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Movie Preview: Pfeiffer and Friend in Chéri

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:30:37 -0700

Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend make a lovely, beautifully costumed duo in Chéri, a romantic drama set in the 1920s. From the trailer it doesn't look so much like a drama as it does a sweet, funny little period piece, but apparently the story takes place in Paris "where the son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love." It looks like a nice enough movie, but so far I'm mostly mesmerized by the silks and lace, pearls and hats on display in the trailer.

Chéri opens June 26. To check out the pretty trailer, read more.

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Two Straight-to-DVD Romances, One Long Night

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:30:43 -0800

Sometimes movies go straight to DVD and you can kind of guess why (sidenote: thank you, Molly, for watching Blonde Ambition so I don't have to!). But then there are those sweet-looking films with some big names - Alec Baldwin, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Sarah Michelle Prinze - that pique my curiosity. What could be so bad about movies like Suburban Girl and I Could Never Be Your Woman that they went straight to DVD? Well, in honor of Valentine's Day, I popped in these straight-to-DVD romances to find out just that.

The Description:
"Neophyte editor Brett Eisenberg (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is paying her dues in New York's publishing world when she attracts Archie Knox (Alec Baldwin), an aging industry luminary. Soon, their romance is complicated by real-life pressures, including Archie's alcoholism and Brett's dying father."
The Good:
Some of you may recall The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, a collection of short stories by Melissa Bank that became a huge hit in 1999, and Suburban Girl is based on two of the stories in that book. They did well to maintain most of the protagonist's character (now named Brett): her wise-beyond-her-years maturity, her immense (and proud) knowledge of literature. If nothing else, it's refreshing to see a main female character in a romantic comedy (I guess this is a comedy?) who is not a bumbling fool. She's like a heroine for any bookish girl who loves Dante and leather pants all at the same time. She's not altogether humorless, either - my writer's heart melted upon hearing Brett gush, "Don't you just love alliteration?"

To find out "The Bad" and my take on the other romantic DVD, read more
The Bad:
With the exception of endearing quips like those, the dialogue is shockingly bad. For this alone, I can see why Suburban Girl was not theatrically released. Some people have also criticized the relationship between Brett and Archie, claiming Sarah Michele Gellar and Alec Baldwin have zero chemistry, though I don't share this opinion. Their relationship is supposed to feel awkward at times, seeing as Archie is nearly the same age as Brett's dad. Sure, there are moments when their interactions feel forced, and they beat the whole "stop treating me like your daughter!" thing over our heads ad nauseum. But I was more or less okay with it.
Bottom line:
I completely understand why this film went straight to DVD but it's not without its charms, and I fervently hope to see characters like Brett on the big screen someday. Also, the movie's soundtrack could make those of similarly billed "chick flicks" weep with shame. It's cute enough if you're a huge fan of these actors.

I Could Never Be Your Woman
The Description:
"Just as Rosie (Pfeiffer) strikes up a romance with a handsome younger man (Paul Rudd), her daughter Izzie (Saorise Ronan) falls in love for the first time - and Mother Nature (Tracey Ullman) can't resist the temptation to meddle."
The Good:
Pfeiffer and Rudd are surprisingly cute together - to the point where I deeply wished the movie were solely about their relationship. Instead, there are a dozen different things smushed into this one film, and it all gets muddled and (especially in the scenes featuring an ethereal-looking Tracey Ullman as "Mother Nature") super weird. There are vague strains of female empowerment and some commentary on the culture of plastic surgery and degradation of women's bodies in Hollywood, but it all gets diluted amidst the rest of the storylines. Still, on some level, I appreciate the attempt to shed light on a culture in which little girls make their Barbies ridicule each others' bodies.
The Bad:
There's a romantic story involving Pfeiffer's character as The Hot Older Woman (at 40) and Rudd's character as The Funny Younger Man (at 29). But then there's the daughter's coming-of-age stuff and her own shrieky problems with boys at school. And there's Rosie's career troubles and her struggles with self-image within Hollywood. Finally, topping off this messy pile is the smart-mouthed Mother Nature who comes around to criticize Rosie's every move. It's just perplexing, and while there are some funny lines - and Rudd is as adorable as you've ever seen him - it's not actually a fun movie.
Bottom line:
The actors are great, but they can't save this overloaded, bizarre and not especially pleasurable story.

Buzz News Roundup, 2/11

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:33:02 -0800

Actor Roy Scheider, best known for playing the police chief in Jaws, passed away at the age of 75 on Sunday, Variety reports.
Sunday's Grammy Awards were the third least-watched Grammy ceremony ever, writes the AP.
Juno, No Country for Old Men, and The Wire were big winners at the Writers Guild of America Awards over the weekend, Variety reports.
Kristen Bell will star in Disney's romantic comedy When in Rome, writes Hollywood Reporter.
ComingSoon has the news that Michelle Pfeiffer will star in Cheri, a film adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Collette.

