Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, though better options may be on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)
My reviews’ premise: “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
(from "Garden Party" by Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)
Now that Nina and I have indulged in our annual immersion into The Godfather trilogy (Francis Ford Coppola; 1972, 1974, 1990) we’ll bid farewell to the saga of Michael Corleone and his family(ies), then return to our regular programming (with no Spoiler alerts on the first of these options because the documentary under review is all based on historical footage and older/recent interviews). In that both of the movies I’ve selected have been available for awhile, I’ll just do Short Takes on each one.
SHORT TAKES
Here’s the trailer:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size;
activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)
I’ll start by thanking the Disney+ streaming platform for giving me docs to enjoy and write about for 2 of my 3 most-current postings, with The Beatles creating songs that would go on their Abbey Road (1969) and Let It Be (1970) albums in the long-ago footage that became the Let It Be (Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1970) movie (my review in our May 15, 2024 posting with extensive cleanup of image and audio quality by Peter Jackson for this re-release, making their final public performance on the rooftop of their Apple Studio building all the more pleasure to watch) and now this new doc about my #2 most favorite band (after The Beatles at #1), the Beach Boys. Admittedly, when you’re exploring a musical group who've given us records and live shows for over 60 years it’s impossible to get all of the relevant material into a near-2 hour format, so—even though I’ll note below my concerns about a few crucial items left out—it was wonderful to once again immerse myself in the memories of all that music that took me from junior high through undergrad college (1962-’70), remembering the satisfaction I had in listening to those records time and again, as well as seeing them live 7 times (1967-2012), second only to the 8 times I was able to see Nobel poet Bob Dylan (starting with his 1974 tour with The Band, most recently at southern CA’s 2016 Desert Trip festival).
Over those years I’ve managed to see (maybe) all of the major players in the Beach Boys band (with the possible exception of Ricky Fataar, who was with them on tour in 1971-’72, because I’m not sure of the date of their NYC Queens College [where I worked at the time] show, so if it was in ’73 I missed Ricky but would have seen Blondie Chapin who was with the group 1972-’73), although it took until their 50th anniversary tour in 2012 for me to see Brian Wilson and David Marks (1962-’63 replacing Al Jardine for awhile early on, then back again 1997-’99, 2011-’12) in the group, but I’ve had full doses of Mike Love, Jardine, and Bruce Johnson all the way along, plus Dennis and Carl Wilson, prior to their respective deaths (1983, 1998), with footage of them also singing during that 50th anniversary show. In addition to all that contact, I’ve also read a good bit about them, saw previous docs—The Beach Boys: An American Band (Malcolm Leo, 1985), Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys (Alan Boyd, 1998), although I admit I now remember nothing about either of those—along with the marvelous biopic about Brian, Love & Mercy (Bill Pohlad, 2015; review in our June 10, 2015 posting), where he was played by Paul Dano and John Cusack at various ages of his long life.
So there wasn’t an awful lot I wasn’t already aware of, although like Owen Gleiberman in his positive review of this current movie in Variety, I learned some things I didn’t previously know (or, at least, remember), such as Dad Murry Wilson selling off the group’s song catalogue in 1969 for $700,000 because he didn’t think their fame would last (didn’t consult them either). However, for those who have only a passing awareness of this monumentally-important American rock group, The Beach Boys is a useful overview of their career from the Wilson brothers’ teenage years in Hawthorne, CA in the late 1950s where the band came together, joined by cousin Love and friend Jardine, managed by the brothers’ tyrannical father, found themselves with some early hits and a contract with Capitol Records in 1962, then we follow with a good bit of detail exploring their premiere years through 1966, after which the chronology gets more compressed as we move on to the present, with the last quiet scene a 2023 gathering of Wilson, Love, Jardine, Johnson, and Marks on the beach at Paradise Cove, CA, site of the cover photo of their first album, Surfin’ Safari (1962).
As we encounter these years, though, we hear only snippets of many of their songs including “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” Good Vibrations,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” “In My Room,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “Do You Wanna Dance?,” “I Get Around,” “Girl Don’t Tell Me,” “Help Me Rhonda,” “God Only Knows,” and “Good Vibrations” (What? No “California Girls”? Maybe I missed it?), but if you want full renditions of any of these songs you’ll have to find them on albums, with many of what I’ve just noted on Endless Summer (1974), others on Pet Sounds (1966), as the only songs presented in full here are "Darlin' " (1967 album Wild Honey) performed at a July 4, 1980 concert at Washington D.C.’s National Mall (as credits are added to the visuals [same ones I've linked here], Carl singing lead), followed by "Kokomo" (1989 Still Crusin’ album and soundtrack album for the movie Cocktail [Roger Donaldson, 1988]), the band’s last #1 single, under the rest of the credits. You put all of that together and you have what seems to be a concise biography of a group of very successful pop musicians that have had their ups and downs in terms of popularity (especially as Brian’s writing/producing became more esoteric), influenced by their friendly rivalry with The Beatles and the culture shift from the Vietnam War but appear to still be a driving force in American culture, even though this movie is not “definitive,” as some of its publicity claims.
Although some negative aspects of their years are briefly mentioned (Brian’s psychological traumas, beginning with a panic attack on the way to a late 1964 concert in Houston, which I heard a lot about on local AM radio as I was just 50 miles away in Galveston [had a lot of faux-surfers, trying to live the southern CA lifestyle so I tried surfing, never was even able to stand up on the board; a place Mike Love said “sucks” when I saw the band in 1967 in Austin] along with Dennis Wilson’s connections with Charles Manson before the infamous murders), I feel there are notable omissions, even given how much is packed in already: Brian’s extensive troubles are barely mentioned; the very real possibility the diminished hearing in his right ear was caused by being hit as a young age by his father; the deaths of Dennis and Carl, noted only at the end with brief graphics; the implication in that final scene these remaining Beach Boys are still in personal harmony when the truth is Mike Love gained control of the name, continues to tour with Bruce Johnson, but doesn’t bring Wilson, Jardine, and/or Marks to join in, although the former 2 are still technically listed as being part of the band (?).
Given that I consider these noted omissions to be significant missing parts of any truly complete contemporary look at the Beach Boys—along with no mention at all of their 50th anniversary tour where all 5 of these survivors did perform together in April through September, 2012—I feel these essential aspects have been left out of what is otherwise a tight, well-produced, informative documentary, so I’ll pulled my stars rating back to 3½, rather than the 4 I gave to the reformed Let It Be, which puts me in between Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 86% and Metacritic with a 63% average score, although I do recommend this doc for long-time Beach Boys fans (like me) along with those who don’t yet know enough about them. I’ll leave you with my usual ending-device of a Musical Metaphor, which could be any one of dozens of Beach Boys tunes (including the relevant "Do It Again" [1969 20/20 album]), but I’ll use one that always brought great crowd buy-in during the concerts, “Fun, Fun, Fun” (from the 1964 Shut Down Volume 2 album) at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=vS5ttqc8iDw because it’s the original 5 guys in a live 1964 performance (but where does that organ come from?) that gives a fine sense of what made them so popular for so long. Nevertheless, if you want much more of the full story of this group, go to this site for more details than you may be able to digest. (But if you do need even more, here’s an extensive interview where co-director Marshall counterpoints some of my objections—but who you gonna believe? Some famous Hollywood filmmaker with his extensive credits or me? Think carefully, now.)
Challengers (Luca Guadagnino) rated R 131 min.
Here’s the trailer:
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $ (as well as recognizing those readers like me who just aren’t that tech-savvy). To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid these all-important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters with colors plus arrows:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
I became aware of this film due to unqualified praise from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mick LaSalle: “[These are] people who are barely coming into their maturity as adults at the same time they must be fully formed performers on the court. They’re figuring out how to be human while trying to be superhuman, and the mind-scrambling strain of that, particularly for the men, is felt throughout. […] Love stories involving actors in their 20s and early 30s usually concentrate on courtship, but a lot of tumult, tawdriness and tortured history can take place during those years.” After opening in domestic (U.S.-Canada) theaters April 26, 2024 (to date it’s made $47.6 million, $86.8 million worldwide; still available in 1,089 venues) my interest was rewarded with early streaming availability (but on the night I viewed it the rental price on JustWatch from Apple TV+ was $14.99 vs. Amazon Prime Video’s $19.99, yet when I called it up on my Roku box the Apple price was $17.99, the current cost on both platforms, as well as some others). CCAL support remains quite strong with Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 89%, Metacritic average score an unusually-close 82%, so Nina and I settled in after a fine Italian dinner (at a restaurant so I didn’t have to cook as with our Godfather marathon), expecting a cinematic treat for dessert, only to not be transfixed as the running time continued to roll along (she finally left to read when there was about 40 min. to go).
Maybe if I followed pro tennis or were decades younger (searching for romantic stability) I could relate more to LaSalle; as it is, though, I wasn’t much interested in the plights of these characters (despite their roles as well-acted), so—unless you’re a big fan of Zendaya, tennis, or both—look for this one at a bargain matinee or get several co-watchers to help split the streaming cost. As with Wikipedia's plot summary, I’ll recap chronologically (after my initial set-up) because the cinematic structure jumps constantly between 2006 and 2019, with graphics noting locations such as “13 years earlier” (including further complications within designated years: “1 week earlier”) so you’re constantly calculating time-frames, as well as needing to recognize when we’re back into 2019 with no graphic help, simply through the context of a crucial match (given how many little plot nuances are presented to us, I’ve cut my comments to the essentials; if you want more specifics, refer to the Wikipedia summary [even though those editors say it’s “too long or excessively detailed”—really?]).
