BuzzSugar

Movie Preview: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:30:50 -0700

It wasn't my favorite of the 2008 Sundance movies I saw, but The Mysteries of Pittsburgh was still an interesting watch - and probably even more so for those who have read the Michael Chabon book on which the movie is based. Jon Foster plays the main character of Art Bechstein, a young man who passes his last Summer before entering the "real world" working at a book warehouse, meeting regularly with his dad (a shady Nick Nolte) for dinner, and sleeping with his boss, Phlox (Mena Suvari). Things get considerably more interesting, however, when Art meets the alluring Jane (Sienna Miller) and her boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Suddenly, Art's Summer goes from mundane to exhilarating.

There's no release information just yet but there is a trailer you can check out if you read more.

Sundance Review: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:30:30 -0800

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is great. And then it's terrible. And then it's puzzling. Then it's truthful. Then you go, "whaaaa?" And it ends and you're like, "eh."

It's not a bad movie, by any means. The music is fantastic, for example. Many of the directorial choices (the way shots are set up, the use of voiceover narration, etc.) are superb. Several of the performances are arresting. But the dialog is stilted and the action feels extremely rushed. I attended the "world premiere" of the movie at Sundance, and director Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball) introduced it by thanking the citizens of Pittsburgh and professing his undying love for the Michael Chabon book on which the movie is based. His love is apparent, but it isn't enough to make the film truly enjoyable.

The story follows Art Bechstein (Jon Foster), a young man who, wishing to avoid responsibility for the Summer before he joins the real world, is living in Pittsburgh, working at a book warehouse. He dreads the monthly dinners with his father (Nick Nolte), a shady individual with power over most of the city, and he regularly sleeps with his boss Phlox (Mena Suvari). Then he meets Jane (Sienna Miller) and her boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard) and his life instantly becomes more interesting. To find out more about this, read more.

The movie version of Chabon's book focuses on the relationships between coarse bisexual Cleveland, vibrant Jane, and average Art, as the line between friendship and something-more starts to blur - between all three of them. Like so many movies, though, the love scenes heavily favor the female form. Even in the scenes with naked men - with only naked men - the filming is much more reserved, conservative. This makes me wonder if the filmmakers were not particularly comfortable portraying homosexuality. I haven't read the book, but I heard people who have grumble that the relationship between Cleveland and Art in the film is lamely subdued.

For the most part, the performances are good, though Jon Foster seems so much like John Krasinski - minus the ease and sweetness - I found myself wishing they'd just gotten Krasinski instead. Nick Nolte is gravel-throated and terrifying. Peter Sarsgaard is someone I have often thought of as a lazy, dopey actor. At the very least, those are often the characters he plays, and it makes me wonder. But in this movie he is commanding and aggressively committed. I started to feel toward him what the characters around him felt: irresistibly drawn to him, yet annoyed with his behavior.

I often wonder what I would think of Sienna Miller if I had no idea who she was in the tabloid sense. I think she does a fine job in this film, but she always seems so aware of her own beauty, her own power. And this is a problem when she's trying to play normal girls with major insecurities and issues. Whether this is her issue to overcome as an actress or something that falls to directors, I'm not sure.

Bottom line: There are moments of real truth and beauty, but it's all undermined by moments of total ridiculousness.

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Live From Park City, It's the Sundance Film Festival!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:30:55 -0800

It's cold! It's crowded! It's the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah!

I've been here a couple days now and have luckily managed to the avoid black ice and nosebleeds. On the downside, this year's festival seems to be so popular, it's hard to get into the film screenings! Still, this is my first time here at Sundance and I am in awe of this experience. So much great art, so much enthusiasm, so many film fanatics, each with his or her own celeb sighting. Gotta love it. I have a few days left here, but I've gathered some initial thoughts and observations:

Buzz around town is that American Teen is the documentary of choice. The movie "intimately follows the lives of four teenagers in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school." Morgan Spurlock's super-secretive Where In the World Is Osama? premieres today, however, so we'll see where it lands in the list of favorite docs.
The Wackness has been getting audience reviews that range from "eh" to "amazing!" One person I chatted with said it might appeal most to people who have done lots of drugs.

Sundance Spotlight: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:31:34 -0800

I am so thrilled to go to Sundance this year, and I simply can't wait to see as many movies as I possibly can while I'm out there! For the next few days I'll be highlighting some of the films I'm most curious to see. Today's spotlight: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

One of the few Sundance films to have an official website, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a film adaptation of the novel by author Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay). Chabon's work seems to lend itself to the movie format (I loved Wonder Boys) so I'm anxious to see how this one turns out. To see who's in it and what the story's about, read more.

The plot description reads, "Set in Pittsburgh in the early eighties, the story chronicles the last true summer of Art Bechstein's (Jon Foster) youth. Stuck in a dead-end job working for his eccentric sometime girlfriend Phlox (Mena Suvari), and forced into an endless series of airless dinners with his mobster father (Nick Nolte), Art begins to believe that perhaps he doesn't even exist at all. What begins as a mundane summer is quickly interrupted when he encounters a beautiful debutante (Sienna Miller) and her lusty, no good hoodlum of a boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Together they reveal a side of Art and Pittsburgh that he has never known."

So that's where Mena Suvari's been. Huh. This is also the project that earned Miller some bad press a while back when she badmouthed Pittsburgh in Rolling Stone and then backpedaled. I guess we'll see if she managed to cover up her disdain long enough to make the movie.

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First Connecticut, Now Pennsylvania?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0700

A while back, I told you that Connecticut was becoming filmmaking's latest hot spot. Now, I'm wondering if Pennsylvania's next. Much to Sienna Miller's likely chagrin, filmmakers and TV producers haven't exactly fled the state ever since her famously nasty comments while filming The Mysteries of Pittsburgh there last year.

Instead, the upcoming Spike TV show "The Kill Point" recently spent more than two months filming in Pittsburgh, and the state legislature is considering implementing tax breaks - like those that have helped push filmmakers to Connecticut - for productions that choose to locate in the state.

But that may not be the only reason producers have The Keystone State on the brain these days. Quite a few current and upcoming TV shows are set throughout the state - even if they're not actively filming there. Consider:

"The Office," which is responsible for putting Scranton on the map, is sending a producer to Scranton to look for local businesses, goods and services to feature on the show, from vending machine snacks to notepads that could appear on a character's desk.
"Back to You," a new Fox show starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as newscasters, is set in Pittsburgh - and will be paired on the schedule with the Eastern Pennsylvania-set Brad Garrett sitcom "Til Death."

More PA goodies, so read more

TNT's "Heartland" focuses on transplant surgeons at a fictional Pittsburgh hospital.
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" - which states its connection to the state right in its title - is set to return to TV in September.

Sheesh. I wonder which underappreciated state will be next?

Photo courtesy of Philip R. Cloutier