind with 7, but dang! I either need to stop reading credits or start paying more attention to the obituary notices in the L.A. Times and Variety.

With the growing influence of online Oscar prognosticators like GoldDerby.com et al, we have moved away from a "most correct guesses" model for our prize, so now each correct prediction gets you a raffle ticket. You only need one to win, but Totty's 14 gave him the edge and he picked up the movie tickets!

I'd also printed up some Oscar Bingo cards but we failed to get a winner this way, so a second draw saw Pete walk away with the 2020 Preview issue of Total Film Magazine.

Once again, the lack of a host for the telecast saw things finish up at a reasonable hour, but needing some time to absorm the damage from March of the Dead, the night ran a little late anyhow.

Dragonscales and Door Details

It's taken long enough, but I finally got bitten by the painting bug a little while back.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of figures around here to paint were I so inclined, but the inclination has been sorely lacking for the past while. But one Sunday I got it into my head that painting the dragon from the Arena: The Contest game that three of us Kickstartered and received in November would be an attainable goal, and significantly improve the look of the game.

I found a half-can of black primer, dusted off my brushes and prepared to get to work, but first I had to decide what colour to paint it. As a collective, we had recently agreed to back an expansion for the game which includes a collection of 5 uniquely sculpted dragons: red, blue, black, white and undead. The dragon we have can stand in for any of them in a pinch (and until the Dragon Collection is released in 2021), but there are also rules for green and gold dragons. Since Tamarand, the Gold Dragon, is the focus of a special player-vs.-player scenario pitting 4 characters against a player-controlled dragon, it seemed like a good choice.

I drybrushed all the scales on his torso and limbs a dark metallic gold but did his wing-arms and bones and face in a golden brown. I had just started painting the wing membranes and realized the scheme wouldn't work - there was far too much contrast, so the wings looked like they had been dropped on from another creature, or worse yet, another model.

So I re-painted the wings structures black and then drybrushed them gold, like the body, taking care to leave the lighter coloured membranes alone. Eventually I washed the wings with an ink before brushing over them with a khaki, getting something at least close to the effect I wanted.

I also blended a bit more metallic gold into his face before picking out the details of his teeth and tongue. In the end, I think he turned out pretty well.

Sadly, the hero models in the game are not nearly as detailed as the monsters, due to being colour coded and made with a softer plastic (something else Dragori Games is addressing when they do their expansion), so I probably won't be painting them. But after finishing the dragon, I saw another opportunity to improve the look of the game fairly easily - painting the plastic walls and doors.

Even unpainted, these 3D accessories elevate the appearance of the game significantly, but the idea of putting the painted dragon next to something bereft of shading and pigment was discouraging, and besides, painting them would be mostly drybrushing anyhow. 

Off to the neighbourhood game store I went (after going to Kingsway and discovering that Comex, my go-to for hobby supplies, had moved to a new location in Old Strathcona) for another can of black primer. Laying them out for spraying filled two pizza boxes, and I primed the doors in white on a third box so I could ink them and bring out the pattern of the wood grain a little.

A week ago last Thursday I had the house to myself with Fenya at her night class, Glory at dance, and Audrey at choir, so I buckled down after dinner and got all the walls drybrushed before bed.  The doors and levers, despite being the size of perhaps two wall sections, look almost twice as long to complete the next day. In the end though, they turned out looking pretty nice, and match the colours of the cardboard counters supplied with the game, which is critical for determining how much damage they have taken.

I've had the chance to play with the painted set three times now, two of them being dragon fights (with Tamarand standing in for red and blue varieties) that don't need as much in the way of walls, but are no less fun. I love how much the walls and doors add to the feeling of immersion, and how much more of a dungeon-crawl vibe they give the game than most of the actual games of Dungeons & Dragons I played years ago.

Photo credit: Earl J. Woods

The next goal is to start painting the rest of the monsters included in the game - orcs, vampires, golems, zombies, skeletons and ghostly dwarves - to give the opposition a little more character before we start playing the campaign version of the game.

Hopefully this painting bug sticks around for a while!

(Note: Arena is not being sold in stores yet, but they are releasing a "1.5 version" of the game with the improved hero models for US$69 + shipping as part of the expansion Kickstarter beginning on Feb. 4.)