In that everything leads up to a dramatic finale, I think it's necessary to note how tennis pros Art Donaldson (Mike Faist)—solid career, won major tournaments, desperately wants to complete a Career Grand Slam by winning 2019’s U.S. Open, though his game’s gone a bit cold lately, needs to win this local Phil’s Tire Town Challenge in New Rochelle, NY to slip into qualifying for the Open—and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Conner)—Art’s childhood friend, court companion for years, now almost out of the game, so broke he can’t afford the Challenge hotel so he sleeps in his car—start this story competing in that Challenge final, career and pride respectively on the line. Further complication: Art’s wife, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), was once like these guys, an up-and-coming teenage phenom whose career was cut short by a leg injury in college, so, after a romance with Patrick she became Art’s coach, married him (they have a young daughter), is desperate for him to win this Challenge as she really can’t reconcile being with someone whose life isn’t saturated with tennis as hers always is.
OK, with that 2019 opening in place, here’s what leads up to it in certain crucial years: 2006—At that U.S. Open, teenaged Art and Patrick win the boys' junior doubles title, are fascinated with fierce-playing Tashi, invite her to their hotel room, are surprised when she shows up; they all begin to kiss passionately until she backs off leaving the boys surprisingly continuing to smooch, then she leaves with the offer that whichever of them beats the other in a match tomorrow will finally get her phone number. 2007—Tashi and Art are at Stanford U., Patrick’s turned pro so is off on tour a lot, but it’s clear he and Tashi are involved, yet when he comes to visit her Art sows discord by telling Patrick Tashi’s not serious about the relationship (here’s a scene analysis about that, 2:44), then tells Tashi Patrick’s not really in love with her. Tashi and Patrick argue; during a practice Tashi tears her ACL ending her career as well as her time with Patrick. 2009—Tashi becomes Art’s coach and lover, 2 years later they’re engaged; however, at the Atlanta Open Patrick reconnects with Tashi, they have sex, Art secretly aware of it. ⇒2019—Now we’re at the New Rochelle Challenge, where Patrick tries to befriend Art, but he’ll have none of it; Art tells Tashi Open-win or not, he’s ready to retire, so she secretly meets with Patrick, asks him to thrown the final (the men advanced separately through the tournament). He’s disgusted by that, she wants to leave his car, changes her mind as they once again have sex. The next day in the final, through a lot of intense cinema of camera movement, quick action, rapid editing (see examples from throughout the film, 5:11 [even this gets tedious for me but is clearly indicative of the film]), Art and Patrick are tied, until Art makes a leaping slam of the ball, falls over the net so Patrick can’t respond (Art wins, I guess; can you even do something like that without being disqualified?) with the men hugging, Tashi smiling as she cheers for the result.⇐
Yes, there’s a lot going on here successfully showing the irrational passion of youth (now, that I can remember, even with some regret about my choices), the frustration of having a dream terminated (Tashi) so that she lives vicariously through Art’s successes, the difficulty of maintaining great public success as advancing age and accumulating injuries (Art) spell an inevitable professional end, and the sorrow of losing everything that once mattered (Patrick) as his time with Tashi’s terminated, his promising career slips away over the years. But, for me, this was just a mountain of melodrama that at least added up to a tense resolution until the improbable finale. Opening credits indicate this film’s part of (Amazon) Metro-Goldwin-Mayer’s 100th anniversary, but I can’t imagine it being remembered years from now as being part of that storied company’s greatest hits (well, I admit, it takes a hell of a lot of cinematic-accomplishment to be named with the likes of Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz [both directed by Victor Fleming [with uncredited help] in 1939) and the ongoing James Bond series. Certainly there are others who find it considerably better than I do, so choose for yourself as it’s clearly not terrible, just something that surprisingly didn’t intrigue me as much as I thought it would, along with being too jumbled for my tastes with all of those flashbacks and forwards. So much so I had trouble coming up with a useful Musical Metaphor so I returned to the Beach Boys again for “God Only Knows” (Pet Sounds, 1966) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpd4jzKA 4SA, because at least for the men in Challengers they seem to be lost without some connection to Tashi, although I’m not convinced she truly needs either one of them at such a level of commitment.
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
Options: (1) 2024 Cannes Film Festival winners; (2) IMDb's Summer Watch Guide; (3) New York Times' opinion of the 2024 Best Films so far (I haven’t seen any of them yet): (4) Biopic about Trump, The Apprentice, a big hit at Cannes but no release deal yet: (5) Trump files cease and desist order against The Apprentice; and (6) How AMC Theatres is struggling with huge debt.
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