Guilt and Chaos
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, but better options are on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue below [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," Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band, 1972 album of the song’s name)
As this holiday season continues to gallop along, with me now at a well-traveled 77 years and this blog at a substantial 14 (61 cinematic experiences reviewed this year; 1,208 since December 2011; 651 postings overall; about 2.4 million unique hits prior to this addition, keep 'em coming), plus various activities to attend to (thus, SHORT TAKES format this time; OK, the second one’s not so short), I’m going to take a couple of weeks’ break, join you again in early 2025 with hopes the rest of this year into next will be peaceful, prosperous, and joyful for you. I’m also happy to be closing out 2024 with 2 of the best I’ve seen this year (although I’ve still got a good number of probable Oscar-contenders to catch up on later as COVID, bird flu, and streaming might allow in the coming weeks).
SHORT TAKES
Juror #2 (Clint Eastwood) rated PG-13 114 min.
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.)
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.
Eastwood’s now 94 (suddenly, I feel much younger), this is his 40th directorial effort with rumors it could be his last; if that’s the case, he’s gone out on a high note—not at the level of his Oscar-winning magnificence of Unforgiven (1992; easily 5 stars from me if I ever officially review it, in my opinion the finest western ever made), but right up there with his other Best Director Oscar for Million Dollar Baby (2004), although there’s no telling yet whether the Academy will deem this new one to be of such a caliber even as a contender for that award. In this original story, written by Jonathan Abrams, we find ourselves in Savannah, GA in 2021 where Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is hopeful with his pregnant wife, Ally (Zoey Deutch), they’ll soon have a child yet fearful because of her earlier miscarriage of twins. He was so distraught on the anniversary of their deaths a year ago he found himself at a popular roadhouse staring at a glass of whiskey, finally refusing to succumb to it (he’s in AA, been sober for a few years), even as he sees a near-violent, drunken argument between a local couple, James Sythe (Gabriel Basso)—a known ne’er-do-well—and his girlfriend, Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood [Clint's daughter]). Justin, along with several others, watches as she walks home alone in the rain; a little bit later, as he’s driving down that same road he feels his car hit something, finds nothing in the dark, assumes it's a wounded deer who wandered off, goes on home.
In the present, he’s summoned to jury duty where he finds himself accepted in judgment of Sythe, accused of murdering Kendall whose battered body was found in a ditch off the road both she and Justin traveled that night, with Sythe proclaiming his innocence. When we get to jury deliberations it’s reminiscent of 12 Angry Men (Sydney Lumet, 1957) in that 11 are ready to convict while Justin, fearful he’s the true guilty party (but is advised by his AA sponsor/lawyer friend Larry Lasker [Kiefer Sutherland] to stay quiet lest he finds himself locked away for decades), tries to stall so that (he fears in his own confusion) an innocent man won’t be convicted. To make matters worse, juror Harold Chicowski (J.K. Simmons), a retired police detective starts pursuing the idea Kendall died from a hit-and-run, even improperly gathers some evidence regarding likely vehicles from that time that needed collision repairs, until he’s removed from the jury for his inappropriate sleuthing, yet knowledge of such evidence sends determined prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) down that road as well, even questioning Ally about Justin’s car repairs (he claims he did hit a deer, but in another location).
⇒Ultimately, Justin goes along with the guilty verdict resulting in a harsh sentence for Sythe. Later, Justin and Ally are happy with their new baby, but then we’re left with an unsettling, ambiguous ending when newly-elected District Attorney Killebrew comes knocking on their front door.⇐ The acting is marvelous throughout, especially by Hoult and Collette, with truth to the situation effectively hanging unresolved, even if we assume we have reason to speculate on what happened/what comes next. Juror #2 got a limited domestic (U.S.-Canada) theatrical release on November 1, 2024, with no reported box-office nor any sense of continued presence to today, although it did make $20.1 million from various European markets. Apparently, it’s set to debut on Max on December 20, 2024, yet I was able to rent it from Apple TV+ last weekend for $9.99 (also on Fandango at Home, $9.99), so if you want to see it (I encourage you to do so) pick your preferred streaming platform. The CCAL encourages your attention as well, with the Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 94%, the Metacritic average score at 72%. I’ll exit here with my usual device of a Musical Metaphor, though I had a hard time finding an appropriate one for this film so I finally settled on The Eagles’ “Desperado” (on their song-named 1973 album; this is the 8th time I’ve used it so I must have seen some miserable characters over the years) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiPqUjLMu A8 (grand vocals by Don Henley): Not a perfect fit, I admit, but I do find some resonance between Justin and lyrics such as “Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home / And freedom, oh freedom, well that’s just some people talkin’ / Your prison is walkin’ through this world all alone.” Justin suffers a lot here, justifiably or not, in his dilemma worth your time to explore along with Clint.
Saturday Night (Jason Reitman) rated R 109 min.
