Movies - Reliving L.A.'s Past

I saw the first trailer for Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society” at the Cameo in St Helena yesterday.
It’s set in Hollywood in the glamorous ‘30’s. We all loved the magic of “Midnight in Paris”, and i’m hoping this bit of nostalgia in half as good. It opened the recent Cannes Film Festival.

The movie I actually came to see at the Cameo was “The Nice Guys”. How could I resist a ‘70’s buddy-cop-action-comedy, made by the original “Lethal Weapon” guys? There’s been good buzz on this Russell Crowe-Ryan Gosling throwback, and it kicked off with a bang. “Superfly” playin’ and a porn star crashin’. Naturally the two leads don’t meet cute, But circumstances get them to team up. Mr. Gosling had a great time being a cross between cool and clumsy, emphasis on the clumsy. His moment as Lou Costello was pretty funny. Mr. Crowe was "bulked up" for his tough guy part, but more in a John Goodman-esgue sense than buff. This kind of movie used to be a hard R (nudity, etc.), but it's undeniably funny (if violent) for adults. And the smartest person in the movie is a 13-year old girl! This one is turning into a minor hit...and it's not a superhero movie! (Or is it?)

My parents got the first TV on our block in ‘53. I was 9 or 10. Besides all the TV shows of the time (“Space Patrol”!), the old movies of the '30's and '40's (badly cut) got lots of play. I was impressed culturally. To this day, my favorite actors are Cary Grant, Clark Gable, William Powell, Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy, along with their leading ladies: Kate Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow and  Lauren Bacall. Imagining that time for me is like imagining Paris in the ‘20’s for Owen Wilson’s character. So, bring it, Woody! The cast includes Steve Carrell, Jesse Eisenberg and the suddenly ubiquitous Kristen Stewart. 

When my parents took me out to a movie in the’50’s, it was (a) Alfred Hitchcock, (b) Alec Guinness or (c) Hollywood spectacular. Bible epics and musicals ruled this last category. When I saw trailers for “Hail, Caesar!” at the end of the last Oscar season, it revived those memories. I hoped this first big movie of the new year would be a knock-out. It was by the Coen brothers, after all, and they do twisted nostalgia brilliantly. But the early reviews were disappointing, and it didn’t do good business, despite George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johannsen -- an all-star cast.  So, when I finally watched it on Blu-ray last week, I was SO pleasantly surprised!  It’s really Josh Brolin’s movie (which is fine by me!); he’s the studio exec who keeps it all on track. And it ain’t easy, with Clooney’s not-too-bright character being kidnapped by Communists! The movie absolutely re-creates some of the classic elements of ‘50’s Hollywood: (a) the Roman general (Clooney) falls under the spiritual spell of the crucified Christ; (b) an Audie Murphy-type cowboy actor (Alden Ehrenreich, who will be the next, younger Han Solo) gets a big chance; (c) an Esther Williams-type swimming star (Ms. Johannsen) needs some damage control; (d) a Hedda Hopper/Louella Parsons-type rivalry (Tilda Swinton, in both parts); (e) a Donald O'Connor/Gene Kelly-type dancer (Channing Tatum) has some surprising moves; and (f) those Hollywood Ten-type communists. (Here I've got to remind you to see "Trumbo", with Bryan Cranston earning his Oscar nom telling that story!)  There are many more great actors, characters and settings to enjoy in "Hail, Caesar!", especially if you can remember these points of reference as serious movies from your childhood!