moviesdeservereviews

[moviesdeservereviews]

I Love You Phillip Morris Review- 2009

I Need Therapy/10 Stars. This movie is beyond numbers.

I don't think a movie has ever left me in so much pure awe at it's mere existence, and NOBODY TALKS ABOUT IT. I feel like this movie would be YouTube commentary gold. I'm perplexed. By no means, this movie isn't good. It's also not bad. It's just so weird. It is unspeakably weird. It's the kind of weird where I don't even know how to describe how weird it was. What the actual fuck did I watch??? If you were complaining about biopics in 2022, I think you need to visit this.

This movie stars Jim Carrey, Jim fucking Carrey, as gay con artist Steven Russell. And, as the title suggests, he falls in love with Phillip Morris (played by Ewan McGregor). This movie is based on a true story. Somehow, this actually happened. And, according to the real Phillip Morris, this movie was actually accurate. I'm really happy that this movie was able to put his story out there, what happened to him was simply awful. It seems to have been therapuetic for him. And the fact a romcom captured it is just something else. Ewan McGregor did a wonderful job. https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/The-real-Phillip-Morris-happy-to-be-portrayed-as-1712815.php

This movie at many moments, as a gay person, I felt like this movie should have offended me. But I was in too much shock and awe to even care. Jim Carrey drops the f slur a lot, and how he plays it at times can be viewed as stereotypical. But this movie just, I don't think a movie has ever left me more perplexed. I'm speechless.

This movie was one of Jim Carrey's least paid roles. In an interview, he said HE would have paid to do this movie. And in some ways, he was perfect for it. Just, the fact Jim Carrey of all people WANTED this role boggles me. https://www.contactmusic.com/jim-carrey/news/carrey-took-big-pay-cut-to-star-in-phillip-morris_1186996

I remember watching this movie, then just staring at my wall all night thinking about how much it's existence confused me. I suggest giving it a watch, if you want to have an existential crisis as well.

Someone please send help.

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[moviesdeservereviews]

Kramer vs. Kramer Review- 1979

10/10 Stars (I know that's high but I'm biased, I'm sorry)

Does it make me a strange person to list Oscar Best Picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer as one of my favorite films ever? If so, I deeply apologize. It is just one of those movies that never, ever fails to touch me. It's common for people to put on a comedy when they're in a bad mood, but I put on this film. Want to know why? Because I'm a big ol' fan of crying..

It stars Dustin Hoffman (Ted) and Meryl Streep (Joanna), parents to their little boy Justin Henry (Billy). Joanna leaves Ted at the very start of the film, as the couple had grown emotionally distant over time. Joanna couldn't be the housewife Ted wanted her to be. Not only does she leave Ted though, she also leaves her son. Ted is left alone to deal with the wreckage of this. At first, it's made clear that Joanna did most of the parenting. There's a scene where Ted is trying to make Billy french toast, one of the easiest meals ever (I eat it reguarly....), and is failing miserably. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdKnom6qydE

This failure doesn't stay, though. Over the course of the film, we watch Ted get closer and closer to his son. When he's injured, he runs him to the hospital. He leaves the job that he put so much of his passion into, that his wife left him for, just so he could be with his son. And when Joanna comes back to try and get him back, it shows just how much his character grew because of how hard he fought. Something he wouldn't have done previously.

The most touching scene to me is a recreation of the french toast scene I mentioned earlier. He again makes his son breakfast, right before he's to be taken from him. But instead of the frantic, desheveled nature of the previous, Ted is calm and solemn. He makes the toast perfectly without any qualms. It's the perfect representation of who he had become over the course of a few months. To be honest, I cry every single time. It's such a simple scene, but so, so powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXwg8gBuQ0

This movie said a lot about family was traditionally viewed, especially in the 70s. What was considered "standard" was the atomic family; a mom, dad, and two kids. This movie challenged that, stating that a single dad can give a child a good childhood, that the mother isn't always the most fit parent. And it revealed in subtle ways, how the courts bias towards the mother can be harmful towards kids.

I also wanted to touch on the acting in this movie, because. it. is. phenomenal. Dustin Hoffman gives such a heartwrenching performance as Ted. He is one of my personal favorite actors, and this movie is a perfect example of why. He won Best Actor for this role at the Oscars, deservingly. And Meryl Streep! She brings so much heart to a role, that is all her. No script writer can do what she does to the role of Joanna. You can really sympathize with her, even if she's not always an ideal mother. She won Best Supporting Actress for this role. Also, Justin Henry (Billy) is 51 now, which freaks me out a little. I wasn't alive when this movie came out, but it's still hard to wrap my head around that the child is now in his 50s. I can't, I just can't.

All in all, I REALLY suggest giving this a try. For those who aren't into dramas, and a more character-based story, though, this may not be for you.

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[moviesdeservereviews]

It Happened One Night Review- 1934

8/10 Stars.

Many consider this movie to be one of the first, if not THE first, rom-com in the US. It was a big Oscar winner, staring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. That's a pretty name isn't it, Claudette? It was altogether cute. Clark's character, Peter, was very likeable. A lot of the funny moments in the film surround around him. He's a bit of an underdog. Claudette matches that energy with ease, with her character Ellie. She's a runaway, trying to get away from her controlling father, to her sus fiance. The onscreen chemistry between the two is impeccable; both romantically, and comedically. My personal favorite scene is where they pretend to be a argumentative couple to escape nosy detectives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHAIRlm7piw . Of course, the movie does show it's age in many regards. There are multiple sexist comments towards Ellie, and in general her situation would be considered much more dire today....hopefully. There are also things that are just part of old filmaking, that is a matter of preference. More silence, a random musical number, more relaxed pacing, etc. If you can get over that, however, it's a really entertaining film. I'd suggest it!

#film #classic film #filmmaking #movie review #film review #clark gable #claudette colbert #it happened one night #oscar winner #1930s film #30s #frank capra #best picture