Yet another way to watch the Olympics this summer: Oxygen will carry gymnastics, tennis, and some other events, TV Guide reports.
Pitchfork reports that there's a Radiohead greatest hits album on the way.
According to Variety, Ellen Page will have the lead role in Sam Raimi's horror flick Drag Me to Hell.

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Stardust: A Grand Adventure

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:21:22 -0700

"This is the story of how Tristan becomes a man... To achieve it, he must win the heart of his one true love." From the beginning of Stardust, there is a distinct waft of The Princess Bride. The warm, old-man voice (Ian McKellan, of course) narrating the tale like a grandfather telling a bedtime story, the fantastical adventure dotted with romance and humor, and even the echoing words "his one true love" made me feel nostalgic for that magical love story of my youth.

As it happens, Stardust is a perfectly adequate Princess Bride-style tale, a bright and enthralling adventure with plenty of danger, magic and love. In the story, the aforementioned Tristan (played by the outrageously attractive Charlie Cox) is a lovestruck young man tasked with the challenge of bringing back a fallen star for the petulant, conceited object of his affections, Victoria (Sienna Miller). He meets the star, a luminescent woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) who has landed near Tristan's sleepy village, and he determines to bring her to Victoria as proof of his adoration. That's just the tip of this fantasy iceberg, though, so read more

Meanwhile, there are others in hot pursuit of the fallen star. Lamia is (Michelle Pfeiffer) a cruel, vain witch who needs Yvaine's heart to remain young and beautiful. At the same time, the three living sons of Lord Stormhold (Peter O'Toole) seek out Yvaine in their competition to take over the throne. Together Tristan and Yvaine make their journey back to Victoria, with their followers close on their trail. They run into a supposedly cruel pirate captain (Robert DeNiro) who turns out to be quite a dandy, and a shady merchant (Ricky Gervais). During the scenes with the Lord Stormhold's living sons they are joined by the ghosts of their dead brothers, providing comedic relief in the form of a kind of haunting Greek chorus. In the end, Tristan must reexamine what it means to win the heart of his "one true love."

Of course, Stardust has some advantage over The Princess Bride when it comes to special effects helping to prop up such a fairy-tale land. The mystical world brings us candy-bright colors and video game visuals to breathlessly sweep us up in this adventure. Lamia looks at times like a statuesque testament to youth and beauty, all soft, golden hair and glittering eyes, and at other times like she was dug up from a deep grave. The performances are satisfying enough, though DeNiro makes for a very odd gay man. He seems like a straight person making fun of gay people by doing an extreme impression of what he assumes a gay man is like. I could have watched Charlie Cox for several more hours, however, so adorable are those soft brown eyes and that sweet manner.

The one annoying thing was a particular aspect of the ending, which I won't reveal here. It was as though everything could have been wrapped up quite nicely from the start if they'd just done one simple thing. It struck me as baffling, cheesy and ridiculous. I was somewhat surprised by it as well, having enjoyed the movie up until that point. Regardless of the ending, though, the movie is a splendid way to spend a couple hours in the starry, sparkly otherworld of Tristan and Yvaine.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

Link Time! 6/19

BuzzSugar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:15:52 -0700

Give Me My Remote tips us off to the news that NBC plans to make Dundie Awards and more bobbleheads for "Office" fans to buy.
I can't help but cheer after reading The Movie Blog's open letter to Eli Roth in response to Roth's assertion that Hostel: Part II is failing in the box office due to "piracy" and "people not supporting R-rated horror films."
Pop Candy talks about the best unintentionally funny TV intros of all time.
Idolator tells us where to find newly leaked music from the Smashing Pumpkins.
TV With MeeVee points us to a video of a bunch of the plane crash scenes from "Lost" pieced together.
Film Experience has an homage to Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as Catwoman and gives props to "Freaks and Geeks," all in the same day!
According to Earvolution, there is a biopic about the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence in the works.
"Veronica Mars" fans are campaigning again, but not to save their favorite show, says The TV Addict - they're raising money to help kids in Africa.
BuddyTV shares the news about "Idol: The Musical," a satire about a bunch of kids who idolize Clay Aiken.

New Stardust Promos Online

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:40:35 -0700

I had no idea how much you loved Michelle Pfeiffer until so many of you chose her as your pick for a theoretical Ocean's Fourteenth. Well, the lovely, classy Michelle will be everywhere this summer between her appearances in Hairspray (opening July 20) and Stardust (opening August 10). For now, the Stardust website is featuring three new TV promos for the movie, each of which has a few more tidbits of sparkly magic.

I can't wait for this movie, what with its fantastical story, humorous wordplay and appealing special effects. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you should watch that on the website, and then take a look at the TV spots. The third one is my personal favorite - in it we learn that one downside to playing with your magician friends is that they can make your chest droopy, just for kicks, at any time.

New Hairspray Clip - Do the Travolta Shimmy

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:57:37 -0700

Calling all fans of musicals - this musical number clip from Hairspray is for you. It's campy, slightly ridiculous and highly energetic. Plus, it features John Travolta wriggling his (her?) body into flashy new clothes and letting loose. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon and even I was temporarily softened by this little number. To watch the clip, read more

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema