Jack thought this was one of Paul Rudd's better performances (he didn't see This is 40 with me) and we usually like Rudd anyway. His character John's goofy grin is used to good effect, also as usual. Apparently it was as much a thrill for Lily Tomlin (my favorites include Nashville (1973) for which she was Oscar-nominated, The Late Show (1977), Nine to Five (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) of which I watched the second half a month ago way too late at night, All of Me (1984), Big Business (1988), The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991), Short Cuts (1993), Flirting with Disaster (1996), and Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)) to work with Fey as the other way around--they are both ground-breaking writers and actresses. Sometime in the late 1980s I happened to spy Tomlin having a drink at a bar in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. I had already had a few myself and so I went up to her to say I was a big fan. "Of what, exactly?" she demanded. "Um, um, I loved your stage show of Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," I stammered. "Well, then, you're a fan of Jane Wagner over there. She wrote it. What did you like?" I don't remember what I said but I know I wanted a trap door to escape right about then (there's a trap door gag or three in this movie). Regardless of her brusqueness with me, a tongue-tied fan (yes, kids, I get shy around greatness, especially when I was younger), Tomlin is an icon of feminism, a trait she brings to her character as Portia's mother Susannah. It was her idea for Susannah to have a tattoo of Bella Abzug, one of the founding mothers of the modern Women's Movement.
Supporting strength comes from Michael Sheen (last in these pages in Midnight in Paris), Wallace Shawn (profiled in A Late Quartet), teenage Nat Wolff (the son of Polly Draper from thirtysomething--coincidentally she had a small part in Side Effects--and musician Michael Wolff, Nat wrote songs for a TV series The Naked Brothers Band in which he starred with his brother Alex), and young Travaris Spears in his feature debut. Special note must be made of a funny one-note performance by Sonya Walger (Penny on Lost, Caroline on Tell Me You Love Me, others) as the Virginia Woolf Scholar.
Director Paul Weitz' last picture Being Flynn has been mentioned many times by reviewers. I wish they would realize that, though this isn't as serious as that one, it's not supposed to be a rollicking comedy, so they should stop complaining that there aren't enough jokes. There are plenty, but this one is a dramedy, folks. Karen Croner adapted Jean Hanff Korelitz' novel, not to the letter, according to the author, but with complete approval. Korelitz attended Dartmouth which is in central New Hampshire. Portia and John are Dartmouth alums and my only quibble is that there's a lot of driving back and forth between southern New Hampshire and Princeton, which, according to google maps, would take nearly five hours without traffic, yet they seem to get it done very quickly and at a moment's notice.
When we saw this on Friday, opening day, its rottentomatoes average was in the 30s. Tonight it's at 44 critics/58 audiences. Opening weekend isn't over for a few minutes so the numbers may go up tomorrow. We recommend this for fans of Fey, Rudd, Tomlin, and most anyone who remembers what it's like to apply for college.
Director Paul Weitz' last picture Being Flynn has been mentioned many times by reviewers. I wish they would realize that, though this isn't as serious as that one, it's not supposed to be a rollicking comedy, so they should stop complaining that there aren't enough jokes. There are plenty, but this one is a dramedy, folks. Karen Croner adapted Jean Hanff Korelitz' novel, not to the letter, according to the author, but with complete approval. Korelitz attended Dartmouth which is in central New Hampshire. Portia and John are Dartmouth alums and my only quibble is that there's a lot of driving back and forth between southern New Hampshire and Princeton, which, according to google maps, would take nearly five hours without traffic, yet they seem to get it done very quickly and at a moment's notice.
There are plenty of songs, listed here (including one by a Princeton a cappella group). But, for a change, the album has the score composed by Steven Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) in which he acted as well, Station Agent (2003), In Good Company (2004) which was directed/written by Weitz), and The Savages (2007), to name some of my faves). You can preview eleven tracks in their entirety and read about it on this link.
When we saw this on Friday, opening day, its rottentomatoes average was in the 30s. Tonight it's at 44 critics/58 audiences. Opening weekend isn't over for a few minutes so the numbers may go up tomorrow. We recommend this for fans of Fey, Rudd, Tomlin, and most anyone who remembers what it's like to apply for college.
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