Here’s the trailer:
(No Spoiler alert here as what you see is essentially all on public record.) Back on October 11, 1975, Lorne Michaels’ (Gabriel LaBelle) network TV experiment, NBC’s Saturday Night was a stressful 90 minutes from a live broadcast (at least in the Eastern and Central time zones; it’s shown in a recorded-live-version for the westerly parts of the U.S.) as presented in this dramatization of the show’s shaky debut, which managed to finally get through some of its possible elements (the final dress rehearsal ran 3 hours, rather than the allotted hour and a half, so obviously a lot of early intentions had to go, including a short bit from Billy Crystal [Nicholas Podany]), establish itself as an ongoing broadcast presence for 50 years as we move into 2025 (3-hour anniversary special comes next February 16). This movie uses a little more than the actual clock-tickdown, but you constantly feel the tension on Michaels and everyone else who wants the show to work (despite pressure from some NBC execs to delay it for at least a week, replaced by a rerun of Johnny Carson’s Tonight show, or just be cancelled—Carson even calls Michaels during this frantic time, with tepid support).
I know that at some point in the past I’ve read a book about the launching of this show, but whether it was Saturday Night Live (Anne Betts, John Head, eds., 1977), Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live (Doug Hill, Jeff Weingrad, 1986), Saturday Night Live: The First Twenty Years (Michael Cader, 1994), or Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By its Stars, Writers and Guests (Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller, 2002), I couldn’t tell you at this point, but from what I remember about whatever I read I’d say this new movie captures the programs's debut chaos accurately even if some of it has been fictionalized, as most docudramas are (if you’d like to know a lot about the actual program without having to go book-length, though, I’ll refer you to this site for extensive detail). In the movie, Michaels is frantically trying to get his project under control with help from his NBC boss, Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), but he’s facing pressure from NBC exec David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) to postpone the broadcast, additional pressure coming from the presence of NBC affiliate honchos from around the country, brought in by Tebet, to watch the broadcast, offer opinions on how the show'll play in their markets.
Along the way, in addition to lots of time with Michaels, we focus on cast members Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris [no relation]) wondering what he’s doing on a comedy sketch show when he’s got background in operatic theater; Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), oozing egotism until he’s confronted by the bigger ego of famed TV star/comedian Milton Berle* (J.K. Simmons), who quickly puts Chase in his place; wacky Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) who seems to be everywhere; cantankerous John Belushi (Matt Wood) who hasn’t even signed his contract yet, storms out of rehearsals to go ice skating downstairs at Rockefeller Center; and beloved Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) who helps convince Belushi to get back upstairs (not featured much are the other original Not Ready for Prime Time Players Jane Curtain [Kim Matula] and Lorraine Newman [Emily Fairn]). I’m sure somehow I’ve seen this debut show, but as presented here I’m amazed they were able to cram in all they did with an opening monologue by George Carlin (Matthew Rhys)—who had little interest in being there, refused to be in any of the skits—Andy Kaufman’s (Nicholas Braun) “Mighty Mouse” comic bit, something from Jim Henson (Braun) and his Muppets, and music from both Janis Ian (Naomi McPherson) and Billy Preston’s (Jon Batiste) band (who give Morris pot, to smooth him out).
As rehearsals continue right up to showtime, Tebet’s finally won over by Kaufman's bit, Michaels makes a last-minute decision for Chase to do “Weekend Update” rather than Lorne himself, the show begins with Belushi and Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey) doing the "Wolverines" skit with both of them collapsed at the end so Chase enters, says “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” By what I’m sure is intended coincidence, this movie expanded (after a very limited opening 2 weeks earlier) in theaters on the same date as the TV debut, just 49 years later, on October 11, 2024. It’s not been overwhelmingly embraced by the CCAL though, with the RT positives at 78%, the MC average score at 63%, having taken in $9.5 million domestically, $9.8 million total globally.
*I briefly met Berle once in the lobby of a big Dallas hotel when the organization I was an officer in was preparing for our awards ceremony that night when a small group of us saw Berle. He was courteous, signed autographs, but when we asked if he'd make a quick appearance at our event for which we had $5,000 to spare he said “$5,000 won’t even get you ‘Hello’,“ ending the conversation.
I admit I’m a long-time audience member for this show (except in the early ‘80s when I wasn’t too impressed with the initial replacements for the original cast, thereby missing the years of Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Martin Short, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus [Damn!]), even recently when the writing (except the cold opening skits and the crass jibes in “Weekend Update”) and most musical guests tell me I’ve aged-out of being anywhere close to the target demographic, so I don’t know how interesting this look back at the crazy beginning will be, but I think the frantic absurdity will be enjoyable whether you understand the heritage of “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not!,” “Jane, you ignorant slut!,” “Never Mind!,” and “Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, Pepsi, no Coke” or not—if so you’ll find it streaming on Apple TV+ for another $9.99 rental (also on Fandango at Home and Microsoft streaming, same price). But, if not, maybe you can settle for my Musical Metaphor, Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting}” (on the 1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NagnbRHdh-0 where his lyrics of “Oh, don’t give us none of your aggravation / We had it with your discipline / Saturday night’s alright for fighting / Get a little action in […] ‘Cause Saturday night’s the night I like / Saturday night’s alright, alright, alright” seem to me to fit Lorne Michael’s initial frustrations with the network’s weak support for his project coupled with his determination to successfully fight through those obstacles. According to this site, you can watch that actual first episode via streaming on the Peacock platform if you choose to pursue it.
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
(1) Red One flops in theaters, opens big on Amazon Prime Video; (2) Variety's worst movies of 2024 (fortunately, I haven’t seen them); (3) Variety's Oscar predictions for 2025, for now (I’ve seen very few of them); (4) IMDb's staff picks for 2024's best (I haven’t seen most of these either).
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