June
5
Summer Movies: Drag Me to Hell, Away We Go
Every once in a while I am reminded that my taste is not the same as the mass audience. I can usually call a blockbuster like 300 or Star Trek--in other words, I ignore the tracking and opening weekend predictions to insist--THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD IT WILL DO BUSINESS. Sometimes, thank God, word-of-mouth counts for something, so that a movie becomes A MUST-SEE.
But occasionally I really like something--often beloved by critics as well--that just doesn't catch moviegoers' fancy. Take, say, the two-part Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse. Both movies were simply too arcane, too close to their pulpy cinephile roots. But what was arcane about Drag Me to Hell, which earned a whopping 83 on Metacritic? But opened to $16 million? And is getting creamed by the competition? What makes this Sam Raimi movie a tweener? Well, the fact that it's a horror/comedy hybrid, for one. (See Slither.) It looks like you can't have a fun scary gross-out E-ride rated PG-13: that way you lose both the family and the horror crowd. (And there's a Fright Night remake in the works.)
That's Dennis Cozzalio's theory (scroll down). He hosted a fun gathering at the Mission Tiki drive-in last Saturday night, complete with hearse and Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule T-shirt giveaways. Was this film freak gathering a bad sign for the movie? Well, most of the drive-in's business that night was over on the side showing Pixar's Up. Other folks have criticized Universal's marketing, which failed to distinguish Drag Me to Hell enough. Debuting it at SXSW was the right move, but the message that the movie was really fun somehow didn't come across.
It's easier to recognize a smart-house tweener that isn't going to do any business. Focus Features' Away We Go, which has all the indie cred bonafides in the world, from Dave Eggers and Sam Mendes to TV comedy stars John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and movie actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, just doesn't cut it. Mainly the two rom-com leads are not interesting enough, forming a warm mushy bowl of boredom in the middle of the film. We know they love each other. So?
Secondly, the film is a road movie, always a risky narrative structure (see: My Blueberry Nights, also with a non-pro, Norah Jones, at its center). Third, beware of smart sophisticated filmmakers who are making fun of US for being one or more of the following: idiotic, alcoholic, leftie, bourgeois, self-involved, or lousy parents. The movie might as well be called BOOBS ARE US. One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons shows one couple saying to some pals, "Did you see Honky Tonk Freeway? It ruined our August." That ill-fated 1981 John Schlesinger comedy also looked down on ordinary American folks who weren't as cool as the filmmakers. IFC's David Hudson rounds up Away We Go's bad reviews; 56 on Metacritic isn't going to get this pic very far.
Here's the trailer:
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I read the "Away We Go" script back when it was being developed and I LOVED IT. It was just a pure comedy, without a trace of seriousness. It didn't feel mean towards the people they visited either. I haven't seen the film, but based on the trailer I think it was made more heavy-handed by Sam Mendes and cruel by the supporting actors' trying to hard to be funny, taking the humanity out of characters.
I also feel like John Krasinski appears miscast. He was great in that movie he directed, "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," but he's usually just trying to hard to be likable. I wish Focus had used Demetri Martin for this film in addition to "Taking Woodstock." I think he would have knocked it out of the park.
Posted by: Ed | June 05, 2009 at 10:42 PM
It's easy to make fun of the U.S., especially for people who either get their views from TV or go to New York and L.A. and think they've seen and understand the country. We are everything from the crassest individuals going on Jerry Springer to some of the most sophisticated and generous souls on the planet. Any country that can elect George Bush twice, then turn around and elect Barack Obama is not simple. The European equivalant would be for Germany to elect a Turk, France to elect an Algerian, or England to elect a Pakistani to lead their country. I'll believe it when I see it.
Posted by: mitkid | June 06, 2009 at 02:45 AM
I'm amazed at the bad reviews that Away We Go is getting. I LOVED the film. I'll go as far as to say it's without question one of the best films of the year. It's sweet, incredibly funny and the final scene is simply touching. I don't get it. It right up there on the screen. Why are people dumping on this film?
As for Drag Me to Hell, they should have held the film back until fall. It was released at the wrong time with all these bigger films coming out so it didn't have a change. Also, the PG-13 rating doesn't help. Horror film fans love their R rated fright flicks and considering Raimi was known for his early hard core gross out stuff, his fans were excepting something rawer
Posted by: Sergio | June 06, 2009 at 04:26 AM
Loved Away We Go. Can you say more about why you didn't like it aside from the bogus claim that the leads are uninteresting? Matthew McConaughey and Jen Aniston... those are uninteresting leads. Krasinski and Rudolph are perfect for what this movie is. I get that they're not the most exciting duo, especially compared to the other couples in the film, but I was never bored by them. They kept it offbeat and interesting.
And Ed, how could you like Krasinski in Brief Interviews more than in Away We Go? BIWHM is a god-awful movie, something that never should've even been filmed in the first place. The difference between his work in both movies is night and day. What are you watching?
Posted by: The InSneider | June 06, 2009 at 07:41 PM
the movie runs out of steam along the way; there's less and less to hang on to as you move from one set of awful friends to the next. I found Krasinski and Rudolph underwritten and boring after a while. The actors are likable but didn't hold my interest. The movie opened well in limited release despite the reviews--good Juno-style marketing-- I'm curious to see how it holds as it expands.
Posted by: anne Thompson | June 08, 2009 at 02:16 AM
Well let's agree to disagree on this one :)
Posted by: Sergio | June 08, 2009 at 07:26